Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
Posts: 11,045
|
China
Oct 6, 2021 7:11:32 GMT -8
Post by Brad Nelson on Oct 6, 2021 7:11:32 GMT -8
Ruth. What a girl.
|
|
|
China
Oct 6, 2021 9:03:35 GMT -8
Post by kungfuzu on Oct 6, 2021 9:03:35 GMT -8
I always thought she was a stunner as the baroness in "The Sound of Music."
|
|
|
China
Oct 6, 2021 9:04:56 GMT -8
Post by artraveler on Oct 6, 2021 9:04:56 GMT -8
|
|
|
Post by kungfuzu on Oct 6, 2021 9:17:48 GMT -8
Great video. Two things were very impressive about that F-35. The first is the way it moves sideways. The second, and more important thing was how short the take off was. That is the shortest take off for a fighter jet that I have ever seen.
|
|
Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
Posts: 11,045
|
Post by Brad Nelson on Oct 6, 2021 12:54:15 GMT -8
Oh, god, yes. I always thought the Captain might have been a bit daft running off with Maria. Maria, as sweet as she is, has “flighty” written all over her. But the countess could certainly be counted on to at least go through the motions of loving you and looking extremely elegant while doing so. You can’t have everything in this life.
Climb every mountain? Pffft. I'll take the blond.
|
|
Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
Posts: 11,045
|
China
Oct 6, 2021 12:57:01 GMT -8
Post by Brad Nelson on Oct 6, 2021 12:57:01 GMT -8
Amazing considering the historical context. But as Japan goes, we go. I believe we are as economically and ideologically linked to them as we are Great Britain. Certainly the cultural ties with great Britain are far greater. But the import of the Far East brings greater importance on our relationship with Japan.
Kure is Bremerton's sister city in Japan.
|
|
Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
Posts: 11,045
|
Post by Brad Nelson on Oct 6, 2021 12:59:55 GMT -8
Nice. I didn't know that the F-35s was a Harrier-type vertical lander.
From what I understand, the deck of a carrier is one of the most dangerous places in the world to work.
|
|
|
Post by artraveler on Oct 6, 2021 16:00:28 GMT -8
F-35 The Navy and Marine version is designed for VTOL the Air Force version is not. Needless to say only countries with a significant navy will be interested in the F-35. In addition to Japan the Royal Navy has purchased F-35s and the new carrier, Queen Elizabeth has trained with US Marine air groups. The last I heard the new Indian carriers are being built to accommodate the F-35 also.
|
|
|
China
Oct 6, 2021 19:24:07 GMT -8
Post by kungfuzu on Oct 6, 2021 19:24:07 GMT -8
I believe the problems Lockheed had with getting the VTOL version to finally work properly were major contributors to cost overruns and delayed deployment for the Marines and Navy. The Navy and Air Force generally do not like having the same platforms, but I think the Navy was forced to accept the F-35.
|
|
|
Post by kungfuzu on Oct 6, 2021 19:33:11 GMT -8
I would bet that, economically, we are more closely linked to Japan than to Great Britain, except through banking.
I have long wished we would establish an English-speaking trading community along the lines of the intelligence "Five eyes" agreement. A group consisting of the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and perhaps a couple of Commonwealth countries like Singapore and India would be a powerful trade group.
Japan could be brought into the group as they have no cultural or linguistic equivalents which one finds among English-speaking nations. They would be happy to be part of such a group.
|
|
|
China
Oct 6, 2021 19:35:01 GMT -8
Post by kungfuzu on Oct 6, 2021 19:35:01 GMT -8
My thoughts exactly! I would marry the Countess and let the kids play outside with Maria.
|
|
Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
Posts: 11,045
|
China
Oct 6, 2021 19:54:06 GMT -8
Post by Brad Nelson on Oct 6, 2021 19:54:06 GMT -8
You would know more about that than I do. But I've read a few articles in the last few years saying basically, "Don't get too excited about China buying up the U.S. The United Kingdom already owns a yuge part of it." Certainly that is a lame argument because the UK is not Communist China. But I think the message was (for me) that I had little appreciation for how heavily invested Great Britain was in the U.S. But certainly the economic ties with Japan could be even more significant.
|
|
Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
Posts: 11,045
|
China
Oct 6, 2021 20:00:16 GMT -8
Post by Brad Nelson on Oct 6, 2021 20:00:16 GMT -8
They were doing that for a while. But, of course, the master of the house wanted to shtoop the nanny. Not the first time this has happened. Still, he did get out of the clutches of the Nazis. And he was not a collaborator. A brave man. And the countess was very understanding and sophisticated about it. Their proposed marriage was clearly not a passionate love affair but more of a merger.
But then, who could resist Maria? She could sing. She loved the children. The children loved her. And she was as pure as the new-fallen snow. Can't blame the Captain for falling in love. I know I did. First as a child, which was a different kind of love when I first saw this movie. Then as an adult it was the love of admiration. Must be some Catholic upbringing in a past life. I couldn't bring myself to think in "that way" about Maria although I certainly recognized her beauty.
Pull up to the couch, Dr. Freud.
|
|
|
Post by kungfuzu on Oct 6, 2021 20:08:13 GMT -8
This is absolutely correct. The Brits have been invested in America since before the Revolution and have almost always been the largest overseas investors here, at least they still were when we moved back some twenty years ago.
I was thinking more along the amount of trade between Japan and the U.S. which is of course not the only measurement of economic activity.
|
|
|
Post by kungfuzu on Oct 6, 2021 20:10:13 GMT -8
I couldn't either, but I could about Julie Andrews.
|
|
|
Post by artraveler on Oct 6, 2021 20:24:47 GMT -8
I just heard today that the PRC for the first time in over a year is buying Australian coal after having embargoed it. The PRC is suffering from rolling blackouts because of a shortage of coal to fire the thousands of electric plants they have built over the last 20 or so years. This presents problems for the oligarchs of the CCP who haver made brave promises to the people and are going to have trouble if not kept.
Mr. Kung has been in the for of talking about the paper dragon and this is an element of that. Other, signs are actually the increasing belligerence of the PLA and PLAN towards Japan and Taiwan. And the response of the five eyes group plus India, Singapore, and Vietnam. The belligerence is mostly face saving, IMHO, the last thing the CCP needs or wants is open confrontation with a united front led by the US Navy. But they will push as far as they think it possible with a weakling in the WH. Australia has much to gain from coal sales to the PRC especially after years of embargo. My guess is the CCP hopes to weaken the Aussie arm of the alliance with new coal purchases. Australia for its part has suffered greatly under the KFF over the last two years and even a small economic revival due to coal sales to PRC has to help cool down the swell of anti-government resentment over KFF excessive control.
On the other hand Australia has just committed to the purchase of American nuclear submarines and cancelled a similar order with France. This purchase will tie the US and Aussie fleets closer in operational capabilities. If I were Xi I don't think this is a good time to build another country vacation home.
|
|
Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
Posts: 11,045
|
Post by Brad Nelson on Oct 6, 2021 20:24:53 GMT -8
My hormones just get confused about the whole situation. However, I had no doubts, misgivings, or confusion about Liesl. But she went for the Hitler Youth type. I'm not sure I'm in her league.
|
|
|
Post by kungfuzu on Oct 7, 2021 9:07:11 GMT -8
League schmeague! I say if you are going to day dream, day dream big. Shoot for the stars.
|
|
|
China
Oct 7, 2021 9:31:26 GMT -8
Post by kungfuzu on Oct 7, 2021 9:31:26 GMT -8
The Chinese are bullies and adept at bluff. The lackeys spouting the usual propaganda remind me of frogs which puff themselves up to make themselves look bigger and stronger than they are. They also squeak a lot. Desert frog China is nothing as powerful as many believe. Besides the KFF, they have had numerous problems over the last few years which have effected hundreds-of-millions. From the African Swine Fever to which between 150 to 200 swine were sacrificed, to the many serious floods which devastated large parts of the country, to the closure of thousands of factories and moving them away from China because of Trump's pressure, things were not all peaches and cream before the KFF. Now the crazy building mania and over-leveraging of the entire sector appears to be catching up with them. If I recall correctly, total debt is something like 3 x the GDP. That is not to say that the PRC is not dangerous. In fact, I have long said that the only time that I would worry about China is when its internal problems became so severe as to threaten the balance the CCP has established. Then, in order to take the people's attention away from domestic problems, the CCP would create overseas "problems" on which they could focus the country's attention. They would create a nationalist fervor to unite the people. For this exercise, the CCP already has the perfect object, Taiwan. So yes, tensions are presently heightened, but I don't believe we are yet at the point of an attack on Taiwan is eminent. From what one knows about the CCP and China, there are major tensions between groups in the PLA who want to fight and those who want to continue their money-making ventures in peace. Xi knows that if he gives the go ahead for any attack on Taiwan and it fails, his head is very likely in the noose. Just saw this. Tony Abbott visits Taiwan Marines secretly training Taiwan military The coalition is tightening the rope.
|
|
Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
Posts: 11,045
|
China
Oct 7, 2021 11:01:46 GMT -8
Post by Brad Nelson on Oct 7, 2021 11:01:46 GMT -8
Well, a little Storm Trooping for the love of a fine Austrian girl. Why the hell not? Now, where did I put my black boots?
|
|