Frog Shoulder
BT Rep: +4
Who really did well after the second world war - The Japanese. Couldn't spend money on military development or upkeep, so spent it on developing their manufacturing infrastructure.
Dominate the world car / electronics markets now. Didn't the good old USA used to do that.
"there is nothing misogynistic about anything, stop trippin.
i type this way because im black and from nyc chill son "
Software Farmer
BT Rep: +15
You forgot about the Germans , did n't do so badly either . Of course they over engineer everything away . In a good way I might add .
en(un)lightened
Point taken.Originally Posted by Biggles
Quite correct in all aspects (I appreciate your bent toward quality), but, it must be acknowledged, great wads of money have been saved, and spent on other things.
Is my point so objectionable as to be rejected out-of-hand?
BTW-I wonder if, instead of Washington D.C. or Toronto, they'd consider blowing up Montreal?
J2
I do agree that we have spent less on defence than the US. Has this been to our advantage and US disadvantage? This is difficult to call in my opinion.
The US has a considerable military industry that turns over a dollar or two for the US and employs a considerable number of people.
With hindsight the USSR was less of threat than was assumed at the time. Also, we must regard the activities of the US in SE Asia. The US has been on quite a war footing for much of the post WW2 period and this also has contributed to its greater spending on defence than Europe. It could be argued that given our experience of the past we are a tad suspicious if our Governments start to flirt with uniforms and guns. So there is a political/cultural aspect to this too.
The need for eternal preparedness still exists, but the threats and logistics are much different than before the Wall came down.
I don't think we need 50,000 troops in Japan, and 30,000 in South Korea.
Bases need to be closed, etc.
At some point regional powers have to do their own policing, right?
The U.N. might find a useful function yet...
"Researchers have already cast much darkness on the subject, and if they continue their investigations, we shall soon know nothing at all about it."
-Mark Twain
Looking for loopholes
I meant to say at the time, this really tickled my funny bone.
Cogito cogito ergo cogito sum
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), but, it must be acknowledged, great wads of money have been saved, and spent on other things.
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