Walsingham

Now hold on a minute. The civilian death toll of the two bombs was, what? 180,000 iirc. Taking Okinawa the old fashioned way cost 300,000 Japanese Civilians. How many would have died to secure a surrender by nice clean methods? And this is ignoring what some would argue is the more compelling question of how many Allied servicemen would have died.

I thought end boss battle in OpFor was easy. I misunderstood what I had to do for about 30 minutes, and still didn't die. The jumping bits in Half-Life have made me just ignore the ending of that game. I really REALLY don't like jumping puzzles.

Pruned.

The woman might sound younger than she is because the translator was a bit crude.

Yes, it does have to be said that we the US and UK were under threat before the invasion of Afghanistan or Iraq, and will be after we leave. I hate to sound like George Junior, but the simple fact is that radical fascist islamism is naturally going to want to destroy the West because we fundamentally oppose what they want. They despise democracy as weak and corrupt. They regard freedom as irrelevant to the true believer. We stand in their way. However, what I do think is interesting is the extent to which radicalism promises an end to secular corruption. Because in many ways this was what the Chritsian puritans used in England and elsewhere. Cromwell was vital for the development of the UK, but he was a bit of a bastard. A point? erm... I find jifascism boggling, but at the same time, not impossible to empathise with.

Le Tigre - Deceptacon.

Actually, I believe you aren't giving the members the credit they deserve. Not only do we have several muslims here, who have generously explained the complexity of jihad, and who might feel you are assuming a lot by claiming to be a victimised muslim. There are also several unbelievers who have made independent study of the subject. We know that jihad is taken in many different ways, and that is why I for one encourage use of the term jifascist. It's fascism with a jihad twist. Howevrer, plenty of people don't know what the hell is ment by a jifascist, so I titled the thread jihadi. Back on topic, if you've read the initial linked article I'd be interested to hear your comments on the woman's view of jihad.

Good point. In fact we have. Aum shinrikyo, the provos, and loyalists all get short shrift.

Ah. See, now that makes me properly worried. Ex-cons are notoriously vindictive. I'd definitely flag that up with the cops.

We've got wyrmsign!

But you're a taciturn Texan, aren't you?

Worms have aten your brain. If you want to be a voyeur, just crouch on window ledges like any normal person.

Er.... has anyone seen my other brain half? Sorry to interrupt the discussion.

Strange as it may seem, I can't find anything in the mod guide which lets me squash threads just because I don't think they're not being well argued (by either side). Now I've sobered up here's my take (not that I'm saying it's better quality): 1. People enjoy having scapegoats. I don't know why. 2. We aren't allowed druids, christians, jews, or communism any more. Some people can blame jifascists, but if you live next door to jifascists and they shoot your whole family if you badmouth THEM, then you need someone else. Or alternatively if you hang out in West London and dinner parties expect you to be sympathetic to jeffs then you only have one option. This option is the good old US of A. 3. For some reason blaming the USA for every human sin seems plausible and sensible. 4. Arguments like the USA has killed people in tehir perceived national interest, or they ignore the UN apply to every nation on Earth of any weight.

There's a lot of good advice here, and the only thing I'd stress is not to push too hard. It's surprisingly easy to bust things permanently. You know that old adage "That which does not kill me makes me stronger"? It doesn't cover the tearing of tendons.

The paper trail point is well made. Definitely let the cops know. That way if the guy tries anything directly then your self-defence is on better ground. Racism is repellent, and its good that no-one here has been making too light of it. I have to say I've found the USA to be one of the most race-conscious countries I've been to. But then the UK is (in public) hugely relaxed and mixed. You just don't notice people's colour as a rule. Maybe in the USA its to do with the way you have so many sub-cultures in the great mashup, and to an extent noticing colour helps establish what etiquette to obey. I dunno. Random vandalism annoys the crabapples out of me. Its such a pointless crime, and it causes no end of trouble for the victim.

Interesting question. Basically it isn't the 'done thing' to be too soppy. So when expressing sympathy for others British people (and sometimes the colonials like the Aussies) toughen up a sympathetic comment with a rude-ish term or two. Hence calling the miners devils is a good thing, denoting care. I guess. I never thought about it before.

That's a really interesting report, Gorth. It's given me some ideas!

Yeah, and the firebombing of Dresden. Don't forget that. I'm too hungover to really get to grips with this, but if you really equate organised warfare, however disgusting, with the random _and pointless_ deliberate slaughter of civilians _and not military personnel_ then I suggest you get back to studying.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6921699.stm Here's hoping the poor devils get out safe.

In the edition of 40k I had that was 'mutant', not 'xenos'. But it's still very much in the spirirt of things. Incidentaly, for an explanation of WHY aliens are likely to wind up in dorect conflict with us (and hence why we need to boot them on every opportunity), try reading The Kraken Wakes, by John Wyndham.

Run? Me run? LOLZ! I hope you're getting some exercise somewhere or you're on a one-way train to apoplexy city.

That, sir, is because it was pure gibberish.

I like turtlenecks... they're cuddly around the neck. :'( Hah! We've smoked you out.!

'They' know about the problem. The lack of action is not intended to annoy you personally. It's meant to annoy ME personally. I can do that. They don't need to annoy everyone just to annoy you. Professionalism has to be bought, I'm afraid.