much like watching porn isn’t a guarantee that you’ll be a ladies man.:cool:

Really? Well that explains A LOT! 🙂

I’ve never been of the opinion that having worn a uniform automatically qualifies one to be CinC. However flying an F-102 DOES qualify as military experience.

BS he stopped showing up for drill. That is how he got out. He stopped showing up. His experience counts for less then nothing, it is a disgrace and abuse.

First read this

[B]The 2008 “Military Power of the People’s Republic of China” stated “evidence in recent years increasingly suggests China’s leaders may be moving forward with an aircraft carrier program. For example, beginning in early 2006 and with the release of China’s Eleventh Five Year Plan, PRC-owned media reported on statements from high-level government and military officials on China’s intent to build aircraft carriers – including a March 2007 statement from the then-minister of China’s Commission on Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (COSTIND).”

blah blah blah blah and more blah

No one is disputing that China is attempting to acquire aircraft carriers. My point is that even if they have them it will take decades for them to be proficient enough with them to be a threat.

Having the hardware and knowing how to use them are two far differnet things, especially when you are talking about such a complex thing as an aircraft carrier.

The Slovaks provide the women…

So have the Swedes been assigned another role then?

Oh, thats right, they are the alcohol quartermasters, thereby ruining everyones fun!

**little poke at System Bolaget there**

Mainland Europe rejoices.

Large defense budget cuts. Big increases in social spending. Nationalized health care. Tax increase providing short term revenue increase, but longer term economic turmoil and increasing unemployment.

International agenda foresaken in favor of a domestic agenda. Allies confused and aggressors emboldened. Israel?

Strategic withdrawal from the Middle East.

I don’t see any way for the F-22, JSF, C-17, C-5 RERP, KC-45, and new UAV’s to all survive.

All just MHO.

1. I think more then just mainland Europe…

2. Defense cuts are inevitable under any new administration. Where do you think the massive amount of bailout money is going to come from?

3. Allies will be no more confused then they are know. Hopefully we can reach some clarity! Israel might just learn to be a big boy and stand on their own.

4. The F-22, JSF, C-17 KC-X will all survive, just not in the same numbers and the same rates as their producers had hoped.

5. Strategic withdrawal from the Mid East? How about a re-engagement at a diplomatic level.

6. Nationalized healthcare will not happen in a 4-8 year time frame, going to take a lot longer then that to establish.

7. I do not see an increased tax burden for middle-lower class Americans nor do I see that his election will facilitate further economic depression, including unemployment.

While this forum is certainly concerned about the military and the military aerospace industry, there are far more important issues out there. While I might wish to see more F-22’s/JSF’s and not agree with some of the military cut backs that I can foresee happening, I refuse to be a single issue voter. Bigger problems out there at the moment for the American people then these issues.

Russia, the USA, China, France, England, Germany, Italy, India, Swededn, South Africa, Ukraine, Japan, Spain, Argentina, South Korea, Romania, Israel, Brazil are some of the best air forces in the world and all of them build their own equipment.

None of the European countries do it on their own (aside from Russia). Even Sweden has lots of outside help. And Israel and Romania do not build their own equipment, they may modify it locally, but they do not build most of thier own equipment.

Uhmm……. well if you read what basicly are considered as historical facts and historical trends, then you can see that sociology, anthropology and other sicences want to make a science of History as Math or Biology are.

However we can see several current trends in the aircraft industry and current political situation.

By stable i meant history is not like most sciences where predictability is a major component of a science, major wars are basicly unpredictable and we can say the same about minor wars, we can guess what are the most possible trends.

Maybe you should read Thomas Kuhn and other works on the development of scientific thought.

Math and biology are no more a science then history if you understand what they really are. They are simply an agreed upon set of ideas that the “elite” have decided. There is no predicablity in it. There is no concrete rational behind thinking A and B will make C every time.

All we can do is to extrapolate ideas from previous experiments. We can never, with absolute certainty expect a set result. This is exactly the same with history. We can extrapolate from past events or how those events are pervieved and apply that to current or future situations. But we can NEVER be sure with absolute certainty what will happen. The real problem is that we, as a collective, cannot agree on the results of the past, let alone predict the future from those events.

Ask Carlo Kopp, he knows :rolleyes:

Nice