Zombie

A good question. But CGI and other techniques have made it possible and very realistic. Heck, Gravity is 99% CGI, made by a British company on their computers in Slough or somewhere - only the actors' faces are real That's why UK "child porn" law includes "simulation".

No-one here could disagree when you say It is not my job to monitor the viewing habits of other people. But then no-one here has made that suggestion. I'm still not clear where your lines are drawn. You clearly have a line if it's real sex with obvious children, or real violent abuse, or real snuff. But not if these are simulated? For the viewer there may be no perceivable difference between reality and a simulation.

Thing is I have serious issues with comments like "Otherwise, enjoy what you enjoy and don't worry about what someone else enjoys watching or making for people watch." # I can't believe you meant this.

I was that younger brother

Cia, you speak about abuse from direct experience that fortunately I, and hopefully most here, never experienced. And control is clearly key in child abuse. But pedophilia is a crime - one of the worst - and snuff is cold-blooded murder, with no mitigating circumstances. This is a thread about porn.

Wow, where did this come from? In your original post you "invite others to chime in" but when someone takes up your offer and asks for clarification about what you actually meant by summarising in a manageable three sentences, your reaction is to bite their head off. The only inference I can draw is that somewhere along the line I sure seem to have ruffled your feathers Actually, Cia, these are not about power and control. Snuff is about murder and pedophilia is about child abuse.

brilliantly organised mail-biting finish right down to the last minute of the final match! Thank you Auntie Beeb, the RBS and all the teams

Traitor!! True Brian O'Driscoll is not just an outstanding player but an especially decent guy, but Ireland have only won in Paris once in 42 years Whatever, I'm looking forward to another cracking weekend of rugby

Fair point, Daddy But when Brits got a taste for ooo-la-lah just across the Channel it was all over for the Puritans...

Kitt's right and there's the least travel going on in the early hours of Sunday morning so it minimizes transport confusion:) In fact the UK adopted double DST during WW2 and again as an experiment from 1968-71 - clocks were put 1 hour forward in winter and 2 hours forward in summer. It boosted economic activity and was generally popular giving much lighter evenings, but it was hated in Scotland because it lies further west and in winter it might be dark until 10.00am - probably why they'll vote to split, having such long memories an' all...

The opening post mentioned "toxic", "vile", "degrading" and "extreme" porn. It was a very long post, so maybe I missed something, but you seemed to be saying "anything goes" because it's whatever rocks your boat and it's all make-believe so no harm's done unless it's "illegal or dangerous." So have I got that right, and what is illegal and dangerous in your neck of the woods? -

stalker!

No, I just don't have the information. But now we seem to have dealt with the other matters I'm looking into it

Yes, I don't have a problem with that Graeme. But it is ironic given the subject of this blog... Oh, and this is a good example of irony for all those across the pond who have difficulty getting their heads around it!

OK now I understand. You're not talking about illness and disease per se, you're talking about illness, disease and costs in the US. Taking into account the lifestyle / chronic obesity problem in the US - which is now showing up in many other countries too - that makes sense. But the causes of that problem are not healthcare, they're to do with issues that can only be fully explored in a blog because what will be home truths and common sense to you and me will be heresy to some

Hey, I'm always good!

Well, I didn't say you said healthcare was worthless and not needed. I was simply countering your statement that "it is certainly possible to minimize [illness] to the point that it's rare", "There's no good reason for the amount of illness that exists in the world now" and "The majority of illnesses are avoidable". The fact is there are many reasons for many illnesses which are completely outside anyone's control - genetic causes, infection, epidemics etc. These reasons are a major cause of illness all across the world and back through history and, sadly, it is not currently possible "to minimize [ illness caused by these reasons] to the point that it's rare". That's why we need healthcare systems. But you are absolutely right about the unnecessary use of healthcare by millions who develop disease and poor health because of their unhealthy lifestyles and the waste of lives, money and resources. The solution probably seems obvious to you and me but that's a discussion that needs to take place in a blog where we can let rip

It's your choice to be at variance with the established knowledge base, just don't hold your breath waiting for science history to be rewritten to fall into line with your singular view any time soon Pasteur's work on vaccines built on the earlier work, and a lot more besides - truly he is a science giant. He's been called "the father of microbiology" for good reason. His work speaks for itself and doesn't need to be augmented by an inaccurate claim that his was "the first human made vaccine in history". Actually it was you who raised the question of ethics in your opening post when you stated that it was Pasteur who was "unethical" in how he conducted himself: "Everyone in health care loves to debate Pasteur, because as unethical as he was...."

Yes, but.... maybe you should read my rewritten opening post...

"Nudity in America is a four letter word. Especially when it comes to men. I really do find that pretty silly and ironic at the same time. I was raised in a very Midwestern lifestyle and quite prudish when it comes to sex and nudity. But that is me. What I am not is judgmental. How is it possible in America we can show violence and war... but god save us if we show a nipple in a photo! There is definitely a double standard when it comes to male nudity in America. We can objectify the hell out of women and that is the norm. But a portrait of a man standing naked is obscene. It is so weird to me." Tony Duran, photographer What's going on? Where have the links gone? I had posted several links to ohlalamag.com, an online blog mag, interviewing Tony Duran about his explicit homoerotic photographic work with the French rugby team, Stade Français Paris. The problem is the links contain the photographs of the rugby team. Lots of them. Since 2001 the rugby team has produced an annual calendar called "Dieux du Stade" on sale to the public as well as a lavish book of photographs called "Dieux du Stade: Gods of the Stadium The Book". Now here's the irony. GA has asked me to remove the links because.... they contain male nudity... The reason for this is that commercial sponsorship of GA to keep it going - and here I'm guessing, but I suspect most likely American sponsors - would be put at risk. Which kind of confirms what this blog is about. The good news is if you are now desperate to see these pics although I can't give you the links I can suggest how you might find them First of all copy and paste this into Google... site:ohlalamag.com ...leave a space then type in a search phrase between inverted commas, maybe you could try "Dieux du Stade". Yes, that might work The "site:" prefix forces google only to show pages on that site and no others - useful to know if you want to search other sites for key words - and the phrase picks all the relevant pages on that site. And there are lots - when do those French rugby players ever get time to play rugby??? Any problems just PM me

Why would I specifically name Benjamin Jesty? Benjamin Jesty was not the only person who was active in England before Jenner. And others were involved in Germany as well. That's why I said: "The first vaccine was developed not in France by Pasteur in the 19th century, but in England and Germany during the 18th century." You were just repeating what had already been said, adding nothing new. Anyway, at least you now agree that Pasteur's vaccine was not "the first human made vaccine in history".

When people died from smallpox they were blameless. There was nothing they could do. Likewise polio - a crippling disease. These were not "rare" diseases. They killed and maimed millions. But it is healthcare systems that have had incredible success in completely eradicating smallpox across the world, and largely eradicating polio in the Western world, not life choices. These are just two examples of the huge benefits of healthcare systems. And there are many other examples, like surgery which can repair people's damaged bodies so they can resume a normal active life after illness or accident, and many others I won't bore you with. You are right about choices, and no-one can seriously doubt that life choices play a big part in people's health. But life choices are only - and will only ever be - one part of a much broader and more complicated picture.

good job I put that warning in,eh? On the plus side, you've now got something to look forward to when you get home...

Justice for Justin...

With respect, what you think is not the point. It's what the rest of the world thinks that matters. The cowpox needed preparation, by a human, and application, by a human, to a suitable patient, selected by a human. That is what makes Jenner's work a "vaccine" within the standard definition agreed by everyone else: "any preparation used to confer immunity to a disease by inoculation" Um, did you not read my earlier post where I already pointed this out? Um, did you not read my earlier post where I already pointed this out? :P