Sergeant Bilko

Maybe if Romney and people like him paid more than 14% in tax, the state department would have enough money to approve these requests without having to worry about the budgetary constraints placed upon them. But then again, Rigney will no doubt have another conspiracy theory to flog on here.

Yep, and most of it is coming from your direction.

Dont worry, at least you are safe, The US defence budget is over 700 Billion dollars.

What?? Did you not hear about the Balfour declaration? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balfour_Declaration

Well that all depends who is defining "noteworthy" surely a man of your self assumed intelligence can see that. I am sure that you understand that greatness all depends upon your frame of reference, your starting point, and what you have to overcome to achieve it. I am sorry that I do not posess the great depth of scientific knowledge that you do, and I really hope that you would recognise that and make some allowances while I spend time reading the forums and hoovering up as much information as my limited intellect can absorb. You see I am a trained psychologist, but I have a great interest in science, and I really enjoy learning and understanding diferent points of view. It is a shame that you do not recognise that Zapatos' posts are not noteworthy in your opinion, but in my opinion thay often are, and it is insulting of you to dismiss my opinions is such a way. Can you see that? You are not just insulting Zapatos, but me, and many others like me. You could do yourself a great service by just taking a short moment to re-read your posts before you add them and ask yourself the question "is this a reasonable polite post" before hitting the button. I'm not asking you not to disagree, correct or downright dismiss, but there is a polite way to do it and without that we just have a bitchfest.

You really are such a nice man, we bow down to your great knowledge of science o great one

There she lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses" - Ezekiel 23:20 Quality Bird!

I'd like an argument, no you don't, yes I do, no thats a series of contradictions, no it isn't, yes it is, no its not. Aethelwulf, I am sure that you want to put across some really good and interesting points, but fighting the forum mods, contributors and everyone else isn't going to do that. Why don't you just accept that sometimes people don't see things the way you do and move on. Sometimes a little humilty can move mountains and surely the reason that you are on here is that you want to contribute and learn. So far you are not achieving those aims. I WANT TO LEARN FROM YOU, you can teach me, but tell me in a way I can hear you.

Yes Aethelwulf I have read your posts at great length, and I am under no doubt that you are an intelligent, articulate individual who could have much to offer this forum. However if you insist upon attacking, insulting and generally taking an argumentative stance as indicated by the Monty Python sketch I posted you will alienate your peers and cause us all not to take you seriously. You seem to take offence when forum contributors ask you to back up your assertions with evidence or further information which is both condescending of you and frankly makes you guilty of exactly what you are accusing others of. May I suggest that you try and respond without the emotion which runs through so many of your posts and stick to the facts of your Hypotheses. Maybe read and try to understand the advice you have been given by some extremely esteemed contributors and you will get a much warmer response.

Seems to me the OP has come to the forums just to engage in a good argument such as the link below http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-572077907195969915

I think that you have just annoyed the Welsh even more, the Welsh language is a Celtic language, Gaelic is Irish and Scottish.

There are times when it is possible to take the view, lifes a drag, or I am bored. However for me these are transient moments, I regard myself as one lucky SOB. I live in a beautiful country, I have family, a job, a home, and so much to be happy about. Sure we all get fed up from time to time, that's entirely natural. Sure there are some people who have it way tougher than me, and hopefully I can show them some compassion and understanding, maybe even help them, after all thats what a society is isn't it?

Can you provide evidence to back up these claims? Maybe the dates and outcomes of the trial would be a good start so that we know they have been found guilty of the offences. It is worth noting that even the Nazi war criminals were tried, in public and within a reasonable period of time.

Athena, please don't think that I am being rude, I do not wish to cause you any offence, but you have not answered any questions or explained what on earth you are talking about. We really are not getting anywhere unless you explain to us what you mean. It also seems to be a far cry from the original post about freedom of speech. I suspect that you actually wanted the post to be about this mysterious "God" you mention who is not the God of Abraham.

I am please to hear that you are feeling better, life's a bitch when you don't feel well. Athena, this really makes no sense to me, I have read it and tried to understand where you are coming from, but you dont actually say anything tangible. You talk of God but I dont understand how you connect Nazi Germany with the USA and christianity. Unless you are saying that the fact both countries believed God was on their side is proof that God is a made up concept? Why the bold text, when you overuse it so it ceases to have the desired impact. There is no doubt that Greek and Roman culture had strong impacts upon our civilisations, as did Egyptian, ancient Chinese and many others. Please can you explain what you mean, by "This God", which God? You do know that not all democracies are in Christian countries, and that not all Christian countries are democracies don't you? Indeed, my own, the UK was an absolute monarchy for 1651 years from the birth of Christ until a man called Oliver Cromwell replaced the monarchy by a partially elected system. It was almost 300 years later that it became a true democracy. Where was "This God" all of that time? Sorry, I dont understand this at all, your points are lost on me. Sorry to disagree, but you did totally misrepresent English history, and the causes of the Russian revolution in your earlier post, and I strongly recommend that you read up on it. There is absolutely tons of information freely available. Bolding your text also does not make it a truth, but if you would like to post exactly what you mean by Complete truths, with the associated facts I would be most grateful.

Its plain to see from the Bureau of Justice's own statistics that Prison, or the threat of prison does nothing to prevent criminals committing crime. http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/glance/tables/corr2tab.cfm Maybe its time the hang 'em and flog 'em brigade sought alternative ways to prevent crime. I don't have the answers, but its sure as hell from the Bureau's own figures that the current path we are treading isn't the right one!

Can you explain why you say this? Again, I don't understand what you are trying to say. What has Christianity got to do with German/USA relations. In the reader the female lead was a concentration camp guard who was tried for war crimes, her alleged crimes had little to do with her inability to read. This is a rediculous interpretation of what has happened in England. Once again, a misrepresentation. The church was controlled and financed by the landowners and was part of the state apparatus. The revolution was more about inequality than religion. However, why is "god" essential to our liberty? As far as I know most wars have been fought with "god" supposedly on both sides. God and Liberty are two words which can rarely be used in the same sentence.

It already happens for many Indian religions! At least not via surgery, but by dying and being reborn into another species.

That all depends doesn't it? Surely freedom of speech has some limitations, in the UK we have a law against inciting racial hatred http://en.wikipedia....r_racial_hatred which makes it a criminal offence to incite racism or ethnic hatred. I have quoted Eleanor Roosevelt on here before, "with freedom comes responsibility"

Its not just pollution that we are outsourcing to China in our deperate hunger for cheap goods, its health and safety in general also. Coal mines around the world are closing so that we can import cheap coal from China. One of the things that make it cheap are the lack of safety for the miners. According to google searches, fatalities in Chinese coal mine accidents represent more than 50% of mining deaths worldwide. http://www.bbc.co.uk...siness-11497070 So we are happy for chinese miners to die, the country to be polluted to give us cheap coal and other things, while we stand by and watch our own manufacturing and mining industries die, just because we insist on buying cheap, cheaper, cheapest. Despite all of the hand wringing and noble words, it seems that money is the only thing we really care about.

This is a fabulous topic, now we have a proven way of being able to produce Rainbows and know exactly where they finish. I have it on good authority that pots of gold, which up until now have been difficult to find can now be isolated and collected. Thanks Bulla.

I'm not sure what this has to do with the original question, but for the record I have worked as a mental health practitioner.

In the uk a Mental health professional will only break client confidentiality if a) the client poses an IMMEDIATE danger to themselves, ie risk of Suicide, or b) an immediate danger to others at a level where the client would be sectioned (forcibly incarcerated in a secure mental institution) under the mental health act. Otherwise, anything that is said in the consulting room will stay confidential. Most Psychs will have heard threats of almost every imaginable action under the sun, its all in the way the mind works. Its not illegal to harbor thoughts about anything, at least not in my culture. You have to carry them out to commit any crime. Mental heath workers are legally bound by professional confidentiality, however family members are not! Bilks

I'm no expert, but I recall that I did read some experiments where they have slowed down the speed of light in certain circumstances. http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/1999/02.18/light.html

Freedom is a concept, not an absolute, to define freedom will depend upon the current civilisation that we are all a part of. In part I agree with Justin (hard to believe I know) when he says that Government needs to remain minimal, no doubt we will differ on what minimal is. Eleanor Roosevelt said "'Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility" I believe that we all have a responsibility to our fellow man, we are part of a society that we all benefit from, and therefore we all have our absolute freedom limited by that responsibilty or obligation. So Freedom does not mean that we can do what we want, or even what we think is right, but is determined by our contribution to civilisation, and the current norms of that civilisation.