UFO's Are You a Believer?

Earth is just one of billions of stars. Do you think it is conceivable that we are alone or does other life, similar to our own, exist elsewhere in the Universe?

Have you ever seen an extra terrestrial being?

Maybe you think they have visited Earth or are already here, integrated into our culture and maybe they have prominent and influential positions?

After all have you ever thought why some people appear to be just too gifted?

Are you a UFO believer or not?

In This World Nothing Is Certain But Death and Taxes

Most, if not all, of the developed nations have tax systems and credits that have become so convoluted that tax regulations run to thousands of pages and the administration costs soar as each individual case is calculated.

Most experienced economist would previously have argued that to introduce a single flat rate of income tax would result in financial disaster.

Estonia had an economy that was in meltdown, with inflation running at 1,000 per cent a year and one in three workers unemployed. However through adopting a flat rate tax its economy has flourished into one that is now listed in the top ten of competitive economies and is enjoying considerable foreign investment.

The idea that the rich should pay tax at a higher tax than everyone else is almost 100 years old. It is often argued with modern taxation systems that the rich are able to find loop holes that allow them to pay little, if any tax at all.

Estonia tax everyone at the same rate 22 per cent.

Would you support a more transparent form of taxation?

Do you think any of the G8 countries will be brave enough to make such a radical change?

Physician Assisted Suicide

Doctors in many countries are able to accompany their patients every step of the way, up until the last where laws stops them helping their patients take the final step, even if that is the patients fervent wish.

A number of medical organisation have recently withdraw their opposition to any legalisation that would allow assisted dying but they say it is a matter for society and their neutrality in the debate must not be seen as support for assisted dying.

In the Netherlands, one in 40 deaths is from voluntary euthanasia or assisted suicide, both legal practices.

In Oregon, where voluntary euthanasia is prohibited, assisted suicide is responsible for one in 700 deaths.

Where do you stand on this difficult issue?

How Should Recreational Drugs Be Classified?

A number of countries have recently looked at the systems used for classifying drugs. A recent UK report stated that they found "The system for classifying drugs is inconsistent, irrational and "not fit for purpose".

The same report was highly critical of the police, the Government and its advisers and called for the classification system to be put on a scientific basis, according to the harm a substance causes.

The committee that compiled the report took advice from a panel of drug experts and concluded that alcohol and tobacco are more dangerous than ecstasy, LSD and cannabis, based on a "rational" classification system that the committee strongly supported.

The committee took into account research conducted by the University of Bristol who assessed a list of 20 drugs, legal and illegal, in nine categories and weighed up the physical harm, tendency to induce dependence and the impact on families, communities and society.

Using a "rational" ranking method showed that some legal substances were much riskier than those deemed most dangerous, the current Class A drugs. Others that have been demonised, notably ecstasy, are near the bottom of the table of risk.

Even though it is legal alcohol was high up the new scale because it is involved in more than half of all visits to accident and emergency departments and orthopaedic admissions. Alcohol often leads to violence and is a frequent cause of car accidents.

Another legal drug tobacco is estimated to cause up to 40 per cent of all hospital illness and 60 per cent of drug-related fatalities.

By the experts' method, alcohol and tobacco would both be Class B drugs which in the UK currently includes Amphetamines, Methylphenidate (Ritalin), Pholcodine and carries a punishment for possession of up to five years in prison or an unlimited fine; Or both.

The committee want to see the classification of drugs routinely reassessed using a rational and court sentences for drug abuse stratified according to how far up the new scale a drug lies.

Do you think that the classification of drugs should be based on risk factors and not the present systems that tend to be inconsistent and the results of ad hoc judgments and historical accidents?

Should People Drink Water From The Tap Or The Bottle?

For many years there have been many studies that have concluded that for countries that have well developed water treatment, bottled water is often no healthier or safer to drink than tap water.

Organisations such as the World Wide Fund for Nature have for many years argued that bottled water is not only environmentally unfriendly but also a waste of money.

However, despite high quality and availability of tap water, the research findings and the high cost of bottled water the developed world continues to consume bottled water at an alarming rate.

The city of New York launched an advertising campaign to try and persuade people to give up bottled drinks and consume tap water instead to help protect the environment. New York's city officials have said that they hope that their campaign will save people money and reduce waste.

Environmental groups claim that four out of five plastic water bottles end up on landfill sites and the production process and distribution process, sometimes involving shipping water halfway around the world, causes global warming.

The Bottled Water Association have been reported to say that they think it unfair to single out an industry that is promoting recycling and introducing biodegradable packaging.

According to the Washington, D.C.-based environmental group, Food and Water Watch, Americans drank 37 billion bottles' worth in 2005.

Nearly 40 percent of bottled water is in fact bottled treated tap water and the federal government requires far more vigorous testing of municipal water than bottled water.

Is New York city correct to try and promote tap water?

Do you currently prefer to drink tap or bottled water and which do you think is better for you?

If Animals Could Talk?

Many people in the world are meat eaters and have accepted that it is the way of the world that animals are reared and then slaughtered for food.

In developed countries the number grows of people who out of personal choice, and not for any religious or economic reasons, choose to be vegetarians.

We ask those of you that still eat meat if you would still eat meat if animals were able to effectively communicate with humans?