SpankyMcFarland

South Vietnam's leaders were odd birds, Catholics in a Buddhist country who couldn't shoot straight. You've got to take a really close look at prospective allies before joining a war with them. The Vietnamese today seem remarkably forgiving about the war; grief dominates over rage and anti-Americanism does not seem to be a big problem at all.

The mullahs are in a grim endgame. They are supported by the old and poorly educated. One day they may face not violent overthrow but something even worse - laughter and ridicule.

An anti-American regime tends to increase the number of pro-American citizens. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/05/opinion/those-friendly-iranians.html?_r=1

She promised to be a 'one nation' Tory: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-36788782 But you've got to be nimble in this line of work: http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/17/europe/grenfell-tower-fire/index.html

That's a very Serbian view of things. You must be a lot more annoyed with the Americans because they got involved as well. Just because Hezbollah got involved doesn't automatically mean they were wrong to do so. You've picked a poor example of Hezbollah bad behaviour here.

I like the idea of toll roads. You use it, you pay for it.

Australia is a continent with a clear idea of itself. It is also more British than Canada e.g. sport. In contrast, Canada is a New Zealand-like appendage (without a Tasman Sea) which is in constant fear of being absorbed at least culturally by its more populous neighbour. The monarchy serves as a small symbol of our difference from the US. Most people don't think about it much at all between royal visits.

Scheer sneaked up on the rail to win that race. He didn't get as tough a grilling on policies as the other front runners. I assume he will be careful not to go too far on moral issues.

It's not about legal liability. As PM she represents the state. Both Labour and Conservatives ignored reports on tower block fires and building deficiencies over the last ten years. I have no doubt that Cameron or Blair would have met families and taken public criticism already which would go some way to defuse the rage that is developing. She gives the impression she's hiding from the problem which is the worst thing to do.

Theresa May is such a grotesquely bad politician with no ability to react to a crisis and face up to bad news. She needed to wade into the crowds and take some big risks, show whose side she was on.

Racism, tribalism, bigotry are natural tendencies in all of us. That's how we are wired. Better to be honest about it and try to keep it in check than go all Canadian and hide it even from ourselves.

If the Chinese had to keep to their current CO2 emissions they would have to accept a permanently and severely inferior standard of living to our own. Barring some technological Great Leap Forward, the only other way to get rich would then be to radically reduce their population.

Hezbollah is a grim organization but why would you fault its fighters for defending Sunni Muslims in Bosnia from slaughter by Christians? The Americans did the same while Europe made speeches. That's not an example of terrorism. You're on stronger ground in Syria where they are fighting to keep a brutal dictator in power. To play the devil's advocate on that.. it is next door to Lebanon, Assad is the President and his Allawites are related to the Shias theologically so what they are doing there is hard to classify.

Take Iran as an example. A significant minority never bought into the Revolution. Now social media offers such people a way to express their dissent: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-40218711 https://www.facebook.com/StealthyFreedom/?hc_ref=SEARCH

Sign of the times. Kids, go easy on the beer, weed...and fentanyl when you are celebrating your upcoming summer hols: http://www.theprovince.com/news/local+news/doctor+urges+parents+talk+kids+about+opioid+overdoses/13452560/story.html?google_editors_picks=true

Residential tower blocks are a bad idea from many points of view.

Good to see Erdogan's thugs charged in Washington DC: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/06/15/us-police-charge-12-turkish-security-agents-make-two-arrests/

A magical place where the locals roam without charge: http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/eu-wireless-roaming-1.4162212

I recall Mark Steyn making some very hopey-changey predictions for Iraq that did not age well. Each region has its own problems. Iran has a three thousand year history of centralized authoritarian government, briefly interrupted on a few occasions. That tendency will be hard to shake but scepticism that the Assembly of Experts can deliver anything useful in this world is rife already. in my limited experience, Iranians, like Kurds, are highly variable in their political opinions and are much less paranoid about the US than, say, Pakistanis. Just talk to them and find out.

They are exposed to different influences. In Iran, for example, despite the best efforts of the government, many young people are well aware of what they are missing out on and how badly their country is run.

Theresa May's problems just got a whole lot bigger. There have been concerns about such fires for a long time: https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2013/mar/28/lakanal-house-fire-deaths-prevented https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jun/14/key-questions-about-the-grenfell-tower-fire

Taking the longer view, I think the current enthusiasm for religion will fade in the ME. Younger people are already realizing how it fails to provide what they want. It's a scam basically.

All the wars they were ever involved in? That's quite the knowledge of Roman, Greek, and Persian history you have there just for starters.

Have you any idea how many civilians have been killed in the ME by Western forces since then? No worries there for you, of course. You keep on dragging this debate into the ME. My point is we should focus first on the threat to our country Canada. I'm trying to take the high road here but your tone is dragging me down to your level.

The bombing occurred 25 years ago. It was terrible. What I say is we should put Canada's security first. When did Hezbollah last bomb Canada? In the future, whom do you think will attack Canada first - somebody inspired/directed by ISIL or by Hezbollah and Co?