In article <s1puzz.19qA@kithrup.com>,
djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) wrote:

> In article <uf4qmf$3s3db$1@dont-email.me>,
> Michael F. Stemper <michael.stemper@gmail.com> wrote:
> >On 28/09/2023 11.44, pete...@gmail.com wrote:
> >> On Thursday, September 28, 2023 at 12:17:24 PM UTC-4, Paul S Person
> >> wrote:
> >>> On Wed, 27 Sep 2023 13:49:46 -0700 (PDT), Quadibloc
> >>> <jsa...@ecn.ab.ca> wrote:
> >>>> On Monday, September 25, 2023 at 8:02:57?PM UTC-6, Lynn McGuire wrote:
> >>>>> On 9/25/2023 8:30 PM, Quadibloc wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>>>> Thank goodness, then, that Canada can pledge $650 million in aid to
> >>>>>> Ukraine, when in the United States, $300 million in aid has to be
> >>>>>> stripped
> >>>>>> from the budget to avoid a government shutdown.
> >>>>
> >>>>> The USA is bankrupt.
> >>>>
> >>>> Dear me. That would be a serious problem. However, I don't recall
> >hearing this
> >>>> lamentable fact being announced anywhere in the mainstream news media.
> >>>>
> >>>> Instead, based on the information I have, if the Republicans just
> >rolled over and
> >>>> approved every requested increase to the debt ceiling - just like
> >they do when
> >>>> there is a Republican President - according to all the information I
> >have, all would
> >>>> be right.
> >>> Or just join with the Dems, who by now must be as tired of this game
> >>> as the Republicans should be, to abolish the debt ceiling altogether.
> >>>> And the United States needs to avoid letting monetary fictions stand
> >in the way
> >>>> of fully employing its resources of land, minerals, and a skilled
> >>>> workforce.
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-troops-rape-ukrainian-women-force-fam
> >ilies-listen-war-crime-2023-9
> >>>>
> >>>> Because there's a war on, a war against ultimate evil.
> >>> I don't think Putin is ... impressive ... enough to be "ultimate
> >>> evil". And it's Ukraine's war anyway; we're just the arms dealers.
> >>
> >> He's not the Ultimate Evil, but definitely one of the top 5 or so
> >> threats to the West at the moment. Maybe Saruman as opposed to
> >> Sauron.
> >>
> >> It's been repeatedly made clear that he's trying to reinstate the
> >> Soviet Union, and impose "Russkiy Mir"[1] on as much as the world
> >
> >[*]
> >
> >> as possible. He despises Western values, and wants to replace it with
> >> Russian authoritarianism, Orthodox religion, intolerance wherever
> >> possible.
> >>
> >> This is a Bad Thing.
> >>
> >> The current attempt to annex Ukraine has allowed the US to spend about 5%
> >> of its military budget to degrade Russia's military by at least 50%,
> >at the cost
> >> of no US Military lives. Many of the arms we're sending over is stuff we
> >> were
> >> planning to (expensively) dispose of anyway (such as the cluster shells).
> >>
> >> It's been a huge bargain for the US and NATO. It may be Ukraine's war, but
> >> we
> >> have very good reasons to try to ensure that Russia loses.
> >
> >As somebody once said, "the best place to fight a war is on somebody else's
> >territory."
>
> [Hal Heydt]
> Using someone else's soldiers has some advantages, as well.

United Kingdom during the Napoleonic Wars managed to fight it on
somebody else's territory with somebody else's soldiers (except for the
Royal Navy, they had to do the fighting themselves).

--
"We have advanced to new and surprising levels of bafflement."
Imperial Auditor Miles Vorkosigan describes progress in _Komarr_.
�-----------------------------------------------------
Robert Woodward robertaw@drizzle.com

In article <robertaw-289048.21534628092023@news.individual.net>,
Robert Woodward <robertaw@drizzle.com> wrote:
>In article <s1puzz.19qA@kithrup.com>,
> djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) wrote:
>
>> In article <uf4qmf$3s3db$1@dont-email.me>,
>> Michael F. Stemper <michael.stemper@gmail.com> wrote:
>> >On 28/09/2023 11.44, pete...@gmail.com wrote:
>> >> On Thursday, September 28, 2023 at 12:17:24 PM UTC-4, Paul S Person
>> >> wrote:
>> >>> On Wed, 27 Sep 2023 13:49:46 -0700 (PDT), Quadibloc
>> >>> <jsa...@ecn.ab.ca> wrote:
>> >>>> On Monday, September 25, 2023 at 8:02:57?PM UTC-6, Lynn McGuire wrote:
>> >>>>> On 9/25/2023 8:30 PM, Quadibloc wrote:
>> >>>>
>> >>>>>> Thank goodness, then, that Canada can pledge $650 million in aid to
>> >>>>>> Ukraine, when in the United States, $300 million in aid has to be
>> >>>>>> stripped
>> >>>>>> from the budget to avoid a government shutdown.
>> >>>>
>> >>>>> The USA is bankrupt.
>> >>>>
>> >>>> Dear me. That would be a serious problem. However, I don't recall
>> >hearing this
>> >>>> lamentable fact being announced anywhere in the mainstream news media.
>> >>>>
>> >>>> Instead, based on the information I have, if the Republicans just
>> >rolled over and
>> >>>> approved every requested increase to the debt ceiling - just like
>> >they do when
>> >>>> there is a Republican President - according to all the information I
>> >have, all would
>> >>>> be right.
>> >>> Or just join with the Dems, who by now must be as tired of this game
>> >>> as the Republicans should be, to abolish the debt ceiling altogether.
>> >>>> And the United States needs to avoid letting monetary fictions stand
>> >in the way
>> >>>> of fully employing its resources of land, minerals, and a skilled
>> >>>> workforce.
>> >>>>
>> >>>>
>> >https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-troops-rape-ukrainian-women-force-fam
>> >ilies-listen-war-crime-2023-9
>> >>>>
>> >>>> Because there's a war on, a war against ultimate evil.
>> >>> I don't think Putin is ... impressive ... enough to be "ultimate
>> >>> evil". And it's Ukraine's war anyway; we're just the arms dealers.
>> >>
>> >> He's not the Ultimate Evil, but definitely one of the top 5 or so
>> >> threats to the West at the moment. Maybe Saruman as opposed to
>> >> Sauron.
>> >>
>> >> It's been repeatedly made clear that he's trying to reinstate the
>> >> Soviet Union, and impose "Russkiy Mir"[1] on as much as the world
>> >
>> >[*]
>> >
>> >> as possible. He despises Western values, and wants to replace it with
>> >> Russian authoritarianism, Orthodox religion, intolerance wherever
>> >> possible.
>> >>
>> >> This is a Bad Thing.
>> >>
>> >> The current attempt to annex Ukraine has allowed the US to spend about 5%
>> >> of its military budget to degrade Russia's military by at least 50%,
>> >at the cost
>> >> of no US Military lives. Many of the arms we're sending over is stuff we
>> >> were
>> >> planning to (expensively) dispose of anyway (such as the cluster shells).
>> >>
>> >> It's been a huge bargain for the US and NATO. It may be Ukraine's war, but
>> >> we
>> >> have very good reasons to try to ensure that Russia loses.
>> >
>> >As somebody once said, "the best place to fight a war is on somebody else's
>> >territory."
>>
>> [Hal Heydt]
>> Using someone else's soldiers has some advantages, as well.
>
>United Kingdom during the Napoleonic Wars managed to fight it on
>somebody else's territory with somebody else's soldiers (except for the
>Royal Navy, they had to do the fighting themselves).
>

Not sure Wellington would agree.
--
columbiaclosings.com
What's not in Columbia anymore..

On Monday, September 25, 2023 at 7:18:49 PM UTC-4, David Johnston wrote:
> On 2023-06-05 8:12 a.m., James Nicoll wrote:
> > Five SFF Stories in Which Kids Save the Day
> >
> > Why spend trillions on defence when a plucky kid or two could well be
> > sufficient?
> >
> > https://www.tor.com/2023/06/05/five-sff-stories-in-which-kids-save-the-day/
> The protagonist in Needle is the blob, not the kid it inhabits, although
> the kid is a helpful assistant.
As I recall at the climax of the book, the kid takes charge, comes up with a plan against the wishes of the blob, and carries it through to completion..

On 28 Sep 2023 23:50:49 -0000, kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) wrote:

>A lot of those "Plucky Kids" stories have been banned from libraries for
>obscenity.
>
>Everything from "The Enema Boys at the Pumping Station" to "Tom Swift And
>His Electric Prostate Activator" is under scrutiny from parents looking to
>remove books from libraries.
>
>What is next, "Tintin And The Mystery Of the Other Hole?" When will this
>be stopped?

When The Rest of Us get tired enough of the b*sh*t to take effective
action against it, of course.

Oh, wait, you were being funny.

Never mind.
--
"Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"

On Thu, 28 Sep 2023 16:20:15 -0500, "Michael F. Stemper"
<michael.stemper@gmail.com> wrote:

>On 28/09/2023 11.44, pete...@gmail.com wrote:
>> On Thursday, September 28, 2023 at 12:17:24?PM UTC-4, Paul S Person wrote:
>>> On Wed, 27 Sep 2023 13:49:46 -0700 (PDT), Quadibloc
>>> <jsa...@ecn.ab.ca> wrote:
>>>> On Monday, September 25, 2023 at 8:02:57?PM UTC-6, Lynn McGuire wrote:
>>>>> On 9/25/2023 8:30 PM, Quadibloc wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>> Thank goodness, then, that Canada can pledge $650 million in aid to
>>>>>> Ukraine, when in the United States, $300 million in aid has to be stripped
>>>>>> from the budget to avoid a government shutdown.
>>>>
>>>>> The USA is bankrupt.
>>>>
>>>> Dear me. That would be a serious problem. However, I don't recall hearing this
>>>> lamentable fact being announced anywhere in the mainstream news media.
>>>>
>>>> Instead, based on the information I have, if the Republicans just rolled over and
>>>> approved every requested increase to the debt ceiling - just like they do when
>>>> there is a Republican President - according to all the information I have, all would
>>>> be right.
>>> Or just join with the Dems, who by now must be as tired of this game
>>> as the Republicans should be, to abolish the debt ceiling altogether.
>>>> And the United States needs to avoid letting monetary fictions stand in the way
>>>> of fully employing its resources of land, minerals, and a skilled workforce.
>>>>
>>>> https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-troops-rape-ukrainian-women-force-families-listen-war-crime-2023-9
>>>>
>>>> Because there's a war on, a war against ultimate evil.
>>> I don't think Putin is ... impressive ... enough to be "ultimate
>>> evil". And it's Ukraine's war anyway; we're just the arms dealers.
>>
>> He's not the Ultimate Evil, but definitely one of the top 5 or so
>> threats to the West at the moment. Maybe Saruman as opposed to
>> Sauron.
>>
>> It's been repeatedly made clear that he's trying to reinstate the
>> Soviet Union, and impose "Russkiy Mir"[1] on as much as the world
>
>[*]

As the OP was, no doubt, intending to point out, in Russian "mir"
means both "peace" and "world". Which it means here I have no idea;
possibly both at once (I suppose Putin could also have the Roman
Peace, which prevailed in the Roman World, in mind).

I suspect you can figure out what "russkiy" means by yourself.

>> as possible. He despises Western values, and wants to replace it with
>> Russian authoritarianism, Orthodox religion, intolerance wherever possible.
>>
>> This is a Bad Thing.
>>
>> The current attempt to annex Ukraine has allowed the US to spend about 5%
>> of its military budget to degrade Russia's military by at least 50%, at the cost
>> of no US Military lives. Many of the arms we're sending over is stuff we were
>> planning to (expensively) dispose of anyway (such as the cluster shells).
>>
>> It's been a huge bargain for the US and NATO. It may be Ukraine's war, but we
>> have very good reasons to try to ensure that Russia loses.
>
>As somebody once said, "the best place to fight a war is on somebody else's
>territory."

Indeed.
--
"Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"

On Thu, 28 Sep 2023 15:39:13 -0700 (PDT), Quadibloc
<jsavard@ecn.ab.ca> wrote:

>On Thursday, September 28, 2023 at 10:17:24?AM UTC-6, Paul S Person wrote:
>> And it's Ukraine's war anyway; we're just the arms dealers.
>
>As my link pointed out, women are being raped.
>
>That makes it everyone's war.

That makes /every/ war everyone's war.

"War is hell" isn't just a slogan.
--
"Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"

On Thu, 28 Sep 2023 09:44:02 -0700 (PDT), "pete...@gmail.com"
<petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:

>On Thursday, September 28, 2023 at 12:17:24?PM UTC-4, Paul S Person wrote:
>> On Wed, 27 Sep 2023 13:49:46 -0700 (PDT), Quadibloc
>> <jsa...@ecn.ab.ca> wrote:
>> >On Monday, September 25, 2023 at 8:02:57?PM UTC-6, Lynn McGuire wrote:
>> >> On 9/25/2023 8:30 PM, Quadibloc wrote:
>> >
>> >> > Thank goodness, then, that Canada can pledge $650 million in aid to
>> >> > Ukraine, when in the United States, $300 million in aid has to be stripped
>> >> > from the budget to avoid a government shutdown.
>> >
>> >> The USA is bankrupt.
>> >
>> >Dear me. That would be a serious problem. However, I don't recall hearing this
>> >lamentable fact being announced anywhere in the mainstream news media.
>> >
>> >Instead, based on the information I have, if the Republicans just rolled over and
>> >approved every requested increase to the debt ceiling - just like they do when
>> >there is a Republican President - according to all the information I have, all would
>> >be right.
>> Or just join with the Dems, who by now must be as tired of this game
>> as the Republicans should be, to abolish the debt ceiling altogether.
>> >And the United States needs to avoid letting monetary fictions stand in the way
>> >of fully employing its resources of land, minerals, and a skilled workforce.
>> >
>> >https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-troops-rape-ukrainian-women-force-families-listen-war-crime-2023-9
>> >
>> >Because there's a war on, a war against ultimate evil.
>> I don't think Putin is ... impressive ... enough to be "ultimate
>> evil". And it's Ukraine's war anyway; we're just the arms dealers.
>
>He's not the Ultimate Evil, but definitely one of the top 5 or so
>threats to the West at the moment. Maybe Saruman as opposed to
>Sauron.

I like to think of him as a "pocket Stalin", as I think of DeSantis as
a "pocket Mussolini". Using "pocket" in the same sense as in "pocket
battleship".

Of course, Putin has nukes while DeSantis, AFAIK, does not.

But it is Idaho that appears to be trying to transform itself into a
concentration camp, starting by restricting travel out of state and
aiding such travel (under certain conditions, not generally -- yet).
The Supremes have been asked to consider a lawsuit on this, BTW. It
will be interesting to see what they (or, rather, their 1%-er owners
in at least two cases) come up with.

>It's been repeatedly made clear that he's trying to reinstate the
>Soviet Union, and impose "Russkiy Mir"[1] on as much as the world
>as possible. He despises Western values, and wants to replace it with
>Russian authoritarianism, Orthodox religion, intolerance wherever possible.
>
>This is a Bad Thing.

Indeed. And it has had and will continue to have bad consequences for
the forseeable future. The Russian focus on Ukraine was causing
Central Asia to heat up again (the peacekeepers were sent to the
Ukraine, although they appear to be back).

>The current attempt to annex Ukraine has allowed the US to spend about 5%
>of its military budget to degrade Russia's military by at least 50%, at the cost
>of no US Military lives. Many of the arms we're sending over is stuff we were
>planning to (expensively) dispose of anyway (such as the cluster shells).
>
>It's been a huge bargain for the US and NATO. It may be Ukraine's war, but we
>have very good reasons to try to ensure that Russia loses.
--
"Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"

On Friday, September 29, 2023 at 9:15:06 AM UTC-4, Andrew Love wrote:
> On Monday, September 25, 2023 at 7:18:49 PM UTC-4, David Johnston wrote:
> > On 2023-06-05 8:12 a.m., James Nicoll wrote:
> > > Five SFF Stories in Which Kids Save the Day
> > >
> > > Why spend trillions on defence when a plucky kid or two could well be
> > > sufficient?
> > >
> > > https://www.tor.com/2023/06/05/five-sff-stories-in-which-kids-save-the-day/
> > The protagonist in Needle is the blob, not the kid it inhabits, although
> > the kid is a helpful assistant.
>
> As I recall at the climax of the book, the kid takes charge, comes up with a plan against the wishes of the blob, and carries it through to completion.

While I did not grab my copy to verify[1], I did read
Needle earlier this year, and my memory matches yours.

Tony
[1] As a summer project, I re-organized my book shelves,
and Needle is currently somewhat buried.[2]

[2] So perhaps I could have done a better job of
re-organizing. :)

In article <knn44oFlr8mU1@mid.individual.net>,
ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan <tednolan>) wrote:

> In article <robertaw-289048.21534628092023@news.individual.net>,
> Robert Woodward <robertaw@drizzle.com> wrote:
> >In article <s1puzz.19qA@kithrup.com>,
> > djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) wrote:
> >
> >> In article <uf4qmf$3s3db$1@dont-email.me>,
> >> Michael F. Stemper <michael.stemper@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> >On 28/09/2023 11.44, pete...@gmail.com wrote:
> >> >> On Thursday, September 28, 2023 at 12:17:24 PM UTC-4, Paul S Person
> >> >> wrote:
> >> >>> On Wed, 27 Sep 2023 13:49:46 -0700 (PDT), Quadibloc
> >> >>> <jsa...@ecn.ab.ca> wrote:
> >> >>>> On Monday, September 25, 2023 at 8:02:57?PM UTC-6, Lynn McGuire
> >> >>>> wrote:
> >> >>>>> On 9/25/2023 8:30 PM, Quadibloc wrote:
> >> >>>>
> >> >>>>>> Thank goodness, then, that Canada can pledge $650 million in aid to
> >> >>>>>> Ukraine, when in the United States, $300 million in aid has to be
> >> >>>>>> stripped
> >> >>>>>> from the budget to avoid a government shutdown.
> >> >>>>
> >> >>>>> The USA is bankrupt.
> >> >>>>
> >> >>>> Dear me. That would be a serious problem. However, I don't recall
> >> >hearing this
> >> >>>> lamentable fact being announced anywhere in the mainstream news
> >> >>>> media.
> >> >>>>
> >> >>>> Instead, based on the information I have, if the Republicans just
> >> >rolled over and
> >> >>>> approved every requested increase to the debt ceiling - just like
> >> >they do when
> >> >>>> there is a Republican President - according to all the information I
> >> >have, all would
> >> >>>> be right.
> >> >>> Or just join with the Dems, who by now must be as tired of this game
> >> >>> as the Republicans should be, to abolish the debt ceiling altogether.
> >> >>>> And the United States needs to avoid letting monetary fictions stand
> >> >in the way
> >> >>>> of fully employing its resources of land, minerals, and a skilled
> >> >>>> workforce.
> >> >>>>
> >> >>>>
> >> >https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-troops-rape-ukrainian-women-force-
> >> >fam
> >> >ilies-listen-war-crime-2023-9
> >> >>>>
> >> >>>> Because there's a war on, a war against ultimate evil.
> >> >>> I don't think Putin is ... impressive ... enough to be "ultimate
> >> >>> evil". And it's Ukraine's war anyway; we're just the arms dealers.
> >> >>
> >> >> He's not the Ultimate Evil, but definitely one of the top 5 or so
> >> >> threats to the West at the moment. Maybe Saruman as opposed to
> >> >> Sauron.
> >> >>
> >> >> It's been repeatedly made clear that he's trying to reinstate the
> >> >> Soviet Union, and impose "Russkiy Mir"[1] on as much as the world
> >> >
> >> >[*]
> >> >
> >> >> as possible. He despises Western values, and wants to replace it with
> >> >> Russian authoritarianism, Orthodox religion, intolerance wherever
> >> >> possible.
> >> >>
> >> >> This is a Bad Thing.
> >> >>
> >> >> The current attempt to annex Ukraine has allowed the US to spend about
> >> >> 5%
> >> >> of its military budget to degrade Russia's military by at least 50%,
> >> >at the cost
> >> >> of no US Military lives. Many of the arms we're sending over is stuff
> >> >> we
> >> >> were
> >> >> planning to (expensively) dispose of anyway (such as the cluster
> >> >> shells).
> >> >>
> >> >> It's been a huge bargain for the US and NATO. It may be Ukraine's war,
> >> >> but
> >> >> we
> >> >> have very good reasons to try to ensure that Russia loses.
> >> >
> >> >As somebody once said, "the best place to fight a war is on somebody
> >> >else's
> >> >territory."
> >>
> >> [Hal Heydt]
> >> Using someone else's soldiers has some advantages, as well.
> >
> >United Kingdom during the Napoleonic Wars managed to fight it on
> >somebody else's territory with somebody else's soldiers (except for the
> >Royal Navy, they had to do the fighting themselves).
> >
>
> Not sure Wellington would agree.

Alright, mostly somebody else's soldiers.

--
"We have advanced to new and surprising levels of bafflement."
Imperial Auditor Miles Vorkosigan describes progress in _Komarr_.
�-----------------------------------------------------
Robert Woodward robertaw@drizzle.com

On Saturday, September 30, 2023 at 12:43:51 AM UTC-4, Robert Woodward wrote:
> In article <knn44o...@mid.individual.net>,
> t...@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan <tednolan>) wrote:
>
> > In article <robertaw-289048...@news.individual.net>,
> > Robert Woodward <robe...@drizzle.com> wrote:
> > >In article <s1puz...@kithrup.com>,
> > > djh...@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) wrote:
> > >
> > >> In article <uf4qmf$3s3db$1...@dont-email.me>,
> > >> Michael F. Stemper <michael...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > >> >On 28/09/2023 11.44, pete...@gmail.com wrote:
> > >> >> On Thursday, September 28, 2023 at 12:17:24 PM UTC-4, Paul S Person
> > >> >> wrote:
> > >> >>> On Wed, 27 Sep 2023 13:49:46 -0700 (PDT), Quadibloc
> > >> >>> <jsa...@ecn.ab.ca> wrote:
> > >> >>>> On Monday, September 25, 2023 at 8:02:57?PM UTC-6, Lynn McGuire
> > >> >>>> wrote:
> > >> >>>>> On 9/25/2023 8:30 PM, Quadibloc wrote:
> > >> >>>>
> > >> >>>>>> Thank goodness, then, that Canada can pledge $650 million in aid to
> > >> >>>>>> Ukraine, when in the United States, $300 million in aid has to be
> > >> >>>>>> stripped
> > >> >>>>>> from the budget to avoid a government shutdown.
> > >> >>>>
> > >> >>>>> The USA is bankrupt.
> > >> >>>>
> > >> >>>> Dear me. That would be a serious problem. However, I don't recall
> > >> >hearing this
> > >> >>>> lamentable fact being announced anywhere in the mainstream news
> > >> >>>> media.
> > >> >>>>
> > >> >>>> Instead, based on the information I have, if the Republicans just
> > >> >rolled over and
> > >> >>>> approved every requested increase to the debt ceiling - just like
> > >> >they do when
> > >> >>>> there is a Republican President - according to all the information I
> > >> >have, all would
> > >> >>>> be right.
> > >> >>> Or just join with the Dems, who by now must be as tired of this game
> > >> >>> as the Republicans should be, to abolish the debt ceiling altogether.
> > >> >>>> And the United States needs to avoid letting monetary fictions stand
> > >> >in the way
> > >> >>>> of fully employing its resources of land, minerals, and a skilled
> > >> >>>> workforce.
> > >> >>>>
> > >> >>>>
> > >> >https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-troops-rape-ukrainian-women-force-
> > >> >fam
> > >> >ilies-listen-war-crime-2023-9
> > >> >>>>
> > >> >>>> Because there's a war on, a war against ultimate evil.
> > >> >>> I don't think Putin is ... impressive ... enough to be "ultimate
> > >> >>> evil". And it's Ukraine's war anyway; we're just the arms dealers.
> > >> >>
> > >> >> He's not the Ultimate Evil, but definitely one of the top 5 or so
> > >> >> threats to the West at the moment. Maybe Saruman as opposed to
> > >> >> Sauron.
> > >> >>
> > >> >> It's been repeatedly made clear that he's trying to reinstate the
> > >> >> Soviet Union, and impose "Russkiy Mir"[1] on as much as the world
> > >> >
> > >> >[*]
> > >> >
> > >> >> as possible. He despises Western values, and wants to replace it with
> > >> >> Russian authoritarianism, Orthodox religion, intolerance wherever
> > >> >> possible.
> > >> >>
> > >> >> This is a Bad Thing.
> > >> >>
> > >> >> The current attempt to annex Ukraine has allowed the US to spend about
> > >> >> 5%
> > >> >> of its military budget to degrade Russia's military by at least 50%,
> > >> >at the cost
> > >> >> of no US Military lives. Many of the arms we're sending over is stuff
> > >> >> we
> > >> >> were
> > >> >> planning to (expensively) dispose of anyway (such as the cluster
> > >> >> shells).
> > >> >>
> > >> >> It's been a huge bargain for the US and NATO. It may be Ukraine's war,
> > >> >> but
> > >> >> we
> > >> >> have very good reasons to try to ensure that Russia loses.
> > >> >
> > >> >As somebody once said, "the best place to fight a war is on somebody
> > >> >else's
> > >> >territory."
> > >>
> > >> [Hal Heydt]
> > >> Using someone else's soldiers has some advantages, as well.
> > >
> > >United Kingdom during the Napoleonic Wars managed to fight it on
> > >somebody else's territory with somebody else's soldiers (except for the
> > >Royal Navy, they had to do the fighting themselves).
> > >
> >
> > Not sure Wellington would agree.
> Alright, mostly somebody else's soldiers.

Even Wellington's army was barely half British. The Portugese army had been
merged with the Wellington's force, and supplied at least a third of the numbers.
Smaller components included various German and Spanish units.

Wikipedia describes the Anglo-Portugese army as 53k British, 35k Portugese
and 3k Hanoverian. Casualties at Salamanca are given in the ratio of
3:2, so about right.

AJP Taylor once commented that the problem with being a Great Power was that you
tended to get involved in Great Power wars, which themselves tend to terminate
Great Powers. The UK, he argued, dealt with this by partaking only to a minor
degree in land wars, doing most of its fighting on sea, at substantially less loss
of life and treasure.

William Hyde