The all new and only slightly recycled off topic thread (read post 1)

Podge_irl

The 9ers game clock management is going to make me throw my computer out the window.

Buer

As it was completely off topic in the Ulster thread, the phrase "Cheese eating surrender monkeys" got me to thinking (had to happen eventually). It's fairly well known that it's just a joke in Europe and not true whatsoever but having spoken to a few Americans previously, this opinion/ignorance actually prevails and some truly believe the French are a people who waved the white flag instantly.

The whole French role in WW1 is completely glossed over and the impact it had on the nation. 15% of the French population either died or wounded in that war. I've always found that statistic pretty horrific.

Kiwi_knock

Buer wrote: »

As it was completely off topic in the Ulster thread, the phrase "Cheese eating surrender monkeys" got me to thinking (had to happen eventually). It's fairly well known that it's just a joke in Europe and not true whatsoever but having spoken to a few Americans previously, this opinion/ignorance actually prevails and some truly believe the French are a people who waved the white flag instantly.

The whole French role in WW1 is completely glossed over and the impact it had on the nation. 15% of the French population either died or wounded in that war. I've always found that statistic pretty horrific.

That sentiment about the French really re-emerged after 9/11 when France did not support the Iraq war. Had the whole thing of French fries being renamed Freedom Fries. I talked to a fair few Americans who see the French as spineless for not supporting the invasion. Really is ridiculous.

Podge_irl

Kiwi_knock wrote: »

That sentiment about the French really re-emerged after 9/11 when France did not support the Iraq war. Had the whole thing of French fries being renamed Freedom Fries. I talked to a fair few Americans who see the French as spineless for not supporting the invasion. Really is ridiculous.

Of course the irony of mocking someone for exercising their freedom seemed to completely pass most of them by.

http://www.cracked.com/article_18409_the-5-most-statistically-full-****-national-stereotypes.html

Swiwi.

Buer wrote: »

As it was completely off topic in the Ulster thread, the phrase "Cheese eating surrender monkeys" got me to thinking (had to happen eventually). It's fairly well known that it's just a joke in Europe and not true whatsoever but having spoken to a few Americans previously, this opinion/ignorance actually prevails and some truly believe the French are a people who waved the white flag instantly.

The whole French role in WW1 is completely glossed over and the impact it had on the nation. 15% of the French population either died or wounded in that war. I've always found that statistic pretty horrific.

Yeah, the French literally bled a lot for the cause in WWI, but generally prefer not to talk about WWII, unless it's in relation to the Resistance. I lived in Vichy for a while, and you certainly wouldn't want to raise WWII as a topic of conversation there...

P_1

Buer wrote: »

As it was completely off topic in the Ulster thread, the phrase "Cheese eating surrender monkeys" got me to thinking (had to happen eventually). It's fairly well known that it's just a joke in Europe and not true whatsoever but having spoken to a few Americans previously, this opinion/ignorance actually prevails and some truly believe the French are a people who waved the white flag instantly.

The whole French role in WW1 is completely glossed over and the impact it had on the nation. 15% of the French population either died or wounded in that war. I've always found that statistic pretty horrific.

Unfortunately you'll always find people who would believe any lazy stereotype that is presented to them.

CatFromHue

Most people don't know a huge amount about WW1 so that's a factor too.

Teferi

I went to a rookie day at an American Football team yesterday up in Lucan - have to be honest, I really enjoyed it. Training/games seem to be on a Sunday so it doesn't interrupt my rugby. I might stick with it, initial costs seem to be a bit expensive though.

P_1

Teferi wrote: »

I went to a rookie day at an American Football team yesterday up in Lucan - have to be honest, I really enjoyed it. Training/games seem to be on a Sunday so it doesn't interrupt my rugby. I might stick with it, initial costs seem to be a bit expensive though.

It is pretty pricey to get started up alright, especially for the helmet and pads. Insurance/ambulance subs bump the cost up a bit too

Teferi

P_1 wrote: »

It is pretty pricey to get started up alright, especially for the helmet and pads. Insurance/ambulance subs bump the cost up a bit too

The subs are actually a similar price to my rugby club so that bit is okay but yeah, it's the armour costs that seem pretty expensive. I think the club can sort you out with second-hand armour a bit cheaper but I think you need to buy the helmet new and a casual glance at the internet they seem to start at €120+.

awec

Just broke my xbox controller in a moment of FIFA rage. :mad:

dregin

awec wrote: »

Just broke my xbox controller in a moment of FIFA rage. :mad:

You still playing Rugby Challenge? I couldn't bring myself to buy it since it didn't look like much of an improvement on the first one

awec

dregin wrote: »

You still playing Rugby Challenge? I couldn't bring myself to buy it since it didn't look like much of an improvement on the first one

Not really - I still have it but haven't played in a while.

It was very buggy, not sure if a patch was ever released.

justsomebloke

So how often this year have you checked the price of flights on Aer Lingus or Ryanair this year....













...well apparently it's not as often as often as you've been checking up the price of escorts you dirty feckers!!!!!

.ak

justsomebloke wrote: »

So how often this year have you checked the price of flights on Aer Lingus or Ryanair this year....













...well apparently it's not as often as often as you've been checking up the price of escorts you dirty feckers!!!!!

You can't expect us to travel to the airport alone?

Pudsy33

awec wrote: »

Not really - I still have it but haven't played in a while.

It was very buggy, not sure if a patch was ever released.

There was a patch, and it improved ball retention. Give it a go.

awec

Pudsy33 wrote: »

There was a patch, and it improved ball retention. Give it a go.

Was the online lag ever fixed?

Pudsy33

awec wrote: »

Was the online lag ever fixed?

Couldn't tell you tbh.

mfceiling

justsomebloke wrote: »

So how often this year have you checked the price of flights on Aer Lingus or Ryanair this year....













...well apparently it's not as often as often as you've been checking up the price of escorts you dirty feckers!!!!!

Some of the escorts are a fierce price.

I saw a 1985 one in red, 1.6gl with one owner - nearly €400 he was looking for it.

Podge_irl

Anyone going to the NFL game in Wembley on Sunday?

Swiwi.

White kid nicked off Roma family...then returned to them when DNA proved that, well, she is actually is their daughter is a bit of story. No-one will kick up too much of a fuss because...but imagine if that happened to anyone else? "Hi, it's Joe Garda here, and one one of your neighbours has narked on you, and reckons it's not your kid, so we're just going to take it away for a few tests..."

P.Walnuts

Swiwi. wrote: »

White kid nicked off Roma family...then returned to them when DNA proved that, well, she is actually is their daughter is a bit of story. No-one will kick up too much of a fuss because...but imagine if that happened to anyone else? "Hi, it's Joe Garda here, and one one of your neighbours has narked on you, and reckons it's not your kid, so we're just going to take it away for a few tests..."

Ye, it's a strange one.

I don't see why they couldn't take the DNA sample but leave the child with the family, and post a few Guards overnight to make sure they didn't do a runner (not saying they would have obviosuly), would of saved alot of hassle.

Although there is cleary racial prejudice in these cases which leaves a sour taste, I suppose if one child is saved/reunited with it's family then ultimately it might be worth it.

Podge_irl

P.Walnuts wrote: »

Although there is cleary racial prejudice in these cases which leaves a sour taste, I suppose if one child is saved/reunited with it's family then ultimately it might be worth it.

That, unfortunately, is a line of thinking that often leads to more harm being done than good.

I'm slightly conflicted on the whole thing. By and large I'm not too keen on the Guards taking kids away from their family just because their neighbours complain that they don't quite look like the parents. Then again, we can't pretend that this kind of thing doesn't happen. However, I'm fairly happy to think that it's pretty bloody rare and we should err on the side of caution. If there were genuine concerns I think there were better ways of finding out the truth then taking a family's child away from them.

I have a feeling that if an exotic looking child was in the care of a couple farmers then this wouldn't have happened in the same manner.

P_1

It has all the hallmarks of a tabloid hyped witch hunt IMO. I mean, wasn't one of the two cases in Ireland instigated by a 'tip off' on a bloody facebook page?

Fireball07

RIP Niall Donohue, 22-year-old Galway hurler who died today. Really tragic news

P.Walnuts

Podge_irl wrote: »

That, unfortunately, is a line of thinking that often leads to more harm being done than good.

I'm slightly conflicted on the whole thing. By and large I'm not too keen on the Guards taking kids away from their family just because their neighbours complain that they don't quite look like the parents. Then again, we can't pretend that this kind of thing doesn't happen. However, I'm fairly happy to think that it's pretty bloody rare and we should err on the side of caution. If there were genuine concerns I think there were better ways of finding out the truth then taking a family's child away from them.

I have a feeling that if an exotic looking child was in the care of a couple farmers then this wouldn't have happened in the same manner.

It's a fine line alright, but child safety should be paramount imo...

I still think if they just took a DNA sample and then left the child with the family until the results came in, it would of saved alot of hassle and probably wouldn't even of made the papers.

There was a newborn taken into care from an Irish couple a few weeks ago as the father was deemed to be a danger. Gurdai surrounded the house apparetnly until the baby was given up

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/mother-reunited-with-newborn-son-29634812.html

Obviosuly a different situation but suppsoe it shows the HSE's no risk attitude to the whiole child safety issue. I think cases like Baby P in England have really hit home with the health services

Buer

I see in California a 13 year old kid was carrying a replica rifle when police encountered him. When he didn't drop the gun after being told to and began to turn towards him they opened fire shooting him seven times and killing him on the spot.

Sweet jebus. These are guys trained in the use of firearms. They couldn't have shot at his legs if they felt he was a genuine threat?

Podge_irl

Buer wrote: »

Sweet jebus. These are guys trained in the use of firearms. They couldn't have shot at his legs if they felt he was a genuine threat?

If a cop shoots they shoot to kill. A shot to the legs can quite easily kill you anyway, its much easier to miss and it doesn't incapacitate the target.

The only reasonable question is whether they should have shot in the first place.

.ak

Buer wrote: »

I see in California a 13 year old kid was carrying a replica rifle when police encountered him. When he didn't drop the gun after being told to and began to turn towards him they opened fire shooting him seven times and killing him on the spot.

Sweet jebus. These are guys trained in the use of firearms. They couldn't have shot at his legs if they felt he was a genuine threat?

That's part of the training - no armed force in the world is trained to shoot at limbs. For one, it's a very small area to hit, two even if you do hit it you aren't guaranteed to disarm the person, specifically considering the type of munition used, some bullets are designed to pierce armour, and rarely turn into fat slugs when hitting soft flesh, so you have a situation where the bullet passes through without much friction, the person can get several shots off before even realizing they've been shot.

Also, not sure if you've fired a weapon, but even small fire arms have a very violent reaction, recoil, flare, smoke, it's all very disorientating, even people who are well trained in firearms don't take risks and will always use the percentages, hence why two in the chest and one in the head is the preferred take down for most armed forces - the percentages of hitting the center mass are much higher, you only aim for the head afterwards.

Buer

Wasn't aware of that training at all, folks. Does answer some of my queries. Surely there's another option available though (although I couldn't suggest something). All strikes me as an awful scenario. Cops see him walking with replica with his back to them, call out to him twice, he starts to turn and they fire seven bullets into him which does seem excessive. Kid was probably just reacting to being called without thinking.

As you say, Podge, the question is whether they should have opened fire at all and if there was a genuine threat. If someone has what looks very much like a live weapon and is turning to face you then there's probably cause for believing there is.

Podge_irl

.ak wrote: »

That's part of the training - no armed force in the world is trained to shoot at limbs. For one, it's a very small area to hit, two even if you do hit it you aren't guaranteed to disarm the person, specifically considering the type of munition used, some bullets are designed to pierce armour, and rarely turn into fat slugs when hitting soft flesh, so you have a situation where the bullet passes through without much friction, the person can get several shots off before even realizing they've been shot.

Also, not sure if you've fired a weapon, but even small fire arms have a very violent reaction, recoil, flare, smoke, it's all very disorientating, even people who are well trained in firearms don't take risks and will always use the percentages, hence why two in the chest and one in the head is the preferred take down for most armed forces - the percentages of hitting the center mass are much higher, you only aim for the head afterwards.

I'm afraid I'm just quicker on the draw ak.

awec

Playing football tonight for the first time in about 2 or 3 years.

I reckon I'll get to about 15 minutes in before throwing up everywhere.

Podge_irl

Buer wrote: »

As you say, Podge, the question is whether they should have opened fire at all and if there was a genuine threat. If someone has what looks very much like a live weapon and is turning to face you then there's probably cause for believing there is.

If someone is turning around the seemingly raising a weapon I can understand the reaction. My biggest issue would be the approach they took in the first place. Pulling up behind him and shouting at him likely confused him as much as anything else. Turning around is a natural reaction at that point.

Turning around with a weapon, fake or otherwise, is not particularly wise but he was a kid. I can't help but feel the officers could have approached him in a different manner and we would have a much different conclusion to this sad affair.

.ak

Buer wrote: »

Wasn't aware of that training at all, folks. Does answer some of my queries. Surely there's another option available though (although I couldn't suggest something). All strikes me as an awful scenario. Cops see him walking with replica with his back to them, call out to him twice, he starts to turn and they fire seven bullets into him which does seem excessive. Kid was probably just reacting to being called without thinking.

As you say, Podge, the question is whether they should have opened fire at all and if there was a genuine threat. If someone has what looks very much like a live weapon and is turning to face you then there's probably cause for believing there is.

Tasers, I suppose. I know a few armed response teams use these, the English ones do anyway.

Teferi

Absolutely crushed a phone interview there. Delighted. The guy interviewing me seemed fairly keen on me too so hopefully onto the next stage now.

Buer

Teferi wrote: »

Absolutely crushed a phone interview there. Delighted. The guy interviewing me seemed fairly keen on me too so hopefully onto the next stage now.

It was the experience of that bad interview that stood to you, I tells ya!

Swiwi.

P.Walnuts wrote: »

Ye, it's a strange one.

I don't see why they couldn't take the DNA sample but leave the child with the family, and post a few Guards overnight to make sure they didn't do a runner (not saying they would have obviosuly), would of saved alot of hassle.

Although there is cleary racial prejudice in these cases which leaves a sour taste, I suppose if one child is saved/reunited with it's family then ultimately it might be worth it.

I'm no fan of the Roma (begging for example) but this is so obviously a case influenced by bigotry it annoys me. It's one thing if a kid turns up at school with unexplained bruises and a black eye, or the 8 year old girl is pregnant, but removing a kid from their family purely because they don't look like Mum & Dad is opening a real can of worms. Like everyone knows a ginger kid whose parents have dark-coloured hair. You wouldn't see the Guards take that kid away for DNA testing. It's rightly gone down like a lead balloon with the world media, and makes Ireland look stupid. Even if there were concerns about the real parents, if the kid seemed happy, they could just carry out the tests in the background. If this happened to me, I would sue the HSE for as much money as possible.

P.Walnuts

Swiwi. wrote: »

I'm no fan of the Roma (begging for example) but this is so obviously a case influenced by bigotry it annoys me. It's one thing if a kid turns up at school with unexplained bruises and a black eye, or the 8 year old girl is pregnant, but removing a kid from their family purely because they don't look like Mum & Dad is opening a real can of worms. Like everyone knows a ginger kid whose parents have dark-coloured hair. You wouldn't see the Guards take that kid away for DNA testing. It's rightly gone down like a lead balloon with the world media, and makes Ireland look stupid. Even if there were concerns about the real parents, if the kid seemed happy, they could just carry out the tests in the background. If this happened to me, I would sue the HSE for as much money as possible.

I have no idea why they couldn't do the DNA test and leave the child with the family. But like I sad in my other post, it seems health services are adopting a very aggressive line towards child safety issues, probably in response to some shocking cases in the UK in the last couple of years.

Grimebox

Let's just say it wasn't their child and they were allowed to hold onto her while the DNA test was going on. Given that they are already capable of kidnapping a child, what do you think they would do? Just playing devil's advocate...

Swiwi.

Grimebox wrote: »

Let's just say it wasn't their child and they were allowed to hold onto her while the DNA test was going on. Given that they are already capable of kidnapping a child, what do you think they would do? Just playing devil's advocate...

Yeah, flee. But this is purely based on a nosey neighbour saying the child looked white, those dirty Roma have flogged a kid from elsewhere. It wasn't like the kid was obviously unhappy or being abused. It just didn't look like Mum & Dad. You just know this would not have happened in Dublin 4 for example.

P.Walnuts

Grimebox wrote: »

Let's just say it wasn't their child and they were allowed to hold onto her while the DNA test was going on. Given that they are already capable of kidnapping a child, what do you think they would do? Just playing devil's advocate...

Well I think a Garda car parked outside overnight might dissuade anything of that nature

CatFromHue

Swiwi. wrote: »

Yeah, flee. But this is purely based on a nosey neighbour saying the child looked white, those dirty Roma have flogged a kid from elsewhere. It wasn't like the kid was obviously unhappy or being abused. It just didn't look like Mum & Dad. You just know this would not have happened in Dublin 4 for example.

I don't think there are any Roma in D4, nor do I think any of the D4 inhabitants have ever had child trafficking allegations made against them.

In summary: There's no way out of the D4orttress

CatFromHue

P.Walnuts wrote: »

Well I think a Garda car parked outside overnight might dissuade anything of that nature

Not if they've a back garden, they could just hop over the wall. The wall might even have a gate which they could go through instead of hopping over the wall, though hoping over the wall is more daring and dramatic.

thomond2006

Teferi wrote: »

Absolutely crushed a phone interview there. Delighted. The guy interviewing me seemed fairly keen on me too so hopefully onto the next stage now.

Look buddy I'm going for the John Hayes Theme Park Manager position too.

So withdraw your application now before you ruin my life's dream.

Podge_irl

Grimebox wrote: »

Let's just say it wasn't their child and they were allowed to hold onto her while the DNA test was going on. Given that they are already capable of kidnapping a child, what do you think they would do? Just playing devil's advocate...

You can extend that to a lot of things though. Society collapses if you go around expecting the worst of everyone! You can't go around taking people's children off them on such flimsy pretexts.

P_1

Swiwi. wrote: »

I'm no fan of the Roma (begging for example) but this is so obviously a case influenced by bigotry it annoys me. It's one thing if a kid turns up at school with unexplained bruises and a black eye, or the 8 year old girl is pregnant, but removing a kid from their family purely because they don't look like Mum & Dad is opening a real can of worms. Like everyone knows a ginger kid whose parents have dark-coloured hair. You wouldn't see the Guards take that kid away for DNA testing. It's rightly gone down like a lead balloon with the world media, and makes Ireland look stupid. Even if there were concerns about the real parents, if the kid seemed happy, they could just carry out the tests in the background. If this happened to me, I would sue the HSE for as much money as possible.

People seem to be forgetting that not too long ago in this country a child or a young lady could be taken away from the home and imprisoned indefinitely on the strength of some busybody complaining about their morality. I really hope that the families concerned sue the HSE/Gardai/the complaining busybody for as much as possible.

Swiwi.

Teenage golf sensation Lydia Ko is convinced by Israel to turn pro...he really is a bit of a Dagg

awec

awec wrote: »

Playing football tonight for the first time in about 2 or 3 years.

I reckon I'll get to about 15 minutes in before throwing up everywhere.

Dear god, someone put me down.

P_1

awec wrote: »

Dear god, someone put me down.

How long did you last?

awec

P_1 wrote: »

How long did you last?

5 minutes.

All I will say is thank fcuk for rolling subs.