you really shouldn’t be shocked. We are one of the few countries that actually doesn’t fuck around.
Idk if it’s because our neutrality makes us feel morally superior, because our Neutrality makes us feel invincible, because we are so rich we can afford to be moral or just because, and that’s my favourite theory, the germanic honor-culture has survived here and we value doing the right/honorable thing more than anything else.
Either way: If you wanna commit crimes, please don’t commit them here. Prison Accommodations are expensive and paid by our taxes.
can you also go after the rich Arabs who have Filipino slaves in their mansions in Europe
maybe. If the Filipinos are in Switzerland. If there is a assumption of breach of basic human rights we can also go after them if the Filipinos are not in switzerland.
But we would first need proof or at least reasonable suspicion that something is happening so we can start a investigation and get a search warrant.
They can be criticized for their actions during and after the war in helping the Nazi leaders squirrel away the wealth they stole from the Jews, something that was not necessary for a neutral nation to do.
It actually was kinda necessary. We were strategically very important as the Gotthardtunnel was the main Link between the Germans and the Italians, the two main Allies. So we had to offer them something that was even more valuable than conquering the Gotthardtunnel. We concluded that the opportunity to turn their “spoils of war” into Money was the one thing that was more valuable to them.
I would also like to break a lance for my Swedish compatriots. The Nazis conquered Norway and Denmark in a few weeks because they were positioned strategically along the trade routes. If Sweden stopped exporting the Iron, it was very obvious, that the Nazis would invade Sweden for the Iron if they ever stopped exporting it.
And: Sweden did cooperate with allied intelligence during the war. So there’s that. And before someone comes in: While Switzerland didn’t directly cooperate with allied intelligence, we did willfully turn a blind eye to them. Tacit cooperation if you want so.
But seriously, why do rich Criminals always come here and think they can get away with it just because they’re rich? We arrested the child of Gaddafi. The son of a literal fucking dictator in charge of Libya, a country that is fairly important in European politics.
If not even he got away with it, what makes you think you will?
Seriously, why do rich Criminals always come here and think they can get away with it just because they’re rich? We arrested the child of Gaddafi. The son of a literal fucking dictator in charge of Libya, a country that is fairly important in European politics.
If not even he got away with it, what makes you think you will?
well, no. They wouldn’t be against them because they’re Semitic. So by definition not antisemitic.
Besides, that’s not what antisemitism means. If we take anything by its literal definition, there is no racism, because biologically seen there isn’t enough difference between humans to classify them into different races.
President Joe Biden and his administration have been accused of being complicit in enabling a famine in Gaza by failing to sufficiently act on repeated warnings from their own experts and aid agencies....
i hate GMO because it often is unhealthy and often is unethical (sterile so the farmers have to buy new seeds every year instead of being able to use the seeds that came off of their harvest)
I remember there was a GMO Tomato that was made to be as large as possible. But the downside was, that it had almost no nutrients anymore.
I think that Crispr and GMOs are really promissing, but the way it is used is not to create the best food possible, but to create the best-selling food
what spreading baseless fear? You misunderstood my comment.
I remember a GMO Tomato being modified to be as large as possible, leading to it having almost no nutrients anymore.
That’s what i meant. Not some “DNA to make 5G tracking chips or Super COVID”
I am actually insulted by this comment. I will have to ask you to stop jumping to conclusions and stop thinking that everyone is a conspiracy nutjob.
Anyways, i am in no way against GMO. What i said is that they’re often less healthy than “traditional” alternatives. That has nothing to do with the procedure itself but rather how the procedure is used and what goals it has. Often the Goal is not to make it healthier, but to make it last longer, make it bigger, in short: make it sell more. And anything that doesn’t directly correlate to sales gets pushed back to save money.
In my language (german) ukraine is feminine. Die ukraine. And as such, you always have to use the pronoun (die).
You can’t for example say “USA haben gewählt” since the US too is feminine. It’s always “Die USA haben gewählt” (The USA have voted)
So in german you say “Die ukraine ist nur eine Sideshow” which will then become “the Ukraine is just a sideshow”
Which is a very Cynical take btw but i fear that it could be somewhat true.
You can however say just the countries name if it is Neutral (das). “Deutschland hat gewählt” “germany has voted”. Here it would actually be weird to use “das Deutschland”. Only Exception is the United Kindom (Das vereinigte Königreich). It’s constituents (england, scottland, wales) however will then again be without the pronoun. “Schottland hat heute gewählt”
In the very closest definition, liberal means “if there isn’t a law against it, you’re allowed to do it”
liberal more broadly is just as simple: “if it doesn’t hurt me, you’re free to do it”
I mean, what do you think a “liberal democracy” is? The majority of Europe is made up of liberal democracies while also being social-democratic. France is a liberal democracy despite being heavily unionized and having huge welfare. How does that work?
It works because that’s not what liberal means.
Socially-Liberal, for example, is when you are liberal (freedom-loving / diversity-loving) in social aspects. You support gay marriages, you support freedom of religion, you support cultural diversity. Other Examples include religiously-liberal, culturally-liberal, or even politically liberal (you support the right to different political opinions than yours)
What comes closest to what you think it is is economically-liberal. Which essentially says that “as long as it doesn’t hurt me, you’re free to do what you want economically”. But even that isn’t what you mean. Is Pollution and accelerating Climate change harming me and therefore not protected under liberalism? yes, says the absolute majority of liberals.
Is lobbying harming me by making my Voice less weighted? Yes, say a lot of us.
So not even economically-liberal is a good term to describe what you mean.
I don’t know, what a good term for it is. But it isn’t Liberal. So please, for the love of god, stop misusing it. Words have meaning. Invent a new one if you have to, they all began that way anyways.
In china, there is the largest discrepancy between rich and poor. In china, a huge part of the population still lives in poverty while rich billionaires vacate on yachts and the government eyes imperial expansion Billionaires and Party-Officials are practically untouchable, the government is actively putting minorities in concentration camps. When the people try to protest, tanks roll over them. So much for your “democracy”
动态网自由门 天安門 天安门 法輪功 李洪志 Free Tibet 六四天安門事件 The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 天安門大屠殺 The Tiananmen Square Massacre 反右派鬥爭 The Anti-Rightist Struggle 大躍進政策 The Great Leap Forward 文化大革命 The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution 人權 Human Rights 民運 Democratization 自由 Freedom 獨立 Independence 多黨制 Multi-party system 台灣 臺灣 Taiwan Formosa 中華民國 Republic of China 西藏 土伯特 唐古特 Tibet 達賴喇嘛 Dalai Lama 法輪功 Falun Dafa 新疆維吾爾自治區 The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region 諾貝爾和平獎 Nobel Peace Prize 劉暁波 Liu Xiaobo 民主 言論 思想 反共 反革命 抗議 運動 騷亂 暴亂 騷擾 擾亂 抗暴 平反 維權 示威游行 李洪志 法輪大法 大法弟子 強制斷種 強制堕胎 民族淨化 人體實驗 肅清 胡耀邦 趙紫陽 魏京生 王丹 還政於民 和平演變 激流中國 北京之春 大紀元時報 九評論共産黨 獨裁 專制 壓制 統一 監視 鎮壓 迫害 侵略 掠奪 破壞 拷問 屠殺 活摘器官 誘拐 買賣人口 遊進 走私 毒品 賣淫 春畫 賭博 六合彩 天安門 天安门 法輪功 李洪志 Winnie the Pooh 劉曉波动态网自由门
btw, freedom to marry anyone (china recognizes homosexuality as a mental disorder), freedom to exercise your religion (china is putting muslims in concentration camps), freedom to protest (see tianamen square massacre)
If it was because of political favours it would have either been Ukraine, Israel, Italy or Greece. (Maybe also the Netherlands if they were allowed to participate because their song (Europapa) would have gotten a lot of votes from european federalists)
We swiss are more neutral in europes perception. They don’t hate us, but they also don’t really love us. At least not as much as they love other Countries that are less… “complicated”
Europeans view immigration with increasing suspicion. Seven out of 10 Europeans believe that their country takes in too many migrants, according to a survey carried out by BVA Xsight for ARTE Europe Weekly, a project led by the French-German TV channel ARTE GEIE and which EL PAÍS has participated in, as part of the countdown to...
I’m not sure that can ever happen. the student protests:
a lot of people don’t really have an idea what’s going on. Maybe they just wanna feel part of it after years of isolation during Covid, but they’re not interested in the Protest and the Topic itself. Endorsing such a “fake” protest would discredit the Israeli protest
there are people on these student protests who are hardline radicalized and want the entirety of Israel removed and also deny the Hamas attrocities as “zionist propaganda”. They aren’t interested in a Solution invoving Israel. only if they are removed from the Protests can the two groups work together.
I think it’d work better if the Student Protests endorsed the Israeli Protest. This way it would show the World that they’re interested not in a destruction of Israel but in a peaceful end to this War. This way they would also force all the radical People out of the Student Protests and thus give them more credibility and even pave the way for the Israeli Protests to endorse the Student ones.
I’ve been using Linux for about 7 months now and have become a lot more comfortable using the terminal but I feel like there is more that I can learn....
I am going to assume that you are writing here in good faith and as such i am going to respond to you in good faith.
This is why NATO was able to expand despite Russian objections throughout the decades
I disagree. From my european point of view, NATO was able to expand exactly because Russia was still a threat. There’s a Reason why these Countries wanted to join NATO. Because they knew that russia was still a threat and would invade its Neighbours, like it is doing right now in Ukraine.
Ukraine is not an interest to the US; that is to say, there isn’t anything in Ukraine that the US needs that is vital to either economic or national security. Ukraine is a national security concern for Russia. It doesn’t matter what happens to Ukraine, it does not affect the US, but it would affect Russia. The Russians are checking American influence in their own region. NATO is how the US has influence in Europe. European states in NATO have no independent foreign policy. In fact, it is subservient to US foreign policy. The Russo-Ukrainian conflict, the sanctions, the war, the economic decline, that is the price of being in NATO following US foreign policy.
This Part confuses me a bit. In the first Part you say that Russia has a right to invade and puppet Ukraine because it is a national security interest. But in the second Part, you say that the US wouldn’t have the right to dictate the foreign policy (it doesn’t, i will come to this later on) of its NATO-Counterparts. I Personally think that your first half is the wrong half. We have to stop looking at the world as pawns in a cold war to be played, but instead as independent parties looking to coexist. I don’t think any country has the right to dictate over another because of “national security concerns”. Otherwise the US would have the Right to dictate over Europe because they’re in the USs national security concerns. And the US would have never been allowed to declare independence, because that would have gone against the national security concerns of the british empire. So no, i don’t think that any supposed “national security concerns” of Russia validate any military Action. Besides i don’t even think they had any valid national security concerns. NATO Bases stayed in the West, the “original” Parts of NATO and never got into the new eastern territorries. And the NATO memeber states in the Baltics are much much closer to St. Petersburg or moscow than Ukraine. So Ukraine really isn’t that important to Russia. Also Ukraine was never under the Influence of the US. Ukraine wanted to move to the EU, a completely european Institution where the US doesn’t even have an observer Position.
now about the NATO Part:
The Part about the US dictating Foreign Policy: That is really not true. Look for example at the interactions between Macron (the French President) and the US Presidents. They are constantly bickering about foreign policy. Macron is heavily influential in steering European foreign-policy, more than any US-President.
The Part about Europe being forced into Sanctions: That also is not true. A lot of the Sanctions come from the EU, a purely european Institution where the US doesn’t even hold ab observatory role. It was us, the Europeans (yes, I am european, i am from Switzerland), who were so shocked about the first War since WW2 (we ignore the breakup of Yugoslavia, that is more complicated and resembles a civil war) that we demanded sanctions and reprisals against Russia. It was us, the Europeans, who forced the US to join Sanctions against Russia, not the other way round.
I hope i was able to give you some insight into this matter from a european (swiss) perspective and i was able to disprove some of your previously held notions. I hope you can use what i wrote here :)
then NATO countries in Europe did not spend enough on their military to meet that said threat. Europeans spent below the NATO mandate of 2.0% of their GDP. They didn’t seem scared then.
Ah yes, that is a common Misconception if you’re not European. It is very easy to lump Europeans together in one Pot. Often people just look at the Actions of France, Germany and Italy to determine “European” behavior, when the EU is actually a hugely diverse pool of 27 autonomous Nations. Yes, Western European Nations such as Germany, Italy, Belgium etc (but notably not France) did spend a lot less than the 2% target. These Nations were famously also cozying up to Russia (Nordstream), not seeing it as a Threat. However, if you look at the eastern European Nations that were occupied by and/or border on Russia, the same Nations that joined NATO because of the Threat of Russia, all of these Nations do either match or exceed the NATO-target of 2% of GDP. Poland, in Fact, spends more on its Military than even the US (in %, not total)
NATO countries do not have an independent foreign policy.
Biden wants a tougher Stance on China while Scholz (Germany) wants to maintain good Business Relations Biden wants a clear Stance on Taiwan while Macron (France) openly disagrees and warns not to flame tensions (and openly calls Bidens Actions unwise and dangerous)
As you can see, European Countries do have and do Excercise independent foreign Diplomacy.
Many Europeans denounced the US’s war on Vietnam. Many Europeans decided not to join the Iraqi War. All prime examples of sovereign foreign Diplomacy.
It is not in European interest to bring about sanctions that weaken their own countries and bring instability.
which is why we’re enacting Sanctions instead of enacting a full Embargo. Which is why we capped the Price of Russian Gas instead of banning it outright.
Do you know what weakens our countries and brings instability? A fascist country waging a war of aggression in our own backyard. Russian Spies spying on and planning attacks on military bases. Russian Misinformation.
Those Sanctions are an investment into a Future, into a Europe where the Rule of Law and Peace reside. Where there’s no fascist war of aggression over imperial ambition. Where we Europeans can peacefully coexist and build a peaceful future over wounds of old. Together.
You are speculating and have no evidence to back up your claims that European countries joined NATO because of “fear”.
I am going to have to ask you to remain nice and not make any accusations since i am sacrificing my time and engaging with you in good faith instead of just down-voting you. I could do other Stuff in this Time, but i specifically chose to discuss this with you since you seemed to argue in good faith as well. I am asking you for it to remain this way.
Did you ever talk to someone from this Region who was for enlargement? Because they will tell you very clearly how Russia is a danger to their Nation and livelihood and how this was the main driver on why they joined NATO (and joined it this quickly). Anyways, just for you, i asked my Estonian friend why they joined NATO and he said “did you see what Russia is doing in Ukraine?” (Translation by me) (I think he’s mad at me for even asking this? I think i should apologize and explain it to him?)
Hatred of communism and hatred of Russia is one thing, but fear isn’t one of them.
I am sorry, i am not sure how to say this nicely, but that is just wrong. the EU and its Members engaged in multiple contracts with Russia over the years and was always looking for Cooperation. There was no hatred. There is, however, a lot of fear. Which is the reason why most nations once occupied by Russia are today Europes biggest Spenders on military.
And russia to day isn’t communist anymore, it’s closest to fascist in government and ideology.
The US provides security for NATO, Europeans saved their money to invest in their economy.
Western Europe did that (again, the exception being France). Eastern Europe has always maintained their Spending, and, as i already said, Poland even outspends the US (in %, not total)
It is the US that keeps NATO together, therefore, NATO unified,
Let me show you my Point of View: A while back, i think during the Trump Presidency, Macron(France) called NATO brain-dead and useless. A while it seemed like NATO was in an existential crisis and might not survive the decade. But ever since Russia invaded Ukraine, no one has said anything bad against NATO anymore.
It wasn’t the US, that held/put together NATO, it was Putin. Because his invasion destroyed European Peace and showed us again, why we (well, i am Swiss, so not me personally) had NATO in the first place.
We had a name for the Post-WW2 Peace. Pax Europaea (named after the roman Pax Romana). It was Russia, that destroyed this Peace. This is the Reason why we’re afraid of Russia. Why we’re against Russia. Why we invent new Sanctions. So that one Day we can create a new Pax Europaea, that will last and not be broken. So that my Children can finally live in Peace on this War-Torn Continent.
We are not talking about “most” Nato countries. We are talking about the ex-soviet countries.
You didn’t believe that ex-soviet countries were afraid of russia because Nato countries didn’t spend a lot of money on Military. But when you look at the individual countries, not at nato as a whole, those ex-soviet countries that joined Nato meet the 2% minimum (and like i said Poland even doubles it with 3.98%)
Another thing to consider is the capabilities of Russia
Russia has invaded Ukraine and bombed it to Rubbles. Russia is very much capable of attacking and destroying its Neighbours. Just take a Plane to Ukraine if you don’t belive it.
and it is illogical that Russia would attack a NATO country
Good. That means NATO is working in keeping the Russians away.
And btw, 2 years ago i personally would have declared you crazy if you told me that Russia was going to attack Ukraine. The Facts have been laid open to us. We can adapt and change to live in the new reality or live in denial.
Ukraine is a security concern for Russia, not for the United States, or the rest of Europe
Ukraine is a independent Country that is allowed to decide for itself what it wants
And yes it is a security concern for Europe since it’s right in its backyard, right on its Border. And it is even a security concern since it’s a huge producer of Food, and if that food doesn’t get to Africa etc, those regions could become unstable and global terrorist attacks could rise again.
Now, does that allow the EU or the US to dictate Ukraine what it should do? NO! because Ukraine is a independent Country that is allowed to carve its own way! The same way that Russia isn’t allowed to interfer in Ukraine because of its supposed “security interests”
Do you support the Blockade on Cuba?
since it wants to control the world and export its culture
Russia literally is invading its Neighbours because it can’t control them. Russia is the one that spend decades forcefully “russoficating” eastern Europe.
Fascist believe in autarky and see every single nation or country as a threat
Go onto russian State TV. Quote from Russian State TV: “We have no friends in the World, only Enemies” The US constantly talks about how important it is to work with their Allies. Who is the Fascist now?
The US has toppled far more governments than the Russians did in their entire history
excuse me what? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_involvement_in_regime_change lets not forget all the eastern block. Well, technically you’re correct, they didn’t topple the baltics, ukraine, eastern Poland, they flat out annexed it. But I’m pretty sure that’s actually worse
When you are forcing other countries to become liberal, that is fascism.
What? i think you don’t know what fascism means, is that possible? I think you also don’t know what “liberal” means? I think you also don’t know how countries become liberal?
That is illogical to claim that NATO is keeping Russia at bay, then claiming that they are a threat
If i am using a spear to keep a Wolf at bay, is that Wolf not a threat anymore?
If someone wants to rob me and i point a gun at them go keep them at bay, are they not a threat anymore?
I rest my case, your honour.
why is russia fascist?
idk, wanting to conquer your neighbours and ethnically cleanse them isn’t good enough for you? Not having any elections, political voilence and assasinations, no deviation from party-line, force-conscripting young men, absolutely no regard for human live (ukrainian or russian), dreams of a greater russian Reich
An Iranian teenager was sexually assaulted and killed by three men working for Iran’s security forces, a leaked document understood to have been written by those forces says....
This was something that brought the Democrats and Republicans together, in that both sides thought killing a healthy puppy and bragging about it was insane.
I wish this was true. But look at the top comments here. They’re all going “republicans are lying, they’re secretly being turned on by killing puppies, they’re just condemning it for show. They actually ritually sacrifice one each week in their pact with the Devil”
Democrats condemn it as emblematic of the kind of people Republican politicians are.
I would actually already be happy if it was just that. But not even that BS is enough for some People here. Look at the Top Comments. They’re implicating all Republican Voters in this. This Team-Mentality is going to destroy the US
Members of Britain’s richest family get jail terms for exploiting Indian staff at Swiss mansion | The Straits Times (www.straitstimes.com)
‘AI is reliant on mass surveillance’ and we should be cautious, warns head of messaging app (youtu.be)
Immigration fears are pushing centrists to the right in the US and Europe (www.politico.com)
UK’s richest family on trial in Switzerland for human trafficking, confiscating staff passports, paying as little as £7/day (www.bbc.com)
SPOOKY TIME (sh.itjust.works)
Netanyahu angrily rejects move to seek his arrest, lambasts the ICC saying it has compared Israel to "mass murderers" (www.bbc.com)
Joe Biden has done more than arm Israel. He’s complicit in Gaza’s devastating famine (www.independent.co.uk)
President Joe Biden and his administration have been accused of being complicit in enabling a famine in Gaza by failing to sufficiently act on repeated warnings from their own experts and aid agencies....
Later, losers (lemmy.world)
Seedless Catholics Against Watermelons? (sh.itjust.works)
Chinese planes 'increasingly provocative' to Taiwan (www.dw.com)
Taiwan reported 45 Chinese warplanes in its airspace within 24 hours, according to its defense ministry on Wednesday....
Funny, those guys don't usually agree on that much (lemm.ee)
Do any of them know what the word “liberal” actually means?
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The illusion of free choice (sh.itjust.works)
if you had to choose one (lemmy.world)
Steam is now banned in Vietnam (www.eurogamer.net)
Seven out of 10 Europeans believe their country takes in too many immigrants (english.elpais.com)
Europeans view immigration with increasing suspicion. Seven out of 10 Europeans believe that their country takes in too many migrants, according to a survey carried out by BVA Xsight for ARTE Europe Weekly, a project led by the French-German TV channel ARTE GEIE and which EL PAÍS has participated in, as part of the countdown to...
Forcibly displacing Rafah civilians would be war crime, France warns Israel (www.theguardian.com)
Thousands of Israelis take to streets of Tel Aviv to demand cease-fire and Netanyahu's resignation (apnews.com)
1:21 video shows the scale of the protest....
Where to "practice Linux" terminal commands
I’ve been using Linux for about 7 months now and have become a lot more comfortable using the terminal but I feel like there is more that I can learn....
The Biden Admin Is Trying to Guarantee a Forever War in Ukraine (www.theamericanconservative.com)
Secret document says Iran security forces molested and killed teen protester (www.bbc.com)
An Iranian teenager was sexually assaulted and killed by three men working for Iran’s security forces, a leaked document understood to have been written by those forces says....
"Cruel and Insane": Republicans condemn Kristi Noem's dog-killing revelation (www.salon.com)