Walsingham

Blaming muslims again? What is it with you whatever you ares?

And the knees of a spaniel.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-26402367 Just thought, having argued in favour of gun control, this incident pretty much blows my argument away <sic>.

Is it just me, or does anyone get a bizarre 'rape-y' vibe from oby's posts.

Good effort from Raithe, there. And the ladies concerned, obviously. Unless they are Raithe. ew.

Even if I actually read that, I'm not sure I could remember it, let alone agree with it. Haven't you bastards ever heard of an executive summary?

One thing I would say, Zor. Analytically, I can see that the Kremlin is making moves to secure its independence and national security. But what I take away after that analysis is the knowledge that Russia means for every single one of its Western (as in direction) neighbours to be weak, supine, and fractured. How ought those neighbours, and those looking to engage with them, feel about Russia? Like Russia are a screaming pack of ****. Quite frankly.

Keep us posted, Enoch. I'll have a shot for his health later. Which now I write it down sounds mainly selfish. But I mean well.

~32 months until 2016 elections not counting the lag from the elections to the swearing in ceremony Shows what I know. Typically brinksmanship like this is what miscreants try when a President is beset elsewhere, or about to leave*. Mind you, what the hell has the Obama Whitehouse done internationally to deter any aggressive action against allies or potential allies? *On reflection I'm not sure they DO try stuff on the out

Crap. We need an "I feel for you" button. EDIT: Friday night. Fish and chips. Bottle of stout. I feel like Andy Cap.

BTW, how many months has Obama got left in his tenure?

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/28/russia-crimea-white-house Armed, uniformed men who seized transportation and government centers in Crimea? There are also reports of military cargo planes flying in and columns of armored vehicles moving in. If this is Russia's doing, it's an act of war against an independent, sovereign state. Which is bad. http://edition.cnn.com/2014/02/28/world/europe/ukraine-politics/index.html?hpt=hp_t1 More pictures. That rifle is the AK-74, M variant used by Russian Armed Forces. The camouflage pattern is that of the Russian Ratnik next-generation combat gear. The body armor and webbing also appear to be Russian (see here and here for reference). I'm scared. Even more shots. EDIT: There are about twenty of them. I've went through the photographs and there is a number of discrepancies. There are different types of combat webbing worn by the soldiers, ranging from plain beige, through black, to ones with U.S. Woodland camo. Different people wear different types of boots, something I wouldn't expect from an army with standardized equipment. One photograph shows a soldier without a rifle. I'm puzzled. It's possible that they may be an advance Russian force or a Crimean militia using Russian equipment mixed with purchased gear. Thought I'd chip in here as well as anywhere. - Even if the men were soldiers turning up in their normal kit I'd expect the odd non-standard boot. Monte will back me up here. - This is a magnificent move by Kremlin-aligned forces (note I'm not saying ordered by the Kremlin). The number of men involved is actually tiny, but the press value is huge. Last I heard no-one had been killed, so a prompt military response might end up looking paradoxically weak. - The point of threatening the Crimea is firstly the strong ethnic Russian component (albeit a result of Stalin ethnic tidying), but much more importantly it boxes the Ukraine in. Whereas a free Ukrainian seaboard could lead to all sorts of shenanigans with foreign fleets peering into the Caucasus.

At least when people say "How do you know God exists" we can say "He has a vlog on youtube."

But if they aren't influenced by the PC that's not very flattering/engaging. Again, there are people like this in real life. But they aren't interesting either.

80% sure I've had several actual romances like this in real life.

I'll just have to add my own. Like when I visit the petrol station.

Update: Obliged to buy new suit, ate up the money for the laptop! Thinking of going with a Nexus 7 just to keep myself amused on the move. Will 32GB allow me to store a series from Netflix?

Did admin, sat down in a chair to do more at 1400. Fell asleep. Woke at 1900. I'm such a decrepit old fart!

Ignoring people doesn't solve the problem that lurkers and new boys still see the trolling. The right wing aspect of the demonstrations should be tackled. But I noticed in tonight's BBC news that there's was simply no airtime given to that element. Having said that, LoFoby complaining about right wingers OR the holocaust is a bit disconcerting.

Moderation of free speech isn't a contradiction. I can chair a meeting, dictating the words allowable, and who is allowed to speak, and when, without curtailing the meaning of the positions taken. If anything - and this point has been made at length before - good moderation enhances, rather than diminishes free speech. It curtails hateful and aggressive language, it cuts out points that are manifestly weak. Thereby it leaves bandwidth free for genuinely useful exchange. Yet again we have to make the point that freedom and anarchy are not the same thing. This should be as redundant a point as evolution and intelligent design.

I wasn't going to mention the suspension of loans and so forth, for the simple reason that I don't think an economic response to an economic question is disproportionate. Russia needs Ukraine in its sphere of influence if it wants to be a dominant economic force in the region. This isn't the Women's Institute. This is international politics. However, I think the scale of violence against the pro-Euro movement, whether Russian run or not, puts things in a different light. Personally, I think it's sad that Ukraine has no choice but to accept one megalomaniac agglomeration or another. They're big enough to be deserving of true independence.

Wanted a lie-in. Found myself on automatic, getting washed and dressed for 7 a.m. This sucks. Ah well, may as well do some chores.

On the other hand, you're talking about a very different situation. The juvenile and ill-formed nonsense of Occupy hardly compares with the _perceived_ situation of Russia strong-arming Ukraine into some sort of nightmarish satellite status. Particularly given their history.

Ate Portuguese last night; old skool salt, fat, and cream all over the place. Not sure what today holds, but I plan on porking out.

While I'm wary of agreeing with Zor in general terms - and I'm sure this is reciprocated - I think he makes a valid point about the nature of protest. No British Government would allow Trafalgar square, let alone Parliament square, be occupied for this length of time in this way. Having said that I still think the Ukrainian protesters are plucky chaps and welcome to marry my sister.