Chinese whispers

[SimonS]

"We've got a lot more Admirals than warships!"

Of course, but most of them ore retired, they are allowed to keep their rank as a courtesy....and because if war was declared you suddenly need a load of people with the specialised knowledge, clearance and respect of their peers and bringing back an admiral is more effective than bringing in an ex-director of a hedgefund or a past politician.

Most surface warships have been militarily obsolete for quite some time. Submariners classify them into three categories, Sunk,Sinking and Next. Aircraft carriers rely on their aircraft, and weaponry exists that can render the flight decks unreliable. Like the battleships, their primary purpose now is propaganda and to carry out punishment on the less-equipped.

[Dod101]

Sorry, not really (in fact not remotely) light hearted pub banter, but I didn't know where else to put it to get maximum exposure ...

This is the best documentary about China – correction, it’s one of the best documentaries about anything – that I’ve seen. It’s a long film – 1½ hours – and it’s subtitled, so not immediately attractive for Friday night viewing, but it’s brilliantly made, and compulsive viewing.

It’s a film that needs to be viewed as widely as possible, and at the risk of invoking Godwin’s Law right at the outset I couldn’t help feeling that a very similar film could have been made about Hitler in the early 1930’s.

I’m glad I don’t live in Hong Kong or Taiwan

https://www.arte.tv/en/videos/078193-00 ... i-jinping/

It is a shame that this has got hijacked by a discussion about navies. There is no parallel between Xi's leadership of China and Hitler's of Germany, at least I do not see any. The situation in China today is I think much better than it has been for most of the last 100 years or more, and, for the vast majority of its citizen's, life in general is immeasurably better. Democracy is an alien concept for most and the citizens just want to be left alone to get on with life. Obviously Hong Kong has become a major problem for Xi and his party and that is why they had to clamp down so heavily on the protestors. I am not saying he is right, far from it, but just look at China's economic success and as long as that continues, I suspect that XI and his cronies will be at least tolerated.

If CK lived in Hong Kong he would probably as a lawyer be much better off financially than he is in this country and provided he kept his head down and out of politics I guess he would have no problem. I have friends, European and Chinese, currently living in Hong Kong and they appear to enjoy living there. Certainly the Europeans could easily subject to Covid up sticks and leave and at least one of the Chinese families that I know are Australian citizens. They in fact returned to Hong Kong not long before Covid struck.

Dod

[TahiPanasDua]

Sorry, not really (in fact not remotely) light hearted pub banter, but I didn't know where else to put it to get maximum exposure ...

This is the best documentary about China – correction, it’s one of the best documentaries about anything – that I’ve seen. It’s a long film – 1½ hours – and it’s subtitled, so not immediately attractive for Friday night viewing, but it’s brilliantly made, and compulsive viewing.

It’s a film that needs to be viewed as widely as possible, and at the risk of invoking Godwin’s Law right at the outset I couldn’t help feeling that a very similar film could have been made about Hitler in the early 1930’s.

I’m glad I don’t live in Hong Kong or Taiwan

https://www.arte.tv/en/videos/078193-00 ... i-jinping/

It is a shame that this has got hijacked by a discussion about navies. There is no parallel between Xi's leadership of China and Hitler's of Germany, at least I do not see any. The situation in China today is I think much better than it has been for most of the last 100 years or more, and, for the vast majority of its citizen's, life in general is immeasurably better. Democracy is an alien concept for most and the citizens just want to be left alone to get on with life. Obviously Hong Kong has become a major problem for Xi and his party and that is why they had to clamp down so heavily on the protestors. I am not saying he is right, far from it, but just look at China's economic success and as long as that continues, I suspect that XI and his cronies will be at least tolerated.

If CK lived in Hong Kong he would probably as a lawyer be much better off financially than he is in this country and provided he kept his head down and out of politics I guess he would have no problem. I have friends, European and Chinese, currently living in Hong Kong and they appear to enjoy living there. Certainly the Europeans could easily subject to Covid up sticks and leave and at least one of the Chinese families that I know are Australian citizens. They in fact returned to Hong Kong not long before Covid struck.

Dod

Hi Dod!

As ex Hong Kong expats you and I are likely to visit Hongkers from time to time. Before Covid I was going every year.

However, friends there, both expat and Chinese, are telling me, and my wife separately, not to discuss the situation on the internet or phone. Apparently surveillance is widespread and such is the paranoia. We talk to friends about once a week and you would think that nothing unusual whatsoever is going on.

On that basis you may wish to be careful what you say. (pathetic, isn't it!)

TP2

[Dod101]

I have had the same message from my European friends. The Chinese friends and I never even mention it. How necessary that is I cannot judge but I certainly respect their comments.

Dod

[1nvest]

Aircraft carriers rely on their aircraft, and weaponry exists that can render the flight decks unreliable. Like the battleships, their primary purpose now is propaganda and to carry out punishment on the less-equipped.

What can you do with 1824 drones

viewtopic.php?f=29&t=30467
... render a AC flight deck unreliable. Enough off them from all directions and a Phalanx couldn't cope with so many crashing into and exploding on the flight desk.

In that sense VTOL/ramp flightdecks have the advantage over catapult decks. Not able to launch heavier payloads but with the right aircraft better able to continue even with a hole riddled flightdeck.