Ich bin für Erpresser

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Security_dilemma

And yet some people seem to think it’s an endorsement…

I hate war, I hate profiteering off human misery and I hate that the only way to deterr others from attacking you is to be ready for war yourself because humans still can’t get over the drive to dominate and exploit.

But that despicable reality of the Security Dilemma means we need to spend money on defense. We cannot yet trust other humans enough that disarmament is viable. I consider myself a pacifist, but I am not so naive to think violence can be checked by words along. The feather may be stronger than the sword, but only if it lives long enough to write.

I hate that so much production has to be wasted on means of destruction. I hope we never have to use them.

Technically, I’m not new, just recently moved instance, but maybe mine delights you anyway? Assuming it’s still there, idk how long it lasts.

a wengal

Ich erinnere mich gerade an den Kulturschock, als ich das erste Mal in einem österreichischen Supermarkt einkaufen war. Die nennen die Laugenstange Stangerl und die Kasse Kassa. Ich dachte immer das sei nur Mundart und sie schreiben die Wörter trotzdem so wie ich sie aus Deutschland kenne, aber nein: Die schreiben das so an die Schilder.

Im Nachhinein ist mir klar, dass die nicht unbedingt der Deutschen Rechtschreibung folgen, wenn sie halt nicht Deutschland sind, aber damals war das für mich voll der Hirnblaß.

Das hat wenig mit dem Rest des Kommentars zu tun, aber diese ausgeschriebene Form von Mundart hat mich daran erinnert und ich dachte vielleicht amüsiert das noch jemanden.

Wartime conscription is hardly the same as full authoritarianism, and taking measures to protect the state that gave him the mandate is far from treating its people like shit.

There is a grim necessity for authoritarian measures to war. A commander will need to be able to make war decisions without having to wait for some assembly to approve them. A commander will need people to contribute to the war effort. There’s a reason authoritarian factions like military coups and staging wars: It’s far easier to justify such measures while you’re actively at war.

But that implication doesn’t work the other way. Zelenskyy didn’t start this war. He isn’t persecuting an offensive war for his own ends. He is doing what he must to protect the territory, population and independence of his country. That involves forcing people to participate in the war for the good of all others.

Is it pretty? No. But neither is running out of troops and having your country taken over by someone who is demonstrably authoritarian even outside of matters of war. I wouldn’t want to be conscripted either, but I accept the necessity.

pound the pavement

Gonna be hard around here. They recently fixed all the cracks.

With this single “conversation” they undermined every security deal they had anywhere in the world.

I disagree. If it was a single conversation the world would be shocked but they could still cover it up. Politicians say dumb shit and walk it back all the time.

It’s the fact that his first term was already such a blundering mess in terms of diplomacy, combined with the fact that he somehow got re-elected, the accelerating bullshit ever since and now finally this mess. If they hadn’t been chipping away at any international goodwill so thoroughly, the response would be closer to “I can’t believe a US president would say that” rather than “the US as a whole is no longer reliable”.

Übertreiben

I went back to find this post just to tell you that “my personality is the color Florida” has me cackling for several minutes now. I hope your day is as great as your jokes.

Merken die Flachpfeifen eigentlich wirklich nicht, dass sie gerade den Ast absägen auf dem wir alle sitzen?

Wenn man die historische christliche (und vermeintlich demokratische) Zentrumspartei anschaut:

Nein, die glauben wahrscheinlich echt, dass sie dabei gut wegkommen.

Ich hab das weniger als absichtlich Russland-freundlich und mehr als fehlgeleiteten Pazifismus interpretiert, aber das ist trotzdem etwas dämlich. Den Fehler hab ich mit manchen Menschen auch schon gemacht, dass ich dachte “da muss man doch reden können, das muss doch irgendwie gehen”, aber mit diesen Menschen ist das halt weniger katastrophal als mit Putin.

Wenigstens werden sie die Außenpolitik nicht alleine entscheiden, und wie du so schön sagst:

weg von den klauen der rechten Schlangen!

And yet there are plenty of histories today that challenge the claims of the past’s winners. A part of studying historical literature is discerning and accounting for the bias of the authors and correlating it with other sources. A part of studying history in turn is matching up what you find in literature with what archaeology finds.

History isn’t done once the event has happened. Even if the oligarchs win this war, it’s unlikely they’ll be the ones to build the Actually Really Eternal Empire (Forever This Time) that manages to suppress all study of history ever.

The winner may write history, but they’re not the only ones to ever read it.

Retire at 59? I wish

We’ll do our best. Let’s hope it’s enough.

That would risk direct conflict between nuclear powers. I’m not sure that’s a gamble we should take.

I’m not sure we shouldn’t take it either. I don’t know, really. But it’s scary.

The world will continue to exist and some portion of mankind probably will survive too. At some point, historians will dissect the current crisis – whatever the outcome – with the same scrutiny as today’s historians examine other past events.

And I hope they won’t face the same issues as today’s historians, who have to watch as their departments are cut down one by one while their cries of alarm go unheard.