8 ms·

It seems to me that the United States is more likely to be the aggressor given its record of interventionism, not to mention Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Russian

by llamaz 6y ago

It seems to me that the United States is more likely to be the aggressor given its record of interventionism, not to mention Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Russians and the Chinese are far more peaceful - they do not position military bases aggressively around the world, do not fund proxy armies, and do not fund countries like Saudi Arabia that are responsible for the ongoing Yemeni famine (I've refrained from touching the more contentious topics in US foreign policy). The idea that the United States is under threat, rather than the threat, is laughable. If any country is well positioned to de-escalate a nuclear arms race, it is the United States, and this is the action that it should take.

readarticle 6y ago
China spent half a billion on a military base in Djibouti at the mouth of the Red Sea less than three years ago. Russia funds separatist anti government groups in Donbas and annexed Crimea, while maintaining military bases across Eurasia specifically near their former subjects. Russia funds Iran, responsible for the ongoing Yemeni famine, and as a cherry on top, Iran funds various groups across the middle east through Russian instruments. (This is all ignoring the idea that they’ve refrained from projecting power more often at a global scale due to being peaceful, as opposed to lacking the capability entirely due to being relatively poor and weak.)
- llamaz 6y ago
  The US is actively supplying funds to Saudi Arabia, which is culpable for the Yemeni famine. Reading the wikipedia page of the Yemeni famine is enough to establish which country is culpable for it. Even if Iran is partly culpable, the US is not supplying funds to Iran, and is in fact sanctioning it (incl. medical supplies) during a global pandemic. I mean look at the military bases around Iran alone: https://i.redd.it/2x46rg6uid631.jpg https://i.redd.it/2x46rg6uid631.jpg The current Iranian regime came into power as a result of a US coup of a democratically elected prime minister for the benefit of British oil. China doesn't even come close to the US foreign presence.
- Synaesthesia 6y ago
  > Russia funds Iran, responsible for the ongoing Yemeni famine Iran is responsible for the Yemeni famine? Now I’ve heard it all.
aronpye 6y ago
Are you a Russian bot? P.S. have you heard of the Cuban Missile Crisis, Syria, Ukraine, or what China is doing in the South China Sea?
- llamaz 6y ago
  No, I'm an Australian citizen. Yes, I have heard of all of those. The world does not want "freedom, and democracy", or any ideology that has been used to destroy their countries. The use of illegal radioactive weapons in Iraq is resulting in deformities to this day. (e.g. here's the first link I could find: https://theintercept.com/2019/11/25/iraq-children-birth-defects-military/ https://theintercept.com/2019/11/25/iraq-children-birth-defe...) The Russians do not want a Western model of democracy, especially after the "shock therapy" that sent nationally funded industries into the private tyranny of oligarchs. Read John Gray. True liberalism means "modus vivendi" politics, reaching a peaceful co-existence with other countries, rather than trying to change the world to realize some sort of utopia. The communists tried it, the neoliberals tried it. In each case the results have been disastrous.
  - torstenvl 6y ago
    > The use of illegal radioactive weapons in Iraq is resulting in deformities to this day. Are you claiming there exists some kind of banned thorium weapon? And that Americans are using it? And that therefore Americans are responsible for these birth defects? The article you linked does not contain any support for this claim of American use of radiological weapons. It describes thorium birth defects near Tallil Air Base. I don't see how these thorium birth defects have anything to do with radiological weapons. There are no known thorium weapons. Thorium is, however, used in making alloys for jet avionics, though. And it turns out the Iraqis buried a shitton of planes at Tallil AB. https://web.archive.org/web/20170201130725/http://okwreckchasing.org/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=2 https://web.archive.org/web/20170201130725/http://okwreckcha...
    - llamaz 6y ago
      I'm claiming the united states, in contravention of international law, used depleted uranium [1] as a weapon, and this depleted uranium is causing birth defects. We're getting side tracked, but you can do your own research on this topic and come to your own conclusions. The wikipedia page below is a good place to start. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depleted_uranium https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depleted_uranium
djohnston 6y ago
Mao and Stalin were too busy purging tens of millions of their own citizens to develop the global reach that the US established post WWII, but China is certainly headed in the same direction now
- llamaz 6y ago
  I'm not defending Mao or Stalin. I'm critiquing utopian thinking, including that of Mao and Stalin. Communists pursued a utopia, and neoconservatives are pursuing their own utopia modelled on Chicago school economics and liberal democracy. We should pursue a non-interventionist foreign policy and not force our way of life, which itself is a compromise between different groups, onto other countries. Other countries need to come to a different modus vivendi compromise between themselves and with us, and have as much right to sovereignty as we do.
- alecmg 6y ago
  ok I'll bite. How many tens (of millions)? Can any country purge ten million own citizens to improve their global reach? Is it like a warcraft movie spell?
  - Agathos 6y ago
    I think djohnston's point was that China's global reach started expanding after they stopped killing tens of millions of their own citizens, which was around the time Mao died.
  - victoro0 6y ago
    Well the USSR used over 30 million people as slave labor in their gulags, which were mostly involved in construction works and natural resources extraction. That can certainly advance things.
  - steffan 6y ago
    > ...too busy purging tens of millions of their own citizens to develop the global reach... I think you misread 'to' in this sentence to mean 'in order to'. The intent by the parent comment was 'too busy...instead of develop[ing] the global reach'
dutch3000 6y ago
The US was clearly not the aggressor in WWII.

by llamaz 6y ago

readarticle 6y ago

China spent half a billion on a military base in Djibouti at the mouth of the Red Sea less than three years ago. Russia funds separatist anti government groups in Donbas and annexed Crimea, while maintaining military bases across Eurasia specifically near their former subjects. Russia funds Iran, responsible for the ongoing Yemeni famine, and as a cherry on top, Iran funds various groups across the middle east through Russian instruments. (This is all ignoring the idea that they’ve refrained from projecting power more often at a global scale due to being peaceful, as opposed to lacking the capability entirely due to being relatively poor and weak.)

llamaz 6y ago
The US is actively supplying funds to Saudi Arabia, which is culpable for the Yemeni famine. Reading the wikipedia page of the Yemeni famine is enough to establish which country is culpable for it. Even if Iran is partly culpable, the US is not supplying funds to Iran, and is in fact sanctioning it (incl. medical supplies) during a global pandemic. I mean look at the military bases around Iran alone: https://i.redd.it/2x46rg6uid631.jpg https://i.redd.it/2x46rg6uid631.jpg The current Iranian regime came into power as a result of a US coup of a democratically elected prime minister for the benefit of British oil. China doesn't even come close to the US foreign presence.
Synaesthesia 6y ago
> Russia funds Iran, responsible for the ongoing Yemeni famine Iran is responsible for the Yemeni famine? Now I’ve heard it all.

aronpye 6y ago

Are you a Russian bot? P.S. have you heard of the Cuban Missile Crisis, Syria, Ukraine, or what China is doing in the South China Sea?

llamaz 6y ago
No, I'm an Australian citizen. Yes, I have heard of all of those. The world does not want "freedom, and democracy", or any ideology that has been used to destroy their countries. The use of illegal radioactive weapons in Iraq is resulting in deformities to this day. (e.g. here's the first link I could find: https://theintercept.com/2019/11/25/iraq-children-birth-defects-military/ https://theintercept.com/2019/11/25/iraq-children-birth-defe...) The Russians do not want a Western model of democracy, especially after the "shock therapy" that sent nationally funded industries into the private tyranny of oligarchs. Read John Gray. True liberalism means "modus vivendi" politics, reaching a peaceful co-existence with other countries, rather than trying to change the world to realize some sort of utopia. The communists tried it, the neoliberals tried it. In each case the results have been disastrous.
- torstenvl 6y ago
  > The use of illegal radioactive weapons in Iraq is resulting in deformities to this day. Are you claiming there exists some kind of banned thorium weapon? And that Americans are using it? And that therefore Americans are responsible for these birth defects? The article you linked does not contain any support for this claim of American use of radiological weapons. It describes thorium birth defects near Tallil Air Base. I don't see how these thorium birth defects have anything to do with radiological weapons. There are no known thorium weapons. Thorium is, however, used in making alloys for jet avionics, though. And it turns out the Iraqis buried a shitton of planes at Tallil AB. https://web.archive.org/web/20170201130725/http://okwreckchasing.org/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=2 https://web.archive.org/web/20170201130725/http://okwreckcha...
  - llamaz 6y ago
    I'm claiming the united states, in contravention of international law, used depleted uranium [1] as a weapon, and this depleted uranium is causing birth defects. We're getting side tracked, but you can do your own research on this topic and come to your own conclusions. The wikipedia page below is a good place to start. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depleted_uranium https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depleted_uranium

djohnston 6y ago

Mao and Stalin were too busy purging tens of millions of their own citizens to develop the global reach that the US established post WWII, but China is certainly headed in the same direction now

llamaz 6y ago
I'm not defending Mao or Stalin. I'm critiquing utopian thinking, including that of Mao and Stalin. Communists pursued a utopia, and neoconservatives are pursuing their own utopia modelled on Chicago school economics and liberal democracy. We should pursue a non-interventionist foreign policy and not force our way of life, which itself is a compromise between different groups, onto other countries. Other countries need to come to a different modus vivendi compromise between themselves and with us, and have as much right to sovereignty as we do.
alecmg 6y ago
ok I'll bite. How many tens (of millions)? Can any country purge ten million own citizens to improve their global reach? Is it like a warcraft movie spell?
- Agathos 6y ago
  I think djohnston's point was that China's global reach started expanding after they stopped killing tens of millions of their own citizens, which was around the time Mao died.
- victoro0 6y ago
  Well the USSR used over 30 million people as slave labor in their gulags, which were mostly involved in construction works and natural resources extraction. That can certainly advance things.
- steffan 6y ago
  > ...too busy purging tens of millions of their own citizens to develop the global reach... I think you misread 'to' in this sentence to mean 'in order to'. The intent by the parent comment was 'too busy...instead of develop[ing] the global reach'

dutch3000 6y ago

The US was clearly not the aggressor in WWII.