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Oh, a "normal person". And why do you think you get to define that? Right. So no atheists experience friendship or love, or believe in the existence of the human race, because they don't believe in 'your' god. Yeeeessss. I can see how you'd reach such a conclusion. Have you actually got an...

If 28 days is too short a time, why? If 28 days is too short a time only for terrorism, why? You need to start asking those questions before you swallow (hilariously, as it happens) the government view of 42 days. Actually, it's priceless watching you, of all people, believe this government and...

The Parliamentary Labour Party hasn't been left wing for years. The economics of the Blair and Brown governments have been essentially neo-liberal, favouring the market as the solution to all issues (health, education etc). Socially, there has been some progress (civil partnerships etc), but...

In my opinion, religious belief is, on at least one level, a security blanket. I say this with the benefit of personal experience. I would also say, from the benefit of personal experience, that religious belief stunts intellectual growth and activity. I am not forcing anything on anyone – the...

I was surprised to see A Clockwork Orange on the list.

At the risk of a cliché, I don't dislike Roman Catholics – I dislike Roman Catholicism (and most certainly the leadership of the Catholic church), but then again, I'm completely consistent in that I dislike all religions. :) In recent months, I've had a couple of experiences of waiting for a...

Goat's cheese is excellent – brilliant with a fresh, crisp salad. And goats have kids. Not humans.

The Times used to be the newspaper of record, but it's been the Independent for some time now. Generally, though, all the broadsheets (Times, Telegraph, Independent, Guardian and Financial Times are pretty respectable, regardless of their particular political slant. The Mail (christened the...

Not enough, clearly. ;) The right to walk down a street without being "blown to bits" is not a civil right, as Chris suggests. It would be classed as a human right – to go about one's business in safety. Fortunately, Chris's wholehearted supported for human rights legislation in the UK is...

On that basis, surely one could be excused for suggesting that we continue to believe in Father Christmas, the Tooth Fairy and the Bogeyman – after we have reached adulthood. Why not? Invisible friends are "a comfort" to children – does that mean that we could consider an adult who continued to...

Anyone who trusts government when government makes such proposals is a fool.

In terms of women, Catherine Deneuve, Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Kathy Bates ...

Not really a "classic" novel, but the film adaptation of Thomas Harris's The Silence of the Lambs was very good indeed. The 1946 version of The Big Sleep is a classic in its own right. I'd agree about Remains of the Day. The film version of EM Forster's A Room With a View is excellent...

Film actors, I assume. Therefore: Humphrey Bogart Daniel Auteuil Anthony Hopkins

Do you mind if I ask why?

The biography of Marx is by Francis Wheen and yes, it is very good. Of the books themselves, The Communist Manifesto is easy to read. Capital, Vol I is harder, but repays the effort, since it really does present the theory of the economic relationships between the classes, and as such, it's...

A Case of Conscience by James Blish James Blish's story is an intriguing proposition. Originally published as a novella and then expanded, it tells of a Jesuit priest-biologist, Father Ramon Ruiz-Sanchez, and his attempts to come to terms with the theological puzzle that is created by the...

Thank you, Enya. Yes, I did take them all.

Currently two cats – Mack, who is almost 16 and a half and has been with me all but the first 12 weeks of that. And Boudicca, who is three and a half and still thinks that she's a kitten. Mack's sister Mabel died four years ago this June and was, a couple of months after that, replaced by...

A few from last week's trip to Paris: Tour EDF at La Défense, Paris. The city of romance. Commemoration of some WWII event on the Champs Elysees (not sure what for – possibly the Battle of Paris). Trocadero. Ecole Militaire.