Why isn't anyone called on these simple points?

[Poofler]

[ QUOTE ]
Coulda fooled me since that's all we've been doing since we stopped being isolationist after WWII. You have some new form of nonisolationism?

[/ QUOTE ]

Defending ourselves against *actual* threats and going on *actual* humanitarian missions. I don't think Serbia or Afghanistan was an non-isolationist abuse of power. Problem is, there's dozens of other conflicts that clearly were.

[Mickey Brausch]

[ QUOTE ]
The Putin that I'm familiar with is the ex-KGB officer who has moved Russia back towards centralization of power, press intimidation, and assassination and persecution of political opponents.

[/ QUOTE ]Nailed it.

Now, if only he could speak Spanish, he'd be a cinch for a Latin tinpot "caudillo", wouldn't he? Take what you listed and add : Country full of foreign investors, economy booming on account of indigenous natural resources, paramilitaries taking case of undesirables, chummy with Washington, surefire "capitalista" -- the works. We used to love these guys; now we pretend we never met.

See what I'm driving at?

[ QUOTE ]
[Putin] is no more a capitalist or businessman than Propertarian is.

[/ QUOTE ]Putin is a capitalist and a businessman. It's just that his type of capitalism and business ethics are sort of a throwback to the good old days of lawlessness and the open frontier!

A man for our times, come to think of it...

Mickey Brausch