Walsingham

British by birth. English by the Grace of God, and all that jazz.

It's solitary, but not complete solitary. They can see outside. But no-one talks to them. You could be right, but then Gitmo keeps people like that, and if they were bonkers surely this would have surfaced. Even if it does make people go weird this fits neatly into the cthulhu mythos anyway.

:D I suppose I could just be rubbish at poetry.

new subject: poetry. When I was young I would write poems for my girlfriends, and they were uniformly unimpressed. I don't do it any more. Has anyone ever had a poem actually work?

I'm with mothman. Having a black anything month perpetuates the notion that skin colour says something about you, which is frankly asinine. I know there are black people - even friends of mine - who feel being black is important to them. But I'm afraid I disagree. Or at least, it OUGHT to be as nonsensical as having a blonde history month. Meta, you mentioned the Anglo-Boer war, which if I recall was executed at least in part because the Boers were using the blacks as slaves (public indignation etc), whereas they had limited rights in the colony. Great Britain also outlawed slavery decades before the US or France. The Royal Navy even boarded slave ships at sea, and transported freed slaves back to Africa. So while we certainly did bad things there was some good as well.

That's because he is jealous <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Actually it's because I crept into his house in the night, and re-arranged some of his neurons into a moebius strip. You just wait and see what'll happen if he ever tries to make a paper aeroplane while drinking Dr Pepper.

In my opinion if you are going to give jewelry, make it yourself. It's really not so hard, and provided you work in silver and semi-precious stones, it's not so expensive. What? I can't be creative? :">

The only whole phrase I know in German, I can't write, but it is to answer the question "What are you doing?" To which I reply. "First I'm going to have a little drink, and then later - perhaps - I will eat one of my junior officers." Always handy.

Indeed. It's like one of those displays that male animals make to prove they can build a nest or something. 'Look at me, I can arrange and afford a whole day of attention'. Speaking of flowers, as luck would have it I ran into the only bunch of flowers I've ever seen that looked like they were worth the effort. A dozen of the most gorgeous red roses. They were like whatsitthingy ideals of roses. Platonic. But even then they were already fading when I saw them last night. On the other hand, maybe flowers are a good thing. They are impermanent, but then love can be too. Best enjoy it while you can. My girlfriend actually wrote a poem about how much she loves me, after I did such a good job. This is the equivalent of a normal women going out and killing a yak for you with her bare hands.

I don't know why there are so many Germanic haters here. German spoken in tenderness is oddly soft in spite of itself, like someone gently stroking your ears with an axe.

Damn straight, Dyan. I've seen bouquets for 29 quid, and upwards. What the feth is going on? You wouldn't buy an album that was going to wither and die in a few days. The only explanation I've come up with so far is the 'pure sacrifice' option. i.e. it shows you are willing to spend money on absolute rubbish just for the principle. Which annoys the hell out of me if it's true. Hey, here's an idea. How about we make St George's day the day each year when women have to spend an entire day taking their guy on a day he will love. My gf a few years back did such a day and it was fantastic. Beer and bacon for breakfast, lunch in the park with all my favourite food, afternoon visiting war stuff, pub, then the Reduced Shakespeare company and Thai food for afters. What do you say? Let's get em back.

Spanish is the most beautiful in my opinion, and curiously Spanish is related (so I understand) to Arabic. Go figure . I like the 'Joisey' accent, in measured doses. Thanks for the lesson there, Steve. Now I know WHY.

As if this debate wasn't muddy already, let me ask: If it is wrong to criticise Islam, is it wrong for me to criticise interpretations of Islam that treat women as second class citizens? ~~~ As an aside, can we cut down the multi-posting. Take notes if you have to, for frack's sake.

Yes, and for god's sake don't try to buy beer or other alcoholic beverages in London. You will be bankrupt before the second round. If you want to stretch your money make damn certain you stay in the North and Northeast. Yorkshire is great if you want comparatively cheap, and plenty of outdoors stuff. Personally I've always disliked Scotland as a place to visit. Bad food, miserable people, and nothing to do. But then, since I hate the place I can hardly be expecetd to know its good side. then on the other hand if it's so great why is one always running into scotsmen 'abroad'?

Firstly, yiddish is fantastic. :D i only know a few terms, but they have terms for things you just NEED, like tojus, chutzpah, and oy vey! I also say that German is quite nice. It can be a little too precise on occasion but there we are. Steve, English spoken in South African also sounds threatening. It is the cadence. For example: Try saying the phrases "I've got to say I love your hair" & "i'm afraid I have to kill you." In an English RP, an English Australian, and an English South African accent. The aussie sounds like he's joking on both occasions, and the SAfrican sounds like he wants to kill you on both occasions.

I don't know about most unpleasant, since I'm sure it's just what you are used to. But... " I can't imagine learning arabic. I'm trying to learn pakhtun, but arabic seems to be all glottals. I'd be afraid of damaging that dangly thing at the back of my throat. Afrikaans is a great language for threatening people in. But you try being gently complimentary. It sounds like you want a fight. The language of the bushmen is fething impossible. It is ALL (slight exagerration) clicking noises.

I was just thinking that in actuality having a single day with advertising and so ofrth actually plays off the male weaknesses. Being obvious and well-planned is in our favour. Then once done we can relax just a little knowing we've made clear our concern and affection for another year.

I don't think anyone's ever said that there simply innocent interrogations going on at Abu Ghraib. I think we've said that several people crossed a line there, and are henceforth going to be spending a significant amount of their lives in a United States military prison. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Really? Charles Graner got ten years. OK. But the others? Some got a few months.

Yes, everything is connected by trains. Filthy overcrowded and late trains. <_< Meta: Nothing works _IN_ London.

Good job, Eldar. Karimi, you also have a point. Tolerance is necessary in any multi-cultural system. It would be _wise_ to avoid publishing deliberately inflammatory cartoons of Mohammed on a regular. But by the same token, it would be _wise_ to avoid burning and killing as a response. Understanding and adaptation ought to be mutual. Having said this, I am very much afraid this issue is getting out of hand. It is being used to whip up hatred in many Muslim countries, by extremsit political parties. And it is stirring up fear and contempt for Islam in Western countries. Regarding the latter I find my own earlier misgivings reflected by virtually every 'regular' person who picks up a newspaper without getting too into current affairs. Fear and incomprehension are dangerous things. So I begin to wonder what can be done. What are the potential courses of action from here?

Well, let us remember my observation that life can be looked at in any light. He expertly avoided acquiring any unfortunate kissing diseases.

:D And sorry to hear it didn't work out, pix, but I DID try. I can't help it if these slugs didn't chip in with a remarkable plan. What did Llyranor get up to? Maybe he went with my plan to trap a young lady of criminal disposition.

Astr0creep, Britain is a signatory to the Bill of Human Rights. According to most interpretations of the Bill a soldier is not exempt from prosecution for being a soldier. He is ultimately responsible. In fact, if I, as a soldier, were to kill ANYONE, even another enemy uniformed combatant the Bill finds me guilty of murder. One reason why the Bill as it stands is unworkable. But that's another story. The War is over. The reason we are still there is, frankily that if we withdrew right now it would precipitate a civil war bloodbath. Ten years of murder and destruction at bare minimum. But of course OUR troops wouldn't be doing it, so our conscience would be clear.

I definitely dislike the commercialism. But then, what can you do? Mine was terrifyingly expensive, in terms of man hours as well as cash. So I'm very very impressed to hear you chaps have girls who aren't impressed that way. Mind you, even I was impressed that I had managed to craft such a complex evening that came together. Indeed, none of the failsafes were used.

We had some stuff like this already. People made up to be a different race, or an OAP, and having to live on typical lines. I thought it was OK, but I turned off. I don't watch much TV.