That's what it boils down to. "You just don't get it". You either accept the metaphysical premise that all events must trace back to the "Great Satan"...
So how does this look? What's the war aim? Recapture Kaliningrad for Germany? This theory is nothing short of amazing. So the Russians, knowing the US...
That's not what inevitable means. Threatening a vital interest is just that. You can choose not to respond with a military escalation. Like handing th...
It's hard to understand because it makes no sense. Why would war be unavoidable? But Russia wouldn't face any immediate consequences from that. This i...
They spend 15 years trying to avoid it only to turn it into a virtual certainty by invading. What is the political endgame of Russia here? At no point...
That's just rephrasing the claim. What distinguishes deterrence from aggressive armament? Which just seems to strengthen my argument that Russia made ...
That's an entirely new claim you're making. Previously it was arming Ukraine, now it's "prepare for war". You earlier stated you agree with the princi...
No, I'm asking you what is bad faith about arming Ukraine in parallel to the Minsk agreements. The agreements contain no clause to this effect, so you...
I'm not arguing there was literally no reason. Assuming this is true, how is this "bad faith"? The entire premise of your argument is that internation...
You're constantly arguing that European politicians are stupid and / or incompetent, but entertaining the possibility that the russian leadership made...
I did add the word "particular", as in nothing had dramatically changed for Russia's position in Ukraine. Whether or not Putin is a mad man is immater...
That is not really the point though. The point is that Russia had no particular reason to invade in 2022. And yet everyone was surprised. Easy to retr...
What I find bizarre is that you keep switching between different premises. On the one hand, the geopolitical realities are supposed to be impersonal a...
You mean like the Minsk accords? But then: Damn Europeans can get anything right. Of course all Russia had to do to ensure somewhat cordial relations ...
Oh absolutely. People want something to change, this has been visible for a while now. But neither of the big political blocks is able to deliver, and...
No, I don't disagree that the rhethoric is anti-establishment. But I'm not seeing any evidence that it's connected to any actual conviction. Trump did...
And this is how it always goes with you. When pressed on the specifics you invoke your interlocutors ignorance and run away. In fact it's because I'm ...
Both Europe and Russia are demonstrably acting against the interests the theory prescribes for them. The only explanation given for this is that the U...
Such theories come with a risk though, a kind of epistemological moral hazard. Once you've started ascribing some events to an unnatural manipulation,...
I think a lot of it is the allure of the grand narrative, in this case the grand narrative about the "pivot to Asia". It simplifies international rela...
I think we just don't agree on what a coup is. To me, not every power struggle that the incumbent loses is a coup. To me, a coup is an organised movem...
Just because no-one has challenged this false claim yet: Europe's militaries are not "stripped". Most frontline equipment that has been handed over ha...
I do think it fits in, actually. It's nostalgia as a substitute for the future. Obama is ultimately correct here, though of course one can debate the ...
Why? What do you think "the hard way" implies that makes it unthinkable? Power struggles within parties do happen, and they do often get pretty ugly, ...
A public pressure campaign? Why insist on a loaded word like "coup" when this is about who the candidate for the next election will be. They stabbed h...
Oh, can you pinpoint for us when Hitler went from an anti-shemale-bar-campaigner to the guy who wanted to remake Europe according to his racial ideolo...
This kinda goes into the realm of armchair psychology, but my take from talking to Trump supporters is this: Trump is the emperor with no clothes, onl...
If that's the world we live in, why on earth would Europe follow an independent foreign policy or seek rapprochement with Russia? It'd just be one US ...
Trump as a person is not, or was not, part of the establishment. But since he also did not come with any formed policy, his actions ended up being mos...
You mean like electing a president with good relations to Russia who proceeded to declare an end to further NATO ambitions? Because that is what happe...
So what should Ukraine have done to diffuse the tension? Declare they're no longer interested in joining NATO? Pass a law that affirms their neutralit...
Some are saying the earth is flat. Last I checked, the US government is still the same. Why would it have been necessary to forge a resignation letter...
Of course representing certain parts of the electorate is relevant, I did not want to dismiss that. Nevertheless, Kamala Harris wasn't randomly swept ...
She is a woman, and thus automatically at a disadvantage. She's also of color, so the DEI-hire narrative writes itself. In fact if you ask in more rig...
Right, but that makes it a power grab, I don't see how it's anti-establishment. These are not revolutionaries, they're part of the elite cementing the...
Sure, they're still being used as shorthand, but whereas in the past those categories actually represented a social spectrum with voting behaviours ch...
I think what you're seeing is the trend away from the old left / right distinction and the movement towards a system of multiple elites with their res...
Fair enough, but they're running out of time. I think what I'm missing is some kind of action plan. Everyone seems to be content with voicing their co...
Well said. And arguably the state of the democratic party is more worrying than the state of President Biden. That the party is not able to coordinate...
You're assuming they think of it as "wrecking democracy". They might instead consider it safeguarding democracy from the mob. Consider some of the rhe...
You're talking about the procedure. But the reason given does sound entirely democratic to me. People don't want to vote for him, therefore he shouldn...
@"Lionino" I just read it as "we locked the account and turned the contents over to law enforcement", given that he states they're fully cooperating. ...
Not sure that'd improve matters for those opposed to Trumpism oder the republican platform to be honest. I think a sufficiently ruthless politician ar...
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