Early Access: Did Germany Just Buy the F-35?

Another vote for German uber words.... Funny story on this - back in the 90s when I was working on a game, I got flagged for a bug in a display routine - there was a text field that was 40 columns and it was supposed to break words at white space. Worked fine in the other languages it was translated in, but blew up in German. You can see where this is going. The translated English->German word > 40 characters. When asked if it was possible to add a white space in there or change wording (since this wasn't like user input - it was scripted text ), the answer was "Not really".

Roger Fujii

Great video! Go Germania, a very gentle giant Western democracy, while Russia descends into madness.

Glad to see Germany (at least potentially) stepping back up to shoulder their responsibilities to Europe.

Bruce Stein

So, you may be right that much of what the Chancellor proposed to the Bundestag will come to little. But, just saying the words was a sea change. If the measures he proposed happen? An enormous shift in the world order. It may not look like it, when one considers the size of Germany's armed forces, but as you pointed out, it's a 180 degree shift from 60(?) years of policy. I suspect Putin had no idea of what would come out of his decision to attack a country as he did, but I suspect Russians will suffer from his decision for a long time to come. The Ukrainians, of course, are already suffering a great deal. I personally found the statements from the Chancellor and the Opposition (Merz) to be most inspiring, and the response from the Bundestag to be generally positive. Say what you will about the German bureaucracy and Parliament, I can only wish the US Congress was able to function half as well. Finally, a comment on BAAINBw: Yes, it's a great acronym. But frankly, I don't think any language in the world mashes together words the way you Germans do to create new ones. At least the important ones are short. You know, like "Bier."

Sean Tyson

Well Chris, regretfully, I'll have to stay away from politics and stick with acronyms and aircraft. And yes, you win, BAAINBw is a winning acronym. There are F-35 fans and followers. Standing by for the F-35 video (have not seen/heard one in person yet). There are F/A-18 fans and followers (seen/heard lots of these). I'm of the thought European countries produce very capable aircraft and employ local people. Good for their economy. Plus, it keeps the Die Cast people busy and give variety to the consumer. This is an A+ for your passion on the topic.

Frank C

‘Bout time

Chris McIsaac