[Harmless Teddy Bear]

We spend a lot of time playing "king of the mountain" internally but while who is in charge changes the character really doesn't. The UK, then the US but the ideals pretty much remain the same. The application of those ideals changes but the ideals themselves don't.

Same with Asia, the Mongols are not the Chinese or Japanese but their ideals are very much along the same lines.

"East is East and West is West" to quote Mr Kipling.

India, South America and Africa has always been usually just regarded as resource depositories.

Now I am speaking of near history, you go back further and things get much more messy.

[Tax-chick]

Oh, I go back to the Scorpion King of Egypt and Evil-Merodach of Assyria.

However, I think the blocks shift on the margins, depending on where you draw your temporal lines. Tom the Son could make a case for a variety of realignments in the last 500 years; it’s the kind of thing he does for fun.

If you think life is a muddle now, wait until Tom the Son is running things.