RE: Anybody served in the military before ???????

I wonder if there is a difference between HAVING to serve and WANTING to serve?

If my country was in a war (a big one, I mean) and needed all the men she could get, I would be happy to join. Hopefully I’d give it my best shot.

But in peacetime, I find it hard to justify to myself.

It isn’t that I don’t think we need an Army in peactime; far from it. But somehow I don’t have the motivation.

As I recall, this was one of the arguments considered when the British army abolished the draft and professionalised itself.

RE: Last flight of the BWIA tristar from london

I too had heard that the A340-500 was on order (or was it the -600?) from SIA. The -500 is one of the most handsome aircraft ever, IMHO.

RE: This is really disgusting …

This guy is going to start WW3 if he isn’t careful.

Maybe he’ll know what it’s like to be a suicide bomber when somebody gets him!

RE: Anybody served in the military before ???????

I toyed with the idea for about a day!

I signed up to go to a one-day officer selection course when I was in my first year at University. The deal was that I would spend my holidays on training camps, get properly trained after graduation and receive a small stipend in the meantime.

But when I went along, all I got was insult after insult. It wasn’t even witty, just “you weak maggot” type of thing. Totally unjustified and it made me think the Army was full of intellectually deficient idiots. I thought that sort of thing happened to infantry, not officers. If all I wanted out of life was to be insulted, I would have been a stand up comedian.

It was probablty just an off day of course, but it turned me right off anyway. I went off and now I’m training to be an accountant.

RE: EU-immigration policy, Update

Are you serious about the Danish law GF? Sounds too ludicrous to actually be legal.

Funny how the US “allows” poor people with no skills to enter their country, but throws the book at Brits or Europeans who try to get a green card. Are the Americans trying to tell us something?

RE: Forbes’ ‘Celebrity 100’ List

How accurate do you think this is? Wealthy people (quite rightly) stash their money all over the place, usually not in the US!

RE: UN financing

I’m amazed that you can use the word “constitutes” to get GWB off the hook!

What evidence does he have of these countries working together towards a common goal, even on an informal basis?

It was a misdirected comment and basically, it was crass and unworthy of a statesman.

You can’t let the guy off by talking about his sentiments, and what he “meant” to say.

RE: Nude Beaches

I’ve never been to a nudist beach as such, but I remember when I was about 6 my parents took me to Capri for a holiday.

We found a small cove surrounded by handy smooth rocks. Lots of locals were swimming themselves, and I jumped straight in the sea. I got out, but as I was swimming to the rocks to get out, a 20-something woman swum past me and climbed out before me. She was starkers.

For about a week afterwards, I was perpetually embarrassed.

I think I was probably a sensitive kid, but I would have rather not seen that, at that particular age.