Monte Carlo

If Sweden declared war on Denmark I guess both sides armed services would go on strike and a peace conference would be announced before the first tank reached a border post.

Am I alone in finding Turkey's new role as international paladin of human rights slightly ironic?

Yep, the three series is a bit narrow inside but a station wagon (sorry, we call them estates here) has a good cargo area. The five series is perfect, but it has good residuals and might be a bit too pricey for what you have in mind at the moment.

Naturally, because Israel is the bogeyman du jour for da kidz, they all kicked off as soon as this was announced. Some of us were sanguine. I've seen the footage. The commandoes rapelling to the deck were attacked by a mob armed with iron bars. Were I the section commander I would have authorised the use of firearms. The evidence will not persuade the haters - it never does. I would ask, though, just whose tune they are dancing to (answer for the dull - Iran / Hamas / The Muslim Brotherhood). I'm not a pro-Israeli stooge. My country was at war with Israeli terrorists in the late 40's. But, and... but. Memories are fading. Forget the Balfour declaration and Zionist settlers. That's all window-dressing. The rapidly fading elephant in the room is the industrial extermination, on an epic scale, of six million people. Just think how that forges a national psyche. The Jews of Europe tried reason in the 30's and 40's and it led to the gas chamber. Never Again isn't just a slogan, it's woven into Israel's DNA. They see the Palestinian question directly through this prism. Has this turned Israel into something sometimes unpleasant and arrogant? This is a reasonable point of view. But the Che Guevara T-shirt crowd beating their chests and crying foul need to (a) learn some history (b) learn to see stuf from the other guy's POV and © wonder how the other side would act. A more astute critic might ask if the 'other side' is as homogenous as I've suggested. The answer is yes and no, but when it comes to the mission to undermine and destroy Israel I'd say pretty much yes. Big picture time: It boils down to this: like it or not, Netanyahu has his finger on a nuclear trigger, reined in by the USA. Ahmadinejad does not. The plan is to get his finger on one reined in by nobody. Who knows if this flotilla is the anarchist throwing a grenade in Sarajevo moment? I'm not saying don't protest against Israel, or criticise them. Just prioritise. These guys aren't dug in, full of fear and suspicion, for fun. Cheers MC

Er, I did in my first post on the subject.

I'd go Japanese from what you were posting, but if you wanted to go BMW go for an ancient 3 series.

Whatever the rights and wrongs of this, the IDF didn't attack the ship. They boarded it. Which they were perfectly entitled to do.

The most forgiving interpretation I can think of is that they thought they were at an anti-capitalist demonstration in a nice, safe western European city. Which they obviously weren't.

I applaud Heathen's attempt at sarcasm, which earned him a rare smirk over here at Monte towers, although it might have been down to the rather excellent 1995 Bordeaux I've recently opened.

I am utterly aware of how multi-faceted Hamas is. Which doesn't change the fact that it's objectives and tactics qualify it as a terrorist organisation. I'm not biased. I'm not exactly an Israeli fanboy. I do however think they are the least worst protagonist in this sorry saga.

^ Which is like saying the Rainbow Warrior had nothing to do with nuclear energy. This has everything to do with terrorism. Hamas is a terrorist organisation. Terrorists want Israel to fail so they can set up camp along the Med with impunity. The fellow travellers in the European liberal left are part of a 'soft power' tactical toolkit.

The Rainbow Warrior changed the political landscape in New Zealand and Australia permanently. The agents might have got away with just a few years in gaol, but it was not without political repercussions. Will we see the same thing happen here? No. I don't want to sound rude, but in Europe the global impact of the political landscape in the Antipodes is near.... zero. France got away with it. France probably became more cunning. This isn't a sum zero game. Israel is important because it's Israel, as I described. Cleverly, the opposition (an alliance of Jihadists, cynical Middle Eastern tyrants and genuine if not misguided liberal leftists) are trying to goad Israel into pariah status. This worked brilliantly against South Africa, I suggest the anti-apartheid campaign rulebook is being carefully thumbed through in Damascus and Tehran. EDIT: My generation, i.e. pre-Gen X now in their forties, held the Holocaust dear, it has religious status as an act of unique barbarism. I personally cannot imagine anything as awful or as evil. This is, with the passing of years, becoming less potent in my opinion, and the middle east has always held a warm welcome for deniers. This is significant.

Israel recently assassinated a target using forged passports of allied countries. It is one of the most shameless and robust countries in the world when it comes to executive action --- it will tough this one out because it knows it is the last beacon of anything remotely resembling democracy in the region. It's fall would herald an era of political and military instability in the near and middle east that the likes of Obama cannot even dare to imagine. It is also nuclear armed and does anybody doubt, for a second, that they wouldn't deploy them? Tough one, eh? I remember the Rainbow Warrior. Similar gig, selfish French realpolitik meets fluffy Western idealism. Very, very wrong. The agents got medals and a protracted 'hoilday' on a tropical island then everybody got back to what they were doing before. The world isn't black and white, that's the only thing that grips me about the tone of some of the posts here. My totem is crueller than your totem. Meh. Does anybody seriously imagine that, say, Syria or Iran wouldn't behave a hundred times worse than Israel if they could get away with it? This is how I view the world. I don't have to like it.

^ You talk of evidence and courts in your first post on this forum (.alt ahoy!). Terrorists adore people like you, calculating the precise number of angels dancing on the heads of pins. Meanwhile they do what they do and laugh at you. If it were 1955 you'd be in love with Uncle Joe and decrying all those tales of camps and murders as propoganda --- where's the evidence? The 'charity' behind this is suspect. Israel made a compromise offer to land supplies at one of their ports. The markets in Gaza are functional and there is no famine. There is evidence, should you choose to see it, for all of these things. Enough, though, let us agree that the IDF behaved in a way that was at best ham-fisted. But do you really, honestly believe that this wasn't the intention of those behind this affair, if not the naifs onboard?

Before some of you feint in an orgasmic frenzy of righteous indignation, ask why the flotilla refused the offer of unloading at Ashdod? Don't get me wrong, Israel seldom does itself any favours nowadays, even with those who would prefer to support her. But this flotilla was a carefully manufactured piece of Israel-baiting by Hamas, which the IDF fell for hook, line and sinker.

You, sir, are a genius but sadly too clever ever to make it in the games industry. No kidding, that suggestion would kill 50% of the problem stone dead.

No, the level of tunnelage was agreeable, it was something else. Not enough exploration, the combat started to get dull, didn't much care for the NPCs... I think I'm just over Bioware RPGs, they are too formulaic for me. They are the pickle in the McDonalds burger that makes everything taste the same, and you can't take it out. I want a big, exploration-based game with an old-skool feel, there's a reason why SoZ was my favourite RPG offering for quite a while. So while Dragon Age was good, and I acknowledge all the positive stuff about it, Awakenings was a slice too much of Ferelden for me in the end. I'm a cup half full sort of bloke, though, and predict that mebbe the wheel will turn full circle and that party-based, sand-boxy games will come back into fashion. Until then there are lots of other games to get into or re-play.

I've been unable to finish Awakenings, I was hit by a Greater Meh spell and just uninstalled it.

Mellisan would've been down to Dave Gaider, right?

LOL a Commie Walt, that's a first. Usually they pretend to be from the Underwater Knife-Fighting Squad.

^ Not if you service them regularly, but yah a BMW isn't the cheapest car to service and maintain. However, I used to run a Volvo that on aggregate cost more because it wasn't as relaible and spent more time in the shop. Mercedes are killers for maintenance too.

Why, I read on the internet that it was the worstest game ever! So it must be true then!

^ I cry foul! Yeah, the businessman in the 'M' series or rod-hog in an X5 I agree. My ageing 5 series is basically a Volvo but with better engineering. My BMW is covered in mud, full of dents and is true to the spirit of the marque. BMW make awesomely engineered cars. If people buy them as status symbols that's their lookout. As for Audi - knobheads started buying them circa 2005 when the new radiator grille design came in. Check out the 2002-2004 Allroad Estate for performance and price - an arse wouldn't buy or drive one but it's an excellent gran tourer in the old Audi style>

I don't know about America, but... In the UK the rule of thumb is that Japanese cars a good - reliable, lots of features, value for money but lack residuals. 'Residuals' is car salesman talk for a vehicle that holds value. Japanese cars don't. My friend in the sheep-skin coat who flogs used cars tells me the car with highest residuals he's seen recently is the BMW reincarnation of the Mini. For Calax, I think he needs a reliable heap that will keep him going for a bit before he consigns it to the great junk-yard in the sky. So go Japanese, I would agree with the previous poster's suggestions. For Theslug, I say go German. The Germans make the best cars in the world. I drive older German cars (currently a 10 yr old Beemer) and always get a decent return on my outlay when I sell them or trade them in. And I use cars as tools - A - B with kids and a dog and shopping... not because I'm a car afficianado. So buy yourself a five - seven year old BMW 5-series estate and just keep it running and you won't be disappointed (this is also far more environmentally friendly than buying a Toyota Pious). I'm also a big fan of VW if you want to spend less - VWs are Audis without the price tag. Obviously, I want an Aston Martin DB5 or a Hanomag flak halftrak, but life's not like that. Cheers MC

Medieval Japan and more mandatory Steam nonsense? No thanks. Never played Empires and I was a complete TW addict. I'd like to see them step up to the plate and make an early 20th century-into-WW1 game with cavalry, trench warfare, artillery silliness, very fragile airplanes, prototype tanks, conscription as a resource and all the rest of it. The visceral juxtaposition of 19th century infantry tactics with modern mechanised warfare. The ability to win WW1 then crush Russia or vice versa (how cool would it be to manage, as a Russian faction leader, 1917 and see which way it rolls, or as an enemy take out Lenin or inject him into the enemy?). anarchists and commies would replace priest agents, spreading ideology and causing unrest. This grognard says move the franchise forward, be exciting, amaze us. Don't re-hash an old game, they did that with M:TW2 and although it's fantastic doing it again is a bit... meh.