At this point I consider just about anything from the Washington Post to be questionable.
If they wrote that the sky is blue, I'd step outside to check for myself.
I suppose the bare facts presented are probably mostly accurate, but they've likely been presented in the most tendentious way possible.
My iPod tells me what color the sky is, if I have a wireless connection. It doesn't have a button for "civilian-military relations in China."
presented in the most tendentious way possible.
Gates: Hu wants to tell me about your recent J-20 test flight.
Chinese official: Who do you want to tell you?
4: There's probably an app for that.
I should write a "bad pun" app. You type in a word and it suggests bad puns, prioritized according to either closeness of the phonetic match or face-smacking stupidity.
7: You'd need to set up some way for people to pay $0.99 in order to keep it off someone else's phone.
8: Back home, somebody decided to have a raffle where the prize was a goat. This was very successful because of the buying tickets for other people thing. Plus, it turns out that there is usually somebody who wants the goat and all they had to do was ask the winner and they got a free goat out of it.
9: Ah, yes. That story was later popularized in the book and subsequent film, The Men Whose Dare Had Goats.
I seem to recall that a group of neocons wanted to push us towards war with China back before they decided that a war with Iraq was good enough, and I believe that they were always welcome in the editorial pages to the WP.
So anything from that quarter that amounts to "China...BOOGA BOOGA!!!" is worth taking with a grain of salt.
My friend at an Air Force think-tank in D.C. told me the US had classified China as the next credible enemy about thirty years ago.
Near as I can tell, they are that, and they're going to win.
China as the next credible enemy
Is it because they hate our freedom? I haven't heard about anyone hating our freedom lately, so we're probably about due for a new freedom hater.
12: Nobody put Biohazard in charge of morale.
If they wrote that the sky is blue, I'd step outside to check for myself.
The difference with the British press: in Britain, you'd put on a raincoat first in case they were deliberately trying to get you out into the rain. Although, come to think of it, the Post did the same thing but it was mortars raining down.
12 sounds like a very zero-sum way of looking at the world.
In 2D, the world does look like a zero.
I seem to recall that a group of neocons wanted to push us towards war with China back before they decided that a war with Iraq was good enough
Oh, definitely. Remember all the brouhaha around the EP-3 that forcelanded on Hainan in April 2001.
To a 2D creature, the world would look like a 1.
Here's some dirt on the writer, but not relating to his grasp of Chinese politics (Zhongnanhaiology?).
The People's Liberation Army undertook the first test flight of the J-20 aircraft prototype at an airfield in western China, signaling the military's opposition to Gates's trip and to U.S. efforts to improve military connections between the countries.
Or, you know, signalling their desire to test their new plane.
12.2:Win what?
The war, the competition, the race for biggest GDP of all anywhere...the resources to build the three $40 trillion dollar Arks that will in 2050 protect the escape of 1000 oligarchs and 10,000 servants from the drowning flaming coughing cinder of an Earth destroyed in the process of building the Arks.
I hope they remember to get two of each kind of oligarchs, so they can mate.
OK, what I know about Party/PLA relations could be written on the back of a postage stamp in 14pt type, but how about:
China has been developing this top secret military aircraft for years (not in itself an act of aggression, more playing catch up). The manufacturers have had a test schedule penciled in since late 2009 (frex), and this date had been agreed at some trouble as one that all the engineers and military stakeholders could do. Nobody on the development team or the procurement unit had more than just about heard of Robert Gates at that point, and had no idea he would be visiting China. They didn't want to tell the politicians about the first flight because there was a non-zero chance it would go spectacularly tits up, and the politicians could be relied on to break radio silence too soon if there seemed to be advantage in doing so.
Sounds like SOP to me.
The PLA leadership are all Party members, aren't they? The relationship between civilians and the military is that they both answer to the CCP, at least in theory.
You guys must use big postage stamps across the pond.
because there was a non-zero chance it would go spectacularly tits up
Like a Maxim photoshoot.
We cannot afford an oligarch gap!
Should I cancel my vacation plans for Quemoy and Matsu?
24.2, 25: I happened upon that on cable last night as I was on the couch detoxing from travel, and holy shit I had no idea what a freaking mess that movie was. I mean way beyond even the mess it seemed from the ads. Every disaster movie cliche ever done redone especially poorly, awful CGI and effects, and John "he disowned it, right?" Cusack outruns the Laws of Physics both literally and in various insultingly ludicrous vehicles with snappy one-liners while millions meet their America's Funniest Home Video deaths in the immediate vicinity but it turns out in the end that everything went better than expected. It was one of the most brutalizing things I've ever seen.
If you have to ask what an oligarch gap costs you can;t afford one.
Who better to provide information about the current state of Chinese civilian-military relations than a bunch of completely uninformed procrastinators, almost all of whom speak no Chinese. It's the wisdom of crowds.
34: I didn't watch Hot Tub Time Machine clear to the end.
37: So. John Cusack has jumped the crevasse.
34: The Armageddon is not a tea party.
36: So you're saying I shouldn't publish the post I was writing, suggesting we try to figure out cold fusion in the comments section?
24.2 is about a movie? That's disappointing. I thought it was just bob being awesome. (Waesome?)
40: That's just Halford's inner caveman coming out.
36: Halford is the early Wittgenstein of Unfogged. Not so sure about late Wittgenstein.
41: Actually, I think it's kind of a mashup.
44: Not nearly as mashed as Nicolas Cage movies have been.
43: Who knew that Wittgenstein had opinions about 21st century IP disputes. The man was truly ahead of his time.
The PRC cannot make a reliable high-performance jet engine. They use Russian kits or reverse-engineered copies of these kits. There have been repeated sustained postings of this airplane's photographs within China, in contrast to say copies of Zhao Ziyang's memoirs. China also cannot make quiet submarines; the main base is at Hainan.
China is much more interested in Taiwan than in US politics ex-Taiwan. Superior Chinese weapons newly publicized will likely lead to the US granting Taiwanese requests to purchase better weapons.
43: Halford is the early Wittgenstein of Unfogged
This is the most singularly incomprehensible statement I've ever seen on unfogged.
The abstract linked in 43 is, on the other hand, bold. Bold, I say. Not to mention a strange use of the word "reticence."
The PLA's aggressive rhetoric reminds me of Imperial Germany's early 20th Century demands for "a place in the sun". Newly powerful, demanding that the previous players yield ground on the world stage. I think that ended badly.
The PRC cannot make a reliable high-performance jet engine.
I'd guess that the market for reliable low-performance jet engines isn't very good but is better than the market for unreliable high-performance jet engines.
Sorry guys, just in a bad mood. Should I drive home because I can't remember whether or not I turned off the broiler this morning? I probably did, right? I've managed to get nothing whatsoever done today yet.
Cavemen had broilers? What, did they hang some torches from the stalactites or something?
unreliable high-performance jet engines.
Why do you say this? Consider the market in unreliable high-tech terrorism detection equipment, or the market for military parades.
Also, fuck you, Parsi, I totally am like Wittgenstein, only way smarter.
Is a J-20 as cool as a G6? Which is more affordable to party people?
Halford is the early Wittgenstein of Unfogged.
The man lived quite a few years (some of them during WWI) before the Tractatus
* In college, my friends and I pronounced it "Whittingsteen," because we were pretentious prats.
I totally am like Wittgenstein, only way smarter.
Please tell me that this is tattooed on you somewhere.
There was more to 56, including a charming play on "mitteleuropäische" and an allusion to the "Woeful Wittgenstein wends..." story from Ray Monk's biography, but whatever.
I refuse to believe that 34 describes an actual, existing movie.
Is a J-20 as cool as a G6? Which is more affordable to party people?
When it comes to conspicuous consumption, I don't think a stealth jet is the way to go. Affordable isn't either.
When it comes to conspicuous consumption, I don't think a stealth jet is the way to go.
Parody non-display?
Also, fuck you, Parsi, I totally am like Wittgenstein, only way smarter.
Put the poker down, dude.
Orange post title opportunity!: we should all work on pioneering a line of aviation-based party people sayings along the lines of "feeling fly like a G6".
"I dropped the bomb like a B-2"
"I was ghost like an F-22"
"Phat like an A380"
"Feeling Tweety like a Jetpack."
(I guess I'm supposed to be using model numbers. Oops.)
Spy like a U2? or will Bono be offended?
"Make love like an F-15 Strike Eagle falling out of the sky"
That was me, also:
"Going to the break of dawn like a KC-135"
56: The man lived quite a few years (some of them during WWI) before the Tractatus
I am Jack's total lack of giving a shit.
54: Also, fuck you, Parsi, I totally am like Wittgenstein, only way smarter.
I haven't caught up with the thread, but this means we have to have an affair, or else smack each other once or twice. Or else you this tattooed on you somewhere.
...annnnd I did drive home, and the broiler was off. Fuck!
60: I refuse to believe that 34 describes an actual, existing movie.
The dog makes it. The black president stays behind. Kusack drives a stretch limo *through* a floor of a collapsing skyscraper. Later he says, "We're going to need a bigger plane."
Professor West: The equalization of the oceanic seabeds has not turned out to be as extreme as we expected. The waters are receding much faster than we thought, thank God. And this is hard to believe, the Himalayas are no longer the roof of the world. It's now the Drakensberg mountains of KwaZulu-Natal.
Adrian Helmsley: The entire African continent has risen.
Professor West: Several thousand feet, and likely never even flooded.
Captain Michaels: That's why they call it the Cape of Good Hope. We've already set course for it.
Oops, spoiler alert.
73: Too bad your kitchen wasn't on fire so you didn't waste the trip?
have an affair, or else smack each other once or twice. Or else you this tattooed on you somewhere
Why choose? Let's not limit ourselves.
NASA/JPL just held an invitation-only lecture and discussion series for big name Hollywood producers and directors, in the hopes of getting movies to semi-reflect things that are at least tenuously connected to scientific reality. According to a guy I know who works at JPL, the insane badness of 2012 was one of the prompts for the conference -- it offended some scientists so much that they decided they had to do something.
74: If "Professor West" there is Cornel West playing himself, I would totally watch it.
I'm really charmed that Halford broils his breakfast. No cereal eater he!
have an affair, . . . smack each other once or twice . . . . [get] this tattooed on you somewhere
That's a Crossfit routine, isn't it?
it offended some scientists so much that they decided they had to do something.
I wondered if they used orange post titles to organize?
78: They haven't come up with a meat-based cereal yet.
Alfie's Bits (came from a wildebeest named Alfie).
From the article: "The civilian leadership seemed surprised by the test," Gates said Wednesday during a visit to the Great Wall, adding that Hu "assured me it had nothing to do with the visit."
Actually I think it's a bit more subtle. Pictures of the J-20 in ground tests were showing up on the internet in the last week of December. It was even in Aviation Week! So the test flight couldn't have been a surprise to Hu and the civilian leadership. What's interesting is, assuming Hu didn't want it to happen during Gates' visit, that the PLA did it anyway.
Of course it might not be so ominous... it could be that the civilian leadership and the PLA decided to split the difference: they fly the jet, but without making a big official announcement.
Still, the J-20 hits a nerve in the US, because of problems with the JSF (F-35) and the end of production of the F-22.
Ack! Of course that should have been Mice Crispies. What was I thinking?!
87, 88: How to stretch your meat budget?
Horny Bunches of Goats
Moo Berry
Cap'n Haunch
It *should* have been Mice Krispies, and I was just about to suggest that one. So it's not pwnage if I helped.
Gorilla, Munched.
I love these.
See what happens when you set a bad example, heebie???
Horny Bunches of Goats
I don't think this is a cereal.
98: Don't make me throw an epic shit-fit.
104 should have come from Opinionated Swift.
104, 105: Nice!
Meatabix
Corned Beef Chex
Meat Chex
Mice Chex
107: Or maybe Lucky Arms, or Lucky Marmots, Ducky Charms.
Combine those cereals into a party snack and you have Chicks Mix
Fun Fact: cereal names translated into other languages almost always sound hilarious! We used to do this at my Russian summer program. "Везучие тализмани!" No, trust me, it sounds really funny.
Silly rabbit, Trix are from kids.
"Product 19" could be made of pretty much anything. Kind of a creepy name, when you think about it.
136: I was trying to figure out a Special K one. Well done!
I did not realize this thread was about to change topic so dramatically...
I did not realize this thread was about to change topic so dramatically...
You're new here, am I right?
Not really. I'm more of the lurking type, though.
140: It was Halford that turned your broiler off, not me.
I want my Prey Toe!
You can't have one without someone else having to give one up. The situation is a Prey Toe optimal equillibrium.
17, et al: Do any of y'all see anything in the history books that encourages optimism when it comes to Great Power conflicts? I can think of only one, the lack of a nuclear exchange with the Soviet Union.
The species doesn't have many inhibitions about killing and is able to rationalize damn near anything, no matter how screwy the idea.
I can think of only one, the lack of a nuclear exchange with the Soviet Union.
France and England -- mortal enemies since the rise of he nation state -- never fought another war after the Congress of Vienna (though they came close a couple of times, e.g. over Morocco).
I DON'T CARE IF ALL THE GOOD JOKES HAVE BEEN TAKEN I MISSED THE SUBTHREAD
re: 147- see my 49. Another potential Continental hegemon arrived on scene after the unification of Germany.
re: Morrocan crisis. I will go out on a limb and say that I am probably the only one in this forum who lurves The Wind and the Lion
152: Evidence of the efficacy of balance of power, no? (Yes, I'm aware of the unfortunate events subsequent to August 1914.)
WWI WAS ONLY A BIG DEAL BECAUSE THE BRITS STUPIDLY DECIDED TO BACK THE FROGS INSTEAD OF JUST LETTING THEM GET THEIR ASSES HANDED TO THEM BY THE JERRYS AND SITTING BACK AND LETTING THE SCOTS RUN THE EMPIRE.
Just keep on keepin' on...like a C-130, or a DC-3 with the retrofit turboprops.
I bet you wish your girlfriend was so hot like the VC10. Now that's a good looking aeroplane.
MAYBE THAT SHOULD BE ARSES IM KINDA CONFUSED ABOUT THE TRANSATLANTIC THING SINCE I CAME TO HARVARD.
Ass is closer to the original French.
152.2:Sheet
Keith, Connery, Bergen and Deborah Baxter's only other film besides High Wind in Jamaica...what is not to love?
what is not to love
The jingoism? The Orientalism? It does have some great lines.
161:Milius was always more complicated than that. I think. It's been decades, but I remember it as portraying cultures absurd in their nostalgia, and dying of it. Baxter may have been cast thematically.
Teddy buried his Romance with his son around 1918.
Okay, after a little research, maybe Walter Sobchak/Bob Howard/John Milius isn't all that ironic. But maybe he is, being a good friend of the Coens and all. Philosophical pessimism can be tough, accepting that all is dire, death and destruction while still hating the world as it is. The fucking flames can fascinate.
Now I'm depressed. Fuck you Milius.
