Actually it's kind of awesome. In defiance of the weather the air is too warm for the snow to lie - but since it's snowing constantly there is always a snow layer of at least five centimeters too.

In other news my party lost one important state election in Northwestern Germany. It seems that amidst the crisis my fellow countrymen - like all other Europeans - turn to the left. Who needs austerity when you can spend borrowed money?
Because going deeper into debts will lead us out of the debt crisis, amirite?

It's snowed here, and the government's... well, I'd say "metaphorically", but it wouldn't surprise me if they'd literally frozen up. It's amazing how seasonal weather is something neolithic civilizations seem to have no problem with, yet David Cameron consistently buggers up

It'd be hilarious if it weren't so pants-shittingly terrifying. How the hell do you think they'd handle an actual crisis? It's not like the rest of existence is going to take a few years off to laugh at our government's ineptitude.

With the proverbial oil tankers full of tea those lazy public official bastards drink every day I find this unlikely

Perhaps Cameron isn't even involved in this. Most of the time it's the mid-level echelons where things lie undone.

In other news, the BBC sent the Jimmy Saville episode of The Tweenies the other day. Classy.

Yeah, but you'd be surprised how much heat they loose blowing off all that hot air

Eeeks! Curses! What a crime!

Win.
Seriously.

Fabulous! ... for someone not nearly as fabulous as me!

You're the reason why we ain't get no more women in here.

Do you know what they call a guy who makes sexist jokes?
Single.

Oh ouch, apply some cold water to that burn there jdb

Are you sure that the subject of rape in every other post has nothing to do with it?



As Sir Edmund Blackadder once said: "Rather a spectacular return to form after the genius moment"

Back and Forth?

You promised there was no such thing as 'rape'.

Speaking of terrible things, a buddy of mine - I consider not to call him a buddy of mine anymore - sent me Murloc porn today. Those froggy things out of World of Warcraft.

« Brb, going to poke my eyes out.

Come now JdB, we know that's your shtick, but maybe you should tone it down a bit now, don't want newcomers to get the wrong idea about these boards!

Yes.



Well obviously one shouldn't spell it out, that would frighten them off before they are within arms length spoil the fun

Don't be so selfish! Spoiling your fun is how I have fun

Also... http://pics.kuvaton.com/kuvei/kuvaton.com_..._24_astetta.jpg

^
You're insane and alcoholics by a majority. Finland doesn't count.

To Finland!

No, thank you !

You guys are insane and alcoholics too. As you live on the wrong side of the world, you get wildfires though. Logic ftw!

Found some footage shot by the firies recently who are colocated at Rivers with us SES;

HELITAK!

And one from Molonglo Brigade at Bungendore last week.

All this over the 10 year anniversary of the 2003 Canberra Fires which destroyed 400 homes and killed 4 people. Also rather upsetting for Rivers as this was their "patch" to protect and for most us, our home suburbs - naught they could do in the face of that. The funny thing in the first minutes? That house with the very pointy roof survived. Everything around it for a fair distance burned.

So yeah - I'll take snow, crazy Finn's and saunas for awhile.

Point taken.

...though I am now curious to see the result of a Helitak in Finland involving hot water.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6anMpNZYpe0

Or a big pile of snow falling from the sky. Prolly.

A Chadian soldier guarding the town of Goa in Mali. Clearly someone has been playing a little too much CoD (the AK)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8324/8422008...0c654f371_o.jpg

Well... seeing the eotech and the ar-stock it could very well be he can afford such an exprensive video game. But please tell me the man was just firing at something...

Well, I sort of hope he's NOT firing at the moment... that bit his hand is around tends to get a bit hot.

Seems to be some Israeli stuff on it, which tends to be reasonable priced... It's not unusual that pimped AK are popping up. Some of the attachments have real benefits (e.g. red dots) in most uses, and if the platform itself is still good to go, then why not.

He seems to be part of an elite unit, I've seen more pictures of that same place with AKs with picatinny rails. Either that or the Chadians have struck oil ...

All hail the king! May his reign be blessed with cheese, tulips and clogs!His hand? Who cares about his hand? I'm more concerned about the people in the general direction of his barrel.

Hey! Come on you dorks! What's the matter with you! Be a little more enthusiastic! Please? There's bantering here that needs doing!

I blame JdB. He's been talking about royals who aren't the royals they're familiar with, making people deeply confused about a lot of issues. Heck, even I'm finding it difficult to convey my feelings on the issue right now, I just get half way through a sentence then stop, because I'm very polite and refuse to talk over my internal monologue.

Royals? Oh.
Here, have this article of (allegedly 'respectable') German daily "Welt" inform you that Prince Charles - for the first time since 1986! - took the tube today.
Please, tell me more.

Well, given that they're the only Germans who've achieved your nation's dream of ruling other nations, it's only natural you guys would be interested in what sort of trains they use!

Frankly, the only thing I really took away from that article of value is that, in German, you call all underground railways "U-Bahn". Whereas in English it'd be perfectly acceptable to say "U-Bahn" instead of "Berlin Underground".

I laughed hard at this one!

Though as for our relation to foreign monarchs the truth is Germans are all excited about all things royal (except those leftist do-gooders who can't stop whinging that kings and queens don't get elected fününününüüü). But this fascination is reserved to matters beyond our borders. The heirs to our monarchs are all treated as though they were mental patients or tyrants-in waiting.

If you mean those of Wilhelm II, that's kind of obvious. He more or less started a sequence of f*ckups that ended up being WW2.

Nay, there are a few more left than his offspring...

So first community addon for A3 will be changing the name on the maps and signs back to Lemnos

And why should I have respect for someone who was "elected" by god to rule over me?

I understand the traditions and all that, but seriously, we're in the XXI Century.

Why should anyone have respect for someone who's been elected by fools? Say what you will about the Church, your average cult leader usually has a good few more braincells than your average voter

Democracy is pretty much the definition of irony when you look at it objectively. It's based on the erroneous belief held by the majority of people that if the majority of people believe something, it's automatically correct.

Exactly. These monarchies often manage to survive for several centuries while the average political "monarch" in the Netherlands lasts something like 2,5 years before they get thrown out of office. The queen has a 75% approval rating, elected officials a 75% dissapproval rating the day after they've been elected with a tiny margin over their rivals. From hero to zero in a few days. And then the forming of a government begins in which all parties throw away the promises they made in the campaign and their principles and come up with some wishywashy middleway that no one wanted. And in two years time the cycle simply repeats. People more suited to govern themselves than a monarch could? I don't think so. No compromises, no promises that can't be kept, no bargaining, no need for politically correct or public relations statements etc. Making a decision and sticking with it. Many European countries did just fine for centuries, and simple people with good ideas that don't mind putting some effort into something have always made a fortune here. The only vote that should be carried out is a referendum to restore absolute monarchies.

Modern society isn't a democracy, but rather an idiocracy.

Nyet, it has been downgrading itself more and more AND more, specially with some leader the whole word had, but what you prefer, an autocracy?

That's a good point - and to be honest I often tell my British friends when they're whinging about the "undemocratic EU" that they didn't even get to elect their queen.
However, most monarchs don't have a significant power anymore, in fact I believe in the Western hemisphere it is only the Prince of Liechtenstein who's still worthy of the title "ruler".
In my country the head of state has a largely ceremonial role and I don't get to elect it either (he or she is indirectly voted for by the parliament).
Had I the ability to vote for this office, I'd consider it a gain but me doing not I don't consider a loss. Anti-monarchism has become an anachronism. You're right, we're in the XXI. Century - so at least in Europe no one relies on the disempowerment of royals anymore to secure their basic rights.
If you asked me I'd say the funds needed to maintain a royal household are a better argument against a monarchic republic than the fact that queens and kings don't get voted for.

I consider myself a convinced democrat; but even I can't get around Schiller's famous saying "Votes should be weighed, not counted for sooner or later the nation will be destroyed when majorities win and ignorance gets to rule".

Well, no.

Rite! I propose this: he who gets the anti-Nobel shall rule over the world for a year.

When our queen or crown prince visit a country they along with the group of businessmen traveling with them meet the president, monarch, prime minister and CEOs of major corporations of the visited country. When a prime minister or regular minister visits, they only get to see low level officials and smaller business partners. Our queen is one of the most profitable assets that we have. The costs of the monarchy are around 300 million a year, the export deals that are possible through her influence over 3 billion (630 million of income taxes). That's 210% of pure profit and more through employment opportunities.

Take the Sultan of Brunei for example. Some might call him a despot, others one of the richest men in the world. A dictator that takes 25% of all of his nation's oil revenues for his own. The largest palace in the world, thousands of luxury cars. No democratic principle known to the man, zero freedom of press, speech or thought. On the other hand there is free health care, low unemployment and decent free education. But to us he is uncle Hassanal, who generally lets us (Royal Dutch Shell) exploit his huge oil fields. What a great guy!

I knew that monarchs had little influence in affairs (at least, directly), it's more about "why do you get all these fancy toys and money? Because you're "royalty"?" I go to something more or less between those lines, although the same applies to most, if not all, businessman who made their fortunes by the works of others.


I understand it, and I'd like to think the same, but shouldn't be better to avoid the ignorance part altogether and educate people instead of giving wighted votes, because in the system we all are now, isn't fair for everyone, I mean, you didn't have the same choises that the son of your PM, nor the same as a guy who grew up in a slum. So, it isn't fair to say that an engineer is "better", because his vote is more "important", than the poor mate's vote, who couldn't finnish high school because he had to take care of his family or since he grew up in a sh*tty place, he didn't want to study.