Well actually we fixed Egypt, China, and India to a small extent, through economy. Egypt 20-30 years ago was not a place to be, and was about as dangerous or more than Iraq and Afghanistan. We build them a little dam, look how things turn around. And we sequentially gave all nations their indipendance, even though prior to this they still had almost entire control over their own countries. Props for honesty. Science & technology do evolve through new generations much faster than people, and to an extent this is an exponential growth (although mathmatically it cannot be, given the levels of stability that have lasted hundreds of years(peaks and troughs)). My philosophy is that in todays world it is only a matter of time. Nuclear fusion is being developed in tens of countries in the world, using completely unique methods. In America you are trying to concentrate stupendous levels of light into a single point, to excite particles to temperatures stable for fusion. In the UK and South Korea we are trying to contain nuclear plasma in magnetic fields. Nuclear fusion is SO god dam safe. Honestly, it requires such an immense temperature just to function (tens of millions of degrees, with start-up temperature of hundreds of millions of degrees), and if something happens to break the field or affect the machine, it's stability will be compromised and the temperature will drop immediately, ending the nuclear reaction.
I certainly won't deny that we are on the eve of a major breakthrough, but I do want to recognize that oil production will decline and all of the goods we rely on, our infrastructure and may of the ways we manufacture and package products is because of oil. I'm not sure what applications a fusion reactor could provide in such a transitory state. (As in one where we ween from oil to fusion energy.) I'm also curious to see how the human population will be affected by fusion energy. Can you imagine the explosion of growth?
Fossil fuels -> Renewable/Nuclear Energy Plastic -> Nanocarbon They both need to happen, it would be ludicrous to say that we have stopped fossil fuel consumption for energy and transportation, when we still rely heavily on plastic in manufacturing.
Oh yea I know, I get it. Oil has been the means for, well everything. The entire global infrastructure has been built on it.
Just thought I'd pop in. I love reading this thread, and if I had any strong opinions on the main topic, I'd appear a bit more frequently. But I digress. Nuclear fusion is far closer than most people imagine. Here in New Mexico, at the Sandia Labs, it's been performed several different times in several different ways. Specifically with the use of the Z-Machine, which in a nutshell, uses the strength of two fission explosions to create fusion. And there are a bunch of lasers involved and stuff. But my point being this: Technology IS evolving at an exponential rate, faster than most of us even know thanks to the secrecy of the facilities like the Sandia Labs and such. Fusion is just on the horizon.
China has a large economy and military. Doesn't make it a world power. Economy isn't the only thing that makes a world power powerful. Japan has had a stagnant economy for two decades. China might be headed the same way in five. The most idiotic thing I've heard regarding NK, aside from the always entertaining "Nuke 'em!" Killin him would do nothing as he as a whole ring of die hard insiders ready with his personal will that details three things: Launch codes, launch destinations and his son's promotion to supreme motherfucker of the world. Isn't that a quote from Clancy? To add my viewpoint, I have a simple answer. Yes. And no. Yes, America should be the world power, some people and countries need to get poked in the face. No, America should not be the world power, you guys can't seem to do it just right. but, finally, yes. We need someone trying and failing more than nobody doing it and having **** go down. I get the impression that this thread is more of a Geopolitics and International Affairs thread with a bit of Energy thrown in.
Dunno why I actually came all the way down the forum to see this, but glanced over this and had a good laugh at what you kids say about America. Do you honestly believe that America is sticking their noses into everything on purpose? You kids have zero idea how things actually work in the real world. We have our own issues in the US. Other countries come to us and ask for our assistance in matters. You wanna know why America sticks their noses in? Trade agreements, resources, and politics. Countries hold those over our heads. It's why America is so heavily vested in other countries and why the economy of the world is tied to America's economic depression. What happens when America doesn't help the Allies in WW2? Either they all become part of greater Germany and we lose trade partners, or they survive and all say... screw America. They didn't help us so we'll reduce imports from them. In turn, the US says... fine we'll reduce imports from you so Americans buy American products. America loses new money coming into our country, other countries lose a major source of new money coming into their economy. Rook, during the Cold War do you honestly think America was trying to force it's ways on another country? That's the most naive thing I've read. Ever hear of the Cuban Missile Crisis? Don't know about you, but I sure as hell won't sit back as someone puts a nuke in my backyard. Do you realize how many countries came looking to the US for help as Russia started lining up their borders with troops. Other countries came to the US because the US is equipped to help. What happens if North Korea decides to use a nuke? How many other countries could be easily targeted? Japan, Taiwan, Phillipines, China, India, Russia... Of those countries, how many do you think could easily deal with it? Probably only China. How many of those countries do the US have strong diplomatic ties with? Most of them. Nearly all of them rely on the US for economic support and the US heavily exports to most of them. Other countries come to America looking for help because we have a history of helping. Russia tried to compete, but was unable to keep up due to staying isolated for so long. China also is staying isolated and doesn't try to involve itself in worldly affairs. By default, most countries come to the US looking for help, because of that. Do we always get it right? No. Just like everyone else, we make mistakes, but at least we offer the help. It's not always just about our expansionist greed. Most countries wouldn't be where they are if not for the revenue gained by exporting to the US. It works both ways.
About the only reason why China would survive a nuke is because of cultural differences. They simply don't hold human life in the same high regard as Westerners do. You also missed mentioning South Korea as a potential target.
I see this will end up being a futile response, but I'll continue...kid. As an American, yes I do and this is the real world. We are apart of it, although not playing an active role, by which our inactivity is playing an active part. Iraq did not approach the U.S. for help, nor did Afghanistan. And before you shout terrorits, the majority of the 9-11 terrorists came from Saudi Arabia. We're in Iraq for the Oil. As for Afghanistan, if t could be to monopolize on Opium or control the vast mineral resource wealth we "seemed" to have discovered while over there. I digress though. So, we do it on purpose, is what you're saying. Either we're coerced into it, although let's be real here, no diabolical dictator or diplomat is manipulating the U.S. without the U.S. getting something it really wants in return, whether that be trade agreement, bases, involuntary servitude of the people (that's topic deserves a better in-depth explanation, but it makes sense, well it's more an effect than anything else). We were helping the Allies, it was American sentiment to isolate ourselves and our economy. We hadn't quite hit the mega industrialized stride yet, but I can honestly say that we did not enter the war for monetary reasons. I.E. Pearl Harbor. Yes, on several occaisions we forced out hand in Korea and Vietnam. If I had a stack of CIA files I could bet we forced our hand in other matters as well. I mean it happened on the Russian front too, but it's naive to think that the U.S. did little to become expansionist. Well, I doubt the Cuban Missile Crisis would have a risen if we hadn't done two things, ***** slapped Castro, because we didn't need him, or had missiles of our own in Russia's backyard. This is a lot of speculation on a big what-if, but I can see that. We do have open channels with a lot of Asian countries where-as NK does not. If something like that were to happen, I could see China taking the oppurtunity to show off it's military prowess. Eh. I disagree, I think it's more like leaders recognize that they have a valuable resource and offer the U.S. rights/trade agreements on it if they help suppress a Civil War etc. Basically, we just set up a dictatorship under our control. Look at Somolia, that was probably the only engagement where we weren't their to further our own interests and we didn't get the job done, pulled out instead. I've learned that things are better measured by their consequences than good intentions. I also think that modern U.S. global politics does not revolve around the strength of our hearts, but on the strength of the dollar. I wouldn't say that the country prospers. In fact it's quite the opposite. I think Saudi Arabia is the best and longest running example of this. People there are rotting under the dictatorial royal family, which we help set up in the promise of Oil. We made them super wealthly, they gave us Oil. Naturally this leads to civil unrest, so we give them advanced weaponry. This happens for years and ferments in the minds of young militants. The cause for poverty is the royal family, but the root cause of the whole mess is the U.S. It all started out on the good intention of good business and I think that if the prospectors then could see the mess of things today they would have refused.
The reason I refer to everyone as "kids" is because I can guarantee that I'm older than 95% of the people in this forum, if I'm not already the oldest. Being a fellow American, I'm pretty sure that you and I can agree that this whole thing was due to the idiot that rode his father's popularity to get into office. It's no secret that Bush Jr. had a knee-jerk reaction to 9/11 and carried out everything else to add to his retirement fund since we all know how heavily invested he was in the oil industry. Americans shouldn't be entirely judged by the one idiot that royally screwed things up. The fact that such an idiot could actually slip through all the cracks and end up in the White House was bound to happen sooner or later. Who'd have ever thought we'd ever have a President, that is susceptible to the Jedi Mind Trick, could fall through the cracks. Kudos to the Republican Party for getting a puppet that they could control in the White House. There aren't many Presidents that you can honestly say Arnold Schwarzenegger or Jesse Ventura would have been more sane choices, when looking back. As for Saddam, I hope you can agree that any country would pray for assistance when your leader allows your military to literally rape your women. Iraq has been asking for US assistance to overthrow Saddam since the Gulf War. I know that Americans wanted to stay out of the war, but once Japan dragged us into the war... I'm pretty sure that the Allies then started saying, "Since you're already invested in this war, help us out in Europe in exchange for this or that." Once America took out Japan, the threat to Americans was over. There was no need to expand our involvement into the war without having some kind of incentive thrown in our laps, especially with all those Allied leaders spending so much time in the US trying to coerce us into helping them. US involvement in Korea was a UN decision. Considering this started 5 years after WWII and most of Europe was still recovering from their losses, it's only plausible that the US was the only military in the UN capable of sending in enough support. Vietnam initially was North Vietnam against French forces... backed by the US. France eventually backed out early in the conflict. The US involvement in Vietnam was more of a chance to save face with our allies to help curtail the spread of Communism. Most of those missiles we had set-up in Russia's backyard were most likely part of the agreements with Allies in WWII... to keep another European invasion from occurring. This kind of thing happens in American politics as much as it does in World politics... you agree to pass this bill, I'll support you on this bill. But let's face it... every country comes to the US when it needs a handout. This is why there was such a huge change in Congress last election. Americans want us to become more isolationist and start taking care of our own ****. We can't take care of our own citizens if we keep giving our tax money to other countries who hang trade agreements and other **** over our heads. Modern U.S. global politics revolves around getting re-elected, which usually revolves in getting campaign funds from the rich, who only get richer by having better export trade agreements and cheaper labor forces in other countries with no tax penalties. You can't blame the US for their problems. There's always people that are gonna take advantage and warp a situation. You can blame the US for being naive, but what leader in their right mind wouldn't turn down an opportunity to have Saudi Arabia, with all their oil, in their back pocket? I did thoroughly enjoy reading your post rusty. I just wish more posts in this thread were as thought out as yours... which was my initial point when referring to everyone as "kids". I think I had my fill of politics for my entire life. I'm done with this thread before I get a headache.
Being the oldest doesn't automatically give you my or anyone else's respect. Referring to forum goers as 'kids' certainly won't either. I do respect people that are older than me, but not when they convey an attitude that demands it. Well at the time he did have support of Congress, so it isn't entirely his fault. I do agree that all out war is not the answer, I think a police action would have been a better choice. To be fair, Saddam is a demon the U.S. created, but he's dead now and the U.S. have no intention of leaving our 90 billion barrel Oil reserve. Compromise is an important part of getting things done, but I don't think the U.S.'s involvement in the Middle East could be considered 'compromise'. Deals are made, shady deals that make certain people wealthy and certain people powerful. That's the nature of business though. Well yea, if I were a business owner I would want to look for the cheapest way to manufacture goods to keep cost low in a competitive market. That's just as much a reflection on business as it is on the American culture. We demand it, so they give it to us as cheap as possible. That doesn't mean they should be kept in check, but as citizens we can make a bigger impact with our wallets than with electing an official who doesn't do anything. It would be nice to see an elected official stab corporations in the back. That kind of brings me on a tangent though, I was talking to someone the other day about Andrew Carnegie and how brilliant he was at business. Yes, he was a greedy bastard, but he built an empire by himself. In some ways that's very respectable that someone could build something of that magnitude. I won't blame all of the problems entirely, but to act like we weren't a cause for what has happened there is naive too. It sucks cause we're so dependent that we have to support evil regimes. It really does suck and I look forward to the day when the U.S. and other countries can become energy independent. I got the point, it's just a bit disrespectful to others and something that doesn't gain respect back no matter how frustrating things can be. Fair enough. I don't like politics either, but I think it's always a good idea to be in the know so that you can be prepared. Plus, I like looking towards the future while remembering the past, so that mistakes aren't repeated.
But America is steadily declining and losing its grip on the world yet it is still considered a world power? I fail to see how China isn't a world power.
To be a world power one needs the respect and influence over a lot of countries in many aspects. China does not enjoy that respect with Europe. Sure, some European countries may bend over backwards for China's goods, but that does not engender respect. China cannot tell or advise Europe what to do. America has that ability. See the Coalition of the Willing. (invasion of middle east) America also has/had the military crunch to get most of the world on their side. I never said that America wasn't in decline, they are. I am simply saying that Economic prowess does not equal a World Power. A world power needs to have across the board strengths. China does not have across the board strengths.
What about the fact that alot of the American leaders that declared the "War on Terror" have money tied up in military corporations such as lockheed martin which make profit from war. There's no good side or bad side, just alot of grey area and at the end of the day it all boils down to human nature. War will be a constant on this planet until humans make the next evolutionary leap in a long time from now, if we make it that far. Being a good human is much more important than being a patriotic __________, most patriotism is the result of propaganda that convinces the poor to go fight and die on behalf of the rich's vested interests. There is only one true way to divide and classify the human race, and it's not by nationality, race, religion or creed, there are the powerful and the powerless. That's my two cents.
The US has little power over Asia when compared to China, China is also moving on Africa. Yes America has influence, but very little actual power.
You honestly believe that America had that much influence on WWII? yeah sure you did your part but if you hadn't bothered showing up, Russia was still sitting there ready to crush Germany. Seriously, America's contribution was nothing compared to Russia, especially when you look at the Battle of Kursk (aka largest single battle ever of all time). Speaking of which, America is the world power, thus I view America as the new Rome and furthermore that it needs to be careful as to not bring itself down at some point in the near future.
I have yet to see why America got involved in WW2 at all. As far as I know, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor because of land Expansion, nothing to do with the war at that time.
I believe that anyone who is older than you should be respected by you. However, due to the fact that you're calling 95% of the forum "kids", you have no respect from me. And maturity is more important than age. I see a lack of maturity from you, if you are dissing us all without being provoked by us.