How was it, given fascism's theoretical predilection for kitsch, that the Nazi's generally had such strongly stylin' uniforms? Could it all have been Hugo Boss? https://t.co/C9Su69H1Nb
— William Gibson (@GreatDismal) December 29, 2020
२९ डिसेंबर, २०२०
William Gibson — deploying the old "grocer's apostrophe" — says something inscrutable about Nazis and the Space Force.
याची सदस्यत्व घ्या:
टिप्पणी पोस्ट करा (Atom)
पोस्ट्स
१०२ टिप्पण्या:
Yetch!
H.X.G. - USAFA '65
I tend to be reticent to use the "grocer's apostrophe."
Nazis in the White House, Nazis behind the woodpile, Nazi everywhere. And now, Nazis in space! Cool. It's kind of like Nazi heaven out there. And coming soon - Nazis on Mars.
The feminine plural is Nazies.
Iron Sky already did Nazis on the Moon.
Yes, it was fascist styling and not the fashion of the period. Not like you can't see elements associated with those uniforms in many US state police uniforms established in the 1930s and still worn today.
The uniforms don't look too bad. A bit futuristic, which is nice.
I hated when the Army went to the Blues. Personally, I'd rather they'd kept the green color and went to a 18th century style frock coat with a standing turned down collar, and a cocked hat for officers.
The bus-drivers' stripe on the pants leg makes the uniform.
Sky Captains and the World of Tomorrow.
Nazis are cool. I've always wanted to get me one, but every time I go to the store they are either out of stock or on backorder. I guess they just don't make them like they used to.
A black with white dots camouflage uniform would be good.
You'd want the black on the camou uniform to radiate at 3.5 degrees Kelvin.
The insignia looks a little like the Starfleet insignia from Star Trek.
No, That Space Force Uniform Design on Social Media Isn't Real, Officials Say
“The uniform graphic being shared on social media is not an official U.S. Space Force uniform design concept,” Maj. Nick Mercurio said in an email Tuesday. “The Space Force service dress uniform is still in development.”
Space force uniform should be identical to 1960s TV series Star Trek, and there is no meritorious argument to the contrary.
Space cadets. Movie ushers. Flash Gordon would laugh.
Do we need a Space Force? Can't NASA and the air force handle it? Was anyone calling for another branch before Trump decided that is would be cool? Not that I heard.
It looks like somebody was having a little joke at the country's expense.
Like Paul Verhoeven with Starship Troopers.
Mr Wibble said...
I hated when the Army went to the Blues. Personally, I'd rather they'd kept the green color and went to a 18th century style frock coat with a standing turned down collar, and a cocked hat for officers.
They're going back to the WWII "pinks and greens". I would normally approve, but they blew by giving the combination cap the "20 mission crush".
Who gets the red shirt?
Do we need a Space Force? Can't NASA and the air force handle it? Was anyone calling for another branch before Trump decided that is would be cool? Not that I heard.
Supposedly there's been talk for a while. The problem is that Space is becoming much more militarily important, which takes it out of NASA's area, but leaving it to the Air Force meant it was never going to get the focus it needs. Personally, I'd rather have multiple small branches each narrowly tailored in their focus, than try to fit everything into one giant branch which is schizophrenic and beset by empire-building and turf wars.
They're going back to the WWII "pinks and greens". I would normally approve, but they blew by giving the combination cap the "20 mission crush".
Not a huge fan of the pinks and greens, TBH. Plus, I think that trying to trade on the old uniforms is merely an attempt to bandage over institutional problems without actually addressing those problems.
Are we still doing Space Force? It feels like a dream to me now.
They change uniforms about every 5 years. Someone is getting kickbacks ...
>> Are we still doing Space Force? It feels like a dream to me now.
One of my daughters is in the USSF. I assure you it’s very real.��
And Steve, it is a department of the Air Force.
Althouse dreams of being Cleolanta, the suzerain of Ophecius, arch foe of Rocky Jones, Space Ranger.
Evoking:
Nixon’s Palace Guard
January 1970: The White House guard (secret service uniformed division) publicly revealed their new uniforms which featured a white, double-breasted tunic with gold shoulder trim and a stiff shako hat with peaked front. They replaced the black uniforms the guards had previously worn on ceremonial occasions.
http://www.weirduniverse.net/images/2016/1970guards.jpg
President Nixon had ordered that a new uniform be designed after he had seen what palace guards wore in other countries and had decided that the White House needed something as fancy.
However, almost no one liked the new uniforms. People made comments such as:
"they look like extras from a Lithuanian movie"
"Late Weimar Republic"
"Nazi uniforms"
"like a palace guard of toy soldiers"
"will they be goose-stepping, or what?"
"falls somewhere between early high school band and late palace guard."
"They look like old-time movie ushers."
Chicago Tribune columnist Walter Trohan complained they were a "frank borrowing from decadent European monarchies, which is abhorrent to this country’s democratic tradition."
The guards themselves complained that they felt too theatrical and that the hats were uncomfortable. So within a month, the hats had disappeared. The white jackets lasted longer, but eventually, they too were mothballed.
http://www.weirduniverse.net/blog/comments/nixon_palace_guard
Well, Mel Brooks did Jews in Space.....
The Nazis produced good shows. I've long had the impression that, in his deepest, most secret heart, Spielberg aspires to be reborn as a Nazi producer. Not sure he would be up to it, his design for Obama's nomination rally was a sad imitation.
it's more a british navy type outfit, gibson predicted corporate hegemonies like tessier ashpool, cyber mercenaries like case/armitage, out of deep state sinecures,
No doubt Trump designed them all by his lonesome.
Orange Man Bad.
Gibson--straining to be clever and failing.
Those models look like militarized parking valets.
The US Army changed from pinks and olive drab greens to what one writer called "central European dark green and gold" after WWII-- a subterranean German influence? Not sure about the blues--at least, dark blue had been the dress color through the 19th C, so maybe it was a return, not a departure.
In the late '60s we were still marching around in green wool uniforms on JROTC days.
Narr
In Prague last year the Presidential Guard uniforms were downright Ruritanian
Not to sound all gay and racist but if you google images of Confederate gray and red artillery you’ll see some of the most beautiful uniforms ever designed.
"One of my daughters is in the USSF. I assure you it’s very real."
It must be real. Your daughter's in it.
I can't make up my mind until I see Uhura in one...
Say what you will about the Nazi's, but the graphic design and branding was spectacular.
Ever had a job where one day you're informed this place doesn't exist anymore? I have!
"A black with white dots camouflage uniform would be good."
Comment of the year : )
"Space Force expected to live on past Trump era."
"President-elect Joe Biden has pledged to reverse or review many of President Trump’s changes at the Pentagon, but one of Trump’s signature achievements is expected to live on: the Space Force. The service has been a punchline for late-night comedians since Trump first began talking about it and even inspired a Netflix satire. Some progressive groups have called for Biden to abolish what they consider a wasteful flight of Trump’s fancy. Neither Biden nor his team have detailed his plans for the military service, and the transition did not respond to requests for comment from The Hill. But getting rid of the Space Force would take an act of Congress, where it enjoys bipartisan support among lawmakers who view the new branch as integral to ensuring the military puts enough focus on space to counter China and Russia."
If you haven't seen the 2017 documentary Gilbert about the comedian Gilbert Gottfried, go watch it. Even if you think you hate Gottfried. I've been a fan of his for as long as I can remember. I was shocked that he agreed to a documentary because Gilbert is one of those comedians who is always "on" in public or during interviews. It's nearly impossible to find instances of Gilbert ever being serious or introspective or vulnerable. Most people don't even realize that his famously shrill isn't his real voice.
During a segment of the documentary meant to showcase the monotony of a road comic's lifestyle, Gilbert is performing at a hotel that is also hosting a convention of WWII reenactment buffs, about 90% of whom are dressed in Nazi uniforms. Even though Gilbert is a non-practicing Jew who was never Bar Mitzvahed, the holocaust is a subtext to his entire absurdist approach to life and to comedy. There's no business like Shoah business.
If I saw someone wearing that outside of my hotel, I'd probably throw them the keys to my car along with a couple of crisp Washington's...
They look like North Korean Crossing Guards
Gottfried is one of the funniest men alive...or dead.
You're a Redditor, Ann. This is concept art cooked up by u/Aeroseph on r/SpaceForce. The pundits are all just beclowing themselves, from a place deep in their confident ignorance.
Gottfried does an excellent impression of Seinfeld.
What happen to the Uhura short uniform skirts !
How was it, given fascism's theoretical predilection for kitsch,
I'm not sure how this statement could ever be empirically verified, but, in any case I doubt its veracity.
I mean, was any fascist military any more kitsch-y than like the British military with its Cold Stream Guards, various Scottish regiments, Gurkhas, etc?
The Left knows a lot of things about Fascism that just ain't so.
I mean, isn't it probably that the theory giving rise to the predicted "theoretical predilection for kitch" is just . . wrong? I actually don't even know what that theoretical basis would be. If fascism is the "aestheticisation of politics" (itself a memorable and dismissive turn of phrase that strikes me as not quite accurate), you'd expect aesthetics to be a key part of their appeal. And indeed, from the perspective of logos, symbols, architecture, uniforms, both the Nazis and the Italian fascists were exceptionally good at developing iconic and appealing imagery, whether it's the modernist stripped classicism of the Zeppelin field at Nuremburg, the Hugo Boss uniforms, the Volkswagen beetle, the Swastika, or . . or, uh, that building with a giant cast of Mussolini's face on it, I guess? Okay, maybe the Italian fascists weren't that memorable, but being surprised that the Nazis were great at modern design is itself sort of surprising.
Today, Fauscism compels us to wear masks
Looks to me like it was based on those really bad USAF Academy Cadet dress uniforms.
"...but being surprised that the Nazis were great at modern design is itself sort of surprising."
As a graphic designer/art director who worked in tech (branding, advertising, packaging, corporate ID), what the Nazis did in the graphics department was master level.
If it weren't politically incorrect, there would be graduate courses being taught about it.
Gottfried is one of the funniest men alive...or dead.
If you doubt that, google Gilbert Gottfried The Aristocrats and play the first video that pops up.
Splanky said...
What happen to the Uhura short uniform skirts !
Gene Roddenberry married Majel Barrett and got old.
Nonapod said... The insignia looks a little like the Starfleet insignia from Star Trek.
Star Fleet was established in 2161, so obviously, Star Fleet stole the insignia from Space Force.
In reality, the insignia is an original design of NASA used since 1961. Star Trek premiered in 1966. The Delta design - Sempra Supra - has a meaning:
"The star in the middle is meant to symbolize Polaris, otherwise known as the North Star, the core values and guiding light for the organization. The two spires are meant to look like a rocket launch, while the four beveled elements at the bottom represent the four armed forces supporting the space mission. Around the edge there’s a silver border, signifying “defense and protection,” and the black background is the blackness of space, obviously."
I can't believe we beat the Nazis! Their uniforms were cooler than ours, their tanks were better looking than ours . . .
Wargame conventions (and some still survive) used to have a rule that no military uniforms that post-dated 1900 would be allowed (except for actual servicemen). And for years around here, our local history events would attract so many Confederate reenactors that B/black folks would stay away. That is changing, but too late-- the sense of history is being throttled in this country.
The Italian Fascists in particular were pioneers of Futurist design, and the Krauts just perfected it.
Narr
Yes, Gibson's phraseology is too murky to be wit
I think the connecting thread between Italian fascism and German Nazism is a kind of ultranationalism premised on returning the nation to its ancestral roots. Italy looked to the Roman Empire, and Nazi Germany was the "Third Reich" after the Holy Roman Empire and German Empire. It was assumed that the ancestral nation had declined because of degenerate elements within society, and both believed that the masses had to be mobilized in order to achieve the rebirth of the nation and a return to former greatness, and romantic symbolism and fetishism of youth and masculinity were essential components of such a mobilization.
This is why the left-right spectrum is ill-suited for describing fascism. Its efforts to reorder society is not really progressive because it is justified as a return to a previous state, but it is not conservative because it is not grounded in traditionalism but a mythological past. Fascists believed that the large-scale industrialized total war experienced during WWI would be a regular occurrence and that society must organize itself around this notion if it wished to survive. After the destruction of WWII and especially the development of atomic weapons, this notion faded and fascism essentially lost its raison d'être.
yikes. Is it just me or do they look like crossing guards?
@Amanda, it’s just you.
I highly doubt interstellar space warfare can be engaged in any but earthbound human beings. Actual space forces will consist of AI Robots that, if they bear any resemblance to humans, will seem more like various generations of Terminators, whose "uniforms" will be strictly for camouflage.
Earthbound human "commanders" will be clad in whatever LARP "uniforms" serve the associated Skynet's fancy (or, more likely, serve the purpose of promoting the illusion of being in charge.)
We're in an armed services race!
The Russkis have 1) an army 2) a navy 3) an air force 4) an air-defense force, and 5) a strategic rocket force. At least, the last time I looked.
Narr
OTOH, we have CNN!
I can't believe we beat the Nazis! Their uniforms were cooler than ours, their tanks were better looking than ours
I think credit for defeating the Nazis belongs primarily to the Soviets. The WWII narrative that make the British and Americans the heroes of the European theatre is mostly a revisionism stemming from the Cold War. A similar revisionism was responsible for lessening Germany's responsibility in starting the First World War in favor of stumbling into war by miscalculation or "sleepwalking" into the conflict.
Blogger Lurker21 said...
Like Paul Verhoeven with Starship Troopers.
I guess the co-ed showers are not gonna happen. :-(
I tend to be reticent to use the "grocer's apostrophe."
If you see one, elide it.
Actually, fascism in the guise of nationalism + socialism is one of the more enduring legacies of the 20th Century. It's ironic that there's what might be called a "nationalist internationale" after trans-national ideologies have all but disappeared (except in backward places like the US education system).
Most tinpot dictators who get compared to Hitler and Mussolini are copying them internally, whatever their coloration and self-description.
Narr
Fascism is as fascism does
I've seen that Boss Nazi Uniform comment elsewhere. Maybe it was pre-election. I'm not sure. >1 month ago though.
"A black with white dots camouflage uniform would be good."
LOL
To answer Ms Althouse, Yes we're still doing space force - six feet apart, pls.
while the rest of the Galaxy is flying around in metallic onesies
...we should make damn sure our guys look fab-U-lous!!
'Twas a joke, Farmer.
It took all three of the greatest powers on earth to beat the Nazis, and it could have gone quite differently at many points.
Each of the allies had to fight and win their separate wars while also cooperating with the others, and each found the heroes they needed.
And in a neat irony, it was the USSR, which had done more as a practical matter to strengthen and sustain German military power between 1939 and 1941 than anyone, which paid the biggest price.
And then, in another irony, victory in the Great Patriotic War became the USSR's sustaining mythology--to a far greater extent than any Western mythologizing about Good Wars and Great Crusades.
Narr
I mean, what else did they have?
Re: J. Farmer:
I think credit for defeating the Nazis belongs primarily to the Soviets.
I think American and British material and technological support to the Soviets was critical to their victory.
That, and the Japanese decision to respect the neutrality pact the Soviets negotiated with them early in 1941, a couple months before the Nazis broke their pact with the Soviets and invaded. If the Japanese had declared war on the Soviets, then the north Pacific route would probably have been closed (as it was, Soviet ships carried American goods and materials through Japan-controlled territory throughout the war mostly without restriction). If Allied material support to the Soviets had to run primarily through the Persia route (secured by the joint Anglo-Soviet surprise invasion of Iran), I don't think the same volume could have been moved. In addition to which the Soviets would probably have needed to build up their forces in the Far East, to block a Japanese invasion, weakening their western front. And even the Persian route might have been closed by the Imperial navy. But by the same token, I suppose Japan probably wouldn't have had the resources to invade the European colonies to the south too.
No, That Space Force Uniform Design on Social Media Isn't Real, Officials Say
well -- the new uni's wont be designed by Pierre Cardin...
...RIP at 98
"Pinks and Greens"? I didn't believe it, but apparently it's true.
The 1920s were a golden age of design in Central and Northern Europe. It's not surprising that the Nazis may have inherited some of that. There does seem to be a split between avant-garde and old-fashioned design in the Nazi years. Maybe the use of modern Western Latin or Antiqua lettering as opposed to the traditional German Fraktur lettering is a marker of the modern, as opposed to the archaic. The Nazis also kicked the bizarre German cursive script out of the schools in favor of handwriting that would be more familiar to us.
I think credit for defeating the Nazis belongs primarily to the Soviets.
Well, yes and no.
1) The US fed the USSR, no food, no army.
2) The US supplied ~70% of the Red Army trucks and other transport.
3) The US supplied 2000 locomotives, the USSR built two during the war.
4) The US supplied ~30% of the USSR aircraft.
5) IIRC the US also supplied about ~5% of the tanks.
6) The majority of the Luftwaffe was defending Germany against bombing attacks.
Some 17% of the total war expenditures of the U.S. went to Russia, they could not have won without us, Stalin himself admitted as much. And these numbers do not include British aid. US trucks were showing up in May Day parades up into the 50's. Of all these, food may have been the most important, the Ukraine wasn't the bread basket of Europe during the war. That would be the second Soviet famine of the 20-th century where US food aid saved them.
Speaking of uniforms, one of the Brit shows compared the Red Army and the Wehrmacht winter togs by putting a man thus clad in a freezer and measuring his temperature. It deminstrated that it was no wonder so many Krauts froze to death on the Eastern Front.
Ever had a job where one day you're informed this place doesn't exist anymore?
How about a Kazakh in Moscow waking up to discover she no longer has a country?
President-elect Joe Biden has pledged to reverse or review many of President Trump’s changes at the Pentagon, but one of Trump’s signature achievements is expected to live on: the Space Force. The service has been a punchline for late-night comedians since Trump first began talking about it and even inspired a Netflix satire. Some progressive groups have called for Biden to abolish what they consider a wasteful flight of Trump’s fancy.
Didn’t they do that Reagan’s “Star wars” initiative, too? (Okay, no Netflix in those days.) Except ballistic missile defense turned out to be thoroughly feasible and Reagan turned out to be visionary.
Blogger J. Farmer said...
I think credit for defeating the Nazis belongs primarily to the Soviets
Of course you do.
I'm a fan of the Romulan uniforms. The shoulder pads are a nice touch.
Russia and China both have independent space forces, as well as independent strategic missile forces. China's space force also includes its cyber and electronic war forces. And guess, what? That triangle-like symbol is used by both Russian and China in their space force logos.
Nonapod said...
The insignia looks a little like the Starfleet insignia from Star Trek.
I wonder where they got it from.
@Narr:
And then, in another irony, victory in the Great Patriotic War became the USSR's sustaining mythology--to a far greater extent than any Western mythologizing about Good Wars and Great Crusades.
I agree. Cooperation was essential, but both sides had incentives to support propaganda that prioritized their own role in the victory. One the one hand, the role of lend-lease in the Soviet victory is overemphasized, and on the other hand it is underemphasized. You can read good arguments for both positions, but generally people will want to pick a side and often the side they pick is as influenced by confirmation bias as any other decision we make.
The interesting aspect to me is not so much the historical debate but the role the narratives play in later policy. Given that the contemporary world practically emerges in 1945, those narratives had a huge impact on subsequent 20th century history. Even up to today, see how often US foreign policy invokes WWII metaphors: 1939, Chamberlain, Hitler, appeasement, Churchill, Molotov–Ribbentrop pact, etc.
In my preferred historiography, contemporary history begins not in 1945 but in 1992. That's when the justification for America's global hegemonic position changes from Soviet containment to the "new world order" or "liberal international order" or "rules-based order." The end of history. The unipolar moment. The last obstacle to globalization had fallen. It is perhaps the greatest irony of the 20th century that it took the collapse of the Soviet Union to prove Karl Marx right in his predictions about the direction of capitalism:
"The bourgeoisie has through its exploitation of the world market given a cosmopolitan character to production and consumption in every country. To the great chagrin of Reactionists, it has drawn from under the feet of industry the national ground on which it stood. All old-established national industries have been destroyed or are daily being destroyed. They are dislodged by new industries, whose introduction becomes a life and death question for all civilised nations, by industries that no longer work up indigenous raw material, but raw material drawn from the remotest zones; industries whose products are consumed, not only at home, but in every quarter of the globe. In place of the old wants, satisfied by the production of the country, we find new wants, requiring for their satisfaction the products of distant lands and climes. In place of the old local and national seclusion and self-sufficiency, we have intercourse in every direction, universal inter-dependence of nations. And as in material, so also in intellectual production. The intellectual creations of individual nations become common property. National one-sidedness and narrow-mindedness become more and more impossible, and from the numerous national and local literatures, there arises a world literature." -The Communist Manifesto (1848)
They're going back to the WWII "pinks and greens". I would normally approve, but they blew by giving the combination cap the "20 mission crush".
Those hats are pretty tall. They're not quite North Korea tall, but definitely heading in that direction.
Bob Loblaw said...
Those hats are pretty tall. They're not quite North Korea tall, but definitely heading in that direction.
They're trying to recreate the old AAF "crush caps", which were standard combination caps with the stiffeners removed. This was mostly done by pilots and navigators because it facilitated wearing headphones while wearing the cap, but also because the thought it looked cool. The new caps are as you say; too tall and spoil the look in my opinion.
Leave it to Farmer to credit communists for the fall of "capitalism"-
A term created by communists, for communists.
Classic straw man.
The last obstacle to globalization had fallen. It is perhaps the greatest irony of the 20th century that it took the collapse of the Soviet Union to prove Karl Marx right in his predictions about the direction of capitalism:
Talk about irony-
There's enough irony ore in this statement to build an irony city.
Until sometime in the late 1970s or 1980s we still had my father's crushed cap. It was sweat-stained, battered, tattered and warped. I don't know when he put it on, but by the end of the war he had flown 57 missions as a pilot and all the way back Stateside afterward. It vanished, but we still have his leather jacket, which took more abuse at the hands of my drunken brother and his shithead friends than while my father wore it. The painted bombs and unit patch survived though the lining and cuffs are gone.
I think we also have his nice tailored officer's tunic, rarely worn.
Of course there's room for debate about the precise weight to give any piece of the WWII reality, but I've studied it and my totally objective conclusion is that Lend-Lease/Western aid to the USSR didn't merely hasten a likely (or even inevitable) Soviet victory, it enabled that victory by allowing the Soviets to develop their own brand of modern mobile warfare, "blitzkrieg" if you will.
Without the relatively swift recovery or conquest of territories and gutting of German ground forces enabled by Western aid, ALL politics in Nazi-occupied territory, in Axis allies, and among neutrals changes complexion.
Narr
Good for some, bad for others
@Browndog:
Leave it to Farmer to credit communists for the fall of "capitalism"-
Leave it to Browndog to completely misunderstand the point that was being made. It is not the fall of capitalism that I am talking about but it's massive success, and I am not sure how attributing its success to the collapse of the Soviet Union is "to credit communists." It isn't a coincidence that globalization increased drastically and rapidly from the early 90s onward. It's merely the division of labor on a global scale. The reason it did not spread more rapidly is because of the geopolitical realities of a bipolar world.
I was looking forward to being able to follow him on Twitter again once Trump departs and he no longer has to rant about him. Joyce Carol Oates too.
Re: J. Farmer:
Even up to today, see how often US foreign policy invokes WWII metaphors: 1939, Chamberlain, Hitler, appeasement, Churchill, Molotov–Ribbentrop pact, etc.
The sort of nastiness the Nazis, Soviets, and Japanese got up to in the late 1930s -- false flag attacks, absurd ultimata, annexation of their smaller and weaker neighbours, puppet regimes, etc. -- is largely obsolete today. But the 1930s also saw the Second Sino-Japanese war, which really seems -- and I am sure I've written this here before -- like a much more "modern" conflict. No declaration of war, shifting and unclear war aims, politicians declaring the enemy government illegitimate, bureaucrats and soldiers setting de facto policy with weakened control by the elected elements of government, etc. But the war has almost no purchase in contemporary popular knowledge, beyond the Rape of Nanking (1937), at the very start of the war. Maybe it's because China lost almost all their glamorous Nazi uniforms and Panzers after their elite troops got mauled in the Battle of Shanghai.
Hitler and Nazism died 75 years ago. Communist tyranny is still around. Yet people act like Nazism is still here and Hitler is still alive. Weird.
@Balfegor:
But the war has almost no purchase in contemporary popular knowledge, beyond the Rape of Nanking (1937), at the very start of the war.
I agree. I think the intense focus on the holocaust, and the European theatre generally, partly explains this. Subsequent events regarding US relations with Japan versus China have probably also played a role. Many Americans do not even realize that WWII began as two separate conflicts. They tend to see it as starting with the 1939 German invasion of Poland rather than Japan's 1937 war with China. You could even push the date back further to the 1931 invasion of Manchuria.
"I can't believe we beat the Nazis! Their uniforms were cooler than ours, their tanks were better looking than ours."
That Nazis knew how to do spectacle seems undeniable. Even though their monumental architecture did sometimes trend toward kitsh, much of it was quite well done. The reason why 'Leni' Riefenstahl is despised is not because she lacked talent but because of our objections to what she chose to promote with her talent.
And, yes, the later German tanks were very good (although not so good as the Soviet's T-34). The USA and its allies mostly did not win due to the quality of our weapons but due to the sheer, overwhelming quantity of them.
With some notable exceptions, such as The Bomb, and, the P-51 and B-29 warplanes.
the problem with fascist spectacle is not that it was not well done but that it was entirely too effective in turning people who had been individuals into a brainless mob.
Something about perfectly creased pants legs...?
The Air Force started calling itself the Aerospace Force in the 60s, because ICBMs traveled thru space. Some unit patches had a emblem that looked very similar to the Star Fleet emblem, before Star Trek. If your career field related to missiles, you wore a Pocket Rocket instead of Wings on your uniform. I assume the US Space force has absorbed some of these things.
Back in 1971 the Navy tried to change the enlisted, e1-e6 uniform, whites, blues and working.
The dress uniform, to replace the summer white and winter blue crackerjacks were called bus drivers uniforms. Jacket, slacks, dress shirt and so on. Officer style hat with visor.
Working uniform was even worse. They replaced the dungaree uniform (Bellbottom jeans, chambray button up shirt, both all cotton) with these gawdawful polyester slacks and jumper shirts.
Although these were issued in the basic seabag at bootcamp and were unavailable through official navy supply channels, more than 30 years later, when I was last regularly on a naval base, perhaps half of enlisted wore the new uniform.
In the 4 years between introduction and when I got out, I owned 1 pair of the working uniform that I bought just to try. really uncomfortable. Dangerous too. The polyester would melt into your skin if you got caught in a fire. If you were not in a fire, it felt like one. They didn't breath so you would sweat then feel clammy.
Now the Navy wears blueberries. A sort of dipshit looking blue camo. Why do you need camo on a ship? Any chief can still spot you lollygagging a mile away. Nobody I've talked to likes them, either.
Best camo on a ship is a bucket. Any chief sees you walking purposefully with a bucket they think you are doing something useful. If not:
"Where you going sailor?"
"I'm taking this bucket aft."
"Well, allright then, carry on."
John Henry
A couple people mentioned trucks and the Soviet Union.
It was not just trucks, it was Studebaker US-6 trucks. 200,000 of them.
https://youtu.be/A2LFp-nM9BQ
John Henry
perhaps half of enlisted wore the new uniform.
Everyone else still wore the dungarees. Purchased, generally, from the Seafarer company.
They looked sharp.
John Henry
Nobody acts like Hitler and the Nazis are still around (except TV producers and other dimwits). The point is that the Hitlerian model of social and political organization proved more adaptable in and to reality than the meaningless models and jargon of Communism.
Stalin stopped caring about Communism by the 1930s at the latest; the USSR was Russian nationalist at its core, and Mao too probably knew Communism was just a useful tool in the workbelt.
Communism is a zombie bogie. We have more to fear from Chinese and other nationalisms than from Communism as a living idea.
Narr
Even Muzzies are starting to like the nation-state (theirs, not ours)
"The bourgeoisie has through its exploitation of the world market given a cosmopolitan character to production and consumption in every country. To the great chagrin of Reactionists, it has drawn from under the feet of industry the national ground on which it stood. All old-established national industries have been destroyed or are daily being destroyed. They are dislodged by new industries, whose introduction becomes a life and death question for all civilised nations, by industries that no longer work up indigenous raw material, but raw material drawn from the remotest zones; industries whose products are consumed, not only at home, but in every quarter of the globe. In place of the old wants, satisfied by the production of the country, we find new wants, requiring for their satisfaction the products of distant lands and climes. In place of the old local and national seclusion and self-sufficiency, we have intercourse in every direction, universal inter-dependence of nations. And as in material, so also in intellectual production. The intellectual creations of individual nations become common property. National one-sidedness and narrow-mindedness become more and more impossible, and from the numerous national and local literatures, there arises a world literature." -The Communist Manifesto (1848)“
If that was the only thing Marx ever wrote I would consider him a great fortune teller.
Are we still doing Space Force?
Only until Biden outsources it to China.
"Do we need a Space Force? Can't NASA and the air force handle it? Was anyone calling for another branch before Trump decided that is would be cool? Not that I heard.
You're as articulate as a dopey high school sophomore.
>>Ever had a job where one day you're informed this place doesn't exist anymore?
No, but some time tomorrow I'm going to be informed that, as far as the "place" is concerned, *I* don't exist anymore.
--gpm
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