I totally get your stance on Hamas and I think most of us feel this way. Hamas are not the good guys. I don’t think Hamas has gathered a lot of sympathy at least in the Western world, e.g. in German media they’re still always called either terrorists or radical islamists/jihadists. But it’s also mind-boggling to me how much legitimacy they have gained through October 7. The world shouldn’t work like this but it keeps rewarding ruthless violence.

And I think another part of the problem is seeing global conflicts like football matches. Like in this conflict someone is team Ukraine and in this other conflict they‘re actually team Russia/Iran/China/… because ABC. But how can people think like that? We should always be on the side of humanity & the principle that every person on this planet has a right to live in safety, freedom & dignity.

I’m just really really dreading the double standards applied to people based on whether or not they’re useful to us. Of course we can’t intervene everywhere, it would already be big if we would stop sending weapons and ammo, and if we would stop providing rhetoric cover for this genocide. Or if we would stop being partners with the genocidal Azerbaijani government. Like we could just stop supporting genocidal regimes but because of money and power we ignore or even excuse what they do.

Another thing I saw is Russian trolls are hijacking the Gaza war to destabilize Western countries. I think this contributes to the distrust in someone calling out the West‘s hypocrisy. It became so Russian propaganda tool to do so, and naturally those propagandists will also be extremely pro-Russian. Like wtf.

Anyway, thanks for exchange, I totally feel and share your frustration. I would like to end this with some positive or encouraging note but honestly wouldn’t know what that would be, politics is so fucked.

I find it very strange to tell someone you know nothing about that they have no clue what they’re talking about simply because they disagree with you.

The mental gymnastics you’re doing to assert that the situation in Ukraine and Gaza would be different is either driven by racism (which I don’t want to accuse you of) or ignorance out of a geopolitical interest.

First of all, intention is central to the legal definition of genocide. You cannot accidentally commit genocide. Both Russia and Israel are very open about their intentions and it’s clear that they want to eradicate the Ukrainians/Palestinians as a people and claim the land for themselves.

The only difference is that we’re arming the victim in the case of Ukraine and the perpetrators in the case of Israel. If you’re interested in UN reports then feel free to read their assessments on the war crimes, ethnic cleansings, Apartheid, illegal occupation, indefinite mass imprisonments without charge, torture, sexual abuse during said imprisonment, and most recently on the genocide. Feel free to also read the ICJ case by South Africa.

If your empathy extends only to some people it’s up to you to figure out why. It only proves my point that Europe has no credibility to begin with. Our support for Ukraine is purely driven by our own interest to fight back against Russia. Ukrainians are nothing but a pawn for us, although it’s a convenient narrative that they’re the victims and we’re doing it for a greater cause.

It’s not like the West is any more humane, we’re just committing all the atrocities far away from ourselves. It’s objectively better for almost anyone to live in a Western country than in the places we oppress. And I wouldn’t want to live in Russia or China either.

I totally agree that Russia shouldn’t have power. But how much does the Western power help middle easterners? Or how much did it help in Korea, Vietnam, …

So it’s fighting Russia’s power isn’t based on a consistent moral framework. It’s just done because our own quality of life is better if Russia has less power.

Sorry, I got carried away for a second. I think there were some white doctors there or something at some point so that confused me

Ah yeah the typical whataboutism accusation. Whataboutism is certainly a problem when trolls try to derail debates.

In this case though the statement that Europe would lose all credibility if Ukraine loses relies on the premise that there’s any credibility left to begin with. I’m challenging that premise.

It’s blatantly obvious that the support for Ukraine was always just about geopolitics, and never about moral or values. Now, the geopolitical interest seems to have shifted, hence no more support for Ukraine. See e.g. Scholz not even giving any reasons for denying support, except that he says so.

I think all of this is terrible and I want Ukraine to be supported, but our dear Western leaders are morally bankrupt so I’m afraid it may not happen.

As if Europe or the „Western“ world in general would still have any credibility with the Gaza genocide.

I truly feel sorry for Ukrainians as the support for the resistance was never about actual solidarity or values.

Seit wann ist Lauch sein eigentlich wieder cool?

Coming from Germany where both of this is normal it’s pretty crazy to me that this is seen as some kind of socialist utopia.

Admittedly there are a lot of problems in that country as well but the root of them is imo not in free education & healthcare.

Enemy in disguise!

Biste jetzt Kommerzgandalf oder was?

To be fair, you have to have a very high IQ to understand Rick and Morty. The humour is extremely subtle, and without a solid grasp of theoretical physics most of the jokes will go over a typical viewer’s head. There’s also Rick’s nihilistic outlook, which is deftly woven into his characterisation- his personal philosophy draws heavily from Narodnaya Volya literature, for instance. The fans understand this stuff; they have the intellectual capacity to truly appreciate the depths of these jokes, to realise that they’re not just funny- they say something deep about LIFE. As a consequence people who dislike Rick & Morty truly ARE idiots- of course they wouldn’t appreciate, for instance, the humour in Rick’s existential catchphrase “Wubba Lubba Dub Dub,” which itself is a cryptic reference to Turgenev’s Russian epic Fathers and Sons. I’m smirking right now just imagining one of those addlepated simpletons scratching their heads in confusion as Dan Harmon’s genius wit unfolds itself on their television screens. What fools… how I pity them. 😂

And yes, by the way, i DO have a Rick & Morty tattoo. And no, you cannot see it. It’s for the ladies’ eyes only- and even then they have to demonstrate that they’re within 5 IQ points of my own (preferably lower) beforehand. Nothin personnel kid 😎

Well that was the joke. Tough crowd

So I think many of the ASML ladies have migrated to the Netherlands due to them being highly qualified in the area and there seems to be a lack of people who can do it locally. With the 30% tax ruling that’s a sweet deal if you’ve got the right background and experience.

I assume whispering in Dutch would just sound horrible and insulting to the ears. I kinda get that they would want to move to France. I imagine French whispering to be more appealing, so they would need to hire less skilled workers from foreign countries.

The only thing that I still don’t get is why they need a factory for this when it’s such a WFH friendly job.

Now I’ll be that person: Europe is not the monolith Americans imagine it to be. It’s roughly 50 countries and an equal (if not higher) amount of languages.

tldr; Europe is not like having 50 states in the US but each state has their own language, history, culture that can be very different from others.

Culturally, as a German I don’t have a lot of in common with a Polish or a French person. There may be things we can agree on, but eventually you being European is equal to being North American. The USA and Canada are probably kinda close to each other because of the mostly shared language. But then e.g. Mexico has a completely different history and language than those two.

And now add to that that Schengen came to effect like what 25 years ago. Before that there were border controls between EU countries. For people above 40 they still grew up with their world ending at their country’s border. Only in the last 15 years with open borders & cheap flights it became affordable to most to visit other countries.

Also, education, legislation, hell even on which side of the road you drive differ from country to country. There really isn’t that much that most countries have in common. So it’s very different than the USA. Or more like the difference between France and Germany is at least as big as the difference between culture in the Bay Area and rural Alabama. And also they speak a different language and most older people can’t communicate with each other all.

Look, Trump shouldn’t be running for President, he should rot in jail. But that doesn’t change that Biden can’t get out 2 straight sentences without fucking something up. I absolutely don’t get why they wouldn’t let anyone younger run instead. You should be sharp if you’re one of the most powerful people on this planet, your daily decisions can affect billions.

Is this the election for US presidency or for who runs the next bingo evening at the local nursing home? Can’t make this shit up

[…]

At 77 and 81 respectively, Trump and Biden are the oldest people to run for the presidency in US history. “Putin has so little respect for Obama that he’s starting to throw around the nuclear word. You heard that. Nuclear. He’s starting to talk nuclear weapons today,” said Trump, on Saturday night in Richmond.

The crowd reportedly went silent as the Trump referenced Obama, who left office more than seven years ago. It’s the third time Trump has made the blunder in the past six months.

[…]

Trump’s mistake came the day after Biden, twice confused Ukraine and Gaza as he announced that the US would airdrop humanitarian supplies to Palestinians in Gaza who are dying of starvation due to the Israeli bombardment and blockades.

“In the coming days, we’re going to join with our friends in Jordan and others who are providing airdrops of additional food and supplies into Ukraine,” Biden said on Friday. The US will “seek to open up other avenues into Ukraine, including possibly a marine corridor”, he added.

A White House official later clarified that Biden meant Gaza – not Ukraine.

[…]

I mean you have a point and I agree with most of what you’re saying, but we’re sending weapons and providing rhetorical cover for the Israeli government. E.g. by the police violently interrupting protests, or worse insisting that the claims of genocide are baseless and going as far as announcing to intervene on Israel’s behalf in the ICJ.

Palestinians are being killed by German-delivered ammunition all while Germany is defending Israel in the ICJ. This is clearly supporting the ongoing genocide

Ja versteh ich schon. Aber du musst da unterscheiden zwischen Leuten, die sich hier ein neues Leben aufbauen wollen und Leuten, denen es erstmal nur um Karrierechancen oder Geld verdienen geht.

Zur ersten Gruppe würde ich eher Flüchtlinge zählen. Die zweite Gruppe sind halt Fachkräfte, die oftmals global umworben sind. Ich kenne viele Araber, die hier Jobangebote abgelehnt haben und lieber nach Dubai gegangen sind, obwohl sie Aussicht auf den deutschen Pass gehabt hätten, was durchaus attraktiv zum reisen ist. Denen sind aber die Löhne hier zu niedrig, die Steuern zu hoch und sie haben halt keinen Bock, sich ewig als Menschen zweiter Klasse zu fühlen. Sprache ist da gar nicht mal das wichtigste Thema.

Aus den Fachkräften können durchaus auch viele langfristig bleiben wollen, dazu müsste sich aber die Einstellung der deutschen grundlegend ändern. Man müsste akzeptieren, dass die Vietnamesin, der Ägypter, der Brasilianer, die Inderin, der Türke, die Nigerianerin hier nicht mehr zum Kloputzen und Essen machen sind, sondern dass das die Elite aus deren Ländern ist.

Die sind hier, weil sie es sich mehr oder weniger aussuchen können, ob sie einen Studienplatz oder Job in den USA, UK, oder irgendwo in Westeuropa annehmen wollen. Die wollen sich nicht wie Dreck behandeln lassen und sind dann im Zweifel weg, wenn’s ihnen hier zu viel wird. Dass das mittlerweile auch Pflegekräfte betrifft, zeigt ja nur, wie fundamental dieses Problem auch in der Denkweise der Deutschen verankert ist.

Naja Einbürgerung will halt nicht mal jeder und Teilhabe ist eigentlich auch egal wenn man nur ein paar Jahre Geld arbeiten und Geld nach Hause schicken will. Diese Denkweise dass jeder unbedingt den deutschen Pass und hier für immer bleiben will ist halt mit schuld an dem Problem.

Die Golfstaaten sind auch näher an der Heimat für Leute aus Südostasien. Ich glaube die Arbeitsbedingungen in Saudi Arabien und in den Emiraten sowie der Rassismus in der Gesellschaft im allgemeinen sind auch ziemlich schlimm. Aber wenn alle in deinem Team auf der Arbeit aus dem gleichen Land kommen, man generell englisch sprechen kann und man ansonsten auch unter sich bleiben kann, dann ist das einfach anders als hier in Deutschland. Hier sind ja nichtmal Migranten zweiter oder dritter Generation als deutsch akzeptiert und in den Medien führen die Leute immer ständig irgendwelche Integrationsdebatten, als würden wir alle nicht verstehen, dass diese Debatten nicht mit sondern über uns geführt werden.

Ein paar kleine Fascho-Länder haben es ja auch geschafft, im Alleingang die Asylpolitik der EU zu torpedieren. Wenn eine die Ampel nun die größten Verschärfungen im Asylrecht mitträgt, dann muss man sie dafür verantwortlich machen, insbesondere die Grünen.

Wenn’s dann z.B. um das Lieferkettengesetz oder irgendwas, was der Autoindustrie schaden würde geht, dann klappt das ja ziemlich gut mit dem Querstellen. Es geht also absolut nicht ums können, sondern ums wollen.

SPD und Grüne mögen zwar keine Faschos sein, aber mit der Politik, die sie momentan mit betreiben sind sie zusammen mit CxU/FDP Steigbügelhalter.

Ich finde es erbärmlich, dass jeder immer mit den Rechten reden will und die besorgten Bürger verstehen will. Aber dass man gerade Millionen Bürger mit dieser inhumanen Politik links liegen lässt ist scheißegal.

Soll ich warten, bis ich mich für einen Ariernachweis qualifiziere bevor meine Stimme so ernst genommen wird wie die von irgendnem rechten Spacken in der Vulkaneifel? Mir gehts einfach auf den Sack wie einem immer Unwissen unterstellt oder die Welt erklärt wird, wenn man Dinge ausspricht, die den Deutschen unangenehm sind, weil ja der Dönermann keine Ahnung von Politik haben kann.

Ok rant over ich denke du verstehst worauf ich hinaus will, der Rant war jetzt auch nicht an dich persönlich gerichtet.