mockney piers

Ooooh, Deus Ex 3 out in February. Do we gamers finally have something to be genuinely excited about?

I've an iPad. Hugeunots correct that it has many pitfalls, but it's convenient when I'm postin one handed while feeding the munchkin with the other hand. For me MACs are like BMWs. They're solid, pretty, very good, great warranty and expensive, plus other than forward stop and steer you don't have to worry about anything. A good PC is like a TVR, it's excellent but prone to breakdown and needs interest in how it works under the covers to keep it running smoothly, but it's more powerful and potentially not a bank breaker. Of course the other thing with PCs is that you can end with an overpriced rusty Micra if you dont know what youre doing or put together a bugatti Veyron yourself at cheaper than a MAC if you do.

And every time you say it I say that they have nothing to do with secularism, that they were not bad societies because of a lack of religion. It is simply a straw man, or do i mean red herring, or straw herring perhaps? All of the above used terror in the way Robespierre would have approved, to shape a just society by the breaking of the old order and to destroy its enemies. The problem that they always find is that of course rational people don't like terror and thus all society becomes the enemy of the revolution. This found it's logical conclusion in Pol Pot's year zero and the killing fields. It's not a secular vs religion issue, it's that principled revolutionaries don't live in the real world, but the murder they commit unfortunately does. Extremist philosophy of their ilk also has much more in common with the eschatological strands in most religions than it does with enlightenment principles, as i think I'm now tired of saying every time you bang this tiresome drum.

It can't be all for none reasoning can it?

Btw I'm a bit pissed, no point arguing tonight.

Err the King James Bible is an almost definitively Anglican masterpiece. Whoops. The CoE is able to adapt because post Henry VIII it was Protestant (albeit with huge doses of compromise). That means that there is a direct relationship between man and God, thus doctrine is not the be all and all catechismic diktat of Catholicism. This may be less certain but much more British. The current buoyancy of Catholicism in this country is mostly thanks to Africans, Poles and S Americans. Plus the Queen is a nominal head not a direct bridge (pont, pontiff, pope geddit) between scummer and Deity. And you didn't read what I wrote, that the saudis were rubber stamped*, however you look at it it was a secular decision with the nod of the real authorities, regardless of where the focus may or may not have been. *"we put them there for goodness sake, or at least formalised and recognized their supremacy in the struggle for power after the fall of the Ottomans"

That there was. It was more a beauracratic issue i suppose though it, as usual with things religimous, resulted in years of bloodshed. Swift springs to mind, big enders, little enders etc......

Brendan specifically said that the church and state were one and i was pedantically addressing that point, Saudis are purely secular rulers (we put them there for goodness sake, or at least formalised and recognized their supremacy in the struggle for power after the fall of the Ottomans) who colour their laws primarily by a very traditional Sunni morality. I guess you could say that much of our legal canon is deeply grounded in Christian morality. Regards views and behaviour, perhaps, though there are as usual a million other factors. I was simply pointing out that detractors can't have it both ways. On the one hand decry doctrine in opressing people, then when the church doesn't bend to pressure for say these of contraception, finds the churches insistence that Catholics simply obey, errr doctrine in terms of abstinence and fidelity, as somehow damaging. I can accept that that insistence is unrealistic, but then you can't say that doctrine is somehow governing behaviour, though of course i accept that it may influence, and i accept that it has vested interest in keeping education heavily biased towards Christian teaching. I AM saying that education is the key to informed behavioural choices full stop. Incidentally i found most amusing that a recent historical time chart published by El Mundo a couple of years back, fascinating it was, about 8ft long and you could see the relative rise and fall of empires and so on, had a curious start at 4000bc with Adam and Eve expelled from the garden of Eden. just because even the newspaper published it doesn't mean i know a single catholic there who believes it litterally. Even the roman and anglican churches believe Genesis to be allegorical and accept evolution and big bang theory. You don't get to be 1700 odd years old without bending in prevailing winds you know.

"Holy Roman Empire say or about modern Islamic countries where the state and the church are one" Just to be reallllly pedantic, I think the only islamic country that falls into that category is Iran, and even that is having an an age old tussle for supremacy between religious and secular power, weirdly enough in the guise of a so-called champion of religion there, the nutter Ahmedinajad. And I think you may be confusing the Holy Roman Empire with the Roman Empire, very different things. ------------------------ Back to the point I totally agree about why on earth the Church should change its doctrine in the face of secular pressure. Alot of the church doctrine may be pretty stupid, but you cant say the church hasnt given it quite a bit of thought, and to overturn hundreds of years of theology because of namby pamby liberalism or the emergence of STDs and medical opinion about stopping the spread thereof when actually they do have a point, a stubborn and naive point but one nonetheless that actually not shagging before marriage and committing adultery is a pretty good recipe for staying AIDS free (obviously I'm briefly being devilishly advocational) is neither here nor there. It's not that people are kept down by the church, though it is obviously in no rush to give its flock in third world countries a more complete picture about sex eduvcation say, buts that they are kept down by poverty and ignorance that their governments should be providing for, governments often kept down by corruption and by unfair trade systems. I dont know how often I can say I'm no fan of the church, but attacking it is tilting at bloody windmills. Don't protest the pope, write to your MP and get our government to give more to overseas development (shutting the CDC down for starters might be wise). When nation building, build the damn nation, stop dropping bombs on it. Buy fairtrade and encourage others to do so, and lobby overseas governments to invest fully in education, sell your SUV, dont take cocaine, dont buy ?1 clothes etc etc etc . If you REALLY care, join charitable NGOs and go out and help, pick up an AK47 and overthrow a corrupt oppressive government if thats your thing (impetuous vrouw). But whatever else you do DO NOT, join a fecking facebook group going 'Boo the Pope, he's bad m'kaaaay'

I would have thought "supermarket isles" nicely describes most towns in London's commuter belt. Much as i think Pearson is jrussel in disguise, there is a serious truth in that they are a pest that piss and shit all over our estate where young children play, and are a health hazard that no one seems in any great rush to do anything about. Perhaps there's a gap in the market for a legal, humane(ish) non toxic product for doing away with the blighters, they're not even cute any more, mangy 'orrible things. Any inventors out there with a good idea?

Amen to that Rosie

Connect 4. Get they're funky new 3D one if you're feeling all 21st cemtury

Hmm just read through the thread and couldn't help but notice my comment "EMP generator down the lift?" Are the scriptwriters reading this?

She's mine I tell you....MINE!!!!!!!

Hurrah, the entertaining nonsense returns tonight, plus new series of Inbetweeners straight after. Mondays ain't so bad after all!!

A classic with an unnecessary and terrible remake starring Bruce Willis; you'd have thought he'd learn from Last Man Standing. Ho hum. I saw Role Models on the plane. One of those films that's somehow better than it promises to be, like Meet the Fockers.

Was that an ironic bandwagon link PR? And do you know, i think that cardinal had a point. I think there has been something of a more aggressive, one might even say dogmatic, form of atheism in this country. It's yet another bad habit we seem to getting osmotically from across the pond. I've always been proud that this country is secular in a mostly just not giving a shit manner rather than in an attempt to undermine others' religions. I kind of understand why the latter in the states where evangelist churches are organised politically, aggressive and really do affect education, debate, scientific research and have powerful allies in the legislatures and executive offices at state and federal level. We don't have the need for this here, where the worst that happens is that that there is state funding of faith schools (nowt wrong with faith schools, just the public funding in my opinion, you want something special, pay for it). But the likes of Dawkins and a misinformed debate about sharia law in this country among other things have contributed to an uglier atmosphere and a lessening of tolerance if you ask me. We are still leagues away from being awful, but it's a trend i would love to see reversed in what is a wonderfully tolerant and genuinely multicultural (culture in the widest sense of the word) country, one we should all be proud of, and i hope these pathetic facebook/website protest bandwagons are reflective of the fact that internet memes are ridiculously virulent whilst being almost entirely benign (ie honestly think people click once and never look again, join a Facebook group and that's the last thought they give to it) rather than the thin end of the wedge in a fundamental (pun intended) shift in our society. And yes I'm an atheist but think Dawkins is both interesting and annoying and juuust a little bit irrelevant. Edited to say that's what I like Jah, Brits don't get high and mighty and snotty, if we don't like something we take the piss, nice one! Edited one time one time(s). Last edit was today, 12:23am by Mockney Piers.

excellent we're rocking again. The wonderful Andrew Bird

That may be pushing it a bit far, clearly you have him confused with Prince Philip

and a final one just for Mick Mac, innocence in art, corruption in the mind of the beholder ;-)

genius advertising with humour a little too close to home for comfort

I must say I'm enjoying fail blog

Normans 1066, not the French, they'd only just nicked Normandy (Neustria?) off the French 100 years before they then nicked England, Sicily, bits in the middle east, troublesome lot. We invaded France countless times however, perhaps it's they that need the hedging? I think the Germans have learnt their lesson. Amazing how total destruction, slaughter and rape of your country makes you less inclined to repeat those mistakes. They're a lovely bunch now as many people have attested to on the people inlike thread, I like them too as it goes. Great place to holiday. If England were really uncomfortable then how comes UKIP do sooooooooo badly?

Of course it is. Very poorly misjudged by the artist, but his heart was doubtless in the right place.

I'm guessing it'll probably be removed, but for the record it's in Los Angeles. It actually features in a scene in Six Feet Under as it happens, and the director's commentary said they spotted it during filming a scene there.