US military spending is high because it pays its volunteer soldiers a competitive wage while sustaining a substantial military that is actually capable of fighting despite the fact that it often has to cross oceans to do so. If you are observant you might have noticed a capabilities gap between the US military and the militaries of much of Europe. Since WW2 the US has borne much of the defense burden for Europe, Japan, and various other places.
Many other countries have relied upon conscription, with some dropping it only recently. Germany, Russian, and China have all relied on conscription until relatively recently if they don't still use it.
The US also pays Western rates for its technology and weapons, not Chinese or Russian rates.
As to spying, Russia and China are quite prolific in their spying, including against Germany. Perhaps you don't follow the news about that?
Not really. Sticking to historical events rather than hysterical invention really simplifies the matter.
The US hasn't committed genocide during its existence. The US government ended slavery in its territory (inherited from the European based colonies) although it required force of arms to do so. It's imperialism was limited in scope and time, and is long over. The democratically elected government of the Confederate States of America deserved its fate. Iran was no longer a democracy when the US assisted the return of the Shah to power since an election was faked, the legislature was dissolved, the "Prime Minister" ruled by decree and ignored the traditional check and balance of a constitutional monarch being able to dismiss the Prime Minister.
Nearby, on Madison Square Park, is the National Museum of Mathematics, or MoMath, an educational center he helped finance. It opened in 2012 and has had a quarter million visitors.
Amazing, 250k visitors to a math museum? Who knew?
So Cubans are oppressed but Americans deserve to be punished?
Maybe this will help - armed robbery is a crime in both countries and you will go to prison. Only in Cuba would you go to prison for advocating democratic reform of the government. Cubans are in jail for both armed robbery and advocating democratic reform of government. Only Americans committing armed robbery would be in jail, advocating reform of government isn't a crime. Political oppression is a regular fact of life in Cuba. People go to jail for criticizing the government, making Castro jokes, wanting to practice their religious faith, or simply desiring to leave the country. Is that making sense to you?
I took one of these person-to-person trips to Cuba two years ago and it was pretty awesome. It's nice to travel somewhere that hasn't been ruined by American interests yet (no Starbucks, no McDonald's, etc.) It wasn't that difficult, you can find tours through chambers of commerce or other travel groups.
The restrictions are not extremely enforceable, but know that the Cuban government is looking after you, too. Don't make an ass of yourself while there. In any case, roving around the country in an air conditioned tour bus was quite desirable,
At this point, it has very little to do with communism. Florida is a big primary state and a big electoral state. Florida has a lot of Cuban-americans who would prefer we invade the island. They have traditionally fiercely opposed lifting the
No, it is still pretty much about the oppressive communist state of Cuba. There won't be any US invasion of Cuba, the US pledged to not do that as part of settling the Cuban missile crisis.
the Soviets removed the missiles already deployed in Cuba, and Soviet ships under sail with missile cargoes returned to Soviet ports. In return, the United States agreed to remove a squadron of already obsolete medium-range Jupiter missiles based in Turkey as long as that part of the deal was kept secret. In addition, the United States publicly pledged it would not invade Cuba.
Activists in Cuba support the continuation of the embargo.
It took the Russians nearly 75 years to throw off communism, and the rest of Eastern Europe about 46 years. Cuba might have a few more years to go, but it will eventually happen.
Oh who am I kidding, thanks to you sucking up to the government's dick when it comes to surveillance..., Castro... probably knows the identity of every single dissident on his island, and thanks to the US's welcoming arms, pretty much everyone who didn't like it there has already left, so there's not that many to keep track of.
That makes no sense at all..... which is probably why you don't seem to object to Cuba's communist oppression - no sense.
You are missing the other half of it. The cubans that stayed, hate the cubans in Florida as much as the cubans in Florida hate the cubans that stayed.
Many of the Cubans in Cuba want to join the Cubans in Florida, thousands of them try every year. The Cubans in Florida don't hate the Cubans in Cuba, they are opposed to the communist government that is oppressing their friends and family back in Cuba.
The easiest way out for Cuba is to turn away from Communism. It is one of the last hold-outs on the planet in inflicting that failed system on its people. Activists in Cuba support the continuance of the embargo.
Another brave group of Cuban opponents of the regime has actually taped a television interview filmed illegally in Havana. “Young Cuban democracy leader Antonio Rodiles,” an American support group called Capitol Hill Cubans has reported, “has just released the latest episode of his civil society project Estado de Sats (filmed within Cuba), where he discusses the importance U.S. sanctions policy with two of Cuba’s most renowned opposition activists and former political prisoners, Guillermo Fariñas and Jose Daniel Ferrer.”
The argument they present is aimed directly at those on the left in the United States, some of whom think they are helping democracy in Cuba by calling for an end to the embargo. In strong and clear language, the two dissidents say the following:
If at this time, the [economic] need of the Cuban government is satisfied through financial credits and the lifting of the embargo, repression would increase, it would allow for a continuation of the Castro’s society, totalitarianism would strengthen its hold and philosophically, it would just be immoral If you did an opinion poll among Cuban opposition activists, the majority would be in favor of not lifting the embargo.
Next, they nail the claim that travel without restrictions by citizens of our country to Cuba would help spread freedom. The men respond:
In a cost-benefit analysis, travel to Cuba by Americans would be of greatest benefit to the Castro regime, while the Cuban people would be the least to benefit. With all of the controls and the totalitarian system of the government, it would be perfectly able to control such travel.
We know this, as I reported a few months ago, about how a group of Americans taking the usual state-controlled Potemkin village tour came back raving about how wonderful and free Cuba is, and how Cuban socialism works.
Finally, the two former prisoners made this point about lifting the embargo:
To lift the embargo at this time would be very prejudicial to us. The government prioritizes all of the institutions that guarantee its hold on power. The regime’s political police and its jailers receive a much higher salary and privileges than a doctor or engineer, or than any other worker that benefits society. We’ve all seen municipalities with no fuel for an ambulance, yet with 10, 15, 20, 50 cars full of fuel ready to go repress peaceful human rights activists.
In Cuba the communist gangsters are in control of the government, and many Cubans do live in poverty. I wouldn't make too many bets about the literacy rate either. People still try to flee Cuba by the thousands each year, risking death or prison. I expect you can't figure out why.
You've got that right. You've either very confused, or you've gone for the hat trick - race baiting and clueless. Fabulous. But hey, it's only sex with children, right? You ok with that bro?
Don't you think that the Cuban government could act to reduce child sex tourism without resorting to even morepolitical oppression?
In over 52% of the murders in the US in 2011 in which the race of the murderer was known, the murderer was black. Over half of the victims of murder were also black. But blacks are only 13.6% of the population. Put all that together, and the murder rate in the US for non-blacks was more like 2.6 per 100,000 in 2011.
As Peter Baldwin put it in his book, The Narcissism of Minor Differences, "Take out the black underclass from the statistics, and even American murder rates fall to European levels."
The concept you are overlooking is "political oppression." People in Cuba are jailed and tortured for speaking out against the Cuban government. In the US, not so much. In the US people go to jail for ordinary criminal activity.
stations. There's no such thing as a 'chain' there, everything is one-off. Although, for some reason you can get M&M's and Pringles. Other than that, you're forced to go native and it was pretty great.
It is a lot less great if you live there. That is why they flee by the thousands, or tens of thousands, when they get a chance.
I’m used to seeing military and police checkpoints when I travel abroad. Every country in the Middle East has them, including Israel if you count the one outside the airport. The authorities in that part of the world are looking for guns and bombs mostly. The Cuban authorities aren’t worried about weapons. No one but the regime has anything deadlier than a baseball bat.
Castro’s checkpoints are there to ensure nobody has too much or the wrong kind of food.
Police officers pull over cars and search the trunk for meat, lobsters, and shrimp. They also search passenger bags on city busses in Havana. Dissident blogger Yoani Sanchez wrote about it sarcastically in her book, Havana Real. “Buses are stopped in the middle of the street and bags inspected to see if we are carrying some cheese, a lobster, or some dangerous shrimp hidden among our personal belongings.”
If they find a side of beef in the trunk, so I’m told, you’ll go to prison for five years if you tell the police where you got it and ten years if you don’t.
No one is allowed to have lobsters in Cuba. You can’t buy them in stores, and they sure as hell aren’t available on anyone’s ration card. They’re strictly reserved for tourist restaurants owned by the state.
I live in Canada . . . We go there for vacation whenever the fuck we want. Americans need to get fucking clue and get over themselves. It's just fucking Cuba. No big deal. America has relations with China, and they've executed WAY more political prisoners than Cuba has, and you;re probably reading this on a Chinese built computer. So bag the anti-communist BS and grow up.
By your words and tone I take it you're a fan? What's not to like about Cuba, eh?
Foreign tourists, especially Canadians and Spaniards, are travelling to Cuba in surprising numbers for sex — and not just with adult prostitutes. They are finding underage girls and boys, a joint investigation by The Toronto Star and El Nuevo Herald has found.
... another significant visit to a place where Internet access is either forbidden or impractical for most of the citizenry; hopefully it heralds change on that front.
Good luck with that. Maybe they'll turn a few of their '57 Chevys into mobile hot spots.
This is just like Iraq, Afghanistan, or wherever we fight the next war to line Halliburton's pockets.
Lets test that.
Reporter - 1943: Why is the US fighting the Empire of Japan? Marine on Tarawa: Because the Japs bombed Pearl Harbor.
Reporter - 2004: Why is the US fighting in Afghanistan? Marine in Afghanistan: Because Afghanistan hosted al Qaeda when it attacked the US, killing as many people as Pearl Harbor.
Reporter - 2014: Why did the US go to war in Afghanistan? DexterIsADog: Cuz Halliburtonz!
Repeat after me, Mr. ColdWetDog: "Cold Fjord is not a Swedish famer from the story, just another person that posts on Slashdot."
Apparently you are one of those people that has to personalize everything. But I only point to the stories, I don't write them, nor am I a subject of them. However, in case you are wondering....
Slashdot Mirror
A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.
US military spending is high because it pays its volunteer soldiers a competitive wage while sustaining a substantial military that is actually capable of fighting despite the fact that it often has to cross oceans to do so. If you are observant you might have noticed a capabilities gap between the US military and the militaries of much of Europe. Since WW2 the US has borne much of the defense burden for Europe, Japan, and various other places.
Many other countries have relied upon conscription, with some dropping it only recently. Germany, Russian, and China have all relied on conscription until relatively recently if they don't still use it.
The US also pays Western rates for its technology and weapons, not Chinese or Russian rates.
As to spying, Russia and China are quite prolific in their spying, including against Germany. Perhaps you don't follow the news about that?
Not really. Sticking to historical events rather than hysterical invention really simplifies the matter.
The US hasn't committed genocide during its existence. The US government ended slavery in its territory (inherited from the European based colonies) although it required force of arms to do so. It's imperialism was limited in scope and time, and is long over. The democratically elected government of the Confederate States of America deserved its fate. Iran was no longer a democracy when the US assisted the return of the Shah to power since an election was faked, the legislature was dissolved, the "Prime Minister" ruled by decree and ignored the traditional check and balance of a constitutional monarch being able to dismiss the Prime Minister.
Actually, Germany has a problem with spying on their own citizens, as this was declared illegal by the European Court of Justice.
Did anyone tell the Germans?
The German Prism: Berlin Wants to Spy Too
My view is pretty much the reverse - ok entertainer (long, long ago, in a TV show far, far away), but Senator? Ugh.
Strawman? Not so much.
So does the NIC have a legal mission to gather intelligence? Does forging certificates constitute legitimate intelligence collection?
Who can say? Do you have any thoughts on the matter?
Who in the world do you think gathers intelligence?
Only the NSA?
Need a bridge? I have one for sale.
FTA
Nearby, on Madison Square Park, is the National Museum of Mathematics, or MoMath, an educational center he helped finance. It opened in 2012 and has had a quarter million visitors.
Amazing, 250k visitors to a math museum? Who knew?
Simons Foundation - MoMath
So Cubans are oppressed but Americans deserve to be punished?
Maybe this will help - armed robbery is a crime in both countries and you will go to prison. Only in Cuba would you go to prison for advocating democratic reform of the government. Cubans are in jail for both armed robbery and advocating democratic reform of government. Only Americans committing armed robbery would be in jail, advocating reform of government isn't a crime. Political oppression is a regular fact of life in Cuba. People go to jail for criticizing the government, making Castro jokes, wanting to practice their religious faith, or simply desiring to leave the country. Is that making sense to you?
Your line about blacks in Cuba is nonsensical.
I took one of these person-to-person trips to Cuba two years ago and it was pretty awesome. It's nice to travel somewhere that hasn't been ruined by American interests yet (no Starbucks, no McDonald's, etc.) It wasn't that difficult, you can find tours through chambers of commerce or other travel groups.
The restrictions are not extremely enforceable, but know that the Cuban government is looking after you, too. Don't make an ass of yourself while there. In any case, roving around the country in an air conditioned tour bus was quite desirable,
Some different views on that.
A Graduate of my ‘Commie’ High School Goes to Cuba and Sees Paradise, or How One’s Education Can Warp You for Life
The Lost World, Part I
At this point, it has very little to do with communism. Florida is a big primary state and a big electoral state. Florida has a lot of Cuban-americans who would prefer we invade the island. They have traditionally fiercely opposed lifting the
No, it is still pretty much about the oppressive communist state of Cuba. There won't be any US invasion of Cuba, the US pledged to not do that as part of settling the Cuban missile crisis.
Looking Back on the Cuban Missile Crisis, 50 Years Later
the Soviets removed the missiles already deployed in Cuba, and Soviet ships under sail with missile cargoes returned to Soviet ports. In return, the United States agreed to remove a squadron of already obsolete medium-range Jupiter missiles based in Turkey as long as that part of the deal was kept secret. In addition, the United States publicly pledged it would not invade Cuba.
Activists in Cuba support the continuation of the embargo.
The Time to Help Cuba’s Brave Dissidents Is Now: Why the Embargo Must Not be Lifted
It took the Russians nearly 75 years to throw off communism, and the rest of Eastern Europe about 46 years. Cuba might have a few more years to go, but it will eventually happen.
Oh who am I kidding, thanks to you sucking up to the government's dick when it comes to surveillance ..., Castro ... probably knows the identity of every single dissident on his island, and thanks to the US's welcoming arms, pretty much everyone who didn't like it there has already left, so there's not that many to keep track of.
That makes no sense at all..... which is probably why you don't seem to object to Cuba's communist oppression - no sense.
You are missing the other half of it. The cubans that stayed, hate the cubans in Florida as much as the cubans in Florida hate the cubans that stayed.
Many of the Cubans in Cuba want to join the Cubans in Florida, thousands of them try every year. The Cubans in Florida don't hate the Cubans in Cuba, they are opposed to the communist government that is oppressing their friends and family back in Cuba.
The easiest way out for Cuba is to turn away from Communism. It is one of the last hold-outs on the planet in inflicting that failed system on its people. Activists in Cuba support the continuance of the embargo.
The Time to Help Cuba’s Brave Dissidents Is Now: Why the Embargo Must Not be Lifted
Another brave group of Cuban opponents of the regime has actually taped a television interview filmed illegally in Havana. “Young Cuban democracy leader Antonio Rodiles,” an American support group called Capitol Hill Cubans has reported, “has just released the latest episode of his civil society project Estado de Sats (filmed within Cuba), where he discusses the importance U.S. sanctions policy with two of Cuba’s most renowned opposition activists and former political prisoners, Guillermo Fariñas and Jose Daniel Ferrer.”
The argument they present is aimed directly at those on the left in the United States, some of whom think they are helping democracy in Cuba by calling for an end to the embargo. In strong and clear language, the two dissidents say the following:
If at this time, the [economic] need of the Cuban government is satisfied through financial credits and the lifting of the embargo, repression would increase, it would allow for a continuation of the Castro’s society, totalitarianism would strengthen its hold and philosophically, it would just be immoral If you did an opinion poll among Cuban opposition activists, the majority would be in favor of not lifting the embargo.
Next, they nail the claim that travel without restrictions by citizens of our country to Cuba would help spread freedom. The men respond:
In a cost-benefit analysis, travel to Cuba by Americans would be of greatest benefit to the Castro regime, while the Cuban people would be the least to benefit. With all of the controls and the totalitarian system of the government, it would be perfectly able to control such travel.
We know this, as I reported a few months ago, about how a group of Americans taking the usual state-controlled Potemkin village tour came back raving about how wonderful and free Cuba is, and how Cuban socialism works.
Finally, the two former prisoners made this point about lifting the embargo:
To lift the embargo at this time would be very prejudicial to us. The government prioritizes all of the institutions that guarantee its hold on power. The regime’s political police and its jailers receive a much higher salary and privileges than a doctor or engineer, or than any other worker that benefits society. We’ve all seen municipalities with no fuel for an ambulance, yet with 10, 15, 20, 50 cars full of fuel ready to go repress peaceful human rights activists.
In Cuba the communist gangsters are in control of the government, and many Cubans do live in poverty. I wouldn't make too many bets about the literacy rate either. People still try to flee Cuba by the thousands each year, risking death or prison. I expect you can't figure out why.
It's not "off topic" if I respond to a post on the same subject. And why didn't you mark the post I responded to as "off topic"?
Anyway, I'm confused...
You've got that right. You've either very confused, or you've gone for the hat trick - race baiting and clueless. Fabulous. But hey, it's only sex with children, right? You ok with that bro?
Don't you think that the Cuban government could act to reduce child sex tourism without resorting to even more political oppression?
"Being black in a black neighborhood" isn't a chargeable offense. Unlawfully carrying a concealed weapon or drugs is.
You shouldn't ignore that there are differences in the rate of offenses. You can see that in murder stats.
Murder by Numbers
In over 52% of the murders in the US in 2011 in which the race of the murderer was known, the murderer was black. Over half of the victims of murder were also black. But blacks are only 13.6% of the population. Put all that together, and the murder rate in the US for non-blacks was more like 2.6 per 100,000 in 2011.
As Peter Baldwin put it in his book, The Narcissism of Minor Differences, "Take out the black underclass from the statistics, and even American murder rates fall to European levels."
The concept you are overlooking is "political oppression." People in Cuba are jailed and tortured for speaking out against the Cuban government. In the US, not so much. In the US people go to jail for ordinary criminal activity.
It certainly helps.
The Time to Help Cuba’s Brave Dissidents Is Now: Why the Embargo Must Not be Lifted
It would be better if more countries supported it.
Oh, how sad for you: " ... a joint investigation by The Toronto Star and El Nuevo Herald has found. . . "
stations. There's no such thing as a 'chain' there, everything is one-off. Although, for some reason you can get M&M's and Pringles. Other than that, you're forced to go native and it was pretty great.
It is a lot less great if you live there. That is why they flee by the thousands, or tens of thousands, when they get a chance.
Fifty years later, Cubans still are fleeing the revolution
The Lost World, Part I
I’m used to seeing military and police checkpoints when I travel abroad. Every country in the Middle East has them, including Israel if you count the one outside the airport. The authorities in that part of the world are looking for guns and bombs mostly. The Cuban authorities aren’t worried about weapons. No one but the regime has anything deadlier than a baseball bat.
Castro’s checkpoints are there to ensure nobody has too much or the wrong kind of food.
Police officers pull over cars and search the trunk for meat, lobsters, and shrimp. They also search passenger bags on city busses in Havana. Dissident blogger Yoani Sanchez wrote about it sarcastically in her book, Havana Real. “Buses are stopped in the middle of the street and bags inspected to see if we are carrying some cheese, a lobster, or some dangerous shrimp hidden among our personal belongings.”
If they find a side of beef in the trunk, so I’m told, you’ll go to prison for five years if you tell the police where you got it and ten years if you don’t.
No one is allowed to have lobsters in Cuba. You can’t buy them in stores, and they sure as hell aren’t available on anyone’s ration card. They’re strictly reserved for tourist restaurants owned by the state.
The Lost World, Part II
I live in Canada . . . We go there for vacation whenever the fuck we want. Americans need to get fucking clue and get over themselves. It's just fucking Cuba. No big deal. America has relations with China, and they've executed WAY more political prisoners than Cuba has, and you;re probably reading this on a Chinese built computer. So bag the anti-communist BS and grow up.
By your words and tone I take it you're a fan? What's not to like about Cuba, eh?
How Cuba became the newest hotbed for tourists craving sex with minors
Foreign tourists, especially Canadians and Spaniards, are travelling to Cuba in surprising numbers for sex — and not just with adult prostitutes. They are finding underage girls and boys, a joint investigation by The Toronto Star and El Nuevo Herald has found.
Cuban rights abuses, jailings up in new repressive wave
How Cuba is exporting repression to Venezuela
Good luck with that. Maybe they'll turn a few of their '57 Chevys into mobile hot spots.
Cuban rights abuses, jailings up in new repressive wave
The Lost World, Part I
The Lost World, Part II
Condom shortage hits Cuba
This is just like Iraq, Afghanistan, or wherever we fight the next war to line Halliburton's pockets.
Lets test that.
Reporter - 1943: Why is the US fighting the Empire of Japan?
Marine on Tarawa: Because the Japs bombed Pearl Harbor.
Reporter - 2004: Why is the US fighting in Afghanistan?
Marine in Afghanistan: Because Afghanistan hosted al Qaeda when it attacked the US, killing as many people as Pearl Harbor.
Reporter - 2014: Why did the US go to war in Afghanistan?
DexterIsADog: Cuz Halliburtonz!
I'm going with the Marines.
Repeat that after me, Mr. Fjord. ....
Climate in not weather. Weather is not climate.
Repeat after me, Mr. ColdWetDog: "Cold Fjord is not a Swedish famer from the story, just another person that posts on Slashdot."
Apparently you are one of those people that has to personalize everything. But I only point to the stories, I don't write them, nor am I a subject of them. However, in case you are wondering ....
I am not the math genius Ramanujan that worked with Hardy.
I am not a Doom or Wolfenstin developer.
I am not involved with plans to mine the moon.
I am not involved with either taking or ferreting out bribes in the EU..
Should I ask you to repeat those too?