Walsingham

Things definitely get better after highschool. Are you nuts? You can get your own place, travel the world, bring home girls, play the souzaphone, take up one-man Shakespearean drama... You name it.

Using the secret divisions we have hidden in the Wales? We've got about fifteen loggies and a regimental goat on standby as strategic reserve.

Enoch, thanks for illsutrating how I might be wrong. However, what Sand is advocating is NO private defence counsel. For anyone. Who would pursue criminal law on that basis? Could government even afford it? I agree on the point that it woudl be nice to have juries unbiased by how a witness looks. However if I were standing in court I'd want to be able to convey my innocence by being seen.

You realise of course that becoming a qualified lawyer takes a lot of time and effort. In order to get people to pursue that career and practice cirminal law tehy have to be induced to do so with money. You are either suggesting teh government spend hundreds of millions on lawyers at current pay rates, or that they draft people to become lawyers.

If it's anything like a boar it could. Speaking of which, what kind of lunatic would hunt a dangerous animal with a fething pistol? If you're going to get that close I'be be up for somme kind of explosive tipped spear. At least that way it sounds cooler.

The best day of your life is today. Every day. *snigger*

Soundtrack for the film 'Blackhawk Down'. Really superb mix of tracks.

Yes. Although I'm pleased to report that it was a highly inexpert stabbing.

You've never heard of a 'go-go' bar? And they say kids these days are a less innocent generation! (btw, for zulu-speakers, go-go is not the same as gogo) Steve, I do think it is interesting since with the best will in the world, while the Falklands was an attack on sovereign territory it would be hard to desribe it as being of more strategic significance to the UK than Iraq. What some of you new to the conflict may not know is that the UK was in the process of slowly transferring sovereignty to Argentina when the junta decided to invade. Islanders were being encouraged to shop in Argentina and send their children there for schooling. We had also removed our naval presence. We were going to give it to them gratis.

Thanks for grabbing those figures, Hiro. Interesting to note that those are more than double our casualties for Iraq and Afghanistan combined so far.

You've clearly never been stabbed by a Thai person.

http://yorkshire-ranter.blogspot.com/2007/...d-european.html Assuming we can trust someone called 'The Yorkshire Ranter' this article would suggest that each of the points you mention were counter-factual. We reeceived schizophrenic political support, the use of Ascension was moot, as was the provision of AIM-9L sidewinders, and we never got use of the satellites. I'm not anti-French, but I might point out that given this was an attack on a NATO member the French could have done a lot more. Presumably they were hoping to get big arms sales off the back of any war.

Mkreku: the Obsidian fora strategic testosterone reserve.

I agree that the negative comments were just stupid. But don't you think the kid deserves a break? I mean to hunt something like that one shot one kill you'd need ...I dunno. A whaling harpoon?

I agree. Steve, as I've said before, if Birvana is good, then I ain't going there until we can ALL go! But as an incentive the first round will be on me! This was a typo. I should not have 'Birvana'. I personally aspire to Beervana. A state of obliviousness caused by the imbibing of overstrength ales.

Am I right, fellahs? I mean am I right?

They did? I thought we only won because they helped us... Helped us? What?

I thought now might be a fun time to discuss the Falklands war, partly because of a comment by SteveThaiBinh which I will post below, and partly because of the recent discoveries of oil nearby and the renewed sabre rattling by the Argentines. It is important to know that of the five factual bets I've ever made about the Falklands war I've only won one.

Gorgon, again I was less than clear, although in this case it was because I am trying to keep the size of my posts down. I had also heard that the current cost of execution is higher than incarceration. However, that is a function of the process we use for completing the justice process, not a function of - as Sand so quaintly puts it - moving a nickel chunk of lead through somebody's head. Clearly, as others have noted here, the costs associated in the US are a function of our placing a large premium on preventing an innocent from being over-punished. However, what I think we've caught in this discussion is the feeling that we are not placing a high enough premium on the damage caused to innnocents by a subject being under-punished. Thus I would be interesed to compare the number of 'wrongful killings' associated with the UK (i.e. victims of repeat offenders) versus a no-nonsense rough figure of how many 'wrongful killings' occur in the US (i.e. men/women convicted on partial evidence).

I agree. Steve, as I've said before, if Birvana is good, then I ain't going there until we can ALL go! But as an incentive the first round will be on me!

I am sorry. I should have been more clear. I mean that - assuming execution is cheaper - in certain extreme cases it would make very good sense to complete an execution and use the saved money on alleviating the victims' suffering. By extreme cases I suppose I mean instances where an individual has been convicetd on the strength of multiple strands of evidence, and with a fast track review by a higher court. How DO you define 'bloody obvious he did it'?

Whatchit, mush. Or you're banned.

I keep meaning to read that book by the sole survivor of Marc Dutroux's merry band - I choose to live EDIT: Actually not the sole survivor. Can anyone read the following and tell me that the finite resources of the State should be spent on the minimal chance of reforming this character instead of spending the same money on his victims? High security costs tens of thousands a month. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3522367.stm

Wait. Let me get this straight... if I give up everything I enjoy then I _don't_ get eternally reborn? Whuh?

Just rewarded a very hard day's work with some Goose Green pale ale. In addition to having the same name as a battle in the Falklands war* it's absolutely delicious! One of the top five I've ever had. And that statement doesn't come easily. *You yanks ratted us out to the bloody Argentines in that one, but don't worry I'm sure that's aprt of the special relationship or something.