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What is the most powerful flying bug? This poll is closed. |
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| 🦋 |
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15 | 3.71% |
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115 | 28.47% |
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12 | 2.97% |
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67 | 16.58% |
| dragonfly |
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94 | 23.27% |
| 🦟 |
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14 | 3.47% |
| 🐝 |
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87 | 21.53% |
| Total: | 404 votes | ||
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Majorian posted:Yup, I'm looking at things through a materialist lens. Give it a shot, it's fun. The German public should blame themselves for voting some way?
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Dec 3, 2022 19:43
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Majorian posted:Yup, I'm looking at things through a materialist lens. Give it a shot, it's fun. probe yourself for bloodlust
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Dec 3, 2022 19:44
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mawarannahr posted:The German public should blame themselves for voting some way? I don't think there was ever a "vote" on denuclearization, although I could be wrong on that point. But "blame" probably wasn't the right word, I'll concede. My point is that Germany's denuclearization push arose mostly organically, often in opposition to US economic interests. Over the last couple of decades, no country has benefited more from Germany's anti-nuclear movement than Russia. speng31b posted:probe yourself for bloodlust lol
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Dec 3, 2022 19:47
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https://twitter.com/mossrobeson__/status/1599091364309843970
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Dec 3, 2022 19:48
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indigi posted:I’m glad Canada is going to privatize their military, it will make it easier for us to just mush them into fertilizer when we need access to the newly arable land Once again USA choosing to shoot themselves in the foot instead of just going with the easiest option where they get all they want anyway.
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Dec 3, 2022 19:51
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Majorian posted:I understand, but I think the U.S.' role in hobbling Europe's nuclear energy programs is smaller than you're assuming. Germany's anti-nuclear energy movement started in earnest in the 70s, back when the U.S. had a lot of money invested in building new plants. Denuclearization was against U.S. economic interests up until recently. Accidents like Three-Mile Island and Chernobyl really sent it into overdrive. Siemens, which built all of Germany's reactors, fully exited the nuclear sector after Fukushima. I agree with you that Germany should have been building reactors this whole time, and that the public response to these accidents was incredibly stupid. But I'm sorry to say that it was a largely organic response. The German public has no one to blame but themselves. Eh, if I'm not completely off there was a marked shift in the US from pushing nuke exports to nonproliferation. The NPT is from 1968.
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Dec 3, 2022 19:55
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Putinger's Cat / Кот Путингера posted:
Strelkov with the prophesy of Ukraine's fall 6 months in 2023 from 2018.
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Dec 3, 2022 19:56
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Frosted Flake posted:We’ve talked before about the state of Western Militaries, with the social contract being broken, erosion of benefits, stagnant pay, abuse and harassment and general low morale. The CAF is 10k pers short with no signs of that changing. I think part of the problem is where do you find people who want to join the military for the "old" reasons instead of these "new" ones? Even if they were to renew the "social contract" of being in the military, who's going to join? For an outsider, the military current image is every single project blowing up in cost overrun and sex scandals. Sprinkle just a little bit of goodwill from the few home front operation in disaster relief and you pretty much have the full image people who aren't invested in the forces have of it. Where do you find 10k people to join what appear to be a dysfunctional mess who also offer less than a civilian job unless you have niche set of taste for your career only available in the forces?
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Dec 3, 2022 19:57
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genericnick posted:Eh, if I'm not completely off there was a marked shift in the US from pushing nuke exports to nonproliferation. The NPT is from 1968. Nonproliferation and the NPT are about nuclear weapons, though, not peaceful nuclear energy. Throughout the Cold War the U.S. was still all about selling Westinghouse and GE tech to Europe; hell, Westinghouse is still building reactors in places like Poland. They're set to make a killing in the wake of this war.
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Dec 3, 2022 19:58
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Germany, no nuclear plants = 0 catastrophic meltdowns in 21st century Japan, at least one nuclear plant = 1 catastrophic meltdown in 21st century 
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Dec 3, 2022 20:05
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paul_soccer12 posted:Germany, no nuclear plants = 0 catastrophic meltdowns in 21st century Breaking news: paul_soccer outs himself as Al Giordano \/\/\/mistakes into miracles  \/\/\/
Majorian has issued a correction as of 20:12 on Dec 3, 2022 |
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Dec 3, 2022 20:09
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Dec 3, 2022 20:10
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lol
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Dec 3, 2022 20:11
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Majorian posted:Breaking news: paul_soccer outs himself as Al Giordano havent thought about al giordano in many moons...
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Dec 3, 2022 20:12
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https://twitter.com/chiweethegod/status/1599088167441006592?s=46&t=WepSN41kRtWRxDnho7q99A
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Dec 3, 2022 20:26
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Hedenius posted:https://twitter.com/chiweethegod/status/1599088167441006592?s=46&t=WepSN41kRtWRxDnho7q99A lol
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Dec 3, 2022 20:27
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lobster shirt posted:havent thought about al giordano in many moons... Al DiGiorno? That's a pizza I haven't had in a long time... A loooooong tiiiiime...
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Dec 3, 2022 20:28
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lol wait they're going ahead with the price cap?? https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/dec/03/g7-countries-and-australia-to-cap-price-of-seaborne-russian-oil
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Dec 3, 2022 21:02
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dieselfruit posted:lol wait they're going ahead with the price cap?? quote:But questions remain over whether the cap is radical enough to dent Russia’s budget or whether it will only work to lower the price of oil for developing countries. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Q-U2THOF00
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Dec 3, 2022 21:06
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Frosted Flake posted:Without getting into the deep body of literature on the subject, close order drill, marching, uniforms, these all have a social purpose, and my theory here is that because liberalism doesn’t conceive of things socially but individually they see harebrained schemes like this as a solution to endemic problems instead of a further erosion of what soldiering means. Deep, felt, social, meaning is something disappearing from all areas of our society but again going back to the Egyptian Old Kingdom, militaries need these things to function. V. Illych L. posted:i appreciate that you're that rarest of things, a sincere and serious social conservative in the year of 2022 the state's role in the development of societes has also varied in different parts of the world and over time. for most of the early development of western countries such as the united states, the role of the state was relatively negative. the state's role has expanded since the 19th century, but the situation in countries that developed later is completely different as it led to "strong" states in command of the modernization process, with a unified and effective political will, and wary of (excessive) liberalization because of the potential negative consequences to their national power. that's due to structural reasons in the international system. "strong" states are necessary for weak states in the world system to check the power of the strong. the PRC here took from the soviet model but also adapted / iterated on it, and has imported western beliefs and has adapted some things from western political thought but the state has also tried to check / control it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxcE8a5X9aE but i don't think that ^ kind of thing is possible in the western countries unless they either nazified themselves (had a tighter / small group of "aryans") or if there was a revolutionary change in the society. i think one reason (among others) why the U.S. military cannot do that is because there is still racism and racialized patterns in the U.S. military, the special forces are whiter and more "elite," and while there are black generals, there are a lot of black servicemembers who are lower down the military system and doing the equivalent of manual labor jobs and reinforced by racism in the military. so the kind of unity and discipline displayed in that PLA video would be difficult to replicate given that stratification because it would be too "threatening" to reactionary and conservative forces in the society. the military is kinda like a reflection of the society.    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4HrefGcODk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9dHgAZPDOg BrutalistMcDonalds has issued a correction as of 22:11 on Dec 3, 2022 |
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Dec 3, 2022 21:30
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https://twitter.com/xenasolo/status/1598995384042369024?t=r299389ykfkPs7a-YRG-ZQ&s=19
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Dec 3, 2022 21:35
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Majorian posted:Nonproliferation and the NPT are about nuclear weapons, though, not peaceful nuclear energy. Throughout the Cold War the U.S. was still all about selling Westinghouse and GE tech to Europe; hell, Westinghouse is still building reactors in places like Poland. They're set to make a killing in the wake of this war. i guess if it takes near-nazi regimes to build nuclear power and ignore idiot bourgie greens that's one good thing to come out of it
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Dec 3, 2022 21:39
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someone get me a lavrov morale patch
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Dec 3, 2022 21:53
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icantfindaname posted:i guess if it takes near-nazi regimes to build nuclear power and ignore idiot bourgie greens that's one good thing to come out of it Yeah well, we'll see if they can re-up any decommissioned plants quickly enough to make a difference, because building new ones from the ground up takes a whiiiiiiile. Comrade Koba posted:someone get me a lavrov morale patch If his stern Mary Worth-esque glare isn't enough to motivate ya, I don't know what will!
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Dec 3, 2022 21:54
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De-industrialization will be good for Europe. Is there any moral reason they should enjoy a level of development above other regions in the world, particularly ones they had spent centuries subjugating and exploiting? They should pay a fair price for energy.
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Dec 3, 2022 21:56
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Well, it's certainly going to be the first big test in practice of the apparent plan by the people in charge of the global north that that their own populations are just going to have to be a lot poorer going forwards. I don't think it will go down smoothly, but what do I know
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Dec 3, 2022 22:02
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What are the German business papers saying about all this? Are the Frankfurt bankers happy?
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Dec 3, 2022 22:12
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Futanari Damacy posted:De-industrialization will be good for Europe. Is there any moral reason they should enjoy a level of development above other regions in the world, particularly ones they had spent centuries subjugating and exploiting? They should pay a fair price for energy. There isn't really a "moral" reason for anything that happens in geopolitics, regrettably. It's all a question of what action will lead to what reaction. It's probably wise to remember that deindustrialization in Europe will lead either to European countries becoming even more subjected to the American Empire, or else more war in the region. Or maybe both. But continued deindustrialization in Europe is pretty inevitable anyway, so...we'll see, won't we?
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Dec 3, 2022 22:14
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Kindest Forums User posted:I saw this on Reddits front page quote:HELSINKI, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Russia's invasion of Ukraine has shown that Europe is too reliant on the United States for its own security, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said on Friday. is she dumb. the US politicians want Europe to buy more US weapons, not make their own
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Dec 3, 2022 22:18
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There has never existed a military force that was particularly "effective" or "skilled" or "good at things." They just try to suck at it all somewhat less than their opponents.
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Dec 3, 2022 22:27
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Fat-Lip-Sum-41.mp3 posted:What are the German business papers saying about all this? Are the Frankfurt bankers happy? They’re not happy, but they understand that their bread is buttered ultimately by the United States, and they’re going to do as they’re told
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Dec 3, 2022 22:28
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icantfindaname posted:They’re not happy, but they understand that their bread is buttered ultimately by the United States, and they’re going to do as they’re told thats right
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Dec 3, 2022 22:36
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mlmp08 posted:There has never existed a military force that was particularly "effective" or "skilled" or "good at things." the mongols seemed like they were pretty skilled
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Dec 3, 2022 22:41
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this definitely happened
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Dec 3, 2022 23:04
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indigi posted:this definitely happened what they won't tell you is that they crashed the car into a crowd of Ukrainian soldiers, killing dozens.
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Dec 3, 2022 23:09
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She doesn't seem very grateful that they saved her life by disposing of her death trap.
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Dec 3, 2022 23:11
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https://www.skynews.com.au/world-ne...e771b0a76bb?ampquote:Russian President Vladimir Putin has reportedly slipped down five stairs and soiled himself at his official residence in Moscow, as speculation mounts about the 70-year-old's declining health. Putin’s pamps are extra poopy today
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Dec 3, 2022 23:18
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BrutalistMcDonalds posted:i think one reason (among others) why the U.S. military cannot do that is because there is still racism and racialized patterns in the U.S. military, the special forces are whiter and more "elite," and while there are black generals, there are a lot of black servicemembers who are lower down the military system and doing the equivalent of manual labor jobs. so the kind of unity and discipline displayed in that PLA video would be difficult to replicate in a multi-racial army in a given that stratification because it would be too "threatening" if you know what i mean. the military is kinda like a reflection of the society. Some of the most striking things I ever read in GiP were in a thread years ago about basic training where people recounted black soldiers on their course marvelling at owning multiple pairs of shoes for the first time. One USAF guy remembered that when, what I suppose were rural, southern and poor, black members of his unit were painting a fence or something similar, they started singing work songs. That’s so uncomfortable, I mean, it’s really hard to imagine that, but as you said it’s a reflection of society. Which isn’t to say that somewhat similar dynamics don’t play out here with rural Quebec, New Brunswick and Newfoundland soldiers, that you can see differences in Canadian society that are basically invisible from Toronto or whatever. The class, regional, linguistic and other stratifications in Canadian society are there too, there are imbalances in officers and other ranks, indigenous people have separate enlistment programs etc. but it’s hard to wrap my head around how large race looms in America. One thing worth pointing out is that motivations for enlistment, or at least type of enlistment, vary across language, gender, class and race. The working class and minorities, which as you said can often be the same thing, approach service in a way that has a distinct pattern. They often go into combat support and (more-so) combat service support roles, the labour jobs, for short period enlistments. Learn to cook, become a mechanic, plumber, electrician, carpenter, whatever - and then get out. Here, that’s 3-4 years, after which they go into public life with skills and something to put on their resume. I’m not great at explaining it, but it’s a very pragmatic use of the military that fits with the economic draft, since they’re returning to civie street with job skills. In Canada that pattern is shared with women and Francophones but I’m not confident in how these things are interconnected. Just that I’ve seen the pie charts over and over again. Quite a few of the women who serve for short periods get married and leave or become military wives and that’s a whole thing I don’t feel qualified to touch on or try to explain. People still joke about “the 3 reasons why women join the army”. For one example, combat support and combat service support units in Western Canada were losing enlisted men to the oil patch as soon as they got their red seals, journeymen tickets, AZ etc. To the point where units started deliberately withholding them and the idea was floated of the military deliberately cutting part of the skills training so they wouldn’t be properly certified. This goes back to the “solutions” to retention problems being misguided to malicious. They have also recently done the same to paid training and education for Doctors, Nurses, Physiotherapists, Lawyers and Dentists to the point where you need to be trained and qualified before joining the military - and they’re marvelling why none are. I can’t wrap my head around this, so if anyone can shine a light I’d appreciate it. Why the hell would someone who is already a doctor become a Medical Officer? They want Chaplains to already have a Masters of Divinity Studies. Other than people who feel a sense of duty, and are willing to sacrifice civilian employment, who are they hoping to attract to these high skilled and sought after positions? They’re so clearly sabotaging themselves I don’t understand it other than idk they want to means test the positions? But that doesn’t really make sense either. On the other hand, officers and combat arms enlisted men skew male, middle class, white, English, two or more generations Canadian. Traditionally the Long Service Professional enlists or takes his commission for life - 18-25 years. There’s way more than I can get into here but this probably touches on something Max Weber observed in the Protestant Work Ethic about a “vocation” or “calling”. This was more consciously expressed in the Late Victorian and Edwardian Army, but you can take upper middle class Anglos out of the Anglican Church but you can’t take the Anglican Church out of the upper middle class Anglos. So, these are people who make a life out of the military. Some jumped ship for the tar sands, but not at the same rate. You can argue that’s because they didn’t have transferable job skills, but that’s the point - they don’t go into it for the job skills. Where this gets complicated is questions of the ability of the other groups to have this career if they wanted. The “fit in or gently caress off” culture and everything else might mean an indigenous person from the territories couldn’t be a moustachioed Regimental Sergeant Major if they wanted to, or a woman hang tough in Battalion as a company commander before getting an ADC billet. The military up to the 70’s and 80’s stalled out Francophone officers’ careers at the Regimental level, beyond which they’d be in command of English troops and formations, so as you said about black generals, this is not all about preference. I just want to cap this by saying there’s an old book about the RCMP, which is facing identical problems, written for a foreign audience, and when describing the personnel system they say: “Competition for the RCMP is intense, and the Force is able to pick and choose from among the best of those seeking a law enforcement career” and it’s that they act as if that’s still true without earning it - failing the nation, public, members, Sam Steele and Vimy Ridge - that galls me. They’re acting as if they have the “pick of Canada’s men” without understanding why people believed only the best earned the Red Serge and pushed themselves to be worthy of it. Cunningham said during the evacuation of Crete, when army generals feared the Royal Navy would lose too many ships (the RN lost 12 fleet and 7 auxiliary ships and saved over 18k soldiers) “It takes the Navy three years to build a ship. It will take three hundred years to build a new tradition.” Well, what the gently caress do they want here? I have often caught poo poo on CSPAM for my belief in this, and deservedly so, but these institutions rely on people acting as they have meaning, not assuming it.
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Dec 3, 2022 23:20
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I haven’t been paying attention, how’s the war been going for the past few weeks? Last I heard, the Russians were falling back and had lost control of a couple major cities.
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Dec 3, 2022 23:22
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ModernMajorGeneral posted:https://www.skynews.com.au/world-ne...e771b0a76bb?amp A true warrior's death, the way I want to go.
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Dec 3, 2022 23:23
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