As you know, I'm not one to appear pedantic.....
 
But 'Big Ben' is actually the name of the ('great') bell inside the Elizabeth Tower, not the tower itself.
 
 
 
 

SteveStrummerUK
 
As you know, I'm not one to appear pedantic.....
 
But 'Big Ben' is actually the name of the ('great') bell inside the Elizabeth Tower, not the tower itself.
 

Elizabeth has a bell end?

I watched the last episode... it turns out the final frontier is in our minds.

Many people believe the World will end during their lifetime. I've become convinced that this is a function of their own melodramatic sense of self-importance.
 
Me? I know enough to know that the World would never dare end during my lifetime.

Oh god, this is like the equivalent of those old guys who used to walk up and down busy shopping streets wearing sandwich boards which said "The End Is Nigh." No it's not. It wasn't nigh then and it's not nigh now. 
 
Plus, humans are amazing. WE ARE THE MIGHTY KINGS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM. 

*sigh*

spacey
I believe we're the genetically flawed descendants of alien origin that
got dumped here because they didn't want to deal with us. They're probably
surprised we've made it this far.
 
 

Interesting theory.So we are the Early  Australia of the Universe?

Most other species confuse us with zombies.  Any differences are purely cosmetic.

The reason all of this evil has been ever so increasing is because man is completely running away from God. Just look at the great efforts and great lengths our governments have put into effectively removing God from our schools, our work, our life etc... and what do we have to show for it? Man taking things into his own hands. Liberalism is the root of all of these evil things and thorughout history, liberal man has wanted to replace God with his own version of utopia.


Well said.

It's as Bob from the planet of living matresses preached as he commanded his flock...
 
Oh wait, religious topics are against the TOS - nevermind.

drewfx1
Many people believe the World will end during their lifetime. I've become convinced that this is a function of their own melodramatic sense of self-importance.
 
Me? I know enough to know that the World would never dare end during my lifetime.

The world will most definitely end eventually in about 3 billion years or so from now when the sun enters it's final stage. But before the sun engulfs the Earth the sun would have long since burned every living thing at which point in time Earth will look very much like a giant flaming lava ball. 

So, I guess humans will have plenty of time to pack a picnic lunch and plan a trip to another Earth-like planet.  Although, I think the gravity on Earth 2 might be a bit different than usual and if that's the case? we may not need airplanes to get around. Ha' literally one giant leap for humankind. 

webbs hill studio
let`s face it-the biggest threat to mankind is overpopulation and eventually the top 10 % will engineer a socio-economically targeted virus to "thin the herd".
 

What? LOL! Where do people get these ideas from? How well did you think this through? First of all, how much does the "top 10%" know about manufacturing herd-thinning viruses? Even if they manage to pay off a crew of unscrupulous scientists to manufacture it for them - and of course a vaccine for the exclusive use of the elite - how would they "socio-economically target" something like this without the threat of it spreading to the rest of the population, and wiping them out too? And how would they stop the 99% or so of scientists who hadn't been paid off (and who wouldn't dream of facilitating mass genocide in a million years) developing a cure, or a vaccine? What would happen if the plot got out? Could this fictional 10% guarantee the support of the military for protection? 
 
I don't even believe that overpopulation is our biggest threat. I believe the "western" style of life, i.e. democracy and prosperity, will spread. And with prosperity comes a lower birth rate. The thing about Western consumerism (and that includes everyone on this forum who loves audio technology) is that you have to work to sustain the lifestyle. Most families in the West stop at 1 or 2 kids - 3 tops - because there just isn't enough time to have any more, and doing so would severely cramp the lifestyle they've grown accustomed to. Of course there are exceptions, notably the kind of welfare recipients who spend a life on the dole and are comfortable with the state paying for the upkeep of their sprogs. Most of the population expansion in Britain and the US over the last few decades has been the result of immigration, not increased birth rates. 
 
As for the poorer countries, well of course the bulk of population growth happens in the third world. High fertility rates come with high infant mortality rates (as they once did in the US) and also parents in poor countries tend to produce larger families because they need to rely on the labor of their children. In the US, a move to two-children families took place when infant mortality rates dropped, when employment opportunities outside of the home became available to women, and when the economy changed from agrarian to industrial. And once what we recognize as the "modern lifestyle" became a possibility, people realized that there was more to life than perpetually giving birth. 

The third world has a long way to go before they reach anything approaching a modern Western lifestyle. The totalitarianism and tyranny that they face are their biggest hurdles. But people have broken free before and they'll do it again. 
 
Besides which, what makes you think that scientists who can engineer viruses which don't spread outside of a socio-economic class, can't also solve the problems of world hunger? 
 
I'm tired of all the pessimism and the Chicken-Lickenism. 

hey sharke,
where do i get these ideas-from the movies-of course!
i did say it was hopefully science fiction and it was a bit tongue in cheek but seriously-people like Paul R Erlich stand by the thesis that the human population is too large and is a direct threat to human survival and the planet.
even the old guard,Lord Rees,Royal Astronomer said"this is the first century in history when the biggest threat to humanity is from humanity itself."
as for
" I'm tired of all the pessimism and the Chicken-Lickenism."
i call it pragramatic realism but admire your optimism regarding technology as the saviour of mankind,considering most will argue that industrialisation,technology and consumerism are the culprits who enabled us to properly plunder and foul this utopia.
but that`s the good thing about opinions-they are all valid.
cheers