issy2

You make it sound so simple. Most of the time morality comes down to opinion. "Would you rather save 100 strangers or 1 family member?" Someone could easily argue that the unborn baby's life is more important. The mother isn't going to be the one dying and the mother obviously already had some fun with life at that point, whereas the baby didn't even get to experience the world at all yet. But why ruin one person's life just to cause another's? The creation of that new life creates both opportunity for happiness and sadness (sorry to be so black-and-white), but if it causes sadness for a woman who's already alive and already has her place in the world... surely it can't be worth it? All I'm saying is, it seems to me as though reasons to be pro-choice outstrip reasons to be pro-'life' (what a silly term) many times over. It's not exactly a decision any woman wants to make.

To be honest, and no offence intended to anyone, but I find it hard to understand why there's even somewhat of a controversy surrounding abortion. It's just logic on so many levels, that's how it's always felt to me. How can anyone who says they care about morality put the life of an unborn child before that of a woman who's already alive? But all the same, it's a decision no woman should ever have to make.

5"1, 50kg (110lb) pretty strong and robust but relatively slender as well. Always having the piss taken about my height, but I quite like being short :

Snake and noob:?: God I'm out of touch. I'd like to get back into the whole Varrock Library thing. Used to be a lot of fun, I remember. Anyway back to the point... it's not supposed to be like an advert or anything, is it?

Yay : So I'm guessing the square should have something writing-based in it?

I'd love to help with a Varrock square! I know I haven't posted there for a while but that'd be cool :)

Wow, congratz! Elaborate? And the save a life thing seems to be on tons of our lists. Funny to think that for a lot of people, saving lives is something they do everyday. Pretty inspiring methinks.

I'm INFP too : Yeah... very much so... I feel like I know things about people and what's going to happen in my life, and the idea of those things not happening is kind of unfathomable. And they're not all good things either, just subconscious ideas I feel like I've had forever and have probably influenced me quite a lot without me realising it, and I've recently unearthed, if that makes any sense whatsoever. Used to be incredibly paranoid but I'm kind of over it now. It comes back every now and then though. I hate people talking about me, which is odd to say the least since I don't exactly try to keep my head down.

Funny how this list changes every time I try and remember what's on it :P 1. Climb Macchu Picchu 2. Direct a film 3. Skinny dipping! 4. Cycle to Paris (from London) 5. Build a toothpick bridge. I hear this is quite a common homework assignment in the US? Looks pretty flipping complicated but I'd like to work it out : 6. Found a magazine 7. Be a fluent speaker of French (and make the most of it!) 8. Plant a yew tree... I like the idea of leaving something tangible behind that'll last god knows how many years 9. Witness a full eclipse, even if I have to go halfway around the world to be there 10. This'll sound ridiculous... but choose a street name, and visit every street in the world with that name. With a camera 11. Glassblowing And the sleeping-in-a-field-under-the-stars thing sounds pretty cool too :

Hmm. Interesting question. I've always had a big thing for curly hair, especially red or brown. If I were a guy, I guess, slight hips and a small frame, but in an athletic kind of way, I'd find looking weak or fragile really off-putting. Not much make up, I love the natural look. Vintage/individualistic fashion sense - by that I mean someone who looks good, but doesn't define looking good as looking the same as everyone else. In terms of personality... competence, wit, eloquence, enthusiasm... someone relatively optimistic and with a lot of common sense. I'd like someone always willing to experiment and be adventurous. But most of all I'd want intelligence and tact - and I mean social intelligence as well as 'academic' intelligence. Doesn't go shouting their mouth off, doesn't gossip, can easily tell other's people emotions if necessary... and can stand up for themselves and not get beaten down by other people.

Yes and Yes. Although neither are all that active. Most East European countries are free. Refer back to the latest map a few pages ago. Dang it. But thanks for the map suggestion. Hmm. Anyone mind if I have Greece then?

Anyone got England yet? Or failing that, France? :mrgreen:

My apologies if this is off-topic... but I've always wanted to know and this seems like quite a good place to ask - why on earth did they change the title of the 1st book? I really can't think of any logical reason why that was necessary but there must be something behind it.

Really? I think it's just what we need. Parents (especially nowadays) are ridiculously overprotective of their children - by no means am I saying this isn't ever justified but the 'protective' oppression children often have to endure seems unbearable to me. He was given a chance to do something amazing, they obviously trusted him to do so. Kudos to every one of them.

[hide=]Polling: Forum Username: issy2 Age: 14 State (US only, do not give a city): n/a Nation (do not give a city): UK Educational level: Halfway through secondary 1. Have you ever attended a worship of any religion? Yes, I've been to church a few times (literally a few, maybe 3 or 4) with my mum in the past, but not for years now. Catholic churches I think... 2. Do you consider yourself religious? I used to be an athiest but in the last couple of years I've become firmly agnostic and I don't think that view will change now: that agnosticism, I feel, has become part of my personal identity 3. Is there a god, gods, or a supreme deity? See above. I'm very open-minded. Sometimes I think there must be, other times I'm convinced it's impossible. One thing that always bugs me, though, is how narrowly most people would define the word 'god' - especially when people are debating this question, and don't bother to define what exactly they mean before getting into the technicalities of the argument. At school, for instance - this term in RS we've been debating the question Is there a God? (surprise surprise) but it pissed me off that the teachers were thinking only of the God of Classical Theism (all knowing, powerful and loving) without acknowledging a possibility of a less perfect, but nevertheless 'supernatural' deity. 4. Is there an afterlife? Going against my open-mindedness, I'd have to say I doubt it - I think the mind and body can only exist together. Some people say it's a comforting thought - I can't help thinking - really? The idea of living forever's terrifying, isn't it? To me anyway, so I'd like to believe there isn't one. 5. How do you believe that existence came about? (in a nutshell) God knows! 6. Have you ever attended a worship of any religion that you do not consider yourself a part of? Yes, see question 1. 7. What are your thoughts on non Judeo-Christian Western religions? Remember that religion is a broad term so please be specific. (I'm talking about Islam, not any others) Hoping to cause no offence here, but in Islam especially there is a ridiculously sexist culture - the wearing of burqas I find repulsive and unacceptable in any secular state. Many religions (again thinking of Islam here, although I'm sure some of these go for Christianity/Judaism as well) seem to have made up rather silly practices to go with their beliefs - taking shoes off, not eating pork - that kind of thing. Seems to be a juxtaposition between the might of God and the triviality of things people do in His name. Suicide bombings - I really couldn't say if the Qu'ran (sp?) advocates martyrdom etc, but it does seem to be only followers of the Islamic religion (so far) that have bombed planes and the like. Obviously other religious peoples have committed atrocities in the name of God before (the crusades, witch hunting, etc etc) but would I be right in saying that extremity has pretty much died out in Christianity and Judaism? I don't know. Good sides though too obviously, the importance of charity, etc. Sorry I've probably rambled on a bit! :) I appreciate what I've said in this question might make me sound 'disapproving' of Islam... certainly not true, I guess it's just that the bad things are easier to put into words: I don't doubt that Islam and other religions have positive sides at all but I'm afraid I'm only talking about the bad really. 8. What are your thoughts on Judeo-Christian religions? Remember that religion is a broad term and that both of these groups have many subdivisions that have radically different beliefs and practices. Again - juxtaposition between the might of God and the triviality of things we do in his name. Sure, tradition is important, but mustn't dominate religion. Far too much pomp and circumstance if you ask me. Somewhere between protestantism and pentecostalism would be my ideal religion, were I to believe in God. And when I say that I mean purely from the point of view of how to worship and practise beliefs, not the beliefs themselves. And jeez, the baptism of infants! Presumptious and approaching barbaric. It has to be an individual's choice to follow whichever God they choose to believe in, and parental assumptions and indoctrinations can be extremely damaging. It's of utter importance that a child has the opportunity to think for themselves and be free to believe what they want to believe (within reason obviously!) whilst retaining parental love and support. Again, mainly talking about the bad things, no dislike or hostility at all towards either religion. 9. What are your thoughts on Asian religions? Remember that religion is a broad term so please be specific. Don't have any :) - I don't know enough about them to say anything really. 10. What are your thoughts on African religions? Remember that religion is a broad term, so please be specific. Ditto 11. What are your thoughts on South American religions? Remember that religion is a broad term, so please be specific. All I know about south American religions concerns the Aztecs... not sure if that'd be relevant here or not. 12. What are your thoughts on Aboriginal religions (any native group that was displaced, such as Native Americans, Maori, Aborigines, etc)? Remember that religion is a broad term, so please be specific. Ditto 13. What are your thoughts on pagan religions (Wiccan, alternative, Satanic, and other non-traditional forms of worship)? Remember that religion is a broad term, so please be specific. Also note that many alternative and pagan practices are not affiliated with Satanic worship. Ditto. Let me take the opportunity to make the point - look at my answers to the last five questions. Silly how I spent 10 years being taught about Jesus and Mohammed and wiccanism and the Aborigines weren't mentioned once. 14. What are your thoughts on atheism, the belief that there is no supreme being(s)? Please remember that there are degrees to this belief, and that not all share the same thoughts. Eurgh. I don't like athiests. Actually, that's not true - I dislike the general attitude of a person having made up their mind on the subject. It's such an unanswerable question, why do people come to such certain conclusions? Athiests can also be off-puttingly arrogant and dismissive of religion. In fact what made me turn agnostic was getting to know a friend of mine a few years ago. I love her very much and we're good friends, but I can't stand her attitude towards religion and anyone religious. Vindictive, spiteful, sarcastic, dismisive of any merit in their beliefs... I knew I didn't want to be like that, that's not who I am. In many ways she made me rethink what I thought. I was never a 'strong' athiest... just leaning towards the view that there surely can't be a God of any kind. In the words of Clarence Darrow - "I am agnostic; I do not pretend to know what ignorant men are sure of." This quote pretty much sums up my whole religious attitude. 15. What are your thoughts on agnosticism, the belief that a supreme being(s) exists, but the individual chooses not to worship it/them (or if one is unsure if a supreme being exists, but does not outright deny its existence)? See above :) As a purely personal view agnosticism is the only way for me to be. It just fits with my whole personality, character, identity. Agnosticism is part of who I am, if that makes sense, and it comes with an impowering sense (for me) of being the right way. So I suppose my agnosticism is exactly what religious people's religion is to them - makes them feel as though it's the right thing, is part of their identity - but it's not, really, because I don't try and convince others, I'm open to everything, I never criticise any religions, only the practices that often go along with them. 16. Have you ever publicly chastised someone who believes in a religion/school of thought different than yours? Not chastised... debated with, perhaps, the friend I mentioned above, but she won't be persuaded :) 17. If you belong to a religion or non-religion, please identify. -Did you consciously choose to follow this belief? Yes, very much so. -Did you belong to another belief, by choice or force, before following this belief? Not really. -Did you personally research (as in personally in the first person) options before coming to this belief? Yes, a bit. Religion hasn't been a big part of my life the way it has for many - both my parents are leaning towards athiesm (one of them certainly athiest, the other not really bothered). But for me religion isn't about its practice or worship, but the beliefs that drive it. 18. Is intelligence (not IQ, but actual intelligence) correlated to one's belief in a religion or non-religion? Keep in mind that intelligence can not be measured by any science, this is simply your judgment call. I think it signals a lack of social intelligence to be so sure of yourself that you become dismissive, even hostile or dismissive, of other people's beliefs. Otherwise... I don't know. I wouldn't like to say. 19. Does religion, in your observation, do good in the world? Please cite specific groups or denominations. Obviously, yes. Charity, hope... lots of good things. Community spirit and the like. Sorry, that's not specific. Um. Lots of charities are religiously-driven (Christian Aid, VSO, Islamic Relief). Hope, in everyday life. As for the community spirit, church was very much the centre of life in the past, in England and I'm sure other countries too. In some places this culture probably does persist. 20. Does non-religion, in your observation, do good in the world? Please cite specific groups or denominations. Only if it's open-mindedly done. Not if people just refuse the possibility of a higher being. 21. Does religion, in your observation, do bad in the world? Please cite specific groups or denominations. Again obviously yes... martyrs, suicide bombs, Crusades and jihads, and more in everyday life. 22. Does non-religion, in your observation, do bad in the world? Please cite specific groups or denominations. I really couldn't say. Creating a conflict is never good. And dismissive athiests are good at it. 23. Please list your experience with sexual education, including but not limited to: lectures by parents, schools, religion, or non-education. Please do not list your sexual experiences. I never really had that first 'birds and bee' talk. To be honest I worked out most things for myself - kids are cleverer than you think! :P Where babies come from, etc. Towards the end of primary school (age 10-11) we had quite a few sessions detailing sex, periods, especially puberty. The 'crasser' side of sex ed (as in what people actually do) is revealed through comedy mainly. 24. Have you engaged in sexual intercourse of any kind? Please do not list your sexual experiences. A yes or no will suffice. Nope 25. What, in your opinion, defines "love?" I think there's degrees of love. Love isn't absolute - there's no threshold that's the same for everyone before they say they're in love. It's different for everyone - and perhaps the more emotionally intelligent you are the stronger you are able to feel love. Some people just wouldn't become very attached to any one person. Others might say a particular lover is their reason for living. 26. Have you ever been in, or are now in, a relationship? Yes -Is sex involved? No 27. Are you single/committed relationship/married? Moderately committed I guess lol 28. What, in your opinion, is sex's place in a relationship (or lack of relationship)? I wouldn't know 29. Have you ever partaken in an illicit substance (excluding alcohol or marijuana)? No -if so, what? -Have you ever lost control of your actions while under the influence of an illicit substance? 30. Have you ever partaken in marijuana? No -Do you habitually use this substance? -Have you ever been "stoned?" -Have you ever lost control of your actions while under the influence of marijuana? 31. Have you ever partaken in the consumption of alcohol? I'm underage! No -Do you drink socially or alone? Or both? -Have you ever been drunk? -Have you ever lost control of your actions while under the influence of alcohol? 32. Have you ever regretted a sexual encounter? n/a 33. Have you ever regretted using an illicit substance? (excluding hangovers) n/a 34. Have you ever regretted using alcohol? (excluding hangovers) n/a 35. Have you ever given serious thought (longer than 30 minutes in a year) to the existence of a supreme being(s)? Way more than that, yes. It's something I like to think about. Note - I'd just like to add, any problems I have with religion are mainly about the things people do for them, and less about specific beliefs. I hate how pinickety people are. It's a shame, we made the biggest deal out of nothing. Sacrificing thousands of lives because someone thinks, I don't know, that Jesus was the son of God, and someone else thinks he existed but was a prophet instead? Ridiculous. Religion and common sense have to be practiced in harmony. Making women wear burqas? Burning or drowning innocent people because of the tiniest difference in belief? It's absurdity. People should believe what they want (within reason, I'm not talking Nazism and the like) but that has to be complimented by common sense, flexibility, open-mindedness, and above all, humanity.[/hide]

About the buttered toast thing... my dad was telling me about this lecturer who was demonstrating Murphy's Law; for those who don't know, it states: if anything can go wrong, it will. If it can't go wrong, it will go wrong anyway. In front of a large audience this lecturer made some toast and buttered it, then dropped it on the floor. The point is, whichever way it lands, he proves himself right. If it lands butter-side down, hooray, Murphy's Law's true. If it lands butter side up, the one time he wanted it to land butter side down it didn't. :P Brilliant, no? And I'm not sure if this constitutes a paradox, and I'm sure a lot of people will already know this, but anyway - Three people go into a restaurant and order meals. Their total bill comes to £30. They decide to pay equally and each pay with a £10 note, which the waiter takes. However for some reason the maitre d' asked for them to be reimbursed £5, and gives the waiter £5 to return to the table. This £5 is in pound coins, and so the waiter realises they won't be able to split it equally. So he pockets £2 for himself and returns £3 to the table. Each of the customers take a pound coin. So each customer originally paid 10, was given back 1, therefore they paid £9 each - a total of £27. The waiter took £2 for himself - where did the other pound go?

In our first year of secondary school, our form room was below the boys toilets and a few of the boys thought it might be a good idea to flood it. :P They blocked all the sinks and toilets, turned all the taps on full... not sure what they did with the toilets but I'm thinking it wasn't pleasant. Water (hope it was anyway....) started dripping through the ceiling at lunchtime, there was a couple of square metres on the ceiling soaked and the ceiling was sagging quite a lot too. One of the guys even stood on a chair and licked it... Lovely.

As a race we never stop complaining but take little notice of the things that should bring about happiness. So one of the greatest causes of human 'misery' must be ignorance... I know how vague that is but I mean ignorance in the sense that we refuse to let things make us happy, if that makes sense. Often misery is a choice - not always, but often, certainly in our day-to-day lives. In my own experience being happy is a decision, not a destination.

Fiasco :P

Got it, love this one :P [hide=] [/hide]

Holy crap, the dancer finally worked! My god that's incredible.... how you can convince your mind to think it's seeing something like that. Wow! I can't imagine her going clockwise now though.

Damn that dancer's flipping annoying! Any tips? I've tried everything - covering up everything except her foot, her shadow, staring at it for minutes on end, trying to imagine her switching legs or one arm being in front, going in a arc, nothing's working!

Yeah I was gonna say, don't we kinda all want to get it now, recover, and have immunity to it, so we're better prepared when it's mutated and comes back in the winter?

Yes! Done that several times, I haven't taken it for about a year though, when I got a 5-ish I think.

There's been quite a few cases in London, most notably 9, I believe, confirmed cases at a school in Dulwich, and everyone who could have come into contact with the virus has been issued with Tamiflu and advised to stay at home, to reduce spread of the virus. I was wondering if it doesn't seem logical that we actually want people to contract swine flu now in England, while it's a mild disease and easily recovered from, and we know it'll kill practically no-one? (I know things are different in Mexico though). That way we'll be so much better prepared if and when it returns in six months time, and I've heard it'll be much more serious then. Can anyone shed some light on this?