miked10270

Evidently that's not all it does. That would have been the Royal Navy, who decided to shift from coal-fired-steam to oil-fired-steam based on the relative costs & availability of oil around the empire. An oil-fired boiler used between 1/2 & 1/3rd of the fuel by weight, giving ships far greater range & endurance. Oil-Fired-Steam was also a lot less labour intensive. That decision was made around 1880 if I remember correctly. Hence the discovery of Middle-East Oil (in Iraq) in 1908 was of vital interest to the British Empire which used & owned the Suez Canal & used Aden as a major bunkering stop. Mike. PS: Isn't the Wright Brothers claim to the first powered flight in some dispute now? That'd leave America as the inventors of nothing. Still... They copy stuff almost as well as the Chinese. Taking the piss out of the FrenchAmericans since before it was fashionable. Prenait la pisse hors du FrançaisCanadiens méridionaux puisqu'avant lui à la mode.

Apologies & PM sent. Mike. Taking the piss out of the FrenchAmericans since before it was fashionable. Prenait la pisse hors du FrançaisCanadiens méridionaux puisqu'avant lui à la mode.

Have Y'All checked he hasn't been delayed doing the voice-over for his character in The Simpsons? Mike. Taking the piss out of the FrenchAmericans since before it was fashionable. Prenait la pisse hors du FrançaisCanadiens méridionaux puisqu'avant lui à la mode.

Say it ain't so. There's a few classics in that collection. I'm afraid that almost half of them were! It's quite obvious when you look at the chimp pics! It's the chump pics that are unaltered. Mike. Taking the piss out of the FrenchAmericans since before it was fashionable. Prenait la pisse hors du FrançaisCanadiens méridionaux puisqu'avant lui à la mode.

Stirring stuff. I would have been rather more persuaded by this if the "Iraqi Resistance" had been active during Saddam Hussein's rule. One wonders what the "Iraqi Resistance" reaction would be if The Coalition were to say: "Okay. Sorry. We should never have invaded. Give us a week to release the Ba'ath Party leadership, re-instate them and rearm them to the point before we invaded, then we'll leave and lift the sanctions! It'll be just like we were never here." Wouldn't this be the quickest way to rebuild a peaceful & stable Iraq?

From Google! Mike. Taking the piss out of the FrenchAmericans since before it was fashionable. Prenait la pisse hors du FrançaisCanadiens méridionaux puisqu'avant lui à la mode.

I think it was the right call. The absolute key to winning a war of occupation is the co-operation of the people. This is something which is extremely hard to win, bit piss-easy to lose. Also, there's an intelligence value in tracking their movements after the burial for future target selection! Or did Y'All think the Brits didn't shoot up IRA funerals out of the goodness of their hearts? Mike. Taking the piss out of the FrenchAmericans since before it was fashionable. Prenait la pisse hors du FrançaisCanadiens méridionaux puisqu'avant lui à la mode.

There are others??? Do you mean other types of men or other places to find them? It's a valid question. Given that EVERY German "Damen" I've ever met has been Trouser-Ripping-Gorgeous with a fantastic accent, clinically filthy (or was that filthily clinical?), and instinctively possessed of a distinctly blunt turn of phrase... I'm not surprised that male homosexuality is effectively non-existent there! How can ANY man remain uninterested in the face of such typical German Girly conversation pieces as : "I think you are wanting sex with me. Das ist OK, but not fur one nacht!" Happy memories . But before y'all head over there, intent on your own particular version of bombing the Swinemunde Ball-Bearing factories, a word of warning!... While all German women up to the age of 30 are gorgeous, some carry a genetic time bomb that goes off at age 33 - causing them to gain 40 kilos of weight and sprout more face & body hair than Lon Chaney's werewolf with the result that they come to resemble the very potatoes they're continually ramming over their 5 chins! Mike. Taking the piss out of the FrenchAmericans since before it was fashionable. Prenait la pisse hors du FrançaisCanadiens méridionaux puisqu'avant lui à la mode.

I already knew about meat safes from reading "Bony" books. The links underneath are good. Is anyone surprised that Aussies invented not only the "Pop-Top" beer can... But also the Wine-Box. - Available in sizes from 3 litres to "Twenty-Two-Bonzer-Barbie-Gallons"! Of course, it's not simply where Aussies came from originally, but the quality of the folk we got rid of! Just like the Dutch are peaceful & laid back because they exported all their psychos to South Africa in the 1800's, so Britons are polite & law-abiding today because of our past re-classification of convicts as "Exports"!

We'd kind of guessed that from your "DangerMouse" Avatar. Don't worry... The "Flying-Arse-Doctors" are on their way! Mike. PS: Quick! What do you call a sheep tied to a Kalgoorlie-Boulder?.. Yep: A Leisure Centre. PPS: Has Western Australia got proper mains electricity ("Leckie") yet?.. Or do your dishwashers still work like the pic? Taking the piss out of the FrenchAmericans since before it was fashionable. Prenait la pisse hors du FrançaisCanadiens méridionaux puisqu'avant lui à la mode.

Yes. We got the joke (using the term joke in a very broad sense). Now... Shut up and watch the remake of Skippy Shame there's only 3 episodes so far. The one above, this one and this one. Still, they're sufficient to cover just about all of Australian Culture: Booze, Bum-Fondling, & the inability to get women due to small genitalia. Mike. Taking the piss out of the FrenchAmericans since before it was fashionable. Prenait la pisse hors du FrançaisCanadiens méridionaux puisqu'avant lui à la mode.

Ah... The good old Section V permit.

For as long as he's successful. Expect a very firm leadership bordering on the dictatorial while he cuts out whatever poison Bliar & his cronies have left - the damage is already occurring with Bliar's determination to remain simply to become Britain's "longest-serving-most-elections-won" Prime Minister. This really does seem to have been about getting in The Guinness Book of Records! Brown is more Socialist than B'liar. Note, for example, that his kids were all born in NHS maternity units, NOT private clinics. As the Tories move more centre, this will give a difference. I suspect that under Brown, some re-distribution of wealth will occur. I would also expect some re-nationalisation - poorly performing utilities like some water companies beware! His time as chancellor will stand him in good stead because it all depends on how the economy performs. It'll either be the 1950's & "You've never had it so good!", or the 1970's and the 3-day-week! Mike. Taking the piss out of the FrenchAmericans since before it was fashionable. Prenait la pisse hors du FrançaisCanadiens méridionaux puisqu'avant lui à la mode.

How was Agent-Orange delivered during vietnam? Was it sprayed direct from aircraft or was there some area delivery munition for it? Mike. Taking the piss out of the FrenchAmericans since before it was fashionable. Prenait la pisse hors du FrançaisCanadiens méridionaux puisqu'avant lui à la mode.

I saw it as a "Support-Our-Troops" site. For those who want to help our troops in what they're doing, REGARDLESS of how misguided they think the political direction is, it's a good site. Were there a similar site for British troops, I'd certainly contribute. Mike. Taking the piss out of the FrenchAmericans since before it was fashionable. Prenait la pisse hors du FrançaisCanadiens méridionaux puisqu'avant lui à la mode.

Let's keep a sense of proportion here. "Phony-Tony" B'liar (get the spelling right, people) SAYS he's leaving... And we're to believe him!!? I'll believe it when I see it - hopefully in tomorrows papers! After all, he's already left his legacy, viz; A Labour PM can lie every bit as much as the best of the Tories! In the meantime, party activists can make up some "ARE YOU STILL HERE, TONY?" banners. I suspect they'll get a lot of wear out of them as the Plasticine-Prat keeps promising to leave "Manana". Mike. Taking the piss out of the FrenchAmericans since before it was fashionable. Prenait la pisse hors du FrançaisCanadiens méridionaux puisqu'avant lui à la mode.

It's one of those irregular verbs; meaning to fight for differing beliefs: I am a soldier. You are a terrorist. We are freedom-fighters. They are criminals. Mike. Taking the piss out of the FrenchAmericans since before it was fashionable. Prenait la pisse hors du FrançaisCanadiens méridionaux puisqu'avant lui à la mode.

Just as an aside - Arkansas "State Quarter design has been finalised I think the technology they're putting in their coins is wonderful.

True, the Taleban did have a lot of success in reducing Opium production... But their methods were "Exciting" to say the least! Something along the lines of: "If you grow opium poppies on your farm, then we'll kill you and your entire family!" Something the occupying forces & current government can't do. In the meantime, that's where the money's coming from. Mike. Taking the piss out of the FrenchAmericans since before it was fashionable. Prenait la pisse hors du FrançaisCanadiens méridionaux puisqu'avant lui à la mode.

It's the "North-West-Frontier" old fruit! Where The Pathans live don't yo know! For you Americans, it's the bit next-but-one to the East of Iraq. Just past Iran. Mike. Taking the piss out of the FrenchAmericans since before it was fashionable. Prenait la pisse hors du FrançaisCanadiens méridionaux puisqu'avant lui à la mode.

Opinion without sources - discuss. I now believe that the war in Afghanistan is moving into it's final phase - and should have done so earlier! The final-solution to Afghanistan WILL be the eradication of Opium Crops! (Agent Orange anyone?) The single vital weapon needed is some herbicide which will attack & ideally eradicate opium poppies. Thereafter, it's a case of fitting attack helicopters with crop-spraying equipment. Because, let's be blunt. The Taleban aren't experiencing increased support, what's happening is that attempts to stop Afghanistan producing 150% of the world's Medicinal Opiate requirement (production up by a factor of 6 in Helmland Province in the past year) is meeting increased resistance. This is no longer a "religious" war. It's a drugs war. Mike. Taking the piss out of the FrenchAmericans since before it was fashionable. Prenait la pisse hors du FrançaisCanadiens méridionaux puisqu'avant lui à la mode.

Not quite... There's still thirty-some years to run on the leases on US bases in Britain. After 2044, we can renegotiate the lease for them (or evict). In effect, WWII cost Britain all it's wealth and it's empire. Still - money well spent. Mike. Taking the piss out of the FrenchAmericans since before it was fashionable. Prenait la pisse hors du FrançaisCanadiens méridionaux puisqu'avant lui à la mode.

What led up to that moment? Years of appeasement that didn't work to stop Hitler's aggression. Because everyone was too afraid to confront him, after what happened in WWI. What DID lead up to "that" moment was The Treaty of Versailles which was expressly designed to "Subjurgate Germany for a Century" with demands for war reparations. The resulting & repeated collapses of the German economy under this burden with millions of germans starving. Thus, in desperation, they voted for anyone who'd promise "Bread & Work"! The promise to return to order and a comfortable life. They'd had democracy thrust on them and starved under it, so it lost credibility to them. Hence their stomachs voted for a dictatorship and a command economy. The choice was Communism (which seemed to be working in Russia at the time) or National Socialism (favoured by businessmen who wanted to keep ownership of their businesses). As for "appeasement", that was a term which only appeared AFTER the outbreak of war. Prior to that, it was recognised that the Versailles Treaty should be abandoned. Germany SHOULD have Alsace returned to it. The people were German (It had been confiscated by France after WWI as part war reparations). The Anschluss was logical - again on grounds of ethnicity. Same with the SUdetenland, AND The Danzig Corridor & East Prussia. Both were German lands confiscated after WWI. It was only when Germany annexed the remainder of Czechoslovakia that threats were issued (Munich, 1938 WAS a British & french Threat of war which Hitler deflected by a bare-faced lie). But the terms of the treaty between Britain, France & Poland was such as to guarantee war. In effect; "If Germany tries to get back what you stole off them, we'll fight!" In effect, Britain & France did the right thing in fighting to destroy an extremist dictatorship (National Socialism), but for entirely the wrong & unsupportable reasons. Hmmm... Does this sound similar to Iraq? The REAL lesson from this is the different way (West) Germany was handled in 1945. Instead of war reparations & enforced penury for generations, Germany was rebuilt & it's economy supported. Making a people comfortable makes them moderate. Mike. Taking the piss out of the FrenchAmericans since before it was fashionable. Prenait la pisse hors du FrançaisCanadiens méridionaux puisqu'avant lui à la mode.

John, Jamile, & others, Pack it in please? Let's move on from attacking one another about attacks on attacks! Christel, I apologise for setting this thread down the particular course it has taken. Can my daughter's Gerbil still come to your voles' garden party please?

It sounds great. Can my daughter's gerbil come? Pet Hamster Party at Christel's everybody! Date to be announced!