1. #27581
    Quote Originally Posted by KrayZ33 View Post
    So why does everyone do that, knowing that?
    In fact...Germany does sorta force other European countries to buy it's crap.

    Mostly through using various EU funds and contracts Germany secured majority shares in various European defense contractors. Also using various EU market liberalization mechanisms it's defense contractors ended up buying up various local suppliers.

    Germany essentially used the EU and it's predecessors to backdoor itself into a dominance in defense contracts across the countries where NATO and the EU overlaps.

    The Brits made their own tanks because of the whole Euroscepticism thing, and the French made their own because for a long time they weren't in NATO. That's how Sweden ended up with its own tanks and jets too.
    Last edited by Flarelaine; 2023-01-17 at 02:44 PM. Reason: fixed quote formatting, hope you don't mind

  2. #27582
    You guys keep forgetting the last time Germany had an army... Maybe theres a level of shame, and fear about the power they can hold if they do have an army, or they're afraid about sending tanks.. cna be translated as: ''oh look Germany as it AGAIN!''

    Can we cycle to how weak the Dutch response is? Its shameful and sadge, if you see how many dutch people seem to support Putin.. ''yeah but NATO WAS ENCROUCHING ON HIS BORDERS, SO HES IN HIS RIGHT TO DEFEND HIMSELF'' - kind of talk.

  3. #27583
    The Lightbringer Iphie's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Fuiking View Post
    You guys keep forgetting the last time Germany had an army... Maybe theres a level of shame, and fear about the power they can hold if they do have an army, or they're afraid about sending tanks.. cna be translated as: ''oh look Germany as it AGAIN!''

    Can we cycle to how weak the Dutch response is? Its shameful and sadge, if you see how many dutch people seem to support Putin.. ''yeah but NATO WAS ENCROUCHING ON HIS BORDERS, SO HES IN HIS RIGHT TO DEFEND HIMSELF'' - kind of talk.
    Has Thierry been stinking up the place lately? I haven't been paying attention to home that much lately. Is he still that Pro -pootin or has he finally seen the light?

  4. #27584
    Quote Originally Posted by Elder Millennial View Post
    French made their own because for a long time they weren't in NATO.
    What. For how long exactly and why does that matter, considering at what time *Germany* started to exist etc.

    edit: Oh, you are probably talking about how france left the military command structure.

    Please explain to me *how* (or just point me towards where I can read about it) Germany forces other European countries to buy their tanks. How are the EU funds used?
    And why didn't other countries secure majority shares? Was it given to Germany by someone?
    What happened.
    Last edited by KrayZ33; 2023-01-14 at 11:42 PM.

  5. #27585
    email ur local mp tell them to give Ukraine everything it needs. rishi and ben are being based and sending some shit lets goooo

  6. #27586
    Quote Originally Posted by Kralljin View Post
    Comparing Scholz to Trump disingenuous.

    Scholz is Merkel 2.0, which follows the idiom of "leading from behind".
    Trump literally never lead from the front. He as literally the butt of every joke during the G20 summit he had.

  7. #27587
    Source is The Mirror, so would want confirmation from a reliable source, but they are saying the UK will be sending 4 Apaches armed with Hellfires.

    https://twitter.com/ukraine_map/stat...OJi8PhN2-pPqoQ

    - - - Updated - - -

    The UK has confirmed they are sending 14 Challenger 2s as well as 30 AS90 SPGs.

    https://twitter.com/ChristopherJM/st...TgcFrGMP63FCqA

  8. #27588
    Quote Originally Posted by Corvus View Post
    Source is The Mirror, so would want confirmation from a reliable source, but they are saying the UK will be sending 4 Apaches armed with Hellfires.

    https://twitter.com/ukraine_map/stat...OJi8PhN2-pPqoQ

    - - - Updated - - -

    The UK has confirmed they are sending 14 Challenger 2s as well as 30 AS90 SPGs.

    https://twitter.com/ChristopherJM/st...TgcFrGMP63FCqA
    Hope its true, and I hope more and more heavy support ramps up. With the missile attacks on that apartment block in Dnipro today it is obvious Russia is just going to continue to war crime, the best we can do is make it so their male age demographics will be even more fucked for the next several decades.

  9. #27589
    Merely a Setback Kaleredar's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Deus Mortis View Post
    Hope its true, and I hope more and more heavy support ramps up. With the missile attacks on that apartment block in Dnipro today it is obvious Russia is just going to continue to war crime, the best we can do is make it so their male age demographics will be even more fucked for the next several decades.
    As tragic and barbaric as it is, Russia randomly harming and potentially killing innocent people... doesn't seem like it's particularly effective.

    The people of Ukraine, by all senses, are committed to continue fighting, and I would assume that every destroyed apartment building or other similar civilian structure Russia destroys only strengthens Ukraine's resolve to continue fighting, rather than "terrifying" them into submission, as I assume Russia's plan is. "Shock and awe" doesn't work when Ukraine knows they possess the ability to resist and put their invaders in the ground.
    “Do not lose time on daily trivialities. Do not dwell on petty detail. For all of these things melt away and drift apart within the obscure traffic of time. Live well and live broadly. You are alive and living now. Now is the envy of all of the dead.” ~ Emily3, World of Tomorrow
    Quote Originally Posted by Wells View Post
    Kaleredar is right...
    Words to live by.

  10. #27590
    Quote Originally Posted by Kaleredar View Post
    As tragic and barbaric as it is, Russia randomly harming and potentially killing innocent people... doesn't seem like it's particularly effective.

    The people of Ukraine, by all senses, are committed to continue fighting, and I would assume that every destroyed apartment building or other similar civilian structure Russia destroys only strengthens Ukraine's resolve to continue fighting, rather than "terrifying" them into submission, as I assume Russia's plan is. "Shock and awe" doesn't work when Ukraine knows they possess the ability to resist and put their invaders in the ground.
    In the end this war will wreck similar havoc on Ukraine's demographics as it does on russia's. Have you seen the estimates on numbers of civilians killed or kids kidnapped to Siberia? Russia isn't trying to wage war. It is doing a genocide.

  11. #27591
    Merely a Setback Kaleredar's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gabriel View Post
    In the end this war will wreck similar havoc on Ukraine's demographics as it does on russia's. Have you seen the estimates on numbers of civilians killed or kids kidnapped to Siberia? Russia isn't trying to wage war. It is doing a genocide.
    Oh, I'm sure they're trying.

    But of course think of the aftermath. If Ukraine survives- chances that increase with every day they continue to do so- then western countries will be more than happy to pour resources into rebuilding Ukraine, if for no reason less cynical than to have a steadfast ally planted squarely on Russia's doorstep. With that investment will come better futures for the Ukrainians that survived the ordeal, and with investment comes opportunity that will drive immigration.

    Russia, meanwhile? They're digging a hole that only grows deeper, wearing their list of allies down ever thinner, and shutting doors on their future. Nobody is going to invest in rebuilding them, and if someone like, say, China does, it'll be to force them into being a vassal state, and not a country that can stand on its own.
    “Do not lose time on daily trivialities. Do not dwell on petty detail. For all of these things melt away and drift apart within the obscure traffic of time. Live well and live broadly. You are alive and living now. Now is the envy of all of the dead.” ~ Emily3, World of Tomorrow
    Quote Originally Posted by Wells View Post
    Kaleredar is right...
    Words to live by.

  12. #27592
    The Lightbringer Iphie's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Deus Mortis View Post
    Hope its true, and I hope more and more heavy support ramps up. With the missile attacks on that apartment block in Dnipro today it is obvious Russia is just going to continue to war crime, the best we can do is make it so their male age demographics will be even more fucked for the next several decades.
    Russia is doing a sterling job themselves already, with the claim they want a 2 million strong army, that is double the one they have now, their young male population is being pulled out of the economy and killed. Additionally plenty of young, smart folks are fleeing the country, estimates vary from between 500k to 1 million. By then end of this the 18-30 cohort will be devastated which will destroy the following generations.

  13. #27593
    Over 9000! Makabreska's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kaleredar View Post
    As tragic and barbaric as it is, Russia randomly harming and potentially killing innocent people... doesn't seem like it's particularly effective.

    The people of Ukraine, by all senses, are committed to continue fighting, and I would assume that every destroyed apartment building or other similar civilian structure Russia destroys only strengthens Ukraine's resolve to continue fighting, rather than "terrifying" them into submission, as I assume Russia's plan is. "Shock and awe" doesn't work when Ukraine knows they possess the ability to resist and put their invaders in the ground.
    Everyone has a breaking point. Ruskies may think that they can achive a state when Ukrainians will be so exhausted with fear, death, destruction, supplies and energy shortages that they will start pressuring their gov to just end this conflict. Which tells us everything about how Russia, after all those years, is a still a bandit state.
    Sometimes, the light of the moon is a key to other spaces. I've found a place where, for a night or two, the streets curve in unfamiliar ways. If I walk here, I might find insight, or I might be touched by madness.

  14. #27594
    Quote Originally Posted by Iphie View Post
    Has Thierry been stinking up the place lately? I haven't been paying attention to home that much lately. Is he still that Pro -pootin or has he finally seen the light?
    hes still pro - pooting, but many regular dutchies think hes right.. doesnt work when your own goverment didnt really want to expand back in the 90's.

  15. #27595
    The Lightbringer Iphie's Avatar
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    Russians really ought to quit smoking

    Ok, so TASS, there's a bit more casualties reported in the grapevine.

    В Белгородской области военнослужащий взорвал гранату на территориии части. Погибли трое военных.

    По информации «Базы», взрыв произошел в здании сельского дома культуры, где располагались российские военные. По предварительным данным, один из военнослужащих взорвал гранату РГД-5.

    Из-за взрыва в здании сдетонировали боеприпасы и начался пожар. Его потушили прибывшие пожарные. Погибли трое военнослужащих, еще как минимум 10 пострадали.
    t.me/bazabazon
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    Google translate says this:

    In the Belgorod region, a serviceman blew up a grenade on the territory of the unit. Three soldiers were killed.

    According to "Baza", the explosion occurred in the building of the village house of culture, where the Russian military was located. According to preliminary data, one of the servicemen blew up an RGD-5 grenade.

    Due to the explosion, ammunition detonated in the building and a fire started. It was put out by the firemen who arrived. Three soldiers were killed and at least 10 others were injured.
    Last edited by Iphie; 2023-01-15 at 02:07 PM.

  16. #27596
    Banned Orange Joe's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by DarkAmbient View Post
    Just seen a propaganda video on Reddit of dead Russian soldiers arranged into a Z by Ukrainian soldiers. Am I right in thinking that desecration of corpses is a war crime? I mean I get it. The Ukrainians are pissed and war is hell. But still. I can imagine that behind the scenes they're being told that supporting that shit makes us look bad.
    moving bodies is now desecration? Last time I check desecration had to do with "destroying/mutilating" a body.

  17. #27597
    Quote Originally Posted by Makabreska View Post
    Everyone has a breaking point. Ruskies may think that they can achieve a state when Ukrainians will be so exhausted with fear, death, destruction, supplies and energy shortages that they will start pressuring their gov to just end this conflict. Which tells us everything about how Russia, after all those years, is a still a bandit state.
    Terror bombing campaigns have never in history broken a nation. As horrific as what Ukraine is going through, it is minor compared to the terror bombing in WW2 and that failed as a means of breaking anyone's resolve. On top of that, Ukraine is well aware of the many atrocities that russia has been committing, and nor is russia exactly subtle about their desire to genocide Ukraine. Ukraine will not be breaking.

  18. #27598
    Quote Originally Posted by Vampiregenesis View Post
    Can these mobiks guys who are placed into trenches kill anything? what is their job and why are they calling them mobilized? On every video they seem to die en masse without doing anything
    The job is to soak up Ukrainian ammunition. Russia hopes Ukraine will run out of bullets.

  19. #27599
    Quote Originally Posted by Corvus View Post
    Terror bombing campaigns have never in history broken a nation. As horrific as what Ukraine is going through, it is minor compared to the terror bombing in WW2 and that failed as a means of breaking anyone's resolve. On top of that, Ukraine is well aware of the many atrocities that russia has been committing, and nor is russia exactly subtle about their desire to genocide Ukraine. Ukraine will not be breaking.
    The terror bombing of Rotterdam made the dutch surrender reaaaaaaaaaal fast.

  20. #27600
    Quote Originally Posted by Fuiking View Post
    The terror bombing of Rotterdam made the dutch surrender reaaaaaaaaaal fast.
    Because there was no way we were winning anyway.

    Terror attacks can work when there is no hope, why continue to suffer for no reason. Ukraine has plenty of hope, they actually have a realistic chance of winning and the alternative is genocide.
    They have every incentive not to surrender.
    It ignores such insignificant forces as time, entropy, and death

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