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Walsingham

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Everything posted by Walsingham

  1. The bloke in the water is actually on another horse.
  2. I'd weigh in with an uncharacterictically nuanced view: I accept the notion in a federation of having binding principles - a constitution - without which the federation is meaningless. I am increasingly in favour of getting government with its mindless inertia, blind indifference, and rending energy out of most every day things I accept the notion of constraining 'ze natural urges'. To an extent it's dependent on context. But some things are just evil.* A balance should be struck with how much self control can be exerted, and the degree of evil. Small evil with high self control, like my burping, is to be excused in minor exceptions. Big evil, low self control like child molestation is not. If I were gay, as (I'm fairly sure) I'm straight I would be utterly incapable of not being gay. Forcing me to be otherwise would at best divert huge personal effort from other important issues like not talking in movie theatres. At worst my braincase would break apart like an old lady's knees. Seem like a no-brainer to me. In closing: Alan Turing. *Persons disagreeing will be introduced immediately to people I consider evil. In person. And left alone with them.
  3. If you're embarassed by calling them comics then why not get embrassed about referring to 'novels'? I don't give a karate style flying funt what normal people think about "comics." What they ridicule isn't comics, it's nerds. And that means us. We're not going to stop being nerds by changing the name. On topic, I've been using my downtime to dig through my old Judge Dredd comics. Just awesome.
  4. My one is pretty much perfect for me, I feel. For one minute I thought this thread was about the UK. That would have had massive social implications. In fact, now I think about it, it still might. Basically a big portion of private "public" schools rely on the Armed Forces sending their brats through to make up the numbers. No tuition and boarding allowances, no brats, no brats no cash. Schools shut down. Whole sector of society begins melting away like an embarrassing stain on a tie. Probably bothers no-one. But being public school myself it's like being last of the bloody mohicans.
  5. I'd quite enjoy being disbarred in the State of Louisiana. Would look good on business cards.
  6. A tax on tea, I might add. I notice that almost no bugger drinks tea any more. Good call, Bostonians. Good call.
  7. Interesting. Care to elaborate? Like what is typically Swedish? Or German, French, English, Japanese or Chinese? For example, should Scotland declare itself independent from the UK? Why or why not? It is still somewhat topic-related since it goes back on how you should identify an Israeli/Palestinian nationstate. I'd care to run with the ball on this one point. I've been going beyond my normal stamping grounds - 19th Century Britain - as far back as the 1500s. My country is fething bonkers. And yet, here we are, a tiny landmass, without whom one cannot explain almost any significant historical happenstance of the last 500 years! Why? Because we are a nation. I don't suggest we are a logically founded nation. If anything perhaps we share much with Israel. We exist by virtue of our fiery opponents: Spain, France, Germany. Nations who have all undergone clamity, while we endured. Apologies for an unfocused post. But I shall flatter the forum by expecting you to make sense of what I cannot.
  8. I can speak on behalf of a large slice of the British Armed Forces when I say that the last thing we want to do is get into another bloody war over the Falklands. I know several (old) bastards who fought and not a one hates any Argentines. The whole thing is nonsense dreamed up by failed Argentine politicos. However, I can equally say that to many people there is more cause to defend the Falklands than, say, Falkirk. Almost every bastard in the Falklands wants to be British. But not nearly so many in Scotland. Naurgalen, can I confirm that the claim is based - as I've been told by British media - on the _Spanish_ Empire?
  9. I'm far too drink to make an intelligent response to anything that's been said so far. But in case no-one's said it: the weird thing about 'Labour' in the UK is that they consistently outspend the 'Tories' [that's left wing vs right wing] on defence. Don't do any bloody good with the money they spend, of course, but still... That should have read "drunk".
  10. Hi Monte Don't forget to mention we want Chainmail bikini's in PE in the next Romance\Sex thread Actually, this is an area in which Europe totally needs to catch up. Bikinis in beer advertising. In fact, bikini ladies in general.
  11. May I be the first to accuse all of you of being Belgian?
  12. Bruce, I'm a card-carrying and oath taking patriot, but I'd certainly concede that states use force to suppress dissent and unrest. Britain couldn't have existed in its present form without the use of force. The question is degree of force and focus of force. I mean at a fundamental level the police keep order on pain of being ****ted on the head with a stick. The typical objection to the use of the kind of force being applied in Syria is proportionality and targeting. i.e. Targeting kids and non-combatants. This - to my understanding - does exceed what is necessary to maintain a government. But there is a school of thought which holds that it is PRECISELY this level which maintains shaky governments. Can't say I agree with them, but you can see the point. After all, the fact rthat we don't use it all the time in the UK is arguably down to reasonable standards of living and a homogenous baseline culture. I think the thing with Syria is that they looked at Sri Lanka and thought "If we can hit our internal dissent hard enough and brutally enough _and are done before any pressmen show up_ then the international comunity will do sod all." You can hardly blame them given that Sri Lanka's barely had a slap on the wrist.
  13. Good short brief. What kind of doctrine are the 'Norks' using? Chinese? Fortune cookies? Spongebob Squarepants?
  14. I've just realised that 'we' don't cope very well with nuanced views. I'd say - forgive the impertinence - that Guard Dog likes people, and is good to good people. But is wary of extending that principle 'too far'. Looking after everyon, irrespective isn't the idea. I've got to say that I don't have any issue with this, this afternoon. I mean it reflects on my point above, doesn't it? If you can see the person you're helping then you can tell pretty well if you're making things worse or better. It's the control problem I mentioned.
  15. Query as a psychologist: do real world pursuits not have more issues to track?
  16. There are lots of similar ongoing conflicts I'm also very interested in, such as Tibet, Chechnya, Sinkiang, West Sahara, Kurdistan, and so on, which all can be adequately explained by knee-jerk nationalism and/or oil politics. There are several unique aspects to the Israeli/Palestinian one which exists in none of the above mentioned conflicts. The unlikely illegal mass immigration of one people to a completely foreign land (on the basis of religion!). If you would have asked me about establishing a Jewish state in Palestine around 1900 when the Jewish population was about 1%, I would have laughed and called you insane The lack of consensus on the conflict in media The absence of "heroes" or movements which I personally would give my support without many objections The pretty extreme one-sided support of Israel in the US The schizophrenic nature of Israeli society, which is ever-changing and contains many different groups with completely different goals All of these points make the conflict unique and if not interesting to discuss, interesting to follow. Well, that's an interesting perspective. But I have to query why you are interested at all in conflict? I don't pay any attention to this issue because I don't believe it's going to change. You should infer that I need to know when things are going to change. I have a practical interest. I'm not clear what yours is, though? Is it simply like watching an ant farm? Come to that I'd be interested in hearing why everyone on this thread bothers to follow this issue.
  17. I wonder if their capability has anything to do with all the hacking? On the subject of engines I thought the old Commie principle was that the plane had a one day combat life in a conventional shooting war. If it survived then it had earned a new engine.
  18. I had a similar problem with rats/squirrels a few years back. Never did work out which, always running loose in the wall spaces. Bloody madness.
  19. Orogun you are coming from a flawed premise here. We have anti-trust laws here (Sherman Act, Clayton Anti-Trust Act, Robinson-Patman just to name a few and hundeds of state laws), that you are not taking into account that would prevent exactly what you theorize would happen. I'd even take it one step further than suggest legislative action that borrows a page from the Glass-Stengal act that would prevent insurance companies from owning hospitals and Medical facilities and vice versa. That would fix your concern too Wals. Fair play. So why haven't we seen anything like it so far? Also I should gently remind you that I've been reliant on government healthcare my entire life, and with the notable exception of my spine - noone seems to know what to do about the human spine being badly designed* - it's been stupendous. I have to know how to push the occasional bureaucratic lever. But it's no harder than getting a replacement recycling bin. *Could we redesign it?
  20. The more I learn about systems engineering the less I like the way we're doing things. We're like chimps on a train, shrieking and pulling or pushing every lever in sight. I am in favour of regulating high energy systems, like modern civilisation. I just don't advocate it until we know what effect our controls will have. I would also be more comfortable if I didn't know many swivel-eyed bastards who indulge waking dreams of ordering people about simply for the puritanical thrill of it.
  21. Uh, Venezuela is one of the US's largest oil suppliers. I could have been clearer. My understanding is that in spite of being a key source, oil exports fell dramatically due to Chavez' management. ~~ As for moral crusaders and white knights... I am firmly of the opinion that recognising one isn't clean does not preclude wanting rid of the dirt.
  22. All you're doing is re-entrenching well established lines. It's the mechanics of the situation which define what is going to happen, not moral opinions. Neither side can deliver a lasting peace strategy, ergo no lasting peace. I should add that there are dozens of equally worthy and far more interesting conflicts raging worldwide. Take an interest in them.
  23. They aren't. The US DoD, for example, and most similar organizations, use internal networks that aren't connected to the internet/WWW. I heard in an NPR interview on the subject of stuxnet that the most likely way it got into the Iranian system is through a USB/flash drive. Either they actually obtain one belonging to someone with regular access to the network and put the virus or trojan on it, or they just drop one in a place where someone with security clearance might find it, and stick it in attempting to see whose it is/what's on it. A less likely scenario is actual agents infiltrating the organization/operation and doing it personally. Exactly... "The Cyber War" is nothing but more FUD coming out of Washington. It's akin to "The Evil Empire" or "We've always been at war with Eastasia!" As long as people are worried about phantom threats they won't be on their representatives butts to fix real problems. Has it occurred to you that a constant paranoia about threats from one's own government is no less pernicious to civil awareness and freedom than a constant paranoia about external threats? I feel almost precisely the same way about you waffling on about Big Brother as you feel right now about what you think is a false threat from cyberwar. I've experienced personally the damage done by hacking, and whatever the source, it is already real. It is already costing billions in security that could be better spent elsewhere. It can and will have subtle and far reaching effects on how we live our lives in the next twenty years. It may not make streelights explode or set fair to your socks, but it is going to matter.
  24. Why do you not think highly of Rand? I'm genuinely curious. Because she was completely out of her gourd?
  25. IIRC there are many non-jewish Israelis. I feel sure I've met several. Don't recall anything about not being able to vote.
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