A copy of Risk for every German citizen? Oh, and one for Trump so he can push the little figures around while his generals tell him that he really is directing ground troops in a war against North Korea/China.
Honestly? I’d invest it not in just purchasing hardware, but rather on joint R&D efforts into novel technologies which can serve both military AND civilian purposes.
Military spending doesn’t mean you need to be buying bombs and planes. Invest in new types of technology.
I propose research into a new type of bomb, a, shall we say, poison-fire-blade bomb. Since this is Germany, maybe 20 or 24 Zweihanders in “punishment” configuration dropped from a Valkyrie above could land and then fly out in all directions, slicing friend and enemy alike in a burning cloud of justice.
So this past weekend I saw the Roger Waters (Pink Floyd) Us + Them Tour in Louisville, KY. Waters is pretty well known for his views on Brexit, authoritarianism and Trump. He’s incorporated the last bit into his show in a very non-subtle way. As you can imagine, it did not play particularly well to many of the Kentucky and Indiana (right over the river from Louisville) conservatives in attendance. Personally, I found it hilarious and well played. Some people actually left after the first set (when RESIST appeared on the video screen during the last bits of Another Brick in the Wall). Others, like the drunken gentleman in the row in front of me, simply expressed their displeasure by flipping off Waters and shouting stupid shit like “go back where you came from!”.
Anyway, for your amusement, here are some pictures I took while at the show. I will put them in spoiler tags so that anyone with tickets to a future show isn’t spoiled unless they want to be.
The finale of Another Brick In The Wall, featuring local kids on stage with RESIST t-shirts and the message on clear display. This was as subtle as it would get.
During "Pigs (Three Different Ones) all subtlety was lost and images like this flashed across the giant screens all over the arena.
Then fans were treated to a giant flying pig moving around the arena with a message. “I won!” Ha.
“Ha ha, Charade you are!” The music from the album Animals seems like a warning from the past when set to visuals like this!
There is obviously lots more to the show, and I urge anyone who is a fan of Waters and/or Pink Floyd to attend and see the spectacular sights, sounds and message of the concert. Any other artist doing this would face backlash and career damage, but Waters is 70+, has an ironclad discography to draw fans with, and basically doesn’t give two shits if you’re offended. I love the man even more after seeing this show.
I’ll never understand people who listen to obviously anti-establishment music getting angry that it’s anti-establishment/tyranny.
I assume they only pay attention to lyrics when the other guy wins an election or something.
Spend it on carbon sink technology, since climate change is the #1 threat to global stability.
To give an idea of some stuff that the US spends money on… Things like new battery technology, renewable energy sources, autonomous vehicles, prosthetic limb technology, etc.
Those kinds of things, especially if done in conjunction with the US, could offer a real, tangible benefit to both parties, and really the world as a whole. And at the same time, strengthen the military capabilities of NATO.
I think they should invest it in a new, decentralized internet that cuts out any US control. After all, the Internet was created as a military research project.
We’re spending $ on technology the US Army utilizes so obviously we should do more of that, and not focus on some 2% goal that is just silly. Maybe spend money on clean water, air, food and energy which will surely do more to avoid future wars than having an even bigger bomb that we can use to blow up a cave and some civilians in Afghanistan with, all for a photo-op.
Or yes; I guess spending the cash on anti-terrorism efforts, or even better -> winning strategies like destabilizing Libya through a NATO air campaign; thus requiring even more spending on anti-terror efforts (as well as the migrant crisis) since now the borders are “open”.
2003 and onwards have just been one shitty strategy after another.
We’re still busy trying to get the Eurofighter (aka Jäger 90…) run properly, so I’m guessing no. :P
Like, um, no way. I was playing EF2000, like, twenty years ago. :)
Are you sockpuppeting for Pied Piper?
As much as I distrust US ISPs and Government, I think the internet (albeit not under Trump) would be safer there than being controlled by Russia, China and Saudi Arabia.
That said… we’ll be censored and siloed to fuck in a few years time anyway… The internet as a ‘highway for free flow of information and ideas’ is ending.
This has very little to do with counter-terrorism. Counter-terrorism is mostly intelligence and policing, which is not exactly a military matter (borderline, one would say).
Trump’s term is going to end with Germany, South Korea, and Japan deciding they can’t rely on US deterrence and they need to build their own nuclear weapons programs. The world is going to get a lot less safe. Although I certainly can’t blame them.
Bob Corker on Obama in 2014:
Those around the world who are looking to the United States for support against intimidation, oppression or outright massacres have learned a tough lesson in the past few years: This U.S. president, despite his bold pronouncements and moral posturing, cannot be counted on.
Bob Corker on Trump in 2017:
Loot Crate? Sad!
It’s so, SO hard to figure out what’s a joke and what’s real anymore…
Trumps Razor. The craziest explanation is the correct one.
The US military does a lot of climate change stuff itself for that very reason, often against Republican opposition.