Two events in nature that usually herald the beginning of summer have started already, say researchers looking into reports from the public.

The blossoming of hawthorn and return of migrating swifts - usually in May - have prompted the Woodland Trust to declare "spring is the new summer".

BBC NEWS | UK | 'Spring is new summer' - report

dc0de wrote:

adam wrote:

people go crazy + guns = this

i'm not suggesting recinding the 2nd amendment -- i think that would be a great but it's never gonna happen and even in the unlikely event of it being done too many Americans will never disarm

Well, if we disarm all of the populous, then we'll be just like Britain.

The police don't have weapons, and the criminals do.

The reason I'm never going to disarm, is that it's my right to bear arms, just as it's my right to free speech.

I don't think that the issue here is one of Guns, it is one of a twisted individual, making it his last stand, and taking too many people with him.

Would you say that we should stop using fertilizer and diesel fuel if he had done the same with a bomb?

I realize that this is a tragedy, and my thoughts and prayers go out to those who have lost loved ones. But a knee jerk reaction to remove my right to bear arms is not the answer.

you're missing the minor point I was making

if we disarm all of the populous, then we'll be just like Britain.

things like this virtually don't happen here because people aren't allowed guns
Dunblane happened and we had a law banning hand guns
when people go crazy here they do it with knives or swords
which obviously lessens the body count

the main point I was making however is that disarming America just isn't a viable option whatever the law says because as of now there are just too many guns in circulation and too many people who will never surrender their guns -- it would be more like Prohibition if such legislation was passed

passing legislation restricting guns in the UK is a lot easier because we start from a very different position than u in America

but your point about freedom is spurious
no freedom is absolute
free speech isn't absolute
your right to bear arms isn't absolute

what about nuclear weapons
your government has nuclear weapons
the founding fathers argument was that the population should be armed so it can overthrow the government
but that argument is politely and reasonably ignored now with reference to nuclear weapons

there's a SF novel by Charles Stross called Iron Sunrise in which they have replicator/nano technology and in one of the opening scenes one of the central characters has to go in and negiotiate with a nutter who has a home grown nuclear weapon

re fertilizer apart from Oklahoma u don't have a history of fertilizer bombs
Britain does via the IRA so here if someone buys chemicals in sufficient quantities that could be used to build bombs then flags will go up

when u have more experience of domestic terrorism u might do the same

RE: Virginia Tech Newsrolls

Decius wrote:
There is no sense to be made of this.

people go crazy + guns = this

i'm not suggesting recinding the 2nd amendment -- i think that would be a great but it's never gonna happen and even in the unlikely event of it being done too many Americans will never disarm

as Decius said "There is no sense to be made of this." it's a car wreck or a train wreck
random horror
u can't control it -- rationalise it -- or completely prevent it
sometimes life throws curve balls
so just pray u don't find yourself in the path of the tornado

hold your loved ones closer for a few days -- get up in the morning and carry on

RE: Virginia Tech Newsrolls

A member of Tony Blair's Cabinet on Monday brought out into the open a quiet shift away from the U.S. view on combatting extremist groups, acknowledging that British officials have stopped using the expression "war on terror" favored by President Bush.

Britain reviews phrase 'war on terror' | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

Women civil servants in India have expressed shock at new appraisal rules which require them to reveal details of their menstrual cycles.

unbelievable

BBC NEWS | World | South Asia | Outrage at India menstrual form

The United Nations. Among mainstream American political thinkers, those three words elicit reactions that run the gamut from deep antipathy to less deep antipathy. O.K., I’m overstating the case. Many liberals will go all the way to deep ambivalence, and some venture further.

Making the U.N. Look Good - New York Times

Jesus knew viral marketing.
...
The key distinction is between man and meme.
...
when you’re dealing with terrorists, it’s their memes — their ideas, their attitudes — that are Public Enemy No. 1. Jihadists are hosts for the virus of hatred, and the object of the game is to keep the virus from finding new hosts.

The Internet is fertile ground for memes, and jihadists are good at getting the brand out. One of the few things Osama bin Laden has in common with the Jesus of the Gospels is belief in the power of viral marketing.

The ultimate in viral marketing was Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice. Deemed a threat to the social order, he was crucified under Roman auspices. But the Romans forgot one thing: If you face a small but growing movement that threatens the imperial order, you shouldn’t attack the men in ways that help the memes.

Mr. Bush says his favorite philosopher is Jesus. One way to show it would be to spend less time repeat- ing the mistake of the Romans and more time heeding the wisdom of Christ.

An Easter Sermon - New York Times

The Dutch infantrymen stood on a ridge near the Baluchi Valley, an area in south-central Afghanistan controlled by the Taliban and tribes opposed to the central government.

Whenever they push farther, the soldiers said, they swiftly come under fire from rifles and rocket-propelled grenades. "The whole valley is pretty much hostile," said one, a machine gunner.

But rather than advancing for reconnaissance or to attack, the Dutch soldiers pulled back to a safer village. "We're not here to fight the Taliban," said the Dutch commander, Colonel Hans van Griensven, at a recent staff meeting. "We're here to make the Taliban irrelevant."

i'm not convinced this is the right way to win but since i believe in competition and that competition is an evolutionary process
let's see what works
especially since we need to hold Afghanistan

Dutch soldiers stress restraint in Afghanistan - International Herald Tribune

KenCall is one small reason that Kenya’s economy grew 6 percent last year. Yes, Kenya still has all the ills of other African states — from AIDS to abject poverty. But Kenya also now has a democratically elected government that is learning to get out of the way of Kenya’s entrepreneurs and to get them the bandwidth they need to compete globally. It’s way too early to declare Kenya an economic “African Tiger,” but something is stirring here that bears watching — and KenCall is emblematic of it.

The African Connection - New York Times

The Taliban is on the resurgence, again ruling a swath of southern Afghanistan, and President Hamid Karzai is sure of the reason: Pakistan.

In an interview in his office, Mr. Karzai was scathing in his accusations of official Pakistani duplicity. For starters, he accused the Pakistani intelligence agencies of sheltering Mullah Muhammad Omar, the Taliban leader, in the Pakistani city of Quetta.

The Hand Behind the Taliban - New York Times