However, the US (via its media outlets) is imposing this model of halloween via its channels worldwide. I think that's a perfect example of cultural imperialism.

That's why I see it as harmful.

It's bewildering from a cross-cultural point of view, I mean only that.

Halloween in England, at least, had its own traditions - apple bobbing etc, which have mostly died out. I guess we lost interest. Or the victorians became puritanical about celebrating evil, as they would have seen it.

What makes me angry is precisely the cynical way in which cheap plastic Chinese crap is being sold to us, when 10 years ago, it wasn't.

I simply don't answer the door.

In the UK, It's only kids (and their parents) who watch too much American crap on TV, who do it.

Personally, I despise this ridiculous 'holiday'. The last thing we need are more shipping containers, full of Chinese plastic crap arriving at Felixstowe - being imported and sold by the supermarkets - who are desperate to encourage a new yearly orgy of consumerism.

Modern Halloween is yet another bewildering American concept, borrowed from traditional European practices (mostly from Celtic Samhain, some early Pagan/Christian crossover, bits of Roman stuff), but distorted grotesquely by the lens of capitalistic greed.

Bonfire night is so much more fun - and I mean a proper bonfire. The fireworks are, and should be, a sideshow. A proper echo of Samhain etc. - the celebration of the end of harvest and the start of a risky, cold, non-productive season. There is something wonderful about a good bonfire on a crisp Autumn night.

I think Schneier wrote about this in 'Beyond Fear'. A book which I think should be required reading for all politicians and policy makers.

The security staff in Israeli airports are trained to look for people 'acting hinky' - they have years of experience in this and an excellent record.

The Taliban in particular are not above using innocent women or children as remotely detonated 'suicide' vest victims - sometimes willing, but often not.

There is nothing preventing a mixed approach. Randomise searches by all means (I agree with Schneier, it can't not improve security), but you need the human behavioral analysis to bolster this for better security - that analysis is best done by trained professionals, something which the TSA are currently, not.

I first had a ZX81 (1K), but I spent, probably both birthday AND christmas money on the Kempston 16K RAM pack. It plugged in the back via the card-edge connector, and was extremely sensitive to vibration. Heavy footfall around that machine, during a game load, would crash it without fail.

I now have 2GB in my thinkpad (plenty with Linux) and 4GB in my gaming rig (vista - spit).

Interestingly, both the ZX81 and the replacement Acorn Electron were stolen in separate burglaries. I lent my C64 to a friend, who's dickhead brother sold it. I think by then I had a 640K 8086 PC.

I forgot to mention the Private Eye cryptic crossword. I love it.

http://private-eye.co.uk/sections.php?section_link=crossword

Set by Cyclops (Brummie in the Graun), it usually contains some absolutely hilarious clues, and is often extremely rude.

Private Eye is the last bastion of decent satire and serious investigative journalism "In the Back".

I also read New Scientist, but that's been declining in quality for years. I think they should switch to a bi-monthly edition, and really concentrate on improving the content. I haven't bought it for years, but I do read it at the library from time to time.

They should. There will be a prominent notice on the door:

"No Trick-or-treating, you're not bloody yanks".

I'd boil some brussel sprouts and dip them in melted chocolate, leave in the fridge overnight, and serve to any unfortunate trick-or-treaters.

But, I'm glad it doesn't happen round here. Children should not be allowed to watch that American crap on TV.

My word! The only good thing about Woking is the fast service into London. The fiends!

We have a small town local computer store, which carries all the usual overpriced peripheral stuff, available on the Internet for 1/10th of the price. I think he's doing reasonably well.

They also deal in second-hand computers, sold at a very decent margin I'm sure.

If you think about it, most domestic PCs get bought from Dell, are loaded with crapware and succumb to the malware by year 3, rendering them so slow that they're unusable. This guy is buying those PCs, cleaning them up and re-installing the factory OS, without the crapware. For many people, it's almost better than a new machine.

He is genuinely adding value, since you can bring it back to be looked at, under his warrenty. The customer has built a relationship of trust with the vendor, and nobody (really) loses out.

He builds bespoke PCs too, so he always has the upsale and upgrade potential.

Try finding anyone in the UK who gives a damn about prisoner voting rights. Prisoners abused other people's rights, which landed them in prison.

Being in prison removes several rights, the most notable being freedom of movement. In this case, it limits freedom of movement to and from polling stations.

I would love to see the SlashBI page hit stats, now that it's been running for a few months.

I'm betting 10 a day, tops. It's barely even linked to on the front page, just in that 'Channels' drop down, that I hadn't even noticed until I went looking for it.

Pick an article at random and there are almost always 0 comments.

Fail.

I know I'm probably coming off as ignorant but I'm not necessarily saying this project doesn't have a noble purpose. I'm just asking what it is exactly...

Sub launched or fighter delivered short range nuclear weapons. First strike, or retaliatory strike, it doesn't matter.