Migrant drownings

[mistermack]

Should the EU keep running rescue operations in the Med?
A while ago they scaled down the rescue effort, arguing that providing an effective rescue service was encouraging more boat people to take the risk.

My own opinion is that the UN should send in troops to control a patch of Libya, and set up a refugee centre.
The UN has the power, and Libya hasn't got a government, so anyone who wanted to argue could be blasted with all the firepower that the UN has at it's disposal.

Once you have a secure base on Libyan soil, just return any refugees that are rescued straight back to Libya. The incentive to set off would be removed at a stroke.

I just saw a Labour Spokeswoman arguing that they should set up an effective rescue force, and drop them off in Italy. What fucking planet are they on? You might as well provide a ferry service.

That's what I find so objectionable about Labour at the moment. They are full of shit, and don't face hard facts. I'm finding it very hard to find anyone I want to vote for.

[cronus]

Redirect the unskilled labor to the parts of Libya that require rebuilding. Use signs and local culture. Make a rumour that Soylent Green is popular in Italy....fake a few pics of the Italian human chicken farms on photoshop and spread them around out a light aircraft.

[laklak]

Just sink them. All they'll do is get to Italy or Malta and start bombing shit and honor killing women. Fuck 'em now, before they get a chance to fuck us. Plus, they're brownish (at best). Last thing we need is mongrelized Wops.

[Xamonas Chegwé]

Just sink them. All they'll do is get to Italy or Malta and start bombing shit and honor killing women. Fuck 'em now, before they get a chance to fuck us. Plus, they're brownish (at best). Last thing we need is mongrelized Wops.

Kindly use your own account, Tyrannical!

[laklak]

Where the hell has Tyr been, anyway? Haven't seen him in a coon's age. he he he he coon's age he he he he

[Seth]

I'm all for rescuing them...and taking them directly back to North Africa, dropping them on the coastline and sinking their boats.

[Seth]

Where the hell has Tyr been, anyway? Haven't seen him in a coon's age. he he he he coon's age he he he he

Dear Straight Dope:

Where does the expression "coon's age" originate? Is it a racial reference or does it actually pertain to raccoons?

— LDziurda

It actually refers to raccoons. The expression "in a coon's age" dates to the early 1800s, and to the folk belief that raccoons are long-lived. My pal Colibri of the Straight Dope Science Advisory Board says, "References differ, but a wild individual raccoon might live up to 5 to 7 years (average survival being much lower, though, probably 2-3 years), and in captivity they can live up to 14-17 years. So their lifespan is comparable to that of a dog."

In the early 1800s, it's doubtful if anyone knew how long raccoons actually lived, and two to three years in the wild is not really very long. But raccoon fur is hardy and reasonably durable, which might have given rise to the belief of longevity.

Many slang terms use the term "coon" to mean raccoon. Their black eye-mask and nocturnal habits suggest anthropomorphic parallels, so we get the term "coon" meaning to steal or pilfer, for instance. The word also was used in the 1830s to mean a rustic, a country-bumpkin. In 1840, the coon was the figurehead of the Whig Party. (Where are the Whigs now when we need them?)

Unfortunately, many of those negative stereotypes were applied to black people, hence the derogatory term "coon," first used in the 1850s but more commonly heard after 1890. Some etymologists speculate that the term was used because of the raccoon's dark coloring rather than its real or imagined behavior. Whatever the case, the usage is highly offensive today - heck, it was highly offensive back then. For that reason, "in a coon's age" makes many people uncomfortable, notwithstanding its innocent origin. You might try "in a dog's age" or "in donkey's years" (British), which have the same meaning. Or "in a month of Sundays," which avoids animals altogether. Better yet, do us all a favor and come up with an original expression. We haven't had a novel way of saying "for a long time" in a coon's age.

— Dex

[Brian Peacock]

I guess that's what we mean by calling a spade a spade?

[JimC]

I call it a fucking shovel!

[Seth]

I call it a fucking shovel!

call a spade a spade
Fig. to call something by its right name; to speak frankly about something, even if it is unpleasant. (Considered offensive by some. Use only with discretion.) Well, I believe it's time to call a spade a spade. We are just avoiding the issue. Let's call a spade a spade. The man is a liar.
See also: call, spade

A general category of shovels tailored to digging hard ground that must be broken with substantial force before it can be moved. Most spades have sharp or nearly sharp edges, often shaped as triangular points. (The typographical spade symbol, ♠, is a stylized icon derived from this idea.) Some spades lack triangular points but are fairly narrow. They are tailored to lawn cutting and to transplanting of bushes and small trees. In fact, their modern mechanized equivalent is also called a tree spade.

Some usage prescriptions prescribe that the words "spade" and "shovel" should be held in contradistinction (piercing and digging [spade] versus scooping and moving [shovel]). Natural language does not widely follow these prescriptions; it more often treats "spade" and "scoop" as contradistinguished subsets under "shovel".

Ergo, every spade is a shovel, but not every shovel is a spade.

[Brian Peacock]

[JimC]

Picky, picky...

[Brian Peacock]

I dig what you're saying man.

[Xamonas Chegwé]

I dig what you're saying man.

No need to lay it on with a trowel!

[Brian Peacock]

Well we all know you're no stranger to manual work.