What? The Russians are coming you say.
I read the news today oh boy! Page 1,969
Quote: Stephen Goodlad @ 16th December 2017, 10:06 PMWhat? The Russians are coming you say.
So say the New York Times:
NAPLES, Italy -- Russian attack submarines, the most in two decades, are prowling the coastlines of Scandinavia and Scotland, the Mediterranean Sea and the North Atlantic in what Western military officials say is a significantly increased presence aimed at contesting American and NATO undersea dominance.
Adm. Mark Ferguson, the United States Navy's top commander in Europe, said last fall that the intensity of Russian submarine patrols had risen by almost 50 percent over the past year, citing public remarks by the Russian Navy chief, Adm. Viktor Chirkov. Analysts say that tempo has not changed since then.
The patrols are the most visible sign of a renewed interest in submarine warfare by President Vladimir V. Putin, whose government has spent billions of dollars for new classes of diesel and nuclear-powered attack submarines that are quieter, better armed and operated by more proficient crews than in the past.
And the head of your Royal Navy:
In Northern Europe and the Baltic, we are responding to the highest level of Russian naval activity since the end of the Cold War.
Although one only has to look as far as Georgia and Ukraine to see that ol' Vlad has his eyes on what used to be the Soviet Union.
Quote: DaButt @ 16th December 2017, 10:00 PMThe Russians are upgrading and growing their submarine fleet and they are patrolling the North Sea and Baltic Sea at a pace not seen since the end of the Cold War. Germany needs their subs, and they need them now. They're also planning to increase the size of their fleet in order to counter Russia's advances.
So the movie ''Red Dawn'' lied when it showed them arrive by parachute. They are coming by sub!
Ah, come on..
Russia seems to be doing rather well with cyber attacks and propaganda wars. Building a virus must be lose change compared to a submarine. If they have subs off the coast of Scotland, they'll be deep fried by now. 
...They said there'd be peace on earth.
(But instead it just kept on raining.)
Russians will never set foot in Britain. If you listen to the remoaners, this country will be too terrible to bear, what with all the "racist" Brexites..........
Happy Birthday, Keef!
It's a long read, but the story is compelling: the Obama administration stymied a long-running investigation into Hezbollah's massive money laundering, drug importing, weapons smuggling scheme in order to push the Iran nuclear deal.
https://www.politico.com/interactives/2017/obama-hezbollah-drug-trafficking-investigation/
63,600 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2016 - a 21% increase from 2015. That's double the number of people killed by firearms (including the more than 20,000 suicides) and almost double deaths from vehicle accidents. Are opioids also a big problem in the UK?
About 4,600 died last year.
Based on our population that still only about a third of the US rate (v.rough calculations!)
So big, but not as big.
Still too big, though.
Its a similar picture with alcohol. In 2016 there were 7,327 alcohol-specific deaths in the UK. The best figure I can find for America is 88,000. But as its over 250% higher than in the UK, as a proportion, a rounded figure is probably good enough. I wonder why America has it harder ? All that "Have a nice day" optimism must be bad for you.
Quote: Firkin @ 22nd December 2017, 8:34 PMIts a similar picture with alcohol. In 2016 there were 7,327 alcohol-specific deaths in the UK. The best figure I can find for America is 88,000. But as its over 250% higher than in the UK, as a proportion, a rounded figure is probably good enough.
One glaring difference would be alcohol-related vehicular deaths, since the United States is a much more mobile and car-dependant nation.
It probably all comes down to what is considered "alcohol-related" by both countries. Here's the breakdown for the United States and I'm not sure how things like epilepsy and prostate cancer can be linked to alcohol:
That's a useful breakdown Da Butt. You are right about a higher car accident rate, but that doesn't make much of a dint in the overall difference. Could it simply be that American living is more stressful ? You have fewer holidays, and are more efficient.
According to one report those living in the Netherlands record among the lowest levels of stress in the EU, but its hard to find like for like figures on alcohol related death rates. But they famously take a relaxed approach on marijuana. I wonder it legalising marijuana in the USA will lower alcohol consumption ? Has it sent the share price of Ben and Jerry's higher ?
A baby has been born in Bethlehem.