Jasmin

Can you qualify "much action" please? (And if you want to see it, you're going to have to get on a plane to Australia. LOL) edited to add: Why is it that Americans never seem to get my humour?? I make a dig at someone, simultaneously make a dig at myself and you all sh^t kittens! xj "I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

I'm with you on 'Along came Polly'. I saw it with Jimmy Freeman and we were in tears laughing at that line xj "I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

What's cruise's obsession with BASE jumping? Anyone else seen it? xj "I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

Yup! As mentioned above, its pretty hard to take someone seriously, when they sarcastically call someone a genius and then dispay the literary skills of a pre-schooler... Yes, burning a building is not a nice thing to do...but since when was anyone here honestly ever going to get off their arse (& step away fro their computer) to jump the ESB?? xj "I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

Umm I'd like to know where that number comes from, because the World Health Organisation (WHO) were part of the group that published this. xj "I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

The beat up the media gives for non-nuclear/radiation incidents as being of nuclear significance always amazes me...its almost like they relish in getting it wrong! Mind you, the funniest one I've seen yet was "Explosion in a nuclear power plant near St. Petersburg". Now if you bothered to read the Swiss/German articles, the man was killed at a melting furncace near (ie- more than a kilometre from) the Sosnowji Bor plant. Ah the joys of objective and factual reporting... xj "I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

He he he. He'll have more than enough on his plate with a wingsuit and his climbing gear... xj "I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

I really don't know Nic. But as for Glenn and Heather, they're currently off on another expedition, this time with Jimmy Freeman in tow. http://www.baseclimb.com/ xj "I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

True, but don't forget that LEU is typically referred to as

Huh? This has to be a line or statistic from Wikipedia/Google/Yahoo or something!!? There are still a bunch of reactors out there using (both HEU & LEU) fuel with another digit in front of your 3 and 5% enrichment.... Am I missing the point, or has Mo fuel finally stopped playing cards with the easter bunny??? edited to add: Sorry for the in-joke, I guess I'm still a closet nerd! xj "I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

Eighteen xj "I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

Whilst we appreciate the empathy, Australia is not the USA. (Hey someone might like to remind John Howard of that one once in awhile....) If you want something to kick a stink about at Australians, start with obesity, smoking and suicide. Coronary heart disease is still the leading cause of death here and its preventable. Most people don't even know how to recognise the symptoms of our second biggest killer, strokes. Smoking related diseases are a huge killer, particularly lung cancer. And we have one of the highest rates of teen suicide anywhere. We know it’s a problem, but its not the only one! xj "I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

I read the Da Vinci Code and liked it. I've also read Deception Point, Digital Fortress and Angels & Demons and as works of fiction, they're not bad. But I'd hardly call any of them original, or based on almost any real "facts", as has been repeatedly done. First beef: originality. As has been stated by Brown himself, the main concepts in the Da Vinci Code (Jesus's children, the priory of scion, Mary Magdalene etc) are by no means original. This is one of his key defence points in his current plagarism/copyright legal proceedings. And for another bite of the apple, some of you might have read a fantastic book called Ice Station, by author named Matthew Reilly. Now read the slightly poorer Deception Point and tell me you don't feel like you're having a serious attack of deja vu. Second Beef: Brown's use of the word "FACT". From the "factual" list of Priory of Scion members (the document's authenticity is questionable at best) to referring to the nuns of the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception (they were all men!), from the crap about anti-matter bombs (try and accumulte it!!)and using the LHC (its still being built) in Angels & Demons and the crypto/maths in Digital Fortress, the man seems to need access to a dictionary containing the word "fact"... Agreed, the whole point of fiction is that you're supposed to be creative, but when someone begins by touting something as fact, I appreciate it when it is. Everyone's thoughts??? edited to add: Anyone else read Ice Station or The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail??? xj "I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

I'd hardly say we're ignorant of the problem, but you're readin one man's interpretation of both the scale of the problem and his belief in the ignorance/apathy toward it.... But that's just another Aussie's opinion... xj "I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

Just for a step back in time, I still remember this: -----Original Message----- From: iaea.org Sent: Monday, 17 March 2003 22:04 Subject: IAEA Director General's Statement to the IAEA Board of Governors - 17 March 2003 Importance: High In his statement to the IAEA Board of Governors today, IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei reported on the latest situation in Iraq. He said, "Late last night... I was advised by the U.S government to pull out our inspectors from Baghdad. Similar advice has been given to UNMOVIC. I immediately informed the President of the Security Council for guidance. I also informed the UN Secretary General. I understand that the Security Council will take up the issue today. Naturally, the safety of our staff remains our primary consideration at this difficult time. I earnestly hope - even at this late hour - that a peaceful resolution of the issue can be achieved, and that the world can be spared a war." xj "I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

HAHAHA!!! Yeah, one of your best mate!! Kudos to nuke navy operators and special research, but since when does the average American AJ or AF-jockey have a clue???!!! I think there's a lot of NA, enrichment and fuel specialists, not to mention Rx operators & engineers, who'll happily inform you that 99% of uniforms know "absolutely fuck-all" about nuclear, its implications, the NPT and how to handle a critical assembly!!?? edited to add:There's more to nuclear than being shown a simulation of how to arm a nuclear trigger. Back on topic. I heard a paper given by an Iranian rep a week before the IAEA board meeting last year and if you're going to lie to representatives from just about every fuel enrichment group, nuclear operator and nuclear regulator in the world, you think you'd at least try to lie convincingly. To be blunt, they did a piss poor job. Iran deserves sanctions- if they don't want to play by the book, then by all means throw it at them. The real fun is that sanctions not including oil would be a farce and sanctions including oil would send the world markets into an uproar. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. As for the illogical comment; the US announces new funding to weapons development programs, yet denounces Iran and attempts to limit worldwide use of HEU. Its nothing short of hypocritical, but by no means illogical.... "I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones." -Albert Einstein. xj "I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

Some guys I know are working on ice cores from Antartica, that seem to be indicating the thickness of the ice is decreasing... Now if someone wants a physics debate, bring it on...normally I only get such a pleasure at work! xj "I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

Or aim for the most expensive car in the carpark! xj "I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

If you have the same trouble this coming weekend, send me a pm and I'll post an e-mail to the skarsy group on your behalf! xj "I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

Hmmm I don't think I could handle that. Whilst some might argue that there's no emotional attachment, I've still ditched guys for cheating on me and then using the excuse of "it meant nothing, it was just sex." At the end of the day, its up to the both of you to realistically assess what you can and can't handle. What seems ok in theory, can often be more than you can handle when it comes to reality. Good luck. xj "I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

No. Wrong. Unlike you, I actually saw the ABC piece (& smh article) that this thread is about and they repeatedly stressed that these were not new pictures or new events. The focus of the piece was that the DoD still refuses to acknowledge or admit the extent of the violence/torture and that there is a systemic problem here (ie not just two "bad apple" soldiers,) that still hasn't been addressed. xj "I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

I think we're treading a very fine line; its more than a bit rich for us to violate and ignore the Geneva convention and then bemoan when our own are not afforded its protection. Some of the insurgent groups are doing horrific things, but we need to be ever mindful that we don't end up becoming the horror, that these people are proclaiming us to be. xj "I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

The ABC piece contained a large number of photographs that the DoD still refuses to release, despite a FOI ruling against DoD. This is not a simple case of a couple of guys getting stripped and beaten- some of these men were shot at with LIVE rounds whilst unarmed and within the prison, not just "non-lethal" ammunition. Most of these prisoners have been incarcerated for petty crimes, not aggravated or serious offences eg murder, attacking US troops etc. Cover ups help no-one, they merely allow a rotting wound to fester. And before anyone starts up, I'm not some tree-hugging anti-war hippy, I have friends serving too. But by denying freedom to those who seek it and by denying honesty and justice to the victims of the people who did this, we disgrace the very ideals we hold dearest and insult those who wear the uniform to protect those principles. Edited to add:Time changes but some things do not. Juvenal sums it up nicely- "quis custodiet ipsos custodes?" (Who will guard the guards?) xj "I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

Picton's my home DZ. I love the turbines! xj "I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

Oh dear God, NO!!! The current nuclear stockpile, even allowing for the "megatonnes to megawatts" program, is disgustingly and horrifically large. There is no logical justification for any country to have a stockpile in the thousands. If Japan or Germany (or Iran for that matter!) moves to violate their NNPT commitments, they should be reported to the UN Security Council. xj "I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."