213374U

I guess the ability to quote multiple posts in a single reply is also a measure of intelligence. "

"Also, it's a proven fact that Catholics have a substantially smaller cranium, which obviously leads to the conclusion that they are an inferior race."

Well, the key here is that your opinion is yours. You may have been more or less influenced by the media, political currents, or whatever, but you are supposedly allowed a certain degree of critical thought. Religion (organized religion, that is) on the other hand, does not regard critical thought very highly. People are told to accept certain things, which depend on which religion we are talking about, just because they are dogmas. You don't dissect a dogma and subject it to critical analysis, because it has been given to you by God (or the Pope with his Holy Infallibility) and thus, it's fundamentally right. True faith is like giving the Pope (or whoever is in charge) admin privileges to your mind. That is the risk. Of course, not everyone allows religion to dictate their every action, fortunately.

Well, at best, religion is based on an indemonstrable premise. It is, obviously, a matter of choice, a matter of belief or faith, if you will. Therefore they may or may not be valid for everyone. If anyone refuses to accept the premise of religion, the whole moral system crumbles. However, philosophical theories that deal with moral issues, specifically those that address the "moral minimums" are somewhat solider in that they stem from formal reasoning. It's not so easy to dismiss them, unless you want to assume a relativist stance. We could do that, and I reckon it's a valid approach, but it's not a very efficient or fruitful one, as I'm sure you will agree.

Yeah, I know what you mean. After all, it's fashionable to be a hater. And if you hate religion, you are usually regarded as "cool", even if you don't have the slightest idea why you hate it. I see a lot of people like that, and I can only feel pity for them, for they are just a different brand of fanatics. More civilized, perhaps, but fanatics anyway. And I don't give a flying f*ck if I sound arrogant. ) You tell that to the millions of Polish that flooded Rome for a last goodbye to the late John Paul II. Or to the North American christian fanatics that are against any kind of abortion, euthanasia, gay marriage, etc. Or to the palestinian kamikazes. Yeah, religion is nothing today. And who said anything about banning religion? Tobacco kills arguably many more people yearly, and I don't think it should be banned. Don't place words in my mouth.

No, it isn't. Religion is something you choose, while morality is something that, in the unlikely case that you lack it, is imposed on you by law. Perhaps in the past it was religion that inspired some philosophers and pointed them in the right direction regarding moral issues, but today, organized religion is nothing but a tool for control of the masses, and an obstacle in the way of social progress. At the very least, I think we can all agree that organized religion does more harm than good.

That's pretty much it. In our societies first we became "enlightened", and then we began experimenting with democratic formulas that stripped the Church, nobility and monarchy of their power. I don't know if doing it the other way around as they are doing it in Iraq will guarantee their maturing as a society. I hope it does, but only time will tell.

DUDE. Where is Postal? "

Yeah, only SW is not sci-fi.

Um, no. Sunni arabs and Kurds make up only for about 30 or 40 percent of the Iraqi population. The rest are Shiites.

Eh, IIRC, the participation on the Iraqi election was ~60%. Not bad considering the risk that voting involved and the fact that the elections were sponsored by an occupying power. Check the figures on the referendums for the European Constitution in some places for comparison. And sorry, but there is no excuse for terrorism. Much less this terrorism. It is believed that most of the terrorist attacks are planned and executed by sunni groups that, having lost their preeminent position as the dominant ethnia (Saddam himself was sunni and greatly oppressed the other groups), are just trying to cause unstability. It really has nothing to do with the democratic process.

Have you guys tried The Chronicles of Riddick? I don't know if the game had an engine specifically designed for it, but it looks pretty similar to D3, only it runs much more smoothly. It's no wonder since it's supposed to be an Xbox game. Any thoughts?

I hope you don't regret it... I know I did.

No, the theme is exclusive to those two episodes, and yes, it's much better than the regular one. The intro sequence is one of the great points of those episodes. The TOS sound effects suck IMO, but that's just me. I can't stand TOS. Something I don't understand is why the hairstyles are better in the mirror universe. T'pol and Hoshi's are an example, but most are changed for the better. And those are some sexy female starfleet member suits.

omg wtf lol

You are obviously not 1337 enough. You n00b!

ph33r my 1337 5k!11z!

I wish you would stop merrily spreading that image.

Funny that the "SW nerds" option has only got one vote. What a delightfully unbiased poll.

I don't think I could do that with any of the chicks I would want to score with. I mean, stay home playing D&D instead of going out for some drinks and slutty-dancing? Yeah right! Not that I don't like staying home for a RP'ing night, mind you...

I find HP fans the most tragic. Whenever I see a grown up person reading one of those books I can't help it but feel ashamed for them. I mean, if you are going to read, make it worthwhile dammit! At least you don't see people reading klingon dictionaries or hardcore hentai in the bus. That's left for the privacy of their dark, damp basements. And I think I would hang myself if while talking with a hot chick, she brought up how cool the last HP book is.

Supposedly, the best feature of the Source engine was the advanced physics. Those are far better than in any other game I've played.

I guess it's the same as with "emperor" and "emporer".

Isn't Mephistopheles just another name for Satan in the old christian tradition?