"Kirk Stant" wrote in message
om...
"John Mullen" wrote in message
...

Just ask yourself, would you *honestly* prefer it if nobody ever posted
any
kind of dissent about US foreign policy (as it relates to Military
Aviation)
here? Wouldn't it be kind of boring? I sometimes think some of you would
prefer a moderated NG, where everything was nice and safe for your
ignorant
preconceptions about your country's place in the world, its history and
the
essential rightness of everything it has ever done, even on the
occasions
when it was demonstrably wrong.

Actually, John, yes I would - on this newsgroup, which is called
"rec.military.aviation", not "alt.politics.bashamerica" or whatever.
Nothing wrong with bashing America, mind you, if we deserve it (but
remember about glass houses and first stones, etc.) and if the bashing
is intelligent, thoughtful, and interesting.

Well, that's a good aspiration for anyone tempted to post here!

It's just that this forum
is about military aviation, and the last time I asked not one military
plane ever had an opinion on politics!

Nonetheless politicians decide whether they are procured in the first place,
where they are posted, and who if anyone they target. Whether you like it or
not.

So I would prefer all the political commentary to stay on forums that
look for it, and leave this to us military aviation nuts.

I would prefer Hibs to win the UEFA cup. Might be a while though.

Not that I think that is going to happen, hah!

Like I say, freedom of speech is the bit of the US ideal I like.

BTW, our ignorant preconceptions are probably no worse that those of
most of the rest of the world, and probably a whole lot better than
99% of the middle/far east. We are just easy target right now, just
as the British were a few hundred years ago, and the Romans before.
And I can just see all the gloating about how the US is next to fall.

Us UKians are awfully lucky there was no Usenet in the 19th Century, you're
right there!

But what say we get back to bull****ting about interesting military
aviation issues - for example a Yugoslavian UTVA 4 seat observation
just showed up at the glider airport I fly out of in Arizona - nice
paint job, US registration, still has the mountings for weapon/fuel
pylons under each wing, and the sticks have weapons switches on them.
It also has a glider tow hook on it - so I wonder if it was surplussed
from the Yugoslavian Air Force recently? Any of those showing up in
Europe? Neat looking airplane (4-seat high wing tail-dragger, with a
Lycoming GSO-480 rated at 340 Hp installed).

Never seen anything like that round here. Did see the BAE BAC 1-11 trialling
the radar for EF Typhoon the last time I flew out of Edinburgh, now that's
an ugly aeroplane!

John