Ask HN: Would you participate if there were a draft in your country?

Re:Ask HN: Would you participate if there were a draft in yo... by peteretep on Monday July 21, 2014 @10:27AM (#8063807)

    > the US troops that have for so long enabled European
    > governments to spend money on healthcare are now just a
    > thin, semipermeable membrane between Russia and their
    > safe, little garden

You realize Europeans spend less on healthcare than Americans do, right?

Also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO#French_withdrawal plus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_France

Also: France, Germany, UK and Italy spend as much combined as China does, ignoring the rest of the European countries.

Also: your fantasy that European healthcare can be afforded due to American military spending is offensive, wrong, and appears to be a bewildered reaction to "How are we the only rich country who have screwed up our healthcare provision so badly?"

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Re:Ask HN: Would you participate if there were a draft in yo... by classicsnoot on Monday July 21, 2014 @10:59AM (#8063960)

very cute. your numbers are interesting. if you read your history, you will see that a certain coal mining consortium in the '60s and '70s decided to leverage an abiding presence of foreign troops into providing massive social programs for their citizenry despite the crippling effects of a huge, costly war. I said healthcare, but the reality is also roads, bridges, buried power lines, etc. By not having to fund standing armies, the governments of Europe were free to do a lot that i wish my country did for us.

I'd say sorry you were offended, but i find your frustration comical, so i guess i will say thank you instead.

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Re:Ask HN: Would you participate if there were a draft in yo... by peteretep on Monday July 21, 2014 @11:48AM (#8064227)

I realize that Wikipedia is some kind of socialist conspiracy plot, but: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_military_e...

And the standing army thing is ... odd. Related: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_number_of_...

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Re:Ask HN: Would you participate if there were a draft in yo... by classicsnoot on Monday July 21, 2014 @12:10PM (#8064328)

God i hope so. At least someone is winning on the intellectual team.

As i see it happening, if there was a land war it would be fast and devastating in a very pointed way. Arguably suicidal incursions into city centers by specops chaps and gung ho paramilitary types using drones and wire cutters and wearing all manor of different uniform or guise. Then it is the blitz. This advance must occur before and effective air assault can be made.

All this to say it would go from peace to war in a matter of minutes to hours depending on your position. I don't see the Army of the Union responding very well to that.

This is all off topic really though, because i am more interested on the perspective of life through the war. That is why i asked. My answer changes like the wind.

So, what would you do?

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Re:Ask HN: Would you participate if there were a draft in yo... by dragonwriter on Monday July 21, 2014 @12:47PM (#8064546)

> By not having to fund standing armies, the governments of Europe were free to do a lot that i wish my country did for us.

AFAIK, the only European country that doesn't fund a standing military (besides some of the microstates, like Andorra) is Iceland.

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