Yes of course they should convert to the metric system for all the many and obvious reasons stated here - and others. But I want to make a couple of comments.

The metric system is incompletely followed in most countries. For example, the basic unit of energy is the joule (the "watt second") but the more usual unit used is the kilowatt hour not strictly an SI unit. (what do those from the USA use as their basic unit of energy? Does it depend on what sort of energy? Like btu's for burning fuels?) And in the automotive industry, the "bhp" unit is still colloquially used for power in many countries. Others use the PS (a DIN unit roughly equivalent to the Imperial bhp). Few will boast that their new sportscar "puts out 6.6 giga ergs per second at 6000 revs"!

And also - the Imperial unit is conveniently human sized. An inch is thumb sized, a foot is, well rather obviously, foot sized. A yard is arm length sized. Then again, the cm is finger nail sized, the metre is sternum to fingertip.

But yes, most Americans, both North and South America, are already metric so the USA should follow suit.

The religion of Islam is based on the teachings of Mohammad, a man who lived some 1200 years ago. They don't "believe" in Mohammad any more than Christians "believe" in Christ. Islam "believers" call the one God "Allah". The Jews call him "Jehova". The Christians call the god "God" or "Father".

"Radical" Islamists have put their own particular slant on the interpretation of Mohammad's teachings. But that interpretation is no more common than the Evangelist following in Christian countries. Most Christians are decent people following a code of living inspired by the life of Christ and the rules of Paul. And most Muslims are also decent people following a code of living inspired by the life of Mohammad and the teachings of Mohammad himself or the teachings of Abu Bakr (the Sunnis) or Mohammad's son-in-law, Ali (the Shiites). Radical Islamists follow the teachings of Ali. The Shiites make up only 15% of Islam followers and the vast majority of these are good people.

Good this discussion! But do you need to make it belligerent? Well, the credit for the term "Big Bang" is credited to the Belgian guy. Prior to that, there have been numerous theories, some resembling aspects of the modern thinking. Einstein's thinking is 100 years our of date and, with respect, you need to get up to speed with more modern thinking.

Einstein, like Newton before him, was not exactly wrong, but wasn't completely right either. And of course, modern thinking wont be exactly right any more than any other bit of science.

"Dark Matter" is only where we're at for the moment. It is a name applied to "stuff" that we think is out there but beyond our senses detection ability. And cosmologists attribute it to an explanation for the expansion of the universe.

As for God being outside our current universe - of course I agree (if He exists). But my own take on this is that "God" is a name applied by humans to personify something we dont really understand.

And no, I'm not talking about Dark Matter - I'm talking about Karma, which is described as the spiritual law of Cause and Effect. Or colloquially, what goes around, comes around. The monotheists figure that some external "judge" decides what is good and what is bad and based on that judgement, one's soul is directed to Heaven or Hell. We Buddhist thinkers just accept it as a law of nature. And our soul well be reborn (in some form) to keep on trying, eventually, if successful, in escaping the repeated cycle of rebirth and reaching Enlightenment at last - maybe the monotheists will call that Enlightenment "Heaven". But this in not the place to explain the Buddhist take on Life, The Universe and Everything! You'll need to check that out yourself.

What is wrong with the monotheist take on "God"? Well, God is the personification of what we Buddhist call Karma. Who knows, perhaps there is a consciousness out there responsible for the workings of our little universe, and, like the feudal overlords of old Europe, He is our local lord. But I dont subscribe to that thinking. I consider a it rather primitive thinking; an explanation to people whose knowledge cannot begin to understand the real workings of the universe. In a way Santa Clause is the personification of the spirit of good will; and God is the personification of Karma. Santa Clause doesn't exist (yes I know, he was a real man in the past) but the spirit of Christmas certainly does. So also, God doesn't exist (in the monotheist way) but the spirit of Karma certainly does.

The Big Bang theory is becoming rather outdated. The term was first coined by a Belgian Priest in 1920's. We humans with our limited senses and limited intelligence will likely never know the "truth", but some of the more recent theories suggest that the larger universe (but not necessarily the "largest") might have little vortices or wavetops sending out little "big bangs", like little droplets of "something" from which our present sensory detectable universe has been created. Of course we have to think this in multiple dimensions. Then there is the developing understanding of "something else" which is simply not detected by our limited senses or indeed by the matter sensed by us! (some of that "stuff" is presently called "Dark Matter").

And then there is the existence of "soul" or "mind" or "consciousness" or whatever you choose to call it. That too might be the stuff of which the universe is made! Buddhist students, (those with more training and understanding than I have) will suggest that even the concept of "reality" is in the mind!

So where is God in all this? Perhaps "God" is the sum total of all consciousness, the creator of the observable universe? Certainly God is not likely to be the monotheist (those followers of Abraham's Paul's and Mohammad's teachings) idea of an alien being, with a long beard, a judgmental eye sitting in Heaven and keeping an eye on us mere mortals. Though perhaps "God" might be that same sum total of consciousness (the stuff of the universe) from which our Karmic line is formed?

So - Do I believe in "God" - certainly not per the monotheist construction. But as some sort of cumulative consciousness? - well maybe "yes".

You know? - My car has a climate control temperature slider, and I set the temperature. I also control the speed with the accelerator, select the limiter or cruise control and even how much concentration I invest in the driving and how much in how to solve the problems at work.

So - how about we put a "morality slider" in the car? After an hour's Buddhist meditation, I slide it over to "100% the other guy". But after a big fight with the girlfriend I reset it to "20% the other guy".

We make these moral decisions all the time when we drive a car. We will usually swerve to avoid the child in the pushchair - even though a huge truck is coming the other way - because we still think we can survive.

So, as the pilot of the car (the person who decides why he is in the car and where he is going) we can set the morality slider ourselves! Relieves the manufacturer of responsibility and puts the moral decision firmly on the pilot - where it should always be!

You know? - My car has a climate control temperature slider, and I set the temperature. I also control the speed with the accelerator, select the limiter or cruise control and even how much concentration I invest in the driving and how much in how to solve the problems at work.

So - how about we put a "morality slider" in the car? After an hour's Buddhist meditation, I slide it over to "100% the other guy". But after a big fight with the girlfriend I reset it to "20% the other guy".

We make these moral decisions all the time when we drive a car. We will usually swerve to avoid the child in the pushchair - even though a huge truck is coming the other way - because we still think we can survive.

So, as the pilot of the car (the person who decides why he is in the car and where he is going) we can set the morality slider ourselves! Relieves the manufacturer of responsibility and puts the moral decision firmly on the pilot - where it should always be!