Pentagon doesn't know what else to do with their nukes

[Radoteur]

Yikes, I'm too late. Whatever.

Americans are such pussies these days. It's not a question of military might. We're going to lose because Americans are just too comfortable. Look at our universities. Students in/from developing countries like China and India focus on math, science, enginneering degrees. Americans major in Leisure Studies. The only thing America has going for it these days is that many people want to live here. Not because it's so great, but because they believe their country sucks in comparison. (And they're right.)

You guys are talking too much about wars between states. America isn't fighting a state. (Well, it's having problems with a few states, sure.) And I'm convinced we're losing.

And this idea that America would be destroyed because we run out of oil isn't true. Sure, the prices will skyrocket, leading to fuel conservation and intensifying the search for alternative sources of energy. Right now, the reason we use fossil fuels is because they're so efficient and cheap. If they become expensive, you'll be sure we'll use the cheapest/best energy. Nonetheless, I'm convinced America should work towards being less dependent on oil anyway.

[MadBill]

because they're so efficient and cheap.

Cheap , yes, but efficiency depends on what you are measuring. I would lean toward "lazy and cheap".

[Radoteur]

They're probably not cheap, either, when you consider the BIG picture (environmental impact), but humans generally really suck at looking very far in the future. It doesn't come natural.

I don't understand what you mean by lazy, though. Fossil fuels are lazy? I'm assuming you mean Americans that burn fossil fuels are lazy. How does choosing to burn fossil fuels over inferior energy sources make Americans lazy?

[vx trauma]

fossil fuels = big money = power to undermine any hippie activities

[vendetta]

because they're so efficient and cheap.

Cheap , yes, but efficiency depends on what you are measuring. I would lean toward "lazy and cheap".

Perhaps efficient should be replaced with effective.

[Redeye]

Yikes, I'm too late. Whatever.

Americans are such pussies these days. It's not a question of military might. We're going to lose because Americans are just too comfortable. Look at our universities. Students in/from developing countries like China and India focus on math, science, enginneering degrees. Americans major in Leisure Studies. The only thing America has going for it these days is that many people want to live here. Not because it's so great, but because they believe their country sucks in comparison. (And they're right.)

You guys are talking too much about wars between states. America isn't fighting a state. (Well, it's having problems with a few states, sure.) And I'm convinced we're losing.

And this idea that America would be destroyed because we run out of oil isn't true. Sure, the prices will skyrocket, leading to fuel conservation and intensifying the search for alternative sources of energy. Right now, the reason we use fossil fuels is because they're so efficient and cheap. If they become expensive, you'll be sure we'll use the cheapest/best energy. Nonetheless, I'm convinced America should work towards being less dependent on oil anyway.

I would like to point out that the developing countries that put huge efforts
into math, science, and engineering are not doing so simply as a matter
of developmental effort. They are doing it for status, not just International Status, but Social Status. This is their downfall.
On a social level, they are trying to replicate the system of hierarchy which gives benefits/status to holders of Advanced Degrees. This seems fair enough, but it ignores the fact that the infrastructure of an advanced nation is operated and maintained not by theoreticians, but by technicians and tradesmen. Electricians, plumbers, auto mechanics, roofers, masons, carpenters,etc.
The US pays these support workers very well, and it is not considered "low" or dirty to have such jobs.
We train lots of these people every year. The countries producing surpluses of mathemeticians, engineers, and so on - are very far behind in this respect.
A person from India would rather be an engineer working in the USA than be a plumber in India.
A plumber in the USA probably is paid as much as that expatriate Indian. Or more.
The obsession with "face", with superficial status, hamstrings these societies which supposedly are a threat to the US.
While the "better educated" enemies of the USA are busy dicking around about who is of the Better Caste/has more seniority/went to the right school/etc. the dumbass ignorant redneck Americans are asking "OK, what can you actually DO?"
We'll win, because, ultimately, we value effectiveness over pompous titles.

If we need more scientists, mathematicians, engineers... we'll train or import them as needed.

[johnnygothisgun]

Zing!

[Thor Kaufman]

Zing!

lolz best post in this thread

[MadBill]

Lazy = All you have to do is pump it out of the fucking ground. Or mine it. Mining has been around as long as cities = Lazy.

Fuck this, Im go eat some peas and carrots.

[Calis]

The neocon theory involves going into every state throughout the world and setting up free, democratic societies, regardless of US interests in that state.

While I agree that having democratic control in each and every country in the world (preferably with a clear separation between church and state) would be a Good Thing...

Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.

... I don't agree with the feasibility of the US, or any other exponent of the enlightened western world, going in there and engineering a regime like that. Existing power structures aren't going to disappear for good when you go in there and organize some fair elections. They're gonna pop up again the second you're outta there. Let's take Iran, for instance. Let's say their military is asleep, allowing the US or anyone else to sneak in, disable them, and organize some fair elections while keeping the theocratic elements at bay. This isn't going to eradicate the social and political influence that religious elements have. That shit takes time and can't really be engineered by an external agent. While my socio-political knowledge to back this stuff up is limited at best (I'm just a politically naive physics geek) I don't believe direct intervention to force democracy on the world is going to work in the long term.

Call me a pussy liberal pinko commie hippie bastard, but I'm partial to the idea of leading by example. To stick with the Iran-middle-eastern-Islamic-state idea: Turkey (yeah, I know, not a middle eastern country, but close enough) has been moving closer and closer to Europe in its politics. It has a clear separation between church and state while maintaining its Islamic roots, and is doing relatively well because of it. The most persuasive way to get this to happen in other countries is to make sure Turkey is succesful.

Of course, I'm not advocating completely abstaining from military intervention. Getting Kim Jong Il to reform his country by supporting South Korea's economy isn't gonna work, but in order for democratic reforms to be durable they need to be obviously beneficial to the existing power structures in affected countries, because eradicating those structures by direct action isn't feasible in the long term.

[Redeye]

Iran already is a democracy.
Of a sort.


Like the US.

[jetbaby]

I say we nuke the Swiss. I'm getting sick of those mountaineous fuckers.

[S4ur0n27]

Let's steal their snow.

[St. Toxic]

No blood for snow!

[vx trauma]

die for snow, sucker