monguRE: Flying to Freeport (Grand Bahama)
I’m never bothered about PTVs anyway. Frequent flyer miles are good with BA though, and their Club World is absolutely fantastic for a big airline.
monguRE: Iraqi Invitation
What’s wrong with doing nothing?
Every argument I can think of for removing SH falls down.
1. He is “evil”. Yes, I think he is too. But so are other leaders. Rwanda was mentioned. Sierra Leone? Zimbabwe? Robert Mugabe is no better than SH. His people are no less free than SH’s. So what is the rationale for singling SH out?
2. He has/will have WMD. Possibly, although the UN inspectors seems to disagree – the US inspector was especially critical of such a suggestion. Also, even if Iraq did possess Nukes, we’re back to point 1. What would Bush do if Mugabe came across a nuke? He’d be to scared of being branded a racist to do anything about it. Mugabe has killed approximately similar proportions of his populace as SH.
3. Iraq sponsors terrorism. Again, possibly. Only the CIA could only say, so I guess we take their word for it. But how about other nations? As has been said, Saudi nationals are as guilty as anyone. But the Fahd regime tolerates these people.
4. He’s weak. Really? What makes you believe that technical superiority will mean an easy victory? The Vietnam scenario looms if you think such thoughts. I’m no general, but the things which make a difference to campaign success seem like being – local knowledge, will to win, intellect of commanders, efficacy of communications and enough basic supplies. On all counts, Iraq has no problem! Their soldiers are not going to lie down against an invasion, whatever you believe that they think of SH. Numerically, they have nothing to worry about either.
5. You should not ignore the Kremlin factor. Poor it may be, but Russia still has enormous global influence. And don’t forget, Putin is fighting his own war in Chechnya, with simmering tension in North Ossetia and countless other places.
6. The arabs “want” rid of SH. Sure, the rulers of Saudi and other countries may want rid of him. But remember that the views of the governments are those of the monarchs, not the people. Besides, their logic is “negative”. They want rid of SH only to shield themselves from Iran, not because of SH per se. Negative support has a tendency to crumble!
7. US public opinion may change (I only say it may, because I’m not the best judge on the mood of the American public) when pilots are tortured live on TV. And if we talk ground war, when Joe Sixpack is tortured for trying to feed lead to the ragheads…you get my drift! Soldiers will get worse treatment than flyers did in the Gulf War.
monguRE: Iraqi Invitation
What’s wrong with doing nothing?
Every argument I can think of for removing SH falls down.
1. He is “evil”. Yes, I think he is too. But so are other leaders. Rwanda was mentioned. Sierra Leone? Zimbabwe? Robert Mugabe is no better than SH. His people are no less free than SH’s. So what is the rationale for singling SH out?
2. He has/will have WMD. Possibly, although the UN inspectors seems to disagree – the US inspector was especially critical of such a suggestion. Also, even if Iraq did possess Nukes, we’re back to point 1. What would Bush do if Mugabe came across a nuke? He’d be to scared of being branded a racist to do anything about it. Mugabe has killed approximately similar proportions of his populace as SH.
3. Iraq sponsors terrorism. Again, possibly. Only the CIA could only say, so I guess we take their word for it. But how about other nations? As has been said, Saudi nationals are as guilty as anyone. But the Fahd regime tolerates these people.
4. He’s weak. Really? What makes you believe that technical superiority will mean an easy victory? The Vietnam scenario looms if you think such thoughts. I’m no general, but the things which make a difference to campaign success seem like being – local knowledge, will to win, intellect of commanders, efficacy of communications and enough basic supplies. On all counts, Iraq has no problem! Their soldiers are not going to lie down against an invasion, whatever you believe that they think of SH. Numerically, they have nothing to worry about either.
5. You should not ignore the Kremlin factor. Poor it may be, but Russia still has enormous global influence. And don’t forget, Putin is fighting his own war in Chechnya, with simmering tension in North Ossetia and countless other places.
6. The arabs “want” rid of SH. Sure, the rulers of Saudi and other countries may want rid of him. But remember that the views of the governments are those of the monarchs, not the people. Besides, their logic is “negative”. They want rid of SH only to shield themselves from Iran, not because of SH per se. Negative support has a tendency to crumble!
7. US public opinion may change (I only say it may, because I’m not the best judge on the mood of the American public) when pilots are tortured live on TV. And if we talk ground war, when Joe Sixpack is tortured for trying to feed lead to the ragheads…you get my drift! Soldiers will get worse treatment than flyers did in the Gulf War.
monguRE: Isle of Man / IOM
The problem Keenair are up against (Euromanx too) is the pull of BA. About half of my flights ex-IOM are connecting flights, usually on to a mainline BA flight. Also, I get frequent flyer miles with BA.
GD:
I know the difference between a 1900 C and D. BTW, what were the -A and -B versions like? I dob’t think that I ever saw one, knowingly.
monguRE: VC-10 Forum
Nice idea.
But the link is not operative.
monguRE: British withdrawal from Northern Ireland
Coanda…
Basically an accurate overview.
BTW, there is the UDP and the DUP…two separtate organisations.
DUP = Democratic (?!) Unionist Party.
The greatest problem in this particular debate is that people extarnalise it. The real issue is that NI will never become part of Eire. I think the IRA chaps now this full well. Although there is a fair bit of sympathy in Eire, I think the ROI gov’t know full well they would just inherit a bunch of whackos, in the terrorists.
The terrorists are really just rebels without a cause. They wouldn’t appreciate a united Ireland if it hit them on the head. For god’s sake, both ROI and the UK are in the EU. They will soon have the same currency and the same leader (Herr Tony Blair – next EC President according to the book makers, and me). There is a Customs Union in effect – no passports needed when travelling between the countries. What would actually change if the Irish tricolor flew above Stormont instead of the Union Flag? Nothing, really. Troops would remain, just wearing different uniforms.
If anytihng, Loyalists would become the new bogey men, probably operating against Dublin.
You see the dilemna – heads they win, tails we loose!
The situation simply cannot be solved. All we can do is calm it down and hopefully educate people away from violence. And I certainly think that the Church (both of them) should refrain from politics. Religious leaders are not supposed to be political in Britain. Same applies to military officers and teachers, because they can sway people’s minds too easily. Iain Pailsley almost deserves burning at the stake for his part…
monguRE: British withdrawal from Northern Ireland
Coanda…
Basically an accurate overview.
BTW, there is the UDP and the DUP…two separtate organisations.
DUP = Democratic (?!) Unionist Party.
The greatest problem in this particular debate is that people extarnalise it. The real issue is that NI will never become part of Eire. I think the IRA chaps now this full well. Although there is a fair bit of sympathy in Eire, I think the ROI gov’t know full well they would just inherit a bunch of whackos, in the terrorists.
The terrorists are really just rebels without a cause. They wouldn’t appreciate a united Ireland if it hit them on the head. For god’s sake, both ROI and the UK are in the EU. They will soon have the same currency and the same leader (Herr Tony Blair – next EC President according to the book makers, and me). There is a Customs Union in effect – no passports needed when travelling between the countries. What would actually change if the Irish tricolor flew above Stormont instead of the Union Flag? Nothing, really. Troops would remain, just wearing different uniforms.
If anytihng, Loyalists would become the new bogey men, probably operating against Dublin.
You see the dilemna – heads they win, tails we loose!
The situation simply cannot be solved. All we can do is calm it down and hopefully educate people away from violence. And I certainly think that the Church (both of them) should refrain from politics. Religious leaders are not supposed to be political in Britain. Same applies to military officers and teachers, because they can sway people’s minds too easily. Iain Pailsley almost deserves burning at the stake for his part…
monguRE: Iraqi Invitation
[updated:LAST EDITED ON 17-08-02 AT 10:56 PM (GMT)]I still don’t see the drama.
Lots of countries have WMD. Lots of them are headed by regimes which are as likely to attack the US as Iraq is. Take Pakistan…take unstable elements in the FSU.
So what if Iraqis are not free? It’s unfortunate, but it has nothing to do with the US. Again, billions of people are ruled by despotic regimes. The other ones are OK, are they???
So why focus on Iraq?
Also, the US has no – no – international support and approval for this. That’s vital, because no country should take unilatral military action unless directly attacked. It’s a kind of code that civilised nations stick too. The US is civilised, don’t get me wrong. But just not in this instance. The US has never supported its “allies” when they have had to fight (eg Falklands). Why exactly, do they expect help in their own wars in return??
Also, there is a perception that action against Iraq will lead to action against Iran. Apart from the US, every one else is starting to accept and even like Iran.
Read this:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020817/ap_on_re_eu/…
monguRE: Iraqi Invitation
[updated:LAST EDITED ON 17-08-02 AT 10:56 PM (GMT)]I still don’t see the drama.
Lots of countries have WMD. Lots of them are headed by regimes which are as likely to attack the US as Iraq is. Take Pakistan…take unstable elements in the FSU.
So what if Iraqis are not free? It’s unfortunate, but it has nothing to do with the US. Again, billions of people are ruled by despotic regimes. The other ones are OK, are they???
So why focus on Iraq?
Also, the US has no – no – international support and approval for this. That’s vital, because no country should take unilatral military action unless directly attacked. It’s a kind of code that civilised nations stick too. The US is civilised, don’t get me wrong. But just not in this instance. The US has never supported its “allies” when they have had to fight (eg Falklands). Why exactly, do they expect help in their own wars in return??
Also, there is a perception that action against Iraq will lead to action against Iran. Apart from the US, every one else is starting to accept and even like Iran.
Read this:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020817/ap_on_re_eu/…
monguRE: Iraqi Invitation
[updated:LAST EDITED ON 17-08-02 AT 09:09 PM (GMT)]”Evil” is an ambiguous word at best. I don’t consider that it fully describes SH. Yes, he is a horrible person who has murdered 100,000’s of people.
But so have other leaders.
Why is the US targeting SH but ignoring other people of similar calibre?
Also, invasion of another country is no reason to start a war, as in the Gulf. I didn’t see any F-14’s coming to the resuce in the Falklands. I mean, if the US were correct to stay out of it then, they must be wrong to invade Iraq in Desert Storm. Oh, I get it. They didn’t find oil in Falklands waters until after the war. Silly me.
monguRE: Iraqi Invitation
[updated:LAST EDITED ON 17-08-02 AT 09:09 PM (GMT)]”Evil” is an ambiguous word at best. I don’t consider that it fully describes SH. Yes, he is a horrible person who has murdered 100,000’s of people.
But so have other leaders.
Why is the US targeting SH but ignoring other people of similar calibre?
Also, invasion of another country is no reason to start a war, as in the Gulf. I didn’t see any F-14’s coming to the resuce in the Falklands. I mean, if the US were correct to stay out of it then, they must be wrong to invade Iraq in Desert Storm. Oh, I get it. They didn’t find oil in Falklands waters until after the war. Silly me.
monguRE: Have any of you met another forum member?
I always had my suspicions Gef!
monguRE: Have any of you met another forum member?
I always had my suspicions Gef!
monguRE: Airline colour schemes
An English Beefeater?!
A McDonalds “M”?!!
monguRE: Trilander
Hmm. If I was a Director of a new airline (my target in about 10 years) I’d be tempted to cut costs and sod the rules. Would there be any repurcussions of using unapproved coffee pots? I’m sure the publicity gained by litigating against the CAA for unfair barriers to entry for new airlines (ie. rasinig the costs with silly, expensive rules) would deter them from revoking the airline’s licence!
Do you consider that such rules play into the hands of big airlines like BA or BMI (who have the capital base to afford lots of expenses) and deter new start-ups?
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