Peace is the antithesis of war and hate is the extreme opposite of love. They are mutually exclusive, that is to say war and peace cannot exist at the same time but hate and peace and / or love and war or love and peace can all co-exist. So, my comment was neither passive aggressive nor contradictory If members on this thread honestly think there are no hate posts within this forum, they are either ignorant or delusional and I don't believe that you fall into those categories. Some of the posts I've read over the years (on many threads) reek of narcissistic, sociopathic, manic depressive and even psychopathic tendencies. They all have for the most part been deleted, and, in some cases, members banned. I even had a public online death threat some time ago over a disagreement from a hostile member, so tell me there's not hate on this forum. Had the post not been removed legal action would've ensued against the perpetrator, thankfully it didn't come to that.

I didn't know you were a psychologist. What's with the labels? I don't hate anyone. It's a pity there is so much of it around these days, especially on this thread and others on this forum. The band would be so proud, not.

Yes, and there are no shortages of them from both sides of the debate. Peace.

I see the hate thread is still alive and kicking.

Normally we have good weather this time of year but due to La Nina we have had unprecedented rain for the last couple of years and it looks like it'll be a wet summer as well. Marvel holds 56k and the MCG 100k. Rather than nearly half of the spectators missing out (and possibly refunded), the ICC have decided not to move to Marvel and instead cancel the final altogether. A lot of the ticket holders have traveled from their respective countries and interstate and paid for transport and accommodation and even if the game was postponed, they may not have been able to extend their stay only to be (potentially) disappointed if the final was indeed forfeited. Just to be clear, the reasons I don't like the T20 concept are: Only the "best" players are picked to play and as has been shown that while they are fine ODI and Test Cricketers some are not up to the short game because they don't have enough time to settle in and more often than not get out cheaply. Usually due to frustration in their inability to score especially during "Power Plays". Bowlers have the same problem and with only a maximum of four overs each and only bowl one or two overs at a time can't find their rhythm and unless they are extremely lucky during the Power Plays, get belted all over the park. I would prefer young up and coming players participated in the BBL, IPL and other T20 tournaments. The issue with the BBL is that the state cricketers play all the early games only to be dropped in favour of the international players who go on to play in the finals. The bonus points system is another thing, a team can win the game by scoring the needed runs only to be denied or progressing a position on the table because the losing side scored the bonus point(s). Sometimes the best team doesn't win due to wet weather conditions.

So, if the final is washed out completely as is the real possibility of it happening with no chance of playing another day, England and Pakistan will be declared equal tournament champions. What a shame that would be.

No roof at the MCG and the forecast is 100% chance it will rain, so that will be a real leveler. Hopefully the Duckworth - Lewis equation won't decide the result. Pakistan have played well to get into the final. Since its inception the host country has never won the tournament.

That wasn't personal, just my opinion of the format. Peace.

The original and the best. Enjoy it, to each their own. Btw, I'm not precious about anything and no need to be insulting.

England are a chance too. T20 is very different to 50 over cricket.

Not necessarily. I don't particularly like the T20 / Big Bash League / IPL hit and hope format. They may as well play tip and run. I prefer tests and 50 over ODI's. The final will predictably be between two of these Aus, NZ, India and maybe Sri Lanka. SA and Pakistan are a chance too, but the rest are there just to make up the numbers. Next January / February will be 60 years since I (at 9 years old), went to the SCG for the first time to watch Australia vs. England with my dad and uncle. Richie Benaud, Bill Lawry and Doug Walters were playing in that match.

So am I but not the sham T20. I watched about 20 minutes and that was enough.

So, The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power ("The most expensive television series ever made"), ended with a whimper and not the bang the showrunners would have us believe. The series and plotlines overall were predictable bordering on boring with little continuity or sense of being. Tolkien's stories are all about good versus evil yet, in this show everyone is inherently evil with no redeeming qualities. The actors had been given a crap script, contradictory and somewhat confusing dialogue and direction which unfortunately affected their and particularly Morfydd Clark's, acting. The only saving graces were the scenery and music score but at $70 million per episode the money had to go somewhere!? Guyladriel whom for the most part the first season was all about, is the most despicable characterisation ever who is hellbent on revenge of her brother Finrod's death and it seems her husband Celebor is dead because of his ill-fitting armour. Meteor Man (aka Gandalf, who by the way didn't exist in the second age), used paraphrased dialogue from The Fellowship of the Ring, "Follow your nose.", among other gems. He may yet turn out to be the first Blue Wizard, but I doubt it. Then there were the three female Witches who believed he was Sauron and promptly dispatched by Meteor Man and transformed into Nazgals!? Halbrand was indeed Sauron as was obvious from his first scene with Galadriel. The Dwarves were possibly the best of a bad bunch though not much screen time as the other storylines. Elrond and Durin have developed a bromance whilst mining Mithril to save Lindon, the Elf Kingdom against the Dwarf Kings wishes. Don't mention the hobbits err, Harfoots. Why they are even in the show is a mystery. The unanswered cliffhanger from the previous episode, "Did Isildur survive?" Of course, he did otherwise there would be no Lord of the Rings. This is an example of their idea of suspense and poor writing and insulting the viewer's intelligence and I'm pretty sure they, the viewers would be familiar with Tolkien's work if only from Peter Jackson's trilogy. The three Elf rings were not the first created as the finale indicated. The first 9 rings of power created were for the Kings of Men, including The Witch King of Angmar, who were corrupted and destined to become the Nazgul / Ring Wraiths. That would have been a better first season introduction and a more interesting tale to begin with and truer to the name of the actual show. The next season, the making of the 7 rings for the Dwarf Lords that led to the fall of Khazad-Dum, and the awakening of the Balrog. Then season three about the 3 Elven rings and finally the One ring for season four. Interspersed with the making of the Sword of Elendil and Mithril etc. Season five could've followed the rise of Isildur culminating in the climactic battle against Sauron. Had they written the proper story from the outset the series would have been great except they decided to produce "the story Tolkien should have written." The second season will apparently focus entirely on Sauron, whom the showrunners have declared, "will be complexly evil like Tony Soprano and Walter White!" A cross between a Mafia boss and a Meth dealer? Give me a break.

About the same as Japan. At least we don't have North Korea firing missiles over our country, it must be fun knowing if one hits any of the islands how much damage would occur let alone loss of life. Kon'nichiwa, heiwa, ganbatsu te and sayonara.

So, Rings of Power has just shown the season's penultimate episode and it's still the same old thing. Slow with boring dialogue exchanges which do nothing for the storyline along with unbelievable fight sequences. Guyladriel is the most unlikeable character ever. She is contradictory, hypocritical and sullen as anyone could possibly be and not to mention impossibly invincible, whereas the male characters are portrayed as weak. The showrunners label critics as "patently evil" and apparently, I am evil, misogynistic, racist and sexist all rolled into one. My only gripe is with Guyladriel who is ironically played by a white female. Does that mean being a white male I am racist toward my own race? That there sums up the logic of the show. At the end of last week's episode, she was facing a pyroclastic flow and this week miraculously survived it uninjured. Who knew that to cause a volcanic eruption, just add water? The setting was a watchtower built and controlled by Elves however, canals were built by Orcs under the "watchful" eyes of the Elves. A battle ensued and a sword that can't be destroyed even though it's broken (sound familiar?) is used as a key to unleash a dam that emptied into the volcano. Meanwhile the Dwarves and Elves are haggling over the mining of Mithriel and Durin and his wife are discussing the overthrowing of Durin's father among other things. after they went ahead and mined against the king's wishes. After a couple of blows they awakened a Balrog. The Harfoots (not Hobbits!?) are nomadic and like everyone else in the show are not nice. They go around singing songs about how they stick together yet abandoned a family from their caravan and left them to survive on their own. The aftermath had many implausible plot lines including "cliffhangers" like but not limited to, did Isildur as well as others survive? Which we all know they did. Sauron is yet to make an appearance as we don't know, if he is one of the current cast members or a future addition. A corrupted elf called Adar (not a Tolkien character) and leader of the Orcs and treacherous men has established Mordor in the shadow and desolation of Mount Doom. The next series has begun production just this week and will air sometime in 2024. Surely it will get better, it couldn't possibly get any worse.

Five hours to kick off in the NRL Grand Final. Featuring traditional rivals Parramatta (my team) and Penrith.

If it's on the internet and specifically (anti)social media, it must be true?

Who would want to join a group as depressing and morbid as that? Life, be in it.

I don't have a problem with the show except it tends to be more GOT than LOTR and apart from the Tolkien characters that's where the similarity ends. I watch it because I'm interested to see where it goes, I will criticise where it's warranted and so far, it's as slow as a wet week. Not much action and banal dialogue coupled with some ordinary acting. Hopefully it does improve over the next five or so seasons. Have a nice day.

Facebook, another reliable source of information.

Ask the cast that question as the only criticisms have been about not being accurate and following Tolkien lore. They have been playing the race card and clearly know nothing about any of his works except perhaps Jackson's movies. Tolkien never depicted Galadriel as a warrior elf and although she was powerful in magic she was kind and generally had a happy and pleasant personality. Unlike the portrayal of her by the wooden actress what's her name whose face would break if she ever cracked a smile. She may be interesting in so far as Galadriel's character has been bastardised. If you haven't already, I suggest you read The Silmarillion and others by Christopher Tolkien.

After all the hype and the caning, The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power is getting on the internet, I decided to watch it, however, after about 15 minutes I turned it off and maybe I'll watch it again later. It is, however, visually stunning and no doubt they have tried to emulate (copy), Peter Jackson's vision of Middle Earth and that is where the similarity ends. Firstly, the title is misleading. Although the characters were created by Tolkien, the storyline in this series was not and as it is set long before LOTR a lot of poetic licence has been taken and as the writers have said, "this is the story Tolkien SHOULD'VE written"!? The writers have changed the some of the characters appearance and personality. Galadriel for example is written as a powerful elf queen yet comes across as Legolas in drag and apparently Elrond is gay. I wonder what they have done to the others. There are no Hobbits as such, only Harfoots (which look remarkably like them), who live underground and filthy. As most of my generation grew up with and read the books and since the movies of the 2000's more people are familiar with the stories. Even the interviews with cast members and producers I watched on YouTube have shown and proven inaccuracies. Such as this is the first time female dwarfs have been portrayed on film. Incorrect. They first appeared briefly in The Hobbit trilogy. It would've been more accurate to say, " this is the first time a female dwarf has been portrayed by a coloured person." Which could be construed as a racist comment. It seems "the most expensive television show in history" is about diversity, cancel culture and woke mentality and not about staying true to Tolkien's amazing life's work. he appeared briefly in The Hobbit trilogy. It would've been more accurate to say, "this is the first time a female dwarf has been portrayed by a coloured person." Which is an absurd racist comment to begin with. It seems the tone of "the most expensive television show ever made" is about diversity and woke mentality and not about staying true to Tolkien's amazing life's works. So, I watched the first two episodes and as far as stories go it was surprisingly good. A bit slow as the action sequences were few and far in between due to the amount of time dedicated to character development. Prime have invented some characters to enhance the story. Both were over an hour long. The sequences with the dwarves led by Durin in Khazad-Dum and the mines of Moria in their glory days were shot very well. Their disclaimer, " based on the novel The Lord of the Rings and its appendices by J. R. R. Tolkien." Not much in the way of woke so far, only time will tell however, there are female versions of Frodo and Sam, and it looks suspiciously like the producers are forming another fellowship of sorts. For me it was ok with my only gripe being that it was a missed opportunity to give Tolkien credit where it was due and stayed true to his writings. I'll continue to watch it if only out of curiosity with an open mind and a discerning viewpoint.

Just to be clear, pollution is both man-made and natural. Naturally generated by volcanic emissions of sulphur and who knows what else is spewed into the atmosphere. Volcanic activity occurs and is ongoing from Iceland, Italy, to the Ring of Fire around Indonesia, Hawaii and even the USA mainland, Mt. St. Helens for example. I'm sure there are other places on the planet. Another cause is Earthquakes producing tsunamis. Man-made are Chernobyl, Three Mile Island nuclear reactor meltdowns. Fukushima was a combination of bad location planning and a natural disaster. Climate change is natural and happens frequently due to extreme weather conditions and also occurs as a result of extinction events, the last major catastrophe was when an asteroid crashed into Earth 65 million years ago and created the Gulf of Mexico and wiped out the dinosaurs. The pollution caused the Sun to be blocked out resulting in an ice age. Imagine the drastic changes if the Earth's core were to completely go cold. The only time of man-made climate change would be the effects of a nuclear winter. Thankfully this scenario hasn't come to pass. So, to say that pollution is caused only by man and that the Sun is totally responsible for climate change is not correct. Man contributes to pollution and sometimes the lack of Sun causes climate change, not entirely by the Sun's direct heat or Sunspots alone.

Wrong. The US set the standards long before other western societies did by sticking their noses into other countries business, invited or not and domestic violence that has been perpetrated over there for centuries. Clean up your own backyard before you criticise mine. Unfortunately, Australian politicians have blindly followed their lead. If this is law, the Victorian state government has a lot to answer for. Things are different (for the better so far) since NSW had a change of government and I hope for Victorians the same happens when they have their next election.