Recent content by DingBat

Uh huh. This is the same "fair" that sees the UN used to sponsor anti-Israeli resolutions? (Btw, the EU should be ashamed of itself). Seems it's not the killing that really bothered everyone. It's just that the Israelis were better at it than the Palestinians that really pissed everyone off...

You guys are thinking small. :) Just go back to before the .com bubble burst and sell Northern Telecom short. Or even better, go back to the 40's and put some money in a safe investment and let compound interest do the rest. :) /bruce

I posted earlier in the thread about the kind of infrastructure required to pull off an amphibious invasion. Basically, there's only one country in the world with that kind of capability and even then it's not the sort of thing they'd like to do. Taiwan is in no immediate danger. Well, a...

A little update: The latest issue of MHQ (Military History Quarterly) has an editorial that refers to a recent lecture by John Keegan in which he constrasts the preferred methods of warfare of east and west (which apparently has also received much flak). Anyway, the gist of the lecture...

Heh, this could be fun. Ok, time for a moral quandry. Time: 1942 Place: 6th Army Headquarters, approaching Stalingrad You are a staff officer attached to Paulus headquarters. The Soviet front has collapsed and elements of 6th Army are approaching Stalingrad. We'll say you're not a...

1) I'm not speaking of China competing with the U.S. militarily on a world-wide basis. That may occur, but it will take even longer than simply to build the force to have a chance of successfully invade Taiwan. I think you still underestimate the size of the task, assuming the U.S. is...

Expensive game. There is only one country in the world with the capability of bringing off the kind of amphibious attack that the PRC will have to undertake: the U.S. The U.S. also is pretty much the only country in the world with extensive experience in this area. Assuming the PRC...

That might have been true in 1949. Unfortunately, it's 2002 and Taiwan has changed a great deal since then. The sins of 50 years ago do not disqualify Taiwan's claim to legitimacy any more than the PRC's current communist government does theirs. It's not about who likes who or who hates who...

Now THIS is a really interesting quote. Given that the U.S. military is at least "20-30" times larger and more effective than 90% of the countries on the planet, there must be a lot of "sucking it up" going on out there, eh? Or is this another of those instances where there's one rule for...

I'm reading a very interesting book by Bernard Lewis called "What went wrong?". It's an analysis of how the Islamic world went from the pre-eminent position among civilizations to a chronic trouble spot. First, I should say that I'm not interested in name calling, blame allocation, or...

Two choices: 1) One year or so in the past so I could sell Northern Telecom short. :) 2) Several hundred million years into the past to watch the "Dinosaur killer" asteriod hit the earth. I've always been into special effects. ;) /bruce

I suppose it's a fair question. I, myself, would defend Taiwan's right to independence regardless of the form of government in place in the PRC. The fact that the PRC is communist is actually not that relevant. The fact that is it not a democracy is. I would find it very difficult to support...

I have to say I find this point of view a little distressing. The Taiwanese people have established a nation (if not a country) with a strong economy and a legitimate, if fragile, democracy. If anyone has claim to independence in this world, it would seem to be the Taiwanese. But what really...

I'll take a crack at 15, though I'm guessing. IIRC, there was a sea battle between the British and the French (can't remember the name). I believe the British fleet was carrying supplies for the army. The battle was a draw, but as the British were delayed/withdrew, the Americans were able to...

Um, your history is a little selective. Muslim campaigns in Spain and Portugal date in the 8th century. It was muslim attacks from Sicily resulting in the sack of Ostia and Rome that may have actually triggered the Crusades. While you can argue at their methods, the Crusaders goal was to...