Conceiving children naturally is easier, cheaper and more practical than artificial insemination and vastly preferable.

To repeat your own response, ask any economist and/or study history. Socialism is not defined by the lack of private property or the state ownership of property. Socialism is the workers controlling/owning the means of production. That is all. It's actually quite a loose definition that encompasses a huge number of…

Vasectomies aren't always reversible. I would have had one already if they were.

...Deformity?

Safety nets are not "a form of socialism". The modern welfare state (which I assume is what you mean by "safety net") was invented by Bismarck in Germany in the 19th Century with the specific intention of decreasing the appeal of socialism. By legislating to improve the conditions of the working class, he hoped that…

Ah right, that makes sense.

That would make it legally permissible to abort a baby about to be born...

Clegg is married to a Catholic though.

It says a lot about female character design that I was surprised by how they looked (i.e. not totally sexualised).

For Biblical-speak, that seems to be pretty unequivocal support.

I've never really met any people who are properly pro-life (GB ftw) but if I did, I think I'd just ask them which Biblical passage condemned abortion. Interestingly, the ones generally used mention "God knowing you in the womb" which clearly doesn't mention conception or abortion. One actually even says that God knows…

It's more interesting to note that most people who identify as gluten intolerant don't actually exhibit any sensitivity at all in double blind tests.

I thought Perdido Street Station was overrated and it's put me off trying any of his other books. If someone had confiscated his thesaurus when he sat down to write it, it would've been half as long and much more readable. It was a shame because it was a nice, original story, but his writing style was pretentious and…

No, it all makes senset. I am in favour of phasing out all animal testing that could be considered cruel. And an outright ban on cosmetic testing. But I'm also not sure how practical it would be test the safety of drugs on anything but animals. Grown human cell cultures, maybe, but I'm not a biologist.

I apologised for the condescending tone. In hindsight, I shouldn't have done it. But your endorsement of what I consider to be an offensive position irritated me. You've retracted your endorsement and I retract all my condescending statements. Happy?

A natural chemical is no different to an artificial one. Neither is more likely to be good (or bad) for you.

Took me a minute to get that but it made me laugh when I did. Well played.

Really? Wouldn't they get in trouble if they didn't permit black members? (accidental pun, kind of)

You're right in the sense that I was smug and condescending (for which I apologise)... but not a whole lot else.

I didn't say the ends justify the means, I just don't think it's as simple as "awww, poor ickle fluffy animals :(". There was a great deal of atrocious research done on animals in the 20th Century and I have no intention of trying to justify it because it is unjustifiable. There was also quite a lot of research which…