gobbledonk

Great stuff, DS - you should give Saturday Night Live a call

Excellent - thanks Flasher - I have to go out to Bang Sue on another matter, so this will be a welcome diversion ! Whilst I shan't be needing any spirit houses or religious statues, the other stuff looks interesting. I ran into an English teacher a while back who told me that, even on his meagre salary, he had been able to fill his apartment with teak furniture : pretty obvious that he wasnt paying tourist prices.

OK - I've seen it in the high-end malls ($$$) and I've seen it at Chatuchak, but I'm not interested in filling a condo with tables and chairs etc. Just thinking about a low table to put a stereo on - something like this: When I see anything like that in Pattaya or CM, my immediate thought is 'Ha ! Tourist prices !', but I honestly have no idea what I should be paying. It doesnt have to be a genuine antique (obviously those cost more), but I do want that antique look - anyone ? Thanks, Gobble

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrissy_Amphlett bust, I first saw the Divinyls at the (now long gone) Astra Hotel in Bondi circa 1981, and it came as a surprise when it was revealed that she had MS. FWIW, she was 6 months younger than Yours Truly, and that's way too young to die. RIP.

I feel much the same way when I read that Ronnie Biggs still sees the Great Train Robbery as 'an adventure'. He's a criminal, pure and simple - I guess we can thank Guy Ritchie for making east-enders somehow 'charismatic'. I never considered the likes of the Krays as 'charismatic' .... (yes, I know Biggs was born in Lambeth and spent a large chunk of his life in S America - for all that, he belongs with the Krays)

Boris Berezovsky had it all - a Russian billionaire with friends in high places, but it all went sour from the day he clashed with old chum Vladimir. From rooster to feather duster, so it comes to us all. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/uk-police-probe-death-of-kremlin-critic-boris-berezovsky/story-e6frg6so-1226604273830 Boris, old mate, you could have spent that money flying teams of hookers from one end of Russia to the other - instead, you felt the need to tell the world what we already knew, and to give your money to scumbag lawyers. A sad end.

I dont know if they really made that much money - I recall reading a Penthouse piece back in the 80s which claimed that the women were the most highly paid, even though they had very short careers - the industry revolved around fresh faces and genitalia (the Japanese AV industry today is much the same). The brightest women soon realised that they were better off putting the money toward an education than up their noses - most of the guys dont seem to have thought that far ahead. The big difference between LA in the 80s and Japan today is that a career as an AV actress - even in hardcore movies - doesnt seem to ruin their chances of doing something else later - I dont have any firm proof of that, but I'm prepared to put in as much research as it takes

That isnt my understanding, at least not for so-called 'moderates' : its the Wahabist nutbags who exploit poverty and lack of education to plant hatred from a very young age. Part of the 'deal' with ongoing Australian aid to Indonesia is supposed to be that money is invested in Madrassas that teach a moderate view of Islam, but I've seen very little follow-up re monitoring. The last thing the Indonesian government wants is hardliners turning Indonesian against Indonesian (with the possible exception of the TNI Generals who made millions of dollars from Aceh - bastards). Fascinating country - so many unique rivers flowing into a single lake - and I really hope they can deal with the challenges that lie ahead. (fwiw, I find it ironic that two of the most spontaneous and uninhibited groups on the planet - Malay and Filipino - were colonised by religious fanatics who preached 'sex for procreation only' and an unsmiling attitude to pleasures of the flesh. Obviously, the size of their respective populations throw that right out the window.(TV will fix that) One can only imagine what it must have been like to be one of the first Europeans to step ashore in the Phillipines )

Looks like the Algerians have a simple response to 'negotiation' : kill 'em all and let God sort 'em out. http://www.news.com.au/world/al-qaeda-seizes-hostages-in-algeria/story-fndir2ev-1226555513214 A DRAMATIC four-day hostage crisis at an Algerian gas plant ended in a bloodbath when Islamists executed all seven of their remaining foreign captives as troops stormed the desert complex. Twenty-one hostages, including an unknown number of foreigners, died during the siege that began when the Al-Qaeda-linked gunmen attacked the facility deep in the Sahara at dawn on Wednesday, the interior ministry said on Saturday. Thirty-two kidnappers were also killed, and special forces were able to free "685 Algerian workers and 107 foreigners," the ministry said.

I see no end to this madness short of nuclear annhilation. Algeria, Mali, Nigeria, Somalia, Egypt, Syria - so much for 'world peace'. http://www.news.com.au/world/al-qaeda-seizes-hostages-in-algeria/story-fndir2ev-1226555513214

Slight detour, as its not US-specific, but we introduced the plain-packaging laws in Oz a month or two ago. I'm sure you've all seen the cartons of fags with the gangrenous foot or 'decaying' mouth on the package - apparently most smokers can ignore those, but they have one with a photo of a dying man, complete with inset showing him 'before' he got cancer and it really aint pretty. Anecdotal evidence has it that this particular image is having the desired effect - if only to the point where smokers are using stickers to obscure the image. Personally, having two parents who smoked was enough to make me a lifetime non-smoker : I guess they got something right after all ....

Adds new meaning to the term 'Rustang' (Did I mention that I know pretty much everything about vintage musclecars ? I havent annoyed anyone with my encyclopaedic grasp of that subject matter for at least a month)

Not even sure where to start with that last comment - its up there with Chocolate Steve's earlier comment re 'imagining what I would do in a zombie apocalypse'. Basically, the 'gangs of looters, rapists and murderers' aren't going to come at you and your family with harsh language - they will be armed to the teeth. If the ATF were prepared to kill women and children by setting fire to the buildings at Waco, imagine what people who REALLY dont give a shit about human life will be prepared to do. I'm all for putting up a fight, but the best defense against another LA riot / Katrina is to get the hell out at the first sign of trouble - houses can be rebuilt, people cant.

zzzz, I take it you arent old enough to recall the LA riots ? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkCU_-0v4OY Roughly half-way through the video, Korean shopkeepers adopt a 'shoot first and ask questions later' approach. I can understand people raiding food and water in an emergency, but the looting that seems to accompany disasters in the US is pathetic, not to mention the rapes which were allegedly committed post Katrina. Some truly sad fucks masquerading as humans in the general population.

+1 When a BM who is normally level-headed seems to be supporting the gun lobby, or at the very least discounting calls for change, I'm disappointed. It's interesting that the Americans on the board, normally critical of so many things in the 'old country', cant see a way out of the current obsession with guns while those of us from outside the US can see a way forward. I wonder if you would be willing to defend the indefensible if you found yourselves face-to-face with the parents of one of the dead kids.

1 per cent of > 10,000 gun-related homicides each year isnt cause for celebration. I wonder how many of the other homicides involved the murderer shooting a 5-year old in the face ? Automatic/semi-automatic weapons dont belong in the hands of civilians - simple as that. There will always be a black market, and the 'bad guys' will always get the weapons they want, but you wont have the situation where a paranoid grade-school teacher can turn her house into an armory *legally*. His mother reportedly believed that the 'end times' were a-coming, and wanted to ensure that her family would be 'safe' : even Ted Nugent could see the irony in that.

How many mass shootings (Tianamen notwithstanding) do they have in China ? Over a billion people, a massive gap between the rich and poor, but anyone contemplating such a thing knows exactly what the outcome will be. No lengthy trial/appeals process/20 years on death row - the Chinese Police would probably carry out 'sentence' on the spot.

I make no such apology - we now have US Senators appearing on TV to say that this has 'changed their stance' on gun control, and politicians who appear fired up enough to actually do something. Whether any of it will amount to a 'hill of beans' once the photo ops disappear is anyone's guess, but ask yourself this : how many of these politicians are prepared to face the media WHEN the next mass shooting leaves more innocent people in bodybags ?

Forgot to add - initial reports were the security at the school 'buzzed' the killer through because his mother worked there - the media is now claiming he 'forced his way in'. Crackerjack security, guys - absolutely first rate.

Alright - then give EVERYONE guns - from 12 year olds to geriatrics. I read an interview with a Texan many years ago who claimed that 'an armed society is a polite society'. He went on to say that you dont start trouble in a Texas bar when you know that half the customers are likely to be carrying - I wonder how that logic holds up to reality ? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_violence_and_gun_control_in_Texas http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luby%27s_massacre Finally, to those who rant about the need for the 'righteous' to be able to arm themselves (otherwise only the 'bad guys' would have guns ...), where were these righteous men and women in each of the following ? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbine_Mine_massacre http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbine_High_School_massacre http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmond_U.S._Post_Office_massacre http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Tech_Massacre http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Aurora_shooting but this is my personal favorite for sheer insanity: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Hood_shooting Despite being surrounded by armed military, he killed 13 and wounded 29 people : the key element was surprise. You dont expect 'your own people' to turn their weapons on you - shades of the ANA soldiers shooting coalition 'allies' then running off to join/rejoin Al Qaeda. Finally, lets consider the situation in Russia - surely a land where the 'bad guys' have truckloads of guns ? I expect that some have forgotten Beslan: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beslan_school_hostage_crisis An extremely heavy-handed 'kill em all' response from the Russians saw 334 bodies, many summarily executed in their seats, on the floor of the theatre when the smoke cleared. That was almost 10 years ago, was NOT initiated by a lone gunman with no political motive, and the bulk of the Russian population seems content to get hammered and pass out on icy streets instead of shooting schoolchildren. If a country as fucked up as Russia can keep a lid on mass shootings, why cant the US ?

OK - I'll turn this around - why arent US taxpayers forced to pay for armed security in every school / community hall / library etc in the country ? If you want the guns, fine - just be prepared to pay to have someone in place who can return fire. Bring the Marines back from Afghanistan and put them to use protecting the people who pay their wages. http://www.deccanchronicle.com/121214/news-world/article/man-stabs-22-children-china How many of these kids do you think would still be alive if the Chinese nutter had access to automatic weapons ? Beijing: The dreaded attacks on schoolchildren returned to haunt China today after 22 of them were injured besides an 85-year-old woman after a ‘mentally deranged’ man, armed with a knife, went on a slashing spree at a primary school. Armed with a knife Min Yingjun, 36 attacked group of children at the gate of a primary school in central China's Henan Province setting off panic in the village. The woman and most of the injured students suffered head wounds. Some of them were in shock, according to the People's Hospital of the county, which received most of the people injured in the attack.

What the fuck is it going to take for US politicians to take on the gun lobby ? Even if they did manage to enact any worthwhile legislation, I suspect that it's too late - getting millions of weapons off the streets would take decades, and there will always be a black market somewhere. Again, the concept of 'hell' isnt completely without merit. Homegrown fruitcake, presumably with no political or religious motives : seriously fucked up.

This is entertaining..... http://www.usdebtclock.org/ Little wonder Canberra is cosying up to China.

Granted, but at the risk of offending any black Americans who may read this, I get the distinct impression that many in the southern US have embraced the Latino population as a cheap, inexhaustible supply of cheap labor who, in many cases, are too afraid to speak up about poor pay/conditions. That may not be slavery circa 1800, but it seems hypocritical for 'liberals' in California to bemoan the efforts of people like Romney to maintain a permanent underclass while they continue to pay their gardener less than the minimum wage because they know they can get away with it.