Clearly there is a being who is being forced. At the point of birth I don't think you can dispute that anymore. And while we know little about a baby'...
An imposition means to force something on another. By being born something (life) is being forced (the physical act of birth, to which a child cannot ...
Being born clearly is an imposition by the parents on the child. If such a monumental imposition is morally permissible, then on what basis can be sai...
Well, in that case a one-sided portrayal of all that is positive also will not suffice. Not only is there a lot of suffering in the world, there are a...
Mental gymnastics? If you're not interested in the moral argument then that is fine, but obviously any moral argument put forward should be sound. If ...
How does this argument not then turn into a moral imperative to create as many new persons as possible? Honestly, I think the way this thread is going...
Is the ego really concerned with self-preservation? Isn't it easy to come up with examples in which ego-driven behavior is self-destructive, and purpu...
The United States has been moving towards incorporation of Ukraine into western power structures since at least the Bush administration without pause....
I don't think my opinions on what changes to Russia would turn it into a more preferable state are in any way relevant to the question of Ukraine, and...
Party line? What kind of cheap rhetorical tricks are these? I go against your preferred narrative so I must be a Kremlin propagandist? Up yours. How a...
Freedom of speech is a great thing, but it's far from the only measure one could use to determine a nation's development. In fact, I would argue that ...
That never stopped the United States from getting along with anyone. Is the point you're going to make really that if only Russia were to act more lik...
The article by Rumer and Weiss was good. I especially liked the point that was made about the situation being such that neither side is likely to back...
None of that matters. If that nothern neighbor is powerful, Mexico will have to take into account its northern neighbor's interests or face the conseq...
Implying certain individuals inherently require assistance because of their demographic is patronizing and discriminatory in more ways than one, not t...
Do you believe Russian actions in Crimea and Ukraine were acts of "unprovoked agression"? You seem to believe that everything I've offered in terms of...
You've got it backwards. Your position hinges almost entirely on the idea that the Russians act out of territorial greed (the "madman Putin" argument)...
When you say "territorial ambitions" I take it to mean as much as territorial ambitions brought about by imperialism or some such. I don't think you'v...
It would limit Russia's influence in the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and the Middle-East significantly. That's the importance of Crimea and Sevastopo...
I appreciate that you're bringing some sources to the table, but this hardly constitutes proof of territorial ambitions. If you read the articles you'...
What are you talking about? I outright stated it: If you want to argue that Russia has had these territorial ambitions before 2008 then you'll have to...
You're looking at this from the wrong perspective. After 2008, when it became clear the United States would not back down from incorporating Ukraine i...
Why think in terms of 'we'? There's nothing stopping you or I from living according to principles of non-violence. It gets more complicated when one s...
Mearsheimer, for one, in the video I linked you. If the United States wanted peace with Russia they could have it tomorrow. If they guarantee Ukraine ...
Nuclear deterrence for Ukraine is a ship that has long since sailed. No point in discussing that. As for joining NATO as a means to prevent a Russian ...
A disguised moral argument is still a moral argument, and using 'realpolitik' to justify your moral argument is not actual realism. You are dealing in...
That may have been the case during what is called the "unipolar moment": the time after the Cold War ended where the United States was the most powerf...
A pivot to China doesn't simply mean a military pivot, since the United States does not have only military means. It would mean the United States woul...
Regardless of the validity of this statement, China does not need war to become the world's most powerful nation, and thus deprive the United States o...
It's absolutely foolish, from a European perspective and from an American perspective. The United States needs to shift its focus to China, which is a...
Now you are confusing several things. My point has always been that from a realist perspective Russia's actions were entirely predictable, that the Un...
I agree, but that's not what we're debating here. I'm not making a judgement about whether Russia's policies are effective or not. I think the Europea...
Yep. In geopolitics power, not our personal fancies, is what matters. That's the realist point of view - not because a realist likes it that way, but ...
Yes, yes. And you then apply that standard one-sidedly and cry foul when other nations react negatively. That's is indeed exactly your position and it...
Except that is not what you are advocating. You believe NATO should get to expand and interfere all it wants because they're "the good guys", and when...
Voluntariness is not a factor in this. This isn't about good or bad, it's about geopolitics and it's very real consequences. Cuba also voluntarily joi...
Why would it be considered a victory to have Europeans arm themselves against a Russia that would never attack them anyway. Those troops are going to ...
Now they have NATO bases and NATO peacekeepers. It should be pretty clear there's a political tug-of-war taking place in Eastern Europe, and the one-s...
It begs the question what their motive is, though. Russia is reacting to decades of NATO expansion and over a decade of their warnings about Ukraine n...
Guess we'll get some more scholarly views in here - something that's been terribly lacking so far. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpNQg9faHo4 00:00 |...
Have you made any effort to understand the causes and the wider context of this conflict, and if so, on what basis do you dismiss all of it in favor o...
Propaganda is always bad, whether it's anti-Russian or anti-NATO. It's inflammatory, and brings large-scale conflict closer. All here should realize t...
Comments