NJS

That's fair enough. But how do you define the bolded? If it's stuff like what The Fish is talking about, well, I'm a schoolteacher myself and rest assured I want religion to have no part in schools or government. Although he's failed miserably on pandering less to the religous lobby since he got in, there was a clip of a speech Obama gave when he was only a potential candidate where he stated that he saw secular politics as one in which if you took a position on abortion say you had to give non-religous reasons for your stance rather tha just "because I'm a catholic". There's nothing wrong with people being "driven" by a faith to do good but I think they shouldn't nail their colours to a faith mast as such.

I'm against religious identity as a general concept but we should use next years (last) census to get all the daft ones in there just for a laugh.

Wimp that I was, I continued going to church for about 2 years after I'd decided I didn't believe because I didn't want to hurt my Mam - when I did tell her she told me I was an idiot and was more upset I'd done that than that I didn't believe.

At the time I decided to stop going it was more down to the existence of God in relation to the universe that influenced me rather than the church's dogma or moral hypocrisy - my views on that developed later as I got older. The identity one is a strange one - a few times people have assumed things because of my supposed religion and it does bug me. However I think that's all in the past since my Mam passed away - I loved her to bits and she accepted my Atheism with grace but at the same time she made reference to me being a "Catholic Atheist" along the lines of the classic Irish joke. I do still smile to myself when I decide "off the cuff" to have fish on a friday though.

Classic hypocrisy (no offence meant) - confirmation is supposed to be a choice to confirm what you couldn't at baptism and make a promise for life - one of my arguments is that I was confirmed when I was eight and was given no choice whatsoever. At the very least confirmation should only be allowed at 16+

1 and 3 sometimes comes in one package - those brought up to believe and have a vague belief but still don't think about it. These are probably the ones I find the most frustating - if people have a positive, considered belief I respect that on those terms even if I do think its nonsense.

Once you go one millimetere beyond "that Jesus bloke talked a bit of sense about being nice to each other" then the rest only makes sense in complete relation to the OT. Even if Noah's ark is taken as just a story, it still describes a God who destroyed nearly all life on the planet because he got a bit upset - and that's the Christian God.

Our species evolved so called christian values 10s of thousand of years before anyone set foot anywhere near Israel. Anyone who doesn't realise that is deluded imo.

I'm guessing the conviction rate for priests is the same as that for Met officers. "Accidental homicide" my arse. As for the question there is still an infintisemal chance that there might have been a creator of the universe though I doubt it - man made Gods on the other hand are 100% bollocks.

I said last year that having this clown as our main striker meant the death of hope and despite Carroll's emeregnce I see no reason to change that view - we will be shit until we stop relying on absolute tools like this bloke.

I've been harsh on them but at the same time I completely accept that view - I don't even think despite it being called a "coalition" that they have that much say in overall direction.

But everything has changed since Obama came in - that's the official line.

Hate to say it Ant but you've done a Kevin there

I couldn't get past the "trendy" camera stuff - sorry (not really). Of course finding out it ended with a load of religious claptrap made me not regret it in hindsight.

Again discounting that the cuts will affect the private sector as well. Fuckwit.

In Porno by Irvine Welsh, the main characters raid a load of bank accounts in Glasgow by getting an insider at the bank and "guessing" that loads of people would have 1690 for their PIN which works. Thought it was canny satire. Thanks, that saves me reading it now That's just a sub-plot of how they fund the main story though - and its one of his best (along with Glue imo).

In Porno by Irvine Welsh, the main characters raid a load of bank accounts in Glasgow by getting an insider at the bank and "guessing" that loads of people would have 1690 for their PIN which works. Thought it was canny satire.

You will qualify if you can show that: * you are a Commonwealth citizen * you are aged 17 or over * you have a grandparent who was born in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man (see note below) * you have a grandparent who was born in what is now the Republic of Ireland before 31 March 1922 (see note below) * you are able to work and intend to do so in the UK, and * you can support yourself and any dependants without needing any help from public funds. As it happens I had, but what a bollocks law. They spent 30 years bombing us, what have they got to do with us and our immigration laws, disgraceful. Before that date Ireland was effectively part of the UK. (And without wanting to be called a terrorist sympathasier, that 30 years has to be considered within a context of 400 years of typically British rule).

Crime - the only thing Scousers actually know anything about.

Another vote for Burtree her. I know there are some diabolical places which market themselves as holiday destinations but Birtley?

Obviously with sympathy to MF.... I'd never thought of Fist's "let him out to suffer" angle and think it makes a kind of sense - I'd guess after 20 years inside that life does become "easy" to an extent and the change of release is another phase in the price if it does lead to misery - and I'd say Venables lends weight to that argument.

I know its a bit different in the squad number era and we've been lucky going back as far as Quinn but prior to that we had some absolute shite wearing the number 9 so Carroll shouldn't be scared really.

I love the way "The Beatles" is supposed to somehow be the ultimate trump card - not everybody liked the cunts.

Isn't that just treating the symptoms and not the underlying cause though? I know that's a legitimate strategy in medicine (see cold treatments) but I wonder whether its less appropriate for mental problems.

I see the addition of Cole to Torres and Gerrard as the beginning of a planetary alignment of cheats. A couple more of that magnitude along with the red shirt factor and Liverpool's history and I think an apocalypse in imminent.