I must apologise for an unannounced extended period of toodle-pippage. Thanks curval,rolex et al for holding the fort while I was gone!
Alcohol isnt the problem. Its how the alohol is used that is the problem. If you drink responcably then Alohol isnt an issue. Just as with anything its the people that are the problem.
Notwithstanding a few typo errors, I agree entirely. And the same thing applies to guns. The danger is not the guns themselves. The danger is not the stupid or drunken people. The danger is stupid or drunken people with guns. The problem is, we cannot legislate stupid people, drunks or criminals out of existence. So what to do? We did the next best thing.
NUKE, you really should have read my earlier post before starting the anti alcohol crusade. I said
ah, the old alcohol debate. Big difference. Some people do drink to excess, and some of those suffer health problems later on. None of which has anything to do with the rights and wrongs of guns. The people who die through alcohol abuse made their own choices. People who get shot by a gun (apart from suicides) generally did not choose to die that way, but had that decision made for them by a criminal. I wouldn't expect Beet to show any respect though.- Mr. Toad
Oh! Miiiiiaaaaooowwwch! That hurt! I hope you were wearing a tie when you typed that!
"one is a tiny broke little island with a tax on tv and $6 a gallon gasoline and crappy weather". - Lazs
The UK is made up of
many separate land masses, ie. not just a single island. In total, it's about the size of Oregon, America's tenth largest state. The economy is the fourth largest in the world, after America, Germany and Japan (not sure of the order of the 2nd & 3rd). The "tax on tv" that you refer to is a licensing fee which goes to the BBC so that they can produce quality programmes, many of which are imported by America to be shown on American TV. The status quo here is highly preferable to US network "free" TV, which bombards the viewer with commercials at every opportunity. I always remember a movie being broadcast by a tv station in Sacramento, in which 8-minute segments of the movie were interspersed with 5-minute commercial breaks, making in
impossible to concentrate on the movie. Thought it was worth mentioning, as Sacramento is only 21 miles from Dixon.
You're right about the price of gasoline and the crappy weather.
now... people from the island country come to the other country to live by the thousands but.... not the other way around.
I've lived in the US myself as you know, and know other Brits who have done the same, some of whom are still there. But what's your point? Are you saying that people are attracted there because they can then have guns? Two of my English friends living in the US have resident alien "green cards" and are entitled to buy guns. Neither has chosen to do that. I refer you to South Africa, where people are giving up gun rights in order to come to Britain. And, to paraphrase what you said earlier, people from South Africa come to Britain to live by the thousands but.... not the other way around.
And... I can go to the mountains or the beach or desert or just about any type of weather or terrain in about a tank of cheap gas...
You got me there. I can get to the mountains of Scotland on a tank of diesel and to Bournemouth beach on ¼ tank of diesel, but alas there is no desert in the UK. The nearest desert area is possibly Spain/Italy - I'd need
two tanks of diesel (and a 35 minute train ride) to get there. And... before you say "that's not desert", let me remind you that the location shots for the "spaghetti westerns" starring your fellow Californian, Clint Eastwood, were filmed in Spain and Italy.
I don't get it, Lazs. One minute you're bragging about how BIG your country is, and in the same thread you then brag about how SMALL it is - that everything is no more than a tank of gas away. What's that in your car - about 90 miles? Even owning guns does not sway the problems in South Africa. The option to not own a gun has no effect on the option to DIE, GET RAPED, GET CAR JACKED, AND GET AIDS. And those are not understatements. They are not moving into the UK because it's better. Actually far from it. They are moving into the UK because it's the easiest. - lasersailor184
How many South Africans do you know? How many have you met? I meet many. You're not wrong about the problems in South Africa. But given the choice of staying there and being able to "enjoy" gun ownership versus coming here, most choose to give up their gun rights to come here. Apparently they feel they might have a better life here. I'm surprised you disagree. In many cases that I know of, they give up quite a lavish lifestyle to come here. I've known people from that region who had houses on three acre plots, pavilions, swimming pools, servants who sold up to come here and live in a much smaller house - because their currency had devalued to such an extent. One guy I worked with couldn't even afford to remain in the south of England, and had to move up north to get an affordable house. Apparently, the gun ownership rights he had in South Africa did not..... 1)make him want to stay in South Africa; 2)convince him that he'd be "safe" if he bought a gun.
Rolex - interesting stats about those deaths. And I read this morning that US fatalities in Iraq have passed the 2000 mark. 
