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Read this just now. Amazing discovery.



The Dominion of Atlantia is an island nation around 200 or so miles off the West coast of Ireland. It straddles the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The country geographically is very much like the United Kingdom though denser - larger forests, higher mountain ranges glacial lakes and several extinct volcanoes.
Atlantia has a thriving economy and is saturated in natural resources. It's main exports to the rest of the world include; Coal, Peat, Meats, Copper, Tin, Timber and Ironstone.
The nation is kept switched on by a mix of power sources which include several nuclear and geothermal power-stations as well as the ubiquitous coal and hydro-electric power-stations. There is a distinct lack of the inefficient wind turbines which scar and litter the landscape of the United Kingdom.
The major religions within the country are Christianity and Judaism, the majority of inhabitants live in the coastal regions although there are several major cities further into the interior.
Atlantia is member of the commonwealth of nations and is a Dominion of the United Kingdom, however with increasing defence cuts and shrinkages Atlantia is forever more providing Defence coverage to the United Kingdom under an agreement with the UK government in the South Atlantic and Middle East.

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Nation:
Dominion of Atlantia

Flag
Ensign of Unity

Anthem:
'Boys of the Old Brigade'

Capital:
Atlantis

Official Language:
English

Recognised languages
English
German
Hebrew
Welsh
Korean

Ethnic groups:
98.4% White
0.20% Mixed
0.7% Korean
0.2% Black
0.2% Chinese
0.30% Other

Government:
Parliamentary Democracy
- Prime Minister Sephira Kleine

Legislature:
Parliament:
- Upper House - House of Lords
- Lower House - House of Commons

EU accession:
- 1st January 1980

Independence
- From UK July 1st 1956

Area
- Total: 601,457 km²
- Water 1.3%

Population
- 2011 estimate
138,145,352
- 2006 census
137,556,487

- Density
229.68 /km2

GDP (nominal)
2010 estimate
- Total $5.73 trillion USD (5761395900018)
- Per capita $41,705
HDI (2010)
increase 0.935

Currency
Euro (As of 1996)

Time zone
GMT (UTC)

Date formats
dd/mm/yyyy (AD)

Drives on the
Left

ISO 3166 code
AT
Internet TLD
.aa
Calling code
+441

Major Towns and Villages

1. Atlantis (11,110,646)
2. Mountsorrel (3,000,410)
3. Goose Bay (1,200,966)
4. Elde (1,020,083)
5. Union Falls (913,558)
6. Paradise (902,584)
7. Dunkirk (689,951)
8. Minehead (686,588)
9. Neuberg (652,575)
10. Lilihelm (651,281)

Military Stuff

Military age:
18-49
Available for military service:
29,216,490 males, age 16-49,
28,919,389 females, age 16-49
Fit for military service:
29,197,171 males, age 16-49
28,909,838 females, age 16-49
Reaching military age anually:
685,856 males
673,937 females

Budget:
$172.8 Billion USD (3% of GDP)

At the end of the day, what cliché annoys you most, going forward?

I was listening to  a podcast recently and it was about a man who went into Broadmoor to assess every inmate. His conclusion was that over 90% of their personality was down to experiences from the childhood, especially parents. If they were not respected as children, they didn't respect others when they were older. If they were abused even verbally as children, they grew up angry or arrogant.

What do you think? I'm sure there are angelic people out there who maybe had a horrible childhood. I'm sure there are others who are evil now and maybe had a loving upbringing.

If I have a child, can I determine the person it is going to be?

What about the gay people?

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone on this board and on the Internet. I hope you get what you wished for. I certainly hope I get what I hoped for later on, the hole of it.

Roses are Red
Violets are Blue
You better be careful
Cos I'm watching you.

No need for explanations, just name it. From current players. 1-1-2-1.

Buffon
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Terry
-
Kaka - Xavi
-
Messi

Leitrim only has 29'000 people yet at one stage they had 155'000 people.

Does anyone know what happened apart from the famine?

Are there any other Leitrim facts. I heard one about there being to traffic lights but I don't believe it.

[1) Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii (New Zealand)]

This week the Pope declared war on parents naming babies after celebrities, fruit or popular sports cars. In an address to parents, the ever-progressive pontiff pleaded with worshipers to 'give your children names that are in the Christian calendar'. So Apple, Brooklyn and Ferrari are out, Francisco and Giulia are in.

But Benedict's not the only authority figure to stamp down on one of the sillier by-products of celebrity culture. The following names have all been banned around the world for reasons of taste, decency or just plain daftness.

1) Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii (New Zealand)New Zealand law bans names which could cause offence to a 'reasonable' person. Good thing too - the country is a stupid name hotspot. We found a couple from the islands who tried and failed to call their son '4Real', but nothing beats the ridiculous moniker above. It belonged to a 9-year-old girl before a judge had her renamed during a custody battle. 'It makes a fool of the child,' he said. It certainly made application forms a pain in the butt.

Has New Zealand banned any other names? Oh yes. The judge listed some that were also blocked: Fish and Chips (twins), Yeah Detroit, Keenan Got Lucy and Sex Fruit. Number 16 Bus Shelter and Violence were allowed.

2) Venerdi AKA 'Friday' (Italy)Maybe this is what the Pope was talking about. Back in 2008 a court banned an Italian couple from calling their child Venerdi (translation: Friday). The judges reckoned the name - taken from 'Robinson Crusoe' - would expose the boy to 'mockery' and was associated with 'subservience and insecurity'. The parents, however, might have the last laugh; they threatened to call their next child Mercoledi (Wednesday).

Has Italy banned any other names? Italian courts can step in 'when the child's name is likely to limit social interaction and create insecurity'. In Turin, Andrea was rejected (and changed to Emma) as it's a boy's name in Italy. Dalmata has also been rejected, as it means Dalmatian.

3) Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116 (Sweden) No, we didn't fall asleep on the keyboard. That is an actual name a Swedish couple tried to inflict on their son back in 1996. Apparently the name is pronounced 'Albin' (we're not sure how), and the parents chose it as a protest against Sweden's admittedly strict naming laws. Tax authorities must give their blessing to both first and surnames before they can be used.

Has Sweden banned any other names? Oh yes. Some favourites include Metallica, IKEA, Veranda and Q. Google was OK though.

4) Gesher AKA 'Bridge' (Norway)Back in 1998 those nasty Norwegians threw a woman in jail (admittedly for only two days) when she failed to pay a fine for giving her son an 'unapproved' name. Eccentric Kristi Larsen said she was instructed in a dream to name her son Gesher (Hebrew for 'Bridge'), but the court were having none of it. Kristi did have 13 children already though, so maybe she had just run out of ideas.

Has Norway banned any other names? Undoubtedly, though in recent times they have replaced their list of officially sanctioned names with a general ban on monikers featuring swearing, sex and illnesses.

5) Chow Tow AKA 'Smelly Head' (Malaysia)Unlike many countries which are gradually relaxing name laws, Malaysian authorities have cracked down on unsuitable titles in recent years. In 2006 government killjoys published a list of undesirable names that weren't in keeping with the religious traditions of the country – such as Cantonese moniker Chow Tow – which means 'Smelly Head'.

Has Malaysia banned any other names? Lots more Chinese efforts such as Ah Chwar ('Snake'), Khiow Khoo ('Hunchback'), Sor Chai ('Insane'). Malays should also steer clear of Woti, which means 'Sexual Intercourse'.

6) @ (China)With more than a billion fellow countrymen, finding a unique name in China is difficult. Perhaps that's why one couple called their baby the '@' symbol – in Chinese characters it apparently looks a bit like 'love him'. Bless. Unsurprisingly, however, the authorities were less sentimental and publicised the moniker as an example of citizens bringing bizarre names into the Chinese language. 

Has China banned any other names? The police have control over all names given to children because they issue identity cards, but details of rejections are not widely circulated.

7) Miatt (Germany)Country living up to stereotype alert! Surprise, surprise the Germans are somewhat officious when it comes to baby naming laws. Regulation-loving Deutschland has an entire department (the Standesamt) which decides if names are suitable. Miatt was rejected because it didn't clearly show whether the child was a boy or a girl, but sometimes the decisions are somewhat arbitrary...

Has Germany banned any other names? The likes of Stompie, Woodstock and Grammophon were turned down, whereas the similarly strange Speedy, Lafayette and Jazz were allowed.

Anus (Denmark)What is it about Scandinavian countries and name laws? The Danes are even tougher than the Swedes in this regard, with parents given 7,000-odd names to choose from by the government. Special permission is needed to deviate from the list, with ethnic names, odd spellings and even compound surnames forbidden. Luckily for him (we assume it's a 'he'), Anus was one of 250-odd names rejected each year.

Has Denmark banned any other names? Well, Pluto and Monkey had lucky escapes...

9) Ovnis (Portugal)Before naming your child in Portugal, best consult this mammoth, 80-page government doc (and have it translated to English) that tells you which names you can and can't use. It's pretty strict (and random) – Tomás is OK but Tom isn't – and celebs can forget about the likes of Apple and Brooklyn, which aren't even on the banned list. Essex girls rejoice, however – Mercedes is allowed!

Has Portugal banned any other names? There are more than 2,000 names on the reject list, including Ovnis - Portuguese for UFO.

10) Akuma AKA Devil (Japan)Here's a name the Pope definitely wouldn't approve of. In 1993 a Japanese parent called his son Akuma (which literally means Devil). The authorities decided this was an abuse of the parent's rights to decide a child's name and a lengthy court battle ensued. Eventually the father backed down and junior got a new, less demonic name.

Has Japan banned any other names? Lots. Names must use one of the 2,232 'name kanji' characters decided by the government.






http://uk.lifestyle.yahoo.com/family-parenting/10-illegal-baby-names-blog-3-yahoo-lifestyles.html

I was thinking recently that there aren't many bees about. The reason I was thinking about this is because I saw a bee flying about in the middle of that very cold weather. I was wondering if anyone else thinks there are less bees about and weather or not the world will be seriously affected what with the way the bees impregnate plants and flowers which in turn creates honey etc.

I think it's an important issue. We all have said "the bee's knees" or "I bees at the shop" etc. So culturally they have been helpful to our vocabularly.

Is there any documents out there saying that bees are on the wane?

I was wondering

Tonight surely marks the most historic night on tv when they announce the best ever Abba song. I have been a fan of Abba since Waterloo and I make sure that I play at least one song of theirs every day at some point.

I would like to find out what other people's favourite Abba song is?

Mine is a lesser known one called 'One of Us'. This is it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIKAe8Wi0S0

The reason I choose this one is very personal and something I don't want to go into much detail on here. Suffice to say it concerns the day my father ran off with a woman on Christmas Eve. We were devastated and it hurt our family badly. I suffered from nightmares and panic attacks. He did return though the next day (Christmas Day) when he found out that the woman was also his first cousin. We were so overjoyed but things were a little awkward for 4-5 years. Anyway this song sums it up.

Is anyone else totally ecstatic at the guessing of who will turn on the Belfast Christmas Tree light in Belfast tomorrow night, Saturday?

I couldn't sleep last night thinking of the options. I shortlisted it to 20 people IN ORDER OF BOOKIES FAVOURITE, in my head:

JIM MCDONALD
IAIN DOWIE
KEVIN MCGOURTY
ONE OF THE DUNLOPS
JACKIE FULLERTON
BILL CLINTON
NADINE COYLE
LOUIS WALSH
DAVID HEALY
DAVE ALLEN
THE EDGE
VAN MORRISON
WEST TIP
RICHARD DUNWOODY
TONY MCCOY
D:REAM
MICHAEL FLATLEY
FR BUCKLEY
PAT KENNY

Two things to relate here.

Firstly - I told you so! This footage = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gj3qesTjOE8&feature=player_embedded#! = shows someone talking on a mobile phone during a Charlie Chaplin movie in the 1920s.

Secondly, if you could time travel where would you go and why?

I would go to a Freddie Mercury after party and warn him about protection.

I think those advertisements are atrocious for the reputations of Pandas in the eyes of children. Have you seen them? You can see them on youtube? They are meant to be funny but are racist towards pandas. I was in China last month and they were on all the TVs.

I have been thinking a lot lately about the best thing ever. If a man had a gun at your head and says you have to tell him the best thing ever what would it be?

I narrowed it down to

- Cars
- Computers
- Cows

Cars becasue you can get to B from A very quickly, especially if you had been suffering a heart attack etc.

Computers (and I was going to say food) because they now make food and even do everything from heart surgery to eye surgery to printing out photos.

Cows =-milk (if none, no tea or coffee), bef burgers, mince for spaghetti bolognese, rump etc etc steaks etc.

I'd narrow that list down to computers and cows. After that it'd be cows and we'd still survive without computers. So cows were the greatest invention ever in my book.

What is your greatest thing ever in the world?

[164 Closeted Gay Men Having Impressive NFL Preseason]

Can anyone explain that why do we have gay politicians, singers, presenters, business men etc etc in every walk of life except SPORT? OK you get one or two but surely that's a tiny percentage. I don't want to out people but I know a right few gay GAA and Irish Internationals but they don't want to come out because it might make the matches harder with people shouting homophobic stuff. Is that the only reason. I was delighted to read his article last week;

164 Closeted Gay Men Having Impressive NFL Preseason

As the first round of preseason games drew to a close Monday, NFL sources reported that the league's 164 closeted gay players were turning in excellent performances across the board as they battled for roster positions on the league's 32 teams.

"It's still early, but so far so good," said one Giants lineman, who told reporters he was pleased with his team's 31-16 victory over the Jets and who, like every gay player in the NFL, is not out to his teammates and asked not to be named. "I feel good physically and I'm playing well, so I should be able to survive at least the first roster cut if I stay healthy."

"I'm not going to make any predictions, but I think all of us gay guys did great tonight," said a Jets skill-position player, dismissing his team's preseason loss as unimportant. "In fact, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if all nine of our homosexual players made the cut."

Across the NFL, gay players are shaking off the rust of a long offseason, contending with the rigors of learning the playbook, and competing with their teammates—some of whom are younger, some of whom are stronger, some of whom are also gay—for a spot on a 53-man roster.

For the past several weeks, they have been practicing, showering, watching videotape, eating, and sitting in the trainer's hot tub alongside straight players. While many have formed close friendships in that time, every closeted gay player realizes as much as every openly straight player that the team doesn't have enough positions for all of them.

"The first test for any player, gay or not, is how you do in that first full-pads practice, where the speed and power of players at this level surprises some guys who are coming right out of college," said a gay player for the Kansas City Chiefs, adding that his career would surely be ruined if his sexual orientation were to be revealed. "Our first week, a receiver coming across the middle got hit so hard by a gay member of our secondary he could barely believe it. You see that happen a lot."

Most gay players agreed the biggest test comes in the preseason games, when they are evaluated under actual playing conditions. According to sources, over the first weekend of exhibition play, the majority of homosexual players acquitted themselves more than adequately.
"I'm extremely proud of the way [my closeted gay players] performed against the Chargers last weekend," Chicago head coach Lovie Smith said when asked about several players on his roster whose sexual orientation he was unaware of. "I feel that [certain gay offensive players] are going to be a big component of our ground game and [various gay members of the defense] will continue to contribute in all aspects, although the pass rush is naturally a concern, as always."
"So, why did you ask about those guys in particular?" Smith added.

Realistically, the NFL's gay players told reporters, they cannot all make their respective teams.
"Not everyone can compete at this level," said a three-time Pro Bowl linebacker and homosexual. "There's no shame in it. It's just a fact of life. But for a lot of gay players, it's one of the hardest things to admit to yourself."

However, hopes remain high. If there's one thing aside from their carefully hidden sexual orientation that unites these athletes, it's their positive attitude.

"I'm definitely going to make the NFL. There's no doubt in my mind," said a gay former college standout who has struggled with the transition to the pros and been cut for three consecutive years. "I'm going to make it onto the Cowboys this year. I haven't been this sure of anything since I was 17. Mark my words: I'm going to be playing out there right alongside those straight guys, just like all the other gay players people don't realize they're cheering for every week."

I saw this earlier - http://uk.news.yahoo.com/5/20100906/twl-world-s-shortest-man-is-just-70cm-ta-3fd0ae9.html - and I was thinking - surely there is a good cause to breed these people?

Say if someone was stuck down a shaft....now you are getting me - why cannot these boys not go down into the Chilean mine disaster and sort the whole thing out.

It's a heart-warming story about him and his 18-year old Fanny. One joke is that he wants to see the world...I would but I won't say it. Haha. But it's a nice story and a lesson to us all. No matter how tall you are, don't give up. I went to class with a boy called Hugh and he was 7 foot in first year. People used to call him 'Huge' and he nearly destroyed the school and himself. But he overcame it and ignored the jokers. The last I heard from him he was dead but had been playing basketball in Lithuania.

I have been worried recently about the human race. I think we're on the cusp of something terrible and it has all to do with technology. Cloning means that parents might just conceive one child, see how well he gets on in school or if he/she is good looking and then decide whether to do ahead and clone it. Then, as the shows show, the clone will probably having something wrong with it down the line and kill everyone belonging to it and maybe be too strong for the police to deal with it.

Nextly, computers are about to bring us to somewhere we don't want to go. Facebook and those things means that lives are not what they were. CCTV and bank cards etc, chip and pin and computerised national security numbers. Sometimes soon, someone is going to get their hands on all this info and god knows what the end result will be.

Where do we go from here? WHAT IS NEXT? There was no Google in 1989 but now even stupid people know the capital of a country within seconds during a pub quiz. What's the next invention? Holograms of dead people who just repeat keys phrases they'd have said? They sit in a chair in your living room so they never die but it's sad as they cannot react logically to a football match or the X Factor.

I think we're on the verge of something horrible. A superior race of people who hold the keys to everyone. I for one would be happy for the internet to be turned off and less cars, fast food outlets. Even if the governement said 'listen lads, we're going to live like it's 1601 for a yeaR, including medical treatment and weaponry.

I have been giving this serious thought over the last few days and I think I have a solution that'll end over 2000 years of conflict.

So I started at what makes people angry about politics and war in Ireland. I did this by primary research. I decided to walk down a road with loads of loyalist and royal parafenalia. Well, I felt like torching the houses that had them. So, no flags should be on show at any time. I'm sure there are good Protestants who go clean mad when they are driving through Burren and see Down flags or tricolours in Dunloy. Get rid of all of them and prosecute anyone who hangs anything out of their windows.

Secondly, get rid of religion completely. It needs to be destroyed in Ireland. I, when walking down the loyalist road, saw a Church with no crucifix on it and i wanted to bomb it there and then and I'm not even religious. Get rid of all religions and religious leaders. But these people into the dole and get them retrained say as therapists of public speakers. Use the religious building as homes for the homeless, alcoholics etc. Or even do markets in them. To be honest this needs more thinking as Armagh catherdral would be wrecked if you allowed alcoholis drinking buckfast into it at the same time as a market.

Thirdly, just tell everyone to start again. No religion, no loyalties, no nothing. It's not even Ireland anymore. Don't even call it that. Change the flag or maybe have no flag at all. Maybe call it Peaceland and for football matches the national team could wear dove costumes or strips, all white. No emblem or maybe a dove or scales. No one has any history, no background. There is no culture or language. Make up a new language etc and different types of dancing or singing styles. Call the new language Peacish and say use xylophones etc as a national instrument. Gays and lesbians are to be regarded as normal. All colours are allowed too.

This will take a lot of work but if we all pull together it can work.

Does anyone have a better solution? Thousands of years is too long for fighting about flags and whodunit.

I have been thinking a lot lately and I think it's very important that we work out what our last words should be. Your ancestors will have to contend with it as your legacy so it's vital that you give it good thought. For example if you were about to be hit by a bus or train, you wouldn't want your grandson saying to his teacher in school "My granda said 'oh for fcuk sake'" before he was hit by a double decker.

I have been looking for inspiration and saw these:  http://www.popcrunch.com/20-badass-famous-last-words/

Maybe something profound like "never be cruel to small pets" or "The guns are under the stairs". I haven't given it enough thought yet. Any good ideas?

If I weren't on the net right now I'd be...

A phrase I use far too often...

I wish people would take more notice of....

A common misperception of me is...

The most surprising thing that ever happened to me was...

I'm not a politician but...

I'm good at...

But I'm very bad at...

The ideal night out is...

In moments of weakness I...

The best age to be is...

In a nutshell, my philosophy is...

I have been reading about methods and was wondering if anyone has a trick that always works. Say for eg you were in a bar and a person you liked was at the other end of it - how do you make sure they'll come under your spell or maybe just notice you?

For me:

THE EYES. I think moving your eyes all over the place makes them stare at you trying to work you out. Sneaky eyes are attractive - ie side to side. It makes them think you know something and they'll also think maybe you work for a mysterious agency.

MONEY: Yes, this is important. If you're buying a shandy that costs £2.50, take out about £200-£300 pounds by mistake and give the man a £20 note. The person you like will think whoaaa.

WALKING: Walking is important. Walk leisurely with your legs bending out at the knees. It suggests you can be bendy or maybe are well worn.

Any other ideas?