Mandy Lifeboats

16 minutes ago, fruitvilla said:

UK does not have a constitution if I remember correctly. And it certainly would not be directing what time people set their clocks.

Yes and no.  We have no single document.  But we have a collection of laws, common laws and other documents which form our constitution.  Something as simple as the right to a fair trial is made up from documents as old as the Magna Carta and as modern as the Human Rights Act.

2 minutes ago, fruitvilla said:

You stayed up to 2 in the morning at the age of 3 to watch the change the clocks?

No.  The tradition is that the day after you change the clocks every true Englishman must wait until its dark and then say "Look how dark it is".   It's one of those odd traditions like burning a Guy Fawkes, watching the Queen on TV on Christmas Day and boiling the door-knobs on St Pancreas Day.  

Spot on @davkaus. 

I remember the first time I said it.  I was 3 years old and the family had gathered round.  I still have the home video.  

Did you get the commerative spoon at yours? 

17 minutes ago, villa4europe said:

Are you suggesting that if germans had guns they'd have risen up against the nazis? 

Because it that's the case I think you're way off as to how the nazis came in to power and how the majority of their reign played out 

The nazis would be a better example as to how traditional stereotypes and fears, propaganda, lies and circumstance can lead to the public to believing something is good for them when it really isn't

No.  That's absolutely nowhere near what I am saying.  

I am saying that you cannot rely on the general population to rise up against a tyrannical government.  Let alone succeed. 

8 minutes ago, mjmooney said:

Indeed. But in mainland USA? Can't see it. 

Nor can I.  But the constitution is a historical document written in a different time.  It was amended to remove slavery. It could be amended to allow gun control.  

I did say at the very start of today's post that I don't agree with this argument.  But I can understand it.  

It's akin to asking British people to deny our constitutional obligation to put the clocks back and hour and then say "Look how dark it is" the following day.  It would not stand. 

1 hour ago, mjmooney said:

Of course not, and nor could they have done had they each had a rifle. The "people's militia" argument was arguably spurious even in the muzzle-loading 18th Century, and it is an utter nonsense in the modern era of armies with tanks, artillery and jet aircraft. 

EDIT: Having said that, the Viet Cong did OK against the US military machine. 

Afghanistan is another good example. Their well armed militia kicked out the British Empire, the USSR and the USA.  

1 hour ago, villa89 said:

You think the people who carry handguns will just stop using guns? They'll just carry sawn off shotguns or uzi's instead. 

If you cut the supply of cheap legal guns you prevent those guns falling into the hands of criminals.  That cuts the supply of cheap black market guns.  

If gun control is the answer you have to ban everything or something.  I can see no more logical choice than ban the thing that is used to commit the most crimes.  

But here is something I do agree with.  

About 66% of USA gun crime involves handguns. 

Ban handguns before worrying about assault rifles. 

It's a sad reflection on the USA that a mass shooting of 10 people with a assault rifle makes the news.  But 20 individual gang related deaths is not worth a mention. 

I don't agree with the following but here's the issue.  

The USA was founded by a well armed militia that stood up to a tyranical government (The UK).  The constitution recognises this and states that a well regulated militia is necessary. It may be needed to stand up to a tyrannical government in the future.  This gives normal, law abiding citizens the right to arm themselves.  

No-one needs an assault rifle to protect the home or to protect themselves in daily life.   But that's not the intention of the Second Amendment to the Constitution. 

Democracy is 2 wolves and a sheep voting on what to eat for dinner.  

Freedom is arming the sheep to oppose democracy if necessary.  

History is a great teacher.  Did the ordinary law abiding German rise up to stop the tyranical but democratically elected Nazi Party?   

Bob Dole was an amazing guy.  He was blown up by an artillery shell in Italy during WW2.  He was left for dead by his owns medics.  He was eventually checked by another medic the following day and rescued.  He spent 4 years in hospital and was on the verge of death numerous times.  

Thanks @mjmooneybut I would love to see something with more detail.  

Was Angelesey joined to Wales or is that just the resolution of the map? 

Roman maps tend to come in 2 types. They are original maps and not entirely accurate.  Or modern maps with limited amounts of historical information superimposed upon them.  

I often  wonder what the UK in 400ad actually looked like.  How much land has fallen into the sea since then.  How much marshland has been reclaimed?  Where did the rivers flow?  What rivers have been lost.  

If anyone gets a time machine for Christmas please screen shot Googlindium Mapimux and post it.  

But if anyone knows of a site that has that information please post a link.  I think it would be fascinating.  

Santa.  

There seems a few holes in the "official" version of events.  I wonder if it's just a conspiracy to regulate young children's behaviour each December?  

Could someone explain this to me.  

I drive to the Villa, buy a packet of polos from the motorway services, have a pint at the stadium, sit in the Holte End, celebrate our victory in a curry house afterwards and then go onto a nightclub.  

The only part of that day that requires a mask is buying the polos.  
 

Is there a product or service that Phillip Schofield wouldn't advertise? 

I find this hard to believe.  Surely he said -

Has it been busy?

What time do you finish? 

Although I have left the house there is someone there. So please don't get any of your shady mates to burgle the place. 

What's this stain on the velor seat cover? 

11 hours ago, KentVillan said:

 

Edit: but seriously, thanks, it’s so interesting to get a proper explanation of this stuff

The best way to explain these things are real examples that are extreme.  

For diminished responsibility think about a crime committed by a 30 year old who has the mental age of a 9 year old.  The age of criminal responsibility in the UK is 10.  We accept that a 9 year old mind is not fully formed and they should not be criminaly accountable.  

So how do you treat a 30 year old man with a 9 year old 's mind?  You apply diminished responsibility. 

1 hour ago, KentVillan said:

Thanks, that’s really helpful. Going back to the original question, what is the threshold for diminished responsibility? One of my mum’s friends was stabbed to death by her son, and diminished responsibility was agreed, although family wanted a murder trial.

Personally I felt he was very obviously mentally ill and had been let down by the state, but it was easy to see where the family were coming from, and difficult to fully understand the reasoning.

Sorry this is going a bit off topic, but say this bomber had survived, would diminished responsibility have been a realistic approach for the defence?

Diminished responsibility is where a recognised condition leaves the person unable to function properly and make decisions that a normal person would make.  There's no threshold.  It is a balance of probability judgement and the onus is on the defence to prove it to that standard. 

You need to understand the difference between  "defence" and "mitigation". 

A defence is an argument that you are innocent.  

Mitigation is an admission of guilt combined with an attempt to reduce the charge and/or sentence. Diminished responsibility is mitigation.  

But it would have been pointless.  Had he survived he would have gone to prison for life.  There is no way his sentence or charges would have been reduced by any meaningful amount.  

25 minutes ago, bickster said:

Police and Bomb Disposal are currently back at the Sutcliffe Street address. Which has already been searched once when the initial arrests were made

All very confusing

An anonymous source has suggested that a packet of uneaten custard doughnuts was missed in the first search. 

22/2/22 is on a Tuesday.  

Spot on @Chindie

The insanity defence is rarely used and is rarely successful. 

What is far more common is:

The defence claim that the accused is unfit to stand trial or could not receive a fair trial due to their mental illness.  

The defence claims diminished responsibility. Putting it very simply this means that they accept they committed a crime but their mental health meant they didn't realise the full consequences of what they did.  

But someone who has the cognitove ability to create and plan a suicide bombing is unlikely to be insane.  

6 hours ago, KentVillan said:

I always find it fascinating when people who commit certain crimes, which seem to be signs of a very unusual brain, are found to *not* be mentally ill. Suicide bombing a women's hospital surely falls into that category.

I don't get how these criminal psychological diagnoses work. Maybe something for the Things You Often Wonder thread.

"Insanity" is a legal defence which  is defined as the state where someone does not realise what they are doing is wrong.    It does not mean that  person doesn't suffer from a mental illness.  

Many murderers are mentally ill.  But they are not necessarily "insane". 

The obvious example is depression.  It's a mental illness.  But its not a state where you can't distinguish right from wrong.  

26 minutes ago, sidcow said:

What I can't fathom (pardon the pun) is that Busted went to the year 3,000 and felt that not much has changed "BUT THEY LIVE UNDERWATER" .  Call me old fashioned but that seems like a pretty **** massive change to me?  Basically EVERYTHING has changed if mankind is living underwater. 

Furthermore "Triple breasted women swim around town totally naked."  That's a significant change.  

53 minutes ago, astondalston said:

Do any of our resident watch experts have any knowledge to shine on Yema watches?

They've got a strong social media game but is there anything behind the hype? Nice looking watches but I need to know more....

 

 

 

They are an established French brand with a decent history.  Some of their watches look great.  Some look like ans explosion in a 1970 watch factory.  But that's personal taste. 

But.......

Have a look at their rating on Trust Pilot.  Its presently 2.2 out of 5.  There are many mentions of poor customer service and problems with orders.  

On 12/11/2021 at 12:19, BOF said:

Shame on Worcester.

Did Elgar contribute just a tiny bit more to music than Cher Lloyd?   Discuss.