This is one of the most interesting threads I've seen here, shame I've joined in slightly late.

The form of Islamic extremism is not a terribly old phenomenon. The goals of Al-Qa'eda are difficult to define as it is not a rigid hierarchical organisation however this letter from Al-Zawahiri (described as Al-Qa'eda's main ideologue) to al-Zarqawi gives an interesting insight into their objectives:

http://www.fas.org/irp/news/2005/10/dni101105.html

Essentially this letter would suggest that having UK and US troops in Iraq is ideal for Al-Qa'eda both because it brings the "infidel" geographically closer to the training grounds but also in a wider strategic sense.

It is a very interesting letter, it does explain a bit more than what you see on the news as to what their actual aims are. I liked his use of language it makes it much easier to read than the turgid stuff our politicians and religious leaders use, although I can't say I'm familiar with

As the English proverb says, the person who is standing among the leaves of the tree might not see the tree.

I'm assuming that this is the literal translation of the Arabic rather than al-Zawahiri actually not knowing the proverb to start with.

LOL i dont think so ...   

Seriously though imagine a database of evryones dna.... it would certainly speed up the crimes solved rate, and act as a detterent to future criminals.

ID cards are surely just around the corner, and i welcome them.

I would genuinely like to listen to anyone who is opposed to ID cards and hear their reasons why.

I agree, i really don't see what people worry about.

Primarily cost

They have already made the quintessential 'so bad its painful' movie - Air Force One - truly awful!!

Bit of trivia - Liesel Matthews (aka Liesel A. Pritzker) who is in Air Force One is estimated to be worth around $500 million.

LOL i dont think so ...   

Seriously though imagine a database of evryones dna.... it would certainly speed up the crimes solved rate, and act as a detterent to future criminals.

ID cards are surely just around the corner, and i welcome them.

I would genuinely like to listen to anyone who is opposed to ID cards and hear their reasons why.

If I have to apply for an ID card, I'd have to use my driving license or passport to get it, meaning that that one of the latters was a perfectly good form of ID in the first place. If I already have a reliable form of ID then why do I need an ID Card? If I don't have any reliable ID then how can my ID Card be reliable?

It is also shown that the biometric identification won't work effectively (I think the figure was about 60% accuracy at best). And that every organisation involved in the areas which the ID card is meant to help with all agree that the ID card won't make any difference, (immigration, terrorism, organised crime etc.)

My fundamental objection to the ID cards is that I am a British Citizen - just because I am - I don't think the government has the right to say you effectively have to pay to become a citizen. The Roman Empire had a distinction between a citizen and a non-citizen, I would hope we've moved on a bit since then.

On a practical level some figures have been suggested that it might cost individuals up to a couple of hundred pounds to get one, I can't really afford to spend a couple of hundred pounds on something which isn't a necessity - and for the reasons I've put above, I don't think ID cards are a neccesity.

Good post Diceman, just read as I posted this.

And I don't think the IRA have ever claimed to be anything but political.

it has proved how wrong you are. You tarred the IRA and al queaida with the same brush when they are the exact opposite. What is happening now is all about religion. The young muslims believe by blowing themselves up and taking infedals with them they will be looked after in the afterlife.

Total shite. The young men believe themselves to be fighting a religious jihad after being brainwashed by some clever mastermind with a grudge against the west. That mastermind uses religion as a tool to recruit these young naeive men into his little gang for political purposes, training for his various suicide missions against political targets in the west.

Religion is being used, religion is not the cause nor is it the fault thereof. Stop looking for excuses where there are none to be found. The world would be a better place without politics (and without people, but I think thats too much of a utopia to look forward to)

It may not be the leaders religion that is causing them to brainwash people, but it is the bombers religious beliefs that are being exploited which allow them to be brainwashed. Therefore it is still down to religion - without their religion they wouldn't be so easy to manipulate.

From the IRA to Al Queda, eventhing they do or did was for political motivation and personal gain, regardless of what banner they claim to be fighting in the name of their god through.

Wrong Mikky - Religion was never used as a reason by the Irish Republicans - it was introduced as a divisive measure by the Government to divide the Land Leagues etc and divert them into fighting eachother.

Thanks for proving my point Rod, I owe you a pint. My point is that its nothing to do with religion. And I know I'm right, so really everyone should stfu cos Im right lol.

Wasn't Rod's point that the IRA never claimed religion as a motivation?

throughout history it has been proven that most wars and conflicts have been driven by religion.

how mickyt can say this one isnt is bbeyond me.

yes i dont deny that its also politically motivated but to say religion isnt involved is in my opinion pure blindness or ignorance!

Up until relatively recently politics and religion have virtually been the same thing, and in some cases still are.

There is some sense in what you say but starting it by stating,

I don't read the guardian. I don't read any newspaper as a matter of fact, and I rarely listen to the news....

isn't going to fill many people with confidence of your awareness of the bigger picture.

[all]

yes the "intelligence" have made mistakes but we have to put faith in them to do thier job otherwise who else is going to do it? do we justsit back do nothing?...

instead of ripping them apart the security of this country should be comended!

Yes they should be commended, and yes they do make mistakes, but a lot people seem to think that the intelligence services should be connected to the media. You hear about all the mistakes because it's a good story, you only hear about a minority of the successes because they either affect day to day life - such as this threat, or they lead to a prosecution.

And I think it goes back a bit further than the Crusades anyway.

Sweet Child of Mine

Good call from the beagle

And Motorcycle Emptiness by the Manics

Snakes on a Plane - the title and the film pitch in one.

It seems like they're trying to create a 'classic', this doesn't bode well. (Classic as in classic cheese, or so bad its good, not as in a quality film obviously).

personally i dont like team events played on a mtt it leads to dangerous presidents..

Like Bush?

I didn't realise team events could be so influential.

I'm not so sure a straight draw is the best solution because:
some people may go a long time without being drawn, while others get into every event
people will want to play certain events more than others - e.g. the event closest to them.

I had a quick think (literally 2 minutes... be gentle!) and came up with an idea:
Standard draw - each person who has registered an interest gets 10 tickets in a draw, obviously they can only win 1 seat and any duplicates are discarded

For every event they get a place in the number of tickets they get in the draw for the next event is lowered (e.g. 6,4,2,1). This gives those who haven't played an event yet a bit more chance to get in but doesn't exclude the others.

Each member gets 1 wild card per year. This would gives them 20 tickets in the draw for the comp of their choice - regardless of any previous entries won. This is to give people more of a chance to enter the event they are more interested in and also ensures they are not less likely to gain entry to that event by winning a place in a previous event.

to a certain extent anyway.

The general concept of giving a weighted draw like this would help counter the drawbacks you've identified. With the number of entries that could be involved it could still be a long, long wait for some people to gain entry to a tournament and the exact nature of the weighting (the 6,4,2,1 for example) would have to be carefully considered.

But as a general concept I think this idea seems sound.

Can't beat Robin Hood.

That's in the number 1 spot on my list as well.