TSOT: European Union

You didn't think we forgot, did you?


Europe has always been a major power on the world stage, but always as quarreling states, rather than a cohesive force. So, now that they have achieved said union, how will they fare against the likes of Mother Russia and the U.S. of A? Let's find out.

Basic Facts

-Initiated in 1993, via the Treaty of Maastricht. Members include all European nations except for Switzerland, (What else is new) Iceland, Norway, and many northern Baltic states.

-Government is mainly a parliament, with a senate consisting of representatives from all member nations

MILITARY

The EU has a poor track record for this one. The only real nukes they have are 200 Americans ones positioned around the continent. Also, they seem to be bent on ridding themselves of those too, as displayed in their recent movements for a "nuclear free world". (Try selling that one to Iran or China.) But they get good points for ground troops, as they can muster some of the best spec-ops troops in the world, such as the German GSG9, or the British SAS (as anyone who pays Cod 4 would recognize). If they can avert an actual missile launch, they could do very well.





ECONOMY

Very good here. According to Wikipedia (it must be true) the EU made 30% of the world's income in 2007. That makes them very wealthy, and considering their industry is mainly manufacturing, this makes them the money-state of the world. They also have access to the Italian peninsula and the fjords or Norway, all very fertile farmland. Money will be tight in a world-wide stand-off, so the EU will be powerful in this regard.

WORLD RELATIONS

Usually not a factor, but the EU has a trumps card: Strong ties with the US. They have a powerful and stalward ally, and should expoit it as much as possible. They also get a wild card, and that being a "we want to be friends" stance. If they get some proper leaders, they could use this as a mask and use subterfuge to neutralize threats without actually declaring war. That, or the Liberals will screw them and make the EU ripe for conquest.

TECH LEVEL

An average grade here, the EU does encourage scientific breakthroughs, and has a history of strong military inventions as well has having some of the top universities in the world at thier disposal. No real advantage compared to anyone else though, really.

OVERALL

The EU would be quite vulnerable in a nuclear war. With no missiles of its own, ans its missile defence system being scrapped, any nukes that hit major EU cities will cause havoc. Assuming no-one actually presses the big red button, the EU will do quite nicely. Their ideal strategy would be remain neutral (outwardly, anyway) and use excellent spec-ops to disable enemy launch sites and economic areas. Their economy will provide them with serious funds.

HISTORICAL COMPARISON

Think Carthage, at the very beginning of the 2nd Punic War. Hamilcar is away, so you don't have a good army near home, but if you can get the war on their turf, your professional troops and coffers will win the day.

Nasa: Back from the Dead

The last time the future of space travel looked so good was during the cold war, and even then it didn't last long. NASA finally decided to stop sending up the old clunky space shuttle, they have begun training deep(er) space astronauts, and invented a propulsion system that could take them to Mars.

Ramblings

I had a whole bunch of ideas of posts, but none of them add up to a good sized paragraphs. So we'll just stick to small sound bites. Lists are fun...

-Never hire generals named Paulus. Notable examples? A Roman who was defeated at Cannae, albiet not under his authority, and a German who was the commander at Stalingrad. Both are potentially empire-destroying losses.

-Nerds rejoice! Most notable leaders only get power due to force of will and their own ambition. Julius Caesar and Genghis Khan are both examples of the power of personality. (It still works today.)

-Speaking of Genghis Khan, I would want to see a complete book of thought, something like the Communist Manefesto, by him. That would be a great read.

"The greatest joy a man can know is to conquer his enemies and drive them before him. To ride their horses and take away their possessions, to see the faces of those were dear to him bedewed with tears, and to clasp thier wives and daughters in his arms."

What does that mean? The best thing in life is kicking the crap out of someone and to take their stuff. Nice guy.

-Samurai vs. Knight.

-Is the Macedonian phalanx the most perfect military formation ever? Of course, it wouldn't stand up to, say, an Imperial British infantry square, but for the time, anyway. The enemy infantry can't reach you because they just run into your spears. The only other example are the Swiss "phalanxes" of the Middle Ages. The only difference being the Swiss were using the formation in an age dominated with heavy-cavalry. Win.

So comment below if you want one of these ideas expanded. I appreciate the feedback.

Pikemen ftw!

Schrödinger's Cat & other happy things...

Schrödinger (a physicist) put forward a rather fascinating paradox involving quantum stuff and wave forms. The reason he used a cat and not some other lab animal is because no one likes to have a dead cat on their hands, especially one that is both alive and dead at the same time.

My amazing diagram of Schrödinger's poor Cat in a Jigsaw-esk trap.

Schrödinger's paradox goes something like this: You place a cat, a Geiger counter, a single atom of an unstable element with a fairly short half-life (say Technetium-99 with a half-life of 6 hours), and a way of killing said cat in a box secure from cosmological interference (stray radioactivity). You then hook the Geiger counter up to the killing thing (Schrödinger "used" poison) so that if the atom decays the Geiger counter will detect it, set the poison off, and kill the cat. Technetium-99 has a half-life of 6 hours, which means that every 6 hours half of it (by mass) decays into a lower energy isotope, which in this case is Ruthenium-99. During the decaying process, each atom that decays (its completely random) gives off a beta particle and gamma radiation. This is what the Geiger counter picks up.

So the experiment is set up, what now? We now let it sit for 6 hours. Because we used a single atom of Technetium-99, with a half-life of 6 hours, there is a perfect 50% chance of the atom decaying and a 50% chance it did not. Hence a 50% chance of a dead cat and a 50% chance of a very hungry alive cat.

When you open the box, you discover what happened. If you have to deal with a dead cat or feed a live one. HOWEVER, while the box is closed, the cat is BOTH ALIVE AND DEAD at the same time. When you open the box the wave function, or probability, collapses and the cat becomes reality.

According to quantum mechanics (which still has not been disproved) a cat can be alive and dead at the same time. This is possible because its fate hinges on the atom, an atom which can be in both states at the same time.

Stick that in your pipe and smoke it.

List of the Week: It's a Lie!

The future is coming. You can't stop it. You can't even invent dubious claims of the world ending anymore without someone seeing the blinding hole in your logic. So why resist? The list for today is future things that the everyman wants to see. None of this molecular physics nonsense.

7. No load times.

This means everything. Line ups at the grocery store, video games, cooking food. No waiting for something to finish creating itself to be made of use. This will cut valuable time out of everyone's schedule and let you get stuff done.

6. Unbiased News

Heard of the riots against Obama's health care? Of course not. QED.

5. 100% Authentic Virtual Reality

Imagine a totally immersive experience. It would work for sports, video games, and movies. Move your head to the left, the picture shifts accordingly. Might need some sort of controller input though...

4. Mind-to-Paper-To-Computer

It takes way too long to write a paper by hand. And sometimes, you need to make it look nice, but don't have a 'puter nearby. What'cha to do? Get your brain to write out your thoughts, then send that document to your email and continue later. Work made easy.

3. Teleportation

Obvious really. Only problem is, what's keeping your annoying realatives in Iowa from stopping by?

2. Wisdom Shots

A sharp stab in the arm, then as much kniowledge as human kind has achieved is yours. School shots have never been so fun.

1. Cloning

The world needs more of me.

Right. You geniuses need to get on this. 800 SAT scores are good, but earn those certificates, gents.

How to Spot Anti-Realists

An anti-realist, or solipsist, believes that nothing outside of their own mind exists. This is a stupid mindset, and one that you should seek to stop.

*WARNING*

The following techniques can be dangerous, be sure to wear proper safety equipment (such as earplugs) when confronting a solipsist.

How to Recognize a Solipsist:

1. If they EVER tell you that you do not exist.
2. If they ramble on about "perception" and the meaning of "reality" as if they believe it is actually important, or interesting.
3. When someone insults them, they revert to an extreme level of smugness. In most cases, you will actually be able to smell the smugness. Take precautions, as those with allergies or breathing problems may succumb.
4. They may trip strangers for kicks.
5. They offer people red pills and a chance to "wake up".

Actual anti-realist quotes:

• "The glass is however full that I godamn want it to be, all right?"
• "Mmmhmmmm" (the sound they make while looking in a mirror)
• "I had the weirdest dream last night guys; and guess what, you were ALL in it!"

Defensive Strategies:

• If you are ever cornered by a solipsist first try to surprise them. If you do something truly random and unpredictable it will completely shift their world view. Don't be shocked if their ears start to bleed.
• Slap them.
• Point out the obvious flaws in their argument. (note that this is also considered an offense strategy, more of those will be covered in my next post: How to Hunt Anti-Realists)

Please report all confirmed solipsist sightings to the proper authorities or below as a comment. Thanks for helping make the world a safer place.

Ethics

Read this from the top down, one line at a time. Don't skip any bits.

Define ethics.
Having trouble?
If you said no, go practice faking emotions, because you are either a very clever robot or you don't have any.
The topic of ethics is to much of a human topic to be easily definable.
Regurgitating definitions does little to capture meaning.
Instead of trying to define it in a few words, try to apply it:
Both a 30-year old woman and a 90-year old man need a new heart.
Without the heart, they will die within a week.
You have one heart.
Who gets it?
Consider this: you find out that the women is a heavy drug user.
Is her life worth less?
Or could the heart just be put to better use?
Is there much of a difference?
What about "She has a family and kids and he does not."
What if he is your grandfather?

Again, try and define ethics.
But do we really want to?