Things you didn't know until very recently...

The Global Peace Index ranks America as the same level of peace as the majority of South American states.

The GPI also ranks Australia and Canada as the two most peaceful states on the planet.

I was trying to clarify what you meant by that first part, but I can't see the site because of the computer I'm using.

That second part sounds great, though!

Basically, on the classic green-orange-yellow-red-black scale;

America is yellow.

Canada and Australia are green.

*chuckles* I wonder which ones are colored orange, then.

Well, basically, all the South American states did better.

America is ranked 88th, whereas the likes of Argentina are ranked 44th.

When you say just "America", are you referring to the two continents as a whole or just the US?

The United States!

Sorry, it's just that those two get conflated with each other a lot.

Apparently, John Maynard Keynes was rather arrogant and unwilling to believe that he was wrong. He was also one of the most charismatic men who ever lived, even people who hated him and his views got seduced by him, just look at Hayek.

If you want any of my avatars, just Pm me I'd truly appreciate any avatar of a reptile sleeping in a Nice Hat Read Elmer Kelton books

The t-shirt I'm wearing right now may be the single most expensive piece of clothing I own besides my parka.

A different shape every step I take A different mind every step of the line

It sucks enormously to sit in the last row of seats in an airplane.

Front left.

Best seat in the 'plane.

'All he needs is for somebody to throw handgrenades at him for the rest of his life...'

Silica Gel is actually non-toxic. It says "DO NOT EAT" because it's not food and could be a choking hazard.

Weird in a Can (updated M-F)

One way to say "idiot" in sign language is to bring your fist toward your forehead.

I'm going to have a lot of fun writing a Silent Snarker.

edited 15th Sep '12 9:19:40 PM by chihuahua0

You're statistically more likely to survive a plane crash from a seat in the back of the plane rather than in the front or middle.

At least there's that...

Programming and surgery have a lot of things in common: Don't start removing colons until you know what you're doing.

...Hmm, that at least proves that you can always draw something good from any situation.

My neck still hurt like fuck, though.

I learned that the Romans called a scabbard for a gladius vagina. From now, I will be unable to face sex talk without thinking of Commentarii de Bello Gallico.

"Atheism is the religion whose followers are easiest to troll"

That's because 'vagina' just means 'sheath'. If I remember my anatomy right, there are a couple of other things in the body called 'vaginalis' as well.

Be not afraid...

I keep my weapon sheathed at all times.

Ahem.

'All he needs is for somebody to throw handgrenades at him for the rest of his life...'

...I literally just found out that Raul Seixas, one of my favourite Brazilian musicians of all time, shares the same birthday with my girlfriend.

There's a sect of Judaism that believes in Reincarnation.

Everything is Possible. But some things are more Probable than others. JEBAGEDDON 2016

Converted minelayer u-boats were used to try and covertly transport, among other things, uranium and fighter jets from Germany to Japan during World War II.

A different shape every step I take A different mind every step of the line

I have a pretty clear understanding of WWII, but the alliance between Germany and Japan never made all that much sense to me. Their options for trade without getting intercepted were very slim, so the amount of direct assistance they could give each other was quite limited for a major alliance.

Their ideologies and goals were compatible, and obviously Germany gained a lot from having Japan pester France and the UK in East Asia and the Pacific. Japan also weakened Australia and the Netherlands, again helping Germany.

But Japan didn't get as much out of it all. Sure, they got to occupy French Indochina practically for free, and they were always going to be at war with France and the UK even without a formal agreement with Germany, but their main focus was in China and there was very little that Germany or Italy could do for Japan on that front.

This is all made worse for the Axis powers when you consider the kind of enemies they were making without consulting each other. Germany invaded the USSR, and though the Soviets were quick to negotiate a mutually beneficial separate peace and non-aggression pact with Japan, the German invasion of the USSR could potentially have forced Japan to open a new front against the USSR, thus stretching their force in China.

The US was also always going to go to war against Germany, but neither Germany nor the US would've been driven to declare war on each other in 1941, had Japan not attacked the US in Pearl Harbour. (I suppose I should leave out the u, as it's an American place name. But I won't.) Thus Germany would've had more time to focus almost exclusively on the USSR if it didn't have to expand its commitment in West Europe; though as we all know, 80% or more of Germany's might was always committed to the Eastern front since the beginning of their push into Russia.

If Germany or Italy had been able to establish a land link or a short sea connection to Japan somewhere in South Asia, the alliance would've been much more worthwhile, as the Eastern and Western Axis powers would then have been able to exhange resources more directly and efficiently. This link would've been built by capturing British and French colonies (especially India) and either annexing or allying with intermediate countries such as Saudi Arabia and Persia.

Another, in many ways more direct (but perhaps more perilous) route would've been established with the surrender or partial occupation of the USSR, which would've been more likely to succeed if Japan had withdrawn part of its forces from China and instead committed to pushing into the East of the USSR.

But in the absence of a reasonably useful connection between the East and the West, the benefits of this alliance were rather limited. The sharing of technology and intelligence, as well as the ability to co-ordinate truly global campaigns against the Allied powers, are not advantages that you would lightly forego; but again, when your allies are prone to making strong enemies, it might be prudent to wait until you've truly established yourself and taken a strong hold of your main enemies before you commit yourself to a risky alliance.

Quod gratis asseritur, gratis negatur.

I learned the definition of the word "panromantic" today, after meeting one in a chatroom.

Weird in a Can (updated M-F)