The U.S. will kick your country's ass

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Winnow
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The U.S. will kick your country's ass

Post by Winnow »

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U.S. could take on the rest of the world's carriers with just its mini carriers! I'm not sure about the rest of the other nation's carriers but I know for sure the Chinese carrier is just a bucket of bolts.

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U.S. defense spending vs the next ten highest defense spending countries.

The other ten look like a pack of Juicy Fruit compared to the U.S. World Police? Yes.
Here it is, as simply as I can put it: In the course of any year, there must be relatively few countries on this planet on which U.S. soldiers do not set foot, whether with guns blazing, humanitarian aid in hand, or just for a friendly visit. In startling numbers of countries, our soldiers not only arrive, but stay interminably, if not indefinitely. Sometimes they live on military bases built to the tune of billions of dollars that amount to sizeable American towns (with accompanying amenities), sometimes on stripped down forward operating bases that may not even have showers. When those troops don't stay, often American equipment does -- carefully stored for further use at tiny "cooperative security locations," known informally as "lily pads" (from which U.S. troops, like so many frogs, could assumedly leap quickly into a region in crisis).

At the height of the Roman Empire, the Romans had an estimated 37 major military bases scattered around their dominions. At the height of the British Empire, the British had 36 of them planetwide. Depending on just who you listen to and how you count, we have hundreds of bases. According to Pentagon records, in fact, there are 761 active military "sites" abroad.
narly

Has there ever been that kind of dominance since the Romans? There's a case to made that the United States is the most dominant world power in all of history, especially when you account for the U.S. ~761 military bases and troops deployed around the world, the massive fleet of carrier groups and scary number of U.S. fast food chains around the world.

Love/hate...whatever. It's impressive.
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Re: The U.S. will kick your country's ass

Post by Spang »

It's disgusting.
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Re: The U.S. will kick your country's ass

Post by Kluden »

Winnow wrote: I'm not sure about the rest of the other nation's carriers but I know for sure the Chinese carrier is just a bucket of bolts.
Well, what I *do* know is that it came in a pretty white box, sold by people called geniuses, and the carrier has a sticker on it that says "Designed in California. Made in China" as to depict that means its quality...
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And yet we can't provide public healthcare as it's too expensive.
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Post by Funkmasterr »

Aabidano wrote:And yet we can't provide public healthcare as it's too expensive.
Yep. Our military spending is out of fucking control. Spang is right, as much as that pains me to say.
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Re: The U.S. will kick your country's ass

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Funkmasterr wrote:
Aabidano wrote:And yet we can't provide public healthcare as it's too expensive.
Yep. Our military spending is out of fucking control. Spang is right, as much as that pains me to say.
So that is where my bonus money tax is going!!
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Re: The U.S. will kick your country's ass

Post by Leonaerd »

Surprised there isn't a thread about it already - The Pentagon is slashing the military budget. It's a very hopeful thing.
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Re: The U.S. will kick your country's ass

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They should cut the military budget by 30 Billion to make us equal to the total top ten defense spending nations behind the U.S. No need to be greedy! I'm all for equality.

There's lots you can do with 30 billion. Maybe give the 30 Billion to gay people. Say there's 10% gays in the U.S. About 30 million. That's $333 per gay person. Instead, Obummer may want to help out black youths and give them basketballs. With 30 Billion, Obama could provide 1 billion basketballs to poor black youths at $30 a ball. Can you imagine a street court with a basketball dispenser that never ran out of basketballs? Wow! Congress willing, they could even choose to pay for everyone's cable bill for an entire month or pay HBO 30 Billion so poor people can watch Game of Thrones on PBS.
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Re: The U.S. will kick your country's ass

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Putin better have a look at the charts on this thread before getting too carried away in the Ukraine and with plans for a Cuban base.
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Re: The U.S. will kick your country's ass

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Why aren't our leaders this hot?

Crimea Attorney General Natalia Poklonskaya

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqHkGaEE7WA&hd=1

http://kotaku.com/crimeas-attorney-gene ... 1547001178
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Re: The U.S. will kick your country's ass

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Fracking has made the U.S. "the envy of the world": Russell Gold

Fracking has transformed the U.S. energy industry. One hundred new wells are drilled daily, creating so much supply that the U.S. is now the single largest producer of oil and gas combined, according to Russell Gold, author of The Boom: How Fracking Ignited the American Energy Revolution and Changed the World. He tells The Daily Ticker that fracking -- which uses millions of gallons of water and chemicals to fracture shale and release natural gas -- "has redrawn the global energy landscape."...

...fracking is "creating jobs." North Dakota, home to the Bakken Formation, has the lowest unemployment rate in the country at 2.6%.
http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ti ... 19646.html

Holy frak! Nice to see the U.S. needing very little imported oil these days.

Spang and anyone else with no job, go to North Dakota and start frakking. I don't care about the environmental issues and earth quakes. It's only North Dakota. Who cares? It's a wasteland state close to Canada.
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Post by Aabidano »

There's a case to made that the United States is the most dominant world power in all of history
Romans and Mongols likely exceeded by quite a bit, couple ancient Indian empires too. Maybe the Persians too for that matter.

Plus - we couldn't "win" against either China or Russia, or even Iran for that matter. So why are we spending so much for so little return? 20+ years of drawdowns have hobbled our military, you have to have people after all; while pumping more and more $$ into military contractors who rip us off on the supply side.
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Re: The U.S. will kick your country's ass

Post by Winnow »

Aabidano wrote:
There's a case to made that the United States is the most dominant world power in all of history
Romans and Mongols likely exceeded by quite a bit, couple ancient Indian empires too. Maybe the Persians too for that matter.

Plus - we couldn't "win" against either China or Russia, or even Iran for that matter. So why are we spending so much for so little return? 20+ years of drawdowns have hobbled our military, you have to have people after all; while pumping more and more $$ into military contractors who rip us off on the supply side.
Oh the U.S. would "win", but the cost would be high. U.S. would steamroll anyone in an all out war but unlike previous wars, the homeland wouldn't go untouched, and of course Russia might manage to launch a nuke or two that hasn't rusted and become unlaunchable. There's no good scenario for war but you are insane if you think another country would match the U.S. in a war, China and Russia included. Have you seen China's army? It's pathetic. Their Navy is even worse.

I disagree with your comment about Romans, Mongols, Indian empires and Persians being more powerful than the Unites States. They were all regional, even the Romans. U.S is the first "world" power.(reference the the number of bases around the world the U.S. has and the U.S. Dollar and economy's impact on the world) I dig the Romans. Big fan, but military and economically, the U.S. since the 80's is without question, the single super power in the world. After that, you can check into the number of U.S. products around the world ranging from high tech to sugar water. Entertainment? U.S. Check the top grossing movies..U.S. U.S. U.S.
All great empires – from the Greek, to the Roman, the Spanish and the British - have at their heart a dominant means of exchange which is very much part of their political and social hegemony. Once upon a time, it was Roman coinage which was the world's pre-eminent currency. In more recent times it was the British pound. Today, it's the US dollar to which international investors flock as a safe haven for their money. Highly liquid and apparently reliable – until recently at least – nothing else comes even remotely close to the greenback's dominant position in the international monetary system.
Things change, but for the last half a century, the United States has been truly badass. The absolute dominance of the U.S. military over any country or next ten countries may be too much for you too grasp, but the dollar is no doubt the currency of the world. Why do you think Saudi Arabia only accepts U.S. currency for oil?

Whether you think it's good or bad, there's no denying U.S. might over the past 50 years.
U.S. Navy unleashes newest weapon: an electromagnetic rail gun that shoots missiles at seven times the speed of sound

Each missile hits with about 32 megajoules of force, when just one megajoule can move a 1-ton object at 100 mph.

Top gun: redefined.

The U.S. Navy's newest weapon, the futuristic rail gun, shoots projectiles over 100 miles at Mach 7 — seven times the speed of sound.

“When it’s fired it goes from zero to 5,000 mph in the span of 1/100th of a second," Capt. Mike Ziv, program manager for NAVSEA PMS 405, told the Daily News.

The Navy has already tested the explosive equipment on land for years but plans to fire up seaside trials in 2016.

"There's not a thing in the sky that's going to survive against that," Rear Adm. Matthew Klunder, the chief of Naval Research, told CBS News.

Rail guns harness electromagnetic energy to launch the projectiles between two conductive rails, experts say.

The Navy's chief engineer, Rear Admiral Bryant Fuller, said these projectiles have about 32 megajoules of force — just one megajoule can move a one-ton object at 100 mph.
Whereas ships can only hold dozens of missiles, they can reportedly carry hundreds of rail gun projectiles.

"Your magazine never runs out, you just keep shooting, and that's compelling," Klunder told Reuters.

At $25,000 a pop, the 23-pound projectiles are much cheaper than normal missiles which can run from $500,000 to $1.5 million.


The research chief said this cost might make combatants think twice before taking on the U.S. military. After all, the rail gun can fire multiple rounds to take down enemy missiles much more affordably.

"You could throw anything at us, frankly, and the fact that we now can shoot a number of these rounds at a very affordable cost, it's my opinion that they don't win." Klunder said.

The rail gun projectiles could help the Navy defend against cruise missiles and ballistic missiles, he added.

For the 2016 trials, the rail gun is scheduled to be mounted on a high-speed vessel called the USNS Millinocket.
Way cheaper and better than the opposition. The United States, who already ridiculously outspends the rest of the world on its military, can now take out enemy missiles at about 1/50th the cost of the opposition.

Yeah, good luck with your one rusty aircraft carrier vs the U.S. and its 20 Carriers w/support fleets with a brand new mega huge carrier class and rail guns (among other things) on the way.

Altogether, what the United States has accomplished is awe inspiring when you combine its scientific, innovation, internet, military and economic power.

There's plenty of "first world problems". Bitch about politics, healthcare, etc. Our president is horrible, and yet that still doesn't stop this juggernaut of a country. Love it or hate it, there's no denying it. Maybe you won't see it because many don't while it's happening, but historians will. Hey, people hated the Romans too but we look back at them and recognize their rule. And now, becoming energy independent, that's one less thing to worry about and makes the Middle East just a bunch of crazy people instead of crazy people with a resource that we need.

Remove your love/hate/jealously/despise/evil/good opinions of the United States from the equation and what are you left with? A powerhouse of a country in military, technology, and economy.

I don't see the U.S. remaining top dog forever but it's been an impressive run and is still going for now. I don't see another country overtaking the U.S. (including China) I see more of a world government happening with the entire globe becoming so intertwined due to technology, that countries won't matter as much.
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Post by Aabidano »

I disagree with your comment about Romans, Mongols, Indian empires and Persians being more powerful than the Unites States. They were all regional, even the Romans.
They actually controlled the territory * people though, we're still confined to our own playground. The financial benefit from the bases largely goes to who again? Why are they located where they are? We're painting ourselves into a corner to maintain profit margins for very few.
Winnow wrote:I don't see the U.S. remaining top dog forever but it's been an impressive run and is still going for now.
Yes. We're working hard to ruin it ourselves now, in part due to the short sighted fiscal crazy the Tea Party & RNC would have us follow. Which make further degradation of our overall standard of living and long term prosperity almost assured. Though still far better than most of the world today.

Most of the world has very traditional morals too, the "US as exported" by our media really isn't doing us many favors.

*Edit - Contrasted to "Japan for export", they're very careful how the world and their own citizens perceive them while being a serious mess in many ways internally. Basically "if you can't see the dirt it doesn't exist" on a national level. (Which reminds me of Apple :D)

You've been watching to much Faux News :)
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Re: The U.S. will kick your country's ass

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/ ... KO20141216
Russian ruble suffers steepest drop in 16 years

(Reuters) - The ruble plunged more than 11 percent against the dollar on Tuesday in its steepest intraday fall since the Russian financial crisis in 1998 as confidence in the central bank evaporated after an ineffectual rate hike.

The ruble opened around 10 percent stronger against the dollar after the central bank unexpectedly raised its benchmark interest rate by a hefty 650 basis points to try and halt the currency's slide, but it reversed gains in volatile trade and repeatedly set new record lows.

It has now fallen close to 20 percent this week, taking its losses this year against the dollar to more than 50 percent and stirring memories of the 1998 crisis when the currency collapsed within a matter of days, forcing Russia to default on its debt.

Although Russia's public finances and reserves are much healthier than in 1998, analysts say the country is on the brink of a full-blown currency crisis.
That's right Russia. Go ahead and invade another country! Putin is such a moron/thug. Yeah, ignore those sanctions!

Good news is in War Thunder, a Russian game, I can switch to a Russian IP and buy in game currency using PayPal at a huge discount. 10K Gold = $50.00 US or $30.69 if I buy using rubles via PayPal. Thx Putin!
Canada braces

Economists are fast revising their forecasts for Canada’s economy, and those of its provinces, amid the spectacular collapse in oil prices.

BMO Nesbitt Burns, for example, has lowered its outlook for economic growth next year to just 2.2 per cent, which would mark the sharpest shortfall to the United States since 2003.

Should Canadian growth slip further, to 2 per cent, for example, it would mark the worst performance relative to that of the United States since 1996, said BMO chief economist Douglas Porter.

Today, CIBC World Markets added its voice, in a new report on just how painful the shock could be to Canada.

“The recent dive in crude oil prices is an unprecedented development for the Canadian economy,” said CIBC economists Avery Shenfeld, Peter Buchanan and Warren Lovely.

“Even after allowing for the cushions provided by tighter heavy oil spreads and a weaker C$, the local currency value of a weighted index of Canadian barrels is down over 40 per cent in the last four months,” they added.

“That’s unprecedented since, while we’ve seen retreats of that magnitude before, the recent ones were demand-led corrections in which broader U.S. or global recessions did much of the economic damage to Canada.”
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Canada's suffering as well since the U.S. has plenty of of it's own oil now. Remember that brief second that the Canadian Dollar was worth more than the US Dollar?
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Russian Inflation Soars to Fastest Since 2009 After Ruble Rout

Economic challenges are mounting for President Vladimir Putin, whose annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in March prompted U.S. and European sanctions before a plunge in oil prices sent the ruble into a tailspin. The inflation spike is roiling consumer demand as retailers including Apple Inc., Renault SA and McDonald’s Corp. have been raising prices to offset the drop in the value of their sales in rubles.

“People’s purchasing power will slide further, monetary policy will become tighter and recession deeper in 2015,” Vladimir Miklashevsky, a strategist at Danske Bank A/S in Helsinki, said by e-mail before the data release. “We expect inflation to peak at 15 percent during the first quarter.”

Russia’s currency lost 44 percent this year, the second-most in the world after Ukraine’s hryvnia, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-3 ... -rout.html

Yesterday I paid $2.009/gallon to fill up my tank. (less than $18 in my Prius which has a 9.7 gallon tank including reserve getting me 450 miles per refill)

Right now, gas isn't even a budget consideration. In my last car, I recall at one point paying $50 twice a month to get where I needed to go. The combination of hybrid cars and cheap gas is not a good thing for Russia and Canada.

Russian Ruble vs US Dollar over past year:

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There was a brief "dead cat bounce" the past few weeks but now it's going down again. Economic outlook for Russia in 2015 is extremely shitty. So, invade a country = losing half the value of your currency and anticipated major recession Putin! Nice work. Now Russia is spending their foreign currency reserves (including Dollars) they made off of oil sales. Thx!

Note: I've easily paid for my year of VPN service with Astrill from money saved buying game currency/premiumn sub (War Thunder) in rubles instead of Dollars. VPN = well worth it for so many reasons.
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Narrator is a little annoying but holy shit.

World War II: Loss of Life Visualized (2015)

70+ million deaths in WW II. Soviet deaths are pretty jaw dropping when you get to that part. Civilian deaths also staggering.

Interesting visualizations. Adjusting for planet population is also eye opening considering some of the older conflicts in the world.
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I love this thread!

Since the latest hot topic is trade wars. Here's the Chinese reaction to the first Costco opening up in China:

https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/27/business ... index.html

I think American goods will still sell OK in China!
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