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Post by kemp on Oct 30, 2019 7:47:08 GMT -5
I have talked about things that are going to shit, but I have noticed that when it comes weapons and military capability that there have been significant advances. I know that the Russians have developed their own fifth generation jet fighter, the Su-57 stealth fighter. I think there are still some engine kinks that are being worked out, but Putin refers to the plane as the best fighter in the world, although Trump has stated that the F-35 is the best, and of course the Chinese tout their J-20 stealth fighter. I’m not going to get into any deep discussion about maneuverability, speed, weapons systems, radar tech and stealth, although I think that the F-35 has a smaller radar cross section, in other words, better stealth mode and also better warning system. On the other hand , the Su-57 probably wins hands down when it comes to raw speed, maneuvarability, and anti stealth weapon acquisition tools. ‘To the extent Russian air combat doctrine is more interested in countering stealth aircraft than deploying their own, the Su-57 has the technical potential to the best solution for Russia’s strategic needs.’ nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/russia-declares-su-57-fighter-best-world-48577So which is better, the Su-57 or the F-35 ? Dunno, comparative advantages in some areas, and trade offs in others is depended on the country’s unique strategic priorities. Both are top of the line fighters and are good for their intended purposes. Su-57 F-35
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Post by kemp on Nov 1, 2019 18:12:49 GMT -5
There are so many ways civilisation can collapse. A major war of epic proportions can wipe out our modern civilisation, especially when we talk about the nuclear armed capability of both Russia and the US, the world’s foremost nuclear powers. One strike could easily kill hundreds of thousands within minutes, and millions in the following days and weeks, many dying from radiation poisoning. It could also trigger a series of events that could lead to widespread famine, tons of smoke blocking sunlight due to cities and industrial areas being targeted, in turn causing a rapidly cooling climate in that aftermath. The number of nations with nuclear weaponry has grown over the last few decades, the list includes the UK, France, China India, Israel, Pakistan and North Korea. I have no idea what the total warhead inventories are, but I think the US and Russia are almost even when it comes to their stockpile, somewhere between six and seven thousand. At this point it seems that both the presidencies of the US and Russia have a good working relationship on a political level, more or less, but that could always change, and there is always the looming threat of the other nuclear powers rocking the status quo.
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Post by charleshelm on Nov 2, 2019 17:32:34 GMT -5
I remember the cold war days of people lying awake worrying about the bomb...we have come a long way.
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Post by darklordbob on Nov 3, 2019 4:12:30 GMT -5
Just finished this bad boy and I think it will play very well to this crowd: www.goodreads.com/book/show/47487425-the-end-is-always-nearAudio version read by Dan Carlin himself right here: www.audible.ca/pd/The-End-Is-Always-Near-Audiobook/0062868071?qid=1572772283&sr=1-1&pf_rd_p=65c74350-6dfb-47fa-85fd-1459a4762abd&pf_rd_r=GSWFFKP4MBGJFHZD9QRN&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_1Do tough times create tougher people? Can humanity handle the power of its weapons without destroying itself? Will human technology or capabilities ever peak or regress? No one knows the answers to such questions, but no one asks them in a more interesting way than Dan Carlin.
In The End Is Always Near, Dan Carlin looks at questions and historical events that force us to consider what sounds like fantasy; that we might suffer the same fate that all previous eras did. Will our world ever become a ruin for future archaeologists to dig up and explore? The questions themselves are both philosophical and like something out of The Twilight Zone.
Combining his trademark mix of storytelling, history, and weirdness, Dan Carlin connects the past and future in fascinating and colorful ways. At the same time the questions he asks us to consider involve the most important issue imaginable: human survival. From the collapse of the Bronze Age to the challenges of the nuclear era the issue has hung over humanity like a persistent Sword of Damocles.
Inspired by his podcast, The End Is Always Near challenges the way we look at the past and ourselves. In this absorbing compendium, Carlin embarks on a whole new set of stories and major cliffhangers that will keep listeners enthralled. Idiosyncratic and erudite, offbeat yet profound, The End Is Always Near examines issues that are rarely presented, and makes the past immediately relevant to our very turbulent present.
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Post by kemp on Nov 3, 2019 7:58:48 GMT -5
Looks like I have more reading material to chase up, courtesy of darklordbob.
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Post by kemp on Nov 3, 2019 8:02:45 GMT -5
I remember the cold war days of people lying awake worrying about the bomb...we have come a long way. The good ol Duck and cover days
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Post by charleshelm on Nov 3, 2019 15:36:59 GMT -5
Cause everyone knows a school desk will protect you from a nuclear blast...
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Post by kemp on Nov 4, 2019 5:55:35 GMT -5
I think some of these 1950's ads and shorts probably made people even more paranoid.
Self-Preservation in an Atomic Bomb Attack (1950)
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Post by kemp on Nov 6, 2019 14:02:15 GMT -5
I have been trying to find one from the late 40's/1950's where an old couple try to flee their home town, but some guy on the road tells them it is too late, and they have this dramatic concerned look. It was always a favourite of mine, think I seen it on tv in the 90's about some special on the cold war era or something like that. The propaganda ones on the divisions and threats to western civilisation are also worthy of note. 1950's Cold War Propaganda Communism Vs Capitalism Not sure what the modern equivalent would be....maybe globalists versus traditionalists.
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Post by kemp on Nov 16, 2019 7:19:53 GMT -5
Some low lying coastal cities are in danger of sinking due to increasing sea levels. Jakarta is sinking up to 6.7 inches per year due to excessive groundwater pumping. '11 sinking cities that could soon be underwater' www.insider.com/sinking-cities-climate-change-2019-5
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Post by kemp on Nov 16, 2019 7:42:22 GMT -5
The Minion culture, the dominant civilization in the Mediterranean around 3500 years ago, crumbled as a result of the Thera volcanic eruption which created tsunamis 40 feet tall which ravaged islands like Santorini. ‘Thera's eruption was four or five times more powerful than Krakatoa, geologists believe, exploding with the energy of several hundred atomic bombs in a fraction of a second. An absence of human remains and valuables like metal suggest that the Minoan residents of Santorini predicted the eruption and the island was evacuated, but the culture as a whole did not fare as well. Based on the nearby island of Crete, the powerful Minoan civilization declined suddenly soon after Thera blew its top. Tsunamis spawned by the eruption would have swamped its naval fleet and coastal villages first off, historians think. A drop in temperatures caused by the massive amounts of sulphur dioxide spouted into the atmosphere then led to several years of cold, wet summers in the region, ruining harvests. The lethal combination overran every mighty Minoan stronghold in less than 50 years. In just a short time, their peaceful, efficient bureaucracy made way for the warring city-state system of ancient Greece to dominate the Mediterranean. The Aegean would turn out to be a fundamental building block for the history of Europe, and the Minoan decline changed its early foundation completely.’ www.livescience.com/4846-eruption-thera-changed-world.htmlThe ancient buried bronze age settlement of Akrotiri, Santorini
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Post by kemp on Dec 7, 2019 23:40:01 GMT -5
Sometimes foreign invasion brings about the collapse of a civilisation, or it might act as a catalyst when there are inherent problems in the civilisation being 'invaded', for instance the Spanish conquest of the Aztec empire. The Aztecs had a particularly complex culture and religion, had their sports, a capital built on canals, all before it was swept away instantly. Now the Aztecs were not a particularly popular bunch, subject tribes were always revolting against them, the Empire ruled by fear, constant sacrificial rituals to appease their blood thirsty gods. Cortes with a coalition of Spanish forces and native tributaries, such as the Totonacs and Tlaxcaltecas, conquered the Aztecs in 1521. Revolts in the city and the spread of small pox sped up the whole process. This was part of the start of the Spanish Empire and formation of new New Spain, later Mexico.
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Post by kemp on Dec 10, 2019 8:23:39 GMT -5
The Inca civilization had grown from a group of settlers in 1200 to the largest empire in Pre-Columbian America. The Incas had built more than 18,600 miles of paved roads in the most rugged terrain in the world uniting different cultures and religions into a society with a centralized economy. The collapse of the Incan empire started with the arrival of the Spaniards in the 1500’s, who introduced diseases that wiped out much of the population, weakening the means to agriculture, also communication between the northern and southern parts of the empire. The ensuing chaos created infighting and a civil war which further weakened the empire which allowed the Spanish conquistadors to take advantage of the situation and help destroy the Empire.
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Post by kemp on Dec 10, 2019 8:32:11 GMT -5
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Post by Char-Vell on Dec 11, 2019 8:29:05 GMT -5
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