James

[font="Palatino Linotype"]Good luck, chibi. I really can't in good conscience give you much detailed advice here, because this is a serious real-world situation and I don't know you in the real-world. All I can really do is wish you luck and just say that if you do think things are starting to get seriously bad with your mother, then you should definitely a) talk to your dad in the first instance, b) talk to another family member in the second instance (an auntie or uncle maybe) or c) talk to your counselor if all-else fails. I think in these situations the worst thing you can do is actually not reach out and talk to people. So as I said, best of luck chibi. :)[/font]

[quote name='Gavin' timestamp='1305071148' post='707257'] [font="Tahoma"][size="2"]Bump ?[/size][/font] [/quote] [font=palatino linotype]Sorry for the lack of update lately guys. I've been too busy to sit down and add more to this. I'm in no rush to launch it - especially if anyone still wants to contribute anything to the info on the first page of this topic. Having said that, I have already started working on the Auditions topic. I'm going to try to keep it as simple as I can, so don't worry, it won't be as detailed as this topic is getting. :P[/font]

[font="Palatino Linotype"]Very interesting, Allamorph. Thanks. :) You raise an interesting point there about his compound in Pakistan - what will they do with it now? I've seen recent pictures of it becoming almost a weird tourist attraction. I have these horrible visions of [b]Osamaland[/b] popping up...[/font]

[quote name='Sephiroth' timestamp='1304380199' post='707042'] *waves to old school people* [/quote] [font=palatino linotype]*waves back* :) At the moment I'm mostly playing [b]Alan Wake[/b] on Xbox 360 as well as [b]Pilotwings Resort[/b] on 3DS. Pilotwings is awesome; I think it's a lot better than Pilotwings 64 (which I also loved). And the 3D works to great effect in Pilotwings Resort. Alan Wake is pretty awesome too. I've heard that it gets a bit repetitive after a few hours, but so far I'm loving it. I think Remedy is such a fantastic developer. Alan Wake has an incredible atmosphere and, so far, a pretty good story as well. It makes me eager to play Max Payne 3. :P[/font]

[quote=CaNz]think we have done enough to rebuild what we have destroyed in Iraq and need to leave. This doesn't mean I welcome terrorist activities in the middle east, but until we see the threat there is no use in involving ourselves, financially it isn't good for our country. [/quote] [font=palatino linotype]The United States has been closely bound up with the fate of Iraq for a long time now - ever since the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980's. It's not just a question of leaving because infrastructure has been re-built; I think America actually needs to make good on its relationship with the Iraqi people by remaining in the country until the Iraqis themselves are comfortable enough with local conditions. The real problem that we have dealt with in the past ten years (in Iraq) is partly due to the fact that the United States did not support the two popular uprisings that occurred in Iraq just after the end of Gulf War I. Had America supported those uprisings actively, Saddam Hussein could possibly have been deposed as early as 1992/1993 without the need for foreign intervention. I know that hindsight is always 20/20, but there are cases where immediate action is actually less harmful than waiting and waiting and then taking action much later on when conditions are different. This is partly why Obama was right to support the current action in Libya at this moment, rather than stringing along a failed diplomatic process for endless years. On that note I must say, Obama really surprised me. I think that his strategic leadership has generally been extremely good - he has carefully judged each situation and responded accordingly. His slower and more careful approach was widely criticised early on, but I think now people are starting to see that he has a pretty decent grasp of when to apply the accelerator and when to apply the brake. He is turning out to be far better in this area than his predecessor (even though I think President Bush was [i]generally[/i] right about the long term goal and the general pathway, but he was very bad with timing and implementation).[/font]

[quote=PiroMunkie]Though I've read an article or two suggesting that the way he was buried might actually anger some Muslims. That a burial at sea is only done in extreme cases, which some don't agree that this was one; and just because it was done as part of tradition, doesn't mean it was done properly or according to Islamic law. Though in this light it seems it's more how he was buried and less about who buried him that might cause some reprisal.[/quote] [font=palatino linotype]Honestly, the fact that they made any effort at all to be provide a respectful Islamic burial is enough for me. Consider what happened to Daniel Pearl a few years ago, for example. Pearl's kidnappers (who follow bin Laden's backward ideology) treated him even worse than garbage and that very much included his actual death and the subsequent abuse of his body (i.e. by using his severed head as part of propaganda footage). Given the contrast, I can't in good conscience complain about what the American authorities did. Even if their burial was not strictly perfect (I have heard that burial at sea is generally not acceptable under Islamic law, although again, I don't think they really had much choice), it certainly afforded bin Laden a degree of respect and dignity that his followers have deliberately denied their victims.[/font] [quote=Allamorph]And thank you, James, for making the effort to understand the point, even as you're stuck trying to reconcile yourself to both sides of a horribly polarised case in an effort to smooth out all the feathers.[/quote] [font=palatino linotype]Your point about celebrating death is not only one I agree with, but it is a valid way of reminding us that in our pursuit of enemies, we should try as much as possible to maintain the ideals that we are actually fighting for. Having said that, I did not lose a family member on 9/11. So honestly, I can not truly understand what kind of emotions the relatives of victims must be feeling at the moment. I imagine that many of these people are feeling a much stronger conflict of emotion than we can even imagine.[/font] [quote=Allamorph]To sort of attempt to steer the current conversation away from such a volatile angle, it occurs to me (for the first time, actually) that a "war on terror" is rather an ambiguous 'enemy', if you will. Raises a couple more questions in my mind. * How do you know when you've won? or at least when you are able to go back to just being vigilant? * Specifically to this situation, how stable does the Middle East have to be for us (the US) to end what is essentially protective occupation?[/quote] [font=palatino linotype]Very good questions with no easy answers, I agree. I have always disagreed with the term "war on terror", because terrorism is really a tactic and the tactic itself is really not the enemy. The enemy is really a group of people with a very strict interpretation of Islam - an interpretation that takes the Quran literally and uses its text as a justification for what is essentially a form of theocratic colonialism. It is very unpopular to say that we are fighting against a religious ideology, but we are. It's a similar ideology to those Christians who blow up abortion clinics. It involves people who are not psychotic or irrational; they quite literally believe that they are doing god's work. This is why it is erroneous for people to try to blame the U.S. or other western powers as the cause of the current problem. People who make that assertion only demonstrate that they don't know their history and they apparently haven't even listened to Osama bin Laden's speeches, where he himself has declared the Quranic lights by which his ideology is based. So to answer your questions, I don't think that the current war will have a definitive "end". What will need to happen, I think, is a long term effort that involves removing the ideological foundations and safe harbours of such extreme groups as much as possible. On the second question, I think it comes down to largely to the ability of said nations (Afghanistan and Iraq) to maintain their own security, independent of foreign support. But that will take a long time, especially in Iraq, where the United States essentially disbanded the entire public service without considering the long term consequences.[/font] [quote=Boo]Well basically, I just went for his use of the word "avenging" and took it from there. If I had the energy, I'd probably also make a ranty remark about CaNz's remark about it not being murder because it was done by SEALs. But I don't. 8D[/quote] [font=palatino linotype]The reason it is not murder is because it does not fit the definition of murder. Osama bin Laden (and his affiliated organisations) declared war on the United States. So bin Laden made himself a combatant in a "war". I used quote marks because, obviously, this is not a typical war between two states. Nevertheless, bin Laden is essentially a military combatant. He leads an organisation that has trained fighters to carry out para-military style missions. And this is not just a designation I am putting on him by way of assertion - he has described himself as being engaged in a war. So he made himself a viable combatant. [/font]

[font=palatino linotype]I don't think "murder" is actually the right word, technically. Maybe "homicide" is the more accurate word, although that word is generally not associated with deaths in a war situation. I would say that if you want to get technical, Osama bin Laden is actually a [i][url="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/casualty"]casualty[/url][/i]. But I do agree there is something slightly macabre about celebrating a death. It's just...odd, in principle, no matter who the actual person involved is. [/font]

[quote name='PiroMunkie' timestamp='1304399423' post='707056'] [color="#006400"] I also thought it was pretty bold for the U.S. to claim the body and bury it on their own terms.[/color] [/quote] [font=palatino linotype]What are they supposed to do, honestly? No nations they contacted wanted to take it. As for going after bin Laden, I think that if you equate this to any other conflict, it would be the equivalent of Adolf Hitler or Emperor Hirohito facing some sort of consequences as leaders of particular movements. Sure, you can argue that removing Hitler or Hirohito alone won't solve the problem, but these are men who directly ordered and sanctioned particular actions for which there is obviously a penalty. As it turns out though, Hirohito and his family got off very lightly considering the horrors they caused. [/font]

[quote name='Allamorph' timestamp='1304383828' post='707045'] [FONT=Calibri] Why are we celebrating death? More to the point, why are we celebrating [i]murder[/i]?[/FONT] [/quote] [font=palatino linotype]I think it's obvious as to why people are celebrating the death of Osama bin Laden specifically (and you've answered that in your own post very well). But as to the specific question of why people think it's okay to celebrate [i]any[/i] death? I can't really answer that because I'm not one of them. I do think there is something slightly wrong with actually being jubilant about any death, which is why I think Obama did the right thing by making the announcement with an appropriately somber tone.[/font]

[quote name='Boo' timestamp='1304368356' post='707033'] avenging/vengeance is something supposed to be kept personal and not political.. When you throw nations into war for vengeance, gfy. However, the term [i]Justice[/i] gets you a long way. [/quote] [font=palatino linotype]I think you are misreading this if you simply interpret it as vengeance. In terms of Osama bin Laden specifically, my understanding is that there was actually a preference to capture him alive; that certainly would have been the better outcome in terms of the psychological impact for his followers. However, that simply wasn't possible in the scenario that the Pentagon have described. There was a firefight and in that fight, bin Laden was killed. I don't think anyone can escape the idea that Osama bin Laden has met [i]some form[/i] of justice here. In any case, he's now gone and the world is probably better off as a result. He was not only the chief operational person within Al-Qaeda, but he was also its chief financier. I have no doubt that he has contingency plans in the event of his death, but nonetheless, the world is at least now free of one more cruel and backwards criminal.[/font]

[quote name='AvalonAngel' timestamp='1302814764' post='706573'] I remember when those were AIM convos.... ;_; [/quote] [font=palatino linotype]Do those AIM chats still happen? Does anyone remember Des's "special" coffee? I feel like those days are long gone.[/font]

[quote name='AvalonAngel' timestamp='1302730977' post='706534'] [font="Tahoma"]I'll never understand dames. I've been hit on so many times this week by other women, it's insane. It's like they smell blood in the water or something. I forgot what it's like to be single.[/font] [/quote] [font=palatino linotype]Poor you. Being an ovary-magnet must be tough.[/font]

[font="Palatino Linotype"]That's correct Des. I'm sorry everyone - I will harass Adam again, because this is something that is not under OB's direct control unfortunately.[/font]

[quote name='AvalonAngel' timestamp='1299891323' post='705625'] [font="Tahoma"]Are you like Jason and precede every sentence with "Crikey" or "Blimey"?[/font] [/quote] [font=palatino linotype]Um... I'd never say "Blimey", because I'm not British. Crikey mate, I'd have thought you'd know something like that! [/font]

[font="Palatino Linotype"]I will be around on the 26th for anyone who's interested.[/font]

[font="Palatino Linotype"]Thanks Des, I'll play around with that and see if it makes a substantial difference. :)[/font]

[quote name='Boo' timestamp='1302112464' post='706281'] I don't like having to manually mark stuff read :( [/quote] [font=palatino linotype]Are you talking about marking forums read or are you talking about the notifications system? I have a major problem with the notifications system, where even when I've read a private message, OB keeps the notification "active" no matter what I do. I have to literally go into my notifications list and delete them all. And when I get a string of messages, my notifications bar on the right gets really huge and won't change no matter how many times I go in and check the notifications. So I'm really wondering if others are having a problem with this too.[/font]

[font="Palatino Linotype"]I think that's a really good idea, Gavin. You've clearly been absorbing your NGE goodness. ;) As I got into writing a lot of detail on this topic, I realised that I'm at risk of basically intimidating participants to the extent that maybe they won't want to inject their own stories because they are worried that they might go against my ideas or something. I just want to say... I am really really keen for everyone to take ownership of this one. I guess that I just want to put some basics out there first to set the scene. What I'd really love is for some people to actually write up some stuff to put on the front page (like organisations, locations, etc...). Think of what we did for Almagest - that type of thing. I really love seeing what other people come up with. :) I think we still need to have some core locations, like some of the main cities as well as some of the NERV facilities. If you have some ideas about those, please do feel free to write up a little profile for the front page. [/font]

[quote name='Sangome' timestamp='1301770721' post='706209'] [color="#9932CC"][font="Microsoft Sans Serif"]I'm probably going to be asking for one of these later this month for my birthday, although I do admit that the launch lineup has me very disappointed. About the only title I'd really like is Super Street Fighter IV...but I already got that this past Christmas. If I had picked that up earlier, then maybe, but not so soon. Otherwise, I'm still waiting for Paper Mario 3DS and Megaman Legends 3, although I have no idea when either of those are going to be released [the latter hasn't technically even been greenlit yet, so there's the possibility it may not even happen at all. Gonna stay hopeful, though].[/font][/color] [/quote] [font=palatino linotype]I think Paper Mario 3DS could be amazing. As I said earlier, my most-wanted game is definitely Super Mario 3DS. Who knows how long it will take for that to be released, though. I discovered that Pilotwings and Ridge Racer aren't even available in Australia on launch! I can't believe it. I haven't checked the release date (I doubt it will be far off), but still...without even those titles, there's really very little reason to own a 3DS at this point. This is what I get for being an early adopter. :\[/font]