Walsingham

Been doing meditation today. I haven't done this in at least a decade. It's freaking awesome. Just solved three big problems. Bit scared I might generate solutions to all my problems, because then _who the hell am I_? This is also why I don't do drugs.

See, when this happens to me I just end up being very very polite for about 4 hours and going home more or less sober, but untarnished. Ros will probably end up being flung around in some kind of tripartite feminine salad spinner. Like a sexy lettuce.

Well, ultimately I don't hold out much hope for Africa. In a global economy - and that's a product of technology not a conspiracy - you have the harshest meritocracy balanced only slightly by rules on capital transfer, and security issues. If you are dirt poor and have sod all education then you get boned. Thinking about it now, the only way that can alter is if there's some way to protect and grow/interlink very very small enterprises. The kind you can make work with two chairs and a sharp pair of scissors and a bicycle. Anyway, my point is that I don't see what on Earth nations like Brazil are supposed to do about a poor underclass. Venezuela went all lefty and all that has happened is they made a load of promises which have gone unfulfilled. And that's with huge fossil fuel reserves to foot the bill.

I think it's fascinating how such huge public order issues can be triggered by such seemingly random things. - Turkey - a public park - Brazil - bus tickets - American War of Independence - a tiny tax on a luxury drink It occurs to me that it must be like brush fires. The trigger is tiny. But the store of fuel (i.e. resentment and mistrust) must be large. But I'm not sure you should assume it means Brazil isn't improving. The UK went through an incredibly fierce set of revolts and riots as it industrialised. Peterloo massacre, anyone?

1. Debates online are not time controlled. Therefore you get people wandering in half way through 2. Debates online are never summarised for people joining late, or anyone losing track of the thread 3. Debates online do not typically control membership by credibility 4. WHY AM I NOT IN THE PUB?

You are a very sick genius.

I hear you, that's probably what happened. I am hoping Steam support will just update my German version with an English one. I am not sure of the logistics but I can't imagine its that hard to do? Hopefully not. I have had abysmal service on a bugged version of Fallout 3 recently. BUt that's partly because it's pretty likely it's Windows Live borking it.

I'm pretty strict on not pirating. BUt I don't consider cracking my own ****ing games to be piracy. I can't do it, but that's because I'm a cyberyokel. Not because I think it's wrong.

Ewoks vs., Ghurkas.

If you will concede that some journalists *coughcoughRobertFiskcough* need to be beaten within an inch of their lives.

Let us know if you have to take any hot celebrities or porn stars around. We want details Calax, details Taxi confessions with Calax! Someone call HBO! Do you remember the first one of those? What was the title? I've been trying to find it ever since. Had some great stories.

That's true. They were somehow scarier than the war itself. An administration which thought those shelters were adequate...

I've always been of the position that hating survival is something one can only do if one survives. As is learning to like it.

If I buy you a massive false nose do you think you could lend me your support?

Could we option his recent life story as a movie? Or maybe a game?

Up betimes, and nursing a hangover. sweet nutmeg pancake with natural orange syrup and fried smoky bacon. Black coffee. Went to the National Oceanographic Centre yesterday. Really really cool. I always assumed it was a bit theodolite-y. Actually it's some proper James Cameron deep sea freaking robots on the march ****. And they have the best fish tank I've ever seen.

Logically, it cannot be. You, or any individual voter, have effectively no responsibility because you have effectively no influence. 1 vote in 60 million for you, 1 in 300 million for an american, 1 in 4 million for me. But people buy into the notion that they have influence over elections because collectively we do and politicians play to that, people like to feel important and involved, and for the health of the system itself it is important for people to feel engaged rather than apathetic. It's human nature again, really. You've a Westminster avatar, Zor. So I'm assuming you know a bit about Parliament. You recall that in the UK we vote for specific members of Parliament? Over here, what matters is the swing in a particular seat. That swing is rarely more than a few thousand. Sometimes its only treble figures. The small scale and directness of our system is what I love about it most, even if it does enable Galloways to arse about.

Alas, these days the big brain says 'No', and means it. Mad as a cogwheel souffle. The lot of them.

Those monkeys are quite clearly as high as chimpanzees. Lucky bastards.

Lions give you a manly scratch. I shan't go into detail on what you get from a house cat.

Rupert Smith's Book "The Utility of Force" has some useful stuff to say. Also check out Conflict Theory, by a chap named Gibson. Nice fellow. Dead now, unfortunately. But good system.

I smash inanimate objects. I just realised that makes me quite girly. LOL Amazing the things you learn on this forum. ~~ Today I have mostly been fielding angry exes.

Well, I'd forgotten about the old truck bomb option. I'd have thought that a nation whose navy is basically speedboats is probably up for that. But I was after all thinking about the cachet every tinpot loon dreams of: the tumescent missiles in their silos...

Not clear what you mean by proving Iran is working on a bomb. I don't think it's credible that Natanz is purely domestic. Unless as you say it's a case of it being cheaper and easier to bluff. But that sounds like a bluff I haven't got the stones for. I'm afraid I don't believe that even advanced nations can just whistle up a weaponised nuke. Look at the money the UK has to spend on ours. And that's just maintaining the bloody things. It's a very very complex system, from design to disposal. I do agree that Israel isn't actually the most obvious nuke target for Iran. Nukes are a weapon for defending raw existence. That threat is more likely from Sunni extremist movements seizing power in Saudi or Pakistan. Not to mention pointing at Europe if the USA gets too interested.

The Ritz is the ONLY place to get decent ****tails in central London without opening a new mortgage. The Randolph is in Oxford, but it's a short hop on the bus if no-one would feel cheapened.