YtwokParanoia mentions MartialLaw as being ''no fun, but the alternative might not be too much fun either.'' ---- Indeed. But what does the US resident think MartialLaw means? I have seen the closest thing to martial law available recently in Europe (not including the Balkans http://www.visa2003.com/citizenship.htm), Ulster before the "Peace Process". It was quite upsetting to walk round a street corner and almost bump into a spotty teen-ager with an SA-80 and a vacant expression. It made you wonder to see armoured Land-Rovers prowl the streets from police stations with high observation towers, to know that the soldiers on the road blocks ''would'' shoot to kill. But equally, to a UK citizen living else where in the British Isles, it's very, very strange to have to ''carry ID'', as in Ulster it's very, very strange to see ''police officers'' with firearms, as in Ulster. It's less unusual in some other parts of the European Union. I find it very difficult to make sense of some of the statements made on YtwokParanoia, but maybe I don't understand the baseline. -- KeithBraithwaite ------ MartialLaw has never been very far from the American Experience. In fact, it hasn't been too many years since it was in place in parts of the country. During the late 1960's (particularly in the times just following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.) there were riots in a number of American urban centers. These riots were almost all followed by a period of MartialLaw where people's movements were restricted (usually not by police, but by members of the National Guard and U.S. Army carrying not just firearms, but Assault rifles and driving tanks) and T.V. programs consisted of "Stay at home" warnings. On a smaller scale, the same thing happened just a few years ago during riots after the Rodney King verdict was announced. KyleBrown ---- CategoryLaw