Things that look like alternate history, but aren't

[Dr. Strangelove]

Spain and Australia sound like two very unlikely partners in all things military, but in the past two years Spain has built two amphibious assault ships for the Australian Navy and today, the second of which, HMAS Adelaide, was launched today in Ferrol (HMAS Canberra was launched in 2010). They're both based in the spanish Juan Carlos class ships.

And also today the spanish navy announced that, due to the cuts, the support ship Cantabria, launched in 2008, is to be loaned to the Australian Navy for a year, with Spain paying the crew and Australia paying the maintenance (the idea is that the RAN likes the ship enough to buy another Cantabria-class when the loan is over). I find strange that two countries in opposite sides of the planet, with no common history, interests or culture whatsoever have decided to cooperate in military matters, but there's even a broader treaty to share weapons and ships between both countries.

[Krall]

Originally Posted by Antonio

Yes, it was me who fucked up calling it coat of arms. And I don't know enough about sports to know that it's called a crest.

Eh? Unless you wrote that article, there was no up fucking on your part.

[Antonio]

Originally Posted by Krall

Eh? Unless you wrote that article, there was no up fucking on your part.

I called it coat of arms in my post. I thought that it was what you were talking about. (I only skimmed the article, as I knew about the error from other sources)

[wietze]

Originally Posted by Dr. Strangelove

Spain and Australia sound like two very unlikely partners in all things military, but in the past two years Spain has built two amphibious assault ships for the Australian Navy and today, the second of which, HMAS Adelaide, was launched today in Ferrol (HMAS Canberra was launched in 2010). They're both based in the spanish Juan Carlos class ships.

And also today the spanish navy announced that, due to the cuts, the support ship Cantabria, launched in 2008, is to be loaned to the Australian Navy for a year, with Spain paying the crew and Australia paying the maintenance (the idea is that the RAN likes the ship enough to buy another Cantabria-class when the loan is over). I find strange that two countries in opposite sides of the planet, with no common history, interests or culture whatsoever have decided to cooperate in military matters, but there's even a broader treaty to share weapons and ships between both countries.

It gets topped by Russia buying 4 amphibious assault ships from france i think

[Petike]

Originally Posted by wietze

It gets topped by Russia buying 4 amphibious assault ships from france i think

And by Ecuador using Israeli Kfir fighters, of all people.

[Krall]

Originally Posted by Antonio

I called it coat of arms in my post. I thought that it was what you were talking about. (I only skimmed the article, as I knew about the error from other sources)

You called it a coat of arms, and there is a coat of arms on the badge/crest, so you were right - as far as I know.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Originally Posted by wietze

It gets topped by Russia buying 4 amphibious assault ships from france i think

Why? Russia and France have a history together, fought two world wars in the same side, are in the same continent. This is as random as it gets, specially as both countries have actually signed an agreement for a broader naval cooperation.

[Simreeve]

Originally Posted by Petike

And by Ecuador using Israeli Kfir fighters, of all people.

Wasn't it also Ecuador that unilaterally adopted the US dollar as its currency?

[Dom Jao II]

Originally Posted by Simreeve

Wasn't it also Ecuador that unilaterally adopted the US dollar as its currency?

Panama, because of the Canal.

[metastasis_d]

Originally Posted by Dom Jao II

Panama, because of the Canal.

Them too. As well as El Salvador.

[Thande]

This news story was listed under the headline "Queen visits new city of Perth".

Both because the Australian Perth is more famous than its namesake, and because an existing town receiving city status is not your first thought when you see the phrase "new city", it suggests time travel to my mind.

[mowque]

Originally Posted by Thande

Both because the Australian Perth is more famous than its namesake, and because an existing town receiving city status is not your first thought when you see the phrase "new city", it suggests time travel to my mind.

Really? I didn't think of time travel and still don't see how that works...

[Thande]

Originally Posted by mowque

Really? I didn't think of time travel and still don't see how that works...

As in the Queen has time travelled to the nineteenth century to see the Australian Perth when it was founded.

[mowque]

Originally Posted by Thande

As in the Queen has time travelled to the nineteenth century to see the Australian Perth when it was founded.

Ah, I see. And wow, you think time travel before christening. Impressive.

[metastasis_d]

This...

Alternate TL where the US has universal healthcare, and Canada doesn't? No, just a bunch of dumbasses with Twitter accounts.

[Thande]

Originally Posted by mowque

Ah, I see. And wow, you think time travel before christening. Impressive.

How would christening work in this context?

[Thande]

I assume this is just a difference in language, but there's a political party in Romania that was founded in 1991 as "the Humanist Party" and is the main religious social conservative party in Romania...

[Tocomocho]

Originally Posted by Dr. Strangelove

Why? Russia and France have a history together, fought two world wars in the same side, are in the same continent. This is as random as it gets, specially as both countries have actually signed an agreement for a broader naval cooperation.

Both countries are obsessed with fighting a future naval invasion coming from their much poorer, weaker, Muslim neighbor?

[Color-Copycat]

The "fire hedgehog" was a Soviet anti-personnel setup that consisted of 88 PPSH guns mounted in a grid in the bomb bay of a Tu-2.

[Simreeve]

Presumably you all know about Britain’s heroic ‘Scott of the Antarctic’, and his Norwegian rival Amundsen, but what about the Japanese South Pole Expedition of 1910-’12?
Who needs pemmican when you’ve got rice, plum pickles, cured beans, and dried cuttlefish?

(In addition to the sources cited on Wikipedia there was an article in the last Christmas/New Year issue of New Scientist magazine.)