Muuuuuuuslim Baaaaaan! But don't call it that!

[DarkCorp]

My issue is that people expect way too much and all too readily believe in conspiracy theories. This allows shady politicians to take advantage of them.

1. If corporations, greedy as they are, figured out a way to corner the market on green energy, they absolutely would. I mean seriously, most people here would agree that the evul American empire would abandon the ME in a heartbeat if we could. As many have already brought up, the ME is costing us money and we bear the burden because the alternative, a fossil fuel free energy source, is still the costlier alternative.

Yes, the tech is there. Unfortunately, ATM, it is too expensive for the general populace to adopt it on a massive scale. Also, given that Americans are rightly considered spoiled, we have ridiculous energy needs that make going completely green highly problematic ATM. It would be too expensive for the government to subsidize an Americans overall cannot stand tax hikes. Givenn time, we inexorably will get to a point where we can mass adopt green solutions. The problem with the left has ALWAYS been not so much, that change is happening, but it needs to happen NOW. We need to go 100 percent green NOW. We need revolution, NOW. We need a utopia NOW. The world has over a billion people to feed and GMOS can do that, but we need perfect food NOW.

2. Some of the things Crni has brought up is exactly WHY the United States needs to hold on to its military power. Our influence, is tied to the dollar and the dollars dominance is maintained by political and military decisions. Yes, it is expensive to assist other countries militarily but this isn't a one sided deal. In the case for Europe and our other allies, they save a boatload of money switching defense spending to social spending. They also get to hold onto the moral high ground and judge the shit out of us (yet their social spending situation and moral highness is what keeps them from doing anything about it). We, on the other hand, get massive influence on a global scale. It is actually a mutually beneficial arrangement.

 

[CT Phipps]

Tell that to the average European or American that has moved trough an intrinsic system, where people are conditioned for performance and where you essentially are an extension of your 'job', and where your income, your qualification and your job occupation often determines your social status and your value as human beeing, be it either for society or other people.
Just tell someone that you're not interested in working and a job and how little money plays a role for you, and see their faces drop.
The school system we have in place today, isn't teaching people because 'learning' is fun and understanding the world around you is exciting, or because educated people are something valuable, but to make sure that people can get jobs in a job based society, because people without a job, are simply 'less' worth to most peole around them.
The idea of better education = better situation was something that I believed as well. But it might turn out, that your education matters very little in the future, if machines can simply do a better job at a fraction of the cost. Even doctors! And we're slowly getting there.

I am afraid, to change that, you would have to start at the school system, at the bottom, teaching people values that play absolutely no rolle in our current money and efficiency based societies, and where almost everyone right now will laugh at you and call you a leftist lunatic that has no knowledge about economy. Like the idea of a basic income for example a very controversial topic in Europe, leave alone the US that is still 'debating' what ever if every american should have access to affordable health care provided by the state/government.

My wife worked three jobs before I married her, seriously injured herself, and suffers some permanent damage to her body as a result. And I told her she could get disability and she hissed like Gollum. Americas being conditioned to look down on those accepting aid is a serious issue which is part of the culture wars and something that's just ludicrous.

The big thing about free education is that it will benefit the whole of the country. Increasing the flow of wealth so everyone can benefit from it.

 

[CT Phipps]

My issue is that people expect way too much and all too readily believe in conspiracy theories. This allows shady politicians to take advantage of them.

1. If corporations, greedy as they are, figured out a way to corner the market on green energy, they absolutely would. I mean seriously, most people here would agree that the evul American empire would abandon the ME in a heartbeat if we could. Yes, the tech is there but, ATM, it is too expensive to for the populace to adopt on a massive scale. It would be too expensive for the government to subsidize an Americans overall cannot stand tax hikes.

2. Some of the things Crni has brought up exactly WHY the United States needs to hold on to its military power. Our influence, both political and military, is tied to the dollar and the dollars dominance is what keeps us in power. Yes, it is expensive to assist other countries militarily but this isn't a one sided bad deal. In the case for Europe and our other allies, they save a boatload of money switching defense spending to social spending. they also get to hold onto the moral high ground and judge the shit out of us. We, on the other hand, get massive influence on a global scale. It is actually a mutually beneficial arrangement.

Funny thing, DarkCorp, I live in Ashland, Ky.

One thing I benefited from with my father doing business with them and being part of that group of rural millionaires he invited to all those parties is I did get some insight into how the energy companies in America work. Kentucky Electric Power, which was based in Ashland for a time, was one of those companies which was bought by Enron and later had its assets resold and reselled to Kentucky Power which is part of the collection of power companies which rule West Virginia and have for the better part of a century.

Here's the short version of it: West Virginia has a lot of coal plants and so does Kentucky as well as Tennessee. This despite the fact coal plants are completely awful, inefficient, and could rather easily be replaced. The issue isn't that the technology isn't there. Coal is one of the most backwards technologies you can get. The thing is the infrastructure is built to coal that changing to it would be not so much impossible but INCONVENIENT.

Hence why so many WV voted for Trump because he promised to keep buying coal while EVERY FUCKING OTHER COMMERCIAL was Hillary's War on Coal.



Really, West Virginia needs to get rid of its dependence on coal but it's a culture and a lifestyle and it's cheaper to keep that going than trying to transform the infrastructure into green advanced technology.

Despite it being a totally obsolete industry.

 

[CaptJ]

There's something deeply fucked up about proselytizing people in the manner that Christian missionaries do. Missionaries showed up in Haiti and start preaching that this was their fault (the earthquake).

I remember the hack who wrote the Secret basically blamed the tsunami on negative thinking.

American government loans to students have become fucking loan sharkery.

Student loans make college available to many people despite how high the college's tuition is. It is driving the price up.

The only thing Bernie really is good for is the fact he is one of the few times a prominent politician has arisen who is forcing the Democrats left versus the Clintons' asinine constant moving of the party to the center. Obama tried what Bill did, which was VERY MUCH move the party to the Center, and thankfully got nothing but scorn for it from the Republicans. That, at least, taught him compromise is pointless when the other side has no desire for it.

Politics is about compromises especially democracy. The Left has made its own bed. Now far Right groups are coming to power. The Philippines has a president that is Donald Trump if every most of what the media said about him is true.

Basically, we're reaching the point when the majority of humans will not need to work save by cultural inertia.

We should be okay with that rather than disdain it.

You actually believe this? This is possible if you are OK with slave labor.

Withdrawing even a little from this losing proposition can also have devastating effects. Anyone been paying attention to Venezuela lately? A country which was one of the most prosperous in South America? Now completely gone to shit? All because America found a shit ton of oil and started fracking (which is awful for the environment). This despite how much the previous leadership hated America.

This is the tragedy of economies that inevitably revolve around their greatest natural resource. Other countries in that situation saved up money but Venezuela spend it all on social programs. One good thing about fracking is the USA isn't as dependent on Saudi Arabia as before.

Saudi Arabia is the place where Islam's cultural origin is located. It's not the center of the religion in terms of any kind of leadership position. It's a bit like saying Israel is the center for Christian government. Generally, Islamic states look to their own interpretations.

Islam doesn't have a pope to my knowledge so what is the "center of the religion in terms of any kind of leadership position" because I don't think anyone claims that there is one.

Just as a kind of warning to all you nazi-monkey noobs running around.

I'm not even White.

I really believe that future generations, like in 70 or 100 years will look back at us today, and ask them self if we're stupid, if we had actually a sane mind - particularly about our leaders and the elites today, which is made up of billionairs and millionairs and actually making the REAL decisions.

Future generations might look back on us like we do on slavery and slave owners from the 18th and 19th century today. We are looking at so many issues that will hit us between the next 25 and 70 years. Not just ecological like from climate change, but also economical like automatition, which is a problem that hasn't even been MENTIONED yet by big politics.

Spoiler: Humans need not apply.

We're moving full force into a new revolution as far as automatition goes, and some say that roughly half of the jobs in western socities and highly developed nations might dissapear in the next 30 or 40 years. - watch the video in the spoiler.
And yet, with a lot of the knowledge about both the ecological and economical changes that loom at the horizon, we are wasting not only our time but a lot of resources on 'stuff' that will play absolutely zero rolle in the future. Every challange we are facing today, could be on paper, solved already now, the technology IS already there, we have alternatives for plastic, oil, gas you name it, in almost every area of our live. The issue, is a political one.

It is going to be while before we build a solar space station get rid of our "coal and uranium" so maybe stick to reality a bit longer.

The big thing about free education is that it will benefit the whole of the country. Increasing the flow of wealth so everyone can benefit from it.

There are too many useless degrees unfortunately. I like the idea of scholarship programs better.

 

[DarkCorp]

CT

I see what you are saying CT, and I even agree. At the same time, the alternative, as you just said, is slashing jobs and people do not like that. That is WHY, as bad as things like coal power are, it NEEDS to exist until, we can find an alternative that employs an equal amount of people.

Again, this ties into my argument that the problem isn't that change is happening. Everyday we see more electric cars and charging stations. We have mass transit growing. More and more emphasis and investment is made in harnessing natural energy sources. But to expect some kind of short term, instant revolution on energy sources, is foolish. Giant issues like these, that effect multitudes of people, cannot be fixed overnight.

In regards to Venezuela, as others have just brought up, the country put all of its eggs in one basket. It is also a result of a government that blames all of its problems on imperialism, while ignoring the massive corruption going on.

Another problem is that, instead of saving money during good times, the government embarked on social spending spree without a care for what happens if the oil market tanks. I mean fuck, the more mouths you have to feed, the less to go around. Had the Venezuelan government moderated its spending and allocated significant reserves of capital for a rainy day, they would not be in their current situation. But nooooo, a population used to getting free shit, would get in an uproar if that free shit process was disrupted.

Then you have the weird way the government handles converting dollars into the local currency. Prices for goods, are vastly different, often having dual values, based on whether the consumer uses dollars or the national currency. There is currently 4, very complicated, exchange rates in effect in Venezuela as part of its price control system.

Edit: IMO, the problem is not that we have welfare, more so that people are ABUSING it. In the case of your wife CT, she should feel perfectly entitled to use those social resources. After all, she is one of those who paid the most into it. My issue is people, who cannot be bothered to work the full 40, latch onto any excuse to abuse the system. For example, let us say childcare costs X amount. The bad folks rationalize that, since part of their paycheck is going to go to X, it is much more preferable to not work in the first place. Sure, they could manage their money wisely but doing that is too much work.

 

[CaptJ]

@DarkCorp
Coal is extremely bad for the environment and working to end coal dependency is a good start. Coal shouldn't be so subsidized.

Dollars are necessary to buy all those goods that Venezuela doesn't make. It is funny how money works after the gold standard.

 

[DarkCorp]

The same complex exchange rate is what is causing hell on the Venezuelan economy. Just one example is people in positions of authority, receive large amounts of dollars and then, sell them to the black market, for massive profits.

It is easy to say coal is bad and to subsidize it less. Not so easy to explain is what to replace it with and who is going to foot the bill for the overhaul.

 

[CaptJ]

The same complex exchange rate is what is causing hell on the Venezuelan economy. Just one example is people in positions of authority, receive large amounts of dollars and then, sell them to the black market, for massive profits.

It is easy to say coal is bad and to subsidize it less. Not so easy to explain is what to replace it with and who is going to foot the bill for the overhaul.

I think until 2020 is slow enough of a transition.

 

[Crni Vuk]

1. If corporations, greedy as they are, figured out a way to corner the market on green energy, they absolutely would. I mean seriously, most people here would agree that the evul American empire would abandon the ME in a heartbeat if we could. As many have already brought up, the ME is costing us money and we bear the burden because the alternative, a fossil fuel free energy source, is still the costlier alternative.

True, it is so fucking expensive that even China is investing more than the US is. Wait? They do what.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-renewables-investment-idUSKCN0WQ1IU

Renewable energy, is one of the technologies of the future, and it is already here. The problem, goes much further than just greed or costs. It is one of systems. Right now, a large part of the power supply, is centralised, it is tailored for big giant plants, burning something and creating electricity which is feed in to the grid. But this, is a problem for wind, solar and other renwable sources, as they require a de-centraliced network for electricity. Combining those two systems, would require a modernisation of the current electric grid. Not just in the US, but also in Europe, and for some reason, there is a massive resistance against that. But this, will be the achiles tendon of our societes in the near future.

2. Some of the things Crni has brought up is exactly WHY the United States needs to hold on to its military power. (...) It is actually a mutually beneficial arrangement.

No, no it isn't. Europe has compared to the US, almost no military power, but we are one of the largest consumer markets out there. It would be utterly stupid for Russia or the middle east to not do buisness with us or seeking a military confrontation. What has the military done for the US in the last 30 years?

Ask someone outside the US who they see as the biggest threat to the world, and there is a high chance that the answer will be, the USA - now with Trump, even more so.

Can you eat battle tanks? Can you drink F35 jets? Is the next generation of fighter planes really more worth then health care and education? Economical bubbles, can be created in many ways. Germany for example, 'artificially' increased its GDP in the late 1930s. By building at lot of military equipment and starting totally insane construction projects. And one reason why the Soviets collapsed, was due to an immense expendure on military equipment and keeping the military runing. But how big is the use of that stuff, in an economy? Tanks, fighter planes, battle ships and all that, have very little use for the actuall population and their needs.

And the fear that the US might ever lack the means to 'defend' them self. In his age? With nuclear weapons, from long to medium range and balistic missiles? There are anti air, anti submarine, anti ship and land based nuclear weapons.
Is that some kind of joke? Look at Russia, they have been weak for 20 years after the Soviets collapsed, they don't even spend a FRACTION of what the US does on their military. Have they been invaded recently? Ludicrous to even think that. Not as long as they are a nuclear power capable of destroying nations with the push of a button.

It is going to be while before we build a solar space station get rid of our "coal and uranium" so maybe stick to reality a bit longer.

Reality is, that your kidz and your grand children in particular, will be living in a polluted world, where you probably won't have ANY maritime creature that isn't full of plastic particles that will make you sick, if you can get even any fish out of the ocean at that point. And your grand children will be dealing with diminishing resources and with the effects of climate change. And the chance is very high that many of the issues, won't be solved, when they hit them in 70-100 years from now where globaly everyone will have a much worse living standard compared to today, if we do not start to look for serious solutions now as long as we still HAVE the resources and the economies to do it.

The resources we are throwing out of the window now for those little gadgeds that everyone wants, will be missing in the future, when the people will be dealing with serious shortages. People spend billions of dollars on food for their pets, buying an iphone every year, and we're still debating about the costs of 'new' technologies that are less of a damage to the environment. We're living in a world of abundance, historically speaking humanity never had so much for so little cost, in both food and the availability of technology.

You can ask almost any serious scientist, be it about biology, climate, physics you name it, and what ever if someone believs in climate change or not, but the 'pollution' that happens right now, is real and it has reached global levels. And People are still arguing about what ever if solar panels are 'economcally' viable or not. I am sorry, but that is absolutely laughable. Like in a real greek tragedy.

A good friend of mine, once said that economy is like a horse infront of a cart. It is great at pulling the cart (which is the state), but you should never let the horse guide and decide the direction. But this is exactly what we see right now. People are learning one thing in economy classes, but doing totally bullshit outside of it. Things that no normal human beeing would really do, look at the whole fiancial markets, this incredible fetish with unlimited economical growth. Always the same mantra. It has become a religion of some sort, and the moment you're saying something against it, you're looked at like a lunatic. Look at Trump, removing 70% if not even MORE of the current regulations?

Western democracies, but in particular the US, are like a really obese man going to a doctor, where he tells him, that if he doesn't change his lifestyle, he will get sick and eventually die due to a heart attack or stroke or what ever, and the guy doesn't even think about changing anything, as he's in denial of the effects. I mean it is not an exact science, right?

 

[CaptJ]

Reality is, that your kidz and your grand children in particular, will be living in a polluted world, where you probably won't have ANY maritine animal that isn't full of plastic particles, if you can get even any out of the ocean and they will be dealing with diminishing resources and with the effects of climate change.

I meant the whole robots making a post-scarcity world thing. Solar energy is the favorite of Sci-fi writers and "coal and uranium" are often stated as the favored sources of energy in the world prior to infinite solar energy. Basically, what I said is a reference and I was just joking about how you talking about robots taking jobs which is still far in the future.

 

[CT Phipps]

I think until 2020 is slow enough of a transition.

The thing is, coal has been an obsolete method of doing just about...everything for decades now.

It was one of Hillary's plans to start subsidizing the modernization of the coal industry and only KICKING AND SCREAMING did the companies diversify 15% of their energy portfolio away from coal to natural gas and solar energy. The reason wasn't because it would endanger jobs from the state, though that's usually the argument, it's the fact it will really dip into the profits for the upper executives.

It's just notable the public at large is terrified of modernizing the industry because mining coal is all they know in many places despite the fact it's a dying industry and mountain-top removal (which is the term we use here because "strip mining" is considered un-PC) destroys the environment which is one of the few things West Virginia also can draw from aside from coal.

Interestingly, Ashland has been on the side of the bottom dropping out of an industry. Ashland Oil left Ashland to move to another state and the city lost like 30% of its jobs. Eventually, it remade itself as a hospital town and got a WEAK tourism industry going but if we had a more diversified portfolio we wouldn't have that problem.

Ditto West Virginia and other coal states.

Stop coal now and WV becomes like Venezuela but to avoid that, you NEED to diversify it.

And the fear that the US might ever lack the means to 'defend' them self. In his age? With nuclear weapons, from long to medium range and balistic missiles? There are anti air, anti submarine, anti ship and land based nuclear weapons.

Well, uh, terrorism is kind of a thing which has killed thousands of people. The US needed a military to thus invade the place where the attack was made from.

Is that some kind of joke? Look at Russia, they have been weak for 20 years after the Soviets collapsed, they don't even spend a FRACTION of what the US does on their military. Have they been invaded recently? Ludicrous to even think that. Not as long as they are a nuclear power capable of destroying nations with the push of a button.

Putin actually wanted to modernize the military to American levels but the fact it was ridiculous unfeasible really pissed him off--he STILL overspent a massive amount on updating the military and almost bankrupted the country BEFORE the oil prices dipped.

And oil prices are the only thing which rescued Russia from its economic depression.

 

[Crni Vuk]

I meant the whole robots making a post-scarcity world thing. Solar energy is the favorite of Sci-fi writers and "coal and uranium" are often stated as the favored sources of energy in the world prior to infinite solar energy. Basically, what I said is a reference and I was just joking about how you talking about robots taking jobs which is still far in the future.

30-35 years. Sure it's not tomorrow. But it is still in 'our' time, unless you're 60. Pretty much everyone posting in here, will be experiencing. I mean it's already happening now, it's not science fiction anymore.

Well, uh, terrorism is kind of a thing which has killed thousands of people. The US needed a military to thus invade the place where the attack was made from.

Which in turn breeds new ... terrorism.
By the way, I didn't say get rid of ALL the military. But really, trim the fat, not the muscle. That's all I am saying. THe US spending more than Europe and Russia COMBINED on their armed forces, and how many terrorist attack has the US suffered from since 9 11? Statistically you have a bigger chance to die from a plane crash that was hit by meteor ... but I don't see the US military investing in a defence against that. If you really have such a fear from 'terrorism', than I do not understand how you can sit comfortably in a car, when you consider that a lot more americans are killed in car accidents than from terrorists.

 

[DarkCorp]

So just because China invests more doesn't make the investment any less costly.

TBH, I cannot afford an electric vehicle. I do not make enough money to make the initial investment into solar panels, even, with a tax credit that, only helps you at the end of the year. Green energy, the way the lefties and progressives demand it be done, is still problematic. No amount of crying will make alternative energy magically cheaper for the average joe.

Of course invasion of a nuclear power is stupid. But thinking that no threat of invasion means sitting on ones laurels is equally fucking stupid.

Why is the dollar so powerful? Because of U.S. influence. Why is the U.S. so influential? Because we have the fucking military hardware to back it up and advanced enough technologies to keep us ahead.

Wonder why America is the current hegemon? Because we have the military resources that other countries simply do not have, PERIOD.

Why is it hippies always think that, as long as we are not attacked in our home nation, we can do nothing. I mean, the fucking Nazis didn't attack the U.S. By your example Crni, we should have done jack shit.

It Is not enough to be safe, utside influence is also important. This is why nobody worries about Venezuela attacking anyone but when it comes to the U.S., people WATCH THE FUCK OUT.

 

[Crni Vuk]

Every investement is costly. The point is, it has to be done. There is no way around it. And the sooner, the better I would say, sure it could lead to some issues, but honestly, what is the alternative? It's not like our future is on the stake here, and what ever if we will still have a world that at least remotely resembles the one we have today. Really, a lot of bad things are happening right now, and at an ever growing rate. Oil, gas and the coal industry, are just one of the myriad of problems we have to tackle. The fact that most of the plastic we 'dumb' today, is ending up in the ocean, is another, and there is still not really even nearly enough done about that.

As much as 12.7m metric tons of plastic enter the world’s oceans each year. According to the World Economic Forum, by 2050 there could be more plastic in the sea than fish.

It’s clear that waste ends up in marine habitats from many different sources, from inefficient industrial waste management to plastic microfibers washed out of our clothing. But it’s less clear what the end result might be for human health.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeand...h-plastic-pollution-ocean-environment-seafood

The longer we think 'purely economically' the more will 'reality' kick in in the not so distant future.

And how much 'influence' your military has, can be seen in all the fires that your previous presidents (Obama included) started all over the world, that actually didn't help in making the US safer, nor to stabilize the economy for all the crashes you experienced, particularly the ones after 9 11. From around 100 drone strikes, eventually 90 end up killing civilians, like children. If that is the safety you're talking about, than I am not sure what you're gaining from that.

Seriously, I still don't understand how someone can be in such strong favour of all those things, like the old industries and the military, considering how the world is moving slowly but steadily forward - but not fast enough! And how nothing of what you want to 'protect' is actually protected. Terrorist attacks still happen and your economy is in stagnation.

Putin actually wanted to modernize the military to American levels but the fact it was ridiculous unfeasible really pissed him off--he STILL overspent a massive amount on updating the military and almost bankrupted the country BEFORE the oil prices dipped.

Putin playing his little MAKE RUSSIA STRONK AGAIN! game, is one thing. The fact is, Russia was never saver than today with nuclear weapons and by spending less on their military compared to the Soviets. You really don't need much more than that to effectively defend your nation from outside invasions, I mean REAL military interventions, not terrorism, that is a whole different kind of beast, and a large military doesn't necessarily protect you against it - see 9 11.

 

[CT Phipps]

Well as Russia displays, their military's point isn't to protect Russia but military adventurism and annexation.

 

[TheGM]

That's all I am saying. THe US spending more than Europe and Russia COMBINED on their armed forces

That Spending is the reason Europeans get their supposed free shit. fucking cheapskates can't even pay their part of the NATO bill, well besides the UK, Estonia, Poland and Greece, Fucking Greece actually pays its part.

All Europeans need to say is Thank You Mr.America for providing me with security and safety so I can be free to act as smug as I want on the internet because I get checks from the government.

 

[CT Phipps]

Which in turn breeds new ... terrorism.
By the way, I didn't say get rid of ALL the military. But really, trim the fat, not the muscle. That's all I am saying. THe US spending more than Europe and Russia COMBINED on their armed forces, and how many terrorist attack has the US suffered from since 9 11? Statistically you have a bigger chance to die from a plane crash that was hit by meteor ... but I don't see the US military investing in a defence against that. If you really have such a fear from 'terrorism', than I do not understand how you can sit comfortably in a car, when you consider that a lot more americans are killed in car accidents than from terrorists.

Peace-making is the best way to prevent further violence.

However, I've always felt people tend to combine the Afghanistan War with Iraq when talking about how the War on Terror has further destabilized the world. Afghanistan's invasion made the US fight the Taliban a lot and destabilized PAKISTAN but generally, the catastrophic breakdowns were all on a combination of the Arab Spring (failing) and the Iraq war.

 

[DarkCorp]

TBH, what we are doing in the ME right now is not an example of what our military can do. If anything, the ME adventure is just a small, albeit mis managed, l part of a much more global, and so far effective, plan.

Like I said, the strength of our dollar, comes from our ability to influence many things, politically and more important, militarily if we have to. The rest of the world sees us as the hegemon, and that is why our voice speaks the loudest, PERIOD.

Why does Taiwan look to us for protection instead of another country, Russia for example? Because we are the better bet.

Why do the Japanese trust us to defend them over, let us say, India? Because we are stronger.

Why does Europe, stay in NATO, instead of creating their own Euro force? Besides the obvious economic problems of maintaining a full scale military, we are strong enough that they trust their security to us.

Do you think the dollar would be nearly as strong or reliable if we were not seen as the dominant superpower?

Why the heck do you think China wants a blue water navy, a carrier fleet? Why do you think Putin is working so hard on keeping TARSUS?

What about the PAK-FA and the J-31? Or the MI 28 and the WZ 10? Why do Russia and China need these weapons if they are so 'peaceful"?

If Putin and the PRC are so 'peaceful', why the fuck would they need 'weapons they would never use", as you would call them right?

Putin had Chechnya, and now Syria. China so far has not had problems with terrorism as far as I know but, if they continue their adventurism in Asia then who knows? Nothing is perfect. Being a big player has inherent dangers that come with the job. This is what hippies cannot and will never understand.

It is called prestige. It is letting the world know you are not a nation to be fucked with. Weapons do not need to be massively used to be effective. We have had stockpiles of nukes yet we haven't used any since the end of WW2.

Prestige ALSO effects who wants to be friends with you. It effects how willing other people are in making an enemy of you. Prestige effects how dominant your culture is. It is not a coincidence that the globally accepted form of business dress is the western suit and tie, and this is just a small example.

Our Falkland Islands friend ended up discovering a bit of nationalism himself, which I applaud him for.

 

[valcik]

Well as Russia displays, their military's point isn't to protect Russia but military adventurism and annexation.

What also Russia displays is that you need to keep you army running like a clockwork in order to make it fully effective. Ukrainians do have huge army, but they've lost eastern regions before moblizing their troops due to rusted logistic. Russians, or Americans on that account, are keeping their main forces sharp and precisely organized thanks to their involvement in any major conflict in the last century. I do believe that the main reason of Russian intervention in Syria was not to stomp on some terrorist balls, but mainly to test new laser-guided weapons systems and honing their pilots' skill a little.

edit:

But how big is the use of that stuff, in an economy? Tanks, fighter planes, battle ships and all that, have very little use for the actuall population and their needs.

As someone who suffered with post-traumatic suicidal tendencies and who was born to immigrant parents running from warzone, you should've known that the economy itself is worth nothing if you can't protect it by military forces when needed. Sadly, we do not live in utopia yet, so thinking that you're forever safe from any future military conflict is a bit naive.

 

[Dragula]

Plot twist: Crni is actually a radical Bosnian muslim.