Rogie

Wonderful photos Fountainhall. The weather looks very variable, from blue skies to threatening clouds. Makes for a bit more of a challenge when taking photos if nothing else. I haven't been to Russia so will not comment on whether its people are civil or not, but I am aware via various threads on discussion boards from time to time that others have strong opinions. Back to the photos, from the exterior shots of the Russian Orthodox churches (I assume that is what the denomination is) they appear in good structural order. I see you went inside one church and it shows many worshippers. I wonder how the interior of the churches have been maintained. In view of the size and complexity of these churches they must cost a fortune in upkeep costs. I don't suppose they were that well-maintained during the decades of communist party rule.

As if to underline the importance of not stifling debate, Paul Webster, writing in the updated 2001 edition of Petain's Crime, said this: Footnote: Maurice Papon was appointed Secretary-General of the Bordeaux region in June 1942. In 1989, he was formally charged with Crimes against Humanity in connection with the deportation of Jews. Francois Mitterrand and Jacques Chirac are ex-Presidents of France. Chirac admitted his country's shortcomings, the 'faults of the past' as soon as he took office in 1995, whereas his predecessor, President between 1981 and 1995 had obstructed reparation for Vichy's anti-Semitic legislation. _____________________________________________________________ That's a great 'story' Fountainhall. Like you , I could not conceive what it must have been like too - I could say something glib like a five-year nightmare - obviously the only person who could know is your father, and my impression is that many men (and women) who've lived through wars, like your dad, have a similar desire to 'not talk about it'. What a contrast with today's 'cult of the celebrity', kiss and tell stories, the sinister spectre of 'phone hacking' and the infatuation with complete and utter trivia.

I haven't heard of this. What's all this about paying when it says 'for free'?

That's enough to make me become a 5 minute misogynist and holler "You silly moo" (that's putting it politely as I know the people on here are nice )

I don't wish to intrude much farther, but as you thought to tell us about your circumcision, might I ask if the reason for it is common or rare? I have not come across the possibility a man might become infected with something necessitating the foreskin be removed, even if only partially. No offence if you decline to elaborate. As for circumcision in general, it has always been my understanding boys had it done in north America (US and Canada) because it was expected. I suspect the medics 'expected' parents to agree to it. Many parents put under that degree of expectation nodded their heads in agreement. A done deal. I have no evidence for saying that, so just my hunch. I also suspect that if a baby boy's father had been circumcised (I refer here to non-ritual circumcision) that he was very likely to be also, simply because the father, identifying closely with his son, was happy to see it done. My understanding in Britain is that it was more common amongst middle or upper-middle class (we love our class system!) parents to have their boys circumcised. Cost may have been a factor, but as far as I know there was none of the expectation that boys would have it done as in America. Again, as in America, I would think that once a British family has a tradition of circumcising its male children that it tends to take root. _______________________________________________________________ Hey Gay's post has me puzzled: I agree that circumcision can be botched and in some countries with poor medical facilities this can happen, and boys can die. But let us stick to circumcision in western countries with high standards of medical care. I had a quick look at that link you showed in your post but I am sorry to say I did not like the way it was written - it was far too anti-circumcision and a bit hysterical almost. As for the 'dry shrivelled head', that sounds pretty serious, in fact it makes me wince just to think of it. You would have thought generations of men, facing this awful predicament, would have kicked up a bit of a fuss. So for them to happily pay a surgeon to inflict the same fate on their own son makes no sense at all.

http://www.scinet.cc/articles/psychopathy/psychopath.html This is just an estimate, it's not clear how it is made. Until a statistically significant number of people are tested for their genetic make-up and undergo a brain scan we'll never know for sure. It's all a bit unsavoury in any case. Quite possibly different sorts of psychopathy (there are 4 types apparently) have different clinical features. If we take that figure of 1% then in a population of 50 million there would be half a million. That sounds a lot but of course only a fraction of those 1% are going to be the worst sort of pyschopaths, those who make the headlines. The vast majority will lead normal lives with a significant minority ending up in prison. _______________________________________________________ In his book Petain's Crime, published in 1990, Paul Webster wrote concerning the Unoccupied Zone of the south of France, a region administered by the French Government at Vichy, a spa town in the central Auvergne, near Clermont-Ferrand. The head of this government was Marshal Petain. It is now generally accepted that this administration behaved atrociously. It was a rotten apple all right. To my mind what happened there was worse, it wasn't 'Nazi thugs' rounding up the Jews - it was their fellow Frenchmen. Webster goes on to say this: "If Petain had protected France's most vulnerable minority at the risk of his life and freedom, he would have been thought of today as an even greater hero than the soldier who triumphed at Verdun. Instead, in a country that revered its leader, millions were persuaded that Jews were a lesser species who merited the callous laws. From a soldier of such stature, a word of disapproval would have . . . " But of course he didn't - he let himself down and he let his country down.

You're right, it has to be in nice palatable bite-size chunks for TV! And I suppose the vast majority of those watching indeed felt a strong feel-good factor they themselves couldn't be one of those nasty psychopaths . . . could they? Your dissection was a fair one - you'd have made a good surgeon Thaiworthy. It is much too complicated to compartmentalise each person's entire life into little boxes that neatly say 'he was a real bad guy because of x,y,and z'. More likely the label on the box would say 'He was a bad guy for reasons known only unto himself'. But I am persuaded that as far as a very specific condition such as psychopathy is concerned, some sort of scientific explanation does make some sense. Undoubtedly there's a lot of fine tuning to do but the foundations have been laid. That's a real challenge to try and account for all those bad, nay rotten, apples that fell from the trees in the 1930's. I agree science cannot readily explain that. Maybe an expert in crowd behaviour (e.g. mass hysteria, that kind of phenomenon) might attempt it. I'll have a go, with the aid of some other scientific studies, in a future post.

The World of Banking explained, in a nutshell, by Market analyst Ralph Silva . . . "Well it's like this, every banker knows there are three kinds of "F's" - fraud, f**k-ups, and fat fingers - quite simple really"

"Every banker knows that there are three kinds of bankers - there are those who know how to count , and there are those who don't" Cribbed from an article in The Guardian about bankers. (Actually I cheated - the subject of ridicule wasn't wankers, it was economists . . . )

Too late now Thaiworthy but it must be possible to make your own statue. Strip the subject of your lust / admiration / wonder / artistic impulse (delete as appropriate) and cover him in plaster or something suitable that you can make a mould out of. When that hardens (careful!) take a hammer and chisel to free the poor chap. I am sure there must be places in Thailand you can then get your very own statue made in the metal of your choosing. Whether Iron is a practical choice I have no idea.

Thanks to the eagle-eyed, and appropriately named Snapshot, having missed them when first posted, I am in complete agreement. Very good photos and excellent report. I visited Hanoi a few years ago and I liked it a lot. I stayed at a cheap place called the Thien Tan Hotel - centrally located and within walking distance of the centre of town. I attach a copy of an email I've just dug out of the bowels of my PC. It's quite amusing looking back but it was sufficiently annoying at the time for me to complain. To: The Manager, Thien Tan Hotel, Hanoi, Vietnam "Dear Manager, I stayed at your hotel for 8 nights recently, leaving on the 27th March. As part of my bill I paid US$3 for a bus to take me to the airport. I assumed this was the one organised by Vietnam Airlines which runs every half an hour. However, that morning one of your male employees, the one who uses a motorcycle, took me to the stop for the public bus. This fare to the airport, as you will know, is only 2,500 dong, not $3. As you can imagine, I do not like to be made a fool of. I cannot understand why, when I stay 8 nights as a guest in your hotel, and pay my bill in cash on checking out, that your hotel cheats me in such a way. Do you have some sort of explanation for this? Otherwise, I would appreciate an apology. " Yours sincerely, Rogie I am pleased to say an apology duly arrived!

Sorry, duplicated post. Please remove.

Are You Good or Evil? That was the title of a recent Horizon programme aired on British TV. Scientists have discovered two ways of identifying people who may be at risk of developing into psychopaths. Neuroscientists studying brain scans have picked up clear differences in two distinct parts of the brain that characterises known psychopaths. Geneticists have discovered a gene, known as the MAO-A gene that is common in psychopaths. This gene has been nicknamed the 'warrior gene', leading to impulsive behaviour in those carrying it. Known psychopaths have been shown to have both the MAO-A gene and the characteristic brain scan, so clearly people born with both these traits are at risk. To simply describe somebody as being a psychopath, without any further elaboration, is probably unhelpful. The term covers a very wide spectrum of behaviours from notorious serial killers like Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer, to people who are well integrated into their families and society, leading normal lives. In a bizarre twist, it turns out that the neuroscientist featured in the programme, Jim Fallon, is himself a 'psychopath' in that he carries the gene and has the distinctive brain scan. Not surprisingly, he was shocked and perplexed. Why wasn't he in prison? It looks like he may have been lucky to get away with it - when he discussed this with members of his family a few skeletons came out of the cupboard - several of his relatives had been murderers! As you may have guessed by now, the explanation of why Fallon is still at liberty boils down to environmental factors. Your childhood experiences are critical to the way you develop, that's well-known of course. He had a very happy childhood and grew up well-adjusted, got a good education and landed a job he loved doing. That didn't mean though that he'd been completely immunised by that. His family pointed out his many character flaws, which he had been largely unaware of. So the equation looks a bit like this: unlucky gene + good formative environment = turn out ok unlucky gene + bad formative environment = bad apple So we have genes, and we have environment. Nature and nurture. Those people with the gene could be argued to have a diminished 'free will'. This argument was tested in the American courts where a man who'd killed his wife in a very savage attack was given a manslaughter verdict rather than being sentenced to death which would have been his likely fate otherwise. He had the 'warrior gene' and expert scientific evidence in court was enough to persuade the jury.

? psychopath (see Testosterone: to blame for banking crash? topic - Post #4)

If anyone has ever wondered why there seem to be so many bad business decisions being made, here is something worth thinking about. It has been estimated that 4 times as many psychopaths have infiltrated big business as in the general population. That disturbing information came out of last week's Horizon, entitled Good or Evil, a weekly science programme aired on British TV. Some of the characteristics of psychopaths seem to eerily mimic our worst suspicions concerning the behaviours and motives of individuals who've hit the headlines over the past few years. That clearly cannot and does not mean the majority of them are psychopaths, however a glance through a few of their traits makes interesting reading: Psychopaths who have reached the top in big business are able to hide behind their high status, this status serves to keep the truth hidden. They exhibit charismatic leadership, using charm, manipulation and intimidation to get their way Even if they are not leaders, psychopaths can mimic leaders, in order to advance their career Psychopaths can tell what you are thinking, but only intellectually. They cannot do so on an emotional level, hence they do not feel pain. When a psychopath's actual performance is carefully analysed and the results come out, they are dismal. In short, he looked good but performed badly. Psychopaths are thrill-seekers and thrive in a constantly changing environment. This is just scratching the surface of some fascinating developments in neuroscience and genetics. I shall try and summarise these in another thread.

I guess you're referring more to brain tissue z. Blood on the car can derive from any bodily organ that comes into forceful contact with a hard object, so it could be said whether he's wearing a helmet or not, in a bad accident there will be blood all over the place

I agree and I also admit to doing it! It must be the 'can't happen to me' syndrome. As far as front belts are concerned they were introduced into cars in the UK in 1967 but wearing them was not enforced until 1983. A few years ago I bought a 1963 model Morris Minor so it was built before seat belts started bing fitted. It still didn't have any despite several owners in the 30 or so intervening years, and I didn't bother putting any in either. Maybe I got a sort of perverse pleasure from driving it knowing I was taking a legal risk 99.9% of other drivers couldn't. It's gone now to another owner so I've lapsed back into conformity. I sometimes belt up in the back but not always. However, I always make sure my back seat passengers are belted when I'm the driver. I suppose that's partly because I want to minimise injury to them in the case of an accident, but also to clear my own conscience should that ever happen. A controversial one is the American citizen's right to bear arms. That freedom is a genuine one in America. Other countries, such as Britain, whose citizens are not allowed to own firearms (with a few exceptions) might regard that with a degree of concern. It hasn't happened to me but I think if I were on holiday in America and my companions were carrying a weapon, because of unfamiliararity (with guns) I'd have difficulty relaxing in their company, unless I knew them well and trusted them. That's a huge responsibility to carry a firearm, so whether you yourself also have one or not, you have to believe the other person carrying one is trustworthy, even though as in the US, they are living within the law.

Talking of film noir, it must be about time for a Third Man remake - have you considered taking up the zither? Looks to me the food pyramid's a bit of a tease - you can't persuade me it's 'safe' to eat up to 11 donuts a day! You sucker

That pizza looks great Koko. I don't usually opt for pineapple myself - I didn't realise it was frowned upon by some. My favourite pizza would be tomato, cheese, anchovy, olives, peperoni, garlic and maybe mushroom (if it's proper chunky mushroom and not just slivers) on a thin base crust rather than the thick one. I'd add plenty of fresh-ground black pepper at the table and some decent olive oil. A glass of red wine wouldn't go amiss either. Surely that can't be the same roadrunner (beep! beep!) that always evaded mishap.

It seems the Thais don't rave over pizza in the way they do with some other 'western' imports, such as burgers, ice cream, KFC. One of the endearing aspects of Michael's survey of hamburger places is that the evaluating tasters are an enthusiastic mix of farang and Thai. That's a good logo you have there Koko, but can we see what one of your pizzas (the octopus one perhaps) actually looks like?

It wasn't me saying Tristan (the Brad Pitt character) met a good death, it was One Stab. I would be pretty certain the producers of that film wouldn't put words into the mouth of an American Indian that didn't authentically reflect his beliefs. So what he said was in the context of Tristan's whole life. If you or I went for a Bill Bryson-style walk in the woods and One Stab witnessed one of us being mauled to death by a grizzly he'd sure as hell agree with you 'how horrific'. I agree it is daft not to wear a helmet. It's also the law in Thailand. But, people do do it, not wear a helmet, I mean. Why? Well we can't bring back poor old Salvatore Licitra, and I don't know if helmets are compulsory in Italy, but he must have decided it was a risk he was prepared to take. The adrenaline rush tends to be that bit more intense the more you opt for risk. Assuming the sun is shining and the weather is lovely and warm, a motorcyclist riding in shorts, T-shirt & espadrilles and nothing else is going to experience something quite different to a rider dressed in full leathers, proper protective footwear and a claustrophobic full-face helmet. That's assuming the ride is incident-free of course.

How long are you in Bkk for Florida Rob? If you're here for a reasonable length of time why not do a Michael-style survey? His trips round the burger joints and what he's found there is an excellent thread and I am sure a similar one based on pizza would be too.

Yup, we sure do . . . but you can go to extremes! I have a friend about my age I haven't seen for a few years but last time we met he was slim as always, so I expect he's no different now. We chatted on the phone a few days ago and he'd just returned from 3 months in LOS, where he was mostly based in Korat. He's a vegetarian and he raved about the meals he could get for 25 baht. I'm not sure I could exist on 25 baht meals, but that's why I'm so certain he's still thin as a rake. Going naked in public could be argued as being 'as nature intended'. How about walking into a branch of Starbuck's buck-naked and ordering black coffee? That'll learn 'em. Actually, my suspicions'd be aroused if I saw a guy (dressed all in black - fully clothed, I was only joking) come in and just order a black coffee, no sugar, no cream, no cakes, nuthin' else. I'd imagine myself in one of those film noir with only me to save the world from imminent disaster, with the black coffee-drinking guy the villain. B)

Sad, but it sounds to me he lived his short life to the full. Lucky guy, riding a moped, scooter or whatever, a young hot-blooded Italian riding the by-ways of Sicily, the wind blowing in his hair and the sun bleaching it. I am reminded of the words of One Stab, the wise old Indian character, in Legends of the Fall, when the hero, a real outdoorsman, (played by Brad Pitt) met his death by the claws of a grizzly bear "It was a good death".

Money issues and poor or confusing communication, certainly, to which I would add erratic behaviour and / or disturbing personality traits. Right from the word go he loved to get drunk. If I knew then what I know now I would have broken off the relationship after the first time it happened. I didn't and it hovered, rather like a sword of Damocles, slowly but irrevocably poisoning us.