Re: bayonettes are too a useful device

You wrote: 

>The point here I think is something that you might not be addressing 
>(or maybe you disagree with). As I recall how the Canadian forces 
>teach their UN guys how to deal with this stuff (from War College 
>information) is 
>
>*NEVER ESCALATE* 

What more can you do to escalate if someone throws a molotov cocktail?	
It's at the worst case situation I know of--deadly force being employed 
against your fellow soldiers.  Wrong answer--and that's where I lock 
and load.  

>Whoooooah there John. 300 years is 300 years. Are you telling me (by 
>making those comments about FSE and about ESU) that I should take 
>from that that the modern Americans (NAC) have no respect for 
>aboriginal rights and plan to heard them together and have them 
>killed? I think every country has moments in its past to be ashamed 

You can make any call you like.  Let's just agree to disagree.	We can 
discuss American culture vs. others off the list via e-mail, and I'm 
happy to do so with anyone with anything more cogent to say than 
knee-jerk America bashing.  

>of. And I think China (who you are referring to) has changed 
>governments and character thereof a few times in the last 300 years. 

That's not the read I get off the background material--sounds to me 
like the Communist Chinese overran most of Russia (?) and that's that.	

And I would be very interested in anyone who could provide (via e-mail) 
evidence of a pre-Communist Chinese government with an abiding interest 
in kinder, gentler riot control procedures.

>I'm sure that their are a lot of Chinese who really didn't think much 
>of the Tianamen affair. As an aside, why is it you seem to like to 

I'm sure most of them are aware exactally how much the central 
government cares about their opinions, too.

>dwell on the past of countries? The future would seem more relevant 
>given the direction of the GZG games. If we look at trends, the 

I'm a history major, not a soothsayer.	I can't make a call based what 
*will* happen, and since I'm not a GZG employee, I can't make a call as 
to what their *definitive* background says.  All I can do is 
extrapolate from what their published background says.	And it looks 
like nations have retained their historical character--French and 
Germans still fight each other, Scandanavians still stay out of the 
shooting as much as possible, Muslims hate everyone who's not like them 
(including heretic Muslims, whom they hate worse than us mere 
infidels), ESU makes noises about 'Imperialist agressors' (now is that 
classic Marxist Rhetoric [tm] or what?), etc.  If someone disagrees 
with my guess or my extrapolation, fine.  

But please try to come up with a slightly more original answer than 
'But didn't you meannastycruelbaduglyAmericans pick on the 
goodgreatwonderfulpeacelovingnaturecommuningtreehugging American 
Indians?  You baaaad people.'  Sorry, it's a little more complicated 
than that (Hollywood is no more a reliable guide today than it was when 
Indians were the bad guys, and that's all the research most people do, 
either American or foreigners), and it's way too off-topic to discuss 
here.  Happy to discuss via e-mail.

>trends toward increased freedoms and capitalism even in China are 
>clear. I think in 300 years, the US (NAC) might end up eating the 
>dust of the powerful ESU economy. The average asian inolved in 
>commerce seems to have a harder work ethic and a better understanding 
>of 'doing business' than your average North American.	

Keep thinking that.  Remember, 10 years ago it was the big bad 
Japanese, Koreans, Singaporeans, etc who were going to overtake us.  
Well, their idiotically run economies are now in the toilet, and in 
Japan their culture prevents them from fixing the basic problems that 
caused it in the first place.  Again, further discussion will be via 
e-mail only.

John M. Atkinson