How was this Microsoft's fuckup? The extended support termination deadline was published more-or-less a full decade in advance. The onus was on you to work around that fact- it's hardly as though you've been pressed for time. They had their cards on the table from the start. If their solution wasn't right (or indeed, as is the case now, safe) for you in the long term, the mistake's on your part for not having chosen a more sustainable solution. Microsoft's supported XP for thirteen years now. They've more than fulfilled their support responsibilities.

Really? Do you have any idea how much British Doctors are paid?

Have a gander at their pay levels on the NHS Website.
They're extremely well paid, by British standards. Heck- better qualified doctors get well into six figures per annum.

For those who aren't aware of it, this was composed using Scott Pakin's Automatic Complaint Letter Generator.

Nay, 'twasn't.
The Half-Life engine is a heavily modified version of the original QuakeWorld engine, with a couple of changes from the Q2 engine implemented to buff it up.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldsrc

The saddest thing about this sorry situation is that the all-but-inevitable winners of the next election, the Conservatives, aren't at all likely to be any better than New Labour in that respect- barring a once-in-a-century Liberal Democrat election victory, we're in for at least another five years of British Conservatism's nauseatingly public-spirited new incarnation.

What good is Democracy when there are no significant alternatives?

I live in the UK, and can honestly say that that's just not the case in many places. The branch of McDonalds in my local city (Derby) keeps that ghastly noise on nigh-on constantly. In fact, I've never noticed it turned off- don't give me that condescending "It's not meant to be used like that!" rubbish- the fact remains that it is.

Not all teenagers are the thugs you appear to be describing- I'd say that it's unfair to punish the majority in response to the actions of a few idiots. And the sound is insanely annoying.