Bab al Mandab strait and the Red Sea

[kallend 1,644]

Don't you miss the old days when Queen Victoria's ministers would send a couple of gunboats to deal with unruly natives, and they'd stay dealt with?

[gowlerk 1,923]

58 minutes ago, kallend said:

Don't you miss the old days when Queen Victoria's ministers would send a couple of gunboats to deal with unruly natives, and they'd stay dealt with?

Not even a little bit do I miss the “glory days” of the murderous colonial era.

[kallend 1,644]

11 minutes ago, gowlerk said:

Not even a little bit do I miss the “glory days” of the murderous colonial era.

What is your solution for the Houthi attacks on shipping?

[gowlerk 1,923]

1 hour ago, kallend said:

What is your solution for the Houthi attacks on shipping?

Get them drunk and then get them a couple dozen virgins each. Everyone wins.

[gowlerk 1,923]

3 hours ago, kallend said:

Don't you miss the old days when Queen Victoria's ministers would send a couple of gunboats to deal with unruly natives, and they'd stay dealt with?

In those days before the Suez Canal the Red Sea was an unimportant pond. I hear it was even easily parted.

Edited January 17 by gowlerk

[Phil1111 913]

1 hour ago, gowlerk said:

Get them drunk and then get them a couple dozen virgins each. Everyone wins.

Have you got something against Virgins?

[Phil1111 913]

3 hours ago, kallend said:

What is your solution for the Houthi attacks on shipping?

Pakistan has nukes and might take care of the Houthi's supplier any day now.

[JoeWeber 2,324]

1 hour ago, Phil1111 said:

Have you got something against Virgins?

Is there a Houthi population in Winnipeg?

[JoeWeber 2,324]

4 hours ago, gowlerk said:

Not even a little bit do I miss the “glory days” of the murderous colonial era.

Sorry to break the bad news but we still live in a murderous era where a positive state of mind and a nice Hallmark greeting card is often insufficient for the task. Whereas it's often a coin toss whether or not bombing assholes in their homes is a good start for a conversation it should be easily agreed that, in our modern world where innocents 10,000 miles distant might be starved as a consequence, attacking shipping in international waters should be a fine occasion to use up a few hundred old JDAM's.

[Phil1111 913]

8 minutes ago, JoeWeber said:

Is there a Houthi population in Winnipeg?

Are you implying that Ken discriminates against Houthi virgins?

4 minutes ago, JoeWeber said:

Sorry to break the bad news but we still live in a murderous era where a positive state of mind and a nice Hallmark greeting card is often insufficient for the task. Whereas it's often a coin toss whether or not bombing assholes in their homes is a good start for a conversation it should be easily agreed that, in our modern world where innocents 10,000 miles distant might be starved as a consequence, attacking shipping in international waters should be a fine occasion to use up a few hundred old JDAM's.

I'm sure the young swabbies from the Eisenhower painted appropriate less than Hallmark greetings on the JDAMs sent so far. "Have some virgins on Ike", "Ike sends its greetings"

[gowlerk 1,923]

13 minutes ago, JoeWeber said:

Sorry to break the bad news but we still live in a murderous era where a positive state of mind and a nice Hallmark greeting card is often insufficient for the task. Whereas it's often a coin toss whether or not bombing assholes in their homes is a good start for a conversation it should be easily agreed that, in our modern world where innocents 10,000 miles distant might be starved as a consequence, attacking shipping in international waters should be a fine occasion to use up a few hundred old JDAM's.

Really Joe? I thought we had entered the magical age of Aquarius. 

[JoeWeber 2,324]

39 minutes ago, gowlerk said:

Really Joe? I thought we had entered the magical age of Aquarius. 

You sometimes give that impression, yes.

[gowlerk 1,923]

1 hour ago, JoeWeber said:

You sometimes give that impression, yes.

It’s merely the reverse of your style of sarcasm.

[kallend 1,644]

21 hours ago, gowlerk said:

Get them drunk and then get them a couple dozen virgins each. Everyone wins.

So you don't have any ideas.

[gowlerk 1,923]

39 minutes ago, kallend said:

So you don't have any ideas.

I'm sure that that the might of HRH Charles 3 would just be laughed at. I'm not against bombing them back to the 5th century where they came from. I'm just not down with the glorification of the English colonial era. 

[kallend 1,644]

21 hours ago, gowlerk said:

I'm sure that that the might of HRH Charles 3 would just be laughed at. I'm not against bombing them back to the 5th century where they came from. I'm just not down with the glorification of the English colonial era. 

So you don't have any ideas and resoort to bluster instead,  Taking lessons from Slim?

[gowlerk 1,923]

44 minutes ago, kallend said:

So you don't have any ideas and resoort to bluster instead,  Taking lessons from Slim?

What are you talking about? Your OP didn't have a real idea. It was nearly the definition of "bluster". It merely contained a nostalgic reference to the past power of your beloved England who's days of greatness have been over for close to 80 years. Which is why you are in Chicagoland and not London. If you have a real idea that does not involve reliving the days of sail and a Queen who died 120 years ago maybe you would begin to be relevant. 

Edited January 19 by gowlerk

[kallend 1,644]

 

 

QED.

Edited January 20 by kallend

[JoeWeber 2,324]

On 1/19/2024 at 8:44 AM, gowlerk said:

What are you talking about? Your OP didn't have a real idea. It was nearly the definition of "bluster". It merely contained a nostalgic reference to the past power of your beloved England who's days of greatness have been over for close to 80 years. Which is why you are in Chicagoland and not London. If you have a real idea that does not involve reliving the days of sail and a Queen who died 120 years ago maybe you would begin to be relevant. 

A good editor often recommends pitching at least half of your cherished work product in the bin and to give serious reconsideration to what remains.

[gowlerk 1,923]

49 minutes ago, JoeWeber said:

A good editor often recommends pitching at least half of your cherished work product in the bin and to give serious reconsideration to what remains.

Where can I hire a good editor for cheap? Should I submit my work to you for pre approval? The learning process is lifelong.

[Phil1111 913]

On 1/19/2024 at 7:44 AM, gowlerk said:

What are you talking about? Your OP didn't have a real idea. It was nearly the definition of "bluster". It merely contained a nostalgic reference to the past power of your beloved England who's days of greatness have been over for close to 80 years. Which is why you are in Chicagoland and not London. If you have a real idea that does not involve reliving the days of sail and a Queen who died 120 years ago maybe you would begin to be relevant. 

I took it as a reference to the days when a overwhelming superiority in weaponry. Resulted in a clear superiority in how political disputes were dealt with.

Today you have a raggedy band of backward flip flop wearing tribesmen. Possessing weapons provided by a sponsor to do their political bidding. That are as modern as what the best of the west has.

Iran has exported MARV ballistic missiles, very advanced drones, etc. To these same tribesmen and trained them to use them.

[JoeWeber 2,324]

14 minutes ago, gowlerk said:

Where can I hire a good editor for cheap? Should I submit my work to you for pre approval? The learning process is lifelong.

Good and Cheap are often mutually exclusive qualities. Try Rich Ravizza. 

[gowlerk 1,923]

3 minutes ago, Phil1111 said:

I took it as a reference to the days when a overwhelming superiority in weaponry. Resulted in a clear superiority in how political disputes were dealt with.

Yes, that was the situation in the colonial era and that was how I took it as well. Political disputes over territory between peoples were dealt with by killing the opposition. The same as now if it can be gotten away with. 

[Phil1111 913]

1 hour ago, gowlerk said:

Yes, that was the situation in the colonial era and that was how I took it as well. Political disputes over territory between peoples were dealt with by killing the opposition. The same as now if it can be gotten away with. 

Agree. "War is the continuation of policy with other means." Was originally penned by Carl von Clausewitz a Prussian philosopher/general. He started his military career at 12 years old. The world has enjoyed a "peace dividend" more or less since WW 2. Now it seems as if military adventurism and the might of the sword. Are tossing aside the lives and peace of civilians.

[gowlerk 1,923]

2 minutes ago, Phil1111 said:

The world has enjoyed a "peace dividend" more or less since WW 2. Now it seems as if military adventurism and the might of the sword. Are tossing aside the lives and peace of civilians.

Yes, it almost seems like two things are happening. The lessons of WW 2 are being forgotten by a new generation and the balance of terror established by nuclear weapons is being eroded and tested.