Re: [fh ot] Re: [GZG][FH] Planet types (was Re: Locations of Stars)

Tony Wilkinson wrote:

>	  To be honest I think that we will go it alone and try and stay
out of any
> major conflict and avoid taking sides (unless it involves the IC). I
don't
> know why but I have this recollection of a Confederate commerce raider
and
> a Federal warship both being in AUS (Melbourne I think) at the same
time
> during the Civil War. Basically the OU will be nominally neutral,
provide
> humanitarian aid where possible, allow anyone to visit and kill
everyone
> who has a fight in our territory.

Concur. And a much smaller fleet than might be expected, consisting of a
small number of almost unarmed patrol vessels, and a few major ships
with far more firepower and technological sophistication (and cost...)
than any ship of that size has the right to have.
In FT-II terms, only a pair of cruisers where an opponent might have a
BC and a pair of cruisers. But the OU ones have Wave Motion Guns, class
III shields etc...
Taking a look at today's Oz navy, we have old, obsolete US Destroyers,
Charles F Adams Class. But our ones have similar electronics suites to
US Guided Missile Cruisers, plus NULKA and other home-grown cutting edge
anti missile defences (which the USN are just starting to fit on their
ships, one of several pieces of Australian-developed military hi-tech in
US service).

>	  At the risk of offeneding someone out there, it is my
understanding from
> Cambodian, Vietnamese and ABC (Australian Born Chinese) friends that
no
> native peoples of SE Asia likes the Chinese.

Mainly due to economic domination. Sorta similar situation to the Jews
in Europe. You "keep them furriners in their place" so they are forced
into a narrow group of despised occupations. They monopolise these
occupations, become successful, and so they go from "filthy worthless
tramps" to "bloated plutocratic exploiters". In Australia we call this
the "Tall Poppy Syndrome". Thus everyone hates Bill Gates. 

>From my own observations, Thailand is an exception to the above. They
seem extraordinarily multicultural, and I've worked there with ethnic
Thais, Khmer, Han, Hmong, etc etc who seem to get along fine. Even with
the Vietnamese :) 

The only group that everyone in East Asia seems to hate with a passion
are the Japanese. Which is why the poor average Japanese sarariman on a
trip to SE Asia never seems to get served on time, or his shoes shined,
or his laundry returned at all, and blames it on "non-Japanese
inneficiency" rather than the real reason (which he never learnt about
at school).

Hmmm. I seem to have drifted WAY off topic.

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