Quote (SamTheGuru @ Nov 1 2022 06:15pm)
Great response. There was a big genocide with the Aborigines. Australia was historically the dumping ground for British criminals. The question is, do you hold the people accountable for the actions 150-200 years ago?
Not sure what you mean, hold people today accountable in what way and for which crimes? It's not about holding individual people accountable, though perhaps that ought to be some of it when looking at the present day crimes happening with (if we're sticking with Australia) the prison island slash death camp of Nauru.
I'm just saying that the reason we have Australian troops in Afghanistan, and why when they are there they can be seen driving around in Humvees with swastikas and Confederate flags and slitting the throats of frightened 14-year-olds, is inseparable from Australia being the site of one of the world's most comprehensive and effective genocides.
Quote (SamTheGuru @ Nov 1 2022 06:15pm)
I suppose the weird thing we are dealing with is that Russia are being crushed by two empire states in US and China; and possibly India also. The last weakness NATO has is Kaliningrad. The entire Russian doctrine is about the expansion of Nato and right now they could not be more of an advocate to join Nato. I don't know how much you know about the Republic of Ireland but they are training Ukrainians in mine disposal. Ireland have remained neutral forever and Russia are bullying them because they have no alliances.
I disagree with your characterization of India and China as threats to Russia. China hasn't invaded a country since any of us has been born and that was mostly just a (rather cynical, I have to say) test to make sure the PLA was loyal to the post Gang Of Four government, not an attempt to seize territory. India's only really hot border dispute is a situation foisted upon it by the world's imperial powers, it doesn't seek to invade or regime change anyone. There's a fundamental difference between these two countries and the collective West, which has had for centuries and expansionist, colonizing and genocidal plan of action that it pursues to this day.
I also disagree with your characterization of the Ukraine-Russia war, but all that's been discussed before. It's just Russia's turn to be in the imperial spotlight, again. And with that spotlight comes all the now-normal talk of "actually Russia is doing an imperialism!" and "wouldn't it be great to divide Russia up into it's constituent ethnicities just like during the Scramble?!" and "Siiigh, it's so sad those nasty people are making us fund Nazis again!"
Switzerland is working on ways to get around it's "neutrality" as well.