Walsingham

Cyber warfare is a win/win for China. - Assume that the only really effective action is to enact throttling or filtering of traffic across the Chinese internet 'border'. * - Either we enact this by throttling, in which case we help the Chinese government control their citizens' access and integration with the WWW... OR - We don't, and the People Liberation Army Cyber Funtbags (PLACF) continue thieving profit enabling data and designs. *I'm probably being too simplistic, but that's fun.

1) Governments spend money on pointless crap. Stuff that burdens the country with redundant infrastructure and lossmaking industries. Padded civil service pensions, fleets of unwanted obsolescent military aircraft, windfarms that cost money to run. 2) If you think your taxes go exclusively on stuff you wanted I heartily recommend you spend some time spending the government's money. 3) I can't emphasise this last point enough. You may object to people setting up successful enterprises and making money. Hell if they do it by exploiting people I get as angry as the next man. But if your solution is to mallet the issue by blanket taxing everyone, then I will credit your intelligence sufficiently that you may freely assume my opinion of your education. ~ GD may be interested to note that I've moderated my views somewhat in the last year or two. I do pay attention to what people say in these debates.

What the FETH? Seriously? As bongoed as we've let the NHS get at least I don't have to worry about choosing between my home and dying. ~ GD, I take your point about an 'access all areas' pass. But this would be resolved if we'd just follow a few good engineering principles and agree what we expect up front and in the open. It has to be results oriented, not process or sodding behaviour focussed. I get to live till I'm eighty, or until I break in ten places at once. Something like that. No pain more than 60% of the time. If you feel I can't do certain things then I'm happy to sign a waiver to provision if I get to do them. Not perfect, but good enough.

Lol. This 'Murican expected something different. Putin's a heid the baw. He makes a calculated stance out of refusing to play the international game, because he thinks it makes his junk look weightier. I guess many Russians agree. Personally, I find being impressed by his macho posturing, given his corruption, opposition to free speech etc. a bit kinky/creepy. Russia needs to find better role models.

Unusually for me, sunk in depression the last three days. OK now, I think. Am off to the pub for a quiet pint to celebrate.

Gentlemen, please! In the spirit of Atlantic amity I propose we seal Piers Morgan in an oil drum and dump him in the ocean mid-way across. Madonna can be easily burned as a witch under some old legislation. Sharon Osbourne can be packed off to French Guyana, because I don't know where it is.

Apologies, but I don't follow your Algerian analogy. I follow the concept of settlers etc. but I doubt the French had spent the last millenium saying "next year in Algiers". I guess that must be why you brought up South Africa, which - for the Afrikaaners - was an emotional issue. Prognostications that an end to apartheid meant an end to their national identity have proven sadly all too true. But the RSA [checks Wikipedia] [...a long time later...] OK, I needed setting straight there. I had been going to say that it gave a stronger position to Mandela on assuming power. But in fact it looks like the capability to enact change came about through the very rare situation of F.W. de Klerk and Mandela and Mangosuthu Buthelezi agreeing on the way forward. I can't see an analogous situation emerging in Israel/Palestine. Not entirely sure why. Ideas?

That reminds me: what happened to your book?

It's like some sort of Eastern European arms fair. But without the bikini models.

Well, Valsuelm, that's a pretty relaxed and positive comeback, and I'm grateful. I do simplify things. but I've learned that simple is the nature of our existence at the primal level. Complexity is for art, wine, song, etc. Simplicity is for life and death decisions. If a direct appeal isn't floating you, try a read of the Hagakure some time. What the Hagakure usefully teaches is also that while simple, life and death decisions often involve both at once. In living life we must confront death. I'm not saying it's easy. Just simple. The relevance is that the OP criticises persons choosing to eat something called a heart attack burger (or what have you). I do not disagree, but I know that I'd rather hang out with them than the OP.

Got everything wrong yesterday. You know when the dice are against you? ....

How is being accused of being gay trolling? Surely there's nothing wrong with being gay?

That's a nice yard, LC.

Unfortunately it doesn't work that way most of the time, we are just too good at medically dragging out the lives of people in poor health. Unfortunately? Too good? Dragging out? If one day you or someone you care about is in poor health, and likely would have died without modern medical intervention, I doubt you'll look at it that way. Malcador's statement and attitude is disgusting, and demonstrates an infantile over simplified understanding of what he talks about. I hope you don't share it. FWIIW I think you're presenting an overcomplicated view of one of the most ancient problems Monkey MkII has ever faced. I've been through terminal illness with loved ones. The most important thing any of them realised was that they were losing less than they thought. Having their illness dragged out is EXACTLY what upset them most. I can still hear the whirring of the morphine pump...

I have friends* who mountain climb. They totally get off on climbing dangerous mountains. I think they're idiots. But I don't feel it's my job to stop them. Take a deep breath and remember that EVERYONE who goes to that restaurant is going to die. As is everyone who doesn't. *Citation?

Topic I was not expecting... Sorry to hear about your ass tho.

I don't think you have to be right wing to think Che Guevara was a narcissistic Stalinist touring ****basket. The man had charisma, but all he ever used it for was swanning around. He couldn't run a guerrilla movement to (literally) save his life. Still less a government. ~~~ EDIT: I'm therefore in favour of anything which makes people keen to read up on him.

Kinda like us humans. 3. Dolphins have prehensile penises. This combined with the #2 is more than enough to scare the bejebus out of me. I thank Christopher Moore and his book Fluke for painting a vivid mental image of this. ~ I must have missed the training, because I can't get mine to do more than Groucho Marx impressions.

I would like to field a sideways argument: Any US president has only enough time and political capital to push through one or two big changes in their term. I think that's pretty self-evident. So MY question becomes: "Of all the many things that Obama could do, is gun control the thing I want most? " To which my personal answer is "**** no."

Those meteorite fragments are worth a lot of money. But i'm sure no Russian general has ever used his troops as domestic servants.

You may not have heard, but now they want to put images on fizzy drinks, and I guess condoms, and probably ostriches.

North Korea is cooler than the UK- I've seen both MASH and Casualty and they never huddle around burning drums for warmth in Casualty. DPRK 1 UK 0 To be fair, genital herpes is cooler than the UK.

ROFLMAO Now I have a vested interest in forming as high an opinion of Arabs as possible. Seriously though, to briefly summarise my objection: Confrontation analysis leads me to believe that the situation is utterly intractable. No matter what minor one on one changes occur. This is because neither player is organised in such a way as to be able to deliver the necessary 'moves' required to escape the impasse. Israel's constitution cannot deliver a single party majority government capable of finessing and delivering on a detailed settlement plan. The Palestinian 'authorities' on the other hand are entirely dependent on shifting sands of popular radical opinion. Any time any broker on either side makes meaningful concessions they are thrown out of power. The impasse COULD be broken in theory if either side was willing to rejig their political appartus. But humans just don't think that way in large numbers. Ergo, all we'll ever see are temporary illusory shifts to and away from peace, punctuated by short bloody but low scale wars.

...I just thought UI'd drop you a line to set you straight on something. Hope you don't mind. All this putting scary death images on things. Reminding me I'm going to die doesn't make me more responsible, and determined to straighten up and fly right, eat healthily or pay my taxes. In fact it's the exact opposite of what you The Government should want me to see. See you on Thursday for the football. Wals.

I honestly don't mind if gay people get married. I think a lifetime commitment to anything is completely insane, but if they want to take that sort of gamble, fair play to them. I don't even expect to have a lifetime commitment to all my limbs and organs, let alone anyone else's.