US and Iran

[Black Orchid]

It's the NATO member states of Europe who are the parasites and don't even pay 2% of their GDP on defence. Cut them loose.

Does anybody know how much we spend on defence as a percentage of GDP?

Not 2% of GDP...that’s for sure.
Does that make Australia parasites also?

Australia is not a member of NATO's collective defence and, as such, is not required to spend the agreed 2% of its GDP towards mutual defence for this intergovernmental alliance. Members of NATO committed to spending 2% of their GDP on defence. Australia did not. We do however provide support by way of troops etc.

NATO = North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. We are not in the North Atlantic and Russia is not a threat to us. Only 7 of the 29 NATO members pay the agreed 2% to meet their defence spending targets. The rest expect the US to foot the bill for their safety and protection.

So ... NO!

[Nom De Plume]

It's the NATO member states of Europe who are the parasites and don't even pay 2% of their GDP on defence. Cut them loose.

Does anybody know how much we spend on defence as a percentage of GDP?

Not 2% of GDP...that’s for sure.
Does that make Australia parasites also?

Australia is not a member of NATO's collective defence and, as such, is not required to spend the agreed 2% of its GDP towards mutual defence for this intergovernmental alliance. Members of NATO committed to spending 2% of their GDP on defence. Australia did not. We do however provide support by way of troops etc.

NATO = North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. We are not in the North Atlantic and Russia is not a threat to us. Only 7 of the 29 NATO members pay the agreed 2% to meet their defence spending targets. The rest expect the US to foot the bill for their safety and protection.

So ... NO!

Agreed. So why does Australia have a commitment to a military spend of 2% of GDP by 2021? Who are we comparing ourselves to? And why?

[brian ross]

It's the NATO member states of Europe who are the parasites and don't even pay 2% of their GDP on defence. Cut them loose.

Does anybody know how much we spend on defence as a percentage of GDP?

~1.9% of our GDP is expended on defence, Nom, according to the World Bank in 2018.

It all depends on context. Europe is not directly threatened by any nation external to NATO. Nor is Australia. Governments however like to play with defence spending in political games designed to shore their political chances up.

[Nom De Plume]

It's the NATO member states of Europe who are the parasites and don't even pay 2% of their GDP on defence. Cut them loose.

Does anybody know how much we spend on defence as a percentage of GDP?

Not 2% of GDP...that’s for sure.
Does that make Australia parasites also?

Australia is not a member of NATO's collective defence and, as such, is not required to spend the agreed 2% of its GDP towards mutual defence for this intergovernmental alliance. Members of NATO committed to spending 2% of their GDP on defence. Australia did not. We do however provide support by way of troops etc.

NATO = North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. We are not in the North Atlantic and Russia is not a threat to us. Only 7 of the 29 NATO members pay the agreed 2% to meet their defence spending targets. The rest expect the US to foot the bill for their safety and protection.

So ... NO!

Agreed. So why does Australia have a commitment to a military spend of 2% of GDP by 2021? Who are we comparing ourselves to? And why?

Canada has a military spend of 1.2% of GDP... well below the nato requirements, are they also leeches like Europe?

[Black Orchid]

Canada increased their spending on defence last year but considering where they are situated and bordering the US I doubt they have any real fears of attack/invasion. So maybe you could say they are leeches?

Flek started the parasitic remarks aimed at the US so perhaps you could ask him. With regards to NATO the US are definitely not the parasites.

[Nom De Plume]

Canada increased their spending on defence last year but considering where they are situated and bordering the US I doubt they have any real fears of attack/invasion. So maybe you could say they are leeches?

Flek started the parasitic remarks aimed at the US so perhaps you could ask him. With regards to NATO the US are definitely not the parasites.

And you conceded to his view. Why?

Meanwhile, France exceeded their requirements committing 2.3% of GDP to their military budget, yet you and Fleck would include them in your tainted assessment of Europe.

[Black Orchid]

I think you have either misread or misunderstood.

Only 7 of the 29 NATO allies are living up to their agreed commitment. Why should the US take up the slack for those other 22 countries? It is supposedly for their own protection isn't it? Why should they not pay what they agreed to for their own protection?

Why should the US be called parasites with regard to the NATO alliance?

[The4thEstate]

Media bias should probably deserve it's very own topic.

In the U.S., it deserves its own forum.

Of course, you won’t be an American if you don’t go to a foreign forum and completely invade the space with demands. It’s only parasitic nations like yours and parasits who demand their own space on foreign “land.”

Wow, you're stewing in your own anti-American hatred like a carrot in a pot roast! In fact, you're so consumed by it that you can't even comprehend the simple sentence I wrote.

So let's go over it again, starting with the small words so as not to overtax your brain too severely:
1."In the U.S."

Here's your first clue that I'm not talking about this forum. Or any other forum in Australia. The key word is the last one: "U.S."

Give yourself a few minutes (or hours, if need be) to let that sink in.

Ready for the second half of my sentence? Probably not, but let's go for it anyway:

2. "it deserves its own forum."

This brings us to the big quiz at the end of the chapter. If I'm talking about creating a new forum, which country would I want to establish it in?

No peeking at the first half of my sentence -- this is a memory test!

If you still can't figure it out, feel free to call someone smarter -- like a professor at your local college, a teacher at your local elementary school ... or the primate exhibit at your local zoo.

[FLEKTARN]

Media bias should probably deserve it's very own topic.

In the U.S., it deserves its own forum.

Of course, you won’t be an American if you don’t go to a foreign forum and completely invade the space with demands. It’s only parasitic nations like yours and parasits who demand their own space on foreign “land.”

Wow, you're stewing in your own anti-American hatred like a carrot in a pot roast! In fact, you're so consumed by it that you can't even comprehend the simple sentence I wrote.

So let's go over it again, starting with the small words so as not to overtax your brain too severely:
1."In the U.S."

Here's your first clue that I'm not talking about this forum. Or any other forum in Australia. The key word is the last one: "U.S."

Give yourself a few minutes (or hours, if need be) to let that sink in.

Ready for the second half of my sentence? Probably not, but let's go for it anyway:

2. "it deserves its own forum."

This brings us to the big quiz at the end of the chapter. If I'm talking about creating a new forum, which country would I want to establish it in?

No peeking at the first half of my sentence -- this is a memory test!

If you still can't figure it out, feel free to call someone smarter -- like a professor at your local college, a teacher at your local elementary school ... or the primate exhibit at your local zoo.

At the local zoo we have a lot of monkeys. We call them Americans. Not because of racism, of course, but because they were imported from America. They're good chimps. A bit stupid, but very good overall. Extraordinary animals. Very hostile toward other animals too.

[The4thEstate]

Media bias should probably deserve it's very own topic.

In the U.S., it deserves its own forum.

Of course, you won’t be an American if you don’t go to a foreign forum and completely invade the space with demands. It’s only parasitic nations like yours and parasits who demand their own space on foreign “land.”

Wow, you're stewing in your own anti-American hatred like a carrot in a pot roast! In fact, you're so consumed by it that you can't even comprehend the simple sentence I wrote.

So let's go over it again, starting with the small words so as not to overtax your brain too severely:
1."In the U.S."

Here's your first clue that I'm not talking about this forum. Or any other forum in Australia. The key word is the last one: "U.S."

Give yourself a few minutes (or hours, if need be) to let that sink in.

Ready for the second half of my sentence? Probably not, but let's go for it anyway:

2. "it deserves its own forum."

This brings us to the big quiz at the end of the chapter. If I'm talking about creating a new forum, which country would I want to establish it in?

No peeking at the first half of my sentence -- this is a memory test!

If you still can't figure it out, feel free to call someone smarter -- like a professor at your local college, a teacher at your local elementary school ... or the primate exhibit at your local zoo.

At the local zoo we have a lot of monkeys. We call them Americans. Not because of racism, of course, but because they were imported from America. They're good chimps. A bit stupid, but very good overall. Extraordinary animals. Very hostile toward other animals too.

Actually, the monkeys you describe aren't half as stupid as the people who think it's possible to import monkeys from America.
https://www.popsci.com/science/article/ ... s-america/

But since you seem to like strange and rare native creatures imported from America, I can get you a good deal on a jackalope (as long as you don't tell anybody where you got it). Check this out:
http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0288/5 ... 9502724114