miked10270

Where's the link to the thread?... Then we can dive into it and talk about guns & stuff, so it's hijacked into SC? 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.

On the other hand... Georgie can't do as much damage if he's away praying 5 times a day. Laura would look a lot better in a Burkha.

WHat I have noticed from Americans over the last few years is the emergence of a "Bunker-Mentality". There's been a shift in attitude from a laid back "Yeah, we made a mistake, it's funny. " towards "We have might so we are right adn if you don't agree, then FUCK YOU!" This was really apparent when the "Notice of Revocation of Independence" showed up on the net after each US Presidential Election. In 2000, Americans were laughing along with the rest of us. In 2005, when it resurfaced in a near identical form, the response was anger and arrogance rather than laughter. In effect, where there used to be discussion, there's now argument. So, if the American attitude has changed, why? 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.

They are? When was the trial? I have. Been to Iran on vacation. Nice people. Very hospitable. Really no different from Americans in their day to day worries and opinions. Oh! You mean been in the military! Been there as well. Done my share of tabin' & Slottin'. Walked backwards. "Seen the Elephant" as Americans would put it. I'll criticise the government the same way I criticise ANY under-performing employee. They work for me! One thing I've found common to any (well adjusted) former military with actual combat experience is that they DON'T want their successors going where they've been. I'd far rather our troops had first hand experience in water-skiing & abseiling than first hand experience in fighting & killing. YES!! They're well documented. The British Government is still issuing the occasional posthumous pardon for guilty verdicts at Field Courts Martial from WWI Similarly in WWII, there were plenty of folk punished AFTER DUE PROCESS! See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_war_crimes The other well documented item is US Military treatment of prisoners! A fine tradition going all the way back to the American Civil War, continued through the end of WWII, and still alive today at Gitmo (& elsewhere?) today. see: http://www.fpp.co.uk/History/General/Bacque/Brech2002.html among many others (mostly in German). 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.

And then kallend and jakee would be in here whining about that! They wouldn't be alone mate. There's NOTHING worse (as you may have noticed) than a bodged police op. The reason they're so manpower intensive is because a lot of time and effort is spent on preparing for what might go wrong. Thinking about it, the Home Ofice & Security Service must be laughing fit to bust a gut! They provided the intelligence and sanctioned the raid, and now that it's gone Pear-Shaped it's the police that're copping (sic) all the blame! It's perfect! All of a sudden everyone's forgotten about all the foreign gangsters & sex-criminals that the Home Office recently let back out to play! 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.

Yeah... The "Order" being "retraite et reddite!" (retreat & surrender). rather than "lavage et soit poli." Mike. Edited to add: Actually, that's not strictly true. I've found that The French have become more polite lately, but that may be just to me since I started working on my German accent. 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 is it? A highland? My all time favorite is Talisker 8 year old (_not_ the 10 year). It's a small distillery just outside Pitlochry. There's an appropriate clicky in my original post with a phone number if you want to order a bottle or find your nearest stockist. They only sell around 12 cases of malt a week. The rest is contracted for supply to the English Parliament (and if that bunch of snout-in-the-trough gits want it then it must be good)! 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.

Asahi? Don't they make Pentax Cameras? I assume that Japanese "whisky" may be acceptable to the palate of an American who openly flaunts his "Frenchness".... Speaking of France... Why do they call it "La France", meaning "The France"? Is this to differentiate it from some other France? Maybe some No-surrender, Hygenic, Brave, Polite, Turn-up-for-a-battle-on-time, France? 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.

Hmmm... I think that the Hills, Streams, Soil, and even the bonnie bonnie Purple Weed Heather was already there long before some English Civil(!!?) Engineer charted the course of the Scottish Nurbergring A9. I prefer the lighter malts, having made the often torturous journey from the blended stuff (aged for 10 years in a stainless steel tank wiff a used tea bag) via Bushmills Malt (which is about as far west as you can legitimately go!). Now we have to brace for the Scotland Vs Ireland whisky/whiskey battle! I nominate Me & NacMac as referees and testers on the basis of experience. It's probably easier for Y'All to send money which we'll use to buy test samples of the appropriate whiskey rather than us receiving a load of your highly suspicious bottles! 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.

Britain & Russia did similar A-Bomb tests. Russia carried its out in Siberia and Britain in Australia (a handy desert tith the only likely civilian casualties being sheep & former convicts). When the first H-Bomb tests knocked cooked & blinded birds out of the sky 100 miles from the blast, it was thought "unwise" to subject troops to such tests... They might want to have their armies killed later by the enemy so it'd be a shame to waste them now! Yes. But given that it was being used to speed up the conclusion of already existing surrender negotiations, then bomb damage DEMONSTRATION was in fact the primary consideration. The greatest emphasis passed to the Japanese Government via Sweden was that "This was a single plane... With a single bomb! (so feckin' surrender RIGHT NOW before we waste you one city at a time / the Russians come & we have to share Japan with them)". 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've only had the 12(?). All of them are good, though (well, maybe not Lagavulin ) Edradour is the best. Trust me on this one. I've done years & years of intensive research on this very subject.

Apparently the shooting was blamed on the thick gloves worn as part of the chemical gear. In future, they're not going to use thick Coppers Gloves with guns. 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.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, it doesn't actually work that way. For an operation like this, the senior cop in charge would have put out a request for staff availability, then taken all he could for contingencies - for example, community reaction. In effect, once he'd put together his raid team, say 20 including armed officers to cover the front & back of the house in pairs, cover any escape routes, and actually enter the house. Because there was a chemical threat they had to wear NBC gear so there'd have to be replacements to take over every 20 minutes or so. Then there's the search team (two per room, search advisor and search co-ordinator). Then there's the actual investigating team. Then there's the cordon to set on a 200 meter radius. Finally, there's the reserve to provide for rest breaks (they could be there a while) and to cover against the raid sparking off civil unrest. In effect, in deciding the staff levels for such a raid, the senior officer has to consider what could conceivably go WRONG and prepare for that. It'd be nice if all it took was 2 beat cops knocking on the door and quietly arresting these folk... BUT... IF those cops had been shot. IF this raid had sparked off a riot. IF the raid turned into a seige. IF the folk in the house had detonated "the Bomb"... Then sure as hell the cry "WHY WEREN'T THE POLICE PREPARED FOR THIS!!?" would have been heard all the way to Brisbane! So, the cops DID prepare for these things, and since they didn't happen, they get accused of overkill by all the "experts" who've only ever planned a piss-up in a wine bar. 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.

Yes. Kokura was another city which, like Hiroshima hadn't been attacked at all. Nagasaki had suffered some raids to Mitsubishi's yards and as such was slightly damaged and thus an unsuitable target from a damage point of view, but given its historical significance was still a suitable target. On a very minor side note... Prior to Bock's Car dropping Fat Man, Nagasaki WAS the centre of Japanese Christianity. Fat Man, dropped by a wholly Christian crew, literally annihilated the thriving Christian population of Japan using their cathedral as a target marker! Mike. Edited to add link: http://www.nuclearfiles.org/menu/key-issues/nuclear-weapons/history/pre-cold-war/hiroshima-nagasaki/article-kohls-gary_2001-08-09.htm 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 was a Monty Python Sketch, wasn't it? The Life of Brian... The Crack Suicide Squad of The Judean People's Front burst into Pilate's room, draw their swords, run up to Pilate, and stab themselves! It was funny that time. 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 don't know about dancing in the streets, but there was smiling, cheering and clapping in Arabic TV News Studios when it was announced. In itself this is not a major victory, but it could be the start of an improvement for the Iraqi People who still don't look like they're getting a reasonable quality of like because of this continued idiocy. Bear in mind that a few IEDs won't make America & Britain go home. The only thing that will achieve that is to remove their excuses to stay. IF the country returns to peace and stability, and then the democratically elected government of Iraq ask them to leave, then they will. They'd have no excuse to stay. At the moment, the chaotic situation in Iraq is what's giving Blair & Bush all the excuses they need to keep an occupying army there and make it seem acceptable to their respective electorates. In effect, it's the insurgents who're keeping the troops there. 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.

Good point! In fact, EXCELLENT point! Hold that thought. If they EVER get out they'll all be terrorists, America-Haters and suicide bombers. Despite the fact that none of them were ever actually suicide bombers before being captured, and that none of the ones released so far have subsequently become suicide bombers. THe fact is that they have all been indoctrinated to hate The USA. It is our duty to destroy the people who made them into what they are. We should actively hunt the leaders of the groups who created these America-Hater-Terrorists and take them out. That's what we did to Zarqawi for making all those folks into suicide bombers and American-Killers in Iraq. We have to do the same thing to the folk who've spent 4 1/2 years creating all those suicide bombers & American Hater terrorists in Guantanamo. Don't we?... 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'm with you on this one THe ease of bomb-damage-assessment was purely incidental to the reason for selecting Hiroshima. The real impact to the Japanese Government of the time was that ALL the damage to Hiroshima was done by a single plane, and more importantly, a single bomb! THus the true horrendous power of the weapon was demonstrated. This was for political-pressure reasons. Similarly, Nagasaki was historically the only point in Japan where foreigners could trade or visit. Successive Japanese Emperors had closed the remainder of Japan to foreigners to a greater or lesser extent to preserve their culture. The political significance being that The US would both isolate AND destroy Japan unless it surrendered promptly. In short, the two atomic bombs used on Japan weren't bein used tactically or even strategically. They were being used politically to bring the greatest pressure on the Japanese Government. Naah... There's no pissing contest! At the most, there's a little sour-grapes by americans in the face of yet more British-Genius! Mike. PS: A Brit comedian AL Murray describes Pearl Harbour, Hawaii thus: "That's where America was attacked and taken completely by surprise.... Two years into a major global war!" 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.

Are they guilty? What of? When was the trial? I suppose "Cause of Death: Suicide." Sounds a lot better than "Cause of Death: OLD AGE!" Waiting for FOUR AND A HALF YEARS for trial is wholly unacceptable. The more so when "some" are summarily released while others are kept, based only on nationality & the strength of plea by their native country's leaders! 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 many men does it take to open a beer? None. It should be opened when she brings it ------------------------------------------------------------------- Why is a Laundromat a really bad place to pick up a woman? Because a woman who can't even afford a washing machine will probably never be able to support you. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Why do women have smaller feet than men? It's one of those "evolutionary things" that allows them to stand closer to the kitchen stuiff. ------------------------------------------------------------------- How do you know when a woman is about to say something smart? When she starts a sentence with "A man once told me..." ------------------------------------------------------------------- How do you fix a woman's watch? You don't. There is a clock on the oven. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Why do men fart more than women? Because women can't shut up long enough to build up the required pressure. ------------------------------------------------------------------- If your dog is barking at the back door and your wife is yelling at the front door, who do you let in first? The dog, of course. He'll shut up once you let him in. ------------------------------------------------------------------- What's worse than a Male Chauvinist Pig? A woman who won't do what she's told ------------------------------------------------------------------- I married Miss Right. I just didn't know her first name was Always. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Scientists have discovered a food that diminishes a woman's sex drive by 90%. It's called Wedding Cake. ------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.

That'd be Ivan Getting, with due credit to the original inventor of the idea... John Harrison. 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.

Any decision to use atomic weapons and their targetting has to be examined within the overriding considerations facing Truman at the time. Stalin had already undertaken to declare war and begin offensive operations against Japan within 3 months of the defeat of Germany. Stalin had negotiated the movement of Polands borders westwards (in effect ensuring that he would keep the part of poland he had gained in co-operation with the Nazis in 1939)! Stalin was known to be "Territory-Hungry". The Red Army did not willingly or easily cede territory it had occupied. Truman WAS aware of The Katyn Forest Massacre and was surely aware of the consequences thereof. Bear in mind that both Churchill and Roosevelt / Truman were fully aware that the alliance with Stalin was the result of nothing more than having a common enemy. Once the common enemy had been defeated, then there was no longer any direct reason for alliance. Therefore, the overriding objective was to end the war with Japan as quickly as possible to prevent Russian intervention and to ensure that the occupation (& subsequent reconstruction) of Japan was entirely in US hands. This had already been negotiated with Churchill along with the rapid rehabilitation of Japan, but Stalin's actions couldn't be trusted. Because of this, the "bloodless" option of continued air raids and blockade was unacceptable. Similarly, invasion of the home islands was rejected not because of casualty rates (actually projected as lower than D-Day), but because invasion & occupation would take too long and let the Russians in! From there, having decided to use the nuclear option, targets must be chosen to best achieve the overriding objective. An otherwise undamaged target makes a perfect choice to demonstrate what the weapon is capable of. Bear in mind that surrender negotiations vai the Swedish Embassy were ongoing at the time. Similarly, the choice of Nagasaki with it's historical and cultural significance made a good second target far beyond the presence of The Mistubishi Shipyards (which were producing bugger-all by then). These two uses allowed the Japanese Government of the time to go to their people with the statement that further fighting is futile, and that they should"Bear their suffering with fortitude". More to the point, Stalin's Red Army wasn't occupying Japan North of the 37th or 36th Parrarel. 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.

Difficult one. On the one hand, Japan was VERY near surrender. A month or two of blockade would have broken them. On the other hand, Russia was due to enter the war against Japan (on August 8th) and American policy was that Japan was to be exclusively occupied by Americans. The month or two to starve Japan into reality would almost certainly have resulted in Russian invasion from the North and japan being partitioned like Germany. Hence the use of the atomic weapons, and the decision to allow Japan a conditional surrender (allowing them to keep their Emporer but no other conditions IS NOT "Unconditional-Surrender"). I really don't think that Truman's actions could be faulted at the time... Anything to hasten Japans surrender before Stalin had an excuse to make yet another of his infamous land-grabs! 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.

Well... I guess that first thing on his agenda will be to work out where his (spiritual) Dick landed after the explosion. Second, given the way that Arabic / Muslim News services covered the event I'd guess that he qualifies for the fat pimply virgins wiff the hairy ankles, warts, single bushy eyebrow & moustaches. So... Overall... Not so good!

Well.... He knows now. This really is win-win whichever way you look at it. If it WAS a policy decision to have him martyred, then hopefully it signalls a move by the Sunni Insurgency further into the purely political arena. Anyone know who the new Iraqi Defence & Interior ministers are? Are they Sunni? Was Zarqawi "traded" for political position? Regardless of that, one "mad-Dog" Pack Leader has been culled in a way which allows his fellows to retain their credibility. 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.