well this is my karma post

Ah.. come move to Cambridge, it's urban but doesn't feel like it
Everyone uses bicycles (cause parking is so damn expensive), there's tons of students (duh) and lots of them are hippies. Sure, there's the posh twats studying Business at King's or some such crap, but they're easily avoided.
Best of all - no chavs! Whatsoever!

 

I really like Cambridge. In fact I like it a lot. I am trying to go there on the train a bit more now, especially since I can get away with a child's fare still. I would like to move there, but first will hopefully be Southampton Uni!

 

Cambridge is just about the best city to live in in Britain.. but then again the other cities I've experienced are Lincoln, Leicester, Nottingham and Birmingham, so maybe it's just the best SO FAR...
I hope I can find a proper house/flat here when my degree's done.. it rocks.

 

Hmm, this thread's been a little quiet these last few days, let's reinvigorate it!
- Which candidate do you want to win the US elections? (and yes, wishing herpes on the whole lot IS an option)
- Which alternative energy method do you think offers the best energy output per pound invested?
- How many roads must a man walk down before you call him a man?
- Who shot JFK?

 

Hmm, this thread's been a little quiet these last few days, let's reinvigorate it!
- Which candidate do you want to win the US elections? (and yes, wishing herpes on the whole lot IS an option)
Ok, I would vote for herpes, but I'm a loving person, so it has to be the bloke who could be running independant, I can't remember his name, but I read about him in the paper. I'm am very definitely left wing.
- Which alternative energy method do you think offers the best energy output per pound invested?
I honestly think wave power, its pretty simple to ehenerate and we always have waves and tides. It works with the creation of a vacuum, turning a turbine, it needs only a small ebb.
- How many roads must a man walk down before you call him a man?
As many roads as it takes to find himself
- Who shot JFK?
Society. Society kills everyone. Just takes the powerful ones first.

 

Personally, I think bruce (I think) Kucinic is a good candidate. I WAS gunning for Ron Paul, until I found out about his anti-abortion stance.

On a related note, what do you think of abortion? Should it be allowed under all circumstances, with restrictions attached (and which), or under no circumstances at all?
(One could redefine that question as "at what point does a person become a person?")

 

Sounds a lot like an ethics exam question!! I am pretty torn on the abortion question, being an ex-Christian, I still have a lot of overhang from the beliefs I used to have, especially that life becomes life as soon as it is conceived. Being vegetarian and fairly pacifistic (is that a word?), I do not like killing, but abortion is a bit different. I believe in a woman's right to choose her way of life, and I hope I never put myself in the situation where I really need to think about it. The last 16 1/2 years have certainly put that much into perspective. But it's quite difficult to decide whether I believe in it or not. If I was raped, I would take the morning after pill, because at that point you do not know if you are pregnant or not, so there is a possibility that you did not kill anything. I do believe, though, that abortions should only be granted in very, very specific circumstances.

 

Which ones?
(Personally I support it in any situation, but this thread isn't about me).

 

Rape, very, very young pregnancy (ie 11-14), if a person is mentally unable to carry a child. Really I feel that other options should be explored before going down this route. Although it is not ideal that a 15 year old gets pregnant, it's there own fault and their responsibility, they can either have a crap time rasing the child or go through the hell of a termination.

 

How about if a mother is financially unable to raise a child? E.g. women in poor countries in Africa, homless women, etc. What if the mother has AIDS or some other prenatally-transmitted disease? What about in cases of known genetic disease (e.g. two parents with recessive haemophiliac trait, since there is a 100% chance the baby will be haemophiliac)?
What if ultrasound scans indicate the baby would be born with an abnormality that would mean a short and painful life?

I'm not attacking here, just curious.

 

Oh, and on a not-very-related topic, you said "ex-christian". Do you feel drawn to another religion/belief system? Or are you still at the stage of considering your options?

 

Considering my options really, It was only recently I lost faith in Christianity, but I am still far from a darwinist. I'm looking into more alternative explanations before drawing my own conclusions!

 

Darwinist doesn't mean anti-religionist
A lot of Christians and other religious folk support the theory of evolution - after all, Darwin was a Christian! A fact which a lot of the religious right Creationists would like to ignore or don't know. Darwin believed he was coming closer to God by trying to figure out His creation.
Don't let Richard Dawkins et al lead you to believe that all atheists are militant.
Technically speaking I'm an atheist (Buddhist) but I believe very strongly in "live and let live".

 

I believe that everyone should just believe what they want to believe and be done with it. Funnily nough me and my mate Bex, the evangelist, were talking about Richard Dawkins today. We had different reasons for not reading the God delusion hers was becuse she didn't want to lose her faith, mine was because he is very forceful in what he says. I believe that evolution exists, but something must have kicked it off. I'm a great believer in the power of nature.

 

Incidentally I'd recommend you did read Dawkins, if not 'The God Delusion' then one of his other seminal books on the beauty of a scientific outlook such as "Unweaving the Rainbow". Accusations of "militancy" usually come from those who haven't actually read the book, and I think you'd be hard pressed to find in it examples of the belligerence and arrogance of which he is so often accused by the kinds of commentators who don't actually engage with the ideas being put forward but prefer ad hominem attacks. He is in fact a polite and incredibly humorous author putting forward a nuanced set of ideas in a subtle and very readable way. TGD is actually one of the books that will make you cleverer whether you agree with all of it or not...

Yes, as you may be able to tell, RD is a hero of mine:tongue:

 

I may end up reading one, just to give me some quotes for my RE coursework. When I chose 'Religion and the environment' as my topic, I didn't realise I would have to burble on about stewardship for a thousand words! I need something fresh and interesting. I'm going to put views of buddhists, sikhs, muslims, pagans and hindus in to it, not just write about atheists!

 

Perhaps you could talk about God's habit of causing floods and raining down fire and brimstone:tongue: Those aren't particularly environmentally friendly practices!

I know I should be asking questions rather than making facetious comments, so...
What's your favourite film?
What would you do if you found £20 lying in the street?
How do you think you would vote at the next election (assuming you could)?

 

What's your favourite film?
It's mad, but I tok media studies and yet I've only been to the cinema 6 times! My favourite film is probably Shrek
What would you do if you found £20 lying in the street?
Check noone visibly dropped it and pick it up. If it was a £50 note, t'would be different.
How do you think you would vote at the next election (assuming you could)?
If I was born 2 months earlier, I would be able to vote in the general. As it happens, I have to wait til I'm nearly 19. As it happens, I plan to vote green, just cos I can't abide any of the others. I know that in the European elections they do it all by percentage, so If only 2% of votes were green, 2 candidates would theoretically stand on the parliament.

 

For Buddhist perspectives on the environment, you could mention the fact that bikkhus (monks) aren't allowed to dig the ground because it's seen as alive.. in effect, you're killing the soil, and any worms that are in your way. The first precept ("I undertake the precept of never taking life" is how it's often phrased) pretty much sums up the Buddhist attitude to the environment.
Hmm, questions..
Jerry Garcia or Bob Dylan?
Do you think euthanasia should be allowed? Under what circumstances?

 

Jerry Garcia or Bob Dylan?
Cor, talk about a tough one! Jerry Garcia cos he like, created the dead. But then again Bob Dylan for just being awesome... I just don't know!
Do you think euthanasia should be allowed? Under what circumstances?
Hmmm, I think the old Australian method should be applied to this. You sat at a computer and answered questions. If it turned out you were 'allowed to die', it would administer the lethal injection or dispense tablets. Somehow that just seems a fair way of doing it. Circumstances... Terminal illness. If I was so ill that I could not have the quality of life I needed, I would happily get off the mortal coil. I believe in quality, not quantity of life, in that respect.