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Body Snatcher 44

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Posts posted by Body Snatcher 44

  9. Posted

    OH that's a tough one...for me it would be either Castro or the Duke of Edinburgh, simply because I think they are the most interesting. If I met Steven Hawking I don't think I'd understand anything he'd say. The one I'd least like to meet is Graham as I believe he to be the most boring. Brady, the most evil, would be another I could not meet.

    • Like 1

  12. Posted

    Fraser''s grown a conscience in his old age. It is a pity PMs - of all political persuasions - don't possess them while they are in office.

     

    Maybe, through years of quiet contemplation, they realise what they've done.

    • Like 1

  13. Posted

    How about Schmidt next for a really-fuckin'-old-guy-who-was-head-of-a-foreign-country-but-you've-never-heard-of-his-arse double?

     

    Also I didn't know Mr Gough and his friend were Vader fans....

     

    _78414039_3319108.jpg

     

    (sorry that's one for the wrestling fans again)

    I want one of those t-shirts for the next DL-Con!

    Someone was just asking about them on one of the newsites. Apparently you can still buy them from the Whitlam Institute!

     

    http://whitlam.force.com/shoppingCart

  15. Posted

    Isn't Mr Abbott's beef about the responsibility the Russians have for the Deaths of Australian citizens aboard the Malaysian Airlines flight. Although I haven't heard the Dutch Prime Minister make similar threats.

    Well, on the face of it, yes, this is what he's complaining about, though even this article states that "oth the Federal Government and the Opposition have been highly critical of Russia's response to the MH17 plane crash, as well as its behaviour towards Ukraine". But the surprising amount of agressivity and tactlessness in his comments might -at least partly- stem from the frustration they feel since Russia could come up with effective countermeasures against the so called "Euromaidan revolution", which was little more than a Western-backed coup against the Russian-friendly but democratically elected and legitimate government of Ukraine. The fact that the govt. wanted to side with the Russians instead of the NATO/EU hardly justified Western intervention against them, at least you wouldn't find anything supporing that in the UN charter.

     

    Consider for a moment, what would have happened if a similar coup d'état had taken place in a francophone African country instead of Ukraine? The answer is pretty straightforward: As we have seen in several such countries in the past (Gabon, Mali, CAR - actually read the whole list: http://globalvoiceso...ions-in-africa/ ), French troops would appear in a few months to restore order and protect their country's interest. No one is ever protesting. But what happens if Russia intervenes in a similar situation in a Russophone country with which they shared a long common history and had close economic ties? Horror of horrors!

     

    What even the Australian PM admits in this interview: (1) Russia was involved only indirectly (if it was even involved); and (2) the plane was shot down by mistake. What they didn't admit but should also be considered: (3) the plane was shot down over a war zone where both sides had a vital interest to try to prevent the other side from getting aerial support.

     

    And whenever there is a war or a major civil war (like in Ukraine), accidental civilian deaths are usually unavoidable. We could see that in the Yugoslav Wars where the USAF accidentally bombed the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, in Gaza in 2014 where the IDF killed more civilians than combatants (even according to their own accounts) etc. Of course, the Australian government has the right to find out what happened to their citizens and who was responsible but I don't see how acting extra-tough and rude would help their cause.

     

    It's Tony Abbot we're talking about here.

     

    I can tell you now, as an Australian, there isn't really any love lost between Australia and Russia; not really matey in the first place and I remember we were shocked just as much as the rest of the world was when reports came through of the human rights abuses levelled against some demographics of the population there. Putin is attending the G20 summit in Brisbane later on in the year and Abbot, being Abbot, will not simply be seen to roll-over in Putin's presence on his home turf.

     

    Additionally, I do not accept your premise of "other countries do this as well." What goes on in deepest darkest Africa is quite unlike what goes on Europe's doorstep. the French might balls it up in their former colonies from time to time, but this is arguably the most unstable place in the world. Simply pointing to the actions of group A to placate the actions of group B doesn't wash in my opinion. Also your point about accidental civilian deaths being usually unavoidable in civil war contexts troubles me somewhat. I firmly believe in this instance that is was purely avoidable, I suspect it was some trigger-happy yahoo pointing his missile at a flying object in order to prove how much a hero he actually is. I don't see how targeting a plane load of innocent non-combatants could would help their cause.

  23. Posted

    I am watching this from afar with great interest. I have no Scottish ancestry or affiliation with Scotland whatsoever, so it is just a case of me sitting on the sidelines, munching popcorn and enjoying the show.

     

    I have some Maltesers, if you want to trade for some popcorn...

     

    This reminds me more of the feeling you get when a favourite comedy duo are about to break up. :unsure:

  24. Posted

    For lovers of a dead pool long shot, The Guardian has thoughtfully provided a form-studyers guide of British jihadists. Those who love a really long shot you could choose to ignore the information suggesting some of these are already dead:

     

    http://www.theguardi...dis-fight-syria

     

    Must be nice for some of Guardian's most loyal and regular commenters to sort of "move up the page" and get featured in an article for once.

     

    I just like the last profile pic, I reckon she'll get nicked pretty quickly with all those distinguishing features on display there.

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