International relations thread

[Phil Sayers]

It can be sad when you are not quite as eternal as the eternal leader and not quite as dear as the dear leader (but almost!) so heart-warming to have your people show they really adore you by nailing K-Pop like this:

 

[Radio Free Skaro]

Ive heard worse, "Exeter City Celebrate" for example.

 

[Phil Sayers]

Back to the Future - Biggles takes to the air once more:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1784284407190139173

 

[Grecian2K]

It can be sad when you are not quite as eternal as the eternal leader and not quite as dear as the dear leader (but almost!) so heart-warming to have your people show they really adore you by nailing K-Pop like this:

I quite like it!
Good job N Korea aren't in the Eurovision Song Contest. It has all the musical hallmarks of a guaranteed winner.
Perhaps the UK should appropriate the musical score and just add lyrics extolling the joys of Brexit?
Get "Lozza Fox" on guitar, Jacob Rees-Mogg on the Sackbut and "Nige" on vocals and you've got a ready made boy band in waiting.
It surely couldn't do worse than most of our recent dire entries.

 

[Grecian2K]

Re: defence policy, an excellent and very nuanced portion of "food for thought" by Rawnsley in today's Observer (yeah, I know it's from the Guardian group but it is non-partisan and still worth pondering IMHO

Keir Starmer needs to have a frank conversation with voters about the price of security | Andrew Rawnsley

If defence spending has to rise, hard choices will have to be made

www.theguardian.com

 

[Phil Sayers]

Yes, a good article indeed although it is important to keep in mind that while increasing defence spending to 1980s levels (over 4% of GDP throughout the decade) would cost vast sums of money, that is not something anyone is calling for and nor will it be remotely on the cards unless the international situation get seriously worse than it currently is. Increasing defence spending from circa 2.1% to 2.5% will cost a great deal of money as well (although the economics are not straightforward, for example if we buy more equipment ourselves that will generally boost exports which partially offsets the cost) but, in the grand scheme of overall government spending, even a much increased defence budget would still not have the MOD as anywhere near being in the top rank of budget spending departments.

 

[Grecian2K]

A good and thought provoking reply there (as always) Mr Sayers.
My two pennyworth about defence policy and procurement for what little it's worth.
1) The "Nuclear Deterrent"
Despite my generally "lefty" views I've always been somewhat agnostic about that - even during the "Cold War".
Obviously nobody ever want them and theirs vapourised into a shadow but you can't put the tooth paste back into the tube (or "un-invent the wheel")
But how much of a "deterrent" is all this this stockpiled weaponry nowadays?
To my mind our current half-century old resources are dubious in today's troubled world. It would be like having a garage full of Austin Cambridges (or, for the American kit) Ford Anglia's. Doubtless lovingly polished, maintained and updated in accordance with the latest defence equivalent of a Haynes manual, never actually used, but still expecting them to start first time ready to win the round the world rally? Especially if they had to compete with much newer models from the middle and far east.
For the moment let's just pray that old Vad's arsenal is equipped with the ex-Soviet equivalent of Lada's and Cardboard Trabats.
2) Defence "Procurement"
Whether "public or private" is an unknowable conundrum. (Although it's possibly significant that, during both WW! & WW2 a "non-profit" arrangement between those parties hugely accelerated technological progress. But, should the next great conflict kick off where would we get our own raw materials from nowadays.
For example that crucial modern day commodity, for warfare. Top quality Cold Steel? With domestic capacity decimated by decades of asset stripping of our dwindling manufacturing base (currently exemplified by the sacrifice of our last remaining production facilities of raw steel) where would the resources then come from.
Still, I suppose we could still always go cap in hand to India and China to ask them "Buddy, can you spare a (few trillion) dimes worth of stock". Even in the late 1930s we still weren't quite so desperate as to beg the likes of Krupp for a few tonnes or so to see us through until 1945.

 

[Phil Sayers]

Russians dumping cluster munitions on Odessa's city centre (two civilians died, RIP):

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1785236083338273178

 

[iscalad]

The UN ought to chuck Russia off the security Council.

 

[Alistair20000]

The UN ought to chuck Russia off the security Council.

I agree but as the UN is a waste of space on matters of keeping the peace it would make little difference.