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This sort of thing isn’t all that unusual. John Paul Jones, whom many regard as the "father" of the United States Navy, served as a rear admiral for the Imperia

This sort of thing isn’t all that unusual. John Paul Jones, whom many regard as the "father" of the United States Navy, served as a rear admiral for the Imperial Russian Navy after he retired from the US Navy. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Paul_Jones https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Paul_Jones

hef19898 4y ago
Back the day Napoleon, from Corsica, actually whantedbto join the British Army before he settled to become an Artillery Officer in the French Army. The rest is, quite literally, history. We don't live in the 19th century anymore so.
- basementcat 4y ago
  Fidel Castro wanted to play for the Washington Senators baseball team but wasn’t signed due to an underwhelming tryout. https://sabr.org/bioproj/topic/fidel-castro-and-baseball/ https://sabr.org/bioproj/topic/fidel-castro-and-baseball/
  - lern_too_spel 4y ago
    TLDR; he didn't try out for the Senators. The story is a myth.
- neaden 4y ago
  Do you have a citation for that? My understanding is he went to boarding school in France at the age of 9 and then directly entered the French military academy. The hero of his youth, Pasquale Paoli, was in exile in England for much of that time and so maybe he wanted to join him until the revolution happened and Napoleon no longer supported Corsican independence.
edgefield 4y ago
Perhaps not unusual, but ethical? That’s a different matter. A former US general working for a theocratic, monarchy with a deeply concerning history on human rights raises some serious red flags in my mind.
- melling 4y ago
  I often wonder how people can not understand the world in which we live? Didn’t President of the United States just go to Saudi Arabia and ask them to produce more oil. Have we not supplied them weapons for decades? Does the world use 100 million barrels of oil a day? Let’s go throw something on a famous painting and maybe that’ll stop. Still waiting for the batteries and all the renewable energy to solve the problem. In the meantime, it’s great that people can take the moral high ground for decades on end. We’ve been trying to get off oil since the 1970’s. How’s that working out?
  - pjc50 4y ago
    > We’ve been trying to get off oil since the 1970’s Some have, but for most people and most countries it's simply far too cheap and convenient to not do that. Until there's an oil shock or a war. The oil money also pays for a lot of anti-renewables lobbying.
  - edgefield 4y ago
    I sleep well at night. How about you?
    - saiya-jin 4y ago
      You would be surprised how many sociopaths occupy higher echelons of any power structures, be it government, military, banking, or well anything. As per J. Peterson there is around 1:20 ratio of sociopaths:normal folks in general population. Sociopathy like all other similar things are a spectrum, but with certain age you will start noticing them everywhere where power is. If its a trait mixed with above average intelligence, these people often climb careers like ladders, and getting to the general/admiral level involves tons of political games and quid pro quo played right for decade(s). What I want to say with all this - you bet those folks sleep well at night. They've sent 18-year old to (almost) certain death from time to time. Don't expect everybody in the world to share your morals, however sad it may be.
  - todorus 4y ago
    It isn't lack of understanding that is being expressed, it is a lack of acceptance. I think that is a good thing. And even if you would percieve ignorance instead, it doesn't mean that they need snark targeted at them. Please respect the community guidelines of this comment section.

hef19898 4y ago

Back the day Napoleon, from Corsica, actually whantedbto join the British Army before he settled to become an Artillery Officer in the French Army. The rest is, quite literally, history. We don't live in the 19th century anymore so.

basementcat 4y ago
Fidel Castro wanted to play for the Washington Senators baseball team but wasn’t signed due to an underwhelming tryout. https://sabr.org/bioproj/topic/fidel-castro-and-baseball/ https://sabr.org/bioproj/topic/fidel-castro-and-baseball/
- lern_too_spel 4y ago
  TLDR; he didn't try out for the Senators. The story is a myth.
neaden 4y ago
Do you have a citation for that? My understanding is he went to boarding school in France at the age of 9 and then directly entered the French military academy. The hero of his youth, Pasquale Paoli, was in exile in England for much of that time and so maybe he wanted to join him until the revolution happened and Napoleon no longer supported Corsican independence.

edgefield 4y ago

Perhaps not unusual, but ethical? That’s a different matter. A former US general working for a theocratic, monarchy with a deeply concerning history on human rights raises some serious red flags in my mind.

melling 4y ago
I often wonder how people can not understand the world in which we live? Didn’t President of the United States just go to Saudi Arabia and ask them to produce more oil. Have we not supplied them weapons for decades? Does the world use 100 million barrels of oil a day? Let’s go throw something on a famous painting and maybe that’ll stop. Still waiting for the batteries and all the renewable energy to solve the problem. In the meantime, it’s great that people can take the moral high ground for decades on end. We’ve been trying to get off oil since the 1970’s. How’s that working out?
- pjc50 4y ago
  > We’ve been trying to get off oil since the 1970’s Some have, but for most people and most countries it's simply far too cheap and convenient to not do that. Until there's an oil shock or a war. The oil money also pays for a lot of anti-renewables lobbying.
- edgefield 4y ago
  I sleep well at night. How about you?
  - saiya-jin 4y ago
    You would be surprised how many sociopaths occupy higher echelons of any power structures, be it government, military, banking, or well anything. As per J. Peterson there is around 1:20 ratio of sociopaths:normal folks in general population. Sociopathy like all other similar things are a spectrum, but with certain age you will start noticing them everywhere where power is. If its a trait mixed with above average intelligence, these people often climb careers like ladders, and getting to the general/admiral level involves tons of political games and quid pro quo played right for decade(s). What I want to say with all this - you bet those folks sleep well at night. They've sent 18-year old to (almost) certain death from time to time. Don't expect everybody in the world to share your morals, however sad it may be.
- todorus 4y ago
  It isn't lack of understanding that is being expressed, it is a lack of acceptance. I think that is a good thing. And even if you would percieve ignorance instead, it doesn't mean that they need snark targeted at them. Please respect the community guidelines of this comment section.