Mireia

What the heck? Why is KL ahead of RI in the overall rankings? We swept; they didn't. If you add up our point spreads, we had a bigger one (7 vs. 4). Unless SS gets more weight than SoSd, which I guess it might...
 
Altador looks tough.

MSN doesn't quite work right on my computer full quality, so here's easy access to the links for low quality versions of every game:
Low Quality Links
Yooyuball
Slushie Slinger
Make Some Noise
Shootout Showdown
Daily Cap Limit (as of 2017)
Yooyuball: 46 Games
Slushie Slinger: 86 Games
Make Some Noise/Shootout Showdown: 401 Games

I knew it! i love Moltara's look also, really, all the lava and rock it's pretty awesome. But you know, dinosaurs :happydance:
 
Edit: @Neomancer, that's what I like about small teams, less pressure and more people willing to have fun!
 
Overall stantings so far for all tiers, Tyrannia, Altador and Kiko Lake :rock:
 
Good work teams!
 
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This is DeAndra from the The Daily Neopets, on location in the Colosseum where the Jelly Chia is preparing for the massive amount of goals that will need to be stopped. After having to fight through crowds of guards stopping the general population from swarming the various team members from each land, I was finally able to make it down to the field and the goal posts.

I sat for a while, watching the Jelly Chia jiggle back and forth blocking shots and laughing hysterically with every save. I also had to dodge a few errant Yooyus that came my way. When the Chia had a free moment, he finally came and spoke with me:

Hello, it is great to sit and talk with you, I imagine you get sought after often?

No, actually. Most interviewers come down looking for the players to interview; I appreciate the interest in speaking to me.

Well, you are the infamous Chia who has been blocking practice shots for years. How do you like your job?

I love it! Sometimes a few goals slip by me, but for the most part it keeps me moving.

You seem to love it since you are always laughing. I have to ask, is that jovial laughter or are you simply teasing anyone who doesn't get a Yooyu past you?

A bit of both really. What can I say? I get a little smug at times. These are top notch players, you have to be proud blocking a shot from a lot of them.

Speaking of the players, how do you feel getting to work with them so often?

A lot of them are very nice; some are very intimidating.

Are there any players in particular that you have a hard time approaching?

Well, not many... But I have always had a fear of Reshar Collifey. I don't know why but he always looks at me like he wants to eat me. *shudder*

Ah, well I could imagine why that would be intimidating. Anything you are looking forward to in this year's competition?

Sure, there are a few new faces around. I want to see how they fare getting a goal past me. It is always interesting when there is a new challenge on the practice field.

Sounds great! Now I know you have to go because it looks like Team Maraqua wants some practice but I must ask one more question.

Sure, what would that be?

I have been dying to know what your name is!

Oh! Well my name is... *whistle blows*. Oh, the team is ready, maybe next time!

And that was all I could get from our Jelly Chia practice goalie for now. He was working hard, and so were those teams at practice!

Reporting from the Yooyuball field in the Altador Colosseum, this is DeAndra signing off.


Obligatory disclaimer: This news report is largely fictional, composed from various fan comments and the whims of our imagination in an attempt to inspire a sense of realism through our reporting. While we do our best to keep things reasonably neutral, this report is in no way intended to be a completely bias-free representation of the parties involved, nor does it claim to provide critical analysis of past and potential outcomes from qualified Altador Cup experts. If professional analysis is what tickles your fancy, take a look at our predictions (global/daily).
 

1: Will this be your first AC? If not, how many ACs will this make for you?
This will be my fifth year of torturing myself playing.

2: Are you joining the same team as you did last year? If not, where will you go?
The same team as always; Shenkuu.

3: What are you most looking forward to this year?
The end.

4: Who do you think has the best chance of winning?
KI, DC, MD, KR, MQ. The usual.

5: What rival team are you most looking forward to playing against?
None of them.

6: Any AC goals? What are they?
Get All-Star.

7: A change you're hoping they made to the event?
Shorten the duration of the event, with less to achieve all-star. Add a new game.
 
8: Something you're dreading?
The whole entire thing
 

1: Will this be your first AC? If not, how many ACs will this make for you? This will be my 6th AC
2: Are you joining the same team as you did last year? If not, where will you go? Tyrannia allways!
3: What are you most looking forward to this year? Everything
4: Who do you think has the best chance of winning? Ni idea, I wish it will be TY, but I'm pretty sure we won't be that lucky
5: What rival team are you most looking forward to playing against? Terror Mountain, there's something special about playing against your ex team mate.
6: Any AC goals? What are they? I always want to get All Star, but being realistic, I'd like to do better than last year.
7: A change you're hoping they made to the event? 8: Something you're dreading? New brackets, I never fully understood how they worked.

I think my best AC moments is after the daily results, when you meet with your teammates on the boards to comment them. Specially when we won a match we didn't expect.

Anyone willing to come to the seekers will be more than welcome ;)

New Altador Cup wallpaper images have been found, some depicting roster changes for this seasons line up!



Click for larger preview

I believe that the answer to the question: "Has religion done more good than bad?" depends on how religion is viewed.
 
In example: I am atheist, but many of my friends are religious; some are stronger in faith than the others. I am good friends with Christians, Mormons and Jews. While we may have very different beliefs religion has never been an issue to us. Religious/non-religious is a very personal thing to us and we all agree that different people think differently - there is no point in blaming, judging and hating. So on personal level, what has religion caused? In the end I think it is +/- situation, nevertheless I can't deny how important it is to some.
 
But when I think of religion on larger scale (schools, government, laws etc.) I can't help but see the bad things it has caused. No, religions should not be banned or discriminated. Religious things just should not have a place in the education system or in the government. Never. Why? Because schools are to teach us critical thinking, history, languages, math & science and religion - in a form of history and culture. Public schools should not follow or judge anyones personal beliefs (I know absolutely nothing about the education system outside Scandinavia, I'm sorry if I am speaking rubbish here =P). On larger scale religion should never justify any decision. It is reason & logic. Science is pretty good at that.
 
Has religion done only bad things on larger scale? Nope. Churches help homeless people, collect money to help children in Africa and offer consolation. Conclusion? Religion in itself may not be bad or good - it is the people who do good and bad things. Good people would do good things no matter what did they belive and the same goes for the bad people.
 
And lastly about the same-sex marriage. Even here in Scandinavia (relatively non-religious countries) people who stand against it often justify it because religion x says y. I have personally never understood why people do that. Here no one is forcing any church to do anything. Marriage in here has nothing to do with religion if you don't especially want to have religious weddings. So I am all for same-sex marriage. I have never heard a single good or even decent argument against it and I'll most likely never will.
 
Thank you for reading and sorry for all the typos and grammar mistakes I did =P
I wrote this on my phone and I am far from a native speaker.

This is getting out of hand. This thread is for debating the subject in the original post, not to attack or demean anyone for their opinions on the said topic or any type of name calling since regardless of what it may mean to one person, it could be taken a different/offensive way.

Let's keep this as a debate only on the subject at hand, without attacking other members for their point of views. Please be respectful to everyone. If you can't debate and get your point across respectfully, it's best to keep it to yourself.

First of all, please don't call me "young one". Not only is it incredibly disrespectful and condescending--and purposely so, or else you wouldn't have said it--but it's inaccurate. I'm pretty sure I stopped being able to be called young when I started walking with a cane. (Also, it's very disrespectful to people who ARE young--saying "I'm older, therefore I know better than you"...think about that before you post next time.)
 
The points I see in your argument:
(Please let me know if I am reading them incorrectly, and then clarify them)
 
1) Other bad things in history have been done that were NOT done in the name of religion. (Funny, I actually knew every single one of these, so I guess I don't really need to study more of history. Another point of condescension?)
2) Religion is only the good things about religion, not the bad things.
 
I have already addressed these points before, but it's been a while, so let me do it again.
 
Point 1: A teacher has a class full of students, and one student is caught passing notes at an inopportune time. When the teacher punishes the student, the student whines "But so-and-so was doing it!" How does the teacher respond?
a) Absolves the student of all blame and says it's okay because so-and-so was doing it too.
b) Absolves the student of all blame AND takes away all other blemishes on the student's record because another student happened to do it too.
c) Says "We're not talking about so-and-so. We're talking about you. You did it, and you have to face the consequences."
 
The things that DIDN'T happen in the name of religion are irrelevant, unless religion could have PREVENTED them. It doesn't make it okay that people have been killed in the name of religion just because people have been killed in the name of other things too. It doesn't erase the stain on history.
 
IF religion could and would have prevented any of those things, then it would count as a point in religion's favor. As I've said multiple times before, the fact that bad things have happened doesn't mean that good things haven't. Unfortunately, none of these things would have been prevented by religion, and therefore they stand completely irrelevant.
 
A lot of things HAVE been specifically done because of religion--witch hunts, Spanish Inquisition, terrorist bombings, the kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart (read the recent stuff too)--that were horrible and should never have happened. Had the religion not been around, those things would not have happened. A point against religion, although you would disagree, and we'll talk on the next point. But also factor in all the things, as I said quite recently, that were NOT done specifically because of religion but were done in the name of religion. Would they still have happened without religion? Probably. Could they have fallen flat on their faces? Also probably. Take out the reason for the action, take out the fanatical worship and fear of questioning, and people WILL start to question. People WILL stop following orders if they see the flimsiness behind the order. Reinforce that order with God--or the state, or whatever is at the other end--and the people will go through with the horrible acts.
 
Point 2: No. You cannot say that only the good things of something count. If religion hadn't been around--no matter how many good points of religion--certain things would not happen. As I've said before, it is the faith that causes bad things to happen. Faith, rather than relying on reason and basic philosophy and the ability to think about individual situations and understand why things are good and bad.
 
I am not blaming God. I mean, I don't believe in God, so it would be really stupid for me to blame God. I do blame mankind. Mankind does bad things. Mankind made religion. All the blame goes on people--but just as we talk about banning assault weapons even though it is the people who do the shooting, the weapon of religion must be discussed.

Exactly. It's short and sweet. Keep religions out of schools, out of laws, and either in the church or in the home. It has no place to govern people's lives, yet we see it everyday.

Here's the thing, though: even if religion doesn't cause the problem in every case, it often prevents a solution.
 
With the gay marriage banning, or the gay-bashing, or all other forms of homophobia, people hide behind their religion. Then we can't say "Um, no, you can't do that" because then we're allegedly discriminating against people for religion. Because they get to use that as an excuse, they get to pretend they are every bit as persecuted as people who *are actually persecuted*. And that's how they manage to stop the legislation--by convincing people that if we allow gay marriage, then people will stop them from being allowed to have churches, etc.
 
Take away the excuse of religion, and people have no choice but to say "I just don't like it." And that doesn't stand up in a court of law.
 
Not like one's personal religion SHOULD stand up in a court of law as an excuse to take rights away from others, but...

I am not a devout atheist, I do not consider atheism as a religion. I do not have faith, as it implies not having evidence.
 
What you mention about socio-cultural aspects is true. However I'd like you to consider how our culture (any culture) has its roots on religion, so does our moral. Even I recognize that many of my culture, and festivities are religious related. I know, Christianism is part of my cultural heritage. How does that affect to how I behave, or how i see the world. I guess it does a lot.
 
Also, I am just giving my opinion, not imposing anything. I've never, ever, tried to convince a religious person to stop believing in God.
 
However, many religious people try to impose their beliefs on me. And I'm going to give you a very personal example. I am lesbian, and i have to hear everyday, in my own country, how I'm unable to raise a child. Or how i am sick, or confused, or that I suffered from child abuse (yeah, someone told me that) and that's why I do not have a "natural" way of expressing my feelings. That's what religion says about me. I don't know how you see it, but that's what I call "imposing"
 
I wouldn't care about that If it weren't that these opinions (Rouco Varela, Spanish bishop, has said all those things, many times) are being seriously considered on my government. Catholic Church in Spain is a true lobby, and is getting more power everyday.
 
I believe that, as you said, religion is not the root of all the problems, but it's one of its main causes.

Wow, very well said. Glad I came across your post as I feel the exact same way. I'm more of an anti-theist than anything, if I'm being completely honest and your reasoning is completely valid.
I'd also like to point out the injustices to the scientific community in the name of religion. As you pointed out, it tells people not to think but to rely solely on faith. So when science comes out with something that is conflicting with a religious view, science and religion are at war and still are. From an American perspective, only about half of the people here believe in evolution. Only half. It just blows my mind when we have so much evidence to the contary. It's my belief that science and free thinking is what will turn this world into a better place. If that ever happens? I don't know. I do know the atheist population is growing and so is the number of people who believe in evolution, slowly that is. To me, I'd go as far to say that religion is a form of child abuse. Scaring a young child into thinking there's a special place in hell for all the "bad people". Not only is it misleading but scary to a young child. I would love to see this world start putting more empthasis on science and reason and less on religion.

My opinion might not be really objective, as i am an atheist, raised by an atheist family. Even my grandmother is atheist, and actually she hates religion more than me.
 
I'll try to explain as best as I can, but being a non native English speaker I might have some problems expressing what I men, so sorry :P
 
I firmly believe that religion has done more bad than good globally, because many people use it as an excuse to do whatever they want. There are many wars all over the world because of that, mainly between abrahamic religions. They are essentially the same, with some differences when interpreting the sacred books, so I don't understand all this fighting.
 
When I try to think what good has come from religion, only bad things come to my mind. Really. Religion does not unite people, in small communities maybe, but when it comes to large groups it fails. There are many countries that are struggling because they have two, or more religious groups fighting.
 
I live in a non confessional state (Spain) but everyday I see how religion is taking more and more power on the government on issues so important as the abortion rights or same sex marriage.
 
Religion should be kept private, but it never is. Every time I see a president, or a government saying things like "God bless you" or accepting they responsibility in the government with one hand over the bible (I don't know how to say it in English, I hope you understand what I mean) it makes me mad.
 
Religions imposes, always, and that's what I do not like it. It affects me, even when I'm not part of it.
 
It makes people conformists, it makes people not to question anything as it is God's will, and most of all it makes people hate.
 
I know I'm making it general, I know many religious people who are not like that, but as i see the world, the majority is like that.
 
For me religion is mythology, and I see no difference between praising Jesus or Thor.

Ehhhhh, hate to tell you, but that's EXTREMELY low. As you can see from this board, there were people doing thousands of battles in the 4 day span; I'm considered very low level (edit: we have almost the same stats for our strongest pets, I was beating the easiest bosses on hard so you should've had no problem on easy! :eh: ) but I still managed to do 70-80 battles. This event was made for people who have higher level pets to prosper. You think it's unfair to people like you, but you have to make a strong attempt & contribute to gain the benefits.
 
Anyways, I picked the right team this time and got the avatar & theme. I'm glad I got this one but I'm still hoping we have another chance to get the ones we've missed/are going to miss. I don't wanna be whiny but I'd really hate to miss out on these just because I'm unlucky! :worried:

Until I get my Seekers avatar, I'm not changing factions. I hope there's an avatar for loyalty :D

Until I get my Seekers avatar, I'm not changing factions. I hope there's an avatar for loyalty :D

Until I get my Seekers avatar, I'm not changing factions. I hope there's an avatar for loyalty :D

I'll stick with my team, Tyrannia. This will be my 6th year with them. I know we are not a big team, but after so many years, I can't see myself joining any other team.

Hahaha, that's exactly how I am feeling. I will stick with my faction until I get a win, and then I will jump ship to try to collect another avvy :) I feel like jumping around all the time would make it more difficult to win.
 
It's interesting that the boons are faction related...I wonder what could possibly be in store for the Awakened boons? Free daily cake?

Until I get my Seekers avatar, I'm not changing factions. I hope there's an avatar for loyalty :D

Yes, and sadly happened mostly while fighting Kanrik... Many users have reported it, but no response so far.
 
P.S: Yay! i'm not the only one left, I was starting to wonder if I was the only seeker left on board