Walsingham

I'm still baffled as to how you believe looking after the welfare of your own country, from even the most selfish standpoint, is best served by interacting as little as possible with the outside world. Leaving aside military intervention, how in god's name to you propose convincing other countries to buy American goods and services if not with aid and engagement in some cases? If you cut all US assistance abroad your economy would implode as thousands of economic agreements collapsed!

Actually I think all the attention in this case may be positive. Because it is exposing a totally inadequate cornball. I mean a main character called Richard McBeef? http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6567143.stm The man was a total idiot. He makes Richard Reid (the shoebomber) look positively dynamic. I would hope it might give other fools pause for thought if it turns out attracting all that attention can just expose you as a *expletive deleted in auto-moderation*.

I liked the intro and cutscenes on Homeworld 1. That opening sequence with the mothership flypast still takes my breath, no matter how many times I see it. Incredible when you consider how ancient the graphics are.

I don't think that the chap chained to teh bed ought to have expected to be abandoned in the event of a fire. It seems a bit callous. And I'm sure this youngster wasn't being stupid. It's apparently quite easy to do. I just find the image hilarious.

I believe it would be something like that perforated jacket around the barrel of a tech-9. Which strikes me as odd. Why not ban guns that look scary if you're being that vague? And I also believe that the guy knew what it was, he was just fishing for the ignorance of the interviewee.

Last man to try and register as Fionavar's a sissy!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/essex/6568235.stm

I believe they said there is no waitning period in Georgia. Pass the background check and you take the gun home right then and there. States with a "waiting period" are in the minority, and personally I think it's a stupid measure. If a guy wants to commit a crime like this, he can wait two days to do it. This kid, if I recall, had his pistol for over a week before he did this. I hate to say it, but if you want incompetent shootings then no waiting could be a good thing. This guy didn't so much cool down as anneal.

I fear perhaps we are both alloowing personal history to interfere with our views. I, for example, would not be here many times over if complete strangers hadn't intervened to save my sorry butt. Ditto my interventions for other people. As I have said before, no man is an island. Likewise no country is. Except maybe Martinique.

I don't want to offend anyone who chooses the S&M thing, but I must say I always found dom males to be pretty much ****heads. I therefore agree with your analysis.

*...* Uncharacteristically speechless.

If Fox is simply producing dross then I don't know that it's exactly news...

I also have to wonder about that. We had the Soham murders in the UK a few years back. How does a couple like that get together. Or there was Marc Dutroux. Didn't he have a wife? I mean, most wives have a go if tehir husband's hobby is golf! What are these women thinking? "Oh well, at least he doesn't go on about football all the time"?

Gentlemen, the answer is obvious. You must start your own strip joint which gives a superior service. With blackjack. And a theme park.

Yeah, but do kids frequent here though? Sure some people are pretty childish, but I think we established, some time ago, that the average age here was around 25. Obsidian has asked us to retain a child-friendly atmosphere, so obviously no we don't get any kids in here. They're all off reading forums about boobies.

I hope you'll be very happy together. May I suggest you buy an old Soviet nuclear sub and while away time beneath the tranquil waters of the arctic circle. Protected from the vicissitudes of modern living, like moving around without chafing against all your vests, guns, knives, and tinfoil hats. . Yeah real proffesional, walshington yeah your real cool now buddy making fun of mentally handicapped people. wow grow up what are you like 23 and still havent [put ur weinr in a girls vicinity ok buddy go back to work or w/e it is you do jk but seriously you gotta admit i got you pretty good Cultural disjunction: you can't zing an Englishman with that kind of spelling AFTER an edit. Also, I never meant to make fun of the mentally handicapped. Just Soviet submariners. And youse two.

Well, I forgot about that second one, but I don't believe that the other three are enough that the government needs to send someone to get involved in your business. Fair enough. But I do think that if you want to retain the freedom to the last of these things you have to accept more monitoring of the first three. That or accept these sorts of incidents. Which is your prerogative. Edit: (didn't see the next page) Social isolation is a serious co-factor in aberrant behaviour of any kind. It cuts the individual off from normalising influences. It also can lead to them descending into a subculture or subcultures that exacerbate latent tendencies. It's step one in cult brainwashing 101, and suicide bomber grooming. I have to say that I can also see that if the man was cut off from normal world interactions and existed in a cognitive space dominated solely by shooting people for years on end it might have some effect. But we're talking counterstrike like Morgan Spurlock ate Maccy Ds. Also I think you may be misinterpreting what I said in terms of govt coming into your house with SWAT teams and making you talk through childhood issues. According to a friend of mine who runs a young persons institute here in the UK you'd be amazed how many people will come to you if you make it clear there is nothing wrong with doing so, and that you care. Of course there may be instances where you need to oblige the person to get help, but that's what the courts are for. In this case when he started stalking people, setting fire to stuff, and phoning in bomb threats.

MY favourite political cartoon:

If I could discretely remind members this is a family forum? Good. Sounds like your standard incompetent administrative behaviour. The wood is full of wolves and you are at home, kicking the cat.

Aram, it's not about being weird. its about: Weird + History of actual criminal damage + social isolation + deadly weapons. At least so it seems to me. Like I say, although far from perfect the UK has at least some mechanism whereby this could have been nipped in the bud. Certainly at the point he was referred for counselling someone would have been on the case.

I challenge you to determine how much corporate tax he pays. I doubt HE knows; the hundreds of corporate entities that cross-invest in each other defeated international financiers years ago when he bid for some new asset ... But I'm more interested in your definition of nationality, if it isn't citizenship, what is it? Which beer you drink?

I hate to admit it but I can't think of any Donnesburies I've laughed at since the '70s.

I hope you'll be very happy together. May I suggest you buy an old Soviet nuclear sub and while away time beneath the tranquil waters of the arctic circle. Protected from the vicissitudes of modern living, like moving around without chafing against all your vests, guns, knives, and tinfoil hats. .

Legislation being pushed through by the notorious telescopes and binoculars lobby.

death threats to a guy who was already reported as dead? Sheesh. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6564653.stm Reports that he had in fact already been referred for counselling, but that no-one seems very bothered about whether he had gone to it, or what was done for him. I see it seems he also set fire to something in his dormitory, was an unresponsive loner who stalked women and was generally known for railing against the 'corruption' all around him. Sounds like your bog standard star-spangled forebrain to me. One more black mark against the university. Having said that I do think it's going a tad far to suggest that mental health care is the whole solution. It's a complex issue. What's your view then, Gorgo?