stiffly
1yr ago
The actions followed the words. It's exactly what you'd expect. She has behaved in a depraved and evil fashion since we became aware of her, and it's not mind-reading to observe that she's depraved and evil.
You didn't actually address any of the claims, like this was done to prevent Germany from crying "uncle" and asking Russia to turn the taps back on this winter. Now that's utterly impossible. What a terrible thing to happen. "Thank you USA" says it all.
stiffly
1yr ago
Nah, NATO is still about the same thing. The whole "stop being a freeloader on American defense" was a Trumpian thing. The first thing Biden did was ditch it, like he did all of Trump's policies. Remember when Trump told the Germans to stop freeloading? They laughed at him. To his face! That shows you what the Germans think of this idea.
The MacKinder Thesis tells us that the US must never allow Europe and Asia to work together, as that would be enough to end American hegemony. The mandarins in DC will never let this happen. This isn't crazy conspiracy theory, it's real geopolitics.
stiffly
1yr ago
It doesn't fit neatly in my pre-existing political compass
That's the feeling of your brain growing.
Keep at it, you're doing well!
is being propped up against the will of the German people (haven't heard of any revolutions there, as of late) as an American puppet
Yeah, pretty much. Germans want the US occupation out. It's pretty widespread, but the German government has to keep the Americans in otherwise the Americans will do very bad things to Germany. Moreover the US troops aren't just there to defend against Russia, but to maintain American access to European markets. Crazy conspiracy theory, right? Well, it comes from Alexander Haig.
Q -- Why is the United States still stationing 70,000 troops in Germany?
A -- A lot of good reasons for that. This presence is the basis for our influence in the European region and for the cooperation of allied nations whose security it enhances. A lot of people forget it is also the bona fide of our economic success. The presence of U.S. troops keeps European markets open to us. If those troops weren't there, those markets would probably be more difficult to access.
Q -- I didn't forget. I just didn't know that if the United States didn't maintain 70,000 troops in Germany, European markets might be closed to American goods and services.
A -- On occasion, even with our presence, we have confronted protectionism in a number of industries, such as automotive and aerospace. In addition to economic benefits derived from our presence in Europe, there is perhaps an even more important diplomatic and political benefit.
https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2002/01/07/Text-of-UPI-interview-with-Haig/78831010444063/
There's a lot of this stuff out there which is common knowledge among elites, but not well known to the public. It's out there though, you can find it if you know where to look.
stiffly
1yr ago
Well, I'd link you to the audio of the phone call, but Youtube has censored it. Weird, eh? It's like they don't want it influencing our discussions.
stiffly
1yr ago
Nuland is the one that engineered the 2014 coup. We have a leaked phone call from her where she is discussing arranging Ukraine's government without asking them, instead of the democratic process of the Ukrainians doing it. She's not a good person. When she says we're going to end it, she means a state-sponsored terrorist attack.
I'm curious, where did you get the idea about this decertifying it? Mind reading? That's not something that's under America's control. Germany is the enemy here, and the US must not allow them to resume supplies of Russian gas. As they start freezing and deindustrializing this winter, it's going to become an attractive option. Now it's off the table.
stiffly
1yr ago
I said it. I'm not a bot. But I have learned I am really, really good at causing cognitive dissonance and shaking people out of what they "know" to be true with evidence to the contrary. The Ukraine conflict is good vs. evil, right? But then you turn it on its head and present evidence that we're on the side of the Nazis, who are pure evil. Blammo, brain explodes.
People really, really don't like it. Boy, they don't like it. They especially don't like when I back it up with facts from "their" sources like NPR. They don't like it so much that they will come up with conspiracy theories like "U R a bot" to wash away the cognitive dissonance.
stiffly
1yr ago
Lucky for Europe that they run a gargantuan $60 billion trade surplus with the US. They can easily afford the US gas, and it will be warmly welcomed as helping to pare down that unfair surplus.
Trade is supposed to be equal, with both parties benefiting.
stiffly
1yr ago
See what I mean? Cognitive dissonance makes people grasp for straws in rebuttal, and the one that frequently comes to mind is "you're a bot".
This then resolves the nagging, damaging mental pain and the facts can be disregarded.
stiffly
1yr ago
Look at the opinion polls, it's pretty bad. Their disapproval of America is right up there with Islamic countries.
Or it was last I checked. I suppose it's increase ever since we provoked this war. People become popular when they're temporarily useful. Like in WWII, the British suddenly started cheering for the Irish ("There never was a coward where the shamrock grows") or blacks and women became popular in the US because their labor was valuable. But the thing about being temporarily useful is that whenever the emergency comes to an end, it's right back to the old way again.
stiffly
1yr ago
Much like the Hunter Biden laptop, the story quickly becomes about the censorship instead of the original story.
stiffly
1yr ago
Can we trust a mainstream media outlet deeply invested in the pro-pediatric cosmetic surgery agenda to report accurately on what their opposition thinks or believes? Track record says no.
stiffly
1yr ago
Does one trust a known deceiver? Especially when they have something to gain by their actions?
stiffly
1yr ago
The rules say that mostly text links don't need a submission statement.
I could add some commentary, but honestly it speaks for itself. The biggest story of the year, and the mainstream media deems it not newsworthy, for obvious reasons.
stiffly
1yr ago
If you're a poor unskilled worker you're not going home again. You're staying. You left home in the first place because your home country sucks and there's no work there.
Expats don't stay. Eww, gross. They're in Shanghai this year, Dubai the next, then back home in London, then a couple years in New York. They're assigned around by their companies and don't have much of a choice about it.
stiffly
1yr ago
I think they're using that old rhetorical device to avoid responsibility: lying.
Moreover NPR is hardly a neutral source. http://imgur.com/myGuSjy
I'm not some kid. I grew up on NPR. I'm disgusted to see what they've become. I feel like I lost a friend.
stiffly
1yr ago
A threat to his power? The pipelines were a major source of Russian leverage. Now they're gone. Moreover the US has been threatening them for some time. An important Polish politician said "Thank you USA" because nobody informed him that it was supposed to be a secret.
stiffly
1yr ago
Go figure, people don't like bitter tannins. The ones who do are really into wine, and they don't buy nearly as much as the mass market does.
stiffly
1yr ago
I thought that these days wine doesn't gain much by aging. You're meant to drink it soon. In fact, if you keep it for years, it'll go bad.
stiffly
1yr ago
Have you seen Babylon Bee's video satire "Californians move to Texas"? I had to pause the video at several points because I was laughing so hard. It's become a serial now. Here, enjoy it for yourself.
stiffly
1yr ago
Basic stuff. Really, really basic. Like showering every day, loving your children, shouldering responsibility for your life, being the changes you want to see, planning the life you'd like to have, going somewhere that's good enough so that the going is worth the while. So, so many people don't even do this, but it's that they don't even ask the questions in the first place. Or even know that they should be asking these questions. It's really sad.
In earlier ages, we had elders who would instruct the young. They knew what they had to do. Hunt the buffalo, weave baskets, fetch water, form families, respect the land, live such that your ancestors would be proud. Now that's gone and it's causing profound suffering.
stiffly
1yr ago
Oh, that's easy - crystal therapy works because the people who are treated with it believe that it works. The placebo effect. It's the same with witch doctors, faith healers, and TCM.
stiffly
1yr ago
Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria "Fuck the EU" Nuland explicitly said that Nord Stream 2 would be brought to an end if Russia invades Ukraine on the official US State Department account.
“The Ukraine conflict is one of the clearest examples of good vs. evil in the past century"
You said it! Look at how despicable these people are!
Video: Ukraine Soldiers Sing Praises Of WW II Era Nazi: https://youtube.com/watch?v=4H-yMmNh5Cs
And now NPR is just casually rehabilitating the Nazis: https://www.npr.org/2022/03/03/1084113728/a-closer-look-at-the-volunteers-who-are-signing-up-to-fight-the-russians
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