SpankyMcFarland

A very expensive lesson prolonged for years more than it needed to be.

Defeat in Indochina played no role in helping the US win the Cold War. It was a disaster from the start.

Chernenko was terminally ill when he got the top job, worse than Churchill in his second stint and about as bad as FDR when he started his final term. Like any man of that age, Biden could pop his clogs at any time but he’s in better shape right now than any of them were. However, I think head of government is an ordeal better suited to somebody under 60. We seem to be realizing that in Canada. And what’s all this dissing of Russia, one of the few countries that shares our love of ice hockey? Perhaps only Germany and Italy have produced a greater body of classical music, and in one c

Geographical isolation helped the US avoid dictatorship. A violent change at the top was a frequent event in Europe following defeat in war.

By contemporary standards, I don’t remember much hatred for Mitt from the left and I never met anybody who disliked him intensely. Romney would have made an ideal candidate in earlier times - happy, wholesome, hypercompetent, Hollywood-handsome, a winner in every way - but his own party didn’t want that much sunshine any more, or a talent for compromise with the Libs. The biggest rap against him across the political spectrum was that, like windsurfer John Kerry, he appeared to be out of touch with modern America. Thus the binders, dressage horses, car elevators, 47% remarks etc. were merely co

No, just talking about Stalin and Hitler in that post.

What happened first as farce this week may return as tragedy. American democracy will face far more competent domestic enemies than Trump.

Socialism with a capitalist twist as well. There lies a crucial difference between the two regimes. Hitler supported private ownership and the great companies of Germany as long as they served his purposes. One relevant lesson from Nazi Germany here, and something we should bear in mind when dealing with Xi and the gang, is that capitalism and totalitarianism are not incompatible.

There are athletes who can’t resist betting on games, taking steroids or bribing refs. That’s who they are. Trump is one of those guys in the sport of politics. He sees nothing wrong with cheating and seems to enjoy it. There is no hope of changing an old man who thinks that way, and there is no excuse for supporting him.

Like many other major global problems, dealing with the CCP will involve both mitigation and adaptation. We can do very little to change Xi and the gang on our own so our only hope is to work with our allies and trading partners to push back on aggressive Chinese government behaviour at home and abroad. If trade is going to be threatened every time some individual voices an opinion the boys in Beijing don’t like, then we are probably going to have to cut back on trade. I didn’t agree with arresting Meng and persisting with extradition, especially after Trump made clear she was just a barg

No doubt there are Trumpsters out there who will defend even this behaviour: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/03/us/politics/trump-raffensperger-call-georgia.html?action=click&module=Top Stories&pgtype=Homepage

Here’s a rare good news story: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/iran-women-refugees-rights-citizenship/2020/12/24/0b5f74b0-445d-11eb-ac2a-3ac0f2b8ceeb_story.html

The origin of the war was in the east - a rising power, Russia, threatened Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire simultaneously. Sooner or later, something was going to light that spark. The war resumed until Russia won in 1945.