Pak_43

"Well this guy is representative of the psychological questions weakening our modern society there. Here in Europe post-WWII socialist school has made a good job of numbing many heads. And on the other hand you've got a population disconnected with the idea of the melee infantry servicemen. What you would have to do for your country, etc... " "Europe is going down fast m8, no will to sacrifice." Aaaand I'm out of this thread....

If you haven't read anything of Charlie Brooker apart from this article, I urge you to youtube "Charlie Brooker's Newswipe" or "Gameswipe". He's a former videogame reviewer so he's probably played more games than you've had hot dinners, he also co-authored "Dead Set". In my opinion he's one of the best commentators of "modern media" out there and he doesn't take himself at all seriously. Read his 6th November article in the Guardian on "running" if you don't believe me...

Mitchell and Webb nailed it... "Tell us your reckons"...

"Really dumb frickin' song. But I suppose the whole thing is fairly representative of D&D players, which is why I've always tried to avoid having anything to do with them." No worse than a song about a leopard-skin pill-box hat though, surely?

I'm still busy trying to solve the road to scenario's even that is blowing my brains out...

Any good? http://bluwiki.com/images/d/d2/Packrat-Pith-helmet.gif

I went to a lecture Beevor gave in Chipping Norton to promote the book. As you say it's primarily aimed at a popular market. The history is pretty solid (imho) but it doesn't offer any insights I hadn't seen earlier. He's pretty damning on Monty and said at the lecture in the Q&A he was expecting to get pounded in the US for some of his views, needless to say this went down very well with the blue rinse and ex-colonel's who inhabit Chipping Norton. On the other hand I went to a lecture by John Buckley at the school where my girlfriend works and he was absolutely brilliant, lots of very interesting stuff was said.

"People don't like to be pushed out of their comfort zones. Thinking is uncomfortable and can yield to unpleasant revelations about one's own character. Logical analysis is much more difficult than simply reacting to one's feelings." Other "people" presumably? You know those other people... "So people just don't bother to put much effort into thinking through problems, particularly those way above their ability to directly impact. They find people they agree with, settle for letting these others do the "research and analysis" and simply accept those persons' stated opinions as fact. They vote based upon what moves them at the moment." Once again, other people presumably? Nothing like a gross over-generalisation about "people" to back your point up I guess...

Messi is awesome as everyone says. However I think it's Iniesta that makes Barcelona (and Spain) tick. He's one of the best players I have ever seen. Why he gets forgotten in the hoo-ha about the Barcelona and Spanish teams is beyond me...

I had exactly the same experience with Citizen Soldiers Michael. I found it grating to read as well...

I suspect the German divisions defending the beaches on D-Day probably experienced a greater concentration of firepower than those of the troops assaulting it?

Brilliant...

At the risk of invoking Godwin's law, Mr Hitler's experiences would not necessarily back that up... Can't disagree with this at all however...

Yeah, they won't get that either to be fair Just "we know each other over the internet" will probably suffice

Not a problem mate, just say Sara's Ben said to pop by!

Don't forget a trip to Ulverston Brewing Company! http://ulverstonbrewingcompany.co.uk/ My girlfriends brother runs it, and damn fine stuff they make

Well, only if you accept that Saddam Hussein *was* actually a threat, otherwise it's an expensive and costly war for nothing, but that's an entirely different debate...

I weary of the argument that the US (and the UK) is in Iraq for the betterment of the Iraqi people. They are there for the security of the US and the UK. The only reason there is any effort to introduce a stable democracy in Iraq is because it is the perception of the US and UK governments that this will provide the best security for these nations and they don't want to give that part of the region over to islamic fundamentalists. Tony Blair is on record as saying before the invasion of Iraq that Saddam could give his WMD back and eradicate his programme then he could remain in power. If Saddam had co-operated fully with the WMD enquiry, given up whatever (if he had any) WMD and cowtowed completely to the US-Anglo pressure then he would still be there murdering and oppressing his people. Of course like many other people in government he's now realigning his historical view of the invasion to suit his new "moral code" http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/retreat-in-downing-street-blairs-spokesman-says-saddam-can-stay-in-power-if-he-is-disarmed-598030.html http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/dec/12/tony-blair-iraq-chilcot-inquiry Please don't fall for the vested interest masquerading as a moral crusade.. (Also please don't read into the above any criticism of such "realpolitiks", I'm perfectly comfortable with the concept that nations behave in their own best interests, I just wish the relevant governments would credit their people with a little bit more realism when assessing their motives)

Why not go to Zimbabwe? Your money would go further for a start...

Any action taken on moral terms could equally be applied to Mugabe in Zimbabwe, how come he's been getting a free pass for years?

Simon Schama covered this some time ago in one of his documentaries in a series on the US (2009?) Certainly was an eye-opener to me... I can thoroughly recommmend the series to anyone who wants to understands America's future through it's past... http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00dygkw

Come on mate, you know that the British railway timetable doesn't rely on GPS timing, it's unit of measure is the geological epoch

Hislop isn't likely to have invented it I agree. Private Eye does have a history of getting some of it's "facts" wrong though, as any regular reader of the letters page would attest (Shome mishtake, shurely?) I love the Eye to bits, have done since I was a schoolboy but as a source of accurate reportage I would look before you leap when using it as a source... Like a lot of British institutions the Eye has a funny old way of going about things and more in-jokes than an in-joke building built to house in-jokes, but occasionally when it stumbles on something it really objects to is capable of rising to heroic heights in revealing the truth behind how the establishment operates.

http://xkcd.com/438/

I'll throw in a recommendation for VASSAL. Very good piece of kit indeed.