Why do circuit breakers go up for on and down for off?

Nope, no Kool Aid involved at all.

Putin has clearly invaded an independant Ukraine and it is irrelevant how many russians are in the Ukraine.

Nope.

That is very arguable given how he handled the great depression.

Only to isolationists like you.

Bullshit. There was never ever any possibility of the USA and UK kicking the USSR out of Poland after the war had ended. Wasn't even possible with east germany either.

Just a case of "My enemy's enemy is my friend."

Ah, yes, where's my 'An Enquiry Concerning Human Undertanding'? Right there between 'The Sprouting Book' and 'Edible Plants of the Rocky Mountains'. I really should organize some day.

when I came home this evening and a neighborhood cat who had been sauntering south did an about face and ran down my driveway I assume the cat inferred a blue car meant the possibility of food.

More fools them. Britain was in no shape to defend itself in 1939 let alone Poland. At the onset all Germany wanted was to build a road to East Prussia which had been severed from Germany proper by the Danzig Corridor. Poland as an independent country hadn't even existed for 100 odd years prior to Versailles. Figuring Britain had their back the Poles got pigheaded, a national trait. Arguably Poland would have had a much better war had it allied with Germany.

Beneš thought he was wilier but that didn't prove to be the case. Czechoslovakia was another idiotic creation by politicians that had no feeling for ethnic groups. Not surprisingly the Czechs and Slovaks seem to be getting along quite well together since their velvet divorce.

Someday all those old cold warriors will march off into the sunset. It can't come too soon. I have no fondness for Russia but I have to agree with Putin that the US has been prodding and poking since the supposed end of the Cold War. Britain didn't want to let go of world hegemony and lost everything. The US is well on the same path.

Yeah, that worked out really well. Korea is still festering, and i think Russia may still be technically at war with Japan.

There was a distinct possibility of quietly sitting back until Germany drove the Soviets to someplace far east of the Urals.

You're absolutely right about the isolationist part.

Washington didn't foresee Asian entanglements or he would have thrown those in for good measure. The US could come very close to being an autarky. We might want commercial relations to buy bananas but that doesn't mean we need to send troops to banana republics in support of United Fruit. We have plenty of oil and don't need to be f****ng around in the Mid East. We don't need a goddam thing from Afghanistan. It's not our business if Germany buys gas from Russia. It wasn't our business when 'He Kept Us Out of War' Wilson got us into war. It isn't our business if Australia does or doesn't want to trade with China.

And it certainly isn't our business to foment Euromaidan.

How many troops does Britain have in Syria? I won't even go in to how many independent countries the US has invaded, including Grenada. That really pissed off Maggie Thatcher when Reagan didn't even say 'May I?'

Not while ever Putin is driving his bus. And it remains to be seen who follows him.

Only because of Russia's activity.

Nope, hasnt even lost the Falklands or Scotland or Wales.

Nope. Just got asked to leave the Philippines and complied with that request.

rbowman snipped-for-privacy@montana.com wrote

Nope, not given Stalingrad.

rbowman snipped-for-privacy@montana.com wrote

But hardly any USians felt that way post Pearl Harbor.

Same was true of asia and then the Japs did Pearl Harbor.

You can run the same mindless line about Mexico and Canada.

The USA wouldn't be the way it is today if it had just yawned during WW1 and had said to the Japs, if you want Hawaii that bad, you can have it, its only a few beaches, nothing worth doing anything about. In spades with the Philippines.

Yep, that bugger never had a clue. In spades with slavery.

No possibility of that.

Bullshit.

Or Vietnam.

Pity about Pearl Harbor. Few USians agree with you about that and you get to like that or lump it.

rbowman snipped-for-privacy@montana.com wrote

Irrelevant.

Nothing to do with Thatcher.

It is entirely your business.

It is Russian propaganda that is telling you otherwise.

Clearly the US feels it is in its interest to do so. Why don't you?

So, we'll add history to the list of subjects upon which you are completely clueless.

Cats are usually a lot more discerning than that. They can clearly hear differences that we cannot. Ours show no interest in passing cars, but as soon as one of ours approaches, even before they can possibly see it from where they are, they are ready and waiting. Well it's either that or they are psychic.

And a fishing area.