The guide said that when the English finally got around to distributing food aid in the west, being morally righteous Victorians, they wouldn’t just hand out food for nothing. They made people earn it, and if there was no real work to be done, they set them to work building these useless fences.

If that’s not the ultimate f.u….

And Cynic, as regards Taylor’s book, if you say so. It’s been a looooong time since I had my hands on the thing, and I only read a few chapters.

a) Hitler was not unique in his wishes to make Germany the largest power in Europe, compared to other German leaders.
b) he was a grasping opportunist with no driving forces other than “make Germany great” and “let’s kill some Jews”, rather than the devious mastermind he has been portrayed to be.
c) the Second World War was not merely the result of a small group of power-mad Nazis, but the the result of the settlement of WWI, as well as various foreign policy mistakes.

It’s certainly a controversial viewpoint, and debateable (especially around the notorious Hossbach Memorandum), but he does not “absolve” Hitler. He puts Hitler’s actions in their context with the relations of other nations and the previous events in Germany.

Thank you SO much for bringing up Cecil Woodham-Smith’s “The Great Hunger”.
A magisterial literary work of the 20th century, IMHO.

Just had a nice discussion with my parents, both Irish-born, about your bringing it up. And how cool it is that we can comment…

Great book- I guess it took a privileged Englishwoman to tell the story, but she did it magnificently. Bless her.

I do believe that you are alluding to New Orleans- “They should have known how disastrous it would be!”, coupled with- “Isn’t it great just to get rid of all those poor people”. I def. see parallels there.

Thanks for bringing up that GREAT book by Cecil Woodham-Smith. I hope you read this comment, Retardo,- def. food for thought. Slainche.

“The Irish starved themselves to make the English look bad.”

Read it again and let it sink in.

Grampaw: the kind of people who say you can’t attack a thing without having something to replace it with are also the kind of people who supported the Iraq War.

Or have you never heard anyone declared pro-Ba’athist because they could not come up with a quick, easy way to end Hussein’s rule aside from the current bloodbath?

So, help us out here: what exactly was your point? If you’re not quite sure, why, just read it again and I’m sure it’ll sink into you as well as us.

(And don’t forget to use quotes when explaining it!)

No. Them I like.

And I do realize I’ve been overly persistent here, but another essential component of exasperation is the realization that you don’t have any tricks left.

Not for exasperating people who egregiously overuse stale modifiers?

I have said, over and over again, that I think there are problems with Free Trade as currently implemented. I have outlined, over and over again, ways to improve it, ways that are not currently being pursued by the WTO or the IMF or other questionable institutions, ways that are not “more of the same,” but rather are as yet untried ways to make trade freer and less damaging for all people.

My post over in the other thread was snarky, but you really are showing every indication that you are not reading my posts carefully enough to comprehend them. It’s as if you see the words “free trade” and a mist of fury falls over your eyes, and you stop taking in information entirely.

Reactionary? Only in response to people who offer nothing but empty bile and self-righteous rage. On the actual issues, I’m anything but, as you would know if you were reading my comments for information, rather than fuel for your ongoing tantrum.

And my bile is farm fresh, sunshine.

Wasn’t it Santayana who said that the definition of insanity is redoubling your efforts when you’ve forgotten your aims? What’s the cure for the various disasters neoliberalism and free trade has wrought: Grampaw says, most originally: more neoliberalism and more free trade!

You really are an heir of Trevelyan.

Nope, still no constructive ideas here. Plenty of leftover bile, though: want some?

I have a good idea you’re an insufferable asshole, for example. I have an idea that suggesting you should die in a fire might be talking things too far, for another.

See? There’s two right there.

I don’t have any ideas, either.

Thank you for taking the bait that was so smelly I had to go begging for bites. Now I may continue my rigorous defense of the status quo.