SayethWhaaaa

S'all good baby!

Awwww... crap. I jumped the gun. I misread what Jug had said, thinking he was implying the US could do that, but it's better not to. Sheeeeet! When he said: "Those who kid themselves by thinking the US would never do that (taking Chavez out) are doing just that, kidding themselves." I thought it sounded too Tom Clancy meets 1984. I honestly don't think the US would just start taking on resource rich countries in the future because it was desperate for energy resources; and I wasn't trying to link Iraq with that statement. I was only talking about the Jug's context of the US taking out Chavez if the US was desperate for oil/resources/whatever, Chavez in particular because he makes a big deal about the US being the "great evil".

Not meaning to sound anti or anything, but I'm willing to bet good money that if you asked that question in Pueto Rico, The Virgin Islands, Columbia, Nicaragua, etc, they'd have something different to say about that. And that's not mentioning Native Americans or Hawaiians (remember, Hawaii was annexed in 1893). Not saying the US is imperialist now, its just that every nation has awkward or embarrassing periods in their history. If you're being serious (I mean, in a RL context), for one thing, The US or any hostile US government would never get away with it. Skipping the constitutional safeguards for the moment, the Media would be on the government's back is a massive way. More people would resist against your government - there would be some serious social anarchy as you would effectively be taking the same action against a nation that, historically speaking, your nation has traditionally strived fought against. You would become conquerors, taking what you want, when you want, by hostile force, to hell with the consequences. Not by political pressure (force?) or negotiating/dealing with other parties. I mean, look at the heat the US has taken over Iraq. If similar circumstances were to occur again, the resistance would be much more intense. OK, you have the might and there would be some who'd have the political will, but undertaking that kind of behaviour would see the EU taking action unprecedented action (possibly even force) against the US, burning it's bridges in the process. South American nations, despite their differences and their distaste for Hugo, would be polarised against any action taken against a South American state (although what exactly they could do against a hostile US is debatable) as it would be rightfully seen as a grab for resources. This would produce a ripple effect around the world as resource rich nations would suddenly fear themselves as potential targets, particularly if they've had anything but the best relations with the US. Imagine what effect this would have on the oil producing nations of the Middle East and then what effect that would have on global tensions and markets! This would then see nations Russia and especially China become more inclined to guard there interests more actively, in China's case, I don't think it would be impossible to see them strike first if they felt threatened, especially if they felt that they could get away with it (ie, with little or not recourse). And the worst thing to come out of this would be that every single faction who has a real or perceived grievance against the US would come out of the woodwork trying to establish themselves as political players, some filling power vacuums in politically weaker nations (think what would happen in Pakistan). Then there's the devastation fighting intensely on multiple fronts would reek on the US economy. Again, look at the effect the Iraq invasion had on global oil prices Now, I'm not anti US, I don't agree with everything that the US does, but I much prefer having a US that leads the world believing in seeking peaceful solutions and (relative) equity for all (except for gingers, you just know they're up to no good! ) than some fundamentalist bastard running my nation by theocratic decree! ...well, technically, I'd prefer a resilient, strong, unbureaucratic UN that wasn't susceptible to being undermined by it's member nations, but yeah... that's gonna happen! That said... the above scenario would make an awesome game!! :yes:

Only if he does it like John Wayne, pilgrim... :yes:

Yeah, I didn't exactly know phrase that, my bad! So it is them? I'd heard they were still alive earlier this year. That really sucks...

Has anyone seen this yet?? I have two words... HOLY CRAP!!! Think I need a drink after that ride!

The Lebanese people or the Israeli people aren't the problem, it's anyone and any organisation who puts themselves first and to hell with any civilian that gets caught in between. The two bodies who were returned, were they the two Israeli soldiers who were kidnapped before the 2006 war?

I did wonder why they put the campbell's soup logo on the plane...

Here are some snaps of the Saeqeh I've posted here... You're right though. Getting snaps of it is pretty difficult.

I know I (and a few others) have posted a few photos of those aircraft on here a couple of time, but they're probably the same snaps that you've seen. If you do a search for Azarakhsh or Saeqeh, you'll definitely come up with something here. I got some from an Iranian Mil-tech forum, but I don't remember what it was called. Sorry...

I'm digging those PLAAF ones! :yes:

Was that the simpsons Wrench? "That was the Zombie Flanders?" There are three criteria that almost all Zombie films use to define a Zombie in a Zombie movie: 1. The dead re-animate. 2. The dead violently consumer the living. 3. ONLY removing/destroying the brain results in the re-animated corpse's 'death' in so far as it is no longer able to stay re-animated. Technically, there’s a fourth: 4. Most serious Zed films never use the word ‘Zombie’. It’s usually living dead or undead or something like that. Shaun of the Dead even made a joke specifically about this when Shaun’s looking through the mail slot in the door and Ed’s asking it they’re still out there. With 28 Days/Weeks, the Infected aren’t dead, they don’t consume the living (although they sometimes infect others, they mostly kill) and they can die from more than just headshots. In the DVD commentary, Danny Boyle speaks about how they’re not Zombies in the classical, Romero sense (for one thing, they’re not dead, just infected), but this was his take on how he would do a Zombie film today. In another interview he spoke about how the slow, ambling Zombie just wasn’t as scary to him or for movie audiences these days, so he wanted to amp it up a bit… IMHO think he and Zack Snyder (DoD 2k4) took Zombie films in a great new direction that, unfortunately, Romero (and others) didn't take. Which is why I think his last two films bombed... Now if someone could just make a good Zombie FPS...

That's the curse of the Ace Combat series. Beginning with No. 5, the acting is just getting cheesier and cheesier to the point where your pre-flight briefings are presented by an awful TV presenter. I mean listen to the briefing for the first mission in Ace Combat 6. Your country's just been invaded, there's a general state of panic and confusion and you get briefed by a presenter from the 'How to' network! It's bad! :yes:

Sleep is for the weak! (says the guy who is about to crash himself because of this stupid cold! )

Hey, anything that chases you down and shrugs off gunfire like nothing's happened is entertaining in my book! That's why I loved Dawn of the Dead (2004)! It took a great genre and 'freshened' it up. Has anyone come across the 'Zombie Survival Guide' by Max Brooks? It's good reading. He wrote a follow up called 'World War Z' which is a bunch of personal accounts from survivors of a fictional, global undead apocalypse. Apparently Brad Pitt's production company has picked up the rights for it and J. Michael Strazinski (Spiderman and Babylon 5 fame) has been linked to the screenplay...

I'm a massive fan of the genre but I prefer the 'end of the world' style Zed films, like the Romero trilogy and the 2004 Dawn of the Dead remake. Although I was disappointed with Romero's last two films. Shaun was great and I liked 28 days later (even though they're not zombies! ) but I thought the sequel sucked, even if it did have Rose Burne in it! The opening was great, but after that, there was just way too much about it that wasn't believable...

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24007997-401,00.html I mean, what can I say about the company that pathetic doesn't cover??

Sure... if you wanna start paying $10/gal for fuel or $22 for a burger...

Cheers guys! Yeah, I've been walking on my heels in a controlled manner as well as walking down hill a lot as this is supposed to help. I haven't tried the icing because Mum keeps hitting me with the spoon! (Bad joke, I know! : ) I'd heard conflicting accounts from different people on remedies for this so I haven't known which way to jump. Some have said to ice my calves down immediately after exercise, others have said to only do it when I begin to feel the pain (way past that point! ). I haven't been doing that since it's the depths of winter here at the moment and because I've been doing warm down exercises to offset this. I've tried something similar to the towel exercise GodSave and I could certainly feel it stretching, so I'll give that a go more often I think. Cheers Arf, I'll give the rowing machine a try too since no one at my gym is ever using it. Although I've spoken to a former DI who's going to show me another type of stretch that should allow me to work the muscle while avoiding the impact too. What's really been confusing me is that I have people on both sides here saying that I should stop completely for a few days and rest up, whilst I have others telling me to power through (and from what I've heard, that one's pretty counterproductive.). ps. I used to swim a bit too, Stick, but more so for when I younger and my respiratory system was a bit crap. It's kinda hard to find a pool around here that's open during winter...

Well... LM used a crayon to show our previous government how the JSF can do the F-111's job faster, sleeker and better with nary more than a purple crayon and the Howard government damn near sold our souls to the project (or just about!), so don't underestimate the power of the <((_CRAYOLA_(()!

Being reported in the news here this morning... http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24002814-401,00.html I figure it may provide interesting reading...

To be fair in my role as devil's advocate, it is the most advanced Flanker in service anywhere (Forget the Su-35/37, they're older) and I could understand the UK or US being wary about being watched with electronic eyes. But Jedi's right, it's sort of getting to the point where nations are going to now start fitting 'home' and 'away' radars.

Hey moderate spender!

...or anyone else really who knows anything about this. I've recently joined the defence forces here in Oz and have currently in the midst of training like a mofo to stay healthy and keep fit I've run into a bit of a snag. I've just been told I have splints and it's making my life hell at the moment, at least, the part of it that does the running (because you know how they like to make you run! ). Does anyone have any tips about how to overcome this, or how to recover more quickly?? I'd be very appreciative for any insider info. Sprinting is okay-ish, but I've been finding I can't sprint as far as I used to be able to. Jogging is next to impossible and walking is perfectly fine, as though there's nothing wrong. The last doc I spoke to was quite vague about it all... but I think it's because he had more teeth than brain cells...

I think I may need to change my mind. There was no Elisha Cuthbert in MacGuyver and that's a big MINUS in my book. That said, I think Chuck from the nerd herd could do some damage too...