IntenseDebate - MikeOTDP

15 years ago @ Big Hollywood - The James Bond Chronic... · 0 replies · +2 points

The interesting part is that in the books, Tracey's death shatters Bond. Totally. THAT would have made a great film...and we saw a whisper of it in Quantum of Solace.

15 years ago @ Big Hollywood - The James Bond Chronic... · 2 replies · +2 points

I actually thought QOS was pretty good. It's clearly a setup piece, leaving M wondering who can be trusted - and realizing that Bond is one of the few people that can. And both of them facing an organization whose real size and power can only be guessed at.

15 years ago @ Big Peace - China to Increase Defe... · 0 replies · +4 points

The amount or lack thereof of spending is immaterial - especially in a communist country. It's too easy to jigger the books as the Soviets did.

Pay attention to what's being bought. The Chinese are buying a lot of hardware, and are starting to develop design capabilities. We can beat them, but only if we put forth more effort than the Obama gang is willing to support.

15 years ago @ Big Peace - Coming Soon: 'Enhanced... · 1 reply · +3 points

Leftists can't be human shields. Nothing that low on the evolutionary scale is considered human. :-)

15 years ago @ Big Hollywood - The James Bond Chronic... · 1 reply · +2 points

I wouldn't go that far, but it's well established that it led to the development of emergency underwater breathing gear for helicopter crews. The Navy saw the mini-SCUBA gadget, found out it was just a prop...and put money into developing real hardware. Helicopters turn over when ditched, and crewmembers were drowning. Saved quite a few people in the end.

15 years ago @ Big Hollywood - The James Bond Chronic... · 0 replies · +1 points

Ah, but the movie scripts started diverging (often wildly) from the books after "Thunderball".

15 years ago @ Big Peace - Big Government Pentagon · 0 replies · +1 points

Part of the problem was caused by the defense industry consolidation that took place in the 1990s. When you're down to three major airframe companies, and two or three shipbuilders, it gets hard to blackball a vendor...and impossible, when they bring their lobbyists into play.

15 years ago @ Big Peace - Defense Cuts We Can’... · 1 reply · +1 points

The effect a Continuing Resolution has is more serious than people realize. It means repeating last year's budget - whether or not it fits this year's needs. Which it never does, as acquisition programs wax and wane with the passage of time.

I'm becoming a supporter of a limited draft for just this reason. Limited to the children of Federal elected officials - to motivate them to do their duty in a timely manner.

15 years ago @ Big Peace - Why Are We in Afghanis... · 0 replies · +1 points

I think the real question is whether to pursue a strategy of counterinsurgency...or a strategy of retaliation. COIN takes patience, though, and the American public has never been patient.

Which leaves us one option.

15 years ago @ Big Hollywood - The James Bond Chronic... · 0 replies · +5 points

The movie is a definite improvement. The book had Goldfinger actually tying to loot the gold, load it on trucks, and drive to Norfolk, VA - to load on a Soviet cruiser.

Fleming not, apparently, being familiar with American geography. It's a day's drive. The movie is FAR tighter in the plot.

IntenseDebate Comment System

Connect with MikeOTDP

People I'm following

MikeOTDP