El Pibe

Semantically speaking it really translates as silly-billy. My dad taught me that word when I was still living in Spain when I was about 3. Do feel free to report it to admin to bring it to is attention. But don't worry, there's no danger, I've a sneaking suspicion there's a Spanish speaking moderator out there keeping an eye on things.

I'm guessing you think a deal was done with the Mehdi Army to secure their release. That deal involved spreading democracy across the Arab world. You are Dirk Gently and I claim my five pounds. **eta 1. 2005 was a 6 years before the arab spring, I've no idea why you are connecting the two 2. I see from another idiot that apparently this is evidence that the Iraqi civil war was actually the end in itself and created by the sas and others planting bombs and shooting civilians. This is so ludicrous on so many levels I actually have lost the will to ask you why, but just out of curiosity i want a) evidence, not another link to a website with yet more speculation or tendencious opinion dressed as fact and cirular references to other loons on the internet b) A motive. Why are the CIA, Mossad the SAS and others (FSB? Peruvain internal security?) fomenting civil war in Iraq when it seems to have achieved nothing and runs counter to the policies of their civilian governements? Whilst you're at it do you believe in any or all the below? The US government conspired to let 9/11 happen THe US government conspired to do 9/11. The US government is powerless, the real world secret goveernment did it. The protocols of the elders of Zion. The UN as secret world government. The priory of Sion as secret government. The Templars as secret world government. The Rosicrucians are the real power behind our puppet civilian governments. Roswell and Area 51.

Ooh, is that a picture of some bruised squaddies. My god, that's irrefutable evidence that the arab spring is in no way a casused by demographics and mans yearning for freedom of expression that actuall;y caught everyone on the hop, but actually a long planned and nefarious plot by unprecendented cooperation between the security services of a number of unspecified countries. I hate to get personal, but I think you might be an idiot.

Hoopers http://hoopersbar.co.uk/events.html

Plus I read your "Zbigniew Brzezinski Eurasia plan". It's not exaclty geopolitical rocket science is it. It boils down to "Lets be pals with the Europeans, lets try to be friendly with the Ruskies and hopefully everything else will fall into place" It's incorrect in its assumption that the US has no global challengers within a generation and it's focus on Europe is outdated, it needs to focus on the pacific rim and south asia. US policy is indeed pacificizing and Europe will have to pay for it's own defence in future. Seems to me you're setting rather too much store by this, not especially nefarious, plan.

Ok, taking you at face value "?The Arab spring? = CIA, NSA, Mossad and others" Why, on what basis, other than that's the general world view to which you attribute everything? Don't you think that's massively insulting to the millions of brave, ordinary arabs who risked imprisonment, torture, truncheons, rubber bullets, snipers and shells to demand their right to be heard? Do you honestly think they weren't asking for representative government and a freer society, they were just being manuipulated by a bunch of spies? Also can you enlighten us how they achieved this? Were the spies posing as police when they beat Bouazizi? Did they then brainwash him into setting fire to himself? Were then hundreds of thousands of spies on twitter organising protests? Or did these people actually do this because they saw that Arabs could have a voice and they wanted the same? Back to Occam's razor, which on the balance of possiibilities is the more likely?

You know we haven't seen much of the Duke of Edinburgh lately, I reckon he's out there fomenting revolution as we speak. There's no proof that he isn't so it's entirely plausible.

I give up.

That said,it wouldn't surprise me if you were right about the Saudis pouring in funds/weapons as the rebellion is largely sunni and it serves their specifically sunni pan arab strategy, and will also undermine hezbollah of whom they are no fan. Although there are reports that the US are leaning on them to hold off whilst diplomatic efforts remain (however vaguley) hopeful, and that the Saudis have been receptive tot he pressure. What do you think Israel has to gain exactly? The Arab spring is a propoganda disaster for their claim to be the middle east's only democracy, if anything (and I don't think ther're doing this) they'd have more to gain from shoring up repressive regimes!

"The UN is not the answer, it is part of the same problem" Are you suggesting the UN is conspiring to arm and train the rebels? Presumably using its fleet of black helicopters.

I hate to sound like aboring drone, but your proof for all these allegations? The US has made no secret about it's demands that Assad should step down but, from what I've been reading in Washington strategists circles such as CNAS, that arming the rebels isn't a favoured approach and policy makers seem to be stuck for any solution bar ramping up the diplomatic pressure. Israel is much happier with the Syrian devil they know, arming the rebels is that last thing they'd do. ALl the evidence is that the rebels are largely locally organised, weapons are bought from syrian civilian donations and are getting there by and large through smuggling operations via lebanon (doubtless with the tacit approval of those not so sympathetic to hezbollah) and Turkey, possibly with the tacit approval of the Turkish gov't. As for your sources within Al Qaeda, I'm impressed, have you considered a job in the security services? To address MM's points, I'm pretty sure everyone is with you that this can be a stepping stone to meaningful political reform. If this fails full scale civil war seems to be the only path ahead. Will it end up a failed state? It's difficult to tell, but the Libyan experience certainly suggest that it is likely in the short term, and there are certainly parallels to be drawn with the organic and disparate nature of the rebellion in Syria. And with the civil war and coup in Mali as part of the fall-out there, wider destabilisation in an already unstable area would also seem likely. Fingers crossed that talks can produce change, or next best case scenario, that some middle ranking officer in a position to do so locks Bashar and his cronies up.

This is just too cool

Not to be flippant, but does anybody care? Oh, fair enough...it's just ratty and me then!

Fair enough Atticus (and apologies for the teasing). It's just I think it has come across as rather an ott reaction to a perhaps slightly lazily worded opinion that wasn't without merit. We've all had ding-dongs in the past, god knows I've had a few, and sometimes it's better to let the mist clear. If you read this thread tomorrow it won't look nearly as bad. Parkdrive used to be terrible at it, but he's clearly learnt the lessons of letting others' posts get to him, likewise I'm much better at not getting involved in ding-dongs and usually have a quiet pm word to calm waters rather than get stuck into polarised slanging match. You're not the first and you won't be the last to bite at something and overreact.

All forumites are prone to using straw men. vs Some forumites are prone to using straw men. The former is a generalisation with a kernel of truth. The latter is simply correct.

Good to see you well and truly quashing the oversensitive sterotype ther Atticus. To paraphrase you, well actually just truncate you a little bit "don't go getting upset when writing stuff". I'd step away from the keyboard and cool off for a bit if I were you.

I'm not sure they're really thought of as professional mourners, they do seem to have a reputation for being overly sensitive and quick to take offence though.

What Otta said and hats off to the admission that "fans' slightly twisted desire to share in the grief in order to feel like part of something, even though they had no link at the time" is indeed a more disturbing facet of all of this. In fact it's thematically similar to the time a young Irish chap I spoke to in peaceable Wexford, who'd only ever really known prosperity and stability, telling me he hated The English? though he actually liked all the English people he'd met. When asked to justify that position he looked at me as if I was a thicky and said simply 'Cromwell'. Sometimes people need to learn to let go; the alternative is just not healthy. *not to mention hardly evidence of a Otta's alleged siege mentality.

I have to say this not playing thing is a bit weird. I would have thought it'd be more respectful to those who died following their beloved team to get out there and try and win the FA Cup. Time was that death or tragedy was quietly, and personally marked by those involved. This rather ghoulish/cultish trend of memorialising whole days (the 14 million dead of WWI get a minute for goodness sake) seems to have started with 9/11. I reckon Alan Davies has a very relevant point when he said those giving him death threats weren't even alive when the Hillsborough tragedy occured.

Am trying my first ever audiobook, the 70s classic of the Hobbit by Nicol Williamson. I never thought I'd like Audiobooks, but surprising myself at how much I'm enjoying it, though i still prefer reading a book when on the train so have to switch to music, but it's great for walking. His accents are all a bit hammy though. West country for hobbits, yorkshire for Dwarves, cockney for trolls, an odd greek/polish hybrid for goblins. I'm not quite sure why Gollum is a gay welshman though, bit weird that.

Interesting article by M.D. in the latest Private Eye talks briefly about the leaked risk register and the continues with "[the risk register is] helpfully colour coded in red amber green, and the risks are largely red The NHS top brass, led by chief executive and former communist David Nicholson, are petrified that such a massive unforseen change in structure and the predictable consequences will see them lose control over money, strategy and power. The delay in the passage of the bill has simply allowed Nicholson time to claw back his power to the point that the NHS is now more centrist that it was under Labour, rendering Lansley's bill the most pointless and expensive reorganisation in NHS history. Commissioning support services htat didn't even appear in the health bill are now sprouting up everywhere and their leaders will be appointed by Nicholson's board. They'll tell GP commissioners what they can and can't do. Commissioning GPs clearly need to be accountable for the ?60 billion they spend, but many will give up faced with the 118 authorisation requirements, site visits and box ticking exercises they have to pass before they can be approved to take over from the PCTs in April. Lansley promised to liberate the NHS instead it has been shackled to the centre for good" So bottom line, the bill went ahead despite a register largely coloured red (ie risks not managed) and the botched bill has merely resulted in greater complexity serving the centralisation of power by the NHS grandees. Even if the intentions were good it looks a right old balls up.

I seem to recall one of the old posters had an anecdote about seeing a ninja in those woods once!

Unfortunately it seems to be the premier curtain-twitching obsession of the majority of forumistas, not much we can do about that but not click on the threads I guess (I know I don't).

I'm sure Huguenot is thick skinned enough to cope with all those -1000s, but how will New Nexus' world view cope when he's at +45000 and he realises he's just moving with the crowd after all ;)

Ooh great idea, a whole section about muggings and paedophiles, and we could use it as a marketing tagline "The EDF, sending out the wrong message about our community" ;-)