Tom Hiddleston once said "every villain is a hero in his own mind" and that really rings true. It's all about perspective. As is said the road to hell is paved with good intentions

Any German could easily justify Hitler with that type of comment.

@Archeus_Lore You and I use words like "fiance" because nearly 1,000 years ago William of Normandy invaded England. Any moral judgments of him, his personal life or reasons would seem rather superfluous now.
And no, you cannot say that the world was better off for having Hitler in it

Don't talk about Churchill to any Aussies who fought at Gallipoli or had relatives who fought there my friend.
The whole Gallipoli campaign (SLAUGHTER) was his idea and so the blood from the Anzac soldiers who died there will ALWAYS be on his hands.

The 'beloved' Pommie Hero, Churchill also wanted to abandon Australia to the Japanese in W.W.II simply because HE wanted OUR soldiers to FIGHT ONLY on the European and African Fronts and the lands that were more lucrative to England and Australian Prime Minister, Pig-Iron Bob, Menzies was in total agreement with Churchill. Luckily, Menzies got outed, we got a TRUE Aussie Prime Minister who stood up and told Churchill NO.

@273kelvin Yes I can say it, if I want to, and who are you to stop me? But more pointedly, I did not infer that I myself would use such an argument, I inferred that "any German" could. The harshness of the Treaty of Versallies would be more than enough for many of Hitler's contemporaries to justify everything he did, without hesitation, all based off of the German recovery and punishment of those who presided over the enforcement of the Treaty of Versallies. In fact, many of the German survivors of World War II still held Hitler in just as high regard as some Englishmen hold for Churchhill. One-sided views limit one's scope of understanding.

@Triphid Ah yes the Gallipoli myth. If you look a little closer at the history of it without prejudice. You will discover that Churchill wanted it to be a naval campaign only. (He was 1st sea lord at the time) It was Churchills bitter rival lord Kitchener that pushed for its expansion into a land battle. However, Kitchener died at sea (strange irony there) and they could not make a scapegoat out of a dead hero so Churchill took the fall. He may have been responsible for many dreadful things but I think that that was not one of them.

@273kelvin Churchill was told repeatedly that the Gallipoli Campaign ( Slaughter) was a terrible idea both from the Land Invasion and from the Sea perspective as well.
An Australian submarine, yes we had them during WWI btw, was sunk in the Straits near Gallipoli BECAUSE Churchill sent it in there and REFUSED to send Minesweepers in first, the entire crew was lost with the submarine, so add that to the list of Anzacs SLAUGHTERED at Gallipoli and blatant Pommie arrogance and mis-management.
Btw, the Gallipoli Slaughter IS NOT a 'Myth' it IS a 100% dyed in the wool FACT just as the slaughter of countless Anzacs used as cannon fodder by the Poms during WWI in Europe and even as many during WWII in Europe, Africa and S.E. Asia as well.
I lost 5, count them FIVE, relatives from BOTH sides of my family at Gallipoli and NONE were killed by Turkish fire, they died from disease preventable by the Poms IF they gave them adequate nutrition and clothing.
I had 2 Uncles who fought in WWII, ONE was a Rat Of Tobruk, the other fought first in New Guinea on the Kokoda Track and then through the islands, neither ever had a good word to say about the Pommie Army, etc,

@OwlInASack Did I say that? You are putting words in my mouth. Does not seem likely you read the posts before my last either. "Any German could easily justify Hitler with that type of comment." "I did not infer that I myself would use such an argument, I inferred that 'any German' could." "One-sided views limit one's scope of understanding." So does not reading the whole thread.

There is nothing wrong with using "old" expressions, in fact, you just used one yourself, and I could call that a "line". This is a feeble attempt to paint what I said with negative connotation. Obviously, it failed, because you used the very same type of expression yourself. Laughable attempt . . . . . you would have been much more respected had you admitted that it was clearly and unambiguously an attempt to put words in my mouth . . .
.
"The harshness of Versailles would justify the holocaust?" Tell me, where exactly did I mention the holocaust before? The fact is, I didn't, you brought it up, and attempted to tie it in with what I said. It is an assumption that I have a certain opinion about something that I never mentioned, and, you know what they say about assumptions, how's that for another old expression?

@Triphid I apologize if I gave the impression that the whole debacle was a myth. What I obviously meant was that it could be all laid at Churchills's feet. Subsequently released archives have cast new light on the affair.

@Triphid, @OwlInASack Btw my father was a submariner in WW2 in the Indian ocean. He had nothing but praise to say about the Australians but less than enthusiastic in regard to the yanks.

@273kelvin The Aussie soldiers had a name for the Yank troops, they called them "Overs" because they were Over-paid, Overfed. Oversexed and Over Here.

@Triphid Same here

@273kelvin They also coined another, less kindly, name for the Yanks, which still is in use here today at times, Seppos = Septic Tanks which rhymes with Yanks and as with Septic Tanks nothing good ever comes out them.
Though having said that I must say that I have quite a few very decent and good American friends on this site, so to them I apologise and say that we relies that NOT all Yanks fit that description.

@Triphid Although obviously not an American. My dad may have fallen into the over-sexed and over here category.
Near the end of the war (post VE), it was decided that the British and US fleets would combine operations in the Indian ocean. Dad was a radio operator and the Brits banged out morse code using the old fashioned method. Whereas the yanks typed theirs out as it was faster. Consequently, he was sent to Perth along with a dozen others to learn how to type in the Australian equivalent of the Pitman school. They were billeted in an old rope works with hammocks strung up. Can you imagine a dozen jolly jack tars in a secretarial school? He said to me "Son if I said that I spent one night in that rope works? I would be lying"

@273kelvin Yes, and like most 'visiting' troops they 'plowed the furrow, planted the seed and then went on their merry way' with little or no though as to what the resultant 'crop' would yield.

@Triphid Well there was a war on.
I love Spike Milligan's take on it. "The war was a great time for ugly people. You would get some guy that looked like a greek adonis lusting after a fat smelly NAFFE girl with a mustache and waxing lyrical as is she as Venus de Milo. Because she was the only woman around for miles"

@273kelvin ah yes, War the perfect excuse for men to chase around other countries, dip their wicks into anything in a skirt or looks remotely female and conveniently FORGET they have wives or girlfriends waiting for them back home.

Also depends who is Reading the History... neo nazis have the same access to information that most of us in the other side of the equation have. And yet.... look where they stand. Hate is as addictive as opiates.

The only thing we can say that Edison invented for sure by himself and not any of his team was "Hello". Before the word was coined by him Bell used "Ahoy hoy" to answer the phone (watch out for that joke when Mr Burns uses it in the Simpsons).

IF it were left up to Edison there would be NO AC/DC electrical power being supplied to home in America since Edison INSISTED that household/industrial Electric Power supplies SHOULD be D>C. ONLY.
Edison is well recorded for exerting pressure upon Tesla's Financial Backers for them to withdraw their support from Tesla.
Edison also PUBLICALLY Tortured and slowly EXECUTED an Elephant by using D.C. Current to TRY and prove that he was right and Tesla was wrong.
Tesla, although a somewhat eccentric, highly driven person WAS a True Genius and Edison was just a mere Grifter by comparison.