Stumpy

Uh, yes to both. Put it this way - the metropolitan area I live in (San Francisco) has a greater number of people and a greater diversity than your entire country. Then note that the continental US is 3000 miles wide. Then go find Hawaii (not sure Alaska counts). 100 years ago America was a melting pot and that hasn't changed since. In recent years 1 million legal immigrants enter each year. California is hardly similar to the South, New Orleans, Chicago, New York, or Maine. And as I said, until homeland security driven regs fully take effect, it has been true that Americans could visit virtually the entire continent of North America without a passport. So it's no surprise that few Americans need one compared to someone in New Zealand or England. I'm assuming you are talking about new zealand when you say my country, and there yes i would probably agree with you. More diverse than the UK? nope. Ive lived in, and visited quite a lot of the states. Sure there is a lot of diversity, i wouldn't debate that, but anywhere near as culturally diverse as europe? We'll have to agree to disagree. (Bit tricky to measure!) Edited to add - i have no problems with people not having left the US unless, as has happened to me a few times, they then tell me there is nothing better outside!! (incidentally, 3 out of 4 people who said this to me were texan, and one of those had never left his own state. ) Never try to eat more than you can lift

stilton, uckkkk, you must be from some british background. Location: Pacific/New Zealand Actually - she's right. i've only been here a few months!!! STilton is the best cheese ever. mmmmmmmm Never try to eat more than you can lift

Uh - you know "special" is not necessarily a good thing right??? Never try to eat more than you can lift

If you want something a bit less extreme than an R6, try a suzuki SV650. FANTASTIC way to get into bigger bikes, cheap, really user friendly, powerful enough to be fun, not so powerful as to highside you on every corner. If you get the S it looks like a "proper" sportsbike too. I rode one for a couple of years till someone trashed it for me. For everyday riding i'd have one again in a heartbeat. (But actually i have a urge to hurt myself so i'm going to get a gixxer 1000 just for fun!) Never try to eat more than you can lift

Hmmmmm popcorn and cheese, sounds interesting. I'm thinking stilton could be good! Never try to eat more than you can lift

ah cool - wasn't sure you had realised Never try to eat more than you can lift

That could be fairly ironic Never try to eat more than you can lift

keep an eye out for DSE's upcoming review of the sony CX7.... Never try to eat more than you can lift

Um - have you actually ever left the US? If so, do you really believe this?! Never try to eat more than you can lift

Never try to eat more than you can lift

I still like this one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zndm19l61YM Never try to eat more than you can lift

ditto to what bigway said. if you are that limited on time get to the south island asap Never try to eat more than you can lift

Heh heh so many variables. have a few days play with it on the ground and understand the basics of photography before you strap it to your head. Its a really nice camera, would be a shame to use it as a point and shoot!!! And you should try and keep your head reasonably still for vid too - just a thought.... Never try to eat more than you can lift

My cousin has worked with Gordon Ramsey (she is a home economist for cooking programs - they are the ones who ACTUALLY do the preparation of "this is one i prepared earlier!" as well as making sure everything is there, testing the recipes etc.) Her take on this was that although it looks like he treats them like shit, Gordon Ramseys staff are way more loyal to him than almost any other chefs people. He is very fair - if you f*** up you are in trouble but equally he rewards good work. I guess Thats partly why he has as many michelin stars as he does! Never try to eat more than you can lift

Don't be daft. That practice is pretty central to the Christian religion. Old testament vs new testament etc. Never try to eat more than you can lift

Hmmm. Personally you will notice i don't have any problems with the gun laws (or lack of) in the states. If i lived there i would probably own one myself. In the UK however its different. We don't want them or need them. If there was a want and/ or a need, enough people would write to their MP's/ start stories in the media etc etc etc and it would become an issue in the public eye. right now it really isn't. As for the culturally superior card?? You said it, not me. Never try to eat more than you can lift

I don't want people who don't understand the british culture telling the brits what we should think and do but that doesn't seem to be a problem for most..... Never try to eat more than you can lift

got a link? Would be interested to see it. The text i was commenting on was the one linked to in teh thread Never try to eat more than you can lift

There really are small numbers of guns in the uk. I think suddenly making something available would actually be disastrous because we don't have the culture for it. I think the vast majority of people wouldn't want one anyway, and the only people that would would be the ones who feel they have something to prove.. (NB. I know that is NOT how it is in the states,) I can't think of a single peron i know who feels that a gun would benefit them in any way shape or form (from a self defence point of view) Besides, as per the home office report shootings went down last year. (but then again i know all about lies, damn lies and statistics......) Never try to eat more than you can lift

Ok i read some of that report. (i shouldn't - i am at work but hey!!!) Homidcides for example. if you remove the 7 july bombings there is a reduction of 15 per cent. if you leave them in, they are down 9 per cent. What else - well, shootings were down to 50 from 75 the year before. Homicides were at a peak in 2002/2003 and have been decresing since (2002/2003 included 172 victims of Harold shipman) In the last year firearms crimes involving injury fell 8 per cent. Firearms crimes in total were down 6 percent, and they had fallen 5 per cent the year before. Sound like the out of control crime explosion really is out of control!!! Never try to eat more than you can lift

Thanks for your answer - but your last sentence is the one that is the point. We didn't give up the right to weapons for self defence. We didn't really have it before the dunblane thing, we didn't have it after - essentially nothing changed. Personally i have left the UK because i was fed up with it, but for a whole bunch of issues, gun control was not one of them. Overcrowding (on the roads especially), poor government, cost of living vs quality of living, legislation against anything that anyone might enjoy, etc etc. I feel perfectly safe without a gun in the uk, as do probably 99.99 per cent of the population. (Incidentally, i could have moved to the US, but a lot of the things wrong with the UK are worse in the US - so NZ won!!! ) Never try to eat more than you can lift

I asked about storage, too, right? Are you allowed, legally, to keep a firearm at the ready in your home to be used defensively, in the event of a home invasion? Or does it have to be locked up in a safe, and are you not subject to drop-ins by the police, without warrant, to check on whether your guns are properly locked away and inaccessible? You're right, pity about the handguns. But they are a major sticking point with regard to Americans and our right to personal protection. I'd just as soon have handguns and not rifles, if I were forced to choose between one and the other only. I can't carry a rifle concealed day-to-day. I really would like the details on how legal gun purchases are made in the U.K., if you'd oblige. I'm interested in whether you're blowing smoke with what I consider to be a bogus attempt to claim that guns are "just as" available in the U.K. as they are in the U.S. but you don't have the shootings we have. I believe that not only are guns almost impossible for you to obtain (and you said handguns are right out), but that your crime problem is stridently increasing. He he i didn't claim anything of the sort - maybe another poster did. I do know that target rifles are easy enough to get if that is what you need as are shotguns, but there aren't many gun shops around. The market just isn't that big. The thing is - you are continuously missing the point as do most posters from the US. The gun licence isn't for defensive use, you are right. But almost NOBODY in the UK feels they need them for that, and that was true both before and after the ban. I don't think the US should ban its guns, its an important part of your culture and an important symbol of your rights. It was NEVER that in the UK. The sooner people stop comparing apples with oranges the sooner we can shut speakers corner down! Edited to add: http://www.ukgundealer.com/rules.htm Some useful stuff here. Looks like you go to a gun shop with your FAC and buy a gun. (I never bought one, i used to use the club target rifles) Never try to eat more than you can lift

True about the pistols. (unfortunately) But you can still own shotguns, target rifles, air rifles etc. http://www.marplerifleandpistolclub.org.uk/general/gunlaw.htm http://www.marplerifleandpistolclub.org.uk/general/faccert1.htm There you go. That was the first google result. Should have all the info Never try to eat more than you can lift

Bullshit. Never try to eat more than you can lift

Thats total nonsense. Firearm ownership is on the increase not decline in the UK. Unlike in the US though purchasing a firearm for self protection is not a legal reason, people in the UK purchase them for sport or work purposes. (Bodyguards in the UK are not allowed to carry firearms outside of the Police and military, PI's are not allowed to carry them at all) That doesn't stop it being vanishingly rare. I'd agree with this. I know about 3 people who have guns - two farmers and a target marksmen with a 7.62. Never try to eat more than you can lift