+1

In my office if you ask most people what version of Windows/Word/Outlook they have, they usually say "I don't know". To them Win XP and 7 look the same and I would guess that Win 7 and 8 also look the same.

I don't think he was demanding a change was he? Just saying that he hated it.

Feedback is a useful tool for service providers - even when those services are free.

So Christianity is the correct religion to choose is it? That's funny because people from other religions (with other Gods) say the same. Someone is lying/misguided. Can the correct God please stand up and clarify the position?

Come to think of it, people from other religions are as convinced as you about their religion - only one can be right and the others would be wrong. I am guessing that you believe the others are wrong which would be rather dismissive don't you think?

If you are correct how come your God doesn't throw out some clues to entice people away from their 'duff' religions? Won't they go to purgatory or worse by supporting the wrong team? Even if they did so unquestioningly and innocently due to their upbringing?

As for financial incentives I was primarily referring to Scientology and Jehovah's Witnesses but there are other 'pushy' religions too. Catholicism for instance which encourages donations to the Church (the Vatican is a swine to heat in the Winter) flies under the radar in this respect in light of the 'sex with kids' thing which you may have heard of..

Well, you've been lucky then. I recall a religious education lesson at school when I was admonished for asking too many questions. The 'guest' religious person (I am unsure of his status) complained to my R.E. teacher who accused me of being rude. I merely asked the guest whether it was possible that the bible was a story which people chose to add to over a lengthy period of time and was it plausible that it is not a religious text at all? I was 14 at the time and thought it was a reasonable question.

The guest told me to stop being disrespectful and to shut up. Cripes, with such a minor level of scrutiny, I guess God was unlikely to choose him for lead marketing..

On the subject of interpretation not one Christian I have met can explain their homophobia in contrast to their love all of people. You might not be homophobic in which case I applaud you.

Brilliant. So, there are people who take the old testament as, well, 'gospel'? That's actually quite worrying. Noah for instance. I mean...really?

That's a circular argument isn't it? If you believe without question God doesn't have to talk to you as you have utter faith that he can if he wants to.

However, if you have any doubt then you're not trying hard enough? That's the same as a child saying "the last one to the other side of the park smells of poo" and running off. Being the last doesn't mean you smell, it's a false consequence of being the last.

My view is that utter faith involves a release of the thought process, doubt is normal and hearing God is probably a psychotic episode. I don't mean to be rude - this is what I believe - which is probably as fantastical to you as the Scientologists belief about aliens and volcanoes or the Mormons with their stone tablets which they gave back to God for safekeeping...

I don't believe in God therefore I am unwilling to listen? Give me a break.... How about there is noone there? I would guess that you would dismiss this view as bunkum but by choosing to believe your own view without question (which is what you call faith is it not?) then you place yourself in a vacuum. That is the road to fundamentalism.

If there is a God I would expect him/her to send me an email*. I read my emails AND I would expect God to avoid the spam filter. Why make it so difficult? Is God Shy? My apologies, I'm being deliberately obtuse - you have to have faith don't you? You need no proof, only belief which is enough. Not for me though...

Thanks for sharing your experiences and for giving your opinion which I respectfully disagree with.

*For the record I would also expect email to be from a high level domain - .GOD for instance. That would be a dead giveaway.

Call me a cynic but when a person feels that there is something 'missing' from their life, it amazes me how many 'religions' will offer to show the way for a 'small fee'. The small fee will of course buy a book or pamphlet with the 'evidence' of which you speak.

"yes, it's a bit sketchy but it's a test you see...you need faith to really understand it and embrace it without question...Oh, and don't worry about the old testament*, it doesn't really apply"

*I'm sure non-Christian religions are as bad but I have no empirical proof of this.

If there is a god, surely s/he will make contact directly rather than allow a referral fee to be paid. Is it a bandwidth issue or something?

The UK Gov actually has the Government Gateway which is a secure system that was meant to be all encompassing.

Originally there was a large budget approved to set up a skeleton network which would eventually be extended to replace the many legacy systems in the NHS and all government departments. I seem to recall that there was a mirrored multi-petabyte storage array for records to begin with.

However, part way through the implementation someone pulled the plug and left a partly implemented system which deals with income tax returns and a few benefits such as disability living allowance and child benefit. None of the NHS departments are on the system.

The plug appears to have been pulled as whilst the budget was approved, a government minister was charged with the task of saving money and this was done by canning the project part way through is the easiest way.

e.g. get a budget for £50 million > spend £5 million > can the project > save £45 million > result! The government gateway was what was left of the project which is some distance from the original goal.

Lies, damned lies and statistics... [sigh]

Quite right.

Where there is an flaw in tax law, it will eventually be written out and that loophole closed. Google has avoided tax thus far but now is the time to pay up and for that to occur the law needs to be changed.

Of course, Google isn't the only entity using such tactics - it is the extent of the avoidance that is causing uproar. Every multinational company will have similar tax plans in place (or their accountants atrn't doing their jobs properly) and they will all be concerned about any tax developments.

Remember, it's not a Google Tax people want, it is a prevention of tax avoidance which might affect the decision of of large companies to move into or out of the countries where they have a physical presence. Catastrophic financial consequences may well occur.

Revision of tax law is not the work of a moment...

It's it an offence to threaten the US president isn't it? So, free speech apart from that bit?

I'm not mocking you, just curious what you think of the distinction I make (unless the offence is an urban myth which is possible).

It’s worth noting that National insurance is paid by all people who have earnings subject a lower earning threshold of between $9.5k-$13k depending upon self-employment and full employment. You generally pay around 12-14% of your earnings. If you are an employee national insurance is deducted at source so you never have it to spend which is probably just as well.

So, it is fair to say that national insurance is a tax that is used to fund the NHS (amongst other benefits), it is not discriminatory in its application. If you had cancer you aren’t barred from being treated for cancer again.

In fact, with illnesses that are known to reoccur you would be placed on a regular check up schedule which would become less frequent over time e.g. every 3 months for a years, every 6 months for 4 years then every year thereafter.

The NHS has its problems but there is nothing fundamentally flawed about the system and buying medical supplies in bulk does afford some serious bargaining power to the NHS which is just as well as various expensive projects have been canned before completion.

Asking Bob to make a plan for disaster recovery could be an 'in' followed by your offer of help to implement the plan.

Bob may well have been the only person to step up to the plate and set up the system and he might realise that he has limitations. He might well step aside but I would not begrudge him for feeling a little dejected if, in a roundabout way, someone said "your system is shit, let's ditch it and replace it wither something that I consider to be more worthy".

Discuss disaster recovery and see where the conversation leads...