WTF is going in in France Svarty?

[rainbow]

For Russia‘s huge natural resources, gas and all that?

Africa has more.
...just pay us a fair price for what you buy from us.

[Scot Dutchy]

Which is the way it should be.
Colonialism dies hard especially with Anglo-Saxon mind set.

[Rum]

Well you would say that wouldn’t you? what with your Scottish/Dutch mindset and all.

[JimC]

You don't have to predict an immanent NATO/Russian war to realise that power based (and sometimes military) posturing is alive and well in international politics...

[Hermit]

Which ones are those and why would they attack?

I leave it to you to study some history. Should you decide to do so, you will discover an all too common pattern, namely that when nations cannot defend their autonomy from neighbouring nations that are more powerful, they lose it.

Europe is a very different place now. There is little motive to invade and hold territory, as the economies are not longer based on agriculture, mining and manufacture - so land is not as important.
Wars are now faught over ideology not territory, and the Europeans have a common middle-class value system. What would there be to fight for?

Wars are not necessarily about ideology even when the opposing sides invoke their respective ones. They are about "Do unto them before they around to do unto us." King Louis XVI supported the American revolutionaries because it would weaken the power of George III. The American Congress did not help the Taliban out to the tune of one or two billion dollars worth of arms because it favoured a Muslim theocracy.

There is no shortage of unlikely alliances being made against the potential or current threat of another power. "He may be a bastard, but at least he is our bastard." Until he isn't any more of course, which usually happens when the common enemy has been defeated. This happened when the Spartans were no longer an ally against the Persians, and every time the Spartans were no longer a threat the mainland demes resumed wars against each other. "Balkanisation" is an ancient phenomenon that has endured into the second half of the 20th century. It's Realpolitik on a smaller scale. I see no development that has put a stop to it.

Nor are wars fought over territory per se. Sure, if one power can obtain resources and markets simply by trading, there's no point in starting a war. And yet, they keep occurring. The patterns of Realpolitik, which at their core are about power, keep repeat themselves with depressing frequency. "War", as Clausewitz remarked, "is the continuation of politics by other means." It's what powers resort to when free trade and diplomacy fail.

[laklak]

Like George said, "The object of power is power."

[DRSB]

Which ones are those and why would they attack?

I leave it to you to study some history. Should you decide to do so, you will discover an all too common pattern, namely that when nations cannot defend their autonomy from neighbouring nations that are more powerful, they lose it.

Europe is a very different place now. There is little motive to invade and hold territory, as the economies are not longer based on agriculture, mining and manufacture - so land is not as important.
Wars are now faught over ideology not territory, and the Europeans have a common middle-class value system. What would there be to fight for?

Wars are not necessarily about ideology even when the opposing sides invoke their respective ones. They are about "Do unto them before they around to do unto us." King Louis XVI supported the American revolutionaries because it would weaken the power of George III. The American Congress did not help the Taliban out to the tune of one or two billion dollars worth of arms because it favoured a Muslim theocracy.

There is no shortage of unlikely alliances being made against the potential or current threat of another power. "He may be a bastard, but at least he is our bastard." Until he isn't any more of course, which usually happens when the common enemy has been defeated. This happened when the Spartans were no longer an ally against the Persians, and every time the Spartans were no longer a threat the mainland demes resumed wars against each other. "Balkanisation" is an ancient phenomenon that has endured into the second half of the 20th century. It's Realpolitik on a smaller scale. I see no development that has put a stop to it.

Nor are wars fought over territory per se. Sure, if one power can obtain resources and markets simply by trading, there's no point in starting a war. And yet, they keep occurring. The patterns of Realpolitik, which at their core are about power, keep repeat themselves with depressing frequency. "War", as Clausewitz remarked, "is the continuation of politics by other means." It's what powers resort to when free trade and diplomacy fail.

Merkel wants to integrate everybody under Global Compact, even those, that have not signed the pact.

[Hermit]

Wars are not necessarily about ideology even when the opposing sides invoke their respective ones. They are about "Do unto them before they around to do unto us." King Louis XVI supported the American revolutionaries because it would weaken the power of George III. The American Congress did not help the Taliban out to the tune of one or two billion dollars worth of arms because it favoured a Muslim theocracy.

There is no shortage of unlikely alliances being made against the potential or current threat of another power. "He may be a bastard, but at least he is our bastard." Until he isn't any more of course, which usually happens when the common enemy has been defeated. This happened when the Spartans were no longer an ally against the Persians, and every time the Spartans were no longer a threat the mainland demes resumed wars against each other. "Balkanisation" is an ancient phenomenon that has endured into the second half of the 20th century. It's Realpolitik on a smaller scale. I see no development that has put a stop to it.

Nor are wars fought over territory per se. Sure, if one power can obtain resources and markets simply by trading, there's no point in starting a war. And yet, they keep occurring. The patterns of Realpolitik, which at their core are about power, keep repeat themselves with depressing frequency. "War", as Clausewitz remarked, "is the continuation of politics by other means." It's what powers resort to when free trade and diplomacy fail.

Merkel wants to integrate everybody under Global Compact, even those, that have not signed the pact.

Um, yeah. Merkel states that a two thirds majority vote of an organisation is binding on the on the one third that disagreed with the majority decision. If that has any bearing on the post you quoted, I missed it.

[Scot Dutchy]

Well you would say that wouldn’t you? what with your Scottish/Dutch mindset and all.

Says the Little Englander; Rule Britannia!

[DRSB]

Hermit, the post evolved into a discussion about power games, integration and disintegration, who dictates what on whom so I thought there is some bearing to other discussions currently going on, especially on migration.

[Hermit]

Hermit, the post evolved into a discussion about power games, integration and disintegration, who dictates what on whom so I thought there is some bearing to other discussions currently going on, especially on migration.

Fine. No bearing on the post you quoted, then.

[DRSB]

So, the generals' letter is still unanswered, right?
https://www.infowars.com/french-general ... tion-pact/

[Svartalf]

bunchamorons, the only thing they have signed is their own retirement letter/resignation from active service... There's a good reason why the French military is widely known as 'the Mute'... Serving people, even officers, have no room to express their opinions, and no right to do so... heck, until fairly recently, serving personnel did not even have their normal voting rights.

These generals etc have completely gone out of bounds, and would be sacked even if the president was not an authoritarian like macron... with him in power, I expect them to be served resignation papers before the week is over, maybe within a day.

[Rum]

Well you would say that wouldn’t you? what with your Scottish/Dutch mindset and all.

Says the Little Englander; Rule Britannia!

See, there’s your mindset at work again.

[Hermit]

These generals etc have completely gone out of bounds, and would be sacked even if the president was not an authoritarian like macron... with him in power, I expect them to be served resignation papers before the week is over, maybe within a day.

The reason the letter failed to make waves outside the usual lunatic websites is that all its signatories are lunatics of the first water. As far as I could trace them, all of the officers who signed the letter are ex officers. Another thing they share is membership of ultra right wing organisations such as the National Council of European Resistance, an outfit that consists of racist fuckwits. The background of the foreign minister who also signed the letter makes the likes of Farage and Wilders look like nigger-lovers. He was sacked by the then conservative French government around 1995 for being too racist and right wing, whereupon he founded his own, shortlived Nazi party