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A War Ship in the Thames?

(38 Posts)
susiecb Sun 06-May-12 11:52:18

Is it me? has this whole Olympic circus got out of hand? ground to air missiles on residential buildngs what next nuclear warheads on Tower Bridge?

POGS Mon 07-May-12 20:02:26

pompa

Me too for Spooks. Now I am in to Homeland. All very scarey stuff, who would want the job? The closest I got was to almost join the Wrens, I decided I did'nt suit the hat, I did like the black stockings though. Ha Ha how rubbish am I.

whitewave Mon 07-May-12 18:40:30

There was a good article in the Guardian today which spoke about how the recent Leveson enquiry has drawn aside the curtain (no doubt it will soon be snapped shut) for everyone to see how those in power organise things to their own advantage by dodgy dealing, intrigue and old boys network etc etc

tanith Mon 07-May-12 18:34:19

I loved Spooks too pompa, with all whats been going on lately who knows just who runs things , there is a lot more intrigue than any of us will ever know I'm sure .

pompa Mon 07-May-12 18:16:59

I was a fan of Spooks, I sometimes wondered just how close to the truth that series was, just who does run our country at the top level. I'm sure it's not our elected government, far too erratic.

POGS Mon 07-May-12 18:12:33

pompa
Talk about damned if you do and damned if you don't. If we only knew what those in higher places know we might all sit back and say so be it. The days of not thinking the worst are sadly long gone.' It's life Jim but not as we know it' as Captain Kirk said.

Hope you have a lovely day by the way!

pompa Mon 07-May-12 10:49:07

The debris is a serious concern, this was discussed on a news/political programme last week. Unfortunately this is always going to be a dilemma. With 9/11 had the Americans had enough warning to shoot down those planes, it would have killed all those innocent passengers on-board plus many on the ground, but it would have saved many lives overall. An awful decision to have to make, but, in my opinion, better to have the option of having a decision to make rather than being unable to do anything.

absentgrana Mon 07-May-12 10:14:01

Do you remember that time when the government ordered tanks into Heathrow to counter the possibility of ground to air missile attacks on commercial planes? That wasn't exactly plausible either.

absentgrana Mon 07-May-12 10:12:39

pompa And where does the debris fall? And supposing it's "dirty" debris?

Annobel Mon 07-May-12 10:11:28

Sorry, didn't 'blue' my link

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hetaera

pompa Mon 07-May-12 10:09:42

Absentgran, I don't quite understand what you mean by plausible in this instance. If I were piloting a plane considering attacking the Olympic stadium, I would be take a missile pointing at me quite seriously. Obviously the warship and missiles are only intended as a deterrent against air attack. Other measure will be in place to try to prevent other forms of attack.
I and Mrs. P will be in the stadium, so I am glad of any measures to make it safer.

jeni Mon 07-May-12 10:09:31

Make love not war grin

absentgrana Mon 07-May-12 10:07:29

I don't think a concubines area has been a priority for Seb Coe. It might be a better idea than a warship with helicopters.

Annobel Mon 07-May-12 10:05:29

The original meaning of 'hetaera' was 'companion', so not call girls because they were generally attached to one man. They had greater independence, better education and more influence than the wives whose main function was to bear and bring up children.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hetaera

jeni Mon 07-May-12 09:59:58

Call girls?

absentgrana Mon 07-May-12 09:57:15

jeni Classy concubines rather than common prostitutes, perhaps.

jeni Mon 07-May-12 09:55:22

Hetaeras if I remember (not personally) were better educated than the 'gentle' women!
No, they were not virgins! I think geishas were a similar institution?

absentgrana Mon 07-May-12 09:50:05

pompa For posturing to be a deterrent, it has to be plausible.

absentgrana Mon 07-May-12 09:48:41

jeni A huge area of virtually every Greek festival/competition was designated for the tents of the hetaeras. While they didn't actually attend the events, they attended to those who did once the events were over. They definitely weren't virgins.

susiecb Mon 07-May-12 09:44:20

Ah well as its the only ship we have left we might as well have it where we can see it! who cares anyway lets just spend all the money we have left on the Olympics clearly its more important than free school meals for children in poverty, care for the elderly, jobs for the unemployed..............

harrigran Sun 06-May-12 23:19:07

I have fond memories of HMS Ocean, DH's ship. It was in our port last week.

jeni Sun 06-May-12 20:34:28

Ahh! Thanks!

Ariadne Sun 06-May-12 20:23:41

The Romans took on the Greek ideals and adapted them.

The Romans had circuses, where the gladitorial contests were held as the Empire declined; the Greeks had the Olympic ideal, theatre, music, philosophy, art. Any comparisons to be drawn????

Vesta was the Roman goddess of the hearth and home, and the virgins served in her temple - symbol of purity. The Greek equivalent was Hestia.

jeni Sun 06-May-12 20:15:41

It's all a bore anyway! [yawn] now if they went back to the old days, with naked men, but no women! Unless you were a vestal virgin!
I don't understand that. Olympics were Greek, vestals were romanconfused
Any classic scholars out there?

Mishap Sun 06-May-12 19:59:40

It's all a bit far from the olympic ideal! And we heard on the news that someone wandered into the stadium with a bomb!

I'm steering clear!

merlotgran Sun 06-May-12 19:54:29

If nothing else it's a good training excercise.