Pasha
Defend Kebab
No bio...
User ID: 481
Pasha
Defend Kebab
11mo ago
“I refuse to entertain the subtleties of life because some people some time ago came up with some legal principles on which I shall base my entire thought process” isn’t a very good jumping point for a conversation or deliberation. But you do you
Pasha
Defend Kebab
10mo ago
I agree wholeheartedly. Except that I don't believe it was meant to be a war of expansion but simply an instigation to a coup to install a pre-2014 style government to Ukraine and stop Ukrainian attacks on Donbas from being a headache on the Russian government who couldn't care less about the Donbas population but cannot let them get crushed either. Since then they are improvising rather poorly and had to annex the occupied territories as a sign of commitment.
Pasha
Defend Kebab
10mo ago
think I see some "citation needed" here.
There is no great mystery here. Russian conventional army is very mediocre because they are spending enormous amounts of their military budget (which isn't even that high) keeping up with the latest nuclear capabilities and missile delivery systems.
"Where is the Russian Air Force?" has been the millionbillion-ruble question in this whole war.
Yeah but no, again there is no great mystery. Their air assets were definitely present early in the war when they expected a quick victory with a small force. But Russian Air Force is small, and is not really fit for fighting against capable air defense. That is what happens when you have a limited military budget and spend it on very expensive nuclear systems. None of this was unknown.
Pre-war, every serious defense analyst I could find expected them to systematically dismantle Ukraine in something that looked like the US Gulf War 1
Because they expected an invasion with near full power of the Russian army rolling across the border. This is not the invasion that actually took place and so what is the point of taking attrition to your valuable air assets when it is not going to accomplish anything because the army is not suited for it?
Pasha
Defend Kebab
10mo ago
Is the argument here that the US was upholding some important international norm when they kept ridiculous corrupt occupation governments in Iraq and Afghanistan for decades to the great detriment of their populations, and then left them as smoldering ruins refusing to take any responsibility?
Many observers in important positions around the World deducted from these events that American leaders don't give a shit about any of their rhetoric, are short-sighted, unreliable, agreement-incapable and live in their own media narrative where they are always right in the end. They will make up norms when it suits them and adjust them mid-game if it doesn't suit them anymore.
Unfortunately I believe Ukrainians are due to discover this as well after sacrificing their youth and their relations with their only important neighbor for drip-fed fickle promises.
Pasha
Defend Kebab
10mo ago
when its northern border with Russia is reinforced on both sides and makes raids impossible
Were those raids ever anything other than PR for Western media and Ukrainian domestic jingoism? They generate lots of media attention and allows headlines in Europe to the tune of "partisans advancing into Moscow" which are always useful as average normie has lost all interest in the war other than seeing the occasional headline.
Pasha
Defend Kebab
28d ago
The US is giving everything Israel demands and more. What can one accuse Biden of not doing to help Israel?
Also an unknown but likely substantial numbers of those hostages have died/will die due to Israeli bombardment and starvation. It might backfire big time if some documents end up leaked tying IDF action to deaths of American passport holding hostages.
Pasha
Defend Kebab
6mo ago
This is such a strange take. The US set up client states in Jordan and Egypt to stop them from attacking Israel. It finances half the Lebanese political factions for this purpose (and even Hezbollah!). The entire Iraq war (2-3 TRILLION dollars depending on calculation methods) realistically had no other purpose than to eliminate a regime Israel wanted gone. It still stations around 30.000 soldiers around Middle East, with realistically no other purpose than to deter anyone who might want to mess with Israel. Almost any random deal US sponsors around the world will include some small ridiculous clauses to give Israel a bit more diplomatic legitimacy. US is unable to normalize relations with Iran, even though this would make a great amount of geopolitical sense, because Israel doesn't want it.
The list can go on and on. And I am not getting into items like the French giving Israel nuclear arms technology or massive sums of blood money West Germany paid for Israel's industrialization.
The 3 billion direct military aid is absolutely nothing compared to what America and Europe actually provides to Israel.
Pasha
Defend Kebab
10mo ago
So no advantage at all as you admit this was a “vague possibility” for a while and nothing more. And Taiwan was supposed to make a mortal enemy of their only geographic neighbour and the source of a great deal of its wealth, for this? That they would possibly voluntarily join PRC?
I am sorry but what you are saying doesn’t make any sense at all.
Pasha
Defend Kebab
10mo ago
I think that keeping the war going is a way to avoid Putin's regime failing militarily as well as in other respects.
https://meduza.io/en/feature/2023/06/03/the-only-thing-worse-than-war-is-losing-one
I think most Russians are convinced (imo rightly) that their fate will be closer to Germans after WW1 instead of Germans after WW2 if they lose. I would wager that there are a lot more people who support fighting to victory now compared to before the war, so Putin's regime doesn't have much of a choice.
Pasha
Defend Kebab
10mo ago
Mind you, even so, that Dutch houses tend to be a good deal smaller than detached American suburban houses are
I feel like the Netherlands at least compensates by having safe streets/parks almost everywhere that the average kid can play without supervision. I always had the feeling that this matters even more and large houses are just a compensation tool if kids cannot be outside on their own because of crime/dangerous roads/it is literally illegal.
Pasha
Defend Kebab
10mo ago
Either this, or the offensive start was politically mandated and the Ukrainian army in the field cannot actually perform at the level of competency needed to dislodge a prepared enemy with air superiority and equal manpower.
The thing I wonder them most is whether the Ukrainians have an effective solution to the Russian air assets. Videos of attack helicopters hovering at 10km range way behind the Russian lines and away from Ukrainian anti-air and hunting Ukrainian armor are everywhere and harrowing.
Pasha
Defend Kebab
10mo ago
They benefit by deflecting from their social, economic, foreign policy, and military failures.
I really don't get this vein of takes. It just proves too much. Any government committing any military act is going to get some temporary nationalism boost. It doesn't mean that this is why they are doing it.
Was Putin about to lose an election to a popular opposition candidate? No. Was Russian domestic politics or economy undergoing a significant crisis before the war? No. Even in Belarus the color revolution attempt died down with zero consequences.
If anything, the only significant near-term threat to the legitimacy of the Putin regime was a situation where Ukraine would become openly belligerent and turn into a competently armed anti-Russia and get NATO protection.
Such blatant unfairness raises my hackles
"The game" is unfair either way. It will never be fair as long as we are mammals with certain sexual instincts. Hear me out.
What you are objecting is a situation where the unfairness becomes explicit instead of implicit. But this is a horribly bad strategy!! If you are not a "gigachad" and/or "absolute player" type of guy, this is exactly what you want! When the rules of the game becomes more explicit it gives more chances to people who lack the deep social instincts for playing the implicit game. And forgive me for stereotyping, but I have literally never met an Indian guy (from India proper) who had very strong instincts in this regard and I know many.
When ladies get cheap booze explicitly from the bar there is less expectation on you to do the classic move of introduce yourself with confidence, say a couple witty funny things, and ask what she wants to drink. For some guys this is second nature. For many this is nerve wrecking and they will fuck it up. If you are in the group that gets the nerves from approaching a pretty girl like this then you should absolutely welcome a ladies night. It takes some pressure off you.
This is the exact reason why dance classes, blind dating, formal courtship, even arranged marriages etc are all good strategies for men too awkward to just ask a girl out from zero. Each one of these options add an extra dose of explicitness to the interaction.
Pasha
Defend Kebab
22hr ago
Apparently I made the mistake of wandering into one in little India on a Sunday afternoon. Since then avoiding the Indian areas a bit. But I was told that it’s the migrant worker off day and it’s normally not so crazy chaotic.
Pasha
Defend Kebab
14d ago
I fail to see how this goes against anything I have said.
It’s trivial to observe that due to cultural factors eastern Slavic women have a tendency to easily become gold diggers or prostitutes under certain adverse conditions, while for example Muslim women don’t have this tendency under even more extreme adverse conditions. Your male relatives being prepared to use violence to keep your sexual purity is one of these cultural factors.
This doesn’t distract from my point at all.
Pasha
Defend Kebab
19d ago
people are generally riding heavy bikes very slowly in highly protected lanes
It’s true most bikes are pretty heavy. But no people definitely don’t ride them slowly. And highly protected lanes depends very much on where you are. Suburbs or newly built cities yes. On more historical cities not at all. Also virtually nobody wears helmets with e-bikes either. Scooters going in the bike lane have to use helmets since last year though.
Pedestrians weave back and forth with abandon, huge groups take up the whole path, and dogs on leashes dart in front of cyclists at will.
This is my average everyday cycle in Amsterdam city center to be honest.. but it’s not very safe and with kids in tow definitely understandable to be cautious. Don’t you think something like a “bakfiets” would be safer against rolling than a tow?
Pasha
Defend Kebab
22d ago
Reading Polanyi’s Great Transformation was one of the most mind opening experiences ever for me when it comes to economic history.
Pasha
Defend Kebab
29d ago
members of the US intelligence community
Has there ever been a more reprehensible neologism? These people are, at best, wildly overpaid midwit bureaucrats and at worst absolute crooks.
Pasha
Defend Kebab
2mo ago
I go to Greece almost more often than Turkey. But it’s always a bit cringing to see how they are obviously a fundamentally Balkan/Near East people but will pretend to be Europeans with baklava and kebab (trademarked greek food since Alexander).
Nope for cosmetic surgery. It’s a female thing though
I like going to Rust events and trying to guess if someone is a very ugly woman or a tranny. Usually the second
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