Walsingham

Planned obsolescence isn't a god damned conspiracy, you cretins! If a man typically buys dentures in his sixties, and the average lifespan doesn't go beyond 100... DOES IT MAKE SENSE TO MANUFACTURE DENTURES THAT LAST 100 YEARS? NO IT ****ING DOESN'T! Equally, the legal and physical requirement for a system changes. Like we've seen with muscle cars and oil tankers just to name two bloody obvious examples. Again, build to last too long, and you just need to scrap it early. To go back to the original point, those wonderfully over-engineered rifles were in massively short supply at the start of WW1. Winston Churchill talks about having units having to share rifles, FFS. Equally, within a few years changes in artillery and fortifications, and combat fatalities meant that infantry fought closer together, and with less training. So they needed simpler higher fire options. Wow that was more ranty than I planned.

Was it on here that I recently read a piece about toxic leadership in the Armed Forces? If so, can I have it again, please?

Not sure if that was deliberate, or if I and wiki have got confused. Iraq invaded Iran. If you confused, we'll call it evens after my getting Ahmedinejad as the wrong answer. I don't understand why you're blowing the old "it's all the Great Satan" Grauniad trumpet. The US, especially under Obama, is clearly open to relaxing sanctions. They'd almost certainly have offered opening up investment into the bargain, to avoid a costly and uncertainty military option. There are so many ways in which rapprochement could benefit Iran. Yet it persists. Doing so for the sake of limited (because how much could they ****ing build under sanctions?) nuclear energy in 20 years just won't wash.

I actually feel selfish trampling this argument. Anyone else want the pleasure?

I would counter by suggesting that the truly intelligent* would recognise the limitations of their own reflective understanding, and embrace sensible degrees of intuition. It is perfectly coherent to ignore what is, if you can generate the power to decide what will be. *There's no such thing as intelligence.

Got this one. Self-awareness is mediated against self-belief made necessary by degrees of risk. An absence of self-belief produces non-actionable perception of action outcomes. Or to put it another way, its better to be a non-self-aware bloke blithely striding towards uncertainty, than a self-aware entity cowering under a dustbin lid.

Bruce, your optimism puts flowers to shame. On the one hand I can't offer any proof that Iran has hostile intent. If I could I wouldn't be doing it here. I'd be handing it over to some boring looking men in suits, for cash. On the other hand I find it extraordinary that you find it credible that Iran is seeking nuclear power for energy generation: 1) It's got HUGE mountains and deserts if it wanted renewables 2) It's got HUGE carbon non-renewable reserves if it wants to burn those 3) It currently operates a national security policy based on relentlessly attacking every other local power and source of stability using every means at its disposal 4) They've suffered enormous national hardship, and many researchers in the program have been murdered... ...and all they'd have to do to solve the problem is stay completely the hell away from nukes. Investment would pour in, the brain drain might reverse, peace and plenty for tehir exploding population. The picture you're painting is just not credible.

I see no reason to treat illegal immigrants differently. They are criminals and have no rights at all, ergo - such treatment could be seen as a fitting punishment. Should Olympics be hosted in Jerusalem or Mecca, would you demand that people should demonstratively eat pork to support food equality? Would you bring pet pigs with you to protest against animal descrimination? 1) Blaming the immigrants for turning up when it is the construction firms are benefiting from them is ludicrous. 2) As we've already discussed at great length, it is right and proper to criticise Russia for violation of a human right. The homophobic laws persecute people for something they are. Consensual gay sex hurts precisely nobody. Likening it to eating pork is mendacious at best.

You make an interesting point. If there were some way to get the suicide bombers onto skis, and onto the ski jump, maybe they could be usefully incorporated into the opening fireworks?

Old thread: http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/63322-russia-tread/ ~~ It takes a brave AND ingenious man to be uninterested in the Sochi winter Olympics. The official poll asks "Are you looking forward to the Olympic games?" There is no option to say 'no'. Every option bar one suggests pant-knotting enthusiasm. However, "other" is polling an impressive 69%+ of nearly 18000 votes, as of the time of this post.

~~~~ In other news:

I was told this was a cool thread. Apparently, I was lied to. It is a cool thread. Wait till you see the uncool ones. They have exploding onanists.

I believe I already discussed how I think being fired is like being dumped. This merely addresses it from the other direction.

Phew. Bloke has sorted himself out. I'm just off to buy him lunch and a beer to say thanks for saving me the trouble.

I believe you may have a crouton wedged in your keyboard. WHAT?

I didn't learn French, but what I did learn is you can combine the movie titles and make out a Steven Seagal movie plot. Such as the example below: My giant the Glimmer Man, on deadly ground, under siege, mercenary for justice and out for justice, out of reach, above the law, marked for death, hard to kill, today you die... Clementine. Should put that in quote marks under a picture of some bloke looking heroic.

How do you feel? EDIT: Agreed to store a huge bunch of crap for a bloke I barely know. I really think this may have been an error. But he does need the help. Hence can't sleep.

Up to episode seven, series one, of Breaking Bad.

Had a little smoky back bacon to hand. Chopped that fine and fried it crispy in chilli oil. In separate pan, cooked porridge oats, nutmeg, salt, and black pepper. For short time, until just edibly soft. Served bacon sprinkled on top. For a recipe based on a hunch this is gakking delicious.

How many hours is that? I bet you could have learned French in the same time.

Because people took pride in their work. Thats especially noticeable in guns, a lot of military guns from the late 1900 century were needlessly over-engineered and even beautifully designed and made. Everything back then was built to last for centuries because of pride in craftsmanship, the best steel was used, parts were hand fitted to ensure the closest tolerances....because thats way cooler than the cheap disposable trash we're using nowadays and no one cares about. if its cheap its good enough. Quality? Just buy a new one when it breaks. Thats the modern mentality. Just look at 60 and 70's muscle cars, all steel low revving V8's with massive gearboxes and properly hardened massive cylinder heads. No BS cars. They still run like new cars while modern vehicles nowadays last for 10-15 years max till they start getting irreparable damages due to under engineered cheap cylinder heads, aluminum engine block fatigue and aluminum stampings. Hey, its cheap therefore its good enough, right? Oh, and to give you an example about obsolete weapon designs, the Swiss made service rifles that they used for up to 50 years. The Schmidt-Rubin general issue rifle G96-11 - Designed in 1896, modified in 1911- was used till the late 50's, the predecessor of this rifle - the K31- was used still the mid 90's and the sniper versions are still used in some military branches of the swiss army. Look, I sympathize, because I take pride. And I'm not saying we couldn't take more pride in most modern products. But if it's stupid putting a '£10,000' bolt in a '£100' rifle, ...then it's stupid putting a 100 year rifle in the hands of a 4 year rifleman. Your great engineers have given most of the value of that weapon to soldiers and citizens of countries that didn't even exist when they made it!

Round here, stranger, that's fighting talk! We're quite passive aggressive.

Sandbags. Maybe some sort of steel reinforcement inside the sandbag wall.

Every Steven Seagal movie ever made. http://www.everystevenseagalmovie.com/ For example: My Giant (1998) "Steven Seagal plays himself in a movie about Billy Crystal being a bad father and having a tall friend."