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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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
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.
Hospitals and doctors around the country are facing harassment and even death threats over the medical care they offer to transgender kids. In many cases, they have been the subject of posts by a Twitter account called Libs of TikTok, as well as stories in conservative media outlets casting gender-affirming care as child abuse and mutilation.
Which raises the question: where should social networks draw the line with accounts promoting narratives that spark harassment campaigns on their platforms and beyond?
They're doing elective pediatric double mastectomies on minors, and that's not a problem. The problem here is that Libs of Tiktok is shining a light on it and letting the world know. Fucked up, eh?
stiffly
1yr ago
Grandpa, what's a bad check?
The difference is that these crimes are committed by top officials in our government. Journalists are supposed to be on top of this, ripping them a new asshole so that they're too scared to even try - but now they have turned their coats and now work for our enemy.
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
https://www.commonsense.news/p/scheduled-to-die-the-rise-of-canadas
In Canada, they're suiciding people for being blinded in one eye, or just poor. Kids too.
In October 2020, a report stated that MAiD would cut healthcare costs by over $66 million. Canada will expand the pool to include the mentally ill and “mature minors.”
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
NATO is here to keep the Americans in, the Russians out and the Germans down.
Germany is the real enemy here. Here's a good rundown of the idea. Even if you disagree you should be aware of it, and understand how events developing favor this narrative. If you haven't heard of the MacKinder Thesis, now would be a good time to start. Keeping Russia and Germany apart is the crown jewel of American domination overseas.
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
“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
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.
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.
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