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I feel sorry for the finance kids. (not.)

Read the Governor's statement: http://www.rba.gov.au/MediaReleases/2008/mr_08_14.html

Both leaders have a good chance of dying in office for obvious reasons, so it's fairly important that the vice prez nominees are ready to lead. I can't say that I approve of Palin's selection. It's simply irresponsible and disgustingly cynical.

I think there's no real moral/ethical/consequential argument against it. Rather, it's generally accepted as to be in 'bad taste', in the same way that sex between a slim and extremely obese person, between a young and old person, BDSM etc. are to varying degrees regarded as 'just wrong'...

This does not apply to animals. Not that I approve of bestiality, mind you.

Putin is the man. I think it's great that he's resurrected Russia's national pride. Also Russia gained significantly at the expense of the US and NATO through this chapter. Naive Georgia was of course the biggest loser. From now on, Russian sponsored militia forces can harass Georgia at will...

I thought all this extra stuff would be about Matthew Mitcham.

This part of the ceremony reminded me of the Hong Kong handover, except it was the Chinese who handed the flag over to the Brits. Maybe it's just coz this clown has the same hair colour as Chris Patten.

The fact that humans are "created" is only meaningful in regards to whether they are "created" for a particular purpose, to particular ends. Atheists regard humans as "creations" of evolution. Thus there is no implicit meaning therein beyond their existence. If the theist claims that A) humans...

What's the reason for equating the question of existence/essence of a being with that of "God"?

oh dear.. =/ i'm lost for words

Yes I remember that in primary school and high school "gay" was a synonym for stupid. However those who "came out" in my school (I won't mention name(s) of course) were not discriminated against but rather applauded for their bravery. The downside is that this encouraged them to define their...

I'm in the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" camp. Imo a republic declaration is something which a nation earns through historical struggle. There's no point in turning our backs on tradition merely for the sake of it. I feel that if it happens without a real catalyst or a struggle, and not just...

In my opinion it's far better that the religions are kept in check by the secular influence of the government than when things are the other way around.

I'm not sure what the real distinction is between the "higher level" and the "lower level". Obviously one can pass the value judgment that human consciousness is more than the physical. But it doesn't matter if it is more or less than something, it only matters that it is. Its formation depends...

I feel that it's easier, from the logical perspective, to refer to the physical as the point of reference. Comparisons between physical objects rely on reference yardsticks. For instance, an apple is larger than a grain of sand, but a grain of stand is harder than an apple. Likewise, a mountain...

I think I see your point. The important thing is that the conscious or human truth has every element that the physical truth has. Perhaps its formulation depends on the particular properties of a conscious living being, but it still has to exist in some physical form.

Well let's suppose that I believe it to be true (in the colloquial sense) that a certain tree in the forest fell and you believe it to be true that the tree is still standing, and let's then suppose that you are correct in the sense that the tree actually is still standing, what then is the...

But the real purpose of the notion of God is to alleviate the real human tragedy, and the real human tragedy is the fact that every human being can only access a part of the whole truth, and not the whole truth itself. The purpose of the God delusion lies in the idea that he or she is...

I think it is detrimental to see god as a reference point of "truth". In the technical sense, truth exists, truth is everything that exists and everything that exists is true. But that is not how truth is normally interpreted. It's normally interpreted in an exclusive and divisive manner. A...