The Invasion of Ukraine, Russia Threatens Finland/Sweden

[The Lone Alliance]

Knowing how corrupt the Ukrainain government is, they probably would have sold their weapons to the highest bidder anyways.

It was even worse in the 90s and we knew it, that's why both Russia and the United States practically got on their knees to get Ukraine to give up their nukes, because they knew if they waited long enough someone in the country was going to trade a warhead for a big screen TV.

[Bear Stearns]

Knowing how corrupt the Ukrainain government is, they probably would have sold their weapons to the highest bidder anyways.

It was even worse in the 90s and we knew it, that's why both Russia and the United States practically got on their knees to get Ukraine to give up their nukes, because they knew if they waited long enough someone in the country was going to trade a warhead for a big screen TV.

based. i wonder what other cool shit they'd trade their nukes for. maybe a fleet of luxury SUVs. or a luxury box at a hockey stadium.

basically the same reason apartheid south africa gave up their nukes rather than hand them over to the ANC

[Kubra]

for reasons not really worth discussing, the great majority of Ukrainians can speak Russian. It's not particularly special.

I mentioned above that when I used the term "Russian-speakers" assuming that it meant "people who's first language is Russian". Maybe "ethnic Russians" would've been more accurate for what I meant.

the current leaders of ukraine aren't really ethnic ukrainians either

What do you mean by this? Zełenśkyj is Jewish but one can be both Ukrainian and Jewish

for other reasons, we should consider two thirds being of Russian as a primary language frankly ridiculous.

[Genivaria]

So I only post this here because Russia but holy shit.
Russia Sees Record Population Decline As Excess Deaths Hit 1M

Russia recorded almost one million excess deaths between the start of the pandemic and the end of 2021, as the country also reported its sharpest annual fall in population since the fall of the Soviet Union.

Pushed down by record numbers of coronavirus fatalities and an already aging population, Russia's natural population declined by more than one million people during 2021 alone, the Rosstat statistics agency reported Friday.

It also said that more than 215,000 Russians died of all causes in December 2021 — 42% more than in the same month of 2019, before the outbreak of the coronavirus — and that some 662,000 people had succumbed to the disease since March 2020. That number is more than twice what has been reported by the government’s taskforce, which uses a different methodology and is reported daily by state media.

Independent demographers have repeatedly accused Russia of undercounting deaths associated with the coronavirus and downplaying the severity of the disease. The revelation that the country’s population shrank faster in 2021 than in any of the previous 30 years has only added fuel to those charges.

Experts say excess fatalities — which measure the increase in all deaths recorded throughout the pandemic compared with the pre-coronavirus period — is the most accurate measurement of the human cost of the virus.

Russia has now recorded at least 995,000 excess deaths since March 2020, according to The Moscow Times’ calculations comparing fatalities in pandemic months with those recorded in 2019. Many demographers, including former Rosstat analyst Alexei Raksha and Tubingen University statistician Dmitry Kobak, say Russia’s true excess death toll could be higher, based on declining mortality trends in the years before the pandemic.

Critics have accused the Kremlin of prioritizing the country’s economy and refusing to introduce mobility restrictions even as cases surged and hospitals became overwhelmed on multiple occasions over the last 18 months. Russia had only one short lockdown during spring 2020.

More than half the Russian population remains unvaccinated against Covid-19 and the country is currently reporting record-high case numbers. The vaccination drive has practically ground to a halt in recent months, as nearly all Russians who say they are prepared to be vaccinated have already taken a jab.

Russia has seen more excess fatalities than any other country in the world except India.

The Rosstat figures showed that mortality rates declined in December 2021 from levels seen in previous months, which had been the country’s most deadly period in decades. But a surge in Omicron infections since the start of the year has set back Russia’s latest efforts to stem the pandemic.

AFP contributed reporting.

[Hakinda Herseyi Duymak istiyorum]

The American imperialist nationalist mentality will not hesitate to use nuclear bombs and commit murder. If we don't want the Hiroshima and Nagasaki genocides to happen in Europe, we as a whole humanity should be against the presence of American government soldiers in Europe. As European civilizations, we must teach Russian and American imperialism a lesson. I refuse to be pawns of the cold war.

[-Astoria-]

The American imperialist nationalist mentality will not hesitate to use nuclear bombs and commit murder. If we don't want the Hiroshima and Nagasaki genocides to happen in Europe, we as a whole humanity should be against the presence of American government soldiers in Europe. As European civilizations, we must teach Russian and American imperialism a lesson. I refuse to be pawns of the cold war.

How do you propose to do that?

[Hakinda Herseyi Duymak istiyorum]

The American imperialist nationalist mentality will not hesitate to use nuclear bombs and commit murder. If we don't want the Hiroshima and Nagasaki genocides to happen in Europe, we as a whole humanity should be against the presence of American government soldiers in Europe. As European civilizations, we must teach Russian and American imperialism a lesson. I refuse to be pawns of the cold war.

How do you propose to do that?

As a centre-left social democrat kemalist, I never trust politicians and countries. however, non-governmental organizations and European Union countries should work together and activate European Union Military formations instead of NATO. I think that the membership of the former Yugoslavia states, Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus to the European Union will be beneficial in this respect. In this process, a united Cyprus and a united Yugoslavia can be created. If Europe is not truly united, we will be victims of the cold war. Europe's humanist welfare level against the American capitalist system. Let's put aside the artificial borders and grudges, isn't it time to end the french revolution?

[The Two Jerseys]

How do you propose to do that?

As a centre-left social democrat kemalist, I never trust politicians and countries. however, non-governmental organizations and European Union countries should work together and activate European Union Military formations instead of NATO. I think that the membership of the former Yugoslavia states, Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus to the European Union will be beneficial in this respect. In this process, a united Cyprus and a united Yugoslavia can be created. If Europe is not truly united, we will be victims of the cold war. Europe's humanist welfare level against the American capitalist system. Let's put aside the artificial borders and grudges, isn't it time to end the french revolution?

Ah yes, more Turkish ethnonationalism and complete lack of geopolitical understanding...

[Shekelesh]

Which agreement between the US and Ukraine obligates the US to provide direct military assistance and intervention?

The one we gave them when Ukraine willingly gave up their nuclear weapons. We gave them an agreement that Ukraine could give up their nuclear weapons because we would protect them instead. We kind of went "Well we didn't exactly promise you just assumed" in 2014.

Realistically we should give Ukraine a free Atomic Bomb since clearly the agreement is null and void.

That'll solve the problem easily, Russia won't attempt an invasion if there's a Ukrainian nuclear missile pointing at Moscow.

The Budapest Memorandum does not in fact contain any such obligation to provide such aid and/or intervention. There is a reaffirming of a commitment to seek UNSC action in the event Ukraine is a victim of aggression or being threatened with aggression in which nuclear weapons are used.

Russia wouldn't be afraid of one missile, which they could intercept and destroy.

[Thermodolia]

The one we gave them when Ukraine willingly gave up their nuclear weapons. We gave them an agreement that Ukraine could give up their nuclear weapons because we would protect them instead. We kind of went "Well we didn't exactly promise you just assumed" in 2014.

Realistically we should give Ukraine a free Atomic Bomb since clearly the agreement is null and void.

That'll solve the problem easily, Russia won't attempt an invasion if there's a Ukrainian nuclear missile pointing at Moscow.

The Budapest Memorandum does not in fact contain any such obligation to provide such aid and/or intervention. There is a reaffirming of a commitment to seek UNSC action in the event Ukraine is a victim of aggression or being threatened with aggression in which nuclear weapons are used.

Russia wouldn't be afraid of one missile, which they could intercept and destroy.

You missed the is a “victim of aggression” part. That part doesn’t have anything to do with nukes as a couple paragraphs up the memorandum says that all signers must respect Ukrainian sovereignty and uphold that.

Granted it does state UNSC action but given that Russia is a permanent member we can just ignore that one

[Christian Confederation]

We should just go back to survival of the fitest

[Shekelesh]

The Budapest Memorandum does not in fact contain any such obligation to provide such aid and/or intervention. There is a reaffirming of a commitment to seek UNSC action in the event Ukraine is a victim of aggression or being threatened with aggression in which nuclear weapons are used.

Russia wouldn't be afraid of one missile, which they could intercept and destroy.

You missed the is a “victim of aggression” part. That part doesn’t have anything to do with nukes

Yes actually it does.

4. The United States of America, the Russian Federation, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, reaffirm their commitment to seek immediate United Nations Security Council action to provide assistance to Ukraine, as a nonnuclear-weapon State Party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, if Ukraine should become a victim of an act of aggression or an object of a threat of aggression in which nuclear weapons are used.

The Memorandum has a qualifier for when they are supposed to (which is also not obligation) seek UNSC action (which itself does not have to respond militarily).

[Thermodolia]

1. Hong Kong is back in Chinese hands. We can't do much about it without war from China or screwing over everyone.
2. North Korea will fall on its own sooner or later, because... really, the system they use is horrible.
3. Cuba actually isn't the worst socialist country out there.
4. "Mainland China" is a military power, one with nuclear weapons. I assure you, your goal here would be impossible.

Edit: Further, after backreading, America is not a Christian nation. Stop throwing that around, because it's not. Its officially secular, as are most democracies in the world, and with Ukraine, it is the same.

You also seem to misunderstand the premise of the situation, entirely so.

All of our founding documents are by and for Christians. The only reason we're secular today is the understanding of the Constitution changed. The Government can't start a religion or force us into one but they can have a primary religion.

Nope. The majority of the founders where Christian deists, some where deists, and the rest where atheists. The founding fathers actually hated the idea of state religion and organized religion, with many believing that you should have a one on one relationship with god and not one through a religion.

Also the Treaty of Tripoli, Article 11, written, signed, in 1796 and ratified in 1797 says the following

As the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion,-as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Musselmen,-and as the said States never have entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mehomitan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries

As ratified treaties are considered Supreme law under the US Constitution this means that the US was legally not a Christian nation as early as 1797.

[Thermodolia]

You missed the is a “victim of aggression” part. That part doesn’t have anything to do with nukes

Yes actually it does.

4. The United States of America, the Russian Federation, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, reaffirm their commitment to seek immediate United Nations Security Council action to provide assistance to Ukraine, as a nonnuclear-weapon State Party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, if Ukraine should become a victim of an act of aggression or an object of a threat of aggression in which nuclear weapons are used.

The Memorandum has a qualifier for when they are supposed to (which is also not obligation) seek UNSC action (which itself does not have to respond militarily).

Or being the key word here. An act of aggression is not the same as an a threat of aggression in which nuclear weapons are used.

Otherwise they would have separated the two. The first part refers to military invasions while the latter is for nuclear weapons

[Deblar]

How do you propose to do that?

As a centre-left social democrat kemalist, I never trust politicians and countries. however, non-governmental organizations and European Union countries should work together and activate European Union Military formations instead of NATO. I think that the membership of the former Yugoslavia states, Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus to the European Union will be beneficial in this respect. In this process, a united Cyprus and a united Yugoslavia can be created. If Europe is not truly united, we will be victims of the cold war. Europe's humanist welfare level against the American capitalist system. Let's put aside the artificial borders and grudges, isn't it time to end the french revolution?

The French revolution and its consequences have been a disaster for the human race. /s

[Arvenia]

How do you propose to do that?

As a centre-left social democrat kemalist, I never trust politicians and countries. however, non-governmental organizations and European Union countries should work together and activate European Union Military formations instead of NATO. I think that the membership of the former Yugoslavia states, Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus to the European Union will be beneficial in this respect. In this process, a united Cyprus and a united Yugoslavia can be created. If Europe is not truly united, we will be victims of the cold war. Europe's humanist welfare level against the American capitalist system. Let's put aside the artificial borders and grudges, isn't it time to end the french revolution?

Why do you advocate for a reunified Yugoslavia? You know that Yugoslav reunification won't happen due to the Yugoslav Wars. Kosovo would not want anything to do with Yugoslavia after the 90s.

Therefore, we should support the eventual unification of Albania and Kosovo.

[GB and Ireland]

As much as I'm in favour of Yugoslavism, it's evident that it wouldn't work.

[Arvenia]

As much as I'm in favour of Yugoslavism, it's evident that it wouldn't work.

Yeah, especially after Montenegro left Serbia in 2006, followed by Kosovo declaring independence in 2008. A larger Albania is more possible than a reunified Yugoslavia.

[Hakinda Herseyi Duymak istiyorum]

As a centre-left social democrat kemalist, I never trust politicians and countries. however, non-governmental organizations and European Union countries should work together and activate European Union Military formations instead of NATO. I think that the membership of the former Yugoslavia states, Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus to the European Union will be beneficial in this respect. In this process, a united Cyprus and a united Yugoslavia can be created. If Europe is not truly united, we will be victims of the cold war. Europe's humanist welfare level against the American capitalist system. Let's put aside the artificial borders and grudges, isn't it time to end the french revolution?

Why do you advocate for a reunified Yugoslavia? You know that Yugoslav reunification won't happen due to the Yugoslav Wars. Kosovo would not want anything to do with Yugoslavia after the 90s.

Therefore, we should support the eventual unification of Albania and Kosovo.

I absolutely agree with you, sorry, sharing with a map will give meaning to what I said. The United States of Yugoslavia and Turkey can be a cultural and strategic European Union partner, and we can have strong trump cards in sanctions against Russia.We know that Iran, like Armenia, follows a strategic partnership with Russia. I think a united Cyprus will be important for the European Union for possible Syria sanctions.Gagauzia may be the region to be used as a border post between Ukraine and the European Union. The best lesson to be given to Russia and America for the European Union Shield defense union is the establishment of an independent People's Republic of Crimea, where European Union standards are preserved.

[Countesia]

Therefore, we should support the eventual unification of Albania and Kosovo.

I'm bad with sarcasm especially on the interwebs, but i'm pretty sure there is quite a large movement for this

[The Blaatschapen]

I am honestly not sure which position is the more absurd one: condemning the rise of neopaganism or celebrating it. It's just make-believe born from identity issues, no more or less healthy than obsessing over stuff like Lord of the Rings

Have you seen the Lego tower of Orthanc???

https://www.chowrentoys.com/assets/imag ... 0237-6.jpg

Want!

To keep it on topic, I can use it as a bribe when the Russians arrive here.

[New Baltenstein]

Forcing Serbs and Albanians into the same state again would be foolish, so let's do the sensible thing and re-unite Serbs and Bosniaks instead ^_^

[New Baltenstein]

Have you seen the Lego tower of Orthanc???

https://www.chowrentoys.com/assets/imag ... 0237-6.jpg

Want!

To keep it on topic, I can use it as a bribe when the Russians arrive here.

I think Putin is more the "secret volcano lair" type

[Free Algerstonia]

We should NEVER make Albania more powerful. Albania is the single most EVIL entity in the world, living there is worse than living in hell

[Hakinda Herseyi Duymak istiyorum]

As a centre-left social democrat kemalist, I never trust politicians and countries. however, non-governmental organizations and European Union countries should work together and activate European Union Military formations instead of NATO. I think that the membership of the former Yugoslavia states, Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus to the European Union will be beneficial in this respect. In this process, a united Cyprus and a united Yugoslavia can be created. If Europe is not truly united, we will be victims of the cold war. Europe's humanist welfare level against the American capitalist system. Let's put aside the artificial borders and grudges, isn't it time to end the french revolution?

The French revolution and its consequences have been a disaster for the human race. /s

It continues to happen, let the french revolution end, let the period of establishment of unions such as the European Union begin. Schengen border crossing is for the whole of Europe.Russia should see this, America should see this, the crusades should end, modern humanism should be for all humanity.