America - REALLY????

[Jacob]

Just a detail (but a big one)

"What Trump said:
We have a public health system that does not deliver in times of disaster, yet more money is spent on it than any country anywhere in the world."

The facts: Trump is correct. The US does spend more on healthcare per capita, almost twice the average of other wealthy countries.
But can Trump deliver?
I think he will fail on every front and enrage his moronic supporters, but they will blame the left, immigrants, the wokerati, anybody, as they always do, and drift further right into deeper insanity.
Just a thought; will he grant Luigi Mangione a pardon? He attacked the problem literally, in a way that Trump should be able to understand!

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/20/trump-inaugural-address-factcheck

 

[Doris]

They joined WW1 in April 1917. Some would say just in time to grab the glory! It had come to light that Germany had proposed an anti-US alliance with Mexico.

Arguably, it was a significant factor in breaking the deadlock.

I see! Thank you for enlightening me

 

[AJBaker]

I think I prefer Stalin's assessment of how the war was won. It's often imperfectly translated as "British brains, American brawn, and Russian blood."

The imperfection in the translation is American "brawn" - that is to be read as a reference to their industrial output as opposed to a quality of the troops.

British brains is often cited as Bletchley Park but he lacked a full understanding of that and has to be considered more broadly, e.g. radar, the SOE and even things like Mulberry for the D Day landings.

Russian blood is self explanatory, their body count was enormous, although it should be noted that military doctrine didn't put the same priority on preserving manpower. It seems to be a cultural thing, today Russian casualties vastly outnumber the Ukrainians in that conflict.

I'd heard of "British intelligence (inventions+code breaking), American steel (industry and production) and Russian blood".
It doesn't alliterate as well, but makes a bit more sense.

This made me curious, so I tried to find the original quote by Stalin in Russian, and it seems that it was "английское упрямство, американская техника и русская кровь" which instead would translate to "English stubbornness/persistence, American technology/industry, and Russian blood."

The only part that remains constant is "Russian blood", though even that is sometimes (more correctly) referred to as "Soviet blood".

One thing to remember about the Soviet Union is that although Russia was by far the most important part of it, there were 15 other parts, including Ukraine, Kasakhstan and Belarus, who fought and bled just as much as Russia, if not more. Equating the Soviet Union with Russia is a bit like equating the UK with England (which Stalin does in his quote).

 

[mudman]

And yet he was also convicted of the EXACT same thing in the UK as well- amazing that the Democrats could influence a UK court.... is there no end to their perfidy???

I can't find anything about that. Do you have a link?

 

[Jacob]

And yet he was also convicted of the EXACT same thing in the UK as well- ......

Really? Some mistake surely?

Or is it simply that he is a crook, has always been a crook- and trumptards are simply too dumb/evil themselves to notice (or they approve- which doesn't say much about their own morals...)

Absolutely! But you can see the attraction of the promise of direct fast action, even allowing for a bit of rule/law bending.
It's a pity the moderates/left are so timid - they could promise similarly and with a good chance of actually implement sensible policies.
Biden was a waste of space and Harris was too cautious.
Easy to forget that America was founded on socialism (in theory)

 

[Fergie 307]

Most of which was already obsolete at the time, and much of which needed repairs before it could be used...

Really, where does that idea come from?Most of the equipment supplied was brand new, tanks, aircraft, guns. Not to mention fuel and raw materials.
Thousands of Merlin engines to give just one example, in fact over a third of those produced were made in the US by Packard.
No one at the time could remotely compete with the industrial capacity of the US.
They also supplied tens of thousands of trucks to the Soviets, as well as tanks aircraft and other weapons.
Something often overlooked is the supply of heavy machinery, machine tools and raw materials. So the Soviets could not have built the enormous numbers of tanks and aircraft needed without the assistance given by the US. And they too didn't finish paying their lend lease debts until I think 2006 or thereabouts.
Roosevelt' s comment about the US being the "arsenal of democracy" was very true.

 

[Fergie 307]

But we are an island, just resort to the siege tactic's used in the past to capture your enemy holed up in their castle. It might have taken time but during this time you are rebuilding your military.

And had Doenitz had the number of submarines he wanted the outcome of the battle of the Atlantic might have been very different.
Fortunately Hitler preferred more sexy projects like Bismarck and Tirpitz, an enormous waste of resources.

 

[Orraloon]

Joe public has been ripped off by the elites. Wages too low, cost of living too high. Along comes a snake oil seller with a long red tie who can fix things. Fill the Whitehouse with non elected mega rich one of who just publicly did a strange ''Roman'' salute. Don't know about the rest of you but I am feeling really worried.
Regards
john

 

[Chris152]

Joe public has been ripped off by the elites. Wages too low, cost of living too high. Along comes a snake oil seller with a long red tie who can fix things. Fill the Whitehouse with non elected mega rich one of who just publicly did a strange ''Roman'' salute. Don't know about the rest of you but I am feeling really worried.
Regards
john

This one? If it weren't for his funding and support of the far right in Europe, I guess it could be overlooked. I'd think Freud would see it as a kind of 'slip of the tongue'. Oops, did I say what I was thinking deep down?

 

[Dabop]

I can't find anything about that. Do you have a link?

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-66933929

 

[Cabinetman]

And yet he was also convicted of the EXACT same thing in the UK as well- amazing that the Democrats could influence a UK court.... is there no end to their perfidy???

Or is it simply that he is a crook, has always been a crook- and trumptards are simply too dumb/evil themselves to notice (or they approve- which doesn't say much about their own morals...)

Er, no. Just wrong. More misinformation about him. But that’s Scotland! Another nut job politically.

 

[Chris152]

Er, no. Just wrong. More misinformation about him. Sounds like you Australians need a Trump figure to get rid of all the nonsense.

Well, it looks like an error - it was in the US, not the UK. It is rather tricky trying to keep up with all his court cases. And nobody needs a trump figure, that's just nonsense.

 

[Dabop]

Really, where does that idea come from?Most of the equipment supplied was brand new, tanks, aircraft, guns. Not to mention fuel and raw materials.
Thousands of Merlin engines to give just one example, in fact over a third of those produced were made in the US by Packard.
No one at the time could remotely compete with the industrial capacity of the US.
They also supplied tens of thousands of trucks to the Soviets, as well as tanks aircraft and other weapons.
Something often overlooked is the supply of heavy machinery, machine tools and raw materials. So the Soviets could not have built the enormous numbers of tanks and aircraft needed without the assistance given by the US. And they too didn't finish paying their lend lease debts until I think 2006 or thereabouts.
Roosevelt' s comment about the US being the "arsenal of democracy" was very true.

I was talking about the Lend/Lease ones (which were what was only recently paid off)...
To quote

The initial agreement was hugely beneficial to the Americans, but it is conceivable that, without these additional escorts, the Battle of the Atlantic might have had a different outcome. Nevertheless, whilst the initial transfer of 49 Town-class destroyers undoubtedly had a utility in increasing the number of escorts, they were a mixed blessing. The ships required considerable modification to fit them for their role as escorts, and they were not popular with their crews. Indeed, the living conditions in these WWI era ships were appalling in even mildly poor weather, the ship-handling was a considerable challenge, and, with obsolete machinery and numerous electrical and wiring defects, they were prone to breakdowns (one Captain described his ship as “the most dubious gift since the Trojan Horse”).

https://www.naval-review.com/book-r...navys-american-built-destroyers-and-frigates/
I'll try and see if I can find a letter from a UK Admiral at the time, who was equally underwhelmed by them....

 

[Dabop]

Er, no. Just wrong. More misinformation about him. But that’s Scotland! Another nut job politically.

And of course he was 'infamous' here in Oz back in the 1980's...

Damn those pesky Democrats- time traveling back to the 1980's to malign his orange godness trump...

 

[mudman]

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-66933929

That was relating to his US court case, not him up in front of the beak here.

 

[Orraloon]

This one? If it weren't for his funding and support of the far right in Europe, I guess it could be overlooked. I'd think Freud would see it as a kind of 'slip of the tongue'. Oops, did I say what I was thinking deep down?

It would not be overlooked here In Oz. So far at least it would still be regarded as a hate crime and and he would be up for arrest. We have had a spate of anti semitic acts here with a preschool being burned westerday. Nod and a wink does not cut it. Not seeing the funny side. Still politicians being what they are I guess it wont be long before ours are in line to pay homage to the big orange too.
Sad Sad world.

 

[Dabop]

He has a (still outstanding afaik) legal judgement over him issued by the UK courts

https://news.sky.com/story/donald-t...-dossier-case-against-former-mi6-spy-13148972

 

[glenfield2]

I guess this sort of scattergun mixing of fact and fiction is the ‘new truth’ of the Trump/Musk age.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...-the-atom-claim-new-zealand-ernest-rutherford

 

[ey_tony]

America now has Trump to lead them out of the Doldrums but just look at what we in the UK have to do the same!
It just doesn't seem fair!

 

[Agent_zed]

America now has Trump to lead them out of the Doldrums but just look at what we in the UK have to do the same!
It just doesn't seem fair!

and how exactly do you think Trump would lead us out of the doldrums? Perhaps he could threaten to invade France and Spain and annex the Netherlands?

I'm guessing you would think Starmer accepting gifts is wrong (apologies if i'm wrong), yet you want someone who has literally just made billions from a pump and dump crypto scam, and has been flogging bibles and gold trainers? I assume you won't mind when Starmer starting flogging his crypto and merch.

You want someone who during a national emergency spends more time calling people names and spreading lies than actually helping?

The US is now an oligarchy, with the ultra wealthy all bowing down to ensure they get to make lots of money. You really think any of those people care about making sure the little man gets his fair share. It is the wealthiest cabinet that has ever existed and yet people go on about the 'establishment' and the 'elite'.

Perhaps he would get rid of some regulations like he did last time. I look forward to more train derailments and toxic pollution events, whilst he and Musk laugh about laying people off on a whim.