There once was a TV show which pitted elite fighters from different cultures against each other: Shaka Zulu vs. William Wallace, the Al Capone Mob vs the Yakuza, Waffen-SS vs Viet Minh, etc. I think they even did Army Rangers vs Israeli Commandos, two groups that actually do train together. The Russians and Chinese are not adverse to using their militaries to make money from foreign tourists who will pay good capitalist bucks to fly in a MiG jet or shoot a tank cannon. Maybe the Wolf Dogs could start their own reality TV show. I bet there are some macho dudes who would cough up some bucks to go on an exercise with them.

'Sup Dog? 5's

Thanks Patrick and Jon. Note that the Wolf Dogs actually use the new AK-12 assault rifle and VKS sniper. Their gear is Ratnik type. Females are called Volchitsa- female wolf. FYI

Patrick: You strive to write well, and you almost always succeed. Therefore, I hope you are not AVERSE to a bit of ADVERSE, but well-intended, criticism.

Is that you, Tommy?

Yes, Patrick, it is I. Please note that "I" is of the nominative case, which is grammatically correct because it is the object of the copulative verb "is," a form of the infinitive "to be." As an aside, the conundrum "it depends on what 'is' is," is answered frankly: it is copulative (but not impeachable).

I always thought the copulative verb started with the letter "f". If you are really Tommy you will appreciate the reference, especially when I am the one who referred it.

In the matter of punctuation, the convention in the United States is that a comma or period, as the case may be, precedes an end quotation mark. If you continue to flout this rule, I will banish you to Canada where the juxtaposition is reversed. Nevertheless, I do appreciate your reference -- posthumously.

Before I could go to Canada, I would have to get a passport. This didn't used to be the case. Just another example of freedom lost. If I recall correctly, Tommy was not a believer. Perhaps mortality has altered your views on the subject. I have been wondering what the rule was on question marks and exclamation marks at the end of a quote. I used to annoy my teachers by spelling such words as "colour", "connexion", "kerb", in the "British" or "Canadian" manner. That, of course, was just the least of the ways I seem to annoy people.