pap

Good point. The US might not like them, but Russia and China do have decent enough relations with Iran. Can't see them standing idly by.

And it'll go something like this. US Prez: "We're invading Iran. You are going to help us" UK PM, finally, after clearing his mouth of penile material : "Yes, sir".

What year do you think this is, young sir?

That has never really worked with terrorists before, Andy. For starters, many organisations have a cellular structure that is by design, extremely difficult to destroy.

Good points there. The US has a bit of previous for running drugs to finance black operations. However, did you know about the pipeline that was meant to go through Afghanistan ( to be controlled by Unocal )? Some interesting context in this Salon article from 2002. A quote to whet your interest:-

Think you're on the money with that comment. The same sort of thing was/is happening with respect to Northern Ireland ( e.g. a lot of sectarian stuff was still going on post Good Friday which wasn't widely reported ). The conservative estimate is 100,000 Iraqis, but other sources have cited deaths as a result of the conflict - and the numbers go way higher ( over 1M according to this ). Sorry to hear about your mate, VW.

Link to BBC article. Well, I'm glad it's over - but it never really should have started. The war set some very dangerous precedents. Pre-emptive doctrine, governments conspiring against their own people, and a policy of shoot anything that moves during the initial rush to Baghdad. Anyone with a brain could see that the motives for this conflict were extremely questionable, something that hasn't gone unnoticed in the Arab world. Just how many extremists did this imperialist jaunt create? The west, particularly the UK and the US, lost a lot of moral authority on this - and let's not forget the amount of lives lost or irreparably damaged as a consequence. Was it worth it? I think not, but as always, up for discussion.

Embedded for lazy basts. Hope you don't mind, miserableoldgit - very funny, btw

Happy days. Early access was confirmed today so I am now officially playing the game. I am a Jedi Knight on a PVP server. Played a couple of hours so far, so thought I'd offer up some first impressions. First, Bioware's commitment to a fully voiced game elevates this beyond "just another MMO". Every time you get a mission, you get a story, and its really well done. The fact that it is Star Wars adds even more. They make a lot of use of "story areas". These are class-specific, and when you enter them, they are also instanced. For non-MMO fans, this just means that anyone who is not in your group goes away. For anyone familiar with MMOs, especially WoW, the transition is going to be a piece of the proverbial. Literally every key you'd hit in WoW does the same thing here. I am currently only level 4, but'll report back when I've discovered more. At this early stage, it definitely feels like it has the potential to be a WoW killer.

Did you find the one dictionary that included the term mental illness to support your original comment? People are deluded for all sorts of reasons. Religion, direct manipulation, overconfidence in one's own abilities. The list goes on. You don't have to be mentally ill to be deluded. There is no way that you can say that delusion implies mental illness.

Not really. How about you read a dictionary before offering up book suggestions?

Understand mate - I work with computers, and have worked for some right basts in my time. Long hours culture, no overtime payments, complete codshyte. These days, I bill for every hour - but there are some right p*ss-takers out there.

35 hours isn't a four day week though, is it? My official commitment is 37.5 hours a week. I end up going over that a lot. There is no good reason why anyone on this planet should need to work more than four days in any given week.

I think we all work too much anyway. Four day week for all would give parents more time with their kids, and generate jobs.

2.64m people are currently out of work. That's 8.3% of the working population and doesn't include kept women like Ms Pap ( who is actually looking for work, but can't get any assistance because she's not on benefits and not a priority ). Is there any light at the end of the tunnel on this? Is the government doing enough? What steps would you take to address the problem?

Haven't seen any official reviews yet, but spoke to a couple of people over Twitter and have heard some decent buzz. Terms like "superb" and "epic" have been used

You can, actually. You can stop posting on them

Quite right, too. The level of criticism we've received from our EU partners for not signing off on their crap plan has been massive, particularly from the French ( Sarkozy still going on about it ). For all the bluster, they'd be fecked without us.

Where did I say that I was reading books? Just offering constructive suggestions on how to avoid verbiage. I should know. I'm not very well-read, after all Possibly, but a PM might have illustrated a touch more class.

David Comes To Life by F*cked Up Great rock album. Growling singer occasionally supplemented by female back-up. Three guitars! Listened to this loads, but it still retains a bit of mystery. Let England Shake by PJ Harvey Never listened to any of her stuff before, but this is an engaging album with a lot of variety. Great vocal. Quirky tunes.

Few suggestions for you chaps based on your comments. Twitter may be a more suitable form of information for you. Each message is 140 characters long and should suit your presumably short attention spans. Stay away from bookshops and libraries. They are full of books, pamphlets and all sorts of other materials. All of them contain words. Lots of them. Finally, it's a p*ss-poor standard of bullying right there. Might I suggest that you consult the exploits of Gripper Stebson ( 1980s Grange Hill ) or alternatively, any of the nutjobs ( Combo, etc ) in the This Is England films or series? I really feel they could help you raise your game.

Well, they're doing a bang-up job of that. Toxteth riots in the 80s, UK riots this year.

C'mon mate - you've pilloried the same people in this very thread for not immediately explaining Kate Hoey's opinions. The EU isn't a left or right issue. France and Germany are both governed by right of centre governments and they're rushing headlong toward further economic and political union. Furthermore, politics isn't the simple assignment of people into left or right camps. Believe it or not, people hold different views on different issues. Fair play - I understand that provocative statements generate replies. Suppose it depends on what you're after really. Do you want people to be aware of your presence or actually engage in an argument? My view is that you've taken the easy route to your own detriment. I really try to judge each post on its merits. Frankly, I lack the time or inclination to dredge up all the shyte people have posted and call them up on it. Likewise, I can't really be arsed holding grudges against people who disagree with me or call me names as a result. Whatever. The scary truth for you is that you probably have more in common with the people you're labelling than you realise. In the interests of being even-handed, I don't think that people have adequately responded to legimate questions you have raised, but then, when 90% of your output is antagonistic nonsense, I find it difficult to blame them either.

Farage today :-

I take issue with this. But I fully support this. You truly are touched.