British Reparations

[CyberNerd]

obligatory alien quote:
"I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure. "

[andy]

yes but besides the Roads, Coinage, Wine, Swimming Pools, Central Heating what did the romans ever do for us?

Gotta love Adam Hart-Davis

Andy

[Golfpapa1]

[See..I should have kept quiet, now its gone and tainted the jolly clown image of me that everyone had !

Not at all......I still think you're a clown :reindeer:

[russdev]

First you have to look at the war for example in ww1/ww2 people were forced to go to war so average joe solders where just as innocent.

But look at other wars say iraq solders are there by choice. When it comes to it war should be last choice after every other road has been travelled. But these days our leaders are very keen to take us to war at drop of a hat.

Russ

[Grommit]

I am proud of my Country, I am proud of the Empire we once had... and I am proud of what we bought to the planet..

English is the worlds official language and I am English

Yes there were some stupid mistakes along the way but over all what was done was right at the time.. which country forced the abolution of Slavery ? Britain..! etc..

God save the Queen!

[russdev]

English is the worlds official language and I am English

But English is about only 4th in list of languages people speak as a native language.

Russ

[GrumbleDook]

Like I say though, I am different in that view to most others, and I understand thats it not a very "correct" view.

I have worried about replying to this thread because I am a pacifist (as in I do not believe in violence ... the use of physical force to achieve things that can obtain by other mean) who did serve in the army (I wasn't being a hypocrit ... I joined in a capacity to serve and to see that the use of force was not abused)

Jake, without sounding melodramatic, would you still feel that way if you had held a loaded rifle aimed at someone and had to make the decision to shoot, or had to order others to shoot? What happens if this is on mainland UK and you are not sure whether it is someone from the local area and just want to pop onto the base to poach ... whether it is a trainee who has been out on the lash and is sneaking back in ... or whether it is someone attempting to plant a device near a secure data centre to try and do as much damage to the running of the army as possible?

PTSD is a serious issue and the moral make-up of most people stop them from doing silly things ... but to actually know that you have killed someone is different to thinking "it's them or us!" and unless you have had to make that choice I don't think you can truly know how hard it is.

[Grommit]

English is the worlds official language and I am English

But English is about only 4th in list of languages people speak as a native language.

Russ

Yep it might be the 4th First Language but it's the 1st Second Language

Modern English is sometimes described as the world lingua franca.

English is the dominant international language in communications, science, business, aviation, entertainment, and diplomacy and also on the Internet. It has been one of the official languages of the United Nations since its founding in 1945 and is considered by many to be on its way to becoming the world's first universal language.

The influence of the British Empire is the primary reason for the language's initial spread far beyond the British Isles.

1. Mandarin 885 million speakers
2. Spanish 332 million speakers
3. English 322 million speakers
4. Bengali 189 million speakers
5. Hindi 182 million speakers
6. Portuguese 170 million speakers
6. Russian 170 million speakers
8. Japanese 125 million speakers
9. German 98 million speakers
10. Wu 77 million speakers

[CyberNerd]

3. English 322 million speakers

That can't be right, the population of US is approx 300Million, + uk 60Million + autralia, canada etc

[beeswax]

3. English 322 million speakers

That can't be right, the population of US is approx 300Million, + uk 60Million + autralia, canada etc

Ah, but the first language for almost half Americans is now Spanish.

[localzuk]

That can't be right, the population of US is approx 300Million, + uk 60Million + autralia, canada etc

Ah, but the first language for almost half Americans is now Spanish.[/quote]

Have you got any sources for that? I find that quite interesting!

[Grommit]

That can't be right, the population of US is approx 300Million, + uk 60Million + autralia, canada etc

Ah, but the first language for almost half Americans is now Spanish.

Have you got any sources for that? I find that quite interesting![/quote]

Ke ?

[Jake]

Jake, without sounding melodramatic, would you still feel that way if you had held a loaded rifle aimed at someone and had to make the decision to shoot, or had to order others to shoot? What happens if this is on mainland UK and you are not sure whether it is someone from the local area and just want to pop onto the base to poach ... whether it is a trainee who has been out on the lash and is sneaking back in ... or whether it is someone attempting to plant a device near a secure data centre to try and do as much damage to the running of the army as possible?

PTSD is a serious issue and the moral make-up of most people stop them from doing silly things ... but to actually know that you have killed someone is different to thinking "it's them or us!" and unless you have had to make that choice I don't think you can truly know how hard it is.

Well to be honest, thats a pretty pointless question to ask me. I have no idea if I could pull the trigger, until its a situation I am actually in. I would like to think I could pull the trigger, but that doesnt mean I would when actually stood in that position. I could say yes, I could say no, but both answers would be meaningless because its impossible to predict how I would actually act in that moment. The guy I work with spent years in the army as well, but he never had to actually pull a trigger and shoot someone dead, I expect I could ask him the same question, and even though he has been in the army he most likely couldnt answer with 100% assuredness.

All I can say is that I would *hope* I could, I have an ability which some friends of mine detest in me, and some , in certain situations, are envious of in me. I am able to totally switch off any emotions at all, literally I turn completely cold. Of course, I have never been on a battlefield, so I have no idea if it would work in that situation, but certainly in the event of the death of a family member I am able to feel no grief whatsoever by simply sticking it in "cold storage".

Its difficult to describe without spending a few years getting to know me, mostly I am insanely jovial and clownlike, but my closest friends who have known me for decades insist that the look in my eyes gives them shivers at times. One friend of mine who I've known since we were 7 describes looking into my eyes at times as looking at "evil". Mind you, thats usually after we have been down the pub

Could I pull a trigger? I dont know...Al Capone once said every man was a virgin until he had taken another mans life. /shrug

It should be said that I am in no way a pacifist, I believe in capital punishment and am a firm believer in an eye for an eye. My clowning is my balance, if it werent for that, I would probably be a serial killer by now.

Anyway, difficult question to answer, I guess the most honest answer to the question of whether I would still feel that way if I was stood there holding the gun, is... I dont know, I have no way of knowing that until it happens.

[Geoff]

Ah, but the first language for almost half Americans is now Spanish.

Have you got any sources for that? I find that quite interesting!

CIA factbook can help you out here.

https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications...us.html#People

[localzuk]

Erm... The CIA fact book says 'English 82.1%, Spanish 10.7%'...