• DeusUmbra@lemmy.world
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    9 days ago

    This is actually how Russians do their propaganda. NATO is weak but also the greatest threat to our nation. Sending Abrams to Ukraine is pointless as they are useless tanks and Ukraine has already lost, but also sending Abrams is crossing a line and a declaration of war.

    Gee, wonder where Trump learned it from?

    • cygnus@lemmy.ca
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      9 days ago

      the followers [of fascism] must be convinced that they can overwhelm the enemies. Thus, by a continuous shifting of rhetorical focus, the enemies are at the same time too strong and too weak. Fascist governments are condemned to lose wars because they are constitutionally incapable of objectively evaluating the force of the enemy.
      – Umberto Eco, Ur-Fascism https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/umberto-eco-ur-fascism

      • henfredemars@infosec.pub
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        9 days ago

        The loser’s flag, the confederate’s is flown today in my neighborhood, and they are determined to make us all losers.

    • Soup@lemmy.world
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      9 days ago

      You don’t need to learn it from anywhere. Look at the stereotype of cats who love affection when they want it even if you’re busy but who get mad when you initiate when all they’re doing is lying there. All these people have really “done” is not grow out of being whiny, bitch-ass toddlers. They’re just deeply insecure, immature assholes with zero compassion or self-awareness.

        • frezik@midwest.social
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          9 days ago

          To stealman it, I’d say it’s in how China has a large navy that’s also incapable, or has extensive R&D that copies the west’s homework and only makes cheap parts. Russia is both incapable of taking on Ukraine and justifies the need for much greater EU military expenditure.

          There’s some nuance to this. China’s navy is large, but it’s mostly built as a green water navy (close to their shores), and not a blue water navy. Russia can’t take Ukraine, but it’s because both the EU and US have been feeding them, and US support is drying up.

          China’s R&D, however, is something I think we should take more seriously. They’ve done most of the practical applications of new battery tech and have spun up an EV industry from scratch.

        • SinAdjetivos@lemmy.world
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          9 days ago

          Taken very seriously while it’s economy is in shambles and it’s military is depleted to the point of relying on Soviet era relics?

          • Tar_Alcaran@sh.itjust.works
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            9 days ago

            Why can’t both of those be true? Should Europe ignore Russia until they CAN march into Amsterdam? There are far too many corpses in Ukraine not to take them seriously, regardless of economics.

    • RandomVideos@programming.dev
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      9 days ago

      The greatest threat to a nation being weak technically isnt a contradiction. If all your enemies are weak, even the most powerful is weak

    • HugeNerd@lemmy.ca
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      8 days ago

      LOL like Russia isn’t depicted the same way by our propaganda? GTFOH…

  • BlameTheAntifa@lemmy.world
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    9 days ago

    Umberto Eco (a survivor of Mussolini’s actual regime) identified this as one of the core traits of Ur-Fascism. Specifically, #8…

    The followers must feel humiliated by the ostentatious wealth and force of their enemies.… However, the followers must be convinced that they can overwhelm the enemies. Thus, by a continuous shifting of rhetorical focus, the enemies are at the same time too strong and too weak.

    You will note that Republicans check literally every single box of Umberto Eco’s list.

    https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/umberto-eco-ur-fascism

    • jballs@sh.itjust.works
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      9 days ago

      Schrodinger’s immigrant for the Trump era: they’re all criminals and have no criminal records… clearly because they’re such good criminals.

  • Asafum@feddit.nl
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    9 days ago

    Schrodinger’s energy crisis:

    We need to sell public lands for oil extraction since we have an energy crisis!

    We need to cancel wind energy and solar facility construction!

  • Dagwood222@lemm.ee
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    9 days ago

    True story. Back in 2008 there were two op-ed pieces on the smae page of the Murdoch owned New York Post.

    One said that voting for Obama was a waste of time, because he was a centrist neoliberal who’d only serve up milder versions of GOP programs, so you’d be better off with an actual Republican.

    The other screamed that he was a radical Socialist who would destroy America.

    Same newspaper, same page, no irony

      • merc@sh.itjust.works
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        9 days ago

        Not only is it what Op Eds are for, it’s also extremely common practice to have two contrasting views on the same page to give voice to a variety of different opinions.

        Complaining about two Op Eds on the same page with different opinions is like complaining that a dictionary has two definitions of two different words on the same page.

    • ayyy@sh.itjust.works
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      9 days ago

      Brace yourself for all the “gotcha!” comments from enlightened centrists that don’t understand the core concept of controlled opposition or propaganda.

      • Dagwood222@lemm.ee
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        9 days ago

        So, you read what I wrote and concluded that in life I’d only seen one Op-Ed page?

        You funny, in a sad way.

        • merc@sh.itjust.works
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          9 days ago

          Apparently so. You seem surprised that there were two people who had different opinions on the same page in the Op Eds. That’s what Op Eds are.

          Again, I ask, are you familiar with the concept of an Op Ed? Or are you just confused that people might have different opinions?

          • cuerdo@lemmy.world
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            9 days ago

            Both opinions agree that you should not vote for Obama, that is the editorial strategy, the different motivations are to capture the whole range of voters.

            Nowadays it is even easier to do this, thank to personalized news. They can tell unemployed people that immigrants are stealing all the jobs, while they can tell taxpayers that immigrants are leaving off grants. They can even tell cat lovers that immigrants are eating all the cats.

            The idea you are pushing that Op-Eds are a whiteboard for diverse opinions is either innocent or malicious.

            • merc@sh.itjust.works
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              8 days ago

              Op Eds are obviously influenced by the bias of the newspaper that runs them. But, there’s no need to veer into conspiracy theories just because two of them happen to be anti-Obama for different reasons.

          • Dagwood222@lemm.ee
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            8 days ago

            You get funnier and funnier.

            Please keep telling me about how much smarter you are than I am.

  • Benign@fedia.io
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    9 days ago

    Classic fascist doublethink. Straight out of the book. The enemy is both strong/dangerous enough to be a serious threat, but the fascist is still somehow very superior to them. 🤷

  • Rob@lemmy.world
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    9 days ago

    Schrodinger’s tariffs: they’re great, except when they hurt my small business.

  • sasquash@sopuli.xyz
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    9 days ago

    Schrödingers free speech: You can tweet everything unless it’s against Muskrats opinion.

  • 60d@lemmy.ca
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    9 days ago

    Schrodinger’s Canada: we don’t need anything from them, but we’d love to own them anyway.

  • But_my_mom_says_im_cool@lemmy.world
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    9 days ago

    Their military excuse is actually that a person who switches gender can’t be honest and committed, which is just as crazy, it still has that view that people “choose” to be trans and by choosing to be trans they should a lack of commitment to their birth gender i guess??

    • Asafum@feddit.nl
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      9 days ago

      You swore an oath when you signed that birth certificate! “I swear to uphold my assigned gender and to maintain my proper genital configuration until death!” It’s right there on the document, you can’t fool us with this whole “I was literally minutes old, I didn’t sign anything! That’s not even a thing!” That’s just what a Communist oath breaker would say!

    • Queen HawlSera@lemm.ee
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      9 days ago

      That’s why I’m appalled this is even a discussion, they aren’t even pretending to have a valid military or medical excuse, they just jumped straight to “Group is bad because I don’t like them.”

      • But_my_mom_says_im_cool@lemmy.world
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        9 days ago

        I lived through post 9/11 bullshit and how they wanted to ban Muslims from the military, all the open racism and rhetoric. Same shit different day and target, it’s a right wing pattern they always follow

  • glimse@lemmy.world
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    9 days ago

    Err does anyone on the right actually think we have secure borders?

    Like wasn’t “securing the borders” part of Trump’s pitch? As in “there’s an invasion taking place and we need to secure the borders”?

    The trans one is spot on though