Profile for Talent in a Previous Life
| Field | Value |
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| Displayed name | Talent in a Previous Life |
| Member number | 3098 |
| Title | This Side Towards Enemy |
| Postcount | 961 |
| Homepage | |
| Registered | Thursday, June 12 2003 07:00 |
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| Author | Recent posts |
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| L'Internationale (1 Mai) in General | |
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This Side Towards Enemy
Member # 3098
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written Tuesday, May 4 2004 08:57
Profile
People are not all peasants. If you do not understand this, you cannot understand the Russian Revolution or indeed Marxism. Indeed, one might argue that it was the peasantry who crushed the Paris Commune or at least that they were used for such a purpose by the bourgeoisie. -------------------- "I particularly like the part where he claims not to know what self-aggrandisement means, then demands more wing-wongs up his virgin ass" Posts: 961 | Registered: Thursday, June 12 2003 07:00 |
| Koala Cull in General | |
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This Side Towards Enemy
Member # 3098
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written Tuesday, May 4 2004 08:47
Profile
I think you'd find the typical shooter does care about animal lives. Certainly, all the shoots I've been on do conservation work. There's obviously a degree of self-interest here (not so much numbers, as they breed their own, the issue is relations with the public) but that doesn't explain it all. To give an example, the major shooting association in Britain is the BASC, the British Association for Shooting and Conservation. There are also basic rules of thumb which are just reasonable humanity, such as not going for obscenely difficult shots (you don't want the animal wandering off to slowly bleed to death) and killing any deer you may find that have been hit by cars. However, I wouldn't argue that maintaining life is always a good thing. In fact, speaking as a predator, I'd feel no moral compunction about killing an animal not raising young with a clean shot, provided this wasn't done on a big enough scale to cause a change in the ecosystem. I view myself as essentially a smarter animal and as such don't feel compelled to treat animals as if I am a higher being. Merely a being which may have a few advantages of mind and technology. Screwing up the enviroment is bad for me but everything dies sooner or later so I don't feel that in moderation it's a heinous crime to occasionally kill an animal. -------------------- "I particularly like the part where he claims not to know what self-aggrandisement means, then demands more wing-wongs up his virgin ass" Posts: 961 | Registered: Thursday, June 12 2003 07:00 |
| Over my rather deceased cadaver. Rrrrrrr. in General | |
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This Side Towards Enemy
Member # 3098
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written Tuesday, May 4 2004 08:27
Profile
There is no worse thing than an unchangeable mode of governance. And having self-belief doesn't make you any less of a jagot. -------------------- "I particularly like the part where he claims not to know what self-aggrandisement means, then demands more wing-wongs up his virgin ass" Posts: 961 | Registered: Thursday, June 12 2003 07:00 |
| Happy Beltane! in General | |
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This Side Towards Enemy
Member # 3098
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written Tuesday, May 4 2004 08:21
Profile
FBM, you were wrong about the grammatical point. AM seems to be proving himself to be eloquent and well educated. You're a snotty 14 year old with a serious case of arrogant stupidity. There are a few Jews in the Bush administration. That doesn't mean anything. There were more than a few Jews in the Soviet governments of the 1920s, and millions of Jews still died then. The actual rationale is much more connected with a. the fundamentalist Christian lobby who believe a lot of very weird things, one of the main bits of which is that eventually Russia will declare war on Israel as part of the countdown to armageddon and all the Jews there will convert to Christianity, therefore allowing Jesus to tick another box off on his clipboard on the way to his return and b. The long-standing alliance with Israel due to Cold War geo-politics. One can also argue for various cultural motives. Either way, religion has an impact and does bring unity amongst one grouping or another. In conclusion, you should learn to spot your own ignorance and not coincidentally, should never be allowed to reproduce. I would make the case for anarchy but I tend to believe that the current social structure makes it impossible to create unless civilisation collapses, the impact of which would be more devastating than I think I'd be able to justify. Maybe in 50 years time an attempt could be made. Even if I did believe it was possible, I don't want to make the case only to have it shot down by the infallible argument from the obvious sources (you ought to know who you are and if you don't, that's why I hate you) that "Anarchy doesn't work. Everybody knows that. I rub myself over my monitor screen liberally." -------------------- "I particularly like the part where he claims not to know what self-aggrandisement means, then demands more wing-wongs up his virgin ass" Posts: 961 | Registered: Thursday, June 12 2003 07:00 |
| Koala Cull in General | |
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This Side Towards Enemy
Member # 3098
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written Monday, May 3 2004 03:02
Profile
Thunvael, why does it matter if those performing the cull treat it as sport? To be allowed to participate, a high degree of competence and responsibility would still be required and it's surely better if people get the sport there than killing the koalas for no good reason whatsoever. Hunting quotas resemble a much reduced yearly cull and combining these with sport provide revenue to protect the environment. Obviously, a degree of oversight is necessary, but by and large those who hunt have no wish to kill every animal on the planet. -------------------- "I particularly like the part where he claims not to know what self-aggrandisement means, then demands more wing-wongs up his virgin ass" Posts: 961 | Registered: Thursday, June 12 2003 07:00 |
| Over my rather deceased cadaver. Rrrrrrr. in General | |
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This Side Towards Enemy
Member # 3098
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written Saturday, May 1 2004 06:11
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1. This is Britain. De jure, if not de facto, Bush does not rule here. 2. ID cards won't stop another 9/11. It's perfectly possible to get in legally and then commit a terrorist atrocity. 3. I find myself wishing I had your address. 4. And a lump of two by four. 5. Also patience. Alec, we don't kill people just because we disagree with them. We just fantasise about it a little. As a nation, the French could probably be characterised as xenophobic and arrogant. Unfortunately, here our national sport seems to be destroying our own greenhouses. -------------------- "I particularly like the part where he claims not to know what self-aggrandisement means, then demands more wing-wongs up his virgin ass" Posts: 961 | Registered: Thursday, June 12 2003 07:00 |
| Koala Cull in General | |
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This Side Towards Enemy
Member # 3098
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written Saturday, May 1 2004 06:04
Profile
quote:Part of the problem is people don't stop to think. I can understand Stughalf's objection, although I disagree on the basis that I am a human and therefore am meant to value humans more than other lifeforms (or we'd be extinct) and I can't understand koalas. However, if your view is just 'but they're so sweet', I wouldn't waste a bullet on you. Bayonet in stomach, twist, pull out. Besides, speaking personally, if I was to die before my time, I'd want it to be a bullet in the head unexpectedly than slowly starving to death and taking most of the ecosystem with me. -------------------- "I particularly like the part where he claims not to know what self-aggrandisement means, then demands more wing-wongs up his virgin ass" Posts: 961 | Registered: Thursday, June 12 2003 07:00 |
| Happy Beltane! in General | |
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This Side Towards Enemy
Member # 3098
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written Saturday, May 1 2004 05:57
Profile
I don't object to plenty of the aims of paganism but I do find the religious element bloody stupid. Good god, the concept of atheism was developed by the Greeks partly because their pantheon was so unconvincing and they had one of the less mind-numbingly silly ones. Hell, the only reason Christianity holds up is that Europe's best scholars spent a millenium trying to interpet different bits of tradition so they made some modicum of sense and din't contradict each other too much. Aside from that paganism now isn't much like ancient paganism. Ancient paganism didn't have the concept of all pantheons being aspects of the same set of god (although there's a credible theory that all the gods worshipped by Indo-European tribes fall into three groups, they considered merely that their gods were the gods of their tribe) was frequently not based around a mother goddess (quite the opposite if the number of gods with huge phalli is anything to go by) and essentially evolved because stories get corrupted with an oral history and because to be blunt the people were ignorant. Modern paganism is just the work of moronic Victorian civil servants. -------------------- "I particularly like the part where he claims not to know what self-aggrandisement means, then demands more wing-wongs up his virgin ass" Posts: 961 | Registered: Thursday, June 12 2003 07:00 |
| *bangs head on desk* in General | |
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This Side Towards Enemy
Member # 3098
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written Thursday, April 29 2004 08:31
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I didn't flame David for his post. I can't promise I'll be able to keep this up. -------------------- "I particularly like the part where he claims not to know what self-aggrandisement means, then demands more wing-wongs up his virgin ass" Posts: 961 | Registered: Thursday, June 12 2003 07:00 |
| Over my rather deceased cadaver. Rrrrrrr. in General | |
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This Side Towards Enemy
Member # 3098
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written Wednesday, April 28 2004 12:52
Profile
FBM, you completely misreported that and the BBC actually reported it when the story originally appeared about six months ago and sank without a trace, only for another complaint to be made. They weren't in fact immigrants since they'd got permission. The problem was that the permission had perhaps been granted without proper checks. As an aside, do you belong to the 'xenophobic at all costs' wing of the Tory party or the 'prepared to accept a Polish plumber so long as we accept they are an always will be subhuman' wing? PantherShadow, I might believe that ID cards prove Revelations if 1. John of Patmos had a credible chance of passing a breathalyser or a drugs test 2. If the Christian world hadn't already decided that the world would end in around 50AD, 100AD, 1000AD, 1033AD and in the case of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1492AD. 3. You could come up with sources other than cheap novels. 4. If I lobotomised myself. 5. If the things mentioned previous to the Mark of the Beast in that book had all happened 6. If it were remotely credible that what amounts to little more than a combination of a passport and a security device for the government is a sign of the Apocalypse. David Blunkett may be a heavy-handed moron, but he's not the Antichrist. -------------------- "I particularly like the part where he claims not to know what self-aggrandisement means, then demands more wing-wongs up his virgin ass" Posts: 961 | Registered: Thursday, June 12 2003 07:00 |
| Spiritual Guidance Needed! in General | |
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This Side Towards Enemy
Member # 3098
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written Wednesday, April 28 2004 12:39
Profile
They tend to be awfully busy. Try the nunnery instead  -------------------- "I particularly like the part where he claims not to know what self-aggrandisement means, then demands more wing-wongs up his virgin ass" Posts: 961 | Registered: Thursday, June 12 2003 07:00 |
| Age in General | |
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This Side Towards Enemy
Member # 3098
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written Wednesday, April 28 2004 12:31
Profile
When I work out which is the quickest train route to Cambridge, you know I'll be there abusing you in a non-huggly fashion. Get your locks changed. I'm 17. -------------------- "I particularly like the part where he claims not to know what self-aggrandisement means, then demands more wing-wongs up his virgin ass" Posts: 961 | Registered: Thursday, June 12 2003 07:00 |
| Spam in the Can in General | |
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This Side Towards Enemy
Member # 3098
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written Wednesday, April 28 2004 12:23
Profile
Checking for spyware can also be an aid to reducing the amount of spam you get. -------------------- "I particularly like the part where he claims not to know what self-aggrandisement means, then demands more wing-wongs up his virgin ass" Posts: 961 | Registered: Thursday, June 12 2003 07:00 |
| Quick Question in General | |
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This Side Towards Enemy
Member # 3098
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written Sunday, April 25 2004 12:07
Profile
Is Rowen talking about Kraftwerk or something rather more obscure? -------------------- "I particularly like the part where he claims not to know what self-aggrandisement means, then demands more wing-wongs up his virgin ass" Posts: 961 | Registered: Thursday, June 12 2003 07:00 |
| Over my rather deceased cadaver. Rrrrrrr. in General | |
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This Side Towards Enemy
Member # 3098
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written Sunday, April 25 2004 12:04
Profile
You're trying to argue two sides of the same argument and seemingly viewing things through the bias of your political viewpoint. Certainly the BBC went too far in bending over backward after the Hutton travesty, but much of the corporation is very angry at the management for that and previously it was rather more anti-government. If you could give an example of a scandal on ITV the BBC did not report (which was proved to be true rather than just an unconfirmed rumour that'd help your case.) For my own edification, it'd also be nice if you could provide me with an example of ITV News actually having any proper news. -------------------- "I particularly like the part where he claims not to know what self-aggrandisement means, then demands more wing-wongs up his virgin ass" Posts: 961 | Registered: Thursday, June 12 2003 07:00 |
| I have AUD$3.87 to my name in General | |
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This Side Towards Enemy
Member # 3098
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written Saturday, April 24 2004 11:52
Profile
FBM, if you're that poorly off then you should stop whining immediately because you won't pay fees. It's not until your parent(s) earn at least £32000 that you have to pay the full fee. -------------------- "I particularly like the part where he claims not to know what self-aggrandisement means, then demands more wing-wongs up his virgin ass" Posts: 961 | Registered: Thursday, June 12 2003 07:00 |
| Over my rather deceased cadaver. Rrrrrrr. in General | |
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This Side Towards Enemy
Member # 3098
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written Saturday, April 24 2004 11:47
Profile
I shan't get one until they're compulsory and even then I won't carry mine. However, you don't have to produce them on demand. At present the idea is that you'll have to produce them at a police station within a certain time period. Of course, given Blunkett's authoritarian lunatic tendencies, this might change but I doubt it because we have few enough police anyway without them having to arrest me and a couple of million other stubborn liberals. Of course, we still haven't got a proper Freedom of Information Act. And FBM, why is the BBC so biased? Do you refer to this issue in particular or is this the eternal right-wing paranoid fantasy of the BBC as Fourth International? -------------------- "I particularly like the part where he claims not to know what self-aggrandisement means, then demands more wing-wongs up his virgin ass" Posts: 961 | Registered: Thursday, June 12 2003 07:00 |
| Ethnic Minority Scapegoats in General | |
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This Side Towards Enemy
Member # 3098
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written Saturday, April 24 2004 11:39
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Sure, but China then stagnated because tradition got the upper hand against mercantilism and innovation, so it became inward looking. -------------------- "I particularly like the part where he claims not to know what self-aggrandisement means, then demands more wing-wongs up his virgin ass" Posts: 961 | Registered: Thursday, June 12 2003 07:00 |
| What movies made a big impression on you? in General | |
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This Side Towards Enemy
Member # 3098
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written Wednesday, April 21 2004 07:44
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All Quiet on the Western Front and Shawshank Redemption very obviously belong on this list and I'd also include LA Confidential. -------------------- "I particularly like the part where he claims not to know what self-aggrandisement means, then demands more wing-wongs up his virgin ass" Posts: 961 | Registered: Thursday, June 12 2003 07:00 |
| RP: For The Sun And Crown in General | |
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This Side Towards Enemy
Member # 3098
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written Tuesday, April 20 2004 10:10
Profile
This is using my draft map of the empire, right? Would you like me to tidy it up and post it somewhere? Obviously it only has the four main continents, so you might want to stick Doston, Rath and the Furies on as well. I control the Earldoms of Ostergrunden and Hellmund. These regions are situated in northeastern Aizo between the gulf of Grunden in north Aizo and the Isthmian gulf separating Aizo and Pralgad. These regions are temperate, heavily forested and a little mountainous in the interior, although the coastal regions are fertile enough to give the Earldoms a large grain surplus. There are large iron deposits in the mountains of northern Hellmund and tin is to be found on the southwestern border of the territories. The mountains are also one of the empire's major suppliers of fur and amber is to be found on islands in the Gulf of Grunden controlled by the Earldoms. There are ports all along the shores, although the major ports for transport to Vantanas and on to Doston are off to the east in Pralgad. Rather, the ports here allow the dangerous overland routes to be avoided. Due in part to their unpromising situation, the merchants of the area are wide-ranging and resourceful. Naturally, this has a knock-on effect on shipping. Rather than galleys however, longships and cogs are the order of the day. This is partly because the merchants are numerous rather than rich and partly because the inhabitants are known as much much for piracy and raiding as for trade. Much of the forces of the Earldom are primarily equipped for this use. They do not sport the heavy armour of other areas but leather reinforced with scraps of chainmail and metal helmets. The raiders are known for their double-handed axes although in pitched battle most are more likely to abandon these for spears for better use in the shield wall. Ostergrunden is known for bowmen. The combination of the two Earldoms substantially aided the military of both. Muskets have not found use in this area, the frequent rain and greater expense often making them useless. Politically, the two Earldoms were united three generations ago by marriage. However, much of their territory was acquired by the conquest of the other petty kingdoms of the areas. The position of Earl is hereditary, although succession is horizontal rather than vertical. Otherwise, the expansion of the past century left no other feudal titles still occupied. Instead the land and title are given to an individual for the duration of his life. Therefore whilst an estate may be held by one noble, his heir only inherits if the Earl gives approval. Those perceived to be unsuitable or incompetent will not inherit those lands and often even if the Earl bestows a title upon the candidate it may be a different estate to avoid the idea of hereditary ownership arising. It is entirely possible for a peasant to rise to royal notice due to distinction in military affairs and receive an estate. There is no enforced serfdom, although permanent tenancy in exchange for a labour is a common agreement. In the cities, there is some local democracy although the mayors have yet to find a united voice and society remains too agrarian and rural for them to be a major force. Ostergrunden and Hellmund has only risen to prominence recently and historically it is the more urbane south of Aizo which has prospered. However, with a high growth rate, strength in arms and a free meritocratic society the Earldoms appear poised to step onto the world stage. [ Tuesday, April 20, 2004 11:08: Message edited by: The Articulated Ronald Dominator ] -------------------- "I particularly like the part where he claims not to know what self-aggrandisement means, then demands more wing-wongs up his virgin ass" Posts: 961 | Registered: Thursday, June 12 2003 07:00 |
| Turns out.... in General | |
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This Side Towards Enemy
Member # 3098
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written Tuesday, April 20 2004 09:31
Profile
I once read a trilogy which I think was authored by Weis and Hickman. The Darksword trilogy. Put me off reading fantasy for a couple of years. Appalling. -------------------- "I particularly like the part where he claims not to know what self-aggrandisement means, then demands more wing-wongs up his virgin ass" Posts: 961 | Registered: Thursday, June 12 2003 07:00 |
| I have AUD$3.87 to my name in General | |
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This Side Towards Enemy
Member # 3098
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written Monday, April 19 2004 09:26
Profile
If I was a year younger I'd be facing fees of £3000 a year payable after graduation. As it is, it'll be about £1100 each year up-front. Unfortunately, the government don't appear to have realised that their plan to get more money for universities is still nowhere near covering the shortfall in university finances and won't even begin to start paying dividends until 2009. Still, thanks to grandparents who've avoided spending money for the past half-century and stuck it in a savings account for myself and siblings and the fact that I don't spend much money, I don't consider my finances to be tight enough for me to need a job right now. Alec, I reiterate my warning that rohypnol only works on a first date, a relationship cannot be built on it. -------------------- "I particularly like the part where he claims not to know what self-aggrandisement means, then demands more wing-wongs up his virgin ass" Posts: 961 | Registered: Thursday, June 12 2003 07:00 |
| Tell of your favorite plot twist in a game *spoiler* in General | |
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This Side Towards Enemy
Member # 3098
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written Sunday, April 18 2004 06:44
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I didn't find the twist in Thief 2 surprising since at the time I hadn't played Thief. Alec, check the events folder. The secession of the Confederacy is probably a pre-set event. -------------------- "I particularly like the part where he claims not to know what self-aggrandisement means, then demands more wing-wongs up his virgin ass" Posts: 961 | Registered: Thursday, June 12 2003 07:00 |
| Empress Prazac's Reign in Blades of Avernum | |
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This Side Towards Enemy
Member # 3098
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written Monday, March 29 2004 07:23
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In a slith fort in A1 there's a book about Valorim. It says that Valorim was completely settled under the reign of the Hawthornes (I forget which one.) So it can't have been Stewart who did that. -------------------- The Empire Always Loses: Never Proved to Be a Contributory Factor to Stomach Cancer Posts: 961 | Registered: Thursday, June 12 2003 07:00 |
| Join my forum...please in General | |
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This Side Towards Enemy
Member # 3098
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written Friday, March 26 2004 08:26
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Just to clarify, when you say it's supposed to be a 'general board' you mean you decided you needed a message board to gratify your ego and couldn't think of anything even approaching a valid reason for it to exist? Any spin-off forum which only exists because people are too bigoted or uninformed to use an Instant Messenger program doesn't have a chance of lasting more than a few months. -------------------- "I particularly like the part where he claims not to know what self-aggrandisement means, then demands more wing-wongs up his virgin ass" Posts: 961 | Registered: Thursday, June 12 2003 07:00 |