Re: OT :I find myself agreeing with Conor. What should I do?

I'm not. Most of the retired people in Bridlington made their decisions to retire there based on a weeks holiday as a kid fifty years ago and day trips in the summer when they were older. They then whinge and moan like f*ck when it closes in September.

IMO/E it does make some difference if there's the possibility of being properly ill. It's not unusual to be told you *might* have something horrendous by the NHS and have to wait a long time for diagnostic testing, whereas with private it's generally done very fast. It might sound like a luxury to be tested quickly, but fast diagnosis can make a big difference to your chances of recovery. And beyond that, the worry of possibly having cancer or similar, with it getting worse all the time would make it very difficult to carry on a normal life in the meantime.

So, your desire to move to America is based on a relatively long-term stretch of working and living over there on home-market wages, paying local taxes and using local services, then?

Fair enough if it is, but I suspect you have your rose-tinted tourist glasses on.

I think the difference is at the diagnosis stage. After that, they turn you over to the NHS.

I don't like easily concealable semi-automatic bows.

I don't like Television or Soccer either but I am happy for other people to like them and I don't think they should be banned.

Yes, I understand, but I don't think justifying guns by comparing them to cars is very useful.

I am absolutely certain that in their relative histories, guns have killed many more people than cars.

If I was given the choice between the 2, I think I'd still use a gun instead of a car if I wanted to kill someone.

Eh? Illegally owned = untraceable. I think you'll find that very few gun crimes are committed with legally held weapons. I think you'll also find that it's possible to hire unregistered weapons by the hour, and have them delivered to you.

FWIW the real issue is a lack of Police / Authority. I watched Boyz n the Hood a while back, and the thing that struck me was how I would probably have acted in much the same way when I was that sort of age, if I were in the same situations. Teenage lads tend to be full of bravado and testosterone and given the opportunity, they'll rip each other to bits, be it with their fists, knives or guns.

Yeah...

Car ownership in NYC would play a large part as they're very pro PT. According to wikipedia (so take that as you wish) 48% of New Yorkers own private cars although it doesn't quantify if that's per capita or per household.

The Burglary is directly comparable as Larceny is listed as a seperate entry. I tried to post the figures which I felt were as comparable as could be and the ones people are bleating on about the most here.

Basically in NYC from 1997 to 2006, total crime has dropped 42.4%, violent crime 43.9%, burglary 59.1% and vehicle theft 69.3%. I'm not sure how representative it is of other major urban centers in the US.

Yes.

I've never been.

After which you still have the option of paying / having medical cover which pays for you to jump the queue in a lot of cases. You may be getting the same care but you can get it faster.

Erm.

See above.

Erm, you snipped the context.

Give everyone a gun and the criminal fraternity are more likely to use theirs - out of fear of the person they're robbing shooting back.

At least, the way things are in the UK, they're pretty certain the person they're robbing won't be firing back, so they have less need to shoot you in the first place.

I'm not sure that's the case with something like cancer.

What it may do is get you a private room, though.

If criminal facts are committed in or around Manchester by former- Eastblock-residents than that is indeed of major likelihood.

Tom De Moor

In Manchester, they're more than likely wanting to be 'straight outta Compton'

I think you might be mistaken: worldwide there are per year 1.2 million people are killed by cars.

For the UK: per year around 2000 killed by car, 700 killed by motorbike,

If there is no armed conflict, cars win it every time. Even if there is an armed conflict, cars are giving guns a hard time.

Tom De Moor

That's a lot of people, but I still reckon that more people have died by gun than by car.

I still don't like guns more than I like cars.

I have them both and in quantity.Cars and guns have in fact a lot in common: they are both mechanical things, both enjoyable and both command respect and responsability.

Both can and will bite if you screw up.

I like technical things and furthermore -when people claim such or such is dangerous and would prefer me not having them- then that's an other reason to have them.

Are guns needed? Well, they are just as indispensable as a 200 MPH-car.

So I would say: very needed.

Tom De Moor

I've got a shortcut: I've worked for a US company for over two years now; their immigration law around offering the job to someone in the US before someone from abroad doesn't apply if I take a job over there with my present employer.

Nah, they tend to use boots these days. Even the most jaded copper couldn't lock up a scrote for being in possession of offensive footwear.