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  1. Wait! Wait! It'll come to me. Does Henry...

    Wait! Wait! It'll come to me.

    Does Henry Morgan sacking Portobello and Panama count?
  2. Eh? I've seen worse threaddrift. There is a...

    Eh? I've seen worse threaddrift.

    There is a reason they might. Both rail and canal transport are expensive to build, in terms of man hours mostly, but cheap to operate. Roads are also expensive...
  3. I don't doubt that those are factors. I do doubt...

    I don't doubt that those are factors. I do doubt that they're sufficient explanation in themselves for quite _such_ a radical change. I can't even think of a simile that quite does that change...
  4. It is, perhaps, not insignificant that when...

    It is, perhaps, not insignificant that when Eisenhower announced our soon to be interstate system, it was as the "National Defense Highway System."

    On the other hand, one can read too much into...
  5. It would apply less as cultures come to resemble...

    It would apply less as cultures come to resemble each other, true. But if the important point is mere difference, and the extent to which that drives our tacit, more or less emotional view of what...
  6. Most of these armies have no external competitor,...

    Most of these armies have no external competitor, only internal ones. For those, perhaps a show of strength is often enough.

    Why do we worry about Venezuela? Damned if I know. All the...
  7. That's true and fair, but there is still a very...

    That's true and fair, but there is still a very broad range between an M-1, Bradley-mounted Infantry, and Palladin for fires system, on the one hand, and one with M-50s, infantry that ride atop the...
  8. I think we're talking apples and oranges here. ...

    I think we're talking apples and oranges here. Was Japan part of the largely western system of nation states? Clearly, but that's political, not cultural. Were they trying to become a modern...
  9. Because it's one or another dialect of Yiddish,...

    Because it's one or another dialect of Yiddish, not German. That, or I just got the gender wrong, in Yiddish. Or, it could be rapidly encroaching, premature senility, and where I read it was right,...
  10. Capacity for rational thought helps, but a) wann...

    Capacity for rational thought helps, but a) wann die putz steht, liegt die Sinn in die Erde and b) the male IQ drops, in the presence of a cute female, and in direct proportion to her cuteness.

    In...
  11. Economically? Sure. In terms of its position in...

    Economically? Sure. In terms of its position in the post-Westphalia world? Sure. Culturally? Far from clear. And, since perception in these things tends to be reality, they didn't think they...
  12. That's all true enough, but there are a number of...

    That's all true enough, but there are a number of sliding scales in there, as well as some objective factors. For example, a rebuilt and somewhat upgraded (thermals and ERA, maybe a new engine and...
  13. Maybe, maybe not. I understand that Venezuela...

    Maybe, maybe not. I understand that Venezuela remanufactured its AMX-30fleet. Now the turrets can only traverse about 60 degrees. Who knows what they might have ended up with if they'd started...
  14. Just to throw a little monkey wrench into the...

    Just to throw a little monkey wrench into the works, Colin, contemplate that an army will be no better than its training, coupled with the possibility that all the most important training the soldier...
  15. What's always (or, rather, since reading it)...

    What's always (or, rather, since reading it) struck me most about Huntington's thesis, and supports it most, is how freaking _merciless_ cross civilizational wars are. Between Brits, French, and...
  16. Matter of fact, when a book comes to me, it comes...

    Matter of fact, when a book comes to me, it comes in the form of a title first. Then the story more or less falls in on the title. No doubt the story was floating around in the back of my head prior...
  17. Okay, I have obviously NOT gotten the trick of...

    Okay, I have obviously NOT gotten the trick of interspersing with quotes. See the above.
  18. Except in the case of the Japanese, I'm not sure...

    Except in the case of the Japanese, I'm not sure that's true, both your criticism and your characterization. I mean, he has to have been aware of blond, blue eyed Islamic Circassians, highly western...
  19. They may well do it worse than us, and are...

    They may well do it worse than us, and are perhaps unlikely to do it any better, but yes.
  20. Embraer, yes. Seems to me I recall some others. ...

    Embraer, yes. Seems to me I recall some others. Being a gruntish type, I'm usually inclined to think ground equipment. My flaw, I know.
  21. If by "fatally flawed" you mean Huntington's...

    If by "fatally flawed" you mean Huntington's writing off or Latin and Orthodox civilization as distinct from, and generally inimical to, Western Civlization, I am inclined to agree with you. I think...
  22. Nah, I'm still around, but if I have nothing to...

    Nah, I'm still around, but if I have nothing to say on a given subject then there's no sense saying it.
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    They'd never let the saplings last long enough to...

    They'd never let the saplings last long enough to become trees. They couldn't; they must eat today.

    Which reminds me of something. In Korea, once upon a time, the Army had to hire Koreans to...
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    Yes, Botswana is something of a model. Yet it's...

    Yes, Botswana is something of a model. Yet it's a model that has no real bearing on Haiti. Botswana was fortunate to have been a British rather than a French posession, to have not been a slave...
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    One can't help but wonder what would keep them...

    One can't help but wonder what would keep them there, making a few hundred dollars a year, and living like dogs, when they could just pack up again. Perhaps if that hadn't, as the article pointed...
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