Evil Penevil

That's a misunderstanding arising from quoting only part of what Churchill said. Below is the full quote. "Lachrymatory gas" refers to what we call "tear gas" today. In 1919, tear gas, mustard gas and deadly chlorine gas were all called "poison gas." Churchill was referring to the use of tear gas, not deadly gas. "I do not understand this squeamishness about the use of gas. We have definitely adopted the position at the Peace Conference of arguing in favour of the retention of gas as a permanent method of warfare. It is sheer affectation to lacerate a man with the poisonous fragment of a bursting shell and to boggle at making his eyes water by means of lachrymatory gas. I am strongly in favour of using poisoned gas against uncivilised tribes. The moral effect should be so good that the loss of life should be reduced to a minimum. It is not necessary to use only the most deadly gasses; gasses can be used which cause great inconvenience and would spread a lively terror and yet would leave no serious permanent effects on most of those affected. " (WSC, minute from the War Office, 12 May 1919, in Martin Gilbert, ed., Winston S. Churchill, Document Volume 8: War and Aftermath, December 1916-June 1919 (Hillsdale: Hillsdale College Press, 2008), p 649) Churchill went on to say at the same War Office meeting: “If it is fair war for an Afghan to shoot down a British soldier behind a rock and cut him in pieces as he lies wounded on the ground, why is it not fair for a British artilleryman to fire a shell which makes the said native sneeze? It is really too silly.” (Ibid. p 662) There's some dispute over whether the British actually used gas in Iraq. No sources made that accusation at the time; that came first in 1986. For lengthy discussions, see: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/605488 https://winstonchurchill.hillsdale.edu/churchill-and-chemical-warfare/ Churchill opposed both Hitler and Gandhi, but for very different reasons and used much different language when warning about them. He saw Gandhi as a threat to the British Empire, while he regarded Hitler as a threat to the balance of power in Europe. He viewed Hitler as a dangerous yet effective dictator and Gandhi as an unrealistic mystic without the skill, acumen or experience to lead a highly diverse country. He famously referred to Gandhi as a half-naked fakir. He was specifically concerned with Hitler's oppressive domestic policies; the rearmament of Germany and Hitler's goal of territorial expansion. Unlike most European politicians, Churchill had actually read Mein Kampf and had seen jackbooted Nazis in the streets of Germany before Hitler took power. He had a real fear of what Hitler could accomplish. His warnings went largely unheeded because appeasement was the favored policy of British governments in the 1930s. Concessions to Hitle were seen as the best way to avoid war and appeasement was favored by the public, especially the upper classes. In the 1930s, Churchill wasn't trusted by many members of the Conservative party due to his failure as First Lord of the Admiralty and his switch from the Liberal Party.

The 10-ton (Nazi) elephant* in this thread is the notion Hitler made a serious peace offer to Great Britain in 1940. That's NOT the case. On July 19, 1940, Hitler gave a speech to the Reichstag that included a vague peace offer to Great Britain as well as insults to Churchill and threats of destruction to the country and British Empire. "Hitler made it clear that rejection of his appeal to 'reason' would result in a 'final' attack upon Britain with every resource that Germany could throw into the battle." https://www.upi.com/Archives/1940/07/19/Hitler-offers-Britain-peace-or-destruction/6824181303557/ Back in 1940, most non-Germans recognzed the speech was propaganda, not a serious overture. Because it's better to have primary sources rather than a steady stream of Wikipedia links, I'll quote at length the US journalist William Shirer , who heard the speech in person and wrote about it in his award-winning bestseller The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. Shirer said he noted in his diary the day of the speech that “'As a maneuver calculated to rally the German people for the fight against Britain, Hitler’s speech was a masterpiece. For the German people will now say: ‘Hitler offers England peace, and no strings attached. He says he sees no reason why this war should go on. If it does, it’s England’s fault.’ "And was that not the principal reason for giving it, three days after he had issued Directive No. 16 to prepare the invasion of Britain? He admitted as much—beforehand—to two Italian confidants, Alfieri and Ciano. On July 1 he had told the ambassador: …It was always a good tactic to make the enemy responsible in the eyes of public opinion in Germany and abroad for the future course of events. This strengthened one’s own morale and weakened that of the enemy. An operation such as the one Germany was planning would be very bloody… Therefore one must convince public opinion that everything had first been done to avoid this horror… "In his speech of October 6 [when he had offered peace to the West at the conclusion of the Polish campaign—W.L.S.] he had likewise been guided by the thought of making the opposing side responsible for all subsequent developments. He had thereby won the war, as it were, before it had really started. Now again he intended for psychological reasons to buttress morale, so to speak, for the action about to be taken.46 A week later, on July 8, Hitler confided to Ciano that he would stage another demonstration so that in case the war should continue—which he thought was the only real possibility that came into question—he might achieve a psychological effect among the English people… Perhaps it would be possible by a skillful appeal to the English people to isolate the English Government still further in England." (Shirer, William L.. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich (p. 1168). RosettaBooks. Kindle Edition) Shirer gave a sentence from the speech, "I can see no reason why this war must go on," and then noted Hitler "was not more specific than that. He made no concrete suggestions for peace terms, no mention of what was to happen to the hundred million people now under the Nazi yoke in the conquered countries." (Shirer, William L., The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich (pp. 1166-1167). RosettaBooks. Kindle Edition.} It's interesting that Hitler wasn't able to fool many British or Americans back in 1940 with his phony peace offer, but appears to have succeeded 84 years later. Bottom line: Churchill didn't reject peace with Gemany; he rejected a propaganda ploy. *I am aware it's a pre-Nazi swastika on the elephant at the entrance to the Carlsberg Brewery in Copenhagen.

Why are you talking about Israel vs Hamas or criticism of the Israeli government? Katharina von Schnurbein of the European Commission is referring to physical attacks and harassment of Jews in Europe and elsewhere. "We have seen a tsunami of anti-Semitism really rolling across Europe and the globe," she said. The anti-Semitic attacks are occuring not only in Europe but also in the US, UK, Australia, Canada, Latin America, etc. It's very bad in the US right now, with daily incidents and many cases itargeting Jewish students from the elementary through university level. Does anyone think it is justifiable to harass or physically abuse residents of New York, Paris or London for what someone with the same religion did in another country on a different continent? Blaming all Jews for the real or imagined actions of some Jews is one of the hallmarks of classic anti-Semitism. Jews were hated in medieval times because they were supposedly the descendants of the killers of Christ. Nowadays anti-Semites substitute "Zionists" for "killers of Christ." The words have changed a little, but the message is the same.

The guy is an absolute idiot, but read 'em and weep: https://us.youtubers.me/ishowspeed/youtube-estimated-earnings He has 29 million subscribers and a whopping three billion cumulative views for his 1,454 videos. His Pattaya video got 5.4 million views. He's had $539,000 in revenue in the past 90 days. If it wasn't for YouTube, he'd be working a minimum wage job., assuming he could get a job at all.

Von Schnurbein isn't talking about protests against Israeli government policies. She's referring to attacks on individual Jews and their places of worship. The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) discovered in a recent survey that of the 8,000 surveyed, "37% say they were harassed because they are Jewish in the year before the survey. Most of them experienced harassment multiple times. Antisemitic harassment and violence mostly take place in streets, parks, or shops." https://fra.europa.eu/en/news/2024/jews-europe-still-face-high-levels-antisemitism The situaation is much the same in the U.S. https://www.ajc.org/AntisemitismReport2023

Darryl Cooper isn't a historian, amateur or otherwise. He's a guy who reads a lot of books and articles on specific subjects, then regurgitates a flood of details and snippets strung together in his podcasts by oddball interpretations. He's become the Kim Kardashian of historical revisionism- famous for being famous. There's nothing original or insightful in his podcasts. He simply goes down well-worn paths that have been previously trodden by more formiddable figures. Pat Buchanan wrote a book titled Churchill, Hitler, and the Unnecessary War (2008) that laid out in detail Cooper's subsequent claim that Winston Churchill was the "chief villain" of WW II. Cooper also draws heavily on the books of the (in)famous Holocaust and Hitler revisionist David Irving. Many of Cooper's notions about WWII and the Jews can be traced all the way back to the granddaddy of Holocaust deniers and Hitler white-washers, Harry Elmer Barnes in the late 1940's and onward. Very little that Cooper says about Churchill, Hitler, WWII and the Holocaust can't be found in the works of Buchanan, Irving and Barnes. Same message, different medium.

No, they look fine in these photos: Hersh Goldberg-Polin had part of his arm blown off by a Hamas grenade on Oct. 7. From an earlier Hamas video: I'm posting links to two videos that show the abduction ofmHersh Goldberg-Polin and two other severely wounded hostages. The second is particulaly harrowing as it shows the Hamas terrorists mistreating the injured hostages as they shout "Allahu akbar" and refer to the Jews as "dogs." Don't watch if you are sensitive to such images. https://youtu.be/Ob49SLAi5PU?si=BeanGLkow8c90u5Y https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-807503

There's been some debate in this thread as to whether the American Bully is a pitbull or not. The answer depends on which definitions you use, but it's accurate to say the American Bully is a pitbull-type dog. I'll quote from Pitbullinfo.org, definitely a pro-pitbull site: "Today, 'pitbull' has become an umbrella term loosely used to describe many different medium-sized, short-haired breeds and mixes with physical features typical of various bully-type breeds. While the American Pit Bull Terrier is the only formal breed with the term 'pit bull' in its name, over 20 different breeds and numerous mixes share physical traits common to those in the pitbull-type category." Moreover, it states: It is rather pedantic to argue whether an American Bully can be called a pitbull. It reminds me of the famous theological debate about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. Dogs are NOT the most dangerous animals for humans. Mosquitoes are the living creature (animal in the broadest sense) that are responsible for most human deaths because they spread diseases. If you consider humans as animals, they are far more dangerous than dogs. Snakes arein third plce in terms of human deaths and dogs come fourth. https://www.sciencefocus.com/nature/what-animals-kills-the-most-people

Interesting analysis from the U.S. Institute for Peace: Israel-Hezbollah Contained Escalation Halts Concern Over Broader Mideast War Iran remains the joker in the pack. As the article states, the killing of Ismail Haniyeh was an embarassing breach of security for Iran, but may not be sufficient cause to provoke the country's rulers into a costly war to avenge a non-Iranian citizen. However, due to the erratic thought processes and mindset of Iran's leaders, it's impossible to predict what they'll do. Some commentators had expected a much harsher response to the assasination of Major General Qasem Soleimani by a U.S. drone strike in Iraq in 2020. Iran launched about 15 surface-to-surface missiles at two U.S. air bases in Iraq, but no personnel were killed or seriously injured. Soleimani had been considered a high-profile military leader and national hero, so the retalitiaon was regarded as minimal and not intended to foreshadow more serious military action. It would be odd in comparison if Iran were willing to launch a full attack on Israel over Haniyeh's death. Most likely Iran will increase funds and equipment to Hamas, Hezbollah and other proxy groups so they can take action against Israel.

That depends on your definition of "bad dog breed." Pit bull is an umbrella term for dogs originally bred for fighting. Old English bulldogs, which had been bred for bull- and bear-baiting, were crossed with terriers to create an agile fighting dog. Natural aggression and a vicious attack were prime characteristics of the bred. In today's world, there's no legitimate purpose for fighting dogs. Hence pit bulls could be considered a bad bred. They are kept as househod pets, but aren't suited for that role.

5 The Electoral College was the result of a compromise during the framing of the U.S. Constitution in 1787. It's complicated, but the Founding Fathers had to devise a system that would increase the representation of small states and slave-owning states beyond "one man, one vote" direct democracy. At that time, only white, male property owners were allowed to vote and almost all delegates to the Constitutional Convention believed the populous states of the Northeast would be able to out-vote the rest of the country. The Founding Fathers needed to find a system that balanced the advantage the Northeast had in terms of population. Many delegates were convinced the presidential electors would be guided by the popular vote, but could make a better choice if a devious candidate managed to fool the voters. They envisioned the voters choosing electors from the wisest and most morally upstanding men in the various states. They didn't forsee the rise of party politics in the U.S., which meant electors, like other candidates, were selected along party lines. All these deliberations took place against the overriding background of checks and balances in the U.S. system. The Founding Fathers were determined not to let any branch of the government nor any regional group of voters have too much power. The Electoral College made perfect sense in the late 1700s, not so much today.

No, I am unfortunately used to hearing pure, old-fashioned hatred of Jews masquerading as anti-Zionism. Below are examples of the rhetoric you hear at every pro-Palestine demonstration. Does anyone want to tell me the two in the video don't hate Jews? I would bet both of them are in Chicago right now. vderESNWdW3VviEh.mp4

It's already there. I have to salute the Palestinian guy in the video for his honesty. Untitled video.mp4 The first two days haven't been too rough in terms of violence by pro-Palestian demonstrators. Relatively few arrests and so far no property damage beyond a section of the security fence and a burnt U.S. flag.

Chaos or peaceful demonstrations? That's what everyone is waiting to see. Some businesses along the route protesters will take in downtown Chicago have boarded up windows against possible violence. That won't be much help if there are attacks by protesters determined to do damage. If the demonstrations turn into heavy confrontations with police, resuting in injuries and massive property damage, it will deflect the spotlight from Kamala's historic moment as the first Black female presidential candidate by a major party. It will also cast a negative shadow over the convention in the minds of voters. If demonstrations remain peaceful, Kamala will get some of the credit, whether she deserves it or not. Another aspect is whether she will denounce open support for Hamas and Hezbollah (flags, headbands, slogans, banners, chants, etc.). The use of the inverted red triangle to mark Hamas targets, as in the examples below, is particularly disturbing. As Hamas and its supporters well know, the inverted red triangle was used as a badge on uniforms in Nazi concentration camps. The message to Jews everywhere in the world is, "We're coming after you like the Nazis did."

I think they did. The fish will continue to cook after it is removed from the steam.

Grok comes from Robert A. Heinlein's 1961 science fiction novel Stranger in a Strange Land. The word was used by the book's main character, a human raised on Mars who spoke Martian.

That's an excellent dish for anyone looking to lose weight. Eat steamed fish without rice as your main meal three or four times a week and you're sure to drop the pounds.

Broth-based Thai soups like tom yum; grilled, boiled and steamed dishes; and papaya salad and lettuce wraps have low calories. A lot of the calories in Thai dishes come from sauces and dips. Whenever possible. ask for the sauce on the side and use it and dips sparingly. Avoid dishes of any type with coconut milk as it is packed with calories. Same-same regarding garnishes such as peanuts and fried shallots. Deep-fried dishes are an absolute no-no and stir-fried or sauteed dishes should held to a minimum. Boiled noodles and long-grain white and brown rice don't have that many calories and are a good source of fiber. It's fried rice and noodles as well as sticky rice that you should skip. You can also reduce the portion size of boiled rice and noodles to keep calorie intake lower. Eat a steamed or boiled vegetable like broccoli (including the chopped stalks) instead of rice and noodles for fiber. The use of sugar as a standard ingredient in Thai dishes of all types gets plenty of criticism. Of course it's true sugar (refined white or palm) is the first food you should eliminate from your diet in terms of weight loss. If you have influence with the cook who prepares your meals, by all means request no sugar be added. However, the purpose of sugar in Thai dishes is to balance the flavors- a key fcharacteristic of Thai cuisine- and many cooks will be reluctant at best and unable at worst to remove sugar from their recipes. Don't worry about it too much. The amounts are small enough not to be a big source of unneeded calories.

I don't believe he was trying to assaulr her, but was touching her head to show contempt and disrespect. Touching a stranger's head is a huge insult in Thailand.

I just completed this quiz. My Score 10/100 My Time 63 seconds  

I can't answer for @bubblegum but I'm guessing it's a typo which should read BTW (by the way). The "T" and "Y" keys are next to each other on most keyboards.

Rachel Gunn is no dummy. She knew she would be chanceless against the world's best b-girls, so she chose a style that was the antithesis of good breaking. She became a viral sensation and won herself not an Olympic medal but instant international fame. Even Australia's Prime Minister is talking about her! At the very least, her kangaroo dance will make her a million dollars from appearing in TV commercials and from whatever social media channel she starts. Burger King uses the slogan, "Have it your way," and I can already see underdog Raygun proclaiming that slogan proudly. She'll write a book and get huge fees from celebrity performances and motivational speaking all over the world. She'll be guest on every talk show in the English-speaking world. Australians are always popular in the U.S. and I'm sure about 1,000 American talent agents have already contacted her. How much do you think the Murdoch tabloids will pay her for her story? Or if she poses topless in Playboy? She has a solid academic background and could become to dance and culture what Steve Irwin was to wombats and crocodiles. Her possibilities are endless. Perhaps the most apt comparison is to singer William Hung. One of the worst auditions ever on American Idol turned him into a celebrity with a cult following. He made three albums, did commercials, had bit parts on TV shows and a starring role in a Hong Kong film. One of his albums sold 200,000 copies and reached Number One on Billboard's Top Independent Album Chart. Not because it was good, but because it was so charmingly bad. From a laughing stock in his 2004 audition, he returned as a well-regarded performer on American Idol in 2022.

Some forms of African-American "jazz dance" were similar to modern breaking. Take a look at: and Breaking as we think of it today emerged in the 1970s in the South Bronx as part of the hip hop culture pioneered by DJ Kool Herc. I don't know why so many people are down on Raygun. Her kangeroo dance that scored zero points belongs in the same tradition as GB ski jumper Eddy the Eagle and the Jamaican national bobsled team. The public loves a grand loser almost as much as a winner.

Six optional sports will be featured in the 2028 Olympics in LA: baseball; softball; cricket; lacrosse; squash; and flag-football, in which flag-pulling replaces tackling. The men and women's cricket tournments will use the Twenty20 format. The U.S. organizers had a short-list of ten possible optional sports, but excluded auto racing, breaking, karate, and kickboxing in their proposal to the International Olympic Committee. The IOC has elevated three of the four optional sports at the Paris Olympics to "core" status, which means the LA organizers must include them. Those three are skateboarding, surfing and sport (rock) climbing. The fourth, breaking, will fall away. Among the core sports, boxing may not be included at LA28. It has not yet been listed as a sport for the 2028 Olympics. The IOC banned the International Boxing Association in 2019 due to corruption and total Russian dominance, but no other intl organization has so far been able to replace it. The IOC itself ran the boxing events in Paris, but has said it won't do that in LA. A final decision will be made in 2025, but right now it's not looking good for boxing. A number of social media commentators say the U.S. organizers will be happy if boxing is excluded. The U.S. no longer wins medals in boxing and the organizers want to avoid the huge hassle expected to arise from biological males competing in women's boxing. Whatever decision is made about who is or isn't a woman, the result will be lawsuits and legal battles in the U.S. Weightlifting and modern pentathlon were also in danger is being dropped, but their international organizations made the changes the IOC wanted. Weightlifters will be more strictly tested for drugs and the horse-jumping event in modern pentathlon has been replaced by the competitors themselves running an obstacle course. In terms of TV viewers, modern pentathlon had been the least popular Olympic sport and the horses had caused big logistical and safety issues.

I don't consider myself a xenophobe, but if a brown-skinned man had the name Smith, I'd think he had the most common surname in the English-speaking countries. What's odd about that?