Re: CHAT: The [+foreign] attribute

Christophe Grandsire scripsit:

> Well, according to a source that I don't find very trustworthy (since when do
> you trust the CIA? :))) ).
Though despicable, they are not incompetent at collecting and disseminating
information, which is 97% of their activity anyway.

> The problem is that your comparison would be right if American states had= >  their
> own foreign policies and their own seats in the UN. But as far as I know = > as for
> foreign affairs the US are still a single block, and viewed so.
There was a hysterically funny opinion piece in the _New York Times_ some years
back when President Reagan had declared Nicaragua "a clear and present danger
to the safety of the U.S."  Basically, it said, "What about Iowa?"  At the
time (and perhaps still) the Iowa and federal governments were very much at
odds over natural resources, so the necessary animus was present -- and Iowa,
unlike Nicaragua, possesses nuclear weapons.  Would the President be ordering
a pre-emptive strike against Des Moines /dI'mOIn/?

--
John Cowan                              jcowan@reutershealth.com
http://www.ccil.org/~cowan              http://www.reutershealth.com
Thor Heyerdahl recounts his attempt to prove Rudyard Kipling's theory
that the mongoose first came to India on a raft from Polynesia.
        --blurb for _Rikki-Kon-Tiki-Tavi_