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[Tams]

Seriously?

United States intervention in Chile - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

SERIOUSLY?

Because to me, staging a coup ON A FOREIGN DEMOCRACY is nothing short of being an asshole. The fact that Nixon died a free man, and Kissinger is still alive and free speaks loads of the hypocrisy of the US regarding foreign interventions.

...and the US government has the gall...THE GALL to criticize and ban Putin.

Begone troll or idiot.

You're defending the horrific actions of a gangster state. They've probably lied more in any one day recently than the US government has for years, even under Trump.

 

[DeepBreath87]

Pretty cynical post, though not untrue

Isn't it kind of a red herring though? The moral judgement of other countries of the US's earlier foreign policy meddling is partially what determines the US's standing in this situation. Another part is determined by the standing of Russia/Putin, which is so terrible that the US comes off looking like a beacon of righteousness in comparison.

The moral judgements play a role. Is the US a good partner? Can it be trusted? Obviously that’s important. Strength plays a bigger role, in my opinion. Is the US strong? Is it confident?

You enjoy your fantasy too much.

I don’t enjoy it. I’m just not under an delusions about the way things are. Feel free to keep wishing in one hand and shitposting in the other, though. In the end both hands will be empty and I’ll be here.

 

[RAÏSanÏa]

I don’t enjoy it. I’m just not under an delusions about the way things are. Feel free to keep wishing in one hand and shitposting in the other, though. In the end both hands will be empty and I’ll be here.

Of course you're not under any delusions according to you.

 

[RAÏSanÏa]

Begone troll or idiot.

You're defending the horrific actions of a gangster state. They've probably lied more in any one day recently than the US government has for years, even under Trump.

After reading their posts and engaging them a few times I think they're genuinely trying to express a frustration with an aspect of American Exceptionalism and trying to draw a parallel with the current situation to express a historical grievance.

 

[DrAspirino]

Begone troll or idiot.

You're defending the horrific actions of a gangster state. They've probably lied more in any one day recently than the US government has for years, even under Trump.

I'm not defending anyone here. What Russia has done is terrible and shouldn't have messed with Ukraine to begin with. My point is that no government (be the US or any other) has the right to meddle with other sovereign nations affairs.

Intervention is intervention, and it's WRONG, no matter how you sugar-coat it.

 

[Vestal]

1) The POTUS is immune from criminal prosecution while in office, hence the impeachment/removal process. He was pardoned on the way out, which also serves as a mechanism for a peaceful resolution in the case of a leader who must be removed. What you feel should've happened is not relevant. The constitutional process is the process.

2) The US has engaged in less than ideal geopolitical behavior at times since becoming dominant, but overall the world has become far more peaceful and prosperous than it would have been via any realistic alternative.

Not to mention that VERY BIG stark difference between US and Russia.. Unlike Russia, we have free and fair elections, our President has term limits and every 4 years we can vote his ass out(Or as you stated as was the case with Nixon Resign/Impeached/Removed)

 

[QSD]

The moral judgements play a role. Is the US a good partner? Can it be trusted? Obviously that’s important. Strength plays a bigger role, in my opinion. Is the US strong? Is it confident?

I wouldn't say that the US seems to me at it's strongest at the moment, the capitol riots and the afghanistan evacuation are still fresh in mind. Yet the west rallied very easily and decidedly in this situation. Would you say america had more strength/confidence during the Trump presidency? Would you think the west would've rallied as easily had he still been president? I think you underestimate the value of soft power in this case.

 

[DeepBreath87]

I wouldn't say that the US seems to me at it's strongest at the moment, the capitol riots and the afghanistan evacuation are still fresh in mind. Yet the west rallied very easily and decidedly in this situation. Would you say america had more strength/confidence during the Trump presidency? Would you think the west would've rallied as easily had he still been president? I think you underestimate the value of soft power in this case.

I believe soft power is relevant only when it is backed by hard power. Trump was purposefully unpredictable. That has value. Even people who don’t like Trump are acknowledging this to some degree. You’re correct that his brashness wasn’t well received by some allies. Particularly those in Europe. But it was respected more in other places.

I don’t want to get in the political weeds. I’ll just say that Trump’s foreign policy record is pretty damn good compared to every President this century.

 

[Tams]

I'm not defending anyone here. What Russia has done is terrible and shouldn't have messed with Ukraine to begin with. My point is that no government (be the US or any other) has the right to meddle with other sovereign nations affairs.

Intervention is intervention, and it's WRONG, no matter how you sugar-coat it.

You are. There was no other reason to bring all that up otherwise.

Only now, it seems it's from stupidity rather than malice that you did so. I guess you have that going for you.

 

[Bitmap Frogs]

Or like we say in Chile (and Argentina as well), she "tripped on a bullet".

We say the same in Spain…

 

[QSD]

I believe soft power is relevant only when it is backed by hard power. Trump was purposefully unpredictable. That has value. Even people who don’t like Trump are acknowledging this to some degree. You’re correct that his brashness wasn’t well received by some allies. Particularly those in Europe. But it was respected more in other places.

I don’t want to get in the political weeds. I’ll just say that Trump’s foreign policy record is pretty damn good compared to every President this century.

I'll give you that I'd LOVE to be able to run that simulation (this happening during Trump presidency) just for the sheer unpredictability of it.
Still I'm glad we have what we have.

 

[Sakura]

I can see 2 things from this (hope to be wrong).

1) We won't see her until she is in better condition until the beating they did to her does not look too apparent.

2) She committed "suicide" Russian style......



New Day, Fuck Putin.

Seems like she is fine

 

[RAÏSanÏa]

I believe soft power is relevant only when it is backed by hard power. Trump was purposefully unpredictable. That has value. Even people who don’t like Trump are acknowledging this to some degree. You’re correct that his brashness wasn’t well received by some allies. Particularly those in Europe. But it was respected more in other places.

I don’t want to get in the political weeds. I’ll just say that Trump’s foreign policy record is pretty damn good compared to every President this century.

There is a question whether it was that "brashness" directed towards American allies that contributed to profiting enemies of the US that made them less aggressive in the single term.

 

[Wildebeest]

Ambiguity is not always a good strategy to play against authoritarians. I think that in gaming scenarios, people with "authoritarian" personalities respond to ambiguity with the worst possible interpretation, and it ends up being destabilizing. If someone has more of a collaborative or liberal leadership personality then ambiguity can be forgiven, but if you have two or more authoritarians with a strategy of ambiguity playing against each other, then things can very quickly spiral out of control and into total chaos. This is why I would support the US making their position clear, not ambiguous, on how much they will support Ukraine. I think, if the US was very ambiguous in terms of their support to Ukraine in a way that made it very clear they would never oppose Russia in any way, then Putin would feel much calmer, and the European leaders would nervously tolerate it, trying to look for hope in the ambiguity. But that is not the US being a reliable ally.

 

[DrAspirino]

You are. There was no other reason to bring all that up otherwise.

Only now, it seems it's from stupidity rather than malice that you did so. I guess you have that going for you.

Believe what you want. To me, a simple guy that lives literally near the end of the world, that conflict is so far and so foreign that I'm taking a neutral position here (like most of my fellow chileans). Having your country intervened completely changes the perspective on which you view things.

If anything, our country is taking the same stance as China (condemning the invasion, but not doing anything about it), since most of our economy rely on our exports to China.

 

[DeepBreath87]

Ambiguity is not always a good strategy to play against authoritarians. I think that in gaming scenarios, people with "authoritarian" personalities respond to ambiguity with the worst possible interpretation, and it ends up being destabilizing. If someone has more of a collaborative or liberal leadership personality then ambiguity can be forgiven, but if you have two or more authoritarians with a strategy of ambiguity playing against each other, then things can very quickly spiral out of control and into total chaos. This is why I would support the US making their position clear, not ambiguous, on how much they will support Ukraine. I think, if the US was very ambiguous in terms of their support to Ukraine in a way that made it very clear they would never oppose Russia in any way, then Putin would feel much calmer, and the European leaders would nervously tolerate it, trying to look for hope in the ambiguity. But that is not the US being a reliable ally.

Obviously you don’t want to be ambiguous in all things to all people. That would be foolish. But you do want some unpredictability towards your opponents. I’ll put it to you like this. If I’m going to steal from you, I like knowing exactly what will happen if I get caught. Because then I can decide exactly how much I’d need to steal to make the risk of possible consequences worth my while.

Whereas if there is a chance you’ll give me a fine or you might chop my hand off, I’ll have to think very carefully about stealing anything because I can’t calculate the risk.

You want to be solid to your friends, even if it means making them unhappy from time to time. Honesty is actually more important than making your international partners happy. But you need to be unpredictable to your enemies.

 

[NoLootBoxDev]

Seems like she is fine

I saw the news too, I am happy it was not any of the things I mentioned.

 

[Dr.D00p]

Edited due to new information

 

[NoLootBoxDev]

 

[Tams]

Believe what you want. To me, a simple guy that lives literally near the end of the world, that conflict is so far and so foreign that I'm taking a neutral position here (like most of my fellow chileans). Having your country intervened completely changes the perspective on which you view things.

If anything, our country is taking the same stance as China (condemning the invasion, but not doing anything about it), since most of our economy rely on our exports to China.

China are only publicly taking a 'neutral' stance.

And quite frankly, your country's stance is understandable, but utterly cowardly and selfish. If you ever find yourselves in trouble, don't expect much sympathy.

Edit: And countries with attitudes like yours are very tiring. We will still come to your aid, should say, a tsunami hit. And we wouldn't want much in return other than respect and repayment of some low interest loans. Russia and China would offer aid, but always want much more in return. Lots of strings attached, and not for the reason of making sure those in need get help.

 

[MastaKiiLA]

I believe soft power is relevant only when it is backed by hard power. Trump was purposefully unpredictable. That has value. Even people who don’t like Trump are acknowledging this to some degree. You’re correct that his brashness wasn’t well received by some allies. Particularly those in Europe. But it was respected more in other places.

I don’t want to get in the political weeds. I’ll just say that Trump’s foreign policy record is pretty damn good compared to every President this century.

Trump was not purposefully unpredictable, he's just erratic. And he's erratic about everything except for Russia, ironically. With Russia, he was slavishly soft. I mean, there's ample footage that we don't need to delve into hypotheticals here.

 

[Wildebeest]

Obviously you don’t want to be ambiguous in all things to all people. That would be foolish. But you do want some unpredictability towards your opponents. I’ll put it to you like this. If I’m going to steal from you, I like knowing exactly what will happen if I get caught. Because then I can decide exactly how much I’d need to steal to make the risk of possible consequences worth my while.

Whereas if there is a chance you’ll give me a fine or you might chop my hand off, I’ll have to think very carefully about stealing anything because I can’t calculate the risk.

You want to be solid to your friends, even if it means making them unhappy from time to time. Honesty is actually more important than making your international partners happy. But you need to be unpredictable to your enemies.

That is not really a good example. Criminals rarely think of the consequences when committing the crime. They think of the reward vs the risk of getting caught.

I see what you mean in a way.

You put up a sign outside your business saying that this property is protected by Mephisto inc security systems. You do not post outside where the alarm trip wires are or where the cameras are. But you do say that the moment you step past this sign, you can assume that the police will be notified.

 

[RAÏSanÏa]

Trump claims Putin invaded Ukraine to rebuild the Soviet Union, which he said was 'full of love'

Trump speculated about the reasons for Russia's invasion of Ukraine and described the repressive Soviet government in strangely positive terms.

www.businessinsider.com

Former President Donald Trump speculated that Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine was a project to rebuild a Soviet empire that had been "full of love."

"He's got a big ego," Trump said of Putin. "Again, I know him very well ... I understand he's gotten rid of a lot of his generals."

It seems he's talking about seeing a strategic value in Putin's style of command and not talking about Russian generals left dead in the field.

 

[DrAspirino]

You want to be solid to your friends, even if it means making them unhappy from time to time. Honesty is actually more important than making your international partners happy. But you need to be unpredictable to your enemies.

"No nation has friends. Only interests". - Charles de Gaulle

The US has had friends in Europe for as long as it's been useful to the US and Europe, but right now, that usefulness is dwindling, mostly because Europe also has their own internal problems to deal with, and a big one of those problems is the gas dependency on Russia. Sure, the US could provide gas to Europe, but europeans already have sky-high prices on gas, and importing from the US would only increase that price, thus creating more and more anger in people.

And quite frankly, your country's stance is understandable, but utterly cowardly and selfish. If you ever find yourselves in trouble, don't expect much sympathy.

We don't have any power over there or Russia, so to us is like "meh... ". Heck, we're so freaking far away that our journalists had to fly 13 hrs (in a direct flight) just to get to Madrid, and then fly 4-something more hours on another plane to get to Poland. The parallel for people in the US is like something happens in Sri-Lanka and a war erupts there. The distance is so vast and the language and culture so foreign that there's nothing you can do except condemn it and be kind of neutral about it.

 

[GymWolf]

War? What war? We don't mention any war.

Is this some sort of candid camera?? Why the hell are they arresting a war supporter??

 

[MidGenRefresh]

Is this some sort of candid camera?? Why the hell are they arresting a war supporter??

What war?

 

[Stitch]

Farmers Stealing Tanks by PixelForest

Inspired by true events

pixelforest.itch.io

 

[TwinB242]

Russian lawmaker demands REPARATIONS from the US over sanctions

A Russian lawmaker and the Kremlin's 'spin doctor' Oleg Matveychev (inset) shared a list of demands for both Washington and Kyiv 'after Ukraine's demilitarization is completed.'

www.dailymail.co.uk

Have Russians lost their marbles?

 

[Thaedolus]

Russian lawmaker demands REPARATIONS from the US over sanctions

A Russian lawmaker and the Kremlin's 'spin doctor' Oleg Matveychev (inset) shared a list of demands for both Washington and Kyiv 'after Ukraine's demilitarization is completed.'

www.dailymail.co.uk

Have Russians lost their marbles?

This is probably why some analysts were warning about having slower escalation and exit ramps…there really is nothing too low for someone like Putin, so if he’s completely backed into a corner, we can expect the worst.

But to go from “we’ll be welcomed as liberators!” to “fuck em, public executions it is” in a couple weeks is just the darkest of comedies.

 

[MikeM]

I know it's meant to be a "bad guy", but does no one else not feel that this is just uttely morbid? Like we have reached a point where people just take a photo of the dead and upload it to twitter to keep score.

This makes me feel so old.

I look at it as proof. In a world where misinformation is everywhere, it allows for a sense of credibility.

 

[RAÏSanÏa]

"No nation has friends. Only interests". - Charles de Gaulle

We don't have any power over there or Russia, so to us is like "meh... ". Heck, we're so freaking far away that our journalists had to fly 13 hrs (in a direct flight) just to get to Madrid, and then fly 4-something more hours on another plane to get to Poland. The parallel for people in the US is like something happens in Sri-Lanka and a war erupts there. The distance is so vast and the language and culture so foreign that there's nothing you can do except condemn it and be kind of neutral about it.

The quote brings to mind Zelenskyy's frame of mind with his earlier request for a no fly zone. Contextually sound and profound, but limited to specific context.

It's understandable that this conflict would seem unthreatening to those faraway lands. The West opinion in general would be that maybe there's a lack of understanding of the consequences and the problem being dealt with.

War? What war? We don't mention any war.

Creedy getting quick with those black bags.

Russian lawmaker demands REPARATIONS from the US over sanctions

A Russian lawmaker and the Kremlin's 'spin doctor' Oleg Matveychev (inset) shared a list of demands for both Washington and Kyiv 'after Ukraine's demilitarization is completed.'

www.dailymail.co.uk

Have Russians lost their marbles?

The hangings show they've lost it ages ago, it's just the mask of civilization that's falling off the dying corpse of the Russian state. The West can take some responsibility for helping hold it in place hoping for recovery, but the sanctions dropped all that support. Russians don't have a civilization except for what they are granted by others.

 

[chromhound]

I can see 2 things from this (hope to be wrong).

1) We won't see her until she is in better condition until the beating they did to her does not look too apparent.

2) She committed "suicide" Russian style......



New Day, Fuck Putin.

Can't lie, she's cute lol...

 

[Stitch]

 

[RAÏSanÏa]

And there are questions why Palestinians have difficulty with immigration and getting support from the West.

 

[STARSBarry]

Can't lie, she's cute lol...

I'm sorry but I just can't unsee it.

 

[NoLootBoxDev]

 

[IDKFA]

I thought this crisis had made the EU more united than ever. From what I'm reading, the complete opposite is happening.

Poland, Slovenia and the Czech Republic PMs have gone against the blocs wishes and traveled to Kyiv by train.

Eastern and Central EU nations want harder sanctions, while Germany and Italy are against this because of the possible impact it'll have on their economies.

And Zelensky's recent comments about knowing who Ukraine's true friends are.......is that a dig at NATO, the EU or both?

I was beginning to think this war would end with the EU doing away with individual nation states and forming a unified federal state. Looks like I was way off.

 

[GymWolf]

Can't lie, she's cute lol...

She looks like stifler's mom if american pie was a russian movie.

 

[vewn]

I was beginning to think this war would end with the EU doing away with individual nation states and forming a unified federal state. Looks like I was way off.

Yea that's not happening... maybe ever. It would make a lot of sense to create a type of United States of Europe for defense & economy to keep up with China & the US but there's too much baggage in historical pride. The most common ground we seem to find is the current union.

 

[Sakura]

Apparently Zelensky says Ukraine should accept it won't join Nato
I wonder if this is a result of the peace talks with Russia?

 

[RAÏSanÏa]

I thought this crisis had made the EU more united than ever. From what I'm reading, the complete opposite is happening.

Poland, Slovenia and the Czech Republic PMs have gone against the blocs wishes and traveled to Kyiv by train.

Eastern and Central EU nations want harder sanctions, while Germany and Italy are against this because of the possible impact it'll have on their economies.

And Zelensky's recent comments about knowing who Ukraine's true friends are.......is that a dig at NATO, the EU or both?

I was beginning to think this war would end with the EU doing away with individual nation states and forming a unified federal state. Looks like I was way off.

That these can be read and interpreted so differently is a compliment for versatility of thought in the West.

The exhibited independence toward a common goal appears uniting in their growing understanding of each other brought about by the circumstances.

 

[StabbyStabStabStabStab]

I know it's meant to be a "bad guy", but does no one else not feel that this is just uttely morbid? Like we have reached a point where people just take a photo of the dead and upload it to twitter to keep score.

This makes me feel so old.

Yes agree with this totally, the whole dehumanisation of the enemy/celebration of death doesn't feel quite right. It's just a miserable affair. This isn't so much about the guys on the front line, it's the guys at the back pulling the strings etc.

 

[NickFire]

Saudi Arabia reportedly considering accepting yuan instead of dollar for oil sales

Saudi and Chinese officials are in talks to price some of the Gulf nation’s oil sales in yuan rather than dollars or euros, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, citing people familiar wit…

thehill.com

We already saw the reports about controlling media coverage internally (with an eye towards Taiwan), asking Russia to hold off until after Olympics, and the refusal of sanctions / offering to let Russian banks operate in China. Now China is trying to take advantage by seeking to further distance the price of oil from dollars. I'm starting to wonder if Putin is pursuing his own imperialist vision or China's.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

She looks like stifler's mom if american pie was a russian movie.

I want to see that version.

 

[QSD]

I thought this crisis had made the EU more united than ever. From what I'm reading, the complete opposite is happening.

Poland, Slovenia and the Czech Republic PMs have gone against the blocs wishes and traveled to Kyiv by train.

They just didn't get an official endorsement because of the risks probably.

Eastern and Central EU nations want harder sanctions, while Germany and Italy are against this because of the possible impact it'll have on their economies.

Par for the course

And Zelensky's recent comments about knowing who Ukraine's true friends are.......is that a dig at NATO, the EU or both?

This is a pretty negative take, is Zelensky really gonna piss on the people who keep supplying him with badly needed weapon systems, food, aid etc etc even while millions of his compatriots are being sheltered in their countries?

I was beginning to think this war would end with the EU doing away with individual nation states and forming a unified federal state. Looks like I was way off.

This is, conversely, a wildly optimistic take. This wil never happen in our lifetime. I'd sooner see large states like the USA and Russian federation devolving into smaller, more governable units than see a European superstate emerging. Too much centralization just doesn't work.

 

[Insane Metal]

Russian member of parliament demands Putin take Alaska while state TV host suggests nuclear strikes: report

Just 24 hours ago, Russia's Channel 1 Marina Ovsyannikova held up an anti-war sign urging Russians not to believe propaganda. According to one American on the ground in Russia, the incident sent shockwaves through society with the video being pushed around to millions on social media and via...

www.rawstory.com

Russian member of parliament demands Putin take Alaska while state TV host suggests nuclear strikes: report​

 

[p_xavier]

Russia really wants to destroy itself, doesn't it.

 

[Halo is Back]

EU doing away with individual nation states and forming a unified federal state. Looks like I was way off.

That was never the intention of the EU or NATO

 

[M1chl]

Tactical Putinism

 

[STARSBarry]

Russian member of parliament demands Putin take Alaska while state TV host suggests nuclear strikes: report

Just 24 hours ago, Russia's Channel 1 Marina Ovsyannikova held up an anti-war sign urging Russians not to believe propaganda. According to one American on the ground in Russia, the incident sent shockwaves through society with the video being pushed around to millions on social media and via...

www.rawstory.com

Russian member of parliament demands Putin take Alaska while state TV host suggests nuclear strikes: report​

The MP in Parliament is a bit of a worry. However the TV host is at this point like taking Tucker Carlson seriously, and this thread is any judge sadly alot of people do.