Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2004/10/15
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]At 04:09 PM 10/15/04 -0600, John Collier wrote: >Please remember the large number of "Canadian, British, French, German, >Italian, Spanish, et alii siblings" who have been quietly talking about >Leicas. John I really appreciate this pont But that does not stop the whingings from those in Europe and Asia who wish to condemn the US for its foreign policy. I have my own problems with the US foreign policy but, then, I am a citizen of the Great Republic and resolve my diferences by speaking with the offices of my Representative, Senator, and President. (Though, to be fair, I seem to run into my Representative every month of two on these streets around here, and Bob always lets me bend his ear for a bit.) The bottom line is this: if you're not paying the freight, then be grateful and shut up. The US is currently bearing around 80% of the defense funds for most of the smaller European nations and the British, and bless them for this, are paying for the training costs for the Canadian military as their own government spurns even the smallest payment to what was, at D-Day, a war-winnng force. Times are tight and money is tight. So be it: this is the norm for the human existence. But miliary expenses are a necessary partt of national survival and the European neglect for this, other than the French production of its Force de Frappe (I would do this in French but, alas, I can never figure out which way those accent marks should run). In other words, the Europeans are pikers, for the all of it, and espect Cousin Jonathan to continue to bail them out for their own stupidities and to be glad to do so. Alas, but Cousin Jonathan is now unwilling to pay the tab and is MUCH more disinclined to listen to a raft of shit about this. We rescued your butts, guys, and did so at a grand sacrifice of human life. Give us a break and be most reasonable: in the end, we saved your butts three times and did so willingly. In respectful memory of that, you should now grin and bear it when the US adopts a policy with whcih you disagree. And , for that matter, when have I ever posted a note here in contravention of a policy adopted by a European nation? The quick anwer is "never" as I simply do not believe that a private US citizen should do such as a matter of course. Marc msmall@infionline.net FAX: +540/343-7315 Cha robh b?s fir gun ghr?s fir!