Loco driving wheels:

Mexico has always been considered part of NA. The isthmus connecting NA & SA is Central America.

On 16/01/2011 1:27 AM, Lobby Dosser wrote: [...]

Geographically, sure, no problem. Culturally, not simple at all. Ask a Mexican if he's a Norteamericano, you'll get a more or less complicated reply.

Fact is, of course, that world-wide cuklture is developing. That's one of the reasons there is so much violence, both verbal and physical. People don't like changes, especially when the changes come with altered values. Also, values change as they transmitted and adopted elsewhere, so that the people who originated them feel uncomfortable, at least. Result: misunderstanding and suspicion on all sides. It's amzing, all thinsg considered, that we've muddled through the last 50 years or so without a major war. Whether we'll be able to muddle through the next 50 years is IMO an open question. For my grandchildren's sake, I hope it will be only relatively interesting.

"May you live in the most interesting of times" (Chinese curse)

Wolf K.

Accoding to Wiki, Central America is considered a sub-continent, consisting of Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama.

In that case, The UK should be a sub-continent of Europe and Ireland a sub-sub-continent. :)

Errr, yanks, with Britain's help, have slaughtered around 5 million people in various nations, generally for the "crime" of wanting self-government and freedom. 2 million in Vietnam! The Korean War has gone on for over 60 years. Your war against Cuba for 108 years. Not sure what you would consider a "major war".

I doubt he considers himself a "yank".

On 16/01/2011 7:45 PM, Greg Procter wrote: [...]

Ah, I see, your animus against the "yanks" has clouded your ability to be reasonable about language. You're not the first, you're not alone, and I don't anyone can claim to be free of this defect. Myself included. But I do try to edit out the unreasonable stuff. Really!

Have a cool one, Wolf K.

My experiences with an Amirican lady many years ago stopped me gaining any such negative feelings. If had'nt of got married could have been useful at the UN by now.

Cheers, Simon

DR Congo - eight countries, >5 million dead? Though the lack of an easy way to blame The West (or Israel) means it generally got ignored.

I agree, it was (and still is) a horror. We haven't had a world-wide conflagration, though. We've avoided it in part because the West, the East, and increasingly China are definitely implicated in these localised miseries. Scratch below the surface of "tribal conflict" and "religious differences", and you'll find some strategic raw material. Or a strategic location. That's what it's about.

These wars are proxy wars, so to speak. Nasty as it that is, it's better than a world-wide war with billions dead, which it what would happen, since no losing side that could use nuclear weapons would refrain from using them.

I think it's actually a bright spot in the general gloom that there are who are horrified by these proxy wars, and want them stopped. In the long run, that gives me hope. In the short run, well, there have always been wars and rumours of wars.

Peace, Wolf K.

The US's concept of reasonableness certainly wouldn't measure up in any reasonble society. For example, you have been threatening to destroy everyone in the World for the last 60+ years if and when 5% of the World's population attacks your 5% of the World's population. Another example: you will recognise Palestine as a nation when they stop defending themselves from your and Israel's agression and when they dump their democratically elected government.

Reasonable? Not even vaguely.

I'm not trying to accuse him of being a yank.

In which case, the key to peace and stability must be to have a long history of independence, b*gger all in the way of accessible resources, and be in the middle of nowhere.

Just like, erm, Afghanistan....

Of course. The little brown people aren't capable of doing /anything/ without the evil white man (or Israeli, or course!) making them do it. I blame Thatcher myself.

Are you repeating/paraphrasing what the President of Malawi said "After 16 years of independence ....." or do I have the wrong person and country ?

Cheers, Simon