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Our military (US) and military budget is just another cold war era echo which has been propagating for far too long. There are so many alarmist media outlets in

Our military (US) and military budget is just another cold war era echo which has been propagating for far too long. There are so many alarmist media outlets in this country who 'make their steak' off of fear mongering (looking at you FOX news) and what's more unfortunate is the general public's seeming endless supply of naive assent too their ideals and tactics. It isn't the US governments fault the military industrial complex is so large, it's ours. So long as we continue to sheepishly abide by the ignorant notion that our public officials are moral actors whose ambitions and initiatives are driven and monitored by their superb ethical standards we are doomed. We have to hold the women and men in office accountable not only for their actions but for our agenda. We have to stop living under the yoke of fear and distraction pumped out by the media machine. We have to be brave and fight back or else, when the shit hits the fan, we can only blame ourselves.

brlewis 7y ago
> stop living under the yoke of fear and distraction pumped out by the media machine If you have a solution that scales up to the population at large I'm all ears.
- beobab 7y ago
  Get everyone "vaccinated"? https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/fake-news-vaccine-works-pre-bunk-game-reduces-susceptibility-to-disinformation https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/fake-news-vaccine-works-...
  - Something1234 7y ago
    It's already become neigh impossible to find the game when it's been buried under all the fake news.
    - EGreg 7y ago
      That’s the first part of the game ;-)
  - beobab 7y ago
    In case anyone thought that was real vaccination, it's a method to present the typical fake news tactics in an attempt to help you to recognize them for what they are. The link to the actual game is here: https://getbadnews.com/#intro https://getbadnews.com/#intro
arethuza 7y ago
I can recommend The Shadow World: Inside the Global Arms Trade by Andrew Feinstein - mind you I found it quite depressing as the levels of corruption and cynicism that it describes are quite remarkable.
- tozeur 7y ago
  Fantastic book.
devoply 7y ago
The US military is an extension of its corporations and economic interests. It has nothing to do with the people which are sheepishly manipulated each time to suit whatever agenda the elite need pushed. The complex is a beast that rarely responds to the public unless there is massive pressure usually in response to some price like forced recruitment that the people have to pay to meet its needs.
PaulHoule 7y ago
I used to be a fan of Noam Chomsky and think that the U.S. was a negative force in the world. I can point to plenty of kneecapping and bad policies. However in 2019 I see the rise of authoritarian states such as China, Russia and their "fellow travelers" and I think that freedom is very much at risk. Green Party activist Howie Hawkins, for instance, goes to rallies where they want to see NATO demolished but when Russia is carving up the Ukraine like a steak and where trouble is spilling out of Africa and the Middle East into Europe it seems like NATO is more relevant today then ever. I told him that. Similarly, the "Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists" is a stopped clock that always tells the same time. They are up in arms that the U.S. is adding a "super fuse" to our warheads that will increase their effectiveness against hard targets (e.g. enemy missile silos.) Where are they when Russia and China are developing greatly upgraded missiles, hypersonic weapons, etc?
- flyinglizard 7y ago
  There is nothing special about 2019 though. For Americans, the US war machine was always something vague and remote that sucks in money and spits out veterans who need to be taken of. However for many of those who live outside of USA, overseas where the US military operates, we understand that power vacuums are very potent and if not for US, some other country will fill the void, with soft or hard power. It’s not just China and Russia; its also Turkey and Iran, for example. We don’t have much for a frame of reference, but I’ll tell you that the this era of Pax Americana, spanning WWII until today, has been, more or less, heavenly. Free trade and democracy have been sprouting everywhere, and under the US military umbrella and peace keeping, many nations were able to divert resources into developing their societies, not worried that they’ll be plundered by some aspiring empire.
  - dantondwa 7y ago
    Heavenly is a large simplification. It has been heavenly for America and American companies and somewhat less terrible than other alternatives for its allies. Yes, the NATO has been very convenient for Europe. At the same time, it has meant being economically and politically subjected to the US will. For other less developed countries it has meant, sometimes, existence as de facto American puppet states. For countries which happened to be of strategic importance to the US or in disagreement with its model, it has meant downright destruction, war and catastrophes. Any time you call the US imperialism "heavenly", remember how it has begun, with two atomic bombs being thrown on two cities. Remember all the needless and actually lost wars the US have involved themselves and the world in. Remember the political meddling with local political affairs that the US has practised (the disaster that South America has been; plans like GLADIO and similia in Europe). I much prefer democracy to autocracy. I also see the convenience of NATO. But sorry, I refuse to call American imperialism heavenly. It has been bloody, violent and with very little care for actual democracy and self-determination of nations.
bsaul 7y ago
it’s funny how most people forget that every single american president since georges bush junior has been elected on the promise of reducing us’s involvment into foreign countries ( i’m old enough to remember people accused him of being isolationist), but have all been prevented to so by external events. With the rise of China and its exponential military spendings, do you think that decreasing us military budget would be a wise strategic move ?
- jjoonathan 7y ago
  I don't. I'm surrounded by people who take our position in the world for granted and don't see any problem with gutting our military, though.
  - zanny 7y ago
    If the US only holds its economic ground at gunpoint I don't feel justified living my dainty American lifestyle thanks to boots to the throat of peoples around the world. Europe endures and prospers without threat of violence or economic imperialism by bomb across the globe.
    - whatok 7y ago
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Member_states_of_NATO https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Member_states_of_NATO
    - Nahmag 7y ago
      East-European states certainly do not think that they can survive without the help of the US.
      - hn23 7y ago
        Source? Last year I was more afraid of Regime Change Attempts in Ukraine at least fueled by NATO/EU. Victoria (Fuck the EU) Nuland was pretty clear the US does not give a shit if Europe burns..
    - 7y ago
sureaboutthis 7y ago
Is this on topic to the subject at hand?
manfredo 7y ago
In the 1960s, defense spending accounted for over 12% of GDP. Today it's between 3-4%. We're not still fighting the cold war, and our defense spending has been reduced by a factor of 3 to 4. It's not very far off from other countries. The UK's is around 2.2% to 2.5%. Russia's is over 4% since the Ukrainian conflict.
- yazan94 7y ago
  without taking into account the changes in purchasing power/inflation, actual budget amount, and changes in GDP, those stats are not really comparing apples to apples.
  - manfredo 7y ago
    Quite the opposite, almost all experts use percentage of GDP as a measure of how much a country is developing its military. Purchasing power and inflation means that $100 billion today is totally different than $100 billion 20 years before or later. Not to mention, the total inflation adjusted amount of wealth in the country has gone up considerably, so even increases in inflation adjusted spending could still mean that the country is dedicating less of it's overall economic output to the military. Percentage of GDP is a much more effective measurement.
- deanCommie 7y ago
  Difference in magnitude is different in like. The US GDP is orders of magnitude bigger than the other countries, and also has no land borders to defend so it's "defense" spending should really not be as big as most other countries. Of course "defense" is a joke here, because US Military Defense spending is mostly "Offense" - power projection. Patrolling the international waters, and flying air missions to ensure the entire world knows the US is in charge. Whether this has value in the world today is subjective. It's a pretty deep divide between the left ("why can't we all just get along?") and the right ("i'm afraid of anyone with a shade of skin darker than a mango, so i want an F16 flying around their country's borders 24-7 and an aircraft carrier parked outside their front door") It didn't make much sense for most of the 90's, once russia collapsed. It didn't make sense post 9/11 where the enemy was no longer a state, and too ephemeral to be affected by aircraft carriers. It doesn't make sense post 2016 because the war Russia is waging on the US is one with Information (fake news, Facebook), and by compromising one of the two major political parties. Hilariously, like a broken clock, the US is about to be right again, because it WILL make sense again over the next decade as China enters it's own "World Police" ambitions. And as evil and self-centered the US government and international policy is, I'd rather have them in charge than China (Because while they are bastards, they are my bastards, and I, as a westerner, reap the benefits of their policies).
rotrux 7y ago
> "...our miliitary budget is just another cold war era echo..." - No, it's more complicated than that. You're ignoring all current geopolitics. > "...the ignorant notion that our public officials are moral actors..." - Yes good point. Politicians are inherently evil. We should just let Walmart run the country. > "We have to be brave and fight back or else..." - Gotta love militant pacifism.

brlewis 7y ago

> stop living under the yoke of fear and distraction pumped out by the media machine If you have a solution that scales up to the population at large I'm all ears.

beobab 7y ago
Get everyone "vaccinated"? https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/fake-news-vaccine-works-pre-bunk-game-reduces-susceptibility-to-disinformation https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/fake-news-vaccine-works-...
- Something1234 7y ago
  It's already become neigh impossible to find the game when it's been buried under all the fake news.
  - EGreg 7y ago
    That’s the first part of the game ;-)
- beobab 7y ago
  In case anyone thought that was real vaccination, it's a method to present the typical fake news tactics in an attempt to help you to recognize them for what they are. The link to the actual game is here: https://getbadnews.com/#intro https://getbadnews.com/#intro

arethuza 7y ago

I can recommend The Shadow World: Inside the Global Arms Trade by Andrew Feinstein - mind you I found it quite depressing as the levels of corruption and cynicism that it describes are quite remarkable.

tozeur 7y ago
Fantastic book.

devoply 7y ago

The US military is an extension of its corporations and economic interests. It has nothing to do with the people which are sheepishly manipulated each time to suit whatever agenda the elite need pushed. The complex is a beast that rarely responds to the public unless there is massive pressure usually in response to some price like forced recruitment that the people have to pay to meet its needs.

PaulHoule 7y ago

I used to be a fan of Noam Chomsky and think that the U.S. was a negative force in the world. I can point to plenty of kneecapping and bad policies. However in 2019 I see the rise of authoritarian states such as China, Russia and their "fellow travelers" and I think that freedom is very much at risk. Green Party activist Howie Hawkins, for instance, goes to rallies where they want to see NATO demolished but when Russia is carving up the Ukraine like a steak and where trouble is spilling out of Africa and the Middle East into Europe it seems like NATO is more relevant today then ever. I told him that. Similarly, the "Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists" is a stopped clock that always tells the same time. They are up in arms that the U.S. is adding a "super fuse" to our warheads that will increase their effectiveness against hard targets (e.g. enemy missile silos.) Where are they when Russia and China are developing greatly upgraded missiles, hypersonic weapons, etc?

flyinglizard 7y ago
There is nothing special about 2019 though. For Americans, the US war machine was always something vague and remote that sucks in money and spits out veterans who need to be taken of. However for many of those who live outside of USA, overseas where the US military operates, we understand that power vacuums are very potent and if not for US, some other country will fill the void, with soft or hard power. It’s not just China and Russia; its also Turkey and Iran, for example. We don’t have much for a frame of reference, but I’ll tell you that the this era of Pax Americana, spanning WWII until today, has been, more or less, heavenly. Free trade and democracy have been sprouting everywhere, and under the US military umbrella and peace keeping, many nations were able to divert resources into developing their societies, not worried that they’ll be plundered by some aspiring empire.
- dantondwa 7y ago
  Heavenly is a large simplification. It has been heavenly for America and American companies and somewhat less terrible than other alternatives for its allies. Yes, the NATO has been very convenient for Europe. At the same time, it has meant being economically and politically subjected to the US will. For other less developed countries it has meant, sometimes, existence as de facto American puppet states. For countries which happened to be of strategic importance to the US or in disagreement with its model, it has meant downright destruction, war and catastrophes. Any time you call the US imperialism "heavenly", remember how it has begun, with two atomic bombs being thrown on two cities. Remember all the needless and actually lost wars the US have involved themselves and the world in. Remember the political meddling with local political affairs that the US has practised (the disaster that South America has been; plans like GLADIO and similia in Europe). I much prefer democracy to autocracy. I also see the convenience of NATO. But sorry, I refuse to call American imperialism heavenly. It has been bloody, violent and with very little care for actual democracy and self-determination of nations.

bsaul 7y ago

it’s funny how most people forget that every single american president since georges bush junior has been elected on the promise of reducing us’s involvment into foreign countries ( i’m old enough to remember people accused him of being isolationist), but have all been prevented to so by external events. With the rise of China and its exponential military spendings, do you think that decreasing us military budget would be a wise strategic move ?

jjoonathan 7y ago
I don't. I'm surrounded by people who take our position in the world for granted and don't see any problem with gutting our military, though.
- zanny 7y ago
  If the US only holds its economic ground at gunpoint I don't feel justified living my dainty American lifestyle thanks to boots to the throat of peoples around the world. Europe endures and prospers without threat of violence or economic imperialism by bomb across the globe.
  - whatok 7y ago
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Member_states_of_NATO https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Member_states_of_NATO
  - Nahmag 7y ago
    East-European states certainly do not think that they can survive without the help of the US.
    - hn23 7y ago
      Source? Last year I was more afraid of Regime Change Attempts in Ukraine at least fueled by NATO/EU. Victoria (Fuck the EU) Nuland was pretty clear the US does not give a shit if Europe burns..
  - 7y ago

sureaboutthis 7y ago

Is this on topic to the subject at hand?

manfredo 7y ago

In the 1960s, defense spending accounted for over 12% of GDP. Today it's between 3-4%. We're not still fighting the cold war, and our defense spending has been reduced by a factor of 3 to 4. It's not very far off from other countries. The UK's is around 2.2% to 2.5%. Russia's is over 4% since the Ukrainian conflict.

yazan94 7y ago
without taking into account the changes in purchasing power/inflation, actual budget amount, and changes in GDP, those stats are not really comparing apples to apples.
- manfredo 7y ago
  Quite the opposite, almost all experts use percentage of GDP as a measure of how much a country is developing its military. Purchasing power and inflation means that $100 billion today is totally different than $100 billion 20 years before or later. Not to mention, the total inflation adjusted amount of wealth in the country has gone up considerably, so even increases in inflation adjusted spending could still mean that the country is dedicating less of it's overall economic output to the military. Percentage of GDP is a much more effective measurement.
deanCommie 7y ago
Difference in magnitude is different in like. The US GDP is orders of magnitude bigger than the other countries, and also has no land borders to defend so it's "defense" spending should really not be as big as most other countries. Of course "defense" is a joke here, because US Military Defense spending is mostly "Offense" - power projection. Patrolling the international waters, and flying air missions to ensure the entire world knows the US is in charge. Whether this has value in the world today is subjective. It's a pretty deep divide between the left ("why can't we all just get along?") and the right ("i'm afraid of anyone with a shade of skin darker than a mango, so i want an F16 flying around their country's borders 24-7 and an aircraft carrier parked outside their front door") It didn't make much sense for most of the 90's, once russia collapsed. It didn't make sense post 9/11 where the enemy was no longer a state, and too ephemeral to be affected by aircraft carriers. It doesn't make sense post 2016 because the war Russia is waging on the US is one with Information (fake news, Facebook), and by compromising one of the two major political parties. Hilariously, like a broken clock, the US is about to be right again, because it WILL make sense again over the next decade as China enters it's own "World Police" ambitions. And as evil and self-centered the US government and international policy is, I'd rather have them in charge than China (Because while they are bastards, they are my bastards, and I, as a westerner, reap the benefits of their policies).

rotrux 7y ago

> "...our miliitary budget is just another cold war era echo..." - No, it's more complicated than that. You're ignoring all current geopolitics. > "...the ignorant notion that our public officials are moral actors..." - Yes good point. Politicians are inherently evil. We should just let Walmart run the country. > "We have to be brave and fight back or else..." - Gotta love militant pacifism.