RE: France

Actually, part of the Ardennes area IS in France, mon cher Ben.

RE:

Hi skythe,
Well, I guess I am thicker than most, because I thought you meant Europeans generally.
It’s very difficult to get accurate and trustworth information about the Middle East in Europe. People on both sides in the conflict throw accusations of bias at journalists, and rebut each other’s claims with evidence, witness accounts, pictures… It’s a bewildering maze and sadly, the more sources you try to refer to, the more confusing it becomes. I don’t think either side should turn their backs on Western media and western governements. The best way to make headway is to help outsiders undertsand what is going on. I feel you consider yourself cut off from the rest of the world, as though they do not understand what is going on and you can only rely on yourselves. I really believe it is not going to improve matters to stop explaining things.
The only thing I can see clearly about the conflict is that the suffering is on both sides and it seems to be self-perpetuating. But do not think that we do not care…

Geforce, I still disagree with the idea of lumping a whole nation together. under one description. You can say, the “Bush administration”, or “Bush supporters”, but to say “Amercians” is I think inaccurate. There are plenty of US commentators who disagree with some of the aspects of contemporary USA.
It feels like the country has been brought together, though in the wake of the 9/11 attacks and it is one way in which you could describe a collective sense of purpose among US citizens.

One last thought: it is slightly odd to be looking for causes of disagreements between Europe and the USA at the moment. I thought we had all realised we were in this together. There was a tremendous feeling of sympathy in many European countries after the Spetmeber attacks on the USA. G Bush himself underlined the ties between the USA and Europe on a recent visit to our continent.
And no later than July 14th, a NY Fire Department truck took part in the French national day military parade on the Champs Elysées, as did Cadets from West Point and they got a rousing reception.
There are clearly signs of strong friendship and partnership uniting people and governments on both sides of the Atlantic. We disagree sometimes, but allies (and friends) sometimes do…

RE: Euro bashing

Hmmm…
I think some of your opinions Mongu are quite strong and I would like to point out they are not the only viewpoint prevalent in Europe, in case US and Middle Eastern users of the forum take offense (I would!).
Geforce, IMO it is quite important not to generalise. If you are robbed by an Italian, are you going to say “Alkl Italians are thieves” or re you going to say “this man was a thief who happened to be Italian”? If you are swindled by a Roman Catholic, will you say “All RC are crooks” or “This man is a crook”? Sure there are some general characteristics that are noticeable in people, and it is a natural reflex to gneralise, but it’s important not to judge people too hastily or to reduce a nation to a set of clichés.

Just a thought

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 23-07-02 AT 02:49 PM (GMT)]The subjects being debated here are very complex and much too complicated for an easy, one-size-fits-all answer. As somebody living outside the region, the more I try to find out about the issues in the Middle East for instances, from as many different sources as possible, the more confusing it becomes. And yes I read Ha’aretz on line from time to time and I greatly appreciate the ed articles and the comments they publish. I also get a weekly digest of the Jerusalem Post among the sources of information I use. Not all Europeans have blinkers and not all Europeans refuse to get info at source (for both sides of the conflict).

I’d just like to say one thing in reaction to your posts Skythe: I am very surprised that you should generalise your ideas to such an extent. You talk about Europe as though it were a uniform group of people, all having the same ideas and beliefs.
The currents of political ideas and creeds expressed around Europe are very numerous and go from one extreme to the other.

Certain topics are very widely debated, both domestically in the various countries that make up the Union and inside the Union itself. Just because some politicians decide on a certain course of action doesn’t mean that everybody in Europe agrees with it.

It seems fairly clear that you are angry with Europe at the moment. Fair enough, but I am surprised that somebody who I thought to be an intelligent, rational and thoughtful person should pick the easy option and generalise in his views about Europe.

RE: Laser Eye Surgery (Zap & F

I too am short sighted. I was told when I was a teenager that I could be operated on to correct the problem when I had reached a certain age. The thing is, at the time, laser was not widely used (if at all?) and the procedure involved making incisions in the eye to correct the flaws.
Needless to say, it didn’t sound too appealing, especially as there was apparently a good week of fairly consistent agony according to the doctor I saw. I stuck to glasses and contact lenses. (which I found to be fantastic, not only for contact sports ( I used to take my glasses off to play football and to do karate and missed out on quite a lot) but also for general vision. No condensation, no glasses you can see out of the corner of your eye and… litle risk provided you look after your lenses properly.
I’d be interested to know whether people still correct short-sightedness with a surgical knife, and if so is this less risky?

RE: Behind Enemy Lines

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 09-07-02 AT 06:01 PM (GMT)]Hi Ink,
I seem to remember saying just after seeing it that people such as yourself might find justifiable cause to criticise some of the scenes.

I obviously know next to nothing about Bosnia particularly compared to people living there of having served/lived there. I liked the fact that they had actually taken the trouble of hiring what seemed like authentic local actors and not US thespians ordered to speak in heavy guttural accents. I have no idea whether the dialogues sounded good to someone who speaks the language.

WARNING. PLOT SPOILERS
I disliked some scenes which were stretching credibility somewhat (the one with the antipersonnel mines at the factory and the final scene).
I didn’t like the way an officer was portayed as blatantly lacking respect to a superior in the beginning of the film. I might be wrong but my limited experience of the military makes me think that such disrespectful behaviour would NOT be tolerated under any shape or form. Maybe it is different in the US Navy… Like I said, I am not familiar enough with it to tell.
I found the sniper stalking the main character very over the top. He was really too much of a caricature at times.
And I was a tad annoyed at the oversimplistic way the whole incident was reduced at times to a “Let’s get our boy out of here. I am a surrogate father.” I know these feelings can happen, but the way they were treated left me a bit disappointed.
Now for the positive.
I enjoyed the innovative and original use of camera work in certain scenes.
I absolutely jumped out of my seat when the bullets hit the concrete bridge (when the bloke is having a drink early on in his escape). And I nearly run for cover when the tank burst through and was about to fire. Believe me, thaat scene was astounding in the cinema.
I liked the fact the filmmakers at least touched upon some of the isues in the region’s history. Obviously, it was very superficial and not a perfect way to learn about the conflicts there, but it did make me want to try and find out more about it (and about ResCo ops incidentally).
I really liked the scene when the main character is dozing off and hears the voice of his dead pilot wisper his name to him as if to warn him of imminent danger. I have experienced this type of phemomenon and I thought it was a fantastic touch.
I liked some of the landscape because it looked quite authentic. Again, I speak as someone who has next to no knowledge of the area. I found it good that most of the crew seemed to have been hired at least from that region of the world.
And overall I found it an enjoyable experience and an entertaining film with a few remarkable ideas.

I was not too bothered by the inaccuracies on the military side of things because I probably didn’t spot many of them. Then again, there are so many in films these days. A large proportion of fight scenes in films or TV series make me wince, they’re so unrealistic. But then fiction is meant to require “willing suspension of disbelief” on our part in order to work.

One final point: I was surprised the film makers didn’t hire at least a couple of French actors to speak a few lines of the French personnel. It would have been consistent with their overall approach. Was the French bloke meant to be in the Army though (Armee de Terre)? Was it not the Infanterie de la Marine or something?

RE: bye bye England

Hi Kev,
Sadly this is not the first time I’ve had troublesome neighbours, and I know too well the situations you describe. I’ve never had to come to blows with them, though I’ve often felt like it.
Noise pollution is a major stressor and like you say, it really takes your life away from you. It comes to a fine thing when you are more stressed at home than at work.
We’ll see…

BTW I must apologise: I have neglected to offer my sincere commiserations to all the England fans out there. You made a very good account of yourselves and counfounded your pre-tournament critics. Yours is a team for the future. Roll on 2004 and 2006!

RE: bye bye England

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 22-06-02 AT 03:08 PM (GMT)]Hi Kev,
I hope you are right in your view about hooligans… I really do! But this general lack of respect for others is becoming a worryingly regular feature these days. New neighbours have just moved in next door to me and have shown a total disregard for people around them. I live on a fairly quiet, respectable working-class, residential street and we have had no end of trouble with them so far. (That’s one thing I don’t miss at the moment!).
When we teach kids (and so-called adults) that it is cool to behave badly and be as low as you want, it’s little wonder they start believing it, I think…