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Post by mickthecactus on Mar 30, 2018 9:56:20 GMT
Mick, what I want to know is: Did she say it in that nasal twang like Prunella Scales in Faulty Towers, BUT with an Irish accent? Gawd, that could be funny! Although she is 100% Irish she was born here so has a London accent.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Apr 1, 2018 10:25:44 GMT
Happy holidays to you all...I'm knee deep in strange ingredients trying to concoct an Easter dinner for two meat eaters, a vegetarian and a vegan...* sigh * making brownies for afters using bananas and baking powder instead of eggs ! Stressed so she is (reference to Mrs Cactus' Irish heritage) and WTF is cashew cream and where can I get it on Easter Sunday???
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Post by bjd on Apr 1, 2018 18:20:06 GMT
Am I the only one who gets upset by the two British ISIS members who have been caught in Syria and complain that they won't get a fair trial? I don't know what should be done with them, but my first thought is, "You didn't give any fair chance to those you beheaded."
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Post by whatagain on Apr 2, 2018 13:07:38 GMT
My thought bjd. However each time I follow that line of thoughts I tell myself the difference is that I live in a civilised country and therefore we must give a fair trial to bastards.
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Post by tod2 on Apr 2, 2018 14:51:25 GMT
It is too difficult for me to think 'civilised' when I don't live in a completely civilised society in South Africa. Here it is more 'an eye for an eye...' shown this week when a vehicle driven recklessly plowed into a crowd and killed 5 people - maybe more. The enraged onlookers got the driver and like the Romans in the Forum did to Caesar, stabbed him to death. This type of justice plays out in Africa every day. No arrests as who would hang around spatted in blood. I am always relieved when a terrorist is not taken alive. They do not deserve any mercy or justice. But I suppose that would be stepping backwards...or would it.
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Post by mossie on Apr 2, 2018 19:09:18 GMT
I am always relieved when a terrorist is not taken alive. They do not deserve any mercy or justice. I totally agree. The problem here is we have too many do-gooders who insist on making excuses for these barbarians
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Apr 2, 2018 20:23:59 GMT
I think that most people agree with you bjd.
I'm uncomfortable with capital punishment because I don't want to be responsible for anybody dying, however I think that if fanatics murder for their cause then they should accept the consequences when they are caught.
My government sells arms to tyrants and ignores the fact that innocents will die when they are used. I don't do anything about it except grumble and write angry letters to my MP...it's a sad world when commerce is more important than lives.
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 2, 2018 20:30:37 GMT
Frankly, I am disappointed when the terrorist is killed. We need to know more about what is in their heads. It is not as simple as many people seem to think.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 2, 2018 20:57:36 GMT
I completely agree with Kerouac on this subject. Besides losing the opportunity to learn more -- which could include such practicalities as who else is in their cell, where it's located, etc., killing the bastards gives them the martyrdom they seem to crave.
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Post by bjd on Apr 3, 2018 7:02:55 GMT
I don't think they should be killed outright if they are caught and I don't believe in capital punishment. It's just the hypocrisy and sense of entitlement of these "Beatles" (as they were called by the media) to expect a fair trial while everything they have done shows they don't believe in fairness for anyone who doesn't think like them.
As for finding out more of what is in their heads -- what about Abdelsalam or some others like him, who sit in jail and refuse to answer any questions?
It's a dilemma.
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Post by rikita on Apr 3, 2018 23:45:05 GMT
to me, it is not only about finding out what is in their heads, or denying them the martyrdom they want (though both are important, too, imho), but also about who we want to be (well, whoever "we" is) ... and to me, fair trials are part of that, no matter whether i personally think this specific person deserves it ...
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 4, 2018 3:59:04 GMT
... [it's] also about who we want to be (well, whoever "we" is) ... and to me, fair trials are part of that ... Perfectly stated, Rikita, thanks.
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Post by questa on Apr 5, 2018 12:13:07 GMT
I don't think they should be killed outright if they are caught and I don't believe in capital punishment. I am also against capital punishment, however there is a line between 'punishment' for breaking a law of local or international origin, and 'execution'which has a long history as the consequence of making a war against another nation or people. If the current group are killing and terrorizing, they are making war and subject to firing squad or whatever death penalty method is used. It should also be used for those found guilty of war crimes. .
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 5, 2018 13:33:35 GMT
~?~
Execution is capital punishment.
Being against capital punishment means being against it in any form, no matter the term used to describe it. Officially sanctioned murder is still murder and particularly morally disgusting in that many individuals are complicit in that murder.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 5, 2018 13:44:28 GMT
I have very mixed feelings on this topic.
I do know that a very close friend of mine was living in London in 2005 and was two vehicles behind the bus that was bombed on 7/7.
He has never been quite the same since and despite psychiatric treatment he remains a "mess', resorting to alcohol abuse and loss of job, friends etc. He was very against capital punishment but feels very differently now.
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Post by bjd on Apr 5, 2018 15:14:24 GMT
At the end of the movie Cairo Confidential, the Arab spring has broken out and the demonstrators find the "hero" and start to beat him up because he was a typical corrupt cop. Then someone says, "Stop, or we will be just like them." So there is the side of people who want to maintain their beliefs no matter what. But there is also our traditional eye for an eye desire for vengeance for crimes that are particularly awful.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, it's a dilemma. I really think these guys should pay for what they have done and initially started this because I was annoyed that someone who would behead people should claim the right to a fair trial and "how would my mother feel if she doesn't have her son anymore". On the other hand, I don't want to be like them.
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 5, 2018 17:13:31 GMT
Actually, it appears that the rare terrorists who have survived recently have not been requesting a fair trial. However, they always have been given good lawyers, normally working pro bono because it is good advertising for them.
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Post by bjd on Apr 5, 2018 17:41:11 GMT
It's just that I saw that these "Beatles" terrorists from London who were demanding a fair trial. I haven't seen anything about others.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Apr 5, 2018 18:15:02 GMT
Just changing the subject...I have been drinking champagne all afternoon because my son just got engaged to his Finnish girlfriend. I'm sooooo happy and want to tell EVERYBODY.....hic....
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 5, 2018 18:56:43 GMT
Congrats!
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Apr 5, 2018 20:56:42 GMT
They say 'Thank you'
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 5, 2018 20:58:26 GMT
Much nicer subject. You're gaining a daughter, what a delight! Congratulations & best wishes to the happy couple and to the families.
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Post by mossie on Apr 6, 2018 10:31:35 GMT
Have you got to get a new hat to suit the weather conditions in Finland??
Have a great time
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 15, 2018 19:12:50 GMT
Reading an extranet message for my micro district, I saw that someone who lives on my street was asking about the sequoia that was planted in their courtyard. It is now 15 metres tall, and they are wondering if perhaps it should be cut down in case it starts wrecking the building. However, they did not say exactly how large the courtyard is.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 15, 2018 20:22:18 GMT
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Post by rikita on Apr 17, 2018 10:11:36 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 17, 2018 15:44:45 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 18, 2018 12:10:35 GMT
I was very lucky to keep my mouth shut on the tram today. Two American tourists with their child in a stroller got on, but the validation machine rejected their tickets. A man with partial command of the English language informed them that metro tickets are not valid on the tram and then he moved along elsewhere in the tram. He told them to get off at the first stop and get new tickets out of the machine on the platform. I got up to ask them what the problem was but mostly to inform them that any tickets they bought were valid on the metro, tram or bus with no problem. They were just trying to validate old tickets they had already used or something. They said they were going to the science museum and would get new tickets. I very nearly said, "oh you might as well just stay onboard -- it's only three stops from here." After all, about 25% of the passengers get on the tram without tickets anyway. But they really wanted to buy new tickets, and there was absolutely no reason for me to stop them from doing so. The moment they got off, plainclothes ticket inspectors went into action to check everybody's ticket on the tram. If ever I had told them to stay on and they had done so, I would have felt TERRIBLE.
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 20, 2018 3:23:47 GMT
When the French government announced that it was going to cancel the Légion d'Honneur that President Chirac had given Bashar al-Assad at the beginning of the century, I didn't think it would actually be physically returned. But the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates actually gave the thing back to the Romanian embassy in Damascus yesterday, because it is Romania that currently represents French interests there. However, Assad did make a statement that it was a point of honour to return a decoration awarded by "a regime enslaved to the United States, a known supporter of dangerous terrorists."
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Post by tod2 on Apr 22, 2018 14:50:45 GMT
Oh what a lucky escape Kerouac with the ticket scenario! I will admit to riding the tram without validating my ticket but that was only the few first times but now , NEVER! In Metz it was almost a shoot out between inspectors and students refusing to get off and the police being called to haul the culprit off the tram. At least if we were not scared into complying we were entertained.
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