PokerTime

Might be worth asking te council if the bay was created specifically for his need. If so, then the authorities might have a view on his behaviour. Contact your local councillor for help on this.

Bipolar or manic, it really doesn't matter. Clinical depression is a lifelong battle. Some find ways to manage it, others don't. Either way, until we find an effective way to make life less stressful and painful for those who suffer from it, we will continue to have these head scratching moments, where a successful public icon succumbs. Every day people with severe depressive illness suffer excrutiating pain. Many of them are at the mercy of ATOS for example in this country. If any good can come out of Robin's death, it has to be a concerted effort to help those who are debilatated by this merciless condition. A less stressful dog eat dog society would be a start.

Good article Otta. Depression is a constant state of pain, stress, and/or panic. It's hard for many people to have a conception of what that feels like, without direct experience. There needs to be a greater awareness and more understanding of the difficulties faced by sufferers than there is at present.

I liked that movie too Louisa.

I agree Seabag. For those who spend a lifetime battling with depression, it is an exhausting fight. And it doesn't discriminate between rich and poor, successful or otherwise. I'm guessing (although impossible to know) Robin Williams just got tired of battling it all. Very tragic and especially for the family and friends he leaves behind.

Extremely sad. Dead Poet's Society is one of my favourite films. A great loss :(

Are you sure they were only selling ice cream?

'as a motorist you are responsible for anything you hit' Not true. In pretty much every accident involving a cycle with no lights at night, the driver is absolved of any blame.

There are signs of a slowdown in London though. Latest figures say that prices are rising in just 12% of boroughs, compared to 86% in February. And in central London and more affluent postcodes, like W and SW, prices are begining to fall. Who knows if that's a temporary blip or not. The pound has increased in value recently, which makes prices more expensive for foreign investors, and that might explain what is going on in central London postcodes, but the heat has also gone out of the sealed bids market too. Perhaps with forewarnings of interest rates rises to come (as indeed they have to) buyers are being more cautious?

Fair enough Jeremy and El Pibe. I will conceed that. I was thrown by the use of homoerotic, which still in my opinion has nothing to do with school bullying, and nothing to do with peadophilia. And in the past, peadophilia has been used to suggest homosexuality is akin to sexual criminality/ deviency (a ploy of homophobic lobbyists) - so that's where my accusation of homophobia stemmed from. A misjudged reaction I will though admit.

It may, but it's a tenuous link. I'm more inclined to think that the impact of that is the kind of ruthless lack of compassion that we see in MPs, business leaders etc that have gone through that system. I think that's what it designed for historically. Being able to engage in war, power, government etc without worrying too much about social impacts. But that's a different debate. It's still not a healthy environment for young people if we want to see a society of well adjusted young adults. Edited to add; when research looks into the wide variety of backgrounds and upbringing, it's a real challenge to find any set of common factors. That's true even through psychology. And as LadyD posted earlier, there's a whole new area of research into women that abuse children. We are all familiar with Myra Hindley and Rosemary West, but most abuse is low key, subtle and hidden, and therefore goes undisclosed. Even when people has strong and well founded suspicions about people in their own communities, it is extremely hard to find evidence unless a victim comes forward.

You've lost me El Pibe I'm afraid. What do greeks, public school bullies, homosexuals etc have to do with peadophiles when a sensible debate thus far has already identified the wide spectrum of child sexual abuse (and the difficulties in identifying why some adults behave in such a way) - a good number of the victims are female btw in case anyone hadn't noticed. It's as simple as this. Some adults pursue a sexual desire to abuse children. They often seek jobs where they can gain access to children, but not always. Peadophiles come from all backgrounds, in all shapes and forms. The vast majority of people who share those backgrounds do not turn out that way. So to blame any kind of school system, or hospital etc as the reason why any adult would behave like that is nonsense.

I stand by my post Jeremy. The comment was prompted by a probe into MPs linked to peadophilia. First mate is making a link between peadophilia and public school behaviour which he also describes as being homoerotic (last time I checked the system of young boys being servants to peers in public schools was about bullying, servitude and power, not some homoerotic desire). That is his mistake, not mine.

Gosh Otta. That is shocking but I think typifies just why peadophilia wasn't taken as seriously then as it is now. Mac, I am in agreement about the problems and nature of pupil to pupil abuse. I don't know enough about that to have any really informed view. Friends that I have that are teachers though, do tell me that they are very limited in how they can deal with those kinds of issues, and I guess the problems would be the same in a public school. Croosed post with Otta; You are right given that number of unknown peadophiles and related crimes. But there is accurate information available relating to those convicted. It's quite a highly researched area over the past two decades and background is measured as part of that research.

El Pibe Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > 'fag' is something different in public schools. > somewhere between batman, slave and bullying > target, which in some cases can involve sexual > abuse. > > The connection is perfectly valid. > > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fagging Except it was proceeded by 'homoerotic', which makes it clear what the intent was. I just don't think it's appropriate in a discussion about something as serious as sexual child abuse to be stooping to jibes about public schools and homoerotic inunendo. Public schools are no more responsible for creating peadophiles than anywhere else. First Mate's comment was frivilous at best.

Well done First Mate. Not only have you used homophobic language, but you also have managed to compare peadophilia to homosexualtiy - also equally offensive btw. Yes, peadophiles can be found in jobs/ roles that give them easy access to children, which can include schools, but it has nothing to do with homosexuality. Peadophiles abuse both girls and boys. Perhaps if I rephrase your comment to say 'hetero-erotic, straight culture' you might just understand how offensive and stupid your comment is. I really do wish some people would think before posting.

Very interesting link LD. We can only guess at how much abuse goes/ has gone unreported. It's very hard to have the whole picture.

the-e-dealer Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Why do you find the notion strange its widely > known that many abusers were abused. There has to be some care in making these kinds of parallels. Most abused children do not grow up to be abusers themselves. Nor are all peadophiles the victim of childhood abuse. There is however a theory that in dealing with trauma, the brain in some people rewires itself to turn trauma (pain) into fantasy (pleasure). That would be one explanation why something traumatic to a child, or indeed an adult, then becomes in turn a sought out act of pleasure. BUT, the vast majority of abused children, whilst suffering psychological damage do not develop in this way. It is also notable that that the vast majority of sexual abusers are male. Women who abuse children tend to use violence and neglect. But women have often looked the other way while husbands, brothers etc have sexually abused their own children. It's impossible to know why any of these people behave in this way. All that can be said is that there are a whole range of adults who do not see children in the way most of us do. Jailing people like Glitter, gives some protection to society. Jailing someone like Rolf, after the act, sends a clear message that no-one is above the law. Both of these men have had entire lifetimes to seek help or find some way to live another way. They chose not to. Compare that to the lifetime of shame felt by their victims.

Many adults have things they'd like to do if they could, but don't because they know they are wrong. Being sexually abused as a child does not excuse repeat behaviour as an adult. Most abused children do not turn into peadophiles. These men (and it is mostly men) know that what they are doing is wrong, but do it anyway. The BBC made a documentary some years ago, following the probation services in dealing with convicted peadophiles. Some of the sessions with doctors and probation officers were chilling, in that these men were completely obsessed with the pursuit of victims, but in complete denial of the harm they did. There's a complete moral disconnect going on. I think it's right to only prosecute on the grounds of strong evidence, but have no sympathy whatsoever for those caught and convicted.

Hmm..well on the one hand there are illegal settlements, that the UN has been powerless to do anything about. On the other there is Hamas, who do what they can to in turn provoke Isreal. And then there is the Gaza Strip where Palestinians are subject to regular curfews, which can sometimes last days. And there is also the issue of water. Isreal absolutely abuse their power. They can do so because of nuclear muscle. If Hamas were to dissolve, would the plight of ordinary Palestinians improve? Whatever is going on with the politics and conflict of the region, Isreal ARE oppressing the people of the Gaza Strip, and the World is letting them do it.

Thirded. Sexual abuse is a very serious matter. Celebrities are not above the law. There will be identifying factors common amongst independent accusers, some of which will be physical characteristics of the accused. Defence teams show little mercy in cross examining victims. There is a reason why some victims of rape for example find the prospect of going to court terrifying. If you look at the progression of the way rape cases have been handled over the past 40 years, it's not hard to see why prosecution now is far easier than it would have been in the 70s for example.

Peadophiles are expert at hiding their crimes. Always have been and always will be. I would like to think that children today though are far more able to report inappropriate behaviour and that the authorities are much quicker to act when allegations are made. What I think is most appalling is that circles around Saville, Gary Glitter etc all knew what was going on, but without victims coming forward, they were impossible to prosecute, or fire for that matter.

That's right Jah. That kind of connection will always leads to cries of foul. I agree with you DaveR. The case against Brooks was weak, Coulson, iron clad. Juries have to be sure beyond reasonable doubt. That's what always amuses me too about the reporting of not guilty verdicts 'the jury have found you not guilty'. 'Found' is a word that exonerates the jury of letting the guilty get away with it, as much as defining the injustice of those wrongly accused. On the other hand, maybe Brooks is only guilty of being an employee of an organisation over which she had no real control over methods. We shall never know.

Sigh....the decendance in to left/ right rhetoric again - so lazy. People on both the right and left are able to buy influence, if they have connections and enough money. We will never know for sure if a legal team with high connections within a government and the establishment had any influence in determining a not guilty verdict - but one would think, given the nature of the case, it was always going to lead to questions of corruption using a legal team like that.

And biting can be dangerous if the person biting has a condition like hepatitus or HIV.