Purdey

Using state tax money to create state government ownership of a military service could be considered socialism in the US (equal protection for everyone no matter how much tax is paid by the individual). Next DeSantis will want free healthcare for his army and its veterans and tax paid accommodation for every soldier. All of it an additional burden for hardworking taxpayers. What happened to small government? Then again, if he sends troops to assist other states will there be any risk of federal troops having to become involved? It all sounds too dangerous.

People never remember their history until it disappears.

Quite surprised she is the only one thus far involved and not some army generals. I thought this was considered military equipment? I presume there were soldiers who tested the equipment and reported to higher ups that it worked. How a forensic scientist was able to give approval for military equipment is hard to understand.

It is unfortunate that girls are just not encouraged to take on roles that men have monopolized historically. Some have become prime ministers but those are still exceptions. I was talking to a group of girls last week and asked them what careers they wanted to do in the future. Most said teaching or nursing. I asked why nursing, why not become a doctor and they looked really confused. They just assumed they would not qualify for med school. Inequality is just an excuse. Women need encouragement.

Why is getting pregnant and having a job news? Women have been doing this for centuries.

You really don't get that the flying teapot was just a method of reducing the question of how do we know God exists if we can't see him in the same way we cannot see the teapot or prove it is there (but it is). Not sure how you think that if laws of god that the universe revolves around the earth were irrefutable when they later were refuted by science. Or that what people believe to be true about Newtonian laws were later changed by Einstein. As i said, go on believing in your invisible friend. I cannot prove the existence of blue elephants because i have never seen one, but according to your logic, we should believe in them because you and many others do. P.S. I keep my mind open to believing in a god that shows himself.

I suspect the Chinese may lend money in exchange for seaports and airports.

Such a pity that to get anything done you have to involve the media.

Just to be clear, the onus is never on someone proving something doesn't exist! The onus is always on the person who claims it exists. It is impossible to prove that something does not exist. Science cannot prove that which is not there. Therefore, I cannot prove purple elephants exist. Anyway, I don't intend to convince you to change your mind. Please continue to believe in gods if you will. I will explain what I know and believe (or not). The topic is 'do you believe in god and why.' I am just going to show why i don't believe in god(s) with evidence for why I don't believe. First off, I am not sure which of the 4,200 world religions you believe in as the "right one." A Perfect Abrahamic God? if god is perfect, why did he create us and many other living creatures so poorly? For instance, so many diseases, our bones break easily, and as we get older our bodies and minds break down. Poorly-made spines, inflexible knees, and pelvic bones that make childbirth difficult and painful for women. Thus perfect design is nonsense. We can't live our lives hoping that one day an explanation for why our eyes or shoulders were designed so poorly will arise. The eye is often used as an example of intelligent design, which doesn't explain shortsightedness or kids born blind. History is proving that religions are wrong about several things. The Bible claims the world was created 6,000 years ago. Actually, the Bible never specifically states 6,000 years. Some Christians insist it is true though. We know through science it is 4.54 billion years old, plus or minus about 50 million years. Forms of absolute dating exist such as thermoluminescence, electron spin resonance, etc. We find rocks all the time that are dated as millions or even billions of years old. Doesn't this conflict with the belief that the universe was recently created by a god? We now know also that the universe doesn't move around the Earth (Copernicus et al) . Religion has often been used to explain the inexplicable. The Greeks used Poseidon to explain how earthquakes happen, which we now know is due to the movement of tectonic plates to relieve pressure. God didn't cause the recent Turkish earthquakes and - and to me this is strange as most religions believe disasters are god's punishment for something - yet no Muslim suggests he did. Abortion Christian fundamentalists argue that abortion is against god, yet Jews vehemently do not agree and argue you cannot ban abortion because there is nothing about fetuses being people in the Torah. Just water. The same god but opposing views. Furthermore, god aborted millions of fetuses during the Great Flood by killing all pregnant women, if you believe ancient scripture. Everyone agrees with you You could state that the millions of religious people proves that there is a consensus that god exists. But which god? Yahweh (was married to Asteroth, but not now), Kwaku Ananse, Altjira, Quetzalcoatl, Ahura Mazda, Thor, Zoroaster, Anubis, Zeus? Do you believe in Quetzalcoatl or is it the place of your birth that governs your religion? And no, you don't have genetic memory of a whole religion. So, if god exists, which god? Are you afraid of following the wrong god and going to Hades? The Bible was written by god, or by people following god's will It comes from a mishmash of older sources (Google is your friend, find out). Ideas were taken wholesale from older religions. The original sin was knowledge, given in the account of the Fall of mankind (Genesis 3). There is an older Greek legend, Pandora’s Box, that appears to attest to the same historical event. Both stories tell how the first woman unleashed sin, sickness, and suffering upon the world which had been, up to that point, a paradise. Both stories end with the emergence of hope, hope in a promised Redeemer in the case of Genesis. Contradictions A book essentially written by god or through his guidance cannot contradict itself. I cannot believe in a god of contradictions. Yet contradictions start in the opening chapters of the Bible, where inconsistent creation stories are told. Genesis chapter 1 says the first man and woman were made at the same time, and after the animals. But Genesis chapter 2 gives a different order of creation: man, then the animals, and then woman. Genesis 1:2-3 claims that God created light and divided it from darkness on the first day; but Genesis 1:14-19 tells us the sun, moon, and stars weren’t made until the fourth day. Genesis 1:20 says the fowl were created out of the waters; Genesis 2:19 alleges they were formed from the ground. Genesis 6:19-22, God ordered Noah to bring “of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort . . . into the ark.” Genesis 7:2-3 relates that the Lord ordered Noah to take into the ark the clean beasts and the birds by sevens, and only the unclean beasts by twos. There are many other problems in the Old Testament. Matthew 2:13-15 said Joseph and Mary fled to Egypt with Jesus immediately after the wise men from the east had brought gifts. But Luke 2:22-40 claims that after the birth of Jesus, his parents remained in Bethlehem 40 days, then went to Jerusalem “to present him to the Lord,” and then returned to their home in Nazareth. Luke mentions no journey into Egypt or visit by wise men from the east. John 19:17 recounts that Jesus carried his own cross. But Mark 15:21-23 disagrees by saying a man called Simon carried the cross. Who created evil? Isaiah 45:7: “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.” Is Satan evil? In the whole Bible, Satan killed just 10 people while god killed millions. Satan killed the seven sons and three daughters of Job, and God only allowed it as part of a bet. (Job 1:12–19) Also, Satan's job is to torture (only) bad people in hell. Doesn't that make him a good guy? Omniscience If God knows everything that has happened and will happen, as well as every thought your mind creates before you think it, your future is a foregone conclusion. What happened to free will? Omnipotence is the ability to do anything. If God can do anything, he should be able to, for instance, draw a square circle. He cannot know and not know something simultaneously. Why does a loving god know and yet allow natural disasters, massacres, and wars? Afterlife This is very subjective. Spiritual entities such as gods, devils, heaven, hell, angels, demons, and so on have never been (and cannot be) scientifically examined or observed. These spiritual features cannot be proven to exist if they are not observable and measurable. What happens after death? Catholics get individual judgement, sometimes called particular judgement, at the moment of death when each individual will be judged on how they have lived their life. Hindus believe in reincarnation, with souls receiving a new body and life, depending on Karma, good and bad actions in a previous life. As in Buddhism, the goal is to be liberated from the cycle and to attain reunion with Brahman (Hindu) or Nirvana (Buddhist). Muslim beliefs are similar to many Christians. After physical death, the soul lives on to await Judgement Day and whether it will go to Paradise or Hell. Hey! Wait a minute - why are some judged immediately but others wait for judgement day? The Bible says there will be a judgement day so why are some people getting judged upon death? It is as if no one agrees on the same ideas. So, scratch that. We die, we are dead. Is god good? I agree with the outrage of Stephen Fry on this topic so I suggest you listen to him. He is talking in Catholic Ireland. I do have several copies of the Bible and appreciate the poetry of the King James version. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 1 Corinthians 13

I did work in the alcohol industry here long ago. 11 am tastings were my favorite part of the week. We did do a chemical analysis (not me personally but the inhouse team) of all beers. In those days the logistics were immature so we found that formaldehyde could be found to preserve beers. Harmless and the tiny quantities aren't what gives you a headache. The most formaldehyde at that time was found in Heineken as it was imported from Singapore and didn't have a way to distribute outside of a few major cities. Second was Singha as they didn't have the distribution network at the time. Leo came later. You have to understand the time it took to deliver and change old bottles for new was counted in weeks not days as it is today. I am sure it has changed now We used to have a laugh that people said Red Horse was "dirty" and gave them a headache but we knew that at 7% alcohol more than two bottles would hurt the next morning. All the beers were stronger then, including Chang (6%), thus those hangovers. Eventually all beers were watered down though due to the trend in young people to be more health conscious. BTW if you've ever drunk Scotch at a distillery in Scotland before they water it down for the sassenachs. Now that will hurt in the morning.

I did work in the alcohol industry here long ago. 11 am tastings were my favorite part of the week. We did do a chemical analysis (not me personally but the inhouse team) of all beers. In those days the logistics were immature so we found that formaldehyde could be found to preserve beers. Harmless and the tiny quantities aren't what gives you a headache. The most formaldehyde at that time was found in Heineken as it was imported from Singapore and didn't have a way to distribute outside of a few major cities. Second was Singha as they didn't have the distribution network at the time. Leo came later. You have to understand the time it took to deliver and change old bottles for new was counted in weeks not days as it is today. I am sure it has changed now We used to have a laugh that people said Red Horse was "dirty" and gave them a headache but we knew that at 7% alcohol more than two bottles would hurt the next morning. All the beers were stronger then, including Chang (6%), thus those hangovers. Eventually all beers were watered down though due to the trend in young people to be more health conscious. BTW if you've ever drunk Scotch at a distillery in Scotland before they water it down for the sassenachs. Now that will hurt in the morning.

People have to be very depressed to commit suicide. Maybe his wife didn't notice but that is unlikely. My uncle was an alcoholic and tried to kill himself numerous times. He succeeded with an open razor. I think his depression was obvious to the whole family but in the 60s there wasn't that much help outside of big cities.

It must sting when you fall onto gravel. Good luck to the riders.

I assume they will get Russia to pay for it. Not sure of its chances of stopping a tank though.

Crisp and clear article. Please continue with other parts of Thailand.

Yes, I guess so. And there is no proof. Still, believing in something without evidence to support it, whether gods, fairies or the teapot that circles the sun (viz. Bertrand Russell https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell's_teapot) is fanciful and slightly cracked.

The legend of Santa Claus can be traced back hundreds of years to a monk named St. Nicholas. It is believed that Nicholas was born "sometime" around A.D. 280 in Patara, near Myra in modern-day Turkey. Hardly what Christians claim to be the modern Santa Claus. Today, no one knows him as the protector of sailors.

Yes, dogs go woof. Flight or fight is perhaps passed down. As there is no word heritaged in the dictionary, I guess my English is pretty good and I understand when someone doesn't know science.

Of course, without evidence of God, we cannot believe in him/her/it.

Generic memory goes as far as basic reflexes, not a whole religion. Fight or flight is a generic memory for instance. Neuroscientific research on mice suggests that some experiences can influence subsequent generations. In a 2013 study, mice trained to fear a specific smell passed on their trained aversion to their descendants, which were then extremely sensitive and fearful of the same smell, even though they had never encountered it, nor been trained to fear it. Changes in brain structure were also found. The researchers concluded that "the experiences of a parent, even before conceiving, markedly influence both structure and function in the nervous system of subsequent generations" Scientists speculate that similar genetic mechanisms could be linked with phobias, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorders, as well as other neuropsychiatric disorders, in humans. All of which goes to show that you aren't born with a complete religious belief. You are born with curiosity and may self educate about a religion. However, having read the Bible there is no way i believe in a god or any religion based on such easy to disprove writing.

I fear you are now making things up. All of this has been debated and Santa does not exist. However, children with cancer do exist, thus eliminating the concept of a living, all powerful and merciful God.

Yes, you are correct. Section 1469 (laws governing property between husband and wife) does apply and when you would divorce the usufruct could be simply terminated by a court as part of the division of assets. So the property would be divided as the norm in divorce cases.

It would appear the only preparation needed initially is to agree to the act and ensure that the RTP and military are aware of the law. Cameras and other equipment could be installed over a predetermined period. Stalling for time implies agreeing to allow torture to continue.

I also don't believe in Father Christmas and the Tooth Fairy.

Rubbish. New born kids know nothing. Superstition comes by listening to others.