Comments by "David Ford" (@davidford3115) on "The Infographics Show" channel.

  1.  @kameljoe21  What they need is liberty and individual right to self-determination. Technology has never been their problem, it is the top-down central planning and control that has always hamstrung North Korea.
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  2. The Soviet Union didn't declare war on Japan until TWO DAYS after the Hiroshima bombing, and ONE DAY before Nagasaki. Your claims about the Soviet Advance in Manchuria is an anachronistic argument because it puts the effect before the cause.
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  3. The Poles have been the real unsung heroes, facilitating the logistics so that Ukraine can focus on the fight.
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  4.  @alwinsoria97  Indeed. Many folks are unaware that the infamous Demon Core that killed Louis Slotten was supposed to be used on Kokura.
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  5. THAT is why Macro is so gungho over Ukraine.
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  6. Exactly!
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  7.  @MrBorderlands123  Because we have a legal system that rewards prosecutions for pointless offenses such as purchasing alcohol on Sunday.
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  8. Indeed. The bombs were basically telling them that their death would be meaningless. For a warrior culture, that is the ultimate nightmare, scarier than to die as an old man in their bed.
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  9. French used to be the language of the English court before the British Royals were kicked out of Normandy.
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  10.  @arutka2000  Indeed. People seem to forget how quickly the Japanese initially built up their military power. And the speed of the post war rebuilding further drives home your point.
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  11. Operation Downfall and Operation Ketsu-Go make it quite clear WHY those bombs had to be dropped.
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  12. Indeed. People conveniently forget that Stalin declared war TWO DAYS after Hiroshima. As you point out, he knew the Pacific theater was about to close so he wanted to get in and claim some spoils before it was over.
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  13. ​ @bobstoffel6811  No, he doesn't. The both of you put the cart before the horse in an anachronistic fallacy.
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  14. Indeed. They had drunk their own kool-aid.
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  15. I am glad you understand those nuances and details. I am amazed at how many people arguing against the use don't understand the critical details you point out.
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  16.  @ceejay1353  On paper means "in theory" ie, perfect conditions. Russia's Army looked impressive when looking at the numbers, but when actually used, they were less than effective. And using the Russian Military as an analogy, I am saying that the Russian economy is analogous to the Russian Army.
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  17.  @daviekingipotiki8918  Experience is no replacement for technology. Japanese aviation proved that in WW2; they started out with the edge in both experience and tech, but quickly lost both.
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  18. On paper or in reality? On paper, the Russia economy have never looked better. In practice, it is as effective as the Russian Army was during the battle of Kiev.
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  19.  @patriktoth6258  Parroting Kremlin talking points doesn't make you smart, it reveals you to be Pavlov's Dog.
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  20.  @SteinlichStein  Actually, it is exactly what is happening in North Korea. DPRK is doing the very same things as the Soviet Union did, which is no surprise considering that North Korea was basically a client state of the USSR.
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  21. Well, and the Japanese never reached out directly to the US, UK, or any of the traditionally neutral powers like Switzerland. They reached out to SOVIET RUSSIA to ask for terms of a cease fire. That shows you how insincere they were. It also shows how insincere the anti-bomb crowd is that they don't acknowledge that critical point.
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  22. Naw, it means you have a gallows sense of humor.
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  23. Not entirely true. The infamous "Demon Core" that killed Louis Slotten was supposed to be bomb number three to be dropped on Kokura (the original target of Bockscar and Fat Man).
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  24. Don't forget that the infamous "Demon Core" was supposed to be bomb number three that would have been dropped on Kokura.
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  25.  @ethandollarhide7943  Yeah, and most of those top 15 are under the umbrella of US protection. Think about that.
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  26.  @c0ya1  Indeed. The option with the fewest casualties on both sides is ALWAYS the best solution. Sadly, too many people think impossible and unworkable solutions should be pursued even when it is a fool's errand.
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  27.  @Paint-brigade1776  The Bourbons supported the US during its revolution. Then the French people killed them and also threatened to execute The Marquis de Lafayette. Fast forward to the 1965-66 and De Gaulle drags the US into Vietnam. While at the same time ordered all US troops out of France prompting Dwight Eisenhower to cynically ask if the war dead buried in France should also leave. Some friendship.
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  28. What was certain was the mobilization of troops and weapons in preparation for Ketsu-Go as the Japanese very accurately predicted where Operation Olympic would make landfall in Kyushu.
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  29. Even with generous terms of surrender, the Japanese would have never accepted. The fact that even after the first bomb, they went to the Soviets wanting to dictate terms shows that nothing short of unconditional surrender was even possible. By the time of the Philippines, most Americans had gotten to the point of "let them keep their Emperor".
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  30. And so you avoid a number of chronological fallacies. I wish more people would have the wisdom that you show but NOT judging the past by today's standards and criteria.
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  31. Indeed. They had the ferocity of a Jihadi. You would think that today we would have learned the lessons of WW2 when fighting fanatical zealots.
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  32. Indeed. Nearly all of the torpedoes and bombs used by the Japanese in WW2 came from Nagasaki.
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  33.  @M81005  You don't "scrap" a radioactive core. A better description is that it was melted down and recast into a new core. And as I recall, the recycled core was used in a later nuclear test, though I don't remember which one.
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  34.  @shadowslayer9988  Tokyo had already been firebombed such that over 70% of the city was already smoldering rubble. They would have only targeted the capital with a nuke after all other targets had been expended.
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  35.  @jesukxd8494  They could still have been dismantled for the components. Do keep in mind that codes were part of US developed technology given to the Soviets in the wake of a few attempts by the KGB to use nukes without oversight by the Central Planning Committee.
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  36. The naysayers blatantly ignore those little details.
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  37. So is Japanese defense plan Ketsu-Go. Aguments agaisnt using the bombs fail to account for the actions the Japanese would have taken.
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  38. You realize the Japanese government forced civilians to manufacture vehicle parts in their homes? Even if what you suggest was done, the Japanese government would never have permitted the population to evacuate.
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  39.  @Mildain2000  No, it was not. Kokura, the original target of the Second bomb was still a priority.
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  40. Indeed. People seem to not understand that Japan was a warrior culture. So, death in battle, even a losing one is still a warrior's preferred way to go. The bombs denied them that "clean warrior's" death. And I agree about post-War Japan becoming an economic powerhouse. They seem to have taken a page from the Dutch who change to economic might after their pasting by the British.
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  41. Yeah, that is the argument of the anti-nuke crowd and completely takes the whole situation out of context. It is predicated not on facts but on emotions of people who blatantly ignore key details such as the Japanese defense plan Ketsu-Go.
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  42. And both would have looked like cakewalks compared to possible landings at Kyushu. That is but one piece the naysayers blatantly ignore.
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  43. Considering that they didn't surrender after the first one, a "demonstration" would have done nothing.
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  44. Yeah, the anti-bomb crowd blatantly ignores the Japanese defense plan Ketsu-Go, often trivializing it without acknowledging that it would have made Okinawa look like a cakewalk.
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  45. Did NATO invade Ukraine? No, that was Russia. Did NATO force Poland, the Baltic States, Slovakia, Czecia, Hungary, and former Yugoslav states to join? No, it was Soviet Russia that forced them to be part of the Warsaw Pact. Stop victim blaming.
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  46.  @crimsonsr20  Nationalism by itself is not a scary thing. FANATICISM driving ETHNONATIONALISM is scary. Putting the best interests of your people first, ahead of your own pride (true patriotism and nationalism) is an honorable and noble thing. What we saw in the Kamikaze and the Banzai charge is akin to Jihadism.
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  47.  @RandallBesch  Because SOMEONE has to pay for it. No such thing as a free lunch. In the case of Scandinavia, the OIL SALES are what pays for the gravy train. The rest of Europe gets away with it because they don't spend squat on their militaries.
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  48. I think having experienced Iwo Jima and Okinawa, it was VERY easy to quantify the fatality rates on both sides.
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  49.  @MrSergore  No, LOAC was NOT written by Americans, it was a collaboration of people who came together in the wake of WW2 to recodify what is and is not acceptable behavior in time of war. It is amazing your level of historical ignorance and chronological snobbery. But I get it, you can't defend your position because it is based only on emotion, not logic, facts, nor reason.
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  50. Indeed. The Aussies and the Kiwis were kind of miffed that they didn't get to take the point and be the Vanguard during Coral Sea and lead up to the liberation of the Philippines. And when planning for Olympic began, they begged to be a part of the action. It was MacArthur who relegated them to "clean up" operations.
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