"The continuous disasters of man's history are mainly due to his excessive capacity and urge to become identified with a tribe, nation, church or cause, and to espouse its credo uncritically and enthusiastically, even if its tenets are contrary to reason, devoid of self-interest and detrimental to the claims of self-preservation.
We are thus driven to the unfashionable conclusion that the trouble with our species is not an excess of aggression, but an excess capacity for fanatical devotion."

Arthur Koestler
@hellenes

Γεια σου και ‘σενα πατριωτη!

I did not mean to imply anything about your sources, what I said was that the quotes that you posted where ambiguous, in the sense that they could be taken to mean something else as well, i.e. what I myself wrote.

@Idomeneas

Bringing big guns and various sources means: one cites sources supporting one’s point of view, then the other cites sources supporting their own point of view, and on and on.. meanwhile all these “sources” are mostly motivated by political, nationalistic or monetary reasons or is simply someone’s - no matter how eminent a person- point of view. In the end, sadly, no one will change their adopted positions not even by one iota..
Also the “bane of the Greeks” IMHO, is not so much what you said it is, but rather two other things ; that we rest far too much on moldy laurels and our persistent attitude to blame others for our own misfortunes, especially the British for the first half of the 20th century and then the Americans after that..

Anyway, as others said earlier, this is hardly the place for such a topic-debate, this thread is about: “weird ass units”

O_Stratigos