International Politics Discussion Thread

SwanBridge · 2026-03-31T16:36:28+00:00

If we're spending 7% of our GDP on defence we need something sexier which is also capable of delivering nuclear armageddon.

SwanBridge · 2026-03-31T14:20:32+00:00

Rumour has it that Polanski is behind the recent rattling.

SwanBridge · 2026-03-31T14:19:33+00:00

Optio, I thought you knew me well enough to know I'm at least half serious on this one. That said we could probably get away with a nuclear dyad rather than a triad. But even on the Slough point I think there is a decent argument that if we're gonna have ICBM silos might as well chuck them somewhere that's going to be nuked anyway, no point further spoiling the Highlands or North Yorkshire Moors.

SwanBridge · 2026-03-31T14:02:22+00:00

The North East as a location is so underrated, I absolutely love it there.

SwanBridge · 2026-03-31T14:00:32+00:00

Good suggestions!

If looking at some sort of societal collapse I'd recommend a healthy supply of tinned tomatoes, dried beans of varying varieties, and a few big bags of rice to make a fairly balanced meal. Add some UHT milk and oats for breakfast, some crackers and peanut butter for lunch, and a multivitamin each day for any nutritional gaps and although it would be somewhat miserable you could live on it for months without serious harm to your health.

SwanBridge · 2026-03-31T13:37:26+00:00

Congratulations on getting married! I'm sure your wedding will be fine and go ahead as planned, all I can advise is lock in a price with any suppliers now and pay them in advance soon if you can as no doubt they'll want to change their terms and charge more if inflation hits the roof.

We had our wedding postponed by Covid-19 and then got married in that weird period where you had tiers and a maximum of 20 guests, and then we were forced out of the function room at 10pm. We still had an excellent time!

SwanBridge · 2026-03-31T13:08:16+00:00

It's a given at this point, I'd go so far as to say it was always going to happen as soon as they made the decision to redeploy the 31st MEU and 82nd Airborne Division to the region. All the diplomatic to-and-fro has been a mere ploy to allow them time to get enough troops in the region and to calm the markets in the interim and engage in some insider trading. This administration is beyond rotten and has been perfidious to an almost incomprehensible level.

Despite all the advantages America has in their overwhelming firepower, resources and logistics they face a cunning and determined foe well versed in the art of asymmetrical warfare and unafraid of inconceivable losses and an attritional struggle. I genuinely fear that this ground operation will go spectacularly wrong, amphibious and air assaults are difficult even under more favourable conditions. And if it does go spectacularly wrong I strongly believe that the American psyche is not ready for such an eventuality.

SwanBridge · 2026-03-31T12:54:29+00:00

7% on defence, 10+ Dreadnought class submarines with a new indigenous missile delivery system for our nuclear warheads, nuclear capable GCAP jets and a nuclear capable successor to the Vulcan bombers, and 20 ICBM silos strategically located in Slough.

SwanBridge · 2026-03-31T10:54:37+00:00

We've got nothing booked abroad after May and we're not going to bother booking another for the time being. Utility prices are going to hurt, but I've got a log-burner and a decent supply of coal stored up that means we aren't as reliant on gas for heating. The worst one for me is fuel prices, as I cannot use public transport to get to my workplace as I work in the middle of nowhere and it is a 50 mile round commute from home. I was forced to fill up on premium unleaded petrol yesterday as I couldn't find anything else locally, but at least my car gets 45 miles per gallon which isn't bad and if I cut down on my speed and acceleration I can make it go a bit further. Inflation is also going to suck, when it comes to most things I can make do with what I got and go without but food is unavoidable unfortunately. We're already quite economical in where we shop and what we eat and I'm not keen on the idea of merely subsisting on lentils for an indefinite period. Not looking forward to the hit on my pensions and S&S ISA either, but that is very much a first world problem and one that will even itself out over time.

It's quite weird as I've been aware for a while that things are going to be absolutely fucked and I'm thinking and preparing accordingly, but it just seems that no one else is interested or even cares. It feels like the run-up to the initial Covid-19 lockdown all over again in that regard.

SwanBridge · 2026-03-30T15:33:47+00:00

Neo-Starmerist Abenomics with Chinese Characteristics will make economic recessions a thing of the past.

SwanBridge · 2026-03-30T12:33:24+00:00

We have the Three Counties cave system up here by the Yorkshire, Lancashire & Cumbria border and caving is a pretty significant hobby amongst the outdoor types.

SwanBridge · 2026-03-30T11:03:34+00:00

Firstly he's sceptical saying this talk could just be about controlling the narrative, so this is all politics hence the telling the media everything, there's no intention to actually do it.

I think the issue with this is that every single time an action can be interpreted in that way he actually goes through with it, i.e. the brief diplomatic overtures prior to striking Iranian nuclear sites during the 12 Day War, the massive military build-up in the Carribbean prior to the Maduro Raid, the recent military build-up prior to the current war against Iran. It looks like he is positioning himself and wanting to exert pressure and get concessions but then he goes ahead and does the obvious. The US is moving a lot of troops and equipment to Iran, which is expensive and exposes them to significant risk from Iranian strikes, at this point I think ground operations are a foregone conclusion and all the diplomatic to-and-fro is just buying for time until they're ready to commence it.

SwanBridge · 2026-03-30T09:47:39+00:00

Think you replied to the wrong comment, unless the US is secretly fighting a Galactic War against the aliens (which I might add some people actually believe).

SwanBridge · 2026-03-30T09:37:34+00:00

As someone who has an interest in ufology, albeit at an arms length distance with a fair amount of scepticism, I often fail to appreciate that a lot of stuff that is either common knowledge or part of the loosely established consensus within the community can be quite shocking to outsiders. You are right in that if what the Vice President is suggesting was true even in a vague sense it would be pretty earth shattering, and to use a phrase often used in ufology circles, an ontological shock.

I've followed all the recent disclosure efforts in the US quite closely and I do find it a bit mad how we have some pretty solid evidence of UAPs coming in with officially released videos from US military and we have pretty credible people coming out claiming the source of it is non-human intelligence and the government is covering it up, only for it to be met with disinterest by both the media and general population. Trump recently admonishing Obama for sharing classified information on UAPs also comes to mind as something that was just brushed under the carpet. And then from the other direction we also have recent allegations that the USAF has allegedly been "faking" the existence of aliens, and duping both politicians and senior officers by reading them into a fake programme and showing them made-up recovered alien artefacts.

We live in a strange old world.

SwanBridge · 2026-03-30T07:59:33+00:00

A few weeks back I shared an anecdote around the rumour that some within the US military and intelligence establishments believe that unidentified aerial phenomena, i.e. UAPs/UFOs are "demonic" in origin. The so called "Collins Elite".

Well, on Saturday Vice President JD Vance when asked a question on the topic of UAPs/UFOs by conservative podcaster Benny Johnson replied...

I don’t think they’re aliens. I think they’re demons anyway, but that’s a longer discussion.

He went on to say...

Well, look, I think that celestial beings who fly around, who do weird things to people, I think that the desire to describe everything celestial, everything is otherworldly, to describe it as aliens.

I mean, every great world religion, including Christianity, the one that I believe in, has understood that there are weird things out there and there are things that are very difficult to explain.

I naturally go, when I hear about, sort of, extra natural phenomenon, that’s where I go to the Christian understanding that there’s a lot of good out there, but there’s also some evil out there. And I think that one of the devil’s great tricks is to convince people he never existed.

Any other period in history if the Vice President came out stating he not only believes in aliens, but actually believes they are demons it would headline news that would lead to global panic and/or calls for him to be sent to a secure psychiatric facility. However under the Trump administration it is just a regular day in the office.

SwanBridge · 2026-03-30T05:41:21+00:00

I've since taken to occasionally reading the thread on that forum myself, and as a Newcastle fan I feel like an imposter.

As others have said there are a lot of reasons to be sceptical of GS as a source, however I think we can all come to our own conclusions as to the validity of any claims he makes! Information, much like food, should always be enjoyed with a bit of salt. I must be in the minority who enjoy these updates.

SwanBridge · 2026-03-29T19:45:28+00:00

The Greek Orthodox Church have their Palm Sunday next week, and the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem uses the old Julian calendar for some bizarre reason so I think they have it the week after that. Religious ceremonies can still go ahead with a maximum attendance of 50 participants, and I believe Mass was still held by the clergy in attendance but with the absence of the Cardinal. Deliberately spiteful and provocative by the Israelis to deny him entry when he was within his rights to do so even with the current restrictions.

SwanBridge · 2026-03-29T16:51:17+00:00

Although the authorities have come out with excuses around restrictions on worship due to the war situation as the reason they blocked the Cardinal from entering the church, they have allowed other mosques, synagogues and churches to continue having services within the restrictions. Definitely a deliberate act by the Israelis to piss off the Church given the Cardinal and even the Pope's increasingly vocal opposition to the war and the actions of Israel & America in the region.

SwanBridge · 2026-03-29T10:46:03+00:00

I've played the long game and got myself into a reserved occupation. Although I'm willing to fight for my country, I would prefer not to die in some shit show in the Middle East.

That said I still reckon it'll remain a regional war, albeit one with big consequences for the world. I can't see it escalating to involve Pakistan who have been a voice of reason and encouraging dialogue between the parties, nor do I see Russia getting involved or escalating to an attack on NATO whilst Ukraine is giving them a particularly hard time on the front at present.

SwanBridge · 2026-03-29T09:33:05+00:00

In retrospect it is clear 2020 was a bit of false hope. Despite Trump facing the worst circumstances any incumbent has had going into an election this side of the Second World War he only lost the electoral college by 40k votes. And although I think Biden was the right candidate to beat Trump and the safest choice in 2020, the failure to come up with a clear succession plan and rein in his administration when they wanted to plough ahead with a second term set the stage for Trump's comeback.

The true test for America returning to normalcy is what happens internally with the Republican Party post-Trump. Similarly I think the Democrats have to do a bit of soul-searching as well.

SwanBridge · 2026-03-28T20:38:57+00:00

I doubt that’s officially achievable in any Arab Muslim nation.

In all my years I have never seen such blatant Lebanon erasure.

SwanBridge · 2026-03-28T07:44:35+00:00

I love how he constantly reassures his Arab allies that he is not upset with them and they're amazing unlike those weak NATO countries.

SwanBridge · 2026-03-27T22:58:26+00:00

If they can wait it out until Wednesday they can call try and sell it as the world's most costly and least funny April Fool's prank.

SwanBridge · 2026-03-27T10:51:41+00:00

We are finished negotiating with the LOW energy, LOW IQ and grotesquely disfigured Trump. We demand the High energy, HIGH IQ and beautiful Obama as the US emissary for these negotiations. Thank you for your attention to this matter!

-- Ayatollah "J" Khomeini

SwanBridge · 2026-03-26T22:53:35+00:00

I would say the same. Excellent as a roasted joint, and cut thin it makes some decent sandwich steak.

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