NationStates Jolt Archive

I'm pretty new to this forum, but I must say that I am already very impressed by the shear number of bizarre ideas floating around here, and I have greatly enjoyed reading them. So I was wondering, do you people consider your own ideas to be weird? And if so, what do you consider to be your weirdest?

Personally, I have a few rather odd opinions. I'm a creationist and a Biblical fundamentalist, as well as a capitalist/libertarian, and I'm extremely anti-war. I think that one of the weirdest entries in my pantheon of opinions is my opinion on World War II. I believe that WW II was basically a big fight between Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin, who were more or less equally evil. If the USA and the UK and its affiliates had stayed out of the war, 'Dolf and Joe would have mainly focused on beating the crap out of each other and would have done a bang up job of it, eliminating two of the world's worst dictators. Instead, most of the western world sided with Uncle Joe. Hitler was defeated, but Stalin, and the Soviet Union, and the other socialist dictatorships of the world, were greatly strengthened and we had to deal with them for about another thirty years. Things would have been a lot simpler if Uncle Sam and . . . uh, whatever the British call their government when they're trying to be colloquial . . . had let Dolf and Joe go at unhindered. Also: Hitler was evil, but not much more evil than many of the other politicians the world has known, and Franklin Roosevelt provoked the Japanese into attacking pearl harbor so that he could convince the American people to let him go to war.

If anyone has any weirder opinions than the one above, please post them, I look forward to it. Also, don't bother trying to refute other people's opinions; just state your own.

I believe that Wal-Mart and McDonalds are secretly planning to take over the world.

I believe that Wal-Mart and McDonalds are secretly planning to take over the world.



That's not weird, it's true :D

The female sex organ scares me. (Seriously!)

The female sex organ scares me. (Seriously!)


Umm....boo?

Umm....boo?

:mad: I gone and pissed myself!

The final world war shall be fought between the Wal-Mart/McDonalds Conglomerate and the United States Burger King and Target.

I believe that UFOs are real. I think their main mission is to pick up all of our TV transmissions and rebroadcast them on the galactic entertainment network. The Earth channel is the highest rated channel on GEN. On superbowl sunday trillions of Klarknars are wagered around the universe on the game. The results of American Idol are used to determine the fate of entire galactic clusters. The highest rated show in the crab nebulae is Baywatch. David Hasselhoff has been elected the supreme ruller of Antares IV.

I believe that Wal-Mart and McDonalds are secretly planning to take over the world.
Let's see, crappy food, crappy products, not to mention crappy wages, they are already halfway there.

I say we form the K-Mart/Wendys liberation front to free the world of the evil mass-corperation!

I will only say that the OP does have one of the most psychotic interpretations of WWII, and indeed hasn't even read a simple history book on it so that their opinions could be even slightly influenced by proven reality.

That being said, I believe corporations will rule the earth in the end, which will be when the planet runs out of oil in 15 to 20 years. Then the worlds economy will collapse and uttery fail, leaving humanity to starve to death in a cold world. By 2100, no humans will be left alive.

Enjoy it while you can.

I say that the government is hiding a secret superbud that if smoked would bring about world peace.

I believe most people are too scared of losing their comfortable life to entertain ideas that their country/leaders/media/etc. are lying and using them.
On that note, I believe patriotism and intelligence are inversely proportional.

I'm personally convnced that there is no such thing as a "good morning". For me, the ideal morning would start at noon, therefore, it doesn't exist.

I believe that reality is divided into to parts, the dream preception, wich is the reality we are seeing everyday, and the waking perception, wich is usually unseen, and the true plane of existance.


I also believe I'll roll another one.

Never trust people with big glasses ..............................

Never trust people with big glasses ..............................


Does that include Elton John?

Or Dame Edna?

Hmm...both brits...both poofy........hmmm.

The pengiuns are planning to take over the world. Have you seen their beady eyes at the zoo? You can tell they are just standing there planning the mass-genocide of all humans in order to create the perfect Penguin Society ruled by Tux himself.... yesss.... Damn penguins, I'M ON TO YOU!

I believe that Wal-Mart and McDonalds are secretly planning to take over the world.

I used to have this theory, that the McDonalds was actually behind all of the major political decisions made in the US and that, yes, it would soon take over the world.

We don't have any Walmarts here, though there is one right across the border, so I'm not too sure about them

I belive that most evils of modern world are because of civilization and cities. That's where power, patologies, etc. begun.

Yeah, I prefer shamanic healing to medicine.

Does that include Elton John?

Or Dame Edna?

Hmm...both brits...both poofy........hmmm.

Yes .... just look at Deirdre Barlow .......

Nothing to do with Poofyness ....

Just don't trust them, be warned!

I believe its possible to fundementally better ourselves through thought and action. I belive this extends to public and private life. I believe that humans have responsibility to look out for one another. I believe governments should help people first, and themselves last. I believe corperations should help people first, and themselves last. I believe corperations and governments should be nodding aquaintences.

I believe that good can come when people organize themselves, despite all the evidence to the contrary. I believe that when we ruin others, we ruin ourselves. I belive that malice and hatred are the worst elements of humanity, followed closely by caustic indifference.

I belive that people are people, no matter how evil they may seem. I belive that in helping the greatest number of people, we still should not forget the least. I belive that power is so great a responsibility that only a tiny minority of those who seek its limits are not fools.

I belive its almost 4am where I live and I belive I'm going to bed now. Damn I sound like a hippy. Must be all that drinking.

I believe the reason why there are so many killings in America lately is because there aren't enough beatings. I think if young people were encouraged to fight out their issues, then they would have a healthier outlet for grievances than by buying/stealing a gun and shooting people.

I believe I am God!

I have a wide mixture of weird opinions. Like I believe in God but if you asked my how the universe was created I wouldn't be referring to the bible. I totally accept sience over divinty.

Microsoft are a monopoly and must be stpped. open-source (or even just a better OS) is the future.

so i run linux whenever i can, firefox instead of IE, the usual. It's my way of being a rebel. plus the whole anti-microsoft thing annoys my dad a bit when i rant, so i can claim to be 'angsty'.

and to the (guy? girl?) who said the female sex organ scares him... do you remember what it is to be male and aged between fifteen to eighteen?

all my political beliefs are weird - i'm a anarcho-communitarian/communist... i mean come on :rolleyes: :p


I believe its possible to fundementally better ourselves through thought and action. I belive this extends to public and private life. I believe that humans have responsibility to look out for one another. I believe governments should help people first, and themselves last. I believe corperations should help people first, and themselves last. I believe corperations and governments should be nodding aquaintences.

I believe that good can come when people organize themselves, despite all the evidence to the contrary. I believe that when we ruin others, we ruin ourselves. I belive that malice and hatred are the worst elements of humanity, followed closely by caustic indifference.

I belive that people are people, no matter how evil they may seem. I belive that in helping the greatest number of people, we still should not forget the least. I belive that power is so great a responsibility that only a tiny minority of those who seek its limits are not fools.

I belive its almost 4am where I live and I belive I'm going to bed now. Damn I sound like a hippy. Must be all that drinking.
hey wow i agree with all your crazy ideas there, and i am a damn hippie :D
though i would definatley add that there is rarely a greater evil than the pursuit of power. the pursuit and love of money is bad enough, but power has got to be worse.



actually that's got to be my most hairbrained belief, at least in the way other people respond to it - that money is a tool that is useful in some ways, but causes many more problems in other ways. i believe a society without money is not only possible, but preferable.

I don't believe in trust.

I believe Niccolo Medici is horribly confused. Niccolo Machievelli and the Medici families of Florence and Milan would shun what he just said. Although and idealist Utopia would be nice, it never will happen. People above all else desire power.

My craziest thought is that the rapture will be May 3rd 2012, so REPENT.

I STILL think people are generally good-natured and will treat each other with respect...


...man, what AM I smoking?

People above all else desire power.

i believe this to be total BS. some people do, of course, but not all. maybe you do but please don't paint the rest of us with your dirty brush

...man, what AM I smoking?


Peyote, probably.

i believe this to be total BS. some people do, of course, but not all. maybe you do but please don't paint the rest of us with your dirty brush

Don't make me laugh, if you think its BS then ur a deluded, and a fool. People desire power however there are many paths to power. Politicians, Lawyers, Doctors, Teachers, Managment, Law Enflorcement, etc. the list goes on and on. All people desire power, whether it is the power to change the world, to save lives, to bestow knowledge and/or be a glorified babysitter. And so on an so forth. Psychology alone proves this perhaps you have not heard of the Melgram experiment? "I observed a mature and initially poised businessman enter the lab smiling and confident. Within 20min he was reduced to a twitching, stuttering, wreck who was rapidly approaching a nervous breakdown. He constantly pulled at his ear lobe and twisted his hands. At one point he put his fist to his head and mutter 'Oh God, lets stop this.' And yet he continued to respond to every word the experimenter, and obeyed to the end." The man was supposedly tormenting another human and yet didn't stop becuase he was in control. And another experiment was done by Philip Zimbardo in which a "prison" was set up with guards and prisoners. in less than 4 days the guards became abusive and drunk with power. Proving yet again people desire power and change dramatically once it is attained. I am sorry my friend but yes, everyone desires power, in some form.

I believe that we should expand the death penalty to include rape, corruptution, and also people who have been in prison for ten years should instantly be given the death penalty. I think this should done because it cost thousands of dollars to take care of a prisoner so if the death penalty is expanded that could save millions of dollars that can be put back in to education and welfare.

What is strange about this is that I think of myself as a liberal.

Well I believe theres an overpopulation problem...and although there may be one solution to every problem there is no way everyone will ever agree on them, so problems will never be resolved until...
I also believe that long after humantiy has vanished from the earth that squid will learn to walk on land and take over!

. . . uh, whatever the British call their government when they're trying to be colloquial . . .

John Bull - although it also counts as the whole British people in their glorious entirety.

I believe that we are all Children of God - and therefore the 'image of god' is our capacity for creation and invention. Ultimately, this universe we percieve is a 'reality consensus' where these enormous powers that are our birthright are locked by our fear of the unknown into regularised 'laws'. Such as gravity. What a bitch.

Ultimately, everything that we do as human beings involves manipulation of energy. If we could unlock our minds from this consensus, we could wield our powers directly and build a new and better, Dragon Ball Z style world. ;) Thats right, immortal thwappage with energy beams.

I draw my evidence from many theological and philosophical sources, as well as several mind-blowing mushroom and/or dope inspired trips.

I honestly believe that ultimately all anyone wants is to be able to put their feet up in a quiet room and rest after a fun day. If everyone could do that the world would be a far happier place.

Actually, I kind of agree with both sides here. Power definitely corrupts, but I think a society that doesn't give people power over eachother is possible, thus allowing us to avoid the problems of power corrupting. So I'd be right with the anarcho-communists.

My strangest belief is that I have no idea that this world is real but I choose to exist and operate in it anyway.

I'm personally convnced that there is no such thing as a "good morning". For me, the ideal morning would start at noon, therefore, it doesn't exist.

Seconded

I believe that we are all Children of God - and therefore the 'image of god' is our capacity for creation and invention. Ultimately, this universe we percieve is a 'reality consensus' where these enormous powers that are our birthright are locked by our fear of the unknown into regularised 'laws'. Such as gravity. What a bitch.

I am not a child of your god dammit. He had his own little experiment in his own lil garden and ruined it for the rest of us. Just look in the story of Caine and Able. Caine was banished into the land of Nod (land of the nomads) so yes there were other people and so please leave us out of it!
I'm sorry if this sounded harsh, didn't mean it to be, it's just frustrating...

I STILL think people are generally good-natured and will treat each other with respect...


...man, what AM I smoking?

Got any more? :D

John Bull - although it also counts as the whole British people in their glorious entirety.

I believe that we are all Children of God - and therefore the 'image of god' is our capacity for creation and invention. Ultimately, this universe we percieve is a 'reality consensus' where these enormous powers that are our birthright are locked by our fear of the unknown into regularised 'laws'. Such as gravity. What a bitch.

Ultimately, everything that we do as human beings involves manipulation of energy. If we could unlock our minds from this consensus, we could wield our powers directly and build a new and better, Dragon Ball Z style world. ;) Thats right, immortal thwappage with energy beams.

I draw my evidence from many theological and philosophical sources, as well as several mind-blowing mushroom and/or dope inspired trips.

John Bull, eh? I'd never heard that before. Good to know. Also, I like your idea. If I just concentrate hard enough, I might be able to break out of this reality consensus of fear. RRRRMMM . . . GGRRR . . . BBBMMMM . . . FFFFFF . . .

Or Dame Edna?

Hmm...both brits...both poofy........hmmm.

Try Australian ;)

Though yeah, big glasses people, ugh.

People above all else desire power.


All the more reason why no one should have it.

All the more reason why no one should have it.

Sounds like the beginning of a weird idea to me. Want to elaborate?

I'm a creationist and a Biblical fundamentalist, as well as a capitalist/libertarian, and I'm extremely anti-war.
Wow, I wonder if we agree on anything. I'm a secularist, social liberal, and a socialist, and I'm pro-war.

I have heard your ideas about WW2 before. They are wrong because if there had been no US intervention, the UK would have fallen and most of the people of Europe would be killed, including every Jew.

Wow, I wonder if we agree on anything. I'm a secularist, social liberal, and a socialist, and I'm pro-war.

I have heard your ideas about WW2 before. They are wrong because if there had been no US intervention, the UK would have fallen and most of the people of Europe would be killed, including every Jew.

Pleased to meet you, nice to know what a diverse world this is that we live in. (Which God created ;) )

If you look at the economies and militaries of the UK, the US, the Germans and the Soviets during WW II, you'll see that they're all more or less in the same league. If Germany and the USSR had been allowed to fight one on one it would have been a fairly even match and neither of them would have come out of it looking very good. Instead, Britain and the US sided against Germany and let the Soviets get out of the fight in good enough condition to fight the cold war. Britain and the States ended up having to deal with the Nazi threat and the Communist threat seperately, instead of letting them cancel each other out.

As for the Jews, yes, the holocaust was tragic, but how come we rarely hear about the ethnic groups Stalin wiped out?

But I really didn't intend to start this thread in order to debate WW II. If you want, we could start a new thread . . .

i believe that most northamericans/europeans are atheists and are just too afraid to admit it to themselves.

I belive that if I get raped, and the person isn't caught(which is likely in my country) I'm entitled to getting a gun and shooting him in some non-vital bodypart.

I'll have to do it real sneaky-like, of course, so that I'm not caught. If your caught, your a criminal. If not, you're nothing but a suspect. :D

I belive that if I get raped, and the person isn't caught(which is likely in my country) I'm entitled to getting a gun and shooting him in some non-vital bodypart.

I'll have to do it real sneaky-like, of course, so that I'm not caught. If your caught, your a criminal. If not, you're nothing but a suspect. :D

Why a non-vital part? Why not shoot the pervert in the head? Or is "Shooting him in some non-vital bodypart" slang for sterilization via hot lead?

Also, what sort of country are you living in, exactly?

I belive that if I get raped, and the person isn't caught(which is likely in my country) I'm entitled to getting a gun and shooting him in some non-vital bodypart.

I'll have to do it real sneaky-like, of course, so that I'm not caught. If your caught, your a criminal. If not, you're nothing but a suspect. :D I believe that you randomly thought of that early this morning, and it's been on your mind all day, and you just HAD to tell the rest of us. :)

I believe that Stalin was actually a dragon.
I believe that Jesus was an arab, not black.
I third the mornings thing.

I believe the world would be a better place if

1) it was less patriarchal and women had more say in everything
2) I had never been born

I believe the world would be a better place if

1) it was less patriarchal and women had more say in everything
2) I had never been born

That first one's not so weird; I think a lot of people share your sentiment. Your second one is a bit odd. Unless your name is George W. Bush. Then I can guarantee you there are a lot of people on this forum who would agree with you.

Does that include Elton John?

Or Dame Edna?

Hmm...both brits...both poofy........hmmm.

Erm, Dame Edna is played by Australian Barry Humphries.

That first one's not so weird; I think a lot of people share your sentiment. Your second one is a bit odd. Unless your name is George W. Bush. Then I can guarantee you there are a lot of people on this forum who would agree with you.

*lol
I can assure you, I'm not George W in disguise. I just think it would have saved myself and the world a considerable amount of trouble if my mother had had the sense to have an abortion....

I believe that the goverment should not recognize homosexual, heterosexual, polygamous, or any marriage of any type and let people go about their matrimonial business themselves. Goverment approval doesn't make a relationship more meaningful.

i believe that most northamericans/europeans are atheists and are just too afraid to admit it to themselves.


why would they be afraid to admit that they dont beleive in god? what anoys me is that in all forms that you have to fill in about yourself aetheists is not an option and even if you put it in under other many people will not accept it.

and to the (guy? girl?) who said the female sex organ scares him... do you remember what it is to be male and aged between fifteen to eighteen?

He is a fifteen year old male!

As for my weirdest ideas, I believe in faeries for one thing and I believe that life is something divine, for lack of a better word. My deity is life.

I'm under the impression that it's possible for humanity to one day stop killing/opressing each other, and start building a better world.

A foolosh viewpoint, I know.

I believe that Wal-Mart and McDonalds are secretly planning to take over the world. Ya lo han hecho

i think that time does not exist..odd i know but kind of fun

Okay, let me name a few...

-Zombies are real
-I'm convinced that the KGB is still up and running
-Somewhere out there, the spirits of Buddha, Jesus, and Mohammad are having a cold pint and laughing at us all.
-We all have our own personal ninjas assigned to kill us at a moment's-(is killed by a ninja)

I believe that WW II was basically a big fight between Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin, who were more or less equally evil. If the USA and the UK and its affiliates had stayed out of the war, 'Dolf and Joe would have mainly focused on beating the crap out of each other and would have done a bang up job of it, eliminating two of the world's worst dictators. Instead, most of the western world sided with Uncle Joe. Hitler was defeated, but Stalin, and the Soviet Union, and the other socialist dictatorships of the world, were greatly strengthened and we had to deal with them for about another thirty years. Things would have been a lot simpler if Uncle Sam and . . . uh, whatever the British call their government when they're trying to be colloquial . . . had let Dolf and Joe go at unhindered. .
Well, no. Two possible scenarios here.

Germany defeats the Soviet Union. They control a huge part of the world and Hitler is more powerful than any man in history. The jews are exterminated from Europe. Great Britain wouldn't be exactly safe. Germany emerges from the war the de facto leader of the world and the US basically has to bend to his demands considering that he controls almost all of its trading partners.

The Soviet Union defeats Germany. All of continental Europe becomes part of the Soviet Bloc.

Neither of them sound that great do they?

That Big Macs contain a certain ingredient that McDonald's decided not to share in the famous "two all beef patties special sauce..." line:

alien transponders

Well, no. Two possible scenarios here.

Germany defeats the Soviet Union. They control a huge part of the world and Hitler is more powerful than any man in history. The jews are exterminated from Europe. Great Britain wouldn't be exactly safe. Germany emerges from the war the de facto leader of the world and the US basically has to bend to his demands considering that he controls almost all of its trading partners.

The Soviet Union defeats Germany. All of continental Europe becomes part of the Soviet Bloc.

Neither of them sound that great do they?
Yes, but do you honestly think Hitler would have stopped with Russia? The situation is nowhere near as clear-cut as either of you are making it out to be: Hitler likely would have kept going until he got his ass kicked, which was more or less an inevitability. I don't really see any evidence to suggest Hitler would have cut his losses and settled down after Russia: Hitler's goal wasn't conquest so much as it was constant war.

I'm not suggesting that we shouldn't have gotten involved in WW2, but I don't think it would have been such a huge crisis if we hadn't. The Soviet Union fell after a few decades anyway; somehow I doubt the addition of a few European territories would really change that. Same thing would have happened to the Third Reich: you can only keep peoples' heads up their collective asses for so long.

Yes, but do you honestly think Hitler would have stopped with Russia? The situation is nowhere near as clear-cut as either of you are making it out to be: Hitler likely would have kept going until he got his ass kicked, which was more or less an inevitability. I don't really see any evidence to suggest Hitler would have cut his losses and settled down after Russia: Hitler's goal wasn't conquest so much as it was constant war.

I'm not suggesting that we shouldn't have gotten involved in WW2, but I don't think it would have been such a huge crisis if we hadn't. The Soviet Union fell after a few decades anyway; somehow I doubt the addition of a few European territories would really change that. Same thing would have happened to the Third Reich: you can only keep peoples' heads up their collective asses for so long.
I'm a little unclear as to the point you are making. You are saying that hitler wouldn't have been kept the war going after an intensely bloody conquest of the Soviet Union, and that's a good thing? First off, I'm not sure that is true. Many scholars believe that the conquest of Europe was what Hitler had in mind, and had designs on specific parts of Europe (i.e. the breadbasket area of the Ukraine and central Russia). Also, extending his territory any farther east would have put him up against Japan, and to the west was a large ocean which would have been a barrier against further invasions. But presuming he kept going, the loss of lives would have been enormous. I would say that would be a tragedy.

The fall of the Soviet Union had a lot to do with economics, and a big part of that was the fact that the Soviet bloc countries had very little industrial capacity prior to the war. On the other hand, Germany, France, Holland and Belgium would have been huge industrial producers. And even if European communism lasted the same five decades it did, I would say that would be a big deal for the people who lived in those nations at the time. Look at the former communist countries today. They are still recovering from those decades and probably will be for at least another generation.

Of course, this doesn't even touch the Japanese theater of the war. Are you saying that we shouldn't have retaliated against Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor? I can't imagine a very good situation for the US to come out of the war squeezed between a Soviet Europe and a Japanese Pacific. I feel confident that the world would continue to be a very bad and less free place today.

Right, time to start a new thread. It'll be called WW II: weirdest opinion ever.

I'm a little unclear as to the point you are making. You are saying that hitler wouldn't have been kept the war going after an intensely bloody conquest of the Soviet Union, and that's a good thing? First off, I'm not sure that is true. Many scholars believe that the conquest of Europe was what Hitler had in mind, and had designs on specific parts of Europe (i.e. the breadbasket area of the Ukraine and central Russia). Also, extending his territory any farther east would have put him up against Japan, and to the west was a large ocean which would have been a barrier against further invasions. But presuming he kept going, the loss of lives would have been enormous. I would say that would be a tragedy.

The fall of the Soviet Union had a lot to do with economics, and a big part of that was the fact that the Soviet bloc countries had very little industrial capacity prior to the war. On the other hand, Germany, France, Holland and Belgium would have been huge industrial producers. And even if European communism lasted the same five decades it did, I would say that would be a big deal for the people who lived in those nations at the time. Look at the former communist countries today. They are still recovering from those decades and probably will be for at least another generation.

Of course, this doesn't even touch the Japanese theater of the war. Are you saying that we shouldn't have retaliated against Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor? I can't imagine a very good situation for the US to come out of the war squeezed between a Soviet Europe and a Japanese Pacific. I feel confident that the world would continue to be a very bad and less free place today.
We're getting horrendously off-topic here, so this will be my second and last post on the subject, unless you'd like to start a new thread. I have three points:

First, my main point was that your two alternate histories are incomplete.

Second, The Soviet Union fell because it was based on what I tend to refer to as the 'Swiss Cheese' of political and economic ideologies. Russia has an incredible amount of natural and human resources; way more in both areas than the United States. If properly managed, there is no reason why their economy should not consistently outperform ours. This leads me nicely into my second point about an alternate history USSR: if Russia has such a tremendous amount of resources [which it does] the addition of a few thousand more square miles would have had little effect on it's output, considering that the USSR's deficiencies were political and not material in nature. Do you really think East Germany made anything of a difference, for example?

Third, I never made any implication that we shouldn't have attacked Japan for Pearl Harbor. Rather, I would have preferred that something had been done to prevent it or deter them in the months preceding the attack, since it's nearly impossible to argue that our administration didn't see it coming. Japan had been expanding south rapidly in the years prior to the war, and American war strategists knew that the Japanese knew we wouldn't put up with it for very long. Japan, unlike the USSR, has very few natural resources, so their history is filled with examples of them finding said resources somewhere else. This is what they were trying to do in the late thirties, and we knew it.

I care very little about global warming and depleation of natural resources, because i believe that we'll end up killing each other wayy before anything else can.

And when you die, your given the chance to choose the circumstances of your next life your born into.
And than they laugh at you the rest of that life as it turns out to be just as scrueled up as your last one.

I believe the world would be a better place if

1) it was less patriarchal and women had more say in everything
2) I had never been born
2) is rather nihilistic. I agree with #1

I believe Niccolo Medici is horribly confused. Niccolo Machievelli and the Medici families of Florence and Milan would shun what he just said. Although and idealist Utopia would be nice, it never will happen. People above all else desire power.


What I think is truly interesting is that you seem to think I don't believe people desire power. Of course they do, if not power over themselves, power over others. That's the nature of mankind. How much power is open to quesiton. People like Pure Metal desire fairly little power beyond their own person, some notable others desire power over entire nations.

What I believe is that those who seek great power are quite frequently fools. People unable to use power wisely. Only a tiny minority of mankind has EVER used great power wisely. I belive that my namesakes would agree profoundly with THAT statement. Most people, when they attain power over others...even power over themselves, do not use it well.

Nothing to be done about it, that's the human experience. Now, what do you find so unusual about people using power poorly? Your comment about the shock treatment illustrates my point. The subject had the power to end the experiment but he didn't; if he was wise he would have stopped.

Do you contradict my statment about poor judgement versus power used wisely? Do you belive that power is not a great responsibility? Do you not agree that most of those in power throughout history have not been up to the task? Which of these "idyllic" or "Utopian" statements do you have issue with?

swaziland behind all the aids ( 40% of adult population has aids) is really an awesum country. Of course i believe usa is best country. but heres my fav countries list. in no order
1. Cyprus
2. Greece
3. Macedonia
4. Brazil
5. Swaziland

im with Niccolo Medici. i like power over my self, but I have doubt I'd be a good leader of others.

We're getting horrendously off-topic here, so this will be my second and last post on the subject, unless you'd like to start a new thread. I have three points:

First, my main point was that your two alternate histories are incomplete.

Second, The Soviet Union fell because it was based on what I tend to refer to as the 'Swiss Cheese' of political and economic ideologies. Russia has an incredible amount of natural and human resources; way more in both areas than the United States. If properly managed, there is no reason why their economy should not consistently outperform ours. This leads me nicely into my second point about an alternate history USSR: if Russia has such a tremendous amount of resources [which it does] the addition of a few thousand more square miles would have had little effect on it's output, considering that the USSR's deficiencies were political and not material in nature. Do you really think East Germany made anything of a difference, for example?

.

Russia didn't only need resources though. They needed an advanced industrial capacity. In 1939 Russia, along with most of Eastern Europe, was in a fairly early stage of the industrial revolution. Having control of Western Europe would have given them plenty of industrial infrastructure (even after the war) and know-how that they were seriously lacking.

But even if Soviet communism didn't last a day longer than it did, it would still be too long. Two full generations of French, Germans, Belgians, Dutch etc would have grown up under communist rule. Our major industrialized trading partners (at the time) would have been under the Soviet thumb, and probably would have seen their economies devastated. The US would have no bases or allies in Europe and our influence there, and hence throughout the world, would be nil. If nothing changed in China (and why would it?) we would have a situation where the communists sphere of influence covered the entire eastern hemisphere, including the middle east. The Soviets would have been more or less able to set the world price of oil as they saw fit. Frankly, I don't see an upside to this scenario in any sense. This is all speculation of course, but I don't see an upside to this scenario and a ton of downsides.

Well, I have tons of strange beliefs that people around me usually cannot get used to:
- MS Windows is very good operating system: best currently. And I have deep respect for Microsoft.

- McDonald's is really great place to have dinner - really tasty (unhealthy food?! - screw you! whole life is unhealthy). I really like it.

- I believe that people in general are good. If bad acts are done, then there are reasons, which can be found out, discussed and taken care of. There are no such things as evil person. BTW, I have also never met such person in my life.

- I believe that Iraq war was just. Acknowledging all killed people, soldiers and civillians alike, the aims were great. If I would be in place of Bush at that time, I also would start war.

- I believe that Christianity is parasite of civilization. The most evil organization (or call it set of beliefs) that has ever existed in history of human kind.


that's some of that. I bet, bunch of people reading it has thought "wrong", "crazy" etc. People are sometimes telling me similar things. And sometimes I do prove my point. And I do really firmly believe every one of them, and some others

Take your pick:

If you accept that anarchism in any form can work... then anarcho-capitalism and anarcho-communism are fully compatible and could operate side-by-side. Call me an anarcho-centrist.

If a man and a woman marry, they should both adopt the woman's surname.

- McDonald's is really great place to have dinner - really tasty

I can accept a lot of crazy out there thinking, but this one is just beyond the pale.

I can accept a lot of crazy out there thinking, but this one is just beyond the pale.

Well, YMMV. On the other hand, while everybody acknowledges that it is 'junk' food, unhealthy, with lot of preservatives etc. etc. on the other hand it is high quality and very tasty.

There is just differences in people priorities: many people list healthiness as top priority when choosing food. Some does not.