Logue 1st MRB

9/10 I'd forgotten about that song

Wasn't the original DoD a mod someone made for half-life? Couldn't DoD '2' be fan made too? :3 Then Valve will buy it up and market it once it sees its popular. (*signed*)

From the UK perspective: -the wikileaks revealed that American diplomats were undertaking information gathering roles that would normally be assigned to the intelligence services. More shocking was that these were aimed at their peers at the UN and Europe and included very low brow gossip mongering. China and Russia are possibly annoyed that US diplomatic cables paint an almost Cold War approach to relations with them behind the current facade of normalcy. This all lays the ground work for everyone over here to get really pissed off when mass internet surveillance and programs specifically targeting European government networks are revealed by Snowden. Basically the current mindset and mechanisms of, what we'll call for the sake of argument, the global American empire, (i.e. western civilization since WW2) have been laid bare. In Europe at least there is going to be lasting effects as there's little pretence left that we're all one big happy family with America. Cue even more people to wonder what we've been doing, fighting wars we can't afford for an ally that treats us as suspiciously as it does China and Russia (and has no qualms about betraying people's trust, for the sake of their own country.) Again, this might all be par for the course in diplomatic and intelligence circles. But being democracies, it is the effect it has on public perceptions and understanding of the world around them that will have the greatest repercussions. All in all, I guess it would all seem pretty arbitrary from an American standpoint, but the knock on effect is going to take place in the sphere of global politics, not questions of legitimacy or torture or internal US affairs. You guys already know you're under surveillance. I wish more than ever that the UK will stay in the EU, so I can rely on the Scandinavian countries and Germany to actually take an interest in my rights and privacy. It's the end of an era and the first time in a long time that we can vote with some level of realistic understanding of what's actually going on beyond what the media offers. Conspiracy nutters have been vindicated, there's not one but multiple big brothers, and some countries are totally fine with that if it serves their own interests, others deal with a populace that still have fresh memories of the Gestapo and Stasi.

That's because they know that most people haven't nor ever will actually investigate what was in these leaks. Can't say whether that's a result of media strategies or just a sign of the times. There's a quote from Yes Minister, what upsets people isn't knowing that there's something wrong going on. It's being told about it.

He exposed a bunch of very questionable practices employed by US diplomats. I can't say whether those practices are actually commonplace or if America's foreign relations have actually been damaged. But for the public, it's most definitely an eye opener. As is the mass surveillance exposed by Snowden. So just for giving us a chance to form a more realistic opinion and perspective within our respective democracies backed up by evidence, they're kind of heroes. So he might be in prison for 11 years but he's got well wishers all over planet earth.

I dunnnooooo They tried to bring back Turtles in Time and that turned out horrible.

I dig the mid-action sled shot and the long exposure street photo what camera and such do you use?

oh wait thats not a sloth let me try again.

Happy birthday 'vicci!

Happy birthday Branem

Happy birthday Penkauskas :')

I wish you could make money by going out into the country side and fighting monsters.

I think the strength of the US democracy is the fact that states can be considerably different and represent a vast spectrum of perspectives under one national roof. Let one state be legal and another straight edge. And Colorado's already lowering profit margins for organised crime, so perhaps having a few legal states is all you need. I know the UK police would love to focus on binge-boozing rather than cannabis, they can't say it out right but they keep trying to press that alcohol is our number one problem. (And by that I don't mean they'd rather deal with a violent, pissing, puking drunk person than someone stoned. Ones obviously a lot easier.

Just going by historical trends and current international opinion, but I get the feeling once this administration is just another chapter in the history books, once more people bother to look for themselves what were in all these leaks, opinions are going to change. What do you think? Will Manning be spending the next 130 years in jail or will things change once we can look back at this with hindsight.

There's multiple rebel groups, it's not a rebel alliance however much they claim it is, when you're dealing with gangs of armed men, an alliance is just a word -and even if only one has links to al-queda I am certain more have fundamentalist/extremist roots so: 1) You have to decide which sub group to arm 2) You need personnel to train them in the use of these weapons 3) You need to protect them from other rebel groups with differing agendas/ideologies. 4) You need some mechanism in place in case, come the end of the war, all these weapon systems appear to have disappeared into private/terrorist arsenals. And what do you do if, despite supplying them with weapons, your side keeps losing? How many of the millions of syrian refugees are your responsibility? Are you going to open your borders and arms to welcome them in? What about the damage to your relations with other countries in the middle east who will probably see this as a direct military action perpetuated in order to increase and cement Israel's controversial territorial claims. Russia of course will feel no compunction in selling the Syrian government whatever it wants if the west is supplying the other side. Civil wars like this are about as far from 'democracy' as you can get, I'm pretty sure what whichever group you eventually do arm won't be the biggest or the one with the most popular support, but it will be the one that is most inoffensive to us in the west -and to Israel next door. As another example of how complicated this all is: Someone is setting bombs off in Turkish border towns. Now there's only one side in this war who would benefit from Turkish intervention and it sure isn't Assad.

'Oh. I saw it mentioned on tv this morning but it means nothing to me. Made up by USA retailers' My dad's reply to me attempting to wish him a happy father's day.

It's spelt Worf for fucks sake.[/nerd] I vote yes to Star Treks and He Man. Disney could bring back Droids. And Gargoyles. David Jason could bring back Open All Hours, he's old enough to be the boss now. And a new Dragon Ball would be nice, though I've always heard that the creator ended up thinking of Z's success as a ball and chain whereas his real love was drawing mecha and zany machinery. Speaking of which, I wish Miyazaki would ditch the supernatural magical gaia bullshit and go back to drawing pigs, tanks, aircraft and Lupin III.

Yeah considering the picture was made by the Chinese and became a viral hit on the sina-net, somemillionbodies over there found it funny. And I think the gag was just how identical the pictures appear to be. Sometimes a cigar is just a penis wrapped in tobacco leaves.

This image has just been banned in China. It can crash on our couch.

Matsumoto tends to be my favourite too. That one punishment game where they lock him up in an empty hotel overnight and just keep scaring him over and over till he's too tired to do anything but fart in response... X)

Notepad: "I use my hair to express myself!" Hairy Thing: "That sounds really boring." Notepad: "...I use my hair to express myself!" I lolled.

I put all this tortellini in my shopping basket because it was on sale, then found that they'd sold out of pesto so I had to go put it BACK ON THE FUCKING SHELF. Fuckers

that's the cutest thing ever