If I were to be facetious, I'd definitely say that Sylvester McCoy
put the "Tard" into "Tardis". He was highly annoying as The Doctor.

I also agree that (for me at least), Tom Baker is the best; I
especially like "The Pyramids of Mars", featuring Sutekh The Destroyer!

Having said that, I don't remember THAT many Tom Baker episodes because
I was still VERY young when he started (1974?) and quite young when
he finished ('81 or '82?).

I have heard people say many Dr Who fans tend to prefer the actor
who was playing The Doctor when they were kids - probably about 10 years
old or so. Certainly it's true in my case.

"Blake's Seven" (BS) was also good in a rather bare, low-budget kind of way.
Avon and Orac (the irritable, arrogant Perspex supercomputer) were my
favourite characters. Colin Baker featured in at least one episode, as
did Michael Sheard (who was also in Doctor Who IIRC) who was best known
to my age group as Mr Bronson on "Grange Hill". Also David Haig from
"The Thin Blue Line" appeared in both "Blake's Seven" and "Doctor Who".
Also, Servalan (in BS) had sexy shoes on sometimes. Which was nice.


Martin
--
M.A.Poyser Tel.: 07967 110890
Manchester, U.K. http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=fleetie

Fleetie wrote:

snip

"Blake's Seven" (BS) was also good in a rather bare, low-budget kind of way.
Avon and Orac (the irritable, arrogant Perspex supercomputer) were my
favourite characters.

Ahhh, Blake's Seven... When it was airing on a local PBS station here in
the U.S. in the late '80s, something happened to the continuity of episodes;
the arc built up to some major crisis and then suddenly the episodes available
to the station were months or years later and I never did follow the development
after that. If I ever get the complete series (assuming it is available) it
will be essentially new to me again because of this and I certainly would
enjoy it.

Michael

Hi!

Tom Baker was indeed the Doctor of choice for many

I can't say that I've made a habit of watching the series, and my
understanding of it is highly fractured (being as the PBS station in
the area seems to jump all over the place episode and time-wise) but I
really enjoyed the episodes with Christopher Eccleston (sp? IIRC) as
the doctor...somewhat because of the character but also because the
quality of sets and effects seemed to be so much better.

Neither here nor there...just my $0.02.

William

"Arfa Daily" ...

"Wickeddoll" ...

"Arfa Daily" ...
snip

My dad lived in Altamonte for many years. All I remember about Ocala
was that we played against them in softball, and they usually kicked
our arses...


Now that's interesting. You commented a few posts above about the way
that I spell 'humour', surmising (correctly) that I may be British. Back
at ya now. That's the first time I've ever seen an American spell
'arses' the same as we do, rather than as a donkey-like animal ... ??

Arfa



You found me out!

I'm a shameless Anglophile. In fact, at this moment I'm watching
Dangermouse DVDs.

:-)

Natalie, hoping hubby's next base is in England

Well, that would be nice, especially if you like New England weather and
scenery. Have you visited here before ?

Sadly, I haven't been off the North American continent. :-P

I would guess that the liklihood of a posting here has diminished
considerably in recent years, as a number of the Anglo - American bases
have either closed down or been mothballed since the 'end (??)' of the cold
war. To the east of where I live right in the centre, all the way across to
the coast, it is very flat fenland, so good for runways. I guess that this,
coupled with the proximity to the european mainland, is why all of the
bases grew up there in the first place during WW

Yeah. But perhaps we can go to another European base, and have easy access
to Britain. We can dream.

II, and carried on into peacetime, and then grew further as defensive
bases run largely by your good ol' boys. Do you still have any bomber
forces or whatever permanently located here ? I'm not too sure about that,
to be honest. I used to see practice flights come across my county all the
time, fighters as well, but don't seem to any more.

Dangermouse eh ? I used to watch that many many years ago. Have you ever
come across a UK tv programme called 'Minder' ? If not, there are plenty
of clips on You Tube. It's where my nic comes from, being a deliberate
corruption of the name of one of the two main characters. For no other
reason, I might add, than that I always loved the part he played. It was
representative of gentler times ...

Arfa

Never heard of that one.

I wondered WTF your nick meant!

:-)

Natalie

wrote in message
...
Hi!

Tom Baker was indeed the Doctor of choice for many

I can't say that I've made a habit of watching the series, and my
understanding of it is highly fractured (being as the PBS station in
the area seems to jump all over the place episode and time-wise) but I
really enjoyed the episodes with Christopher Eccleston (sp? IIRC) as
the doctor...somewhat because of the character but also because the
quality of sets and effects seemed to be so much better.

Neither here nor there...just my $0.02.

William

He was good, and had the makings of a very good Doctor, but bowed out after
just one series, which left a bit of a bad taste with fans. However, if you
liked him as the Doctor, try to track down some of the latest episodes with
David Tennant. You'll definitely like him. As a measure of what a good actor
he is, you might be amazed to learn that he is actually a broad Scot, when
talking normally, but for the part of the Doctor, manages to do a really
very good and consistent English estuary accent.

Arfa

"Fleetie" wrote in message
...
If I were to be facetious, I'd definitely say that Sylvester McCoy
put the "Tard" into "Tardis". He was highly annoying as The Doctor.

I also agree that (for me at least), Tom Baker is the best; I
especially like "The Pyramids of Mars", featuring Sutekh The Destroyer!

Having said that, I don't remember THAT many Tom Baker episodes because
I was still VERY young when he started (1974?) and quite young when
he finished ('81 or '82?).

I have heard people say many Dr Who fans tend to prefer the actor
who was playing The Doctor when they were kids - probably about 10 years
old or so. Certainly it's true in my case.

"Blake's Seven" (BS) was also good in a rather bare, low-budget kind of
way.
Avon and Orac (the irritable, arrogant Perspex supercomputer) were my
favourite characters. Colin Baker featured in at least one episode, as
did Michael Sheard (who was also in Doctor Who IIRC) who was best known
to my age group as Mr Bronson on "Grange Hill". Also David Haig from
"The Thin Blue Line" appeared in both "Blake's Seven" and "Doctor Who".
Also, Servalan (in BS) had sexy shoes on sometimes. Which was nice.


Martin


Oh, Blake's Seven ... I never missed a single episode ... The very last one
of season 3 was so sad when the Liberator passed through that cloud of
corrosive gas, and the ship was eaten alive by it. I nearly cried, big and
ugly as I was, when the ships computer, Zen, finally admitted defeat to Avon
and told him that it was sorry that it was no longer able to repair the
ship, and closed itself down with its voice failing. I think that was the
only time that the computer ever referred to itself as "I". I think that was
supposed to be the last ever episode, but it was resurrected for a fourth
season with a rather revised concept, and a different ship, as I recall.
Pony as it was, with the shaking scenery, and Servalan leering her sexy way
through most scenes, I truly loved that series ...

Going back to Doctor Who, I saw an interview with Tom Baker a few years
back, and he said that although he had loved every minute of working on the
show, it had wrecked his acting career, because after leaving it, he was so
associated with being the Doctor, he just could not get any mainstream
acting work, and apart from a few fairly minor parts, has spent the
remainder of his career in a backwater of voiceover and other similar
industry-related work, which is a bit of a shame really.

When I was in TV repair, as an apprentice, we had a copy, on Philips N1500
format, no less, of an in-house BBC Christmas tape, which purported to have
been made by "VT Shift 3". It was very funny, and had many out-takes from
programmes, long before these were popular as TV programmes in their own
right. One such featured Tom Baker as Doctor Who, propped up on the floor
against the Tardis' console. Robot dog K9 trundles in. "What's the situation
? Give me a prognosis,K9 ! " barks Tom. "Insufficient data, master ..." says
K9. "No, you never f**king know when it's important, do you ...?", says Tom
!

In another, taken from Blake's Seven, Servalan is behind a desk, and a bunch
of her black guards come running in, brandishing their storm trooper ray
guns. One of the guys slips on the studio floor, and takes a couple more
with him. They slide straight into a wall, and bring it down on top of
themselves.

At another point, a spoof weather forcast is being given, voice only over
the BBC logo, like they sometimes used to do at night before closedown
(remember closedown ??) It concludes with "And just remember that red sky at
night, simply means that your auto-chroma is out of range ..." It then cuts
to the BBC TV Centre roof, where a very young Bill Giles (weatherman) is
standing holding his jacket collar up, and someone off-camera pouring water
on his head. He stands there and just announces "It's ****ing down out here
...."

Later on, there is a forthcoming-programme voice-only link piece which goes
"Later tonight, the intrepid time lord, Doug Who, has an encounter with the
Shed Elevenites !"

Clearly, this is some kind of meaningless ( to outsiders ) in-house BBC
joke, and at the time you just dismiss it. However, when the 'production'
finally gets to the end, there are about 10 minutes of slow-rolling credits.
Absolutely everybody gets a mention with entries like 'Take away curries
fetched by' , 'Chinagraph pencils sharpened by' , 'VT helical head
maintenance by' and so on. The final credit passes up and off the screen,
leaving a blank raster that persists for perhaps 5 seconds. Then a final
piece of text rolls up the screen, simply saying "Doug Who?". Now that is
priceless !

One of the credits read 'Dancers - The Memorex Head Cloggers' Which I always
thought was a very clever bit of double meaning ( "cloggers" is a slang term
for dancers in the UK, from clog shoes ).

Sadly, this tape disappeared many years ago. I bet some old BBC engineer
somewhere has still got a copy, though. It must be 25 years since I last saw
it, and I would dearly love to see it again. You shouldn't have mentioned
Blake's Seven, Martin. You're never going to shut me up now ...

Arfa

"Wickeddoll" wrote in message
...

"Arfa Daily" ...

"Wickeddoll" ...

snipped
I'm a shameless Anglophile. In fact, at this moment I'm watching
Dangermouse DVDs.

:-)

Natalie, hoping hubby's next base is in England

Well, that would be nice, especially if you like New England weather and
scenery. Have you visited here before ?

Sadly, I haven't been off the North American continent. :-P

I would guess that the liklihood of a posting here has diminished
considerably in recent years, as a number of the Anglo - American bases
have either closed down or been mothballed since the 'end (??)' of the
cold war. To the east of where I live right in the centre, all the way
across to the coast, it is very flat fenland, so good for runways. I guess
that this, coupled with the proximity to the european mainland, is why all
of the bases grew up there in the first place during WW

Yeah. But perhaps we can go to another European base, and have easy
access to Britain. We can dream.

That'd be cool. And now w/the EU, once in at point of entry, no more
passport/customs hassles. And except for the UK which is clinging to its
pounds & pence, no more currency changing, either. Someday I want to take
the Eurostar train from London to Paris - or vice-versa. Or round-trip. ;-)
City center to city center in under 3 hours. Works for me. :-)

If you ever do get to Europe - my advice: go down to the Mediterranean - its
colors are *beautiful* - 3 shades of aqua/turquoise. So-o-o-o soothing to
just look at... I hadn't realized how gorgeous it was going to be (I was in
Nice, & along the coast to Monaco). Rivals Bermuda's waters, & those I've
seen in pics of the Caribbean. I was there in mid-April - sunny, but not
hot - just right (IMO): mid-70's.

If you get to the U.K. - go everywhere you can! Really diverse areas, for a
smallish place. ;-)

Cathy

"Cathy F." wrote in message
...

If you get to the U.K. - go everywhere you can! Really diverse areas, for
a smallish place. ;-)

P.S. And they really *do* say "Ta", & "Thanks, ducks", & Ta, love". ;-)

Cathy

"Cathy F." wrote in message
...

"Cathy F." wrote in message
...

If you get to the U.K. - go everywhere you can! Really diverse areas,
for a smallish place. ;-)

P.S. And they really *do* say "Ta", & "Thanks, ducks", & Ta, love". ;-)

Cathy


And "Thanks me duck" and "cheers luvvy" - And that's in the areas where you
can understand the people ! You should try Tyneside, or Cornwall, or parts
of Liverpool and Norfolk, and the Scots ! Well even I can't understand some
of them, and I'm born and bred here ...

Arfa

"Cathy F." ...

"Wickeddoll"...

"Arfa Daily" ...
snipped
I'm a shameless Anglophile. In fact, at this moment I'm watching
Dangermouse DVDs.

:-)

Natalie, hoping hubby's next base is in England

Well, that would be nice, especially if you like New England weather and
scenery. Have you visited here before ?

Sadly, I haven't been off the North American continent. :-P

I would guess that the liklihood of a posting here has diminished
considerably in recent years, as a number of the Anglo - American bases
have either closed down or been mothballed since the 'end (??)' of the
cold war. To the east of where I live right in the centre, all the way
across to the coast, it is very flat fenland, so good for runways. I
guess that this, coupled with the proximity to the european mainland, is
why all of the bases grew up there in the first place during WW

Yeah. But perhaps we can go to another European base, and have easy
access to Britain. We can dream.

That'd be cool. And now w/the EU, once in at point of entry, no more
passport/customs hassles. And except for the UK which is clinging to its
pounds & pence, no more currency changing, either. Someday I want to take
the Eurostar train from London to Paris - or vice-versa. Or round-trip.
;-) City center to city center in under 3 hours. Works for me. :-)

If you ever do get to Europe - my advice: go down to the Mediterranean -
its colors are *beautiful* - 3 shades of aqua/turquoise. So-o-o-o
soothing to just look at... I hadn't realized how gorgeous it was going
to be (I was in Nice, & along the coast to Monaco). Rivals Bermuda's
waters, & those I've seen in pics of the Caribbean. I was there in
mid-April - sunny, but not hot - just right (IMO): mid-70's.

Well, if we get stationed in Europe, we'll be there for all seasons, but I
doubt there is anyplace in Europe that's more miserably hot than Florida's
climate. Cold doesn't faze me at all - I love it!

If you get to the U.K. - go everywhere you can! Really diverse areas, for
a smallish place. ;-)

Cathy

You're preaching to the converted, toots.

Natalie

"Cathy F." ...

If you get to the U.K. - go everywhere you can! Really diverse areas,
for a smallish place. ;-)

P.S. And they really *do* say "Ta", & "Thanks, ducks", & Ta, love". ;-)

Cathy



Haven't been to Britain, but have certainly chatted online with plenty of
them; enough to know *that* anyway.

:-)

Natalie

"Arfa Daily" ...

"Cathy F." ...

If you get to the U.K. - go everywhere you can! Really diverse areas,
for a smallish place. ;-)

P.S. And they really *do* say "Ta", & "Thanks, ducks", & Ta, love". ;-)

Cathy


And "Thanks me duck" and "cheers luvvy" - And that's in the areas where
you can understand the people ! You should try Tyneside, or Cornwall, or
parts of Liverpool and Norfolk, and the Scots !

Speaking of regional expressions, it's always disconcerting to see what
British TV shows do to portray Americans. It's quite painful (they rarely
have a convincing American "accent"), but even more excruciating is the way
the "Americans" act. I truly hope that's not what the rest of the world
really thinks we're like!

Well even I can't understand some of them, and I'm born and bred here ...

Arfa


LOL that's me with some mid-westerners. Damned cryptic sometimes, doncha
new. New Englanders can lose me when they speak too quickly.

Natalie

"Arfa Daily" wrote in message
...

"Cathy F." wrote in message
...

"Cathy F." wrote in message
...

If you get to the U.K. - go everywhere you can! Really diverse areas,
for a smallish place. ;-)

P.S. And they really *do* say "Ta", & "Thanks, ducks", & Ta, love". ;-)

Cathy


And "Thanks me duck" and "cheers luvvy" -

Yeah, until I went to the UK, I thought that was probably mostly tourist
hype. Nope. :-)

And that's in the areas where you
can understand the people ! You should try Tyneside, or Cornwall, or parts
of Liverpool and Norfolk, and the Scots ! Well even I can't understand
some of them, and I'm born and bred here ...

On the way north from Torquay was in a train carriage w/a man who was going
up to Blackpool - don't know if that's where he was from, but I just did a
lot of nodding of my head & smiling. ;-) Friendly, chatty man, but I
understood maybe 1/4 - 1/3 of what he was saying. I think why I had trouble
understanding him was that he dropped his consonants a lot.

First time I was in Edinburgh... at Waverly Station I asked for "an orange
soda" at the cafeteria. The guy behind the counter kept asking me if I
wanted it still. I had no clue what he was on about. Finally had to ask him
just what he was asking me. (Me: thinking, "Yeah, I still want it!) "Well,
do you want it still or do you want it fizzy?!", he asked. Oh!.... But I
had assumed that by using the word "soda" that he would know I wanted a
carbonated drink... guess not. Had to ask the guys at the hotel's front
desk to repeat themselves a few times, too - didn't always catch it the
first time around.

Was in Cornwall (mostly on the north coast) - no probs there. Other than
"eating weeds" - the super-narrow roads & hedgerows - when the car window
was open. g And in Yorkshire (in the York/Harrogate/Thirsk area) - same
thing. OTOH, the latter - had already read all of James Herriot's/Alf
Wight's books. ;-) And have watched lots of BBC shows on PBS here -
probably helps when listening to the various accents.

Cathy





Arfa

"Wickeddoll" wrote in message
...

"Cathy F." ...
snipped
Well, if we get stationed in Europe, we'll be there for all seasons, but I
doubt there is anyplace in Europe that's more miserably hot than Florida's
climate. Cold doesn't faze me at all - I love it!

I'm not as crazy about the snow (shovel, shovel, shovel...) & cold NE
winters as I used to be, but OTOH I can not *imagine* living in the SE. Way
too hot & humid for moi. And I do like the 4 very distinct seasons here.

If you get to the U.K. - go everywhere you can! Really diverse areas,
for a smallish place. ;-)

Cathy

You're preaching to the converted, toots.

;-)

Cathy

"Wickeddoll" wrote in message
...

"Cathy F." ...

If you get to the U.K. - go everywhere you can! Really diverse areas,
for a smallish place. ;-)

P.S. And they really *do* say "Ta", & "Thanks, ducks", & Ta, love". ;-)

Cathy



Haven't been to Britain, but have certainly chatted online with plenty of
them; enough to know *that* anyway.

:-)

Makes sense. But I first went to the UK in '78 (my sister was doing a
semester of college in London), so didn't have any on-line experience w/
British friends yet.

Cathy


Natalie

"Cathy F." ...

"Wickeddoll" snipped
Well, if we get stationed in Europe, we'll be there for all seasons, but
I doubt there is anyplace in Europe that's more miserably hot than
Florida's climate. Cold doesn't faze me at all - I love it!

I'm not as crazy about the snow (shovel, shovel, shovel...) & cold NE
winters as I used to be, but OTOH I can not *imagine* living in the SE.
Way too hot & humid for moi. And I do like the 4 very distinct seasons
here.

Sure, rub it in.

*snip*

Natalie

"Wickeddoll" wrote in message
...

"Arfa Daily" ...

"Cathy F." ...

If you get to the U.K. - go everywhere you can! Really diverse areas,
for a smallish place. ;-)

P.S. And they really *do* say "Ta", & "Thanks, ducks", & Ta, love". ;-)

Cathy


And "Thanks me duck" and "cheers luvvy" - And that's in the areas where
you can understand the people ! You should try Tyneside, or Cornwall, or
parts of Liverpool and Norfolk, and the Scots !

Speaking of regional expressions, it's always disconcerting to see what
British TV shows do to portray Americans. It's quite painful (they rarely
have a convincing American "accent"), but even more excruciating is the
way the "Americans" act. I truly hope that's not what the rest of the
world really thinks we're like!


Well, that's a bit of an interesting one. I visit America several times a
year, so have a pretty reasonable idea of the way Americans behave when at
home, and I actually think that it *is* pretty much as (over)portrayed,
which is confident, loud, a little brash perhaps, but the thing is, it
doesn't come over that way when you are there, because of the sheer size and
scale of the place, and everything in it. Sort of 'being big, in a big
place', if you will.

However, if you think about it, American TV, and the American people, do
much the same to Brits, in reverse. I bet if you try to imagine a British
person, not having been here, and having only TV as a reference, you come up
with the very conservative stiff upper lip,
plum-in-the-mouth-newsreader-accent Basil Fawlty stereotype. And I'm sure
that many of us probably come across that way when we are in your country.
But if you asked those people about that, like you, they would probably be
horrified that you perceived them in such a way. I guess that also, you are
basing your view of our view of Americans, on TV programmes that are often
made to be, if not full-on comedies, then at least amusing, and that is
where another huge difference between us comes in. These TV programmes often
employ a 'lampooning' style of humour, which appeals to Brits, so the
'archetypal' American that might appear is deliberately 'blown up' into the
brash, loud clown, for just that purpose. Think Fawlty Towers - the Waldorf
Salad episode.

By the same token, British characters may also be overblown to the same
purpose. Again, think The Major or Basil himself, in Fawlty Towers. Whilst
such people do genuinely exist, they are actually a rarity, but many
Americans that I know, expect all British people to be like that, because
they have seen things like Fawlty Towers, and the similarly archetypal
'Brit' that the American TV people put into their comedy shows.

Does any of that make any sense at all ?

Arfa

"Wickeddoll" wrote in message
...

"Cathy F." ...

"Wickeddoll"...

"Arfa Daily" ...
snipped
I'm a shameless Anglophile. In fact, at this moment I'm watching
Dangermouse DVDs.

:-)

Natalie, hoping hubby's next base is in England

Well, that would be nice, especially if you like New England weather
and scenery. Have you visited here before ?

Sadly, I haven't been off the North American continent. :-P

I would guess that the liklihood of a posting here has diminished
considerably in recent years, as a number of the Anglo - American bases
have either closed down or been mothballed since the 'end (??)' of the
cold war. To the east of where I live right in the centre, all the way
across to the coast, it is very flat fenland, so good for runways. I
guess that this, coupled with the proximity to the european mainland, is
why all of the bases grew up there in the first place during WW

Yeah. But perhaps we can go to another European base, and have easy
access to Britain. We can dream.

That'd be cool. And now w/the EU, once in at point of entry, no more
passport/customs hassles. And except for the UK which is clinging to its
pounds & pence, no more currency changing, either. Someday I want to
take the Eurostar train from London to Paris - or vice-versa. Or
round-trip. ;-) City center to city center in under 3 hours. Works for
me. :-)

If you ever do get to Europe - my advice: go down to the Mediterranean -
its colors are *beautiful* - 3 shades of aqua/turquoise. So-o-o-o
soothing to just look at... I hadn't realized how gorgeous it was going
to be (I was in Nice, & along the coast to Monaco). Rivals Bermuda's
waters, & those I've seen in pics of the Caribbean. I was there in
mid-April - sunny, but not hot - just right (IMO): mid-70's.

Well, if we get stationed in Europe, we'll be there for all seasons, but I
doubt there is anyplace in Europe that's more miserably hot than Florida's
climate. Cold doesn't faze me at all - I love it!


Hot we can do. It's just not so miserably humid ... Oh, and most of Europe
has only just heard the words 'air conditioner', so you better be able to do
hot with no relief ! British Summers, when we get a good one, are really
pleasant. Temperature 70 to 80. Clear blue skies. Gentle south westerly
breeze, not too much humidity. Sometimes though, it can be very rainy for
weeks on end. Last year was a good example of that. The weather can be very
variable also. Because it is a relatively small island, a change of wind
direction can alter the temperature by 20 degrees in a day, and it can go
from a bright clear morning to a dull, heavy and overcast afternoon, with
threatening thunderheads, in the space of a couple of hours - bit like
Florida, really !!

Arfa

"Arfa Daily" wrote in message
...

snipped
These TV programmes often
employ a 'lampooning' style of humour, which appeals to Brits, so the
'archetypal' American that might appear is deliberately 'blown up' into
the brash, loud clown, for just that purpose. Think Fawlty Towers - the
Waldorf Salad episode.

Ah, yes.. ;-)

By the same token, British characters may also be overblown to the same
purpose. Again, think The Major or Basil himself, in Fawlty Towers. Whilst
such people do genuinely exist, they are actually a rarity, but many
Americans that I know, expect all British people to be like that, because
they have seen things like Fawlty Towers, and the similarly archetypal
'Brit' that the American TV people put into their comedy shows.

Does any of that make any sense at all ?

Yes. More Jerry Leadbetter's (of Good Neighbors AKA The Good Life) than
Basil's. Hopefully not as many Margo's - or Hyacinth Bucket's -as there are
Barbara Good's. ;-)

Cathy



Arfa

"Arfa Daily" ...

"Wickeddoll" ...

"Cathy F." ...

If you get to the U.K. - go everywhere you can! Really diverse areas,
for a smallish place. ;-)

P.S. And they really *do* say "Ta", & "Thanks, ducks", & Ta, love". ;-)

Cathy


And "Thanks me duck" and "cheers luvvy" - And that's in the areas where
you can understand the people ! You should try Tyneside, or Cornwall, or
parts of Liverpool and Norfolk, and the Scots !

Speaking of regional expressions, it's always disconcerting to see what
British TV shows do to portray Americans. It's quite painful (they
rarely have a convincing American "accent"), but even more excruciating
is the way the "Americans" act. I truly hope that's not what the rest of
the world really thinks we're like!


Well, that's a bit of an interesting one. I visit America several times a
year, so have a pretty reasonable idea of the way Americans behave when at
home, and I actually think that it *is* pretty much as (over)portrayed,
which is confident, loud, a little brash perhaps, but the thing is, it
doesn't come over that way when you are there, because of the sheer size
and scale of the place, and everything in it. Sort of 'being big, in a big
place', if you will.

You're not helping... :-)

However, if you think about it, American TV, and the American people, do
much the same to Brits, in reverse. I bet if you try to imagine a British
person, not having been here, and having only TV as a reference, you come
up with the very conservative stiff upper lip,
plum-in-the-mouth-newsreader-accent Basil Fawlty stereotype. And I'm sure
that many of us probably come across that way when we are in your country.
But if you asked those people about that, like you, they would probably be
horrified that you perceived them in such a way. I guess that also, you
are basing your view of our view of Americans, on TV programmes that are
often made to be, if not full-on comedies, then at least amusing, and that
is where another huge difference between us comes in. These TV programmes
often employ a 'lampooning' style of humour, which appeals to Brits, so
the 'archetypal' American that might appear is deliberately 'blown up'
into the brash, loud clown, for just that purpose. Think Fawlty Towers -
the Waldorf Salad episode.

Right, but even the dramas that have "American" characters seem to go nuts
with the stereotype at times. Such as "Dead Again" (terrible movie, but
Kenneth Branagh did an *excellent* American dialect - Emma Thompson
absolutely sucks at it - both there and in "Primary Colors") When Branagh
was the American character, he was much more aggressive, loutish; absolutely
no class. It was depressing. LOL

By the same token, British characters may also be overblown to the same
purpose. Again, think The Major or Basil himself, in Fawlty Towers. Whilst
such people do genuinely exist, they are actually a rarity, but many
Americans that I know, expect all British people to be like that, because
they have seen things like Fawlty Towers, and the similarly archetypal
'Brit' that the American TV people put into their comedy shows.

Does any of that make any sense at all ?

Arfa


Absolutely. As a black woman, I know all too well that the media in general
tends to overdo any archetype, but I haven't yet seen a subtle American in a
British production. Maybe I've missed some?

Natalie

"Arfa Daily" ...

"Wickeddoll" ...

"Cathy F." ...
snipped
If you ever do get to Europe - my advice: go down to the Mediterranean -
its colors are *beautiful* - 3 shades of aqua/turquoise. So-o-o-o
soothing to just look at... I hadn't realized how gorgeous it was going
to be (I was in Nice, & along the coast to Monaco). Rivals Bermuda's
waters, & those I've seen in pics of the Caribbean. I was there in
mid-April - sunny, but not hot - just right (IMO): mid-70's.

Well, if we get stationed in Europe, we'll be there for all seasons, but
I doubt there is anyplace in Europe that's more miserably hot than
Florida's climate. Cold doesn't faze me at all - I love it!


Hot we can do. It's just not so miserably humid ... Oh, and most of Europe
has only just heard the words 'air conditioner', so you better be able to
do hot with no relief ! British Summers, when we get a good one, are
really pleasant. Temperature 70 to 80. Clear blue skies. Gentle south
westerly breeze, not too much humidity. Sometimes though, it can be very
rainy for weeks on end. Last year was a good example of that. The weather
can be very variable also. Because it is a relatively small island, a
change of wind direction can alter the temperature by 20 degrees in a day,
and it can go from a bright clear morning to a dull, heavy and overcast
afternoon, with threatening thunderheads, in the space of a couple of
hours - bit like Florida, really !!

Arfa



But I also love rain, so that works, too.

I was definitely born into the *wrong* climate.

Natalie

On Sun, 30 Dec 2007 23:39:59 -0500, Wickeddoll wrote:


Er...the Old Man fell off the Mountain. It just couldn't hold up any
longer.

Don't you read the news?

Natalie


Yer kidding, right? I was working in VT at the time.



No, I'm not - are you?

Natalie


Oh, dear, remember I live here! The OMOTM made ALL the newscasts when he
hit the deck.

Too bad...now what does NH use on their quarter?

"Cathy F." wrote in message
...

"Arfa Daily" wrote in message
...

snipped
These TV programmes often
employ a 'lampooning' style of humour, which appeals to Brits, so the
'archetypal' American that might appear is deliberately 'blown up' into
the brash, loud clown, for just that purpose. Think Fawlty Towers - the
Waldorf Salad episode.

Ah, yes.. ;-)

By the same token, British characters may also be overblown to the same
purpose. Again, think The Major or Basil himself, in Fawlty Towers.
Whilst such people do genuinely exist, they are actually a rarity, but
many Americans that I know, expect all British people to be like that,
because they have seen things like Fawlty Towers, and the similarly
archetypal 'Brit' that the American TV people put into their comedy
shows.

Does any of that make any sense at all ?

Yes. More Jerry Leadbetter's (of Good Neighbors AKA The Good Life) than
Basil's. Hopefully not as many Margo's - or Hyacinth Bucket's -as there
are Barbara Good's. ;-)

Cathy


Hyacinth Bucket's show was filmed in and around my town ...

Arfa

On Mon, 31 Dec 2007 06:08:34 +0000, JoeSpareBedroom wrote:


The cops come to your house today. They push their ways past you and
begin
searching your house without a warrant. They don't ask permission to
search. What would be your thoughts on this?


That's just a slight bit different.


No, it's not. You're an idiot. Please kill yourself. Let me know if you
need help.


Here's the problem, since it seems to go right over your head: the
Internet, basically, is a Public utility. If you, or Meathead really has
that much trouble with monitoring, go elsewhere. Get on a private forum.
Rem3ember the old BBS systems?





Yeah, I'd have a problem with that.

I don't have a problem with them monitoring me trying to tell you why
it's not a bad thing.


That last sentence needs to be rewritten when you are sober. 2009, maybe?

Here, let's try so even you can understand. It's not a bad thing. What's
the problem?

On Mon, 31 Dec 2007 06:07:23 +0000, JoeSpareBedroom wrote:

It ain't gonna happen? The U.S. has already found a way to suspend
habeas corpus. You're probably OK with that.


Who cares about Guantanamo?




It has been suspended for citizens living in the 48 mainland states. But,
since you spend your days with a needle in your arm, you don't catch this
sort of news.

Huh? When did this happen? Habeus has NOT been suspended!
You need to cite where it's been 'suspended'. It hasn't. You're confused.

On Mon, 31 Dec 2007 05:30:56 +0000, Eeyore wrote:



"dbu." wrote:

Habeas Corpus is not suspended, goofy.

It is (in the USA) if THEY decide you're a terrorist. No proof required
whatever.

Graham


That's OK. No Problem. Since a LOT of the people they have incarcerated
for terrorism ARE terrorists!

Take the case of Dave Whatever from Austrailia. Wrote a letter to his Mum
saying he would fight, kill and die for the 'cause'. The cause was Jihad.
The tactics of the Muslims is terrorism. They jailed him at Guantanamo,
then moved him to a prison in Austrailia. He was released last week after
6 years.

Should have kept him at Guantanamo...

"Hachiroku ????"
Wickeddoll wrote:


Er...the Old Man fell off the Mountain. It just couldn't hold up any
longer.

Don't you read the news?

Natalie


Yer kidding, right? I was working in VT at the time.



No, I'm not - are you?

Natalie


Oh, dear, remember I live here! The OMOTM made ALL the newscasts when he
hit the deck.

Too bad...now what does NH use on their quarter?



Dunno - he was on their license plates too. (love that plate - still have my
old one from there)

Natalie

"Wickeddoll" wrote in message
...

"Arfa Daily" ...

"Wickeddoll" ...

"Cathy F." ...

If you get to the U.K. - go everywhere you can! Really diverse
areas, for a smallish place. ;-)

P.S. And they really *do* say "Ta", & "Thanks, ducks", & Ta, love".
;-)

Cathy


And "Thanks me duck" and "cheers luvvy" - And that's in the areas where
you can understand the people ! You should try Tyneside, or Cornwall,
or parts of Liverpool and Norfolk, and the Scots !

Speaking of regional expressions, it's always disconcerting to see what
British TV shows do to portray Americans. It's quite painful (they
rarely have a convincing American "accent"), but even more excruciating
is the way the "Americans" act. I truly hope that's not what the rest
of the world really thinks we're like!


Well, that's a bit of an interesting one. I visit America several times a
year, so have a pretty reasonable idea of the way Americans behave when
at home, and I actually think that it *is* pretty much as
(over)portrayed, which is confident, loud, a little brash perhaps, but
the thing is, it doesn't come over that way when you are there, because
of the sheer size and scale of the place, and everything in it. Sort of
'being big, in a big place', if you will.

You're not helping... :-)

However, if you think about it, American TV, and the American people, do
much the same to Brits, in reverse. I bet if you try to imagine a British
person, not having been here, and having only TV as a reference, you come
up with the very conservative stiff upper lip,
plum-in-the-mouth-newsreader-accent Basil Fawlty stereotype. And I'm sure
that many of us probably come across that way when we are in your
country. But if you asked those people about that, like you, they would
probably be horrified that you perceived them in such a way. I guess that
also, you are basing your view of our view of Americans, on TV programmes
that are often made to be, if not full-on comedies, then at least
amusing, and that is where another huge difference between us comes in.
These TV programmes often employ a 'lampooning' style of humour, which
appeals to Brits, so the 'archetypal' American that might appear is
deliberately 'blown up' into the brash, loud clown, for just that
purpose. Think Fawlty Towers - the Waldorf Salad episode.

Right, but even the dramas that have "American" characters seem to go nuts
with the stereotype at times. Such as "Dead Again" (terrible movie, but
Kenneth Branagh did an *excellent* American dialect - Emma Thompson
absolutely sucks at it - both there and in "Primary Colors") When Branagh
was the American character, he was much more aggressive, loutish;
absolutely no class. It was depressing. LOL

By the same token, British characters may also be overblown to the same
purpose. Again, think The Major or Basil himself, in Fawlty Towers.
Whilst such people do genuinely exist, they are actually a rarity, but
many Americans that I know, expect all British people to be like that,
because they have seen things like Fawlty Towers, and the similarly
archetypal 'Brit' that the American TV people put into their comedy
shows.

Does any of that make any sense at all ?

Arfa


Absolutely. As a black woman, I know all too well that the media in
general tends to overdo any archetype, but I haven't yet seen a subtle
American in a British production. Maybe I've missed some?

Natalie
Captain Jack in the latest Doctor Who's, and the spinoff Torchwood, perhaps
? Know what you mean though. It seems that neither of us can get it right. I
too cringe when I see an American actor trying to do a British accent, or
worse a British dialect like east end London. When you consider what a
'global' thing entertainment is, and how closely linked the American and
British film and TV industries are, you would think that they could get it a
bit more right, wouldn't you? Perhaps, of course, we are looking at this
from the wrong angle. Maybe, it is more about expectations than reality. By
that I mean that although America is now the number one long haul holiday
destination in the UK, I still don't know many people besides myself, who go
regularly, or even have *ever* been there, so have no idea of the reality.
I'm willing to bet that the situation is similar there. So a pre-conceived
idea of what an American is like, has grown up here, and likewise, the same
has happened over there about Brits. The TV and film industries then just go
ahead and feed those notions.

Arfa

"Wickeddoll" wrote in message
...

"Arfa Daily" ...

"Wickeddoll" ...

"Cathy F." ...
snipped
If you ever do get to Europe - my advice: go down to the
Mediterranean - its colors are *beautiful* - 3 shades of
aqua/turquoise. So-o-o-o soothing to just look at... I hadn't
realized how gorgeous it was going to be (I was in Nice, & along the
coast to Monaco). Rivals Bermuda's waters, & those I've seen in pics
of the Caribbean. I was there in mid-April - sunny, but not hot - just
right (IMO): mid-70's.

Well, if we get stationed in Europe, we'll be there for all seasons, but
I doubt there is anyplace in Europe that's more miserably hot than
Florida's climate. Cold doesn't faze me at all - I love it!


Hot we can do. It's just not so miserably humid ... Oh, and most of
Europe has only just heard the words 'air conditioner', so you better be
able to do hot with no relief ! British Summers, when we get a good one,
are really pleasant. Temperature 70 to 80. Clear blue skies. Gentle south
westerly breeze, not too much humidity. Sometimes though, it can be very
rainy for weeks on end. Last year was a good example of that. The weather
can be very variable also. Because it is a relatively small island, a
change of wind direction can alter the temperature by 20 degrees in a
day, and it can go from a bright clear morning to a dull, heavy and
overcast afternoon, with threatening thunderheads, in the space of a
couple of hours - bit like Florida, really !!

Arfa



But I also love rain, so that works, too.

I was definitely born into the *wrong* climate.

Natalie

Then jump that plane, and come on over girl ! I reckon we are going to be in
for one of our 'nice' summers, this year ...

Arfa

"Arfa Daily" ...

"Wickeddoll" ...
*snip*
However, if you think about it, American TV, and the American people, do
much the same to Brits, in reverse. I bet if you try to imagine a
British person, not having been here, and having only TV as a reference,
you come up with the very conservative stiff upper lip,
plum-in-the-mouth-newsreader-accent Basil Fawlty stereotype. And I'm
sure that many of us probably come across that way when we are in your
country. But if you asked those people about that, like you, they would
probably be horrified that you perceived them in such a way. I guess
that also, you are basing your view of our view of Americans, on TV
programmes that are often made to be, if not full-on comedies, then at
least amusing, and that is where another huge difference between us
comes in. These TV programmes often employ a 'lampooning' style of
humour, which appeals to Brits, so the 'archetypal' American that might
appear is deliberately 'blown up' into the brash, loud clown, for just
that purpose. Think Fawlty Towers - the Waldorf Salad episode.

Right, but even the dramas that have "American" characters seem to go
nuts with the stereotype at times. Such as "Dead Again" (terrible movie,
but Kenneth Branagh did an *excellent* American dialect - Emma Thompson
absolutely sucks at it - both there and in "Primary Colors") When
Branagh was the American character, he was much more aggressive, loutish;
absolutely no class. It was depressing. LOL

By the same token, British characters may also be overblown to the same
purpose. Again, think The Major or Basil himself, in Fawlty Towers.
Whilst such people do genuinely exist, they are actually a rarity, but
many Americans that I know, expect all British people to be like that,
because they have seen things like Fawlty Towers, and the similarly
archetypal 'Brit' that the American TV people put into their comedy
shows.

Does any of that make any sense at all ?

Arfa


Absolutely. As a black woman, I know all too well that the media in
general tends to overdo any archetype, but I haven't yet seen a subtle
American in a British production. Maybe I've missed some?

Natalie
Captain Jack in the latest Doctor Who's, and the spinoff Torchwood,
perhaps ? Know what you mean though. It seems that neither of us can get
it right. I too cringe when I see an American actor trying to do a British
accent, or worse a British dialect like east end London. When you consider
what a 'global' thing entertainment is, and how closely linked the
American and British film and TV industries are, you would think that they
could get it a bit more right, wouldn't you?

Well, the entertainment industry doesn't like to give its audience much
credit for brains, so they figure we're easily fooled. As for Americans
trying to be Brits, the only one who didn't make me gag was James Marsten on
"Buffy" - there was another faux Brit on that show, but I realized he was a
fake right away. (Alexis Denisof). Brits have said Marsten does a good job,
but mixes regional dialects. A Yank like me would never catch that :-) I
liked Renee Zellwiger's work with the accent too, but again, she probably
didn't get it just right. On the other hand, Drew Barrymore was downright
nauseatingly bad with the Brit accent in "Ever After" though it's still one
of my favorite flicks. I love Drew in just about everything else.

Perhaps, of course, we are looking at this from the wrong angle. Maybe, it
is more about expectations than reality. By that I mean that although
America is now the number one long haul holiday destination in the UK, I
still don't know many people besides myself, who go regularly, or even have
*ever* been there, so have no idea of the reality. I'm willing to bet that
the situation is similar there. So a pre-conceived idea of what an American
is like, has grown up here, and likewise, the same has happened over there
about Brits. The TV and film industries then just go ahead and feed those
notions.

Arfa


See what I wrote above :-)

Natalie

"Arfa Daily" ...

"Wickeddoll" ...
*snip*
Hot we can do. It's just not so miserably humid ... Oh, and most of
Europe has only just heard the words 'air conditioner', so you better be
able to do hot with no relief ! British Summers, when we get a good one,
are really pleasant. Temperature 70 to 80. Clear blue skies. Gentle
south westerly breeze, not too much humidity. Sometimes though, it can
be very rainy for weeks on end. Last year was a good example of that.
The weather can be very variable also. Because it is a relatively small
island, a change of wind direction can alter the temperature by 20
degrees in a day, and it can go from a bright clear morning to a dull,
heavy and overcast afternoon, with threatening thunderheads, in the
space of a couple of hours - bit like Florida, really !!

Arfa



But I also love rain, so that works, too.

I was definitely born into the *wrong* climate.

Natalie

Then jump that plane, and come on over girl ! I reckon we are going to be
in for one of our 'nice' summers, this year ...

Arfa


I would, but this pesky life I have here for the moment...

:-)

Natalie

"Arfa Daily" wrote in message
...

"Cathy F." wrote in message
...

"Arfa Daily" wrote in message
...

Does any of that make any sense at all ?

Yes. More Jerry Leadbetter's (of Good Neighbors AKA The Good Life) than
Basil's. Hopefully not as many Margo's - or Hyacinth Bucket's -as there
are Barbara Good's. ;-)

Cathy


Hyacinth Bucket's show was filmed in and around my town ...

Cool. I once made a pilgrimage of sorts to Surbiton, trying to locate "The
Avenue" - just in case the address was relatively real vs. fictitious.
Found Surbiton w/no problems, but The Avenue... (But we'd lumped it in
w/Hampton Ct. Palace & Windsor Castle/Eton as a day trip, so was a
satisfying day anyway.)

Had much better luck out in Cornwall, plenty of Poldark locations.
Stippy Stappy, the folly at Port Quin, Trerice...

Cathy



Arfa

Wickeddoll wrote:
"Arfa Daily" ...
"Wickeddoll" ...
snippage


Arfa


See what I wrote above :-)

Natalie



Suggest you catch an episode of "House", with Hugh Laurie, OBE on Fox....

jak

"Cathy F." wrote in message
...

"Arfa Daily" wrote in message
...

"Cathy F." wrote in message
...

"Arfa Daily" wrote in message
...

Does any of that make any sense at all ?

Yes. More Jerry Leadbetter's (of Good Neighbors AKA The Good Life) than
Basil's. Hopefully not as many Margo's - or Hyacinth Bucket's -as there
are Barbara Good's. ;-)

Cathy


Hyacinth Bucket's show was filmed in and around my town ...

Cool. I once made a pilgrimage of sorts to Surbiton, trying to locate
"The Avenue" - just in case the address was relatively real vs.
fictitious. Found Surbiton w/no problems, but The Avenue... (But we'd
lumped it in w/Hampton Ct. Palace & Windsor Castle/Eton as a day trip, so
was a satisfying day anyway.)

Had much better luck out in Cornwall, plenty of Poldark locations.
Stippy Stappy, the folly at Port Quin, Trerice...

Cathy


That would be because it wasn't actually filmed in Surbiton. Most of the
location work was done in the town of Northampton, which is in the Midlands,
about 60 miles north of London. As a matter of interest, my younger daughter
lives down there by Hampton Court. She is at Kingston University studying
art. Some really quite famous people have pads down there by the side of the
river. Don't know if he still does, but Mick Jagger had a place down there.
Dave Gilmour from Pink Floyd lives there too, and has a large barge
permanently parked at his bit of waterfront, which contains his personal
recording studio. The boat is called the Astoria, and was originally built
for the famous impressario Fred Karno.


Arfa

"Hachiroku ????" wrote in message
news:aGdfj.11830$cq5.6792@trndny06...
On Mon, 31 Dec 2007 05:30:56 +0000, Eeyore wrote:



"dbu." wrote:

Habeas Corpus is not suspended, goofy.

It is (in the USA) if THEY decide you're a terrorist. No proof required
whatever.

Graham


That's OK. No Problem. Since a LOT of the people they have incarcerated
for terrorism ARE terrorists!

Take the case of Dave Whatever from Austrailia. Wrote a letter to his Mum
saying he would fight, kill and die for the 'cause'. The cause was Jihad.
The tactics of the Muslims is terrorism. They jailed him at Guantanamo,
then moved him to a prison in Austrailia. He was released last week after
6 years.

Should have kept him at Guantanamo...



This is actually a tricky one, where a country has a fundamental principle
of freedom of speech. It's a big step from someone voicing Walter Mitty
delusions of being a terrorist, to actually being one. Just in the last few
weeks, a young girl has been jailed here in the UK under the prevention of
terrorism act, for writing delusional poems about being a terrorist.
Interestingly, she was employed in a shop at Heathrow Airport ... I don't
think that it was a particuarly clever thing to do, but you have to ask
yourself exactly what crime she has committed, in a country where people
supposedly have a right to say what they like, and hold whatever opinions
they like. There is a lot of double standards like this creeping in now. Had
this girl have been a character in a TV show, say, would the writer of that
show have been guilty of the same offence that she was, for coming up with
the poems, writing them down, giving them as a script to a credible actor,
and then getting them broadcast on public television?

There are now huge issues here with voicing any negative opinions in public
about anyone being gay, or about anyone's race or colour or most any other
characteristic, but it is fine to do so as part of a 'make believe'
television production. Why is it so hugely offensive for these people to
have negative comments made about them in reality, but apparently not when
it's done in the TV world of make believe ?

Arresting and incarcerating people for talking like a terrorist, without any
proof that they are actually a terrorist, is drifting towards a dangerous
situation of a totalitarian state, complete with thought police ...

Arfa

"jakdedert" ...
Wickeddoll wrote:
"Arfa Daily" ...
...
snippage


Arfa


See what I wrote above :-)

Natalie

Suggest you catch an episode of "House", with Hugh Laurie, OBE on Fox....

jak

I have - he slips once in a while, but does a good job. I liked him way
better as a moron in the Blackadder series, though. Brilliantly dumb
character, if you know what I mean.

Natalie

Arfa Daily wrote:


Hyacinth Bucket's show was filmed in and around my town ...

You are Richard Bucket and I claim my five pounds!

Ron(UK)

"Ron(UK)" wrote in message
...
Arfa Daily wrote:


Hyacinth Bucket's show was filmed in and around my town ...

You are Richard Bucket and I claim my five pounds!

Ron(UK)

I am not, so you can't have it !!

Arfa

Arfa Daily wrote:
"Ron(UK)" wrote in message
...
Arfa Daily wrote:

Hyacinth Bucket's show was filmed in and around my town ...
You are Richard Bucket and I claim my five pounds!

Ron(UK)

I am not, so you can't have it !!

Arfa



Reeeeeecharrrrddd

On Fri, 04 Jan 2008 01:51:25 +0000, Arfa Daily wrote:


"Hachiroku ????" wrote in message
news:aGdfj.11830$cq5.6792@trndny06...
On Mon, 31 Dec 2007 05:30:56 +0000, Eeyore wrote:



"dbu." wrote:

Habeas Corpus is not suspended, goofy.

It is (in the USA) if THEY decide you're a terrorist. No proof required
whatever.

Graham


That's OK. No Problem. Since a LOT of the people they have incarcerated
for terrorism ARE terrorists!

Take the case of Dave Whatever from Austrailia. Wrote a letter to his
Mum saying he would fight, kill and die for the 'cause'. The cause was
Jihad. The tactics of the Muslims is terrorism. They jailed him at
Guantanamo, then moved him to a prison in Austrailia. He was released
last week after 6 years.

Should have kept him at Guantanamo...



This is actually a tricky one, where a country has a fundamental principle
of freedom of speech. It's a big step from someone voicing Walter Mitty
delusions of being a terrorist, to actually being one. Just in the last
few weeks, a young girl has been jailed here in the UK under the
prevention of terrorism act, for writing delusional poems about being a
terrorist. Interestingly, she was employed in a shop at Heathrow Airport
... I don't think that it was a particuarly clever thing to do, but you
have to ask yourself exactly what crime she has committed, in a country
where people supposedly have a right to say what they like, and hold
whatever opinions they like. There is a lot of double standards like this
creeping in now. Had this girl have been a character in a TV show, say,
would the writer of that show have been guilty of the same offence that
she was, for coming up with the poems, writing them down, giving them as a
script to a credible actor, and then getting them broadcast on public
television?

There are now huge issues here with voicing any negative opinions in
public about anyone being gay, or about anyone's race or colour or most
any other characteristic, but it is fine to do so as part of a 'make
believe' television production. Why is it so hugely offensive for these
people to have negative comments made about them in reality, but
apparently not when it's done in the TV world of make believe ?

Arresting and incarcerating people for talking like a terrorist, without
any proof that they are actually a terrorist, is drifting towards a
dangerous situation of a totalitarian state, complete with thought police
...

Arfa


Hmmmm...this is all very true.

Here in the states people (a few HS/College kids mostly) have been
investigated for writing stories about Columbine-type killings. But not
jailed.

The problem results from not knowing who your enemy is. In wars of old, We
wore one uniform, They wore another. Warfare has changed since Vietnam,
and especially in dealing with the terrorists. Do we err on the side of
Human Rights, and take a chance, or do we err on the side of caution and
jail them in an effort to find out where they really stand?

After 9/11 and July 2005 in the UK, I'm all in favor of sending them to
Guantanamo until their true colors show.

And, as far as 'torture' (waterboarding, sleep deprivation, hypothermia,
etc) it has been borne out that we have in fact been correct so far a lot
more than we have been wrong.

You have to remember that these people kill with NO remorse, by the mere
fact that they will take themselves out with their victims, believing it
is the Will of Allah.