Walsingham

We've already discussed your dominatrix thing.

Qwerty, I can see your arguments are expertly rendered. However, do you think you could give us an executive summary with each one. I can't read long bits of text in this fething white on black font.

I get quite tooth-grindingly annoyed by my compatriots who will gleefully engage in a bit of Yank-bashing over climate control and arms dealing, but mention China in the same context and you can almost hear the crickets. The only thing such fluff-balls think important is that China deals in dog and cat fur.

Sounds like my kind of justice, frankly. More power to negotiating a sentence yourself!

I haven't read it. If I want to know I don't read a book clearly intended to pander to the general public, I ask someone who's just come back from there.

Ya gotta love Stratfor.com. Better than every one of our papers combined.

You're failing to grasp the overall improved unpleasantness of using live animals. Particularly using dangerous live animals. It will impart a degree of desperate and undue haste in the workmen.

Article from Stratfor.com Summary Japan will commit more than $42 million to a project to improve and redesign parts of the Zambian capital of Lusaka and to improve and maintain roads in and between the towns of Livingstone, Ndola and Kitwe, Japanese Ambassador to Zambia Masaaki Miya****a said June 25. The announcement follows a declaration by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling Liberal Democratic Party that Japan's Africa budget will be tripled over the next five years. The announcements send a clear sign that Japan is ready to become a big player in Africa, challenging Chinese economic power and political influence on the continent. Analysis Japan will commit more than $42 million to a project to improve and redesign parts of the Zambian capital of Lusaka and to improve and maintain roads in and between the towns of Livingstone, Ndola and Kitwe, Japanese Ambassador to Zambia Masaaki Miya****a said June 25. The announcement follows a statement by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that his ruling Liberal Democratic Party will triple its budget for African affairs over the next five years. The announcements show the heightened Japanese interest in the continent, which is part of an accelerating international trend as countries around the world realize the potential Africa holds for direct investment and mineral concessions, among other things. In Zambia and a few other African states, however, Tokyo will have to compete directly with Beijing. China's companies and development money already pervade the country to such an extent that the Chinese hold serious political clout in Lusaka -- influence that is rapidly becoming more controversial as accusations increase of Chinese "neo-imperialism" and interference in African affairs. The relationship between Zambia and China goes back some 30 years, and although Zambia is not China's foremost African trading partner, the Chinese enjoy an unprecedented level of access to the Zambian government. China also enjoys highly favorable regulatory conditions, including a Chinese special economic zone created in February in the copper-mining town of Chambishi, in which Chinese companies can do business without export or value-added taxes. The Chinese presence in Zambia has been controversial, however, with accusations that Chinese companies are exploiting Zambian workers with low pay and subjecting them to inadequate safety standards. (Such standards are blamed for a 2005 explosion at a Chinese-run copper mine that killed more than 50 local workers.) China also is accused of increasing unemployment in Zambia's Copper Belt by bringing in Chinese employees to work in the mines in some cases. Complaints also have been widespread that Beijing is undercutting the Zambian textile industry by selling Chinese government-subsidized textiles in Zambia. Since the first quarter of 2006, Chinese trade with Zambia increased 99.4 percent -- a sign that the Chinese are digging in their heels in Southern Africa to counter increasing interest in the region by the United States and India, and increasingly, Japan. While Japan's sudden interest in Zambia might seem odd, it actually represents a rational countermove to increasing Chinese influence in the region. China has been successful in Africa in part because it offers huge loans without many of the conditions Western countries attach to their loan packages, including various stipulations about human rights and democratization that many developing countries find unpalatable. It has pursued this model in Angola, Sudan and Zimbabwe, to name a few. Japan is now providing an alternative that it hopes will be more attractive to the local population and opposition groups now that China has come under heavy criticism for its alleged neo-imperialism. By offering to build the same schools, roads, buildings and hospitals as China is, and by offering to do it faster and to better standards, Japan is providing Zambia with an alternative to the apparent Chinese model of heavy-handed business practices and an unhealthy disregard for safety standards and workers

You're right! The Machine needs soma!

Dear sweet Holy Quinquagulon! You're right. That would be drastic.

Earl Grey tea.

Typo. Message reads "Will have live piranhas NAILED to them"

For Gods sake (no pun intended) Sand, Bush only vetoed FEDERAL FUNDING of stem cell research. And he was correct to do so, albeit not for the reasons he actually did it. I never read a phrase in the Constitution anywhere that stated is was Uncle Sam's job to promote, fund, aid, or hinder scientific research of any kind. Stem Cell research still goes on through private funding. Mostly paid for by the "big evil pharmaceutical" companies. This argument would be valid if uniformly applied to all research. I may be wrong but doesn't Sam finance lots of things? It's what makes all power gravitate towards Washington. On the same point, but back on topic, I consider stem cell research priority 1 in the world right now, because I have two close people to me who may die without it. However, that does not mean opposing it is automatically bad. Democracy means representing the willl of the voters, and the voters said to Bush "We want you to be a right wing narrow moralist." I'm sick of hearing people who didn't vote (not necessarily you, Sando) bitching about the situation they're now in.

A surprisingly interesting post. Lessons, possibly, are: 1. Your strategic authority (the big boss) was too much out of touch with his operational leaders (you). 2. Your operational plans and the knowledge contained in them are being ignored. 3. Your tactical assets are indisciplined and lacking in the gumption caused by good motivation. Without wanting to be harsh you have a part responsibility for all the above. But as forum member and friend, commiserations. It sucks to be you. Your boss is ultimately responsible. Kick him in the nuts.

News? This has been common knowledge for at least a year. The 'news' is that the technique is spreading to Afghanistan.

The one glaring flaw in this is that Cartoon Network studios is american. I know we all like to look at modern cartoons and decry "that's not how they drew them when I was a kid" and conclude it must be Japanese! But alas... alas... A fair and wise point. My theory does not, however, preclude American designers raised under the malign influence of anime.

Steady on there, fellah. We don't mean to seem unfriendly. But we've had a passel full of rogues, bots, and spam merchants come through here, and if you kick off by sounding like one then you're apt to get a roasting. Just ride it out and keep on in.

To be fair though, Meta. We've been at war with France ever since.

I think I'm seeinng a pattern emerging here concerning anime and this new series.Clearly when the designers made their pitch to a focus group of fans the fans just broke down and wept. And if I've learned one thing from Somethingawful it is that Japanese anime creators believe that crying is a sign of great enthusiasm, nay arousal. Obviously this lead them to believe that the fans loved the new show.

You already mentioned Chaos Gate. I love that game.

I think it's a great idea, speaking as a fading codger myself. And it would put an interesting new factor into gaming your characters. The things you do when young wouldn't be the things you do when old. In fact, nuts to it, why not get to raise kids? Tale I seee this as something that runs in parallel to the normal classing system. Basically towards middle age your physical stats begin to diminish. Then supposing you make it into seriously advanced years then your mental faculties become restricted. Of course it would never sell, because it doesn't mean bigger explosions.

Firstly Goering was as mad as gingerbread pantaloons. Secondly, he's talking rubbish, albeit very commonly espoused rubbish. This is for the simple reason that there can be very good reasons to go to war if you believe that your opponent is going to do so in the future and now is an opportunity to hit them while it's still easy. The alternative position, of peace at any price inevitably will result in your only fighting opponents when they believe they are good and ready. The result of such wars can only be expecetd to be disastrous for the defender. At best they will be extremely costly, at worst you will lose them. Losing wars sucks a lot worse than winning them. Back on topic, Bush has certainly been cementing the power of the executive. But he was doing it on environmental controls before 9/11. It is the sad nature of the US constitution to be oppositional, and to thus encourage people to grab for power rather than share it. This is exacerbated by the failures of the two main branches. The executive is seen as partisan, short-termist and megalomaniacal (which it is), and congress is seen as parochial and oblivious to the outside world (which it is).

Coffee with horlicks in it. It's not nearly so bad as it should be.

If I understand logical positivism, I'm with Xard.

Gentlemen, less spam in future or action will be taken. And by action I mean live piranhas will be mailed to you.