Omar

In France, changing programs is much harder, so that might explain the free tuition (I don't know if it's generalized or for only some unis). School is free as well, but it's still not enough to democratize education--only 15% of people who enroll into prestigious universities have no parents who graduated high school (that was in 1995, though, but it was quoted in a 2009 study by a governmental institute, so I assume it hasn't changed much). Some parents don't have the necessary experience to help their kids with school or can't afford tutoring and such, even though they want them in school (62% of kids who were in sixth grade in 1995 had no high school graduate parents). Kids who had at least one parent who had graduated high school had better chances to get more than just a passing grade.

You're talking about two completely different sums of money though. One is almost nothing, and one is ridiculousness. $1625 is almost nothing. Oh America. That's like 3% of 57,000$. He means relatively.

I'm talking out of my ass, but I think the cost of education isn't what has changed. It's still 20k total but since the government can't afford to keep up the 15k so they're changing the proportions.

I am rubber, you are glue, whatever you say, bounces off me, and sticks to you! Also, Clubmasters over Wayfarers because he thinks they look better.

Well, at least giving it a shot (or seven) and getting rejected every time is better than giving it no shots.

The exact same thing can be said of religion... Religions aren't all the same, Christians aren't all the same, Christian Protestants aren't all the same. Stop generalizing. What is an actual issue is a tendency we have to impose our values upon others; this is unrelated to religion (you're a pretty good example). Also, science doesn't allow us to understand, only to explain, to describe. Science doesn't interpret; it doesn't make sense out of the world; it doesn't give it a meaning, and in fact it has a tendency to destroy our ability to finding meaning in it. This is something religion can do.

I agree that if Quebec has been spending too much on education and can't get the money from anywhere else (like the US government could from military expenses for example), they should reduce their subsidies. I'm just making a general argument for redistribution. In an ideal state, there would be no need, but being a self-made man in the US is significantly harder than it should be.

I would tend to say that in order for two people of different social extraction to make the same amount of money (barring governmental intervention), one of them has to work more... even on a meritocratic basis redistribution makes sense. That being said as far as I can tell the tuition hike issue is BS, but I can't tell very far.

Then make religious imposition on anyone other than your children illegal (I'm sure it already is in some way)... Obviously, this isn't all about irreligion, but just recently during the election debates Hollande was backing up Sarkozy (in fact, claiming he had been more laic in the past) on a halal meat ban in schools. Laity is meant to allow people to do whatever they want, not prohibit them from doing anything but being religious; all it is is thinly disguised xenophobia. About the burqa/niqab issue: how does this pose a security risk that a down coat would not? Obviously when it comes to taking ID pictures and such when the face is needed to be seen, the woman has to comply or do without the service, but it makes no sense to legislate on these unwritten rules; there are non-legal consequences to breaking them, and they are unwritten as well: if you refuse to integrate yourself within a society, it's going to suck whether it's legislated against or not... The state has nothing to do with this.

[bleep] I'm top poster itt you ain't shit

...including irreligion. Just look at the burqa bans in France.

:???:

There are plenty of religious people who don't have this "additional baggage". I think what you don't like is stupidity, not religion.

Okay, guys, what matters is what is meant and not was is said. You're meant to fight over actual arguments, not definitions. I'm reading about Wittgenstein's lectures on religious beliefs atm. Not done yet though. Which would tend to put religious belief and irreligious belief in the same category... Belief/faith is reflected in our actions. Acting as though God exists/doesn't exist is believing/not believing in him. In this sense we all have faith. Belief doesn't rely on evidence; superstition does. I see a woman collecting herbs in the middle of the night, and I think: "she's a witch"; that's superstition. I see bush that burns and yet isn't consumed, and I think: "that's God's work"; that's superstition as well.

Granted, but if you're going to use that logic Oak dies (his heart gives out) and Ash gives up because he's like 22? Shouldn't he be studying or working? I wish I could learn my history notes faster,

That's also a name. Maybe some type of distortion of Aaliyah.

Guys, he sees himself in the mirror every day.

(How could you possibly not say "Granted, but it gets corrupted"?)

A girlfriend isn't what you need.

Thank you, but it's not my error. Granted, they no longer update. I wish I could come up with a wish.

...well then the threads aren't interesting, are they? Granite, but FF gets a really bad automatic spellchecker and no one can figure out how to disable it. I wish smoothies were sufficient nutrition.

Granted. Nietzsche is now your neighbour. He occasionally hits the schnapps and leaves the house naked, wielding a lantern and shouting "God is dead!". This is the only opportunity you might have of seeing Nietzsche's other, more impressive mustache. I wish for more interesting threads in OT.

Have you considered moving? Ask your parents...

Then don't call people out on their definitions...

Where's the part where you explain how one can both not claim disbelief in God and not believe in him? At any rate, just because Sagan's an agnostic doesn't mean he can't be wrong.