miked10270

But ... they forbid firearms in National Parks and Forests. I guess they care more about the bears than about 6-year-old girls. I "GUESS" that this is yet another aspect of uncontrolled & universal gun ownership! No-one cares more about a bear than a 6 year old. BUT... firearm possession in an American National Park would inevitably cover the whole spectrum from "There is a risk so I'll take the appropriate tool just in case." right the way through to "We can shoot bears? Great! T'ink me and Earl 'll jus' mosey on down to dat dere Nashnul Park, pay our 10 bucks & shoot us one of dem big bears! I want's me a Grizzly! I guess that the National Parks Service has to take into account the "Lowest Common Denominator" of US gun ownership & use, and therefore take steps to prevent the greater risk - which would be the rapid eradication of the bear population!... Purely in self-defense of course. Strangely enough, in Gun-Control-Crazy Europe, going out armed against the risk of bear attack is no problem. Seriously! !f you're trekking & camping in The Arctic Circle, you're EXPECTED to be armed (& competent in setting up a bear alarm)! Once again, GUN CONTROL is in fact the answer! 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 believe that at this time of year, with bears just emerging from hibernation (hungry), then all bets on "normal" animal behaviour are off! In that case, the appropriate camping tool is a firearm! A shotgun loaded with solid shot or a large calibre rifle is every bit as vital (& appropriate) as matches or a Swiss-Army-Knife. Incidentally... Can anyone verify the rumour that bears find toothpaste irresistible? Truth...? ot "Tenderfoot-Tale"? 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 stay calm, & watch out for symptoms, which include: High temperature, Aches & Pains, And, specifically... A tendency to shit on car windows. 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 bird was found in Cellardyke. The thing is that if H5N1 causes brain-death, then the disease has probably been in Cellardyke for years & we've only just noticed! In the meantime, buy "Battery-Hen" eggs, NOT free range! 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. Absolutely. But it'll take A LOT more than the odd bombing to achieve it. It takes a desperate people to accept a desperate solution. You'd really need a major recession or economic collapse, hyperinflation & a massive fall in living standards to the point where folk are starving for a population to wilfully abandon a moderate government / political party for an extremist one. A "comfortable" population will invariably choose a moderate (or non-interventionist) government - it takes desperation for them to support a government which proposes extreme solutions. 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.

Wouldn't it be more like: "Private! You're A FUCKWIT not meeting your training norms! Drop & give me 20 Your Sergeant will now demonstrate how to do 20 pushups!" Seriously, I always thought that the psychology of ANY induction regime was to break the recruits previously held values and then to build new values. You will be called "Useless" in your first few weeks regardless of how well you perform, and over the ensuing weeks, the instructors gradually show that they value you by relaxing and becoming more approachable. It's a proven way of inducing BOTH pride & discipline. 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 feel the issue isn't birth control. The problem with almost all African countries is a lack of a moral & numerous middle-class. (From here on I've given up trying to avoid this sounding racist!) When colonialism ended in Africa, the "Administrative-Middle-Class" with it's technical competence & impartiality largely "went home" to be replaced with hastily promoted "Natives" whose first loyalty was to tribe or family rather than country. At the same time, the former Colonial Powers invariably favoured a particular group chosen more with an eye to preserving their commercial relationships than to competence or suitability. The result of this was that power & wealth were concentrated in a small group of people who had not neccessarily earned it or were competent at handling it fairly. Bear in mind that what SUCESSFUL economies all have in common is that wealth is fairly evenly spread throughout the population with very few folk either impoverished or rich (most are comfortable). As such, the solution to "Africa" (or any third world country is a redistribution of wealth and an investment in infrastructure. To be honest, I feel that this will only be achieved by giving first-world aid "in kind" rather than cash. DON'T give "Country Z" $Billions to build, say, a railway (It'll get spent on S-Class Mercedes's), put a team together, go out & build a railway! Don't give "Country U" the money for hospitals, go out and build the hospitals, train the staff, & supply the consumables! OK... It's more involved, but it's really the only way that aid will get to where it's meant. Mike. PS: Which continent buys more Mercedes Limos & SUVs per annum? America or Africa? 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.

Err... Bill? Since I proved in a previous post that he's a Crypto-Francophile-Fromage-Mangeant-Singe-D'Reddition, wouldn't: IHRE ERSTES UND NUR WARNUNG, FROSCHFRESSER! Be more likely to ensure compliance? 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.

The precedent for "Following Orders" was set at The Nuremburg War Crimes Trials. "Befehl ist Befehl" and "Ich folgte nur Aufträgen" wasn't accepted as a defence then... And thus can't be accepted as a defence now. Perhaps that is why the US DoD is SO WILLING to promote the idea that The US Army is a disorganised vicious criminal rabble whose private soldiers & junior NCOs have neither discipline nor conscience! That way, the trials & punishments stop at the poor SOBs who're stupid enough to follow unlawful orders & unfortunate enough to be identified. Like the latest "massacre" where a squad of US Marines killed 15 Iraqi civilians (youngest 2 years old) after one of their number was killed by a roadside bomb! I'll go out on a limb here and suggest that the roadside IED was identified as a "Command-Wire-Detonation" with the "Landscape-Feature" leading to the village. Or the incident with the British Light Infantry battalion chasing & beating civilians after their compound was mortared. I remember training with 3LI for a deployment to NI back in '77, and that footage, ALL OF IT, took me right back to the Riot-Control-Training. 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 seems to be a suspiciously FRENCH solution!... You're obviously a Crypto-Fromage-Mangeant-Singe-D'Reddite"! 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 thought the Telegraph had a strongly conservative political agenda. Hi John, The Telegraph is "conservative"... Rather than "Conservative (& Unionist Party)" One thing I wouldn't accuse them of is publishing a story that isn't 100% accurate. 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.

FOR THE AVOIDANCE OF DOUBT... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/03/12/nsas12.xml The Daily Telegraph is a conservative, serious newspaper. It does NOT have a political agenda or bias. It does NOT have to worry about it's circulation figures. It does NOT generate scandals. It DOES report the news... Fairly & impartially. 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 yes... The "Convertible Euro" thing. I should have paid more attention to that - Was Iran the new "Differential-in-The-Axis-of-Evil" before or AFTER expressing its desire to trade oil in Euros? 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.

Wait a minute... The US had a PLAN!!?? Why wasn't it followed? Of course, I'm assuming that the plan was in fact sane & complete... Ya know... Invade... Remove Evil Dictatorship... Allow Iraqis democracy & self determination... Go home knowing you did a good thing. No mention of buggering about trying to "Americanise" their culture & failing miserably... Or are we really wanting to replace their Evil dictatorship with a nice (pro-western) dictatorship... One that can sell us oil and assist in our "Defence Against Iranian Aggression" (Hermann-Goering-Style). 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 the point being made is this: Unless you are serving in the US Military in Iraq at this moment in time, you have no right to criticise or question the US Military's current actions in Iraq! If you do so qualify, and are critical of these actions, you are by implication criticising yourself and must be by definition less than sane! As such, your criticisms are the product of a deranged, un-American mind and should not be heeded! I think he's reading Joseph Heller. Meanwhile... Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? 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 to stir the pot... Lt. Col. Tim Collins (Royal Irish Regiment) tells an interesting anecdote about the preparations for the Iraq Invasion; How American senior officers were talking about "Bombing Iraqis back to The Stone Age!" And him thinking "I thought we were going in to liberate these people!" He goes further: "... what is happening there is much more reminiscent of American policy than British colonial policy. Love it or hate it, British colonial policy is about acting in partnership with the people you come across for mutual benefit. American policy is all about subjugation." Regardless of this, it's already been proven that The US Army, while lavishly equipped, is nothing spectacular in terms of discipline & attitude! Simply look at the Abu-Ghraib incidents: Either there's a complete lack of discipline that allows soldiers to think they can behave in such a way against Both The Geneva Convention and their own military law... OR... The US Military is corrupt & criminal from top to bottom! Y'All choose. 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 hard to tell from the pic.... Some of them may well lean toward the right. 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.

Sorry mate - Your post is irrelevant in this joke thread! Now... What's your Ideal Job in Mediaeval Times ? These are called "The Good Old Days" because Noisy Americans confined themselves to dancing around totem poles & living in TeePees where they belong! Iran & Iraq were the centre of civilisation under The Abussid Caliphate, and Europe had a stable co-operative government called The Borgia Family! 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 move. Let's all swap jokes while Amazon goes & gets her car washed... 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.

So shouldn't it be called "The CHASSIS of Evil"? Perhaps we'll get to the stage where there's enough evil to build an entire "Truck-Of-Evil"? 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.

OK. I voted "Dubya". Then again, he labours under the handicap that he is the current president! In the 80's I would have voted for Reagan simply because Iat that time I lacked perspective on what he achieved & was focussed on what he was doing at the time. Similarly, with a historical perspective, Nixon's utter lack of morals was a major flaw, AND a strength. I doubt that a morally upright president would have been able to open a dialogue with Maoist China. Johnston's weakness in allowing himself to become embroiled in Vietnam - to be blackmailed by such a regime into defending it, is balanced by Mao & Stalin's similar weakness toward Ho-Chi-Minh. ALL the recent presidents have had their strengths & their flaws. All too often, their strengths and skills haven't become apparrent until they've been out of office for about 10 years. Each in his turn has bee "Worst-President-Ever". Irresponsible. Dishonest. Feckless. Incompetent. Senile. Inflexible. Dishonest. Stupid. That neatly summarises the view of successive American Presidents AT THE TIME! The view only changes once they leave office and their achievements & failures are examined in total. 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.

Over here in the yUK, it's generally viewed as BOLLOCKS! 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.

Better yet... If America invaded and conquered MEXICO... Then they'd solve all their immigration problems at a stroke and free up the Border Guards for further expansion of their borders! 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 suspect that the REAL WWIII has already sputtered into being. It's not the "War on Error Terror". It's not "The Long War". It's "The Energy War"! For example, Russia has recentl;y taken to using it's gas supplies to it's former colonies as a means of political coercion... As cheap, accessible & ESTABLISHED fuel sources run out, The Euro-American (first) world faces stark choices: 1. Invest in exploiting less accessible established fuel sources. 2. Invest in exploring alternative but less efficient & more expensive alternative fuel sources. 3. Secure the existing easily accessible established fuel sources for you rown markets. While Euromerica is pursuing all 3 alternatives, the fundamental question isn't one of morals or long-term reliability. It's; "Which option will produce the best return for least additional cost?" The answer... Since we already have all that military stuff left over from when we were expecting the Soviets to attack... Is obvious! Bear in mind that a non-availability of fuel is a severe attack on our very way of life! Western Civilisation is now utterly dependent on cheap, reliable, continuous transport. For example, how many days would your local shops have food without the fleets of lorries delivering it? How would most of us get to work? We NEED fuel! Those places which have fuel MUST be controlled & secured to ensure reliable ongoing fuel supplies. Any government which fails to ensure an adequate supply of fuel will be ousted from power (what better reason do our politicians need!?). My bet is on The Energy Wars continuing for some time as the world continues to take the cheap option, fighting over a diminishing resource. 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.

Are we talking about Lithium Dry Cells (long-life batteries), or Lithium-Ion Rechargeables? Li-Ion batteries have already appeared in mobile phones - they can store a lot more charge with less weight & bulk compared to NiMh or Lead-Acid. Their drawback (thus far) has been their relative expense. 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.