Scariest movie ever.
Threads scared the living crap out of me when I first saw it and I was in me early 20s
[quote=“wilf_san” post=2349][quote=“Gunner” post=2345]The answer may lie in watching the DVD ‘Threads’ which was released in 1984.
Scared the shi…hell out of me and still does.[/quote]
Should be personal compulsory viewing for all Cadets, on an individual basis, once old enough to cope with it. And that’s possibly well-over the age of 18.
And I’ve never been able to look at a Traffic Warden the same way since I first saw it…
wilf_san[/quote]
Have you ever heard of a film called (I think) ‘Things Yet To Come’, which was based on a story of the same name by HG Wells? It was made in the 1930s and was essentially the ‘Threads’ of its day, demonstrating how aerial bombing by ‘modern’ air forces would end conventional warfare by totally destroying civilian populations, etc…
Very scary for people then, and based on both evidence of air power’s use at Guernica, in Abyssinia and Manchuria and so on, and also on the work of military theorists of the day (“The bomber will always get through.”).
(PS: not ignoring your questions above, Wilf_San; just sitting here in my pyjamas minus contacts or glasses. I’ll try and find some links and stuff…)
[b]And I’m back:
[/b]
Reference Japan and the First World War: a lot of people don’t realise that they (like the Italians) were on our side the first time around. This was largely due to the Anglo-Japanese alliance (http://www.historytoday.com/richard-cavendish/anglo-japanese-treaty-alliance), which was directed originally against Russia, and Japan’s designs on German held territory in China and the Pacific. The alliance between the UK and Japan only came to an official end in 1923 (the Americans brought quite a lot of pressure to bear on London not to renew the agreement) and shows in the Imperial Japanese Navy’s very British way of doing things. Japan’s carrier capability was largely the work of former RNAS/RAF officers, and Pearl Harbour was a textbook copy of the Taranto raid.
During the war, Japanese servicemen fought alongside the British at Kiaochow, occupied ‘German’ islands, took responsibility for defence of some British territory and British naval responsibilites in the Pacific to free the British armed forces for service elsewhere and the Imperial Japanese Navy served around the world and distinguished itself escorting convoys to Britain. They also sent a couple of field hospitals to the western front under the Red Cross.
(Links: http://www.firstworldwar.com/features/minorpowers_japan.htm, http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/tsingtau_kato.htm)
As far as that relates to the modern day: the Pacific is where all the sabre rattling seems to be happening nowadays, and it’s certainly the USA’s new focus for defence. I’d suggest that, if a Third World War ever happens, then the UK’s role would be a supporting one (due to things happening mostly on the other side of the world) and mostly naval. Might be worth thinking on the fact that we’ve just signed a new agreement on naval co-operation with the Japanese, though… :whistle:
Reference the international law thing: I’m pretty sure children (that is, anyone under eighteen) are not supposed to engage in any combatant activities. I think the difficult part is determining what is allowed and what isn’t…and I seem to remember the whole ‘painting Jags’ thing to be deemed a bad idea after it happened.
The idea is (although I’m willing to be proven wrong on this) that kids shouldn’t be doing anything that makes them a legitimate target, so refueling/arming aircraft or carrying out security details etc would be right out…
Funnily enough, on the old forum, I started a thread called ‘If I was in charge…’ in which I suggested there should be a definite ‘Armageddon Role’ for CFAVs, which some people were very much in favour of and others seemed terribly upset by…
This question does come up from cadets sometimes, and assuming they are serious I usually answer something along the lines of ‘in theory there are provisions for calling up adult volunteers in a WW3 scenario but they were written years ago, when the skills we have would have been useful. They’re not now, and I can’t see it happening.’
Sure, I could train people to handle and shoot the L85A2; but we aren’t going to be fighting the sort of war where we need thousands of them.
Mind you, if it really went t1ts up and we were into guerilla survival warfare I’ll be blowed if I’m handing back my armoury and magazine…
T
Once upon a time we also had ‘Officers’ Confidential Orders’ which were to be signed annually and had some interesting/amusing instructions for what to do in the event of the Red Horde sorming ashore.
Shhh!
Cross out every mention of ‘forage cap’ in dress regs and replace with ‘ushanka’?
Have squadron banners reprinted with the phrase: “Я, например, приветствую наших новых советских мастеров.”
Or grab the No8s, head for the hils and start refering to yourselves as ‘The Wolverines’?
Terrifying. All too easily true. Particularly then.
I haven’t seen that in years.
I wonder what kids would make of it these days? Having grown up in a world after the wall came down and things have changed significantly.
Terrifying. All too easily true. Particularly then.
I haven’t seen that in years.
I wonder what kids would make of it these days? Having grown up in a world after the wall came down and things have changed significantly.[/quote]
I just sat and watched it.
I admit that it did play with my emotions, and I think that it is still relevant today IMO.
But I started to loose interest when the soliders confronted the looters. I don’t know if it’s too hard to believe or I don’t want to believe that the forces would act in such a manner against civilians. I get that order needs to be maintained but not like that… surely?
What is important is that the USSR wanted you/me/us to believe it and paid CND to push that line via willing media luvvies.