Europe

[guy4321]

Some of these countries are pretty crappy - two instances to start.

1.
German police conduct raids against people suspected of posting misogynistic hate speech online

Posting hate speech online and get arrested?

2.
France makes abortion a constitutional right on International Women’s Day.

Constitutional right

But I guess there is some good news like:

Sweden officially joins NATO, becoming alliance’s 32nd member | CNN

 

[Monahorns]

Sweden joining NATO is not good news. It puts another trip wire for a major war in Europe. Sweden has been a neutral country for a long time and successfully avoided world wars. Now Russia can't even take Kiev and Sweden is afraid of them? It would be silly if it wasn't so dangerous.

It also puts them further into the US orbit. I think that is the real reason for it all.

 

[Chop]

Sweden has a grand military tradition.

- they've defeated Russia before
- they saved Protestantism from annihilation when Sweden successfully intervened during the 30 years war. King Gustavus Adolphus was also a big military innovator in that war.
- Saab and Volvo have made some high quality military equipment
- they make some very good modern diesel submarines, and are regarded as very good operators
- aside from Israel, they probably have the World's most attractive female soldiers

 

[Chop]

aside from Israel, they probably have the World's most attractive female soldiers

And in the (very) Senior ranks, the one below is the actual Princess of Sweden:

 

[Monahorns]

View attachment 9447

And in the (very) Senior ranks, the one below is the actual Princess of Sweden:

Women in military garb is a show to make men lust. The fact is women don't fight wars, or at least they won't fight wars successfully. If they did then women would have been fighting wars for hundreds of years. But Christian natural law teaches us the opposite. Pictures like this are deception to convince people to believe in Leftist secular anti-natural law atheism.

 

[Monahorns]

Sweden has a grand military tradition.

- they've defeated Russia before
- they saved Protestantism from annihilation when Sweden successfully intervened during the 30 years war. King Gustavus Adolphus was also a big military innovator in that war.
- Saab and Volvo have made some high quality military equipment
- they make some very good modern diesel submarines, and are regarded as very good operators
- aside from Israel, they probably have the World's most attractive female soldiers

They have wisely embraced neutrality for 120 to 250 years. Sweden fought Russian in the 18th Century. It was a whole different world and the same situation doesn't exist today. You passed over the fact that they avoided both world wars when Russia was an empire and the USSR had global ambitions. Russia is neither today and have little capability to project power outside of their own borders.

 

[guy4321]

Each NATO member needs to pay its share.

 

[horninchicago]

Women in military garb is a show to make men lust. The fact is women don't fight wars, or at least they won't fight wars successfully. If they did then women would have been fighting wars for hundreds of years. But Christian natural law teaches us the opposite. Pictures like this are deception to convince people to believe in Leftist secular anti-natural law atheism.

I bet you're a lot of fun at tailgates.

 

[Chop]

Women in military garb is a show to make men lust. The fact is women don't fight wars, or at least they won't fight wars successfully. If they did then women would have been fighting wars for hundreds of years. But Christian natural law teaches us the opposite. Pictures like this are deception to convince people to believe in Leftist secular anti-natural law atheism.

During your time in the military, did you find almost all of the women to be incompetent and a drag on the unit? Most military women didn't really seem that way to me. Some are, but so are some of the men.

 

[Chop]

They have wisely embraced neutrality for 120 to 250 years. Sweden fought Russian in the 18th Century. It was a whole different world and the same situation doesn't exist today. You passed over the fact that they avoided both world wars when Russia was an empire and the USSR had global ambitions. Russia is neither today and have little capability to project power outside of their own borders.

It was all about money. Germany was their biggest purchaser of Iron Ore--their big $ export at the time. Sweden didn't want the Germans after them. Plus, they may have had some sympathy to the WW1 Germans, and maybe even the WW2 Germans before everybody learned of the Holocaust?

Hitler, Himmler, etc. had to be in a weird mental gymnastics meet, as the Swedes were far more in line with their ideal of the Aryan race than the Germans were. So based on the Nazi's own ideology, the Swedes would be superior to the Germans. There must have been some sort of loophole or something. You could maybe even say the same thing about the Poles, and the Nazi's f@#%ing hated the Poles.

 

[Monahorns]

During your time in the military, did you find almost all of the women to be incompetent and a drag on the unit? Most military women didn't really seem that way to me. Some are, but so are some of the men.

My comment wasn't about women in the military. It was about these thirst trap pictures of young women in military garb. I don't even think most of these women are in the military.

 

[Monahorns]

It was all about money. Germany was their biggest purchaser of Iron Ore--their big $ export at the time. Sweden didn't want the Germans after them. Plus, they may have had some sympathy to the WW1 Germans, and maybe even the WW2 Germans before everybody learned of the Holocaust?

Hitler, Himmler, etc. had to be in a weird mental gymnastics meet, as the Swedes were far more in line with their ideal of the Aryan race than the Germans were. So based on the Nazi's own ideology, the Swedes would be superior to the Germans. There must have been some sort of loophole or something. You could maybe even say the same thing about the Poles, and the Nazi's f@#%ing hated the Poles.

That only addresses one side of the equation though. Sweden was also not in opposition to Russia/USSR.

The other point is economic relationships are a great way to promote peace between countries. Sweden followed a wise path.

 

[BrntOrngStmpeDe]

During your time in the military, did you find almost all of the women to be incompetent and a drag on the unit? Most military women didn't really seem that way to me. Some are, but so are some of the men.

I think it depends on the type of unit. Obviously, you have to make logistical concessions with women in the ranks but if the job is largely on base and not actual sustained combat then they can be value add. If the job means prolonged off base combat operations then they are a pretty substantial drag.

I worked with some very high speed females when in AFG. They were smart and fit, even athletic but that is not the norm. Most females in the military don't hold a candle to even the average male regarding actual combat capability. The Army PT test has them at about 65% of the requirements of men in most tests and even at that, I saw far fewer women (proportionally) "max out" their physical fitness test.

Are there a small number of females that can pass Ranger, Sniper, etc....yes...but the add in terms of new headcount doesn't come close to the losses in unit readiness and doesn't come near making up for the extra overhead on training and expenses. The vast majority of the females that make it through these schools are 20-25 yr old women that will be in that unit for maybe two years and then use the qualification as a stepping stone only. When we put a female through Ranger, we are not making the next generation of Ranger Bn commanders. We are making recruiting posters.

 

[Mr. Deez]

Some of these countries are pretty crappy - two instances to start.

1.
German police conduct raids against people suspected of posting misogynistic hate speech online

Posting hate speech online and get arrested?

As I've mentioned before, Europe doesn't have freedom of speech. We think of them as "free countries," because they were freer than the Eastern Bloc countries during the Cold War, but they never had a belief that any freedom was a fundamental right. It was a benevolence granted from the government that could be easily restricted at least in part and largely without controversy.

In the '90s and early 2000s, many of these countries passed hate crimes laws and hate speech laws, even though they very obviously infringed on people's rights of free speech and thought. And of course, because they're ill-defined and political in nature, they're very easy to abuse and enforce arbitrarily.

When they first passed, many assumed they were talking about protecting ethnic minorities from being harassed with racial slurs. But in the hands of left wing public officials, they're clearly being used as a political weapon to shutdown dissent and compel speech. Reject gender ideology by "misgendering" someone? You can be charged with a crime.

2.
France makes abortion a constitutional right on International Women’s Day.

Constitutional right

No shock. It's France.

 

[Chop]

As I've mentioned before, Europe doesn't have freedom of speech. We think of them as "free countries," because they were freer than the Eastern Bloc countries during the Cold War, but they never had a belief that any freedom was a fundamental right. It was a benevolence granted from the government that could be easily restricted at least in part and largely without controversy.

In the '90s and early 2000s, many of these countries passed hate crimes laws and hate speech laws, even though they very obviously infringed on people's rights of free speech and thought. And of course, because they're ill-defined and political in nature, they're very easy to abuse and enforce arbitrarily.

When they first passed, many assumed they were talking about protecting ethnic minorities from being harassed with racial slurs. But in the hands of left wing public officials, they're clearly being used as a political weapon to shutdown dissent and compel speech. Reject gender ideology by "misgendering" someone? You can be charged with a crime.



No shock. It's France.

So what happens if an American tourist parades around Parliament with a sign that says: "King Charles III is a Twit" ?

 

[Mr. Deez]

So what happens if an American tourist parades around Parliament with a sign that says: "King Charles III is a Twit" ?

If he's in one of the parliamentary chambers, he'll probably get kicked out. If he's just doing it online or out on the street, probably nothing will happen to him, except perhaps getting dirty looks from Brits.

 

[guy4321]

If he's in one of the parliamentary chambers, he'll probably get kicked out. If he's just doing it online or out on the street, probably nothing will happen to him, except perhaps getting dirty looks from Brits.

What if we misgender King Charles III?

 

[guy4321]

Who knew French babes had it in them?

French women voters swing sharply to far right – POLITICO

 

[Mr. Deez]

Who knew French babes had it in them?

French women voters swing sharply to far right – POLITICO

They don't want to get attacked and raped by hordes of wannabe Islamic conquerors. Who would have thought?

BTW in Normandy, I saw signs for Marion Marechal Le Pen. Pretty hot.

 

[guy4321]

They don't want to get attacked and raped by hordes of wannabe Islamic conquerors. Who would have thought?

BTW in Normandy, I saw signs for Marion Marechal Le Pen. Pretty hot.

First the won't shave their pits, and now they won't let Muslims conquer them. French ladies are no fun.

 

[mchammer]

 

[Mr. Deez]

Ridiculous regulatory regime, high taxes, and laughable energy policies. It's hard to grow a business in that climate unless you're very well-entrenched. And even those businesses can only grow so much.

 

[Chop]

In the 80s, there was an informal term used in Economics: "Eurosclerosis".

A market economy as the base, but with

i. a huge government that intervened in every aspect of the economy;
ii. very strong labor unions and pro-worker labor law;
iii. very high taxes;
iv. a very robust welfare state;
v. crippling regulations and a general anti-entrepreneur bent;
vi. a month off for all workers - paid leave; massive paid leave for maternity (not a bad thing actually, but it does have economic effects).

Those are some of the main causes of the economic disease "Eurosclerosis".

 

[Mr. Deez]

a general anti-entrepreneur bent;

This sure is true. A friend of ours in Germany wanted to open a hair salon in her village. Of course, you can't just open a business in Europe. You have apply to a local council. She went to a bunch of trouble and spent a bunch of money to come up with a detailed plan for her business that followed all the applicable regulations.

And of course, the council just said "Nein." Apparently, the rationale was that the village already had a salon. In other words, the salon that was already there lobbied them to say No because they didn't want the competition.

 

[mchammer]

In the 80s, there was an informal term used in Economics: "Eurosclerosis".

A market economy as the base, but with

i. a huge government that intervened in every aspect of the economy;
ii. very strong labor unions and pro-worker labor law;
iii. very high taxes;
iv. a very robust welfare state;
v. crippling regulations and a general anti-entrepreneur bent;
vi. a month off for all workers - paid leave; massive paid leave for maternity (not a bad thing actually, but it does have economic effects).

Those are some of the main causes of the economic disease "Eurosclerosis".

I have a co-worker who is off for 6 months on parental leave. He is the father. He does check email one week per month.

 

[ViperHorn]

Europe, the group of countries that shut in all nuclear and coal-fired electric plants and now is wondering where the power went.

 

[guy4321]

This sure is true. A friend of ours in Germany wanted to open a hair salon in her village. Of course, you can't just open a business in Europe. You have apply to a local council. She went to a bunch of trouble and spent a bunch of money to come up with a detailed plan for her business that followed all the applicable regulations.

And of course, the council just said "Nein." Apparently, the rationale was that the village already had a salon. In other words, the salon that was already there lobbied them to say No because they didn't want the competition.

How easy/hard is it to get a loan? Someway this lady would have to remodel a space to have chairs, mirrors, desks under the mirrors, and hire a few workers, right?

 

[Monahorns]

Bare in mind the whole EV industry is being pushed by the EU. This is a road to destroying your economy.

They don't have free speech. They have immigration problems just as bad if not worse than here. They are disarmed. The countries are run by a foreign government the EU which does not care what individual states need to do to grow.

Germany was getting by because they had access to Russian oil and gas. The 2022 war and someone (most likely Ukraine or NATO) blowing up the Nordstream pipeline has ended that. It is a surprise that they didn't suffer mass freezing deaths the last few winters.

 

[Monahorns]

This sure is true. A friend of ours in Germany wanted to open a hair salon in her village. Of course, you can't just open a business in Europe. You have apply to a local council. She went to a bunch of trouble and spent a bunch of money to come up with a detailed plan for her business that followed all the applicable regulations.

And of course, the council just said "Nein." Apparently, the rationale was that the village already had a salon. In other words, the salon that was already there lobbied them to say No because they didn't want the competition.

This is why healthcare is so expensive in the US. Same exact system in place which reduces competition in the industry.

 

[guy4321]

"No whites in England" - what a time to be alive!

'No whites’ graffiti in Birmingham investigated by police