Walsingham

that bright shiny light at the bottom right of the photo is actually a mushroom cloud. LOL, in fact that's the smug glow of all the people who don't care if genocide happens so long as our troops can't see it.

Point there, Gfted1. I read that story too. I actually took this up in person with my MP recently, and was assured that a number of MPs, cross party are not satisfied with the investigation. So I'm not sure what to make of this latest twist. I suspect it is a cynical attempt to twist the knife. Remember that the person being accused of malpractice is the chief who got fired for claiming he was being obstructed.

I like the way the photographer neatly cut off the view of the ground, where civil war and genocide is breaking out.

Surely a reasonable question, irrespective, is why the UFOs show up sometimes and not others. If one assumes they are genuine UFOs what plan would that be consistent with? It seems fairly unlikely that they'd hide most of the time, and pop out occasionally.

Five minutes with me, a length of nylon string, the Oxford English Dictionary, and a sharpened pencil?

My personal opinion is that journalists tend to be partisan because of their lifestyles. They often, now, go into journalism with little serious life experience. Thus lacking any executive experience they focus almost entirely on the emotional, and ignore the practical.* Any predominantly emotional reaction tends to lead to a left-wing or right-wing knee jerk perspective. My solution, therefore, is that journalists should be obliged to undergo a rite of passage, involving six months doing each of the following: - frontline infantry in Brazil - social work in London - running a market stall in Hong Kong - auditing corporate finances in Moscow *This is particularly apparent in war and crime reporting.

See? Without meaning to I scanned that three times. Even though I already know how it is pronounced and what it means.

I wonder how may more of our imponderables could be solved by getting taks to apply mathematics?

I suppose I did rather seem to imply I thought the comment racist. I apologise on the grounds that I meant to steer readers away from a racist interpretation. I would suggest that systematically torturing a child to death is the product of a profoundly alien psychological architecture. Throwing acid in the faces of small girls is, unfortunately, political. I suppose it could be understood to a deeper degree, but since we already know which politics/philosophy find it acceptable, we already know what to go after. In the Afghan case it's jifascism. In the UK case it was aggrandised masculine 'honour'*. *I was raised to believe in honour, but must have missed the lesson on abusing the weak to save my ego.

I think you're underestimating the value inherent in it being difficult to pronounce/hard to decode. If people have to think twice about your name it's better than once. It's like the gods names in Cthulhu. My favourite project name of all time has to be HAMMERFALL.

I think taks deserves some kind of prize for cracking the maths on this. Behold the power of SCIIIIEEEEEENCE!

It's not just foreigners who do it. An ex-girlfriend of mine used to live in a building with a girl who had been acid scarred by her boyfriend over some imagined infidelity. Which is a case where hole-putting seems a more obvious solution. In fact if i may indluge my imagintion for a moment I'd suggest the man in question be broken up for spare parts and sold to finance a face transplant for his victim.

I disagree. Such people need to studied diligently to assist efforts to stop them before they commit such abuse. I noticed with serious annoyance that Gordon Brown (British PM) brushed off attempts to question the official 'inquiry' as "playing party politics". You can't just cry 'party politics' every time an issue is serious! A Labour back bencher broke ranks to criticise the PM for doing so. I just don't see how it is appropriate to have a department announce its own health. Coming after the similar story of Victoria Climbie*, in the same borough, something is seriously awry. It may not be the social services, but something is definitely fethed up. *Link to full report, which makes terrifying reading.

It's not insufficient monitoring here. That was the case with Victoria Climbie. There were 60 visits to the family. The problem is that no-one made the step to remove the child from harm's way. It just makes me freaking furious. If badgers or water voles are in trouble in this country you can barely move for people helping the furry bastards. Similar story, IMO, 15 schoolgirls have their faces scarred with acid for daring to attend school.

Have you considered the medium of interpretive dance?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/344...-his-death.html A child was visited 60 times by social workers who identified the risks. This kid was being beaten, tortured, his limbs and spine were broken. His ribs shattered. The police strongly supported taking the kid away. The kid died of injuries and neglect. Yet the post-analysis by social services indicated that: "This was a family that needed, and was given, extensive help and support. "The very sad fact is that we can't stop people who are determined to kill children. I am satisfied that the action that should have been taken was taken." In my opinion this is a shocking attitude to take. If you know a kid is being abused, and is in real mortal danger you help that kid. You don't ****ing turn the wheel of bureaucracy and go home for pasta. I just wondered what other people thought.

How did you get rid of it in the end? Found a doctor, he reached into my throat with immense tongs and pulled it out sideways and up. I'm never eating kedgeree again, no matter how good it tastes. I used to be phobic of needles, but I got around it by staring very intently at them when they go in. Focus on the physics of the cutting, and the incongruity of blood coming out, stuff going in. It's really far more interesting than scary.

I cancelled a set of insurance myself. The company were so helpful and understanding, and even backdated the cancellation that I am certain to use them again. Cunning bastards.

Monte Carlo: How can you hate crafting? Crafting is BRILLIANT. I just want MORE crafting. It's like a mini-game, but you have awesome death cannons when you've played it. My only reluctance with crafting is that I'd prefer it if the 'rules' of crafting got re-jigged each time to played. So that you get some addditional excitement from testing the powers of each component. But then I am an engineering freak. I have a book of knots which I'm learning right now.

No-one has mentioned this so far that I noticed: although your player character has to have special training to use pwoer armour, at least two of your potential companions can wear it just fine. So hang on to those suits you find laying around, even early on. I'm now a slaver. Cap 'em. Strip 'em. Make 'em wear a silly hat. Send 'em running to Paradise Falls. Brilliant.

I had to clean up a hog roast. Innards etc going off. Surprised to find myself throwing up. Something about the smell hit me at teh back of the throat suddenly. Am washing out the flavour with a pilsener.

Report recently which I saw in a paper was saying that games are UP in the UK. Mainly because while a game is expensive, it is extremely cost effective. You get months of entertainment from a game, while a DVD can maybe give six hours.

I got sick of X3 when I discovered the bastard devs had made it so I could start a war, but never finish it. I also get incredibly annoyed by the Astouinding crashing Ships phenomenon, where my ships destroy themselves by ramming objects, each other etc. I can't bring myself to go back into it.

On my second play through with a total bastard, the cookie cutter sections don't annoy quite so much because yuo get better at navigatinga nd can appreciate the nuances. I've started to get quite proprietorial about sections of the DC metro.

I rarely hate things. I suppose my biggest dislikes would be, in order: 1. Levelling up enemies to auto match my character. Oblivion, I'm pointing at you and shrieking. (in fact this was a hate) 2. Excessive speed of play. I know I'm a frightened old man, but I should be able to play single player at my own speed. Dark Crusade is a prime offender here. I got tank rushed in the time it took me to lift my mug of tea. No exaggeration. 3. Problem solving restrictions. Commandos had far too few options for each mission (what kind of sniper only packs five rounds?). The ending of Fallout 3 is similar.