DJKillaQueen

So, of your list, education .....And I think the UK is not too far off getting that right. How can that be true when we have growing levels of illiteracy and innumeracy? (not to mention the 25% unemployment rate amongst 16-24 year olds. And while we still have a public school system which by and large serves to maintain the privileges of the establishment. And whilst 90% of land is still owned by the 5% 'landed gentry' and their descendents, a privilege protected over centuries to keep the landed gentry wealthy without having to do sod all to earn it. Inequality in the UK isn't just about the gap between rich and poor, the gaps in wages and so on. It is also about the establishment and the Monarchy and everything that is at the core of the British class system.

LM the earth's atmosphere is a greenhouse atmosphere and always has been. We breath in Oxygen and breathe out CO2, plants abosorb it and release oxygen and so on. The issue is the over prduction of CO2 above and beyond the normal balance of life on the planet and in that regard we are mostly responsible.

Every high street justs looks the same now.....bland bland bland.

Ha ha.....although I didn't allude to what might replace it, only that it's the only act that would change anything in any kind of radical way....albiet not necessarily for the better.

We had floodlights added to where I live a few years ago and they were so bright that I'm sure we could be seen from space. Jokes about 'Close Encounters' were running for weeks! However a word with the council and they were dimmed to a more reasonable level and the angles adjusted to avoid shining into people windows......contact them and see what they can do.

should say that I'm currwently as pissed as a newt (or frog)... That was me yesterday.....spending today sobering up!

In other words what makes us human is the ability to do things such as watching the wildlife, drawing insights and parallels, and using these to inform our decisions about the future on both a moral plane and a physical one. I can kind of agree that 'what we are able to do'....rather than 'how we do it' or 'what we do' defines hemanity. But then again I also think what we do matters too. We often describe certain acts as inhumane - murder, torture, genocide. The fact is that however we describe these things, humans plan and DO them and in large numbers. Is this also a definition of humanity? Something that sets us aside from animals? Back to PRs point. We ARE trapped by the 'system'. It would take revolution to change that, nothing less. People are trapped by poverty, ideology, circumstance.....those things are real and make the quality of life for far too many very miserable and poor and they in turn can do NOTHING about it. I personally see that as a form of state organised mental torture. It's not premeditated (in most cases) but nor is anything radical done to change it. The system is designed to protect the privileges of those that 'own' or govern it first and the rest then follows. And that might well be descibed as a normal human trait were it not for examples of civilisations and communities historically, that have lived sucessfully within far more fair and healthier systems.

Yeah but those children are growing up in an educated country and where girls are educated they generally have less children. I remember the same doomsdays projections being made 20 years ago and they haven't materialised. In the sixties there were projections claiming we'd be 75 million by 2000 and offering same old tired arguments on immigration. In 1960 popoulation was around 52.2 million. So it has grown by just 10 million in the last 50 years. And there's no reason to expect accelerated growth over the next 50 years. What becomes an issue is whether we keep up with infrastructure and resources. I have no qualms about taking land for new towns. After all how did 5% of the population end up owning all the land in the first place? They certainly didn't earn it. Worldwide, population increase is definitely an issue. If we want to control it, we need to educate people and give them other options in life beyond producing babies. That's not going to happen to a great enough measure of course and in some parts of the world we are heading for disaster unless some other method of forcing population change happens. It's worth also mentioning that in China, where there is a law limiting children, people do regularly have more than one child. As a result many children are abandoned, usually girls, ending up in orphanages with little hope of ever being homed.

With the internet and global media (of which the US is the biggest producer) I can't see how the march of English can be stopped. It is already the second language of half the world and with that there's little incentive for native English speakers to need to learn another language.

Very informative post Mac (tu) The Somalian example is most disturbing and it touches on something else that is reported from time to time - 'the attitude to rape' in some Islamic countries. There's one story I vaguely remember (but can't recall the exact details) where a woman was raped by a taxi driver in Iran and the police were anything but helpful. She was ultimately blamed and shamed for something that was never her fault. I think it was part of a BBC documentary on that subject. I do remember the high profile case of the sentencing of two homosexuals to death in Nigeria. They were both eventually released from prison as you rightly say. But I think the intention is clear. Get out of Nigeria if you are a homosexual. In Islamic scripture though, FOUR witnesses are required to a homosexual act before a prosecution can happen so you are quite right in saying that a heavy burden of proof is required according to the writings of Islam on many issues. But as we all know, different groups preach different interpretations and do as they please irregardless of what the text really says. In Afghanistan, the problem remains that in the mountains of the North, mountains that continue accross Northern Pakistan, you have tribes that have never been part of the evolving culture in the rest of those countries. They are poorly educated and know no other way of life beyond fighting - usually each other or as you rightly say, post Taliban, a common enemy. The collective term for these tribes is 'pushtan' and they haven't changed in any respect in centuries. Pakistan have always had problems with these communites. They will never be tamed, not by the US or the new governemnt in Afghanistan. And the word Taliban is a term that descibes an idealogy, rather than a group. So anyone who believes in taliban ideology is Taliban, where ever they live. I think this is also something the US hasn't quite understood. The supply of rebel fighters will be never ending and a continuous challenge for whomever governs Afghanistan in the future.

LOL...might go for a bit of Royal Game if they can put that on the menu ;-)>:D

Grips do wear out if they are made of rubber becuase some rubber corrodes after a certain number of years. And they are easily replaced.

I never did get the point of beating up phone boxes but can't remember a time when it didn't happen.....that and urinating in them. Yes Rosie...I seem to always mispell Hugenot...I wouldn't mind but that U key isn't near to the others so have no idea why I do it. Thinks to self 'must try harder in future'.

Some would say that what makes us human is our self awareness. But it seems some animals have this too so it's not a true measure. Of course the obviuos stuff is the complexity of our brains and the many things it enables to in a far more complex and controlled way than animals but I think we are often more animal like in our behaviour than we like to admit. I think what makes us human is our ability to drive ourselves insane, by trapping most of us in wasteful lives where we are judged and crushed by meaningless stuff and taxed to death. 'Work or die' being a kind of ethic over which we have little choice. There was a time when we could 'hunt/ fish/ farm or die' and only take what we needed from the land to live. Instead we have become a mad and inefficient species on whom all that brain power has become our downfall. So for me what makes us human is our failure to use what we have wisely. The irony being, the more evolved we become, the dumber we become.

it was you who suggested making them from "homosexuals and Africans" and that is just down right sick, you should pratice what you preach. I did NOT suggest that all...I made an analogy to illustrate a point. So don't put words into a context I didn't write them in. Yes I did not get the Cher song reference but I'm sure I'm not the only one. mentioned the Nazis has automatically lost whatever argument was in progress But I didn't mention them...YOU DID....lol....I was inferring more recent genocide actually...not the Nazis at all.

Autotune has been around since the 60's, it's a myth it's a recent thing only used for modern artists. The charts has always been 80% rubbish....one hit wonders and so on. That's true of the 70s 80s 90s...take your pick. Music has always been a business. The interesting thing though, is because of the downward pressure on the revenue from album sales....bands/ artists are now being forced to tour rather than relying on media. It's an interesting comparison to make to the 50s and 60s where touring was a massive part of being successful and indeed it has always been the case that in America, if you don't tour, you don't sell music (as Oasis, Abba, and various other very sucessful acts found out). There's music you buy to dance around to in your bedroom (and that's what teens have always wanted) and there are artists you would pay to see live. Trust me the live artists are the one's that make the big money so the balance is right anyway.

But st&nly there are thousands of artists who have made good livings and are not as good as Whitney or Beyonce and so on. And many of them are considered classic artists/ perfomers now. In fact record companies wouldn't have product enough to sell if they sat waiting for the next Whitney or Beyonce only. Leona is at the very beginning of her career. Alex Burke too (and anyone that saw her duet with Beyonce would agree she could go places). Some of these kids ARE very talented and whilst I'd agree that Simon COwell isn't the best music manager (blatently obvious from the quality of JLS's first album - who Simon does not manage) who says what will happen in the futre? After all Kylie Minogue was rubbish under Stock/ Aitkin and Waterman. She's now a well deserved international superstar, after finding the right management team and song writers. Madonna is another example of an artist that has grown with experience. Classic 'pop' is just as valid as Rock, Indie, Jazz, Opera and every other genre of music. And that's what the Xfactor looks for - 'pop' stars.

eh? lol...... I don't have any postive experiences of the upper classes either but wouldn't ever suggest they should be turned into pies because of it........... Prejudice is prejudice wherever it exists and yes tarring a whole group of people with the same brush is I'm afraid prejudice. What if you'd written homosexuals instead of gypsies, or Africans instead of tramps......? Would you expect to be criticised? But gypsies are somehow ok are they, because YOU have nothing positve to say about them? There's nothing funny about your comment if you happen to be a gypsy I'm afraid. And we should be reminded of the Nazi's...because what they ended up doing started with...well prejudice. The leap from dislike of a group to wanting them all dead isn't as great a leap as we think given what has happened in recent history, Yugoslavia, Rhwanda, Somalia....... Sometimes we have to take responsibility for the things we write. You compared gyspies to vermin. That is wrong.

St&nley...did Elvis write his own songs? No Did Sinatra write his own songs? No So why does any winner of X Factor have to, to get your respect. Leona Lewis has sold millions of albums worldwide and IS (whether you like her music or not) a wordwide star. Alexandra Burke is set to follow. Personally I think anything that gives opportunity is a good thing. Yes Cowel has made a fortune from it and good for him. The show only exists because of the millions of people that DO watch it.....so it must be doing something right. p.s Jedward were irritating, not amusing, and denied a place to someone who really was talented. It's a singing talent contest not a comedy contest.

Mt Hugenot is absolutely right (and welcome back). Jrussel is just a tease (and not very bright one at that).....why on earth refer to a thread on another forum and then not say where it is so we can go and see. WIND UP OF THE WEEK I say......

The main problem with indicators currently on the market are that the lights are nor far enough apart and there are no front indicators...so pretty useless really. Wiring could be put inside the frame if holes were drilled for it. On a motorbike, indicators and lights are placed to be very noticable. It is imposible to do the same thing on a bicycle because there's so little of it....i.e. just a fame and wheels. And on racing handlebars where would you put indicators? Dynamos are no good as they don't work unless you pedal (so no good at junctions) and their luminance depends on how fast you are pedalling too. I personally hates dynamoes because they add friction to the whhel and make the cycling harder. My idea would be to invent flashing gloves and mitts. With maybe a switch in the forefinger. Then at night, the hand signal would flash. I currently have gloves though with reflective stipes that will light up in any car headlight.

I guess it must be like being in a room with no windows on days like that.

It's a good question though but the answer probably lies in that fitting indicators requires wiring and relay switches etc which all have to be powered.

So gypsies are vermin? And by tramp I guess you mean homeless person of poor attire? Hmmm don't have to go too far back in history to see a country compare certain groups of people to vermin......

The OPost doesn't actually mention vegetarianism but it doesn't say either that as long as animals are humanely slaughtered that's ok. The emotive language suggests that the OP wants more than just the end of inhumane methods of slaughter but the subsequent post from the OP does indeed clarify that the intention of the thread is to discuss cruel methods of meat and fish production and not to encourage a debate of carnivore vs vegetarian. So let's respect that. I do think the OP is correct in saying that there are many methods of food production that consumers are unaware of and given that the only way to force producers to change production methods is to stop buying what they produce then there's a debate to had. However so much of our meat and fish are produced so as to give us the cheapest prices possible. How do we ever change that?