Hakko Ichiu

What if, at the moment of the Big Bang, the gravitational constant had been slightly higher? ------------------ Ethan ----------- Das also war des Pudels Kern! -- Goethe

Jean a une longue moustache!! Jean a une longue moustache!! ------------------ Ethan ----------- Das also war des Pudels Kern! -- Goethe

I've never had a pork seizure, but then again, I don't eat pork. ------------------ Ethan ----------- Das also war des Pudels Kern! -- Goethe

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Durruti: Hakko Ichiu: 'I've been hearing this particlar dodge for over 25 years -- I became politically aware at a very young age.' Why is calling something by its proper name 'a dodge'? This seems to imply that denying Russia, China etc. were ever 'communist' makes that person a communist sympathiser. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> It's a dodge for precisely the reasons I stated in the thread which you quote, although you've conveniently snipped the rest of what I wrote. All the various genocidal regimes and murderous movements, call them Marxist-Leninist, Maoist, Shining Path, whatever, have followed the siren call of Communism. Most of the time, the driving force behind these revolutions was the local Communist Party, often aided and abetted by the Comintern. As Mark IV said elsewhere, if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck, even if it calls itself Socialist. Denying that doesn't necessarily make one a Communist fellow traveler, one could simply be ignorant of the facts. <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>In fact I think the opposite is true; in calling those disgusting regimes by their true name we can show how the Marxist-Leninist method was totally flawed in that a bureaucratic, centalised state can never transform into a commune-based stateless society. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> No state can ever "transform into a commune-based stateless society". Various states and movements at various times have tried it, whether for purposes of religious messianism (e.g., John of Leyden and the German Anabaptists), messianic socialism (e.g., the Khmer Rouge), or democratic egalitarianism (French Revolution) and they've always reverted to the Hobbesian state of nature where life is nasty, brutish and short. ------------------ Ethan ----------- Das also war des Pudels Kern! -- Goethe

MUST FIGHT URGE TO QUOTE PYTHON... MUST RESIST...AAARGH!!!! I know you're there -- lurking under the floorboards with your damsons and your prunes...now, the rest of you -- I know you're hiding behind the wall bars with your quinces. Well I'm ready for you. I've wired myself up to two hundred tons of gelignite and if any of you so much as tries anything we'll all go up together. I've warned you...I warned you, right! That's it. Big explosion ------------------ Ethan ----------- Das also war des Pudels Kern! -- Goethe

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by pathfinder: Hakko... Where did you hear about Siler City, other than "Mayberry, RFD" or "The Andy Griffith Show"?? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I live in the Triangle, so it's just down the road a piece from my front porch. ------------------ Ethan ----------- Das also war des Pudels Kern! -- Goethe [This message has been edited by Hakko Ichiu (edited 06-11-2000).]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by pathfinder: One of the Shermans "on parade" has a little trailer behind it... bass boat ? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Yes, that's the famous M4A69 "Bubba" Sherman beloved of National Guard Armored units from States south of the Mason-Dixon line. With the attached bass boat and special Barcalounger commander's station it was one of the most effective ARVs (armored recreation vehicles) of the war. Three wet storage coolers in the floor each carried 5x6-packs of Miller High Life at a specified temperature of 42 degrees Fahrenheit (The British version of the M4A69, the "Offy", lacked the temperature control). The most popular modification was the M35 battered couch welded to the back deck; by 1945, this modification included a M240 old fridge. Post-war modifications included the AV13 color television (usually stacked in the TC's cupola on top of another, non-functioning AV13). The attached MB99 bass-boat mounted a ME1204A electronic fish finder. Ammo loadout included: -- 90 x 12 oz. Miller High Life (Aluminum Casing) -- 60 x Cor-bon "Deer-slayer" 12 gauge buckshot -- 40 x Morton 12 gauge rock-salt AP rounds(the famous "Getouttamyyard" round much feared by German infantry) reference: Sgt. J. Foxworthy, "Leather Helmets and Red Necks: Bubba at War" (Siler City, NC: Yeehaw Press, 1973) ------------------ Ethan ----------- Das also war des Pudels Kern! -- Goethe

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by argie: OK. You gonna tell me now that France was in the East side of the Curtain or that the author isn't capitalist <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> That was just a minor dig at the French. I've been smiley free for one week, and I like myself much better now. <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> <snip> The khmer, wathever ideologie they have, had a long history of disrespect to human life... <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I think you are confusing the Khmer, long acknowledged as a gentle, friendly people -- just ask anyone who visited Cambodia before 1967 -- with Annamese/Vietnamese, a very agressive people who were nicknamed "The Prussians of Asia" long before Dien Bien Phu. <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> The chinese were in the state them were because the Occidental powers and Japanese imperialism, not Mao... I don't think pro-western regimes could be done something different in those countries... <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> That frees Mao from responsibility for his own actions, and I don't buy it. If colonialism makes murderers of its "victims", then why didn't the Poles massacre 10 percent of their population after the fall of the Iron Curtain? Furthermore, Ch'iang K'ai Chek and the Kuomintang weren't exactly the Continental Congress, but it's hard to imagine them committing the Cultural Revolution, the Great Leap Forward, or Tiananmen Square. In fact, Taiwan looks awfully democratic to me these days, unlike the mainland. As an aside, this thread has gone wildly OT and yet remains open. Maybe we should insult each other more? ------------------ Ethan ----------- Das also war des Pudels Kern! -- Goethe

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Durruti: von Lucke: 'I'd like to point out there has yet to be practicable government based on Marxist theory enacted on this planet, and that the use of the term 'Communist' when describing a Military/Socialist dictatorship is also incorrect.' Very true. It always amazes me how many people use the term 'Communist' without the slightest idea of what it means. Also that none of the state-socialist regimes in Russia, China etc. ever claimed to have achieved Communism. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I've been hearing this particular dodge for over 25 years -- I became politically aware at a very young age. Yes, the pure Dictatorship of the Proletariat and utopian withering away of the state has never been achieved. But how come every attempt to establish it ends in disaster and, more often than not, genocide? Could it be that the basic premises of Socialism/Communism are flawed? I, for one, think so. [edited for a really silly spelling mistake] ------------------ Ethan ----------- Das also war des Pudels Kern! -- Goethe [This message has been edited by Hakko Ichiu (edited 06-11-2000).]

I love the JPFO site, it's so politically incorrect. I especially love the "Ask the Rabbi" section. BTW, the correct link is www.jpfo.com They're stretching the point wrt Gun Control = Genocide, but only slightly. [This message has been edited by Hakko Ichiu (edited 06-10-2000).]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by DrAlimantado: Hakko Ichiu wrote: "I just want you to imagine what recent history would be like if America and, say, China had changed places." In one sense you are of course correct. The world would have been a much worse place if Chine and/or Soviet had gotten the upper hand in the cold war. But then on the other hand ... the outcome could have been better. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> You are missing my point slightly. I'm not talking about communist vs. capitalist, but rather that almost any other country that found itself in the position of unilateral power that America did would have promptly gone out and conquered the world (o.k., maybe not Sweden, but I trust you see my point). Life in, say, Rwanda might well have been better had it been colonized by the Chinese -- I doubt it though, given Han China's historical xenophobia. I probably should have picked a non-Communist country as a counter-example, e.g., Indonesia. East Timor, anybody? <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>My experience from living in US and watching the international media, is that a lot of the people who frenetically applaude the death of communism, also have a very selective memory of what the west has been and have done. ... I am NOT saying that this is the case with you,from what I could percieve of your posts, you seem too well read to do that kind of trick. What often is forgotten is that while we say the we fought communism in the name of freedom (we can include Sweden to, Sweden was only neutral on the paper), we tend to forget to look at ourselves. The Black Power movement had to fight on until the early-mid 70's, that is kind of telling about the state of the American democracy at the time. UK and France had colonies while we wanted to liberate the world from communistic opression. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> The Left in the West likes to play a deceptive little trick: it will say that, for instance, because thousands "disappeared" in Chile, under a regime supported by the US, the US was just as bad as the USSR, if not worse. This totally ignores the difference in scale of the crimes committed by Communist regimes versus the crimes (and there certainly were crimes) committed by anti-Communist regimes. No cause is totally pure, and no great struggle can be played according to the Marquess of Queensbury's rules if one side won't adhere to them. That doesn't make those crimes any prettier. I don't think the Black Power/Panther movement says much about the state of American democracy, although it says alot about the change in attitude among African American leaders. The movement has been horribly romanticized by the European Left. They were mostly a bunch of criminals (and not of the political kind either) and the movement ended up eating its own. See, for instance, David Horowitz's "Radical Son" and "The Politics of Bad Faith" for an inside view of those events. Please bear in mind that economic conditions for African Americans were increasing much more quickly in the 40s and 50s, before the Civil Rights Act and the Great Society, then they did in the 60s through the 80s at the height of the welfare state, when they actually fell by many indicators (see Charles Murray, "Losing Ground"). ------------------ Ethan ----------- Das also war des Pudels Kern! -- Goethe

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Germanboy: Hmm, just because I am typing this anyway: I recently had a girl I met at a party believe my suggestion that establishing a 'Club Seal', where stressed company executives can relax and wind down by, well, clubbing seals, is a reasonable business proposition. Something about my body language must be wrong. She still thinks I am devil incarnate <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Part of the process of arriving at objective truth is asking the right questions. In the above case, for instance, the only important question is "Did you bag her? If not, why not?" Everything you need to know will be contained in the answer. This thread is becoming wildly OT, and all this talk of logical positivism could very quickly bring about a fire-storm of Monty Python quotations. You have been warned.... ------------------ Ethan ----------- Das also war des Pudels Kern! -- Goethe

I think we're mostly going to have to agree to disagree on this one, but let me correct one major point of fact: <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by argie: Look closer at the statistics about people dying in comunist regimes and you found that most of the deads are most related to the traditional racial issues than the actual ideologics ones (the Soviet Union is a very good example of it, then and now). I tend to not believe in the winner's history, as I don't believe in the nazi or stalinist history as well. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> -- The millions of Chinese killed in the Cultural Revolution were mostly Han Chinese, as were the people who killed them. -- The millions of kulaks executed or deported to Siberia to freeze and starve to death were victims because of their class, rather than their race. -- The millions who died in the killing fields of Cambodia were Khmers, as were the Khmer Rouge who killed them. -- Millions of Ukrainians died in the forced Famine of 1931(?? date, don't have my copy of R. Conquest readily to hand). Russia had controlled Ukraine for centuries before this, yet never saw the need to shed quite so much blood. These are just the largest examples, but there are hundreds of smaller ones everywhere that Marxist-Leninist regimes seized power. Incidentally, "The Black Book" hardly constitutes winners' history. The authors are French. ------------------ Ethan ----------- Das also war des Pudels Kern! -- Goethe

Because you've said you're not going to post in the thread again, I feel a twinge of unfairness at getting in the last word, but I'll survive. <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by argie: Thanks for not unload all your power over us, not super-power countries inhabitants <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I'm not asking for thanks, I just want you to imagine what recent history would be like if America and, say, China had changed places. <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> I think a few tactical atom bombs could have been done less damage than the "Escuela de las Américas" do... <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I'm not sure I understand the reference. If you mean "The Experience of the Americas", let me suggest that you contemplate what would have happened had Spain remained the dominant power in the Western hemisphere. Remember, historical events don't occur in a vacuum. <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>You're still a bit biased, but no problem. It's hard to see through the other people eyes. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> True, but that goes for everyone. For what it's worth, I believe I acquired my biases after a long period of experience and rational thought, and I'll stick with them until they are disproved to my satisfaction. <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> I left this topic here, as is very dificult to me discuss those topics in a language that doesn't native to me...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I fully sympathize. If you still want to say something to me, write me in Spanish at the e-mail address in my profile. My Spanish is pretty rusty, but I can usually work my way through a newspaper like el Economista. It'll take a while though, so don't expect an overnight reply. <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> Ah! About to fight wars, I don't believe in just causes... Not anymore... The war is over and the people is still starved... I'm not blaming your country (not entirely at least) for it, but thousand of people dies in that war, innocent people the most, and I don't see a better world yet... This is my last post about this topic. Sorry. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I still believe in just causes, but even just causes carry their tragic price. As to people dying in the Cold War, if that is what you're talking about, remember that over 100 million died non-combat deaths at the hands of Communist regimes (cf. Courtois and Cramer, The Black Book of Communism) WRT the tragic history of Latin America there is plenty of blame to spread around, and the US certainly deserves its share; but it neither the only nor the largest share by any means. The peoples of Latin America must bear the largest portion themselves. Consider, as I'm sure you know, that Argentina was, at the beginning of the 20th century, one of the wealthiest countries in the world. Its long downward slide -- caused by a succession of military juntas and kleptocracies -- cannot be blamed on America alone. ------------------ Ethan ----------- Das also war des Pudels Kern! -- Goethe

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by argie: I tried hard to not respond to Hakko post, but "American Beauty" portrayed as a "pseudo Marxist critique of American society" makes me laugh really loud Hakko, you could smell "pseudo marxism" in whatever you want, if you desires it hard.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Argie, you are correct in that I painted with a rather wide brush in my previous post. Then again, so did Murx. I suppose if one wanted to be precise, "American Beauty" is less pseudo-Marxist than it is post-Marxist. Why? The middle-class bourgeosie are all depicted as alienated and/or secretly perverted. Marriage is depicted as a living lie, while true happiness and freedom are to be found only in illicit/forbidden sexual relations, preferably combined with drugs. The military is depicted (through the Colonel character) as brutal, sadistic, close-minded and secretly homosexual. The movie celebrates only youth in its most Dionysian incarnation. I could go on, but this is not a film studies forum. You will have to trust me that this is how Marxist thought has metastasized in the United States since the fall of the Soviet Union. I will not presume to comment on Argentinian politics without doing a lot more research, if you will do the same for the United States. <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> That happens often in my country and thousands of innocent people died ("missing" means something to you). <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I'm not going to get into a discussion about Argentina's recent sad history, but if you don't believe that the global fight against Marxism-Leninism was one that needed to be fought, then we will find very little common ground. <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Man, I know people that found very interesting correlations between the Keop's pyramid and a bunch of crazy things... But you... BTW, what do you think about "international sionism"? Is the other thing the people that smell marxists smells everywhere too...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> You are so far off base with this one you have no idea. I just have to set free a smiley for that one: <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> C'mon, Hakko, don't be ingenuos, you're living in the capitol of a new empire. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Actually, I live in a small town about 5 hours fast drive from the capitol of the only remaining super-power. There's a big difference between that and an empire, at least as far as America is concerned. Think about it: if America really wanted to take over the world, you'd be singing the Star-Spangled Banner everyday. America is the only country in history that has possessed this level of unchecked, raw power without unleashing it on everyone in sight. Many people outside the U.S. just don't see how this could be, so they have to cook up American imperialist conspiracies. <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> p.s. Sorry, I used to enjoy most of your posts, but you are being too partial in this one. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I hope you will continue to enjoy my other posts. Check out my Combaikus, they are much less serious. ------------------ Ethan ----------- Das also war des Pudels Kern! -- Goethe

And how could I leave out (with apologies to Bassho): Ah, Combat Mission! Ah, Ah, Combat Mission, Ah, Ah! Combat Mission, Ah! ------------------ Ethan ----------- Das also war des Pudels Kern! -- Goethe

Was going to post these last night, but then something crashed: Sound of shells "Kah-rummp". What is the foul brown liquid running down my leg? The soldiers rejoice. In town over the next ridge: A famous brothel. I cannot sleep for the constant din. In the next tent: Monty and Ike. Dry tongue cleaves to mouth. Nahverteidewatwazzit? Fuggedaboutit! Today I got fired. Tomorrow the full release. Happiness and joy. My wife screams. Plates fly. Her words are evanescent. She is out of LOS. Panzer wraps wrong shade. HMGs can run like wind. Grognard posts complaint. ------------------ Ethan ----------- Das also war des Pudels Kern! -- Goethe

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Germanboy: Please note that all smilies on this iMac were abducted by Dr.Evil. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Are they now...Evil Smilies? ------------------ Ethan ----------- Das also war des Pudels Kern! -- Goethe

The first time I played VoT as the Axis (I had played it blind as the Allies), the AI sent much of its "red" force down my right flank. I managed to stop it, but it was a close run thing, and not what I had expected. Another time, playing as the Allies, I sent one of my platoons ahead on the right flank using the dead ground of the small hill to block LOS to the main elevation. When I got w/in 100 meters or so of the road, I sent a half-squad ahead to scout. He made it fine, so I moved the rest of the platoon out... ... and smack into the IG and an MG bunker. Nice little ambush, and pretty surprising. Sure, I beat it, but I was still impressed. I'll have to try it on +100% or so and see what happens. ------------------ Ethan ----------- Das also war des Pudels Kern! -- Goethe

I take issue with just about every point made in this post: <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Murx: I would like to contribute to the original cause of this thread, the way especially Hollywood is twisting history. My feelings are that the US goverment and industry (thus including the entertainment business) are on a very strict imperialistic way ! <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> This is so far off base, I don't even know where to begin. 1) The current US government is so far from imperialistic that it barely even acknowledges the concept of national interest, let alone recognizing what it might actually be. Why else do we send our troops on operations that can be of no conceivable net benefit to the United States? E.g., Haiti, Kosovo, Bosnia, Sudan. 2) If the US government were engaged in beggar my neighbor mercantilist imperialism, it wouldn't be spending huge amounts of time and energy drying to break apart one of the U.S.'s most successful companies. 3) Taken as a whole, Hollywood abhors most of the virtues that made America great. Look at almost any movie with pretensions to plot and you will find an extremely dated pseudo-Marxist critique of American society, e.g., American Beauty, almost any recent war movie (w. the possible exception of SPR), any movie dealing with issues of religion. <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Not only tries the goverment with help of trade taxes and financial support on their own industry to strengthen its economy, the industry itself tries to set its standards as worldstandards too, but even the way of life mainly through stuff like Coca-Cola & Mac**** and more important Hollywood (and the like)!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Anyone from Europe who criticizes the U.S. regarding anti-competitive behaviour had better take a long hard look in the economic mirror. Furthermore, your comments about Coca-Cola and MacDonalds tell me that you either have a very blinkered view of American society or you've swallowed whatever pseudo-Marxist crap they're currently peddling at Tübingen as if it were holy writ. BTW, I studied at Marburg, and I know Marxist crap when I smell it. <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> <irrelevant whining snipped for brevity> I never got the feeling that the characters from 'Das Boot', 'Im Westen nichts neues' or 'Die Bruecke' were heroes - these movies weren't so bad that they made me puke - but SPR was so , sorry I'm missing the exact English words for this, falsch, unehrlich, it nearly made me.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> False? Dishonorable? Why? Because the American soldiers are made out to be heroes? Well, here's a bit of news: they were heroes -- they liberated Europe (along with the Brits, Free French, Canadians, Anzacs, etc.) Maybe there is less heroism in German war movies because the celebration of heroism in an evil cause is morally questionable. And if you want to find examples of "honorable Germans" in war movies, I don't think you'd have to look too far -- although they'd be in American or possibly British films, e.g., "The Great Escape". Furthermore, "Das Boot" and "Im Westen..." ("All Quiet on the Western Front) were anti-war movies, so the lack of heroism is hardly surprising. And, for the record, post-1965 or so, the US produced plenty of anti-war movies too. SPR was so unusual because it didn't kick the audience in the face with the obvious message that war is a bad thing. It let the audience make up its own mind whether, even if war is hell, some wars might be worth fighting. <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> Ok, I stop now ... murx<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Well, thank the Lord for that. ------------------ Ethan ----------- Das also war des Pudels Kern! -- Goethe

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Mark IV: Which is all the military wants them to do. Hunting's demands of wound ballistics are the opposite of the military's (both in the name of humanity, curiously enough): the hunter gets the most humane (quick) kill by maximizing tissue damage, best achieved with controlled mushrooming, hence the "soft" (exposed lead) or hollow points. The soldier causes the most humane (clean) wound by simply downing the enemy- no need to tear up vitals unnecessarily- so full metal jackets (which also feed better in automatic weapons). <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I'm neither a fire arms nor a ballistics expert, so I wade in here with a little bit of trepidation. I have seen numerous statements from military analysts claiming that armies want munitions to cause the most grievous wounds possible, since that ties up more of the enemy's assets than a clean through-and-through. Hence "tumbling" slugs, landmines, frag. grenades, etc. As another example, I saw a recent BBC documentary (on battlefield medicine, IIRC) showing the design of a flechette-type rifle munition designed to penetrate body-armor and tumble. They also did some slow-mo footage of various rifle rounds firing into large blocks of jello (to simulate human flesh); the results were pretty grisly. This would seem to contradict Mark IV's assertion that all any military wants is a round that will penetrate. ------------------ Ethan ----------- Das also war des Pudels Kern! -- Goethe

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by dumbo: German boy: I think you are selling yourself short. Lots of English girls I know dig them Teuton guys. Also with the accent you gotta play to stereotype, think "sophisticated german aristocrat" and play the role. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Actually, the topic "Why Germans are Lousy Lovers" is a perennial favorite in the better British journals of opinion. What the rest of the world has to say about the British in that regard rarely gets a mention, however. As OT as a Britney Spears thread by now... ------------------ Ethan ----------- Das also war des Pudels Kern! -- Goethe

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Germanboy: And let me tell you that a German accent is no good if you want to get laid in the UK... <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> English girls are easy, but they're not that easy. I should know, I married one... This post certified free from smilies. ------------------ Ethan ----------- Das also war des Pudels Kern! -- Goethe

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Chris Jenkins: "Explaining Hitler" by Rosenbaum is a must for anyone interested in the subject. There are revelations and interviews galore. It is a review of all major scholarly works on Hitler, and is the most recent. The cover has Hitler's baby picture. Pretty insane. I recomend it highly, but have a dictionary handy. Even book reviewers were stumped on some of the dialouge.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I have to confess that I'm not a big fan of meta-history, so I haven't read Rosenbaum, even despite the favorable reviews from some v. credible reviewers. Is this the source of the hysterical blindness hypothesis? If so, I'll check it out from the pub. lib. Thanks. ------------------ Ethan ----------- Das also war des Pudels Kern! -- Goethe

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Chris Jenkins: The story of Hitler being gassed at the end of WWI is just that: a story. He actually had a case of histerical blindness. Losing the war messed him up in the head (even more than he already was). However, he was afraid of gas based on his battlefield experiences. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> This is news to me. For instance, I recently read Keegan's mini-biography of Hitler in "Masks of Command", and he credits the generally accepted account of Hitler actually being gassed while acting as a "runner". Do you have a contradictory source? Thanks in advance. ------------------ Ethan ----------- Das also war des Pudels Kern! -- Goethe