Baht Simpson

Likely a former bank clerk or official. Media like to call them bankers. It's a misnomer that anyone working in banking is rolling in money.

Science doesn't concern itself with the spiritual, just the natural world. I think you might be thinking of the so-called New Atheists who actively attempt to persuade people that they know gods don't exist. That's not traditional atheism whereby you just don't believe a creator God exists.

Yes, it can be taken to extreme levels, which is always a worry.

It's not really though is it? The only condition is that you have the belief that no gods exist until there is sufficient proof otherwise. In most religions the belief system entails all sorts of conditions, dogmas and rituals that must be adhered to to be a real follower. None of these appear in atheism. Moreover there must be endless discussion and argument between religious sects and denominations on how all of this is applied and what it means. None of this is applicable in atheism. And there are no leaders or rules to follow. Nowhere near comparable as a belief system. Not even a philosophy.

I know what you mean. It can come across as a bit of a self-help book, suffering from nuances that are missing in literal translations from the mandarin. Those in the know say that it's better if you read it in the original Chinese. And a lot of it is dependant on cleromancy which is alien to the western mind.

The Tao is probably all you need, or the I Ching less the divinition. But some humans do like their gods. It's easy .......and lazy minded.

The numinous. I remember just before he died Christopher Hitchins was asked, if he could change one thing in world what would it be. His answer was to do away with the numinous.

Buddhism, if you consider it a religion and not just a philosophy. Too much harmful baggage with the others.

Atheism is not a belief in nothing, just a disbelief in creator gods and organized religion. As an atheist I fully believe in: Goodness Kindness Determination Confidence Sincerity Helpfullness Family Self-respect Respecting others Gentleness Good health Peace Tranquility Equality Quality and more. All the things that make us good humans can be found outside organized religion. I also respect people's right to choose a religion as they see fit but there's no compunction on me to respect that religion.

It's all moot anyway as marathon toilets are all transportable, individual cubicles that anyone can use. It's not the issue you think it is.

Johnny, you obviously don't know much about F1. There are plenty of slow drivers plodding about at the back of the field on daddy's sponsorship cash. They're not there for their speed. And your Ronnie Sullivan analogy is daft. 99% of male snooker professionals can't live with Ronnie. Does that mean they shouldn't be allowed to compete? I actually agree with you in part about the designation of non-mixed sports but not for the reasons you quote. My worry is that mixed participation will dilute people's interest, not that women couldn't compete. If The Masters, say, was 50/50 men and women it wouldn't attract the same interest, rightly or wrongly. That's just the way people are.

I know what I mean. There have been women drivers competing in F1 since the 50s. They have had limited success because it has not been seen as a sport for women, so they haven't had the sponsorship needed but there is no reason why they can't rival the men in the future. Similarly in snooker women compete on an equal basis and a Thai player has recently achieved the highest score of 147. No lack of co-ordination there. I'm curious, are you opposed to biological women competing in men's sports?

Biological females (sic) compete in the professional snooker, probably the sport most dependent on hand-eye co-ordination. Moreover biological females can compete in F1, without doubt the most physically demanding of all sports with massive G forces.

I'm actually all for this. I think millions of gays should turn up in Boise in June in support of our heterosexual friends. 🙂

Thank you Malcolm. You've detailed perfectly why Pride needs to continue.

It's not a checklist, it's providing balance. You referenced only the left and the Dems in your posts, despite your broad assertion that it is always wrong, which is obvious.

Right-wing commentators re-arranged the trans flag to look like a swastika a while ago to depict trans people as nazis. It happens on both sides and does either side no credit at all.

It goes even further back. Some of us remember in the 60s many seaside towns were warzones at the weekends. Mods and rockers would go there and fight openly on the promenades. Many would carry Stanley knives, the weapon of choice. The police were mostly helpless. Imagine that now. Before that in the late fifties there were the Teddy Boys and greasers, which was a similar story. There was terrible inner city deprivation well into the seventies. It doesn't do to paint everything rosy.

That's because they haven't had to. If there is a change in legislation and they are legally obliged to you'll see it all kick off. Similarly if a trans person who was assigned female at birth, has fully transitioned and has received male hormone treatment, had phalloplasty (I.e. clitoris converted to a penis) and has a full beard are women going to be comfortable with them in their changing rooms and toilets? They could literally be swapping someone without a penis for someone with one because of biological confusion.

Nice to see someone wearing a suit, even if it's his birthday one.

I don't think the anti-trans types have thought this through; they could now be changing with trans women. And they'll be at the urinal with them. Guess that's what they want. 🙂 I can't believe that we have the capability to send a spacecraft to the outer edges of the known universe but struggle to determine who should go in which toilet. What an absurd species we are.

Same in the U.K. with anyone named Tommy. 🙂

According to their website the Sentencing Council have suspended implementation of the proposed new guidelines pending the new legislation. Equality under the law is paramount.

Don't be silly.

It's a long time since I worked in anti-money laundering but the standard sentences then were 14 years for serious offenses and 2 years for collusion to launder money. 8 years seems extremely lenient.