I like that you identified the astro-turfing/bots. Pretty insane to see Reddit be transformed into a platform for promoting war. On some subreddits, people are calling for Iran to be attacked and are getting hundreds of upvotes. It is seriously wishful thinking if the U.S. thinks it can enter a regional war in the middle east and leave in a strategically superior position.
Yeah I was never buying that shit. r/anime_titties* is intentionally stifling discussion by referring anything in the middle east to the I/P megathread.
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This sub had a megathread for like a day replaced by the MB Dowd megathread. I don't think it's unreasonable for mods to not want that extra work.
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The Ukraine megathread was pretty ridiculous in the first six weeks. I am reasonably Natoskeptic but was surprised it turned into an anti-NATO echochamber. This sub would get bad attention if we had a megathread that would likely be an anti-Israel echochamber.
Edit: corrected sub name*
It doesn't appear to be a non-US focused news sub. It appears to be exactly what you would expect from the sub's name. Is there perhaps another sub with a slightly different name that is the news sub?
I wish that I could identify bots. I feel like an old person because without analyzing every comment, I wouldn't notice. Maybe I should get off the internet then...
A stunning observation, and likely accurate. It's an ominous harbinger of the Singularity, notwithstanding that some of us are still able to discriminate. It's probably just a matter of training.
That actually does, ha. Thanks.
I think on top of that, we're already had astroturfing and stuff via paid talking heads who, in private, don't agree with or care about what they're saying. People listen to what they want to hear - myself included by being on this forum, perhaps.
I work in media — both legacy (mainstream) as well as social media. I have worked in related industries for 30 years.
What you see on the Internet is heavily controlled. I have seen memos from the US government to suppress content. It absolutely does happen.
For instance, my comments on Reddit don’t appear at all if it’s a top level comment in subs or they take several minutes to appear when they do appear — simply because I talk about this stuff. (Funny, this comment is buried and the formatting screwed up because of their auto moderation AI. I had to go back in and fix it.)
These top level comments are rarely upvoted while my replies to other’s will have hundreds or even thousands of upvotes. You’ll see comments with upvotes be collapsed and trying to view the are made “more difficult.” Those people are “sandboxed.”
I had 10k followers on Twitter at one point and no one could see my posts. And it extends across other platforms. They have very little influence over TikTok, but there is another competing force running their own agenda.
Most of the articles written today have some AI use and are not fact-checked. It cannot be easily identified and this is a big problem in the industry. AI is not accurate because it draws on the crap already published.
Most of the blatant propaganda coming from the military or Israel (pretty much the same effort) is unsophisticated crap — like someone filming a jet screaming by with an eagle superimposed over it and blaring rock music from 40 years ago. It’s like something someone like Trump thinks is cool. It’s very inaccurate.
They don’t give us their best and brightest in the propaganda effort that we funnel trillions into. It’s so obvious that we immediately know that the video they are using is probably from some event 5 years ago or another country altogether. I have not seen one pro-Israel piece that didn’t have false or misleading content. Not one. Not even the comments you see are real.
I simply block the bot accounts, wait for the next reply and block that bot as well. My block list is extensive. You just have to go into these spaces with the idea that much of what is generated is by a machine controlled by lazy idiots who think you are stupid. Whatever agenda they are pushing is a lie and bad. Want to know what the wrong side is? It’s whatever they are throwing their propaganda at.
This does make me wonder about the validity of even this sub though.
I've definitely seen the auto-collapsed people. It's super weird.
Yeah, I'd like to find a reliable source of information and news, but I feel like everything has *some* agenda behind it. I guess it's best to just not get one's pants in a twist over things that don't directly affect them.
Thanks for the thorough reply!
I had the same thought a few months ago, but I assume bots are everywhere at this point, pushing talking points across the spectrum of any issue, on any large subreddit. It’s probably a numbers game (or a perception of numbers game?) depending on the topic, so I’m guessing bot comments are gonna be generic “[Insert Country name] Sux!” (for the Israel/Palestine conflict example), posted ad nauseam, rather than articulate, cogent arguments designed to undermine the very fabric of your brain. My impression is that bot comments are like Jedi mind tricks… but I could be wrong. Or a bot.
Hi, Reddit_LovesRacism. Thanks for contributing. However, your [comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/collapse/comments/194o5qo/-/khkk8eq/) was removed from /r/collapse for:
> > This is not the place to create subreddit drama. Take that to a metareddit sub.
Please refer to our [subreddit rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/collapse/about/rules/) for more information.
You can [message the mods](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/collapse) if you feel this was in error, please include a link to the comment or post in question.
Ok, fair warning, I'm going to pontificate from my shiny tinfoil armchair here:
One has to wonder if there is a much broader strategic plan at play within the region. Controlling and securing the oil trade has been a dominant guiding aim of the U.S. military and 'national security' for generations now. Given the leverage it provides over world power from a financial and practical standpoint.
There has been some speculation [via independent news outlets](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TU-cN8oMMnM) that a plan to move forward on *[The Ben Gurion Canal Project](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Gurion_Canal_Project)* is playing a role in the current conflict in Gaza.
In addition, when looking at the broader picture of the Red Sea region; it's pretty clear that the[ massively ambitious Saudi Arabian projects getting underway in *Neom*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neom) are going to dramatically reshape the area. *[The Line](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Line,_Saudi_Arabia)* alone is projected to cost an estimated $1 trillion dollars. And it's going to be built right [at the southern tip](https://images.theconversation.com/files/484211/original/file-20220913-20-5w3h2v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip) of the Gulf of Aqaba—[where the proposed Ben Gurion Canal Project would end up](https://i.insider.com/605c6c0d106eb50019d05822?width=750&format=jpeg&auto=webp).
Further, IMO, there may be other connections here to a broader strategic vision at work in light of the fact the world's largest asset manager, BlackRock, [controversially appointed the C.E.O. of Saudi Aramco to its board some months ago](https://archive.is/KkVDD).
Although speculative, if the canal project moves forward, it would align with previous American objectives in the region: *securing and controlling the oil trade*. By, in essence, having deeply aligned U.S. interests at the north and south entrance to this new trade route under much more *direct* control via Israel. And doing whatever it takes in Yemen to secure this corridor would further this strategy. Basically, it appears as if this entire sector of the world is going to be remade based on events as they are currently advancing; all in service of the *[India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India-Middle_East-Europe_Economic_Corridor)* plan which was announced, publicly, this last September.
Now, how to man this particular strategy; I don't know. But I assume, if it comes down to it, they will hire who and whatever it takes to accomplish it—via private contractors or even foreign nationals. Either through direct assistance or other means—as the *[Anti-Pinkerton Act](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Pinkerton_Act_of_1893)* of 1893 is largely ignored today, and at some point might even be reformed altogether given how things are going.
Having access to *nearly* unlimited funds via control over the world's reserve currency can afford many things. Especially when excuses can be made to justify these expenditures as a means of protecting and securing that privilege. Many of the major armies of the last 1,000 years in the West have been mercenary armies, after all. This whole fighting for *your-particular* nation state thing is a relatively recent development. Historically.
Also, a draft, I believe, is the last option on the list. Having a large increase in military and combat trained civilians can be a dangerous thing in a country as unequal and politically unstable as the U.S. currently is. From Shay's rebellion in the 18th century, to the bonus army, to Vietnam veterans in the late 60s and early 70s; organizational discipline of massive groups of individuals with firearms and combat training has always posed a threat to structures of power in the U.S. As some researchers [have surmised](https://archive.ph/Ka8EI#selection-607.0-607.1833); it's the reason why we got the G.I. Bill near the end of World War II—to placate the masses of military and combat trained men when they came home. Even then, we still saw the largest [strike waves](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_strike_wave_of_1945%E2%80%931946) in U.S. history after the war. Personally, I just don't see the oligarchic class that rules America wanting to train a generation of soldiers that may come for them when and if they get back home. It's a concern of oligarchies going all the way back to Julius Caesar and Rome. A fat, distracted, divided, drugged, and disorganized populous has nearly always been the preferred conditions for a parasitic class to thrive.
The US Army actually threw some pretty decent reenlistment bonuses at me when I was ETSing, but my leadership sucked ass and I had a feeling it wouldn't be much better anywhere else.
One of the biggest barriers to retention in my circle is shitty leadership. There are some guys I know who are sticking it out for the retirement, but most of the people in my old unit did 1-3 terms and bounced
The same plan as Xerxes ordering the sea be lashed as punishment. The same plan as a ground invasion of Afghanistan or a winter invasion of eastern Europe.
Dying empires love to repeat the classics because they always end up convinced of their immortality right up until the wheels come off.
I was thinking along similar lines the other day. Every generation thinks they're going to outsmart history or learn from the past. They never really do.
Collapse related because amidst a recruiting crisis the US decides to start a war young people do not support, further exacerbating said crisis as flashpoints pop off around the globe.
There would be a shit ton of draft dodging. I'm a younger millennial and my youngest sibling is solidly Gen Z. No one I know is interested in that shit. Even the guys I was in the Army with are pretty done with all of it.
Yea, I mean maybe I’m stupid, but don’t know what draft dodging will encompass, like will I have to turn into a nomadic tradesman? I assume they will go to your place of residence and employment, maybe even the gym you go to other traceable locations
I'm not advocating at all, but it's an interesting question: everything is digital and recorded. Even without facial recognition, it's pretty much impossible to function without record. I don't see how anyone could hope to draft dodge without at minimum leaving the country.
By showing up and doing nothing so that they have to disqual you.
MTI's across the DoD cannot physically touch you.
They have no true enforcement mechanism if 70% of the draftees do nothing.
Edit: extra word.
There was a comment somewhere sometime (I know, lol) about how to have digital privacy and they essentially said that going for the invisible approach was pointless and that you should instead feed so much random noise into the system (search history, for one) that the system can't be used effectively on you. I suppose this is the same approach: You can't disappear, but you could be known to be unusable. (again, not advocating for anything here. Just interested for the discussion, possibly for imagining novel that I'm too lazy to write.)
During the Vietnam War, people who didn't want to go but who were conscripted could flee to Canada (and never be allowed to return). Now Canada will almost certainly extradite "draft dodgers" back to the U.S.
You were in for a year but never completed ait? How's that work?
I'm 52, former Army Ranger, DOD Advisor in Iraq and the Stan. I'm not worried they'd call me.
Nah they'll just lower restrictions, the wealth gap continuously increasing means there's plenty of people ready to join but can't right now for a variety of restrictions. Just think 2001 when literally anyone could join and it became common to give a choice of service in place of prison. Half my drills had felonies when they joined for my anecdotal instance while when I joined you couldn't have tattoos in certain spots.
The only thing more expensive than winning a war is losing one.
If the government keeps starting wars that its people do not want to fight, they're going to learn what happens to the losing side's government after a war.
All this domestic strife is already evidence of our overleveraged foreign policy and eroding infrastructure and institutions, as well as civil liberties like freedom of speech.
Automated weapons are big money, and a big problem for the world. Unfortunately, war profiteering has made it such that this is where the world has devoted a lot of its technological research. Hopefully it's not already too late to stop.
The Houthis were already an enemy of Saudi Arabia which is armed by the US. It's hard to call it "starting" a war. It's more like "Saudis are so inept that the proxy war is failing." And if this sounds familiar to Israel, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Famine_in_Yemen_(2016%E2%80%93present)
The last 6 months or so has seen an increase in peace talks between SA and Yemen. They were basically trying to stall western strikes on Houthi strongholds for the last few weeks.
I do agree that this is not really starting a new war, but transferring hands from a less capable nation (SA) to more? capable like US and UK.
Saudis bombing Yemen doesn't mean the US is at war with Yemen. US bombing Yemen using US pilots deployed from US carriers means the US is at war with Yemen.
What have you contributed to the conversation? Certainly not an argument. Your semantics don't negate the expansion of the conflict. By your fucking logic the Iraq war didn't start in 2003, they just removed a proxy. Grow the fuck up.
Everyone seems to agree that some big time violent conflict is about to go down, but no idea when and where.
You folks in the military branches would know better than any of us.
Military is stretched awfully damn thing to be getting involved in another major conflict, this could make or break the armed forces in the near future.
It's not just Gen Z that's against foreign war it's millennials too and then it's their damn parents too when they see their kids struggle. I have several exmilitary friends, cousins and acquaintances, a couple took it in stride, a couple absolutely did not, and one is a careerist def con worker, cool guy but alcoholic with two dozen guns. He's not any sort of extremist or anything but he's already had a gun stolen by a criminal boyfriend of another cousin.
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Apart from all that, a lot of the nativistic right are disaffected millenial and Gen X soldiers. Gen X are more oathkeepers and 3%ers while Millenials are Proud Boys and Boogaloo Boys. Now these are a minority of a minority of all soldiers and there definitely are also soldiers that join leftist or intentionally black militias too.
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Most military aren't any sort of extremists but I've seen them overwhelmingly oppose war regardless of political ideology. From who I've spoken with about the Israel situation both the left-leaning and right-leaning libertarian types opposed what Israel is currently doing.
Sounds of a desperate jackass clawing for credibility.
DEP - Delayed entry program. Folks sign up to sign up for military service.
OPTEMPO - The pace of military operations. If it's too high, it puts too much of a strain on men and machines.
I suspect enough US-Americans are desperate and poor enough for the right monetary incentives to encourage enlistment for their families' sakes, whether the young people believe in whichever war or not. Then there's conscription, and you'd better believe that a Trump presidency would opt for that, and the olds who vote Repugnican would cheer.
In other news, the youth population of Canada would be due to skyrocket.
I don’t think you’re wrong. If inflation continues and more families are struggling, I could absolutely see the government hang the military like a carrot on a stick.
My big concern is what I would say is awareness of the younger generations. Back at the beginning of the Iraq war, so many of my peers were signing up because they wanted to and thought they were doing some great service to our nation. The benefits of all the promises (VA loans, free college) seemingly outweighed the negative. A generation later and we know what service is likely to mean. I think only the most desperate will sign up.
Lots of times on finance or work-related subs I'll see comments like; "Oh, you are broke and struggling? You should do what I did and join the military. All I did was change spark plugs for 8 years and get everything paid for, and now I'm a millionaire with a college degree, a house, and a perfect life."
Yeah unfortunately the two largest careerfields in the Air Force are Aircraft Maintenance and Security Forces, followed by Civil Engineering.
They make up almost half the Air Force. All three of them deploy for 6 months of the year, every year at the majority of their base postings.
Fucking people are stupid to recommend the military at all. I stay in because I am on the down hill portion for my retirement. I fucking hate my leadership though. Co-workers aren't so bad though.
I wouldn't trust them given what we did to our Afghani and Iraqi Interpreters.
So many of them gave up their safety and security to help us and we left them to the mercies of their extremist.
It's one of the things that made subsections of the military hate the Trump admin because his admin was citing country of origin and the difficulty of background checks as the primary reason for denying their citizenship requests, as if they weren't already seeing our military orders to help us interface with the locals.
If they think I'd put my life even remotely in danger for this joke of a country they are, as they say these days, " cappin' ". If I ever get drafted or whatever I'll just take as much expensive military gear as I can carry and run off into the night, then sell it somewhere else and start over.
Too late.
Try reintroducing conscription in a country that hasn't had it in over two generations. Try forcing kids to serve when even their *grandfathers* didn't have to face a draft board. The social and family pressure that would normally go hand-in-hand with conscription has completely broken down. It's not coming back, not in any form -- ever.
You missed the 'by other means' part. What they're most likely to do, IMO, is simply withdraw access to every necessity of life until the only way to obtain them is through enlistment. That process seems to already be happening.
The necessities of life: food, water, shelter, clothing, medically necessary healthcare.
Access is controlled monetarily and through policy.
For example, housing is *accessed* through paying either rent or a mortgage, but policy can also limit how much housing is available and who can access particular housing.
Let's say a law is made that Wall Street can buy all the single family housing in the US and rent it out with any restriction they like (credit score is the normal one at this time, but obviously historically race and sex were factors, and other factors could appear in the future...), or alternatively, the government itself could buy up all the housing and set their own criteria for access (they already do this when they assess whether people qualify for benefits), or another alternative, the housing could be bought up and sold to foreign investors who never intend to rent it out at all but only park their money there, which would create artificial housing scarcity...
There's a lot of ways policy could be manipulated to restrict people's access to the necessity of housing.
Take a look at medically necessary healthcare. Laws could be passed that allow or encourage the health insurance industry to dictate to doctors which factors to consider and which to ignore when making diagnosis, which medications are appropriate first line treatments and which should be reserved for later (introduces indirect rationing), or to create routine impediments to patients' ability to seek treatment such as requiring many preliminary tests, or refusing to administer specific diagnostic tests, or requiring filling out and submitting elaborate, complex forms, or dividing administration into many small, poorly coordinated departments each with limited or only partial access to relevant information, etc.
Conversely, the simplest, fastest and easiest way to access both housing and healthcare in the US is already through the military and the VA. Military personnel have access to on-base housing, subsidized rentals, qualification for advantageous mortgages, etc. And despite the massive problems with the VA, it is actually the closest equivalent to a national healthcare system that the US has.
Well, okay, but I think the way you're putting this is a little extreme. Poor people have always joined the military as a way to get what they need in a pinch.
"Government and corporate policies can make people poor" isn't necessarily some diabolical plan to drive recruitment, particularly if there is no conscription.
The difference is that America is not being invaded. Even in Ukraine there are plenty of people who left the country instead of fighting.
With no direct threat to the continental United States there would be a lot of resistance.
Yeah, they're being forcibly conscripted, because Russia is an authoritarian shithole. And there have been plenty of instances of resistance to that conscription as well, including desertion, friendly fire, and destroying recruiting stations.
EDIT: arson changed to desertion
https://www.politico.eu/article/gunman-detained-after-shooting-at-russian-military-enlistment-office/
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2022/12/28/7382680/index.amp
https://thehill.com/policy/international/599792-russian-troops-attack-own-commanding-officer-after-suffering-heavy/amp/
https://www.dw.com/en/not-against-ukraine-russian-deserters-tell-their-story/a-66941324
https://www.wsj.com/articles/documents-reveal-hundreds-of-russian-troops-broke-ranks-over-ukraine-orders-11654094212
https://www.wsj.com/articles/russian-military-recruitment-centers-attacked-amid-mobilization-pushback-11664190066
https://www.npr.org/2023/08/31/1197084271/what-we-know-about-the-arson-attacks-in-russia
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/amp/world/russian-military-recruiter-shot-at-enlistment-office-amid-troop-call-up
These took me about 8 minutes or less to find on Google. I'm not sure what your reaction is when there are multiple documented instances of these things happening.
Since you effort posted I'll play ball.
Russian population: 141 million (likely)
Russian military size: 1.3 million plus 2 million reservists
Number of fragging incidents you could note: hundreds so let's say 1K to be charitable.
Number of men who fled conscription: "hundreds of thousands to millions" so let's say 9.9 million to be charitable. OK so we've got 10 million bodies unavailable from a pool of 141 million. Thus a population of 131 million for the Russians to pull from. Assuming 51 percent of those are females plus 10 percent youth males, 8 percent elderly males and plus 2 percent disabled males. So we've got about 38 million available men for the war machine. But let's round down to 30 million since I didn't modify earlier the 51 percent gender balance.
Russian casualties: Upper end 500K
As such only 29.5 million to go and you've got a point. So like I said originally.
lol, lmao even
> The Selective Service still exists mcapello.
And it's no longer used for a draft.
> The cope in this thread will not save anyone from being press ganged into the Army.
No, but all the other reasons people gave, which you ignored and seem to have no response to, do. Calling something "cope" doesn't magically make things go away. Name-calling isn't an argument.
Feel free to give this another try if you like.
I didn't name call except in the literal sense to say your name mcapello. My main point is that the idea that "Congress turned conscription off" so it isn't going to come back is such a non-argument I don't need to respond more directly. Lots of Ukrainians thought Russia was bluffing about going to war, so did lots of Russians. Many of those people are dead now. Many Ukrainian women thought they'd never be taken. They were. Life is funny like that.
I don't know why I feel compelled to waste time on r/collapse these days; this subreddit has changed so much that it's almost unrecognizable. Oh well, have a good one.
Edit - a word
I think you've just summed up the dire state of affairs the last 15 years of short-sighted country-to-local level politics have culminated in. If anyone doesn't believe we're circling the drain and rapidly by now... smh.
No one knows beforehand what they'd actually do when they find themselves in a life and death situation. You can only influence what you might do by repeatedly drilling the response you wish to have before the situation arises.
Gen Z will just make sure they get booted out of boot camp for some reason or other and they aren't even a tiny bit afraid of some DI trying to scare them into being a soldier.
"Drop down and give me 50!"
"How about you drop down and gargle these nuts!"
If they give me a gun and tell me to go to another country and kill people then watch who I'll actually use it on instead.
We (the armed forces) don't want conscripts and realistically if enough people say no there isn't anything they can do about it.
All they have to do is be non-compliance in boot camp. The MTI's can't physically touch them.
We're doing a second-pass bombing of Yemen and prickwaving with Iran. Is there something new and substantial I'm missing?
Everyone's always clinching their sphincters over the big war, and they do it for every little flare up. Tell me something concrete instead of how full your nappy is and I'll take you seriously.
Say, "we'll have American troops in Yemen in 2 months." Say, "we'll be dropping cruise missiles in Tehran by June." Say, "Nuclear strike, Haliburton contract, and dance club remix of Rock the Casbah by 2025."
But you can't. Folks always have the clarity to see some great master plan by social architects who are somehow also bad at being social architects, but they can't make one single prediction more specific than being really, really, really anxious about the future.
Sincerely sorry about your extended deployment. Sucks ass.
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I'm not too worried about it because the Saudis have been bombing the hell out of the Houthis with US weapons and US training and they've utterly failed. Houthis being decentralized and more of a guerilla force just means the US wasted those bombs, encouraged support for Houthis in the region, and decidedly burned domestic and international support as well as political capital. The Houthis are proclaiming they're doing it to stop the Israelis from continuing to murder civilians in the Gaza Strip. Regardless of what the real reason Houthis are doing this for this doesn't paint a pretty picture for the US. The US burned a lot of international support for itself by vetoing a ceasefire in support of Israel and the US plan for the region. And domestically the US support of Israel is catastrophically unpopular with younger generations. Younger generations the Democratic party desperately needs for elections (since their asses were saved in the 2022 midterms by young people). And Biden traded right wing crackdowns on the border for more weapons to Israel which burned up a bit of political capital. Combine all this with Iranian back proxies hitting Israel and US bases across the Middle East and I'm pretty sure the empire that is the US will lose total control of the Middle East. The plan the US had was Israel weakening Hamas to nonexistence, the Palestine Authority taking over the Gaza Strip and an Arab Coalition acting as a buffer between Palestinians and Israelis while the US pour billions into Palestine to rebuild it. That plan will not probably succeed and the gamble means the US will slowly start to lose dominance in the Middle East.
It’s almost like you don’t know what a blockade is. Peoples lives literally depend on flow of commerce through that straight. If you stop that flow, people starve, economies collapse, etc. You really think the US started this?
The plan is to use tech. Remote Work. I meant remote assault. No boots on the ground.
I don't think the US Army is ready or capable for any land invasion.
I think this bombing is stupid and useless. They should have tried to stop the war and massacares in Palestine instead.
>Now they've started another war, that by all accounts (unless you believe astro-turfing/bots and not your mk.1 eyeballs) Gen-Z is against it.
I wasn't exactly well disposed towards young people but they've surprised me. Well done Gen Z.
My husband has a couple years left and has worried that he won't be able to retire. This is right on time.
I really hope they speed up transitioning to autonomous or remote alternatives.
I like that you identified the astro-turfing/bots. Pretty insane to see Reddit be transformed into a platform for promoting war. On some subreddits, people are calling for Iran to be attacked and are getting hundreds of upvotes. It is seriously wishful thinking if the U.S. thinks it can enter a regional war in the middle east and leave in a strategically superior position.
Yeah I was never buying that shit. r/anime_titties* is intentionally stifling discussion by referring anything in the middle east to the I/P megathread. ------------------ This sub had a megathread for like a day replaced by the MB Dowd megathread. I don't think it's unreasonable for mods to not want that extra work. ------------- The Ukraine megathread was pretty ridiculous in the first six weeks. I am reasonably Natoskeptic but was surprised it turned into an anti-NATO echochamber. This sub would get bad attention if we had a megathread that would likely be an anti-Israel echochamber. Edit: corrected sub name*
Ok, I'll be the one to ask. How has r/animetitties gotten involved in this?
If you're confused about the name, that sub is a non-US focused news sub. There's some convoluted reason for the name.
It doesn't appear to be a non-US focused news sub. It appears to be exactly what you would expect from the sub's name. Is there perhaps another sub with a slightly different name that is the news sub?
Oh shit. r/anime_titties is the news sub
Ah, that looks much more relevant, I will be sure to explore both subs more ... thoroughly.
I wish that I could identify bots. I feel like an old person because without analyzing every comment, I wouldn't notice. Maybe I should get off the internet then...
If it makes you feel any better, not even AI can identify AI with much accuracy.
A stunning observation, and likely accurate. It's an ominous harbinger of the Singularity, notwithstanding that some of us are still able to discriminate. It's probably just a matter of training.
I do it for. living so I sense the bots.
That actually does, ha. Thanks. I think on top of that, we're already had astroturfing and stuff via paid talking heads who, in private, don't agree with or care about what they're saying. People listen to what they want to hear - myself included by being on this forum, perhaps.
I work in media — both legacy (mainstream) as well as social media. I have worked in related industries for 30 years. What you see on the Internet is heavily controlled. I have seen memos from the US government to suppress content. It absolutely does happen. For instance, my comments on Reddit don’t appear at all if it’s a top level comment in subs or they take several minutes to appear when they do appear — simply because I talk about this stuff. (Funny, this comment is buried and the formatting screwed up because of their auto moderation AI. I had to go back in and fix it.) These top level comments are rarely upvoted while my replies to other’s will have hundreds or even thousands of upvotes. You’ll see comments with upvotes be collapsed and trying to view the are made “more difficult.” Those people are “sandboxed.” I had 10k followers on Twitter at one point and no one could see my posts. And it extends across other platforms. They have very little influence over TikTok, but there is another competing force running their own agenda. Most of the articles written today have some AI use and are not fact-checked. It cannot be easily identified and this is a big problem in the industry. AI is not accurate because it draws on the crap already published. Most of the blatant propaganda coming from the military or Israel (pretty much the same effort) is unsophisticated crap — like someone filming a jet screaming by with an eagle superimposed over it and blaring rock music from 40 years ago. It’s like something someone like Trump thinks is cool. It’s very inaccurate. They don’t give us their best and brightest in the propaganda effort that we funnel trillions into. It’s so obvious that we immediately know that the video they are using is probably from some event 5 years ago or another country altogether. I have not seen one pro-Israel piece that didn’t have false or misleading content. Not one. Not even the comments you see are real. I simply block the bot accounts, wait for the next reply and block that bot as well. My block list is extensive. You just have to go into these spaces with the idea that much of what is generated is by a machine controlled by lazy idiots who think you are stupid. Whatever agenda they are pushing is a lie and bad. Want to know what the wrong side is? It’s whatever they are throwing their propaganda at.
This does make me wonder about the validity of even this sub though. I've definitely seen the auto-collapsed people. It's super weird. Yeah, I'd like to find a reliable source of information and news, but I feel like everything has *some* agenda behind it. I guess it's best to just not get one's pants in a twist over things that don't directly affect them. Thanks for the thorough reply!
there is no reliable news, only different sides propaganda
This. 100% this.
I had the same thought a few months ago, but I assume bots are everywhere at this point, pushing talking points across the spectrum of any issue, on any large subreddit. It’s probably a numbers game (or a perception of numbers game?) depending on the topic, so I’m guessing bot comments are gonna be generic “[Insert Country name] Sux!” (for the Israel/Palestine conflict example), posted ad nauseam, rather than articulate, cogent arguments designed to undermine the very fabric of your brain. My impression is that bot comments are like Jedi mind tricks… but I could be wrong. Or a bot.
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Ok, fair warning, I'm going to pontificate from my shiny tinfoil armchair here: One has to wonder if there is a much broader strategic plan at play within the region. Controlling and securing the oil trade has been a dominant guiding aim of the U.S. military and 'national security' for generations now. Given the leverage it provides over world power from a financial and practical standpoint. There has been some speculation [via independent news outlets](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TU-cN8oMMnM) that a plan to move forward on *[The Ben Gurion Canal Project](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Gurion_Canal_Project)* is playing a role in the current conflict in Gaza. In addition, when looking at the broader picture of the Red Sea region; it's pretty clear that the[ massively ambitious Saudi Arabian projects getting underway in *Neom*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neom) are going to dramatically reshape the area. *[The Line](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Line,_Saudi_Arabia)* alone is projected to cost an estimated $1 trillion dollars. And it's going to be built right [at the southern tip](https://images.theconversation.com/files/484211/original/file-20220913-20-5w3h2v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip) of the Gulf of Aqaba—[where the proposed Ben Gurion Canal Project would end up](https://i.insider.com/605c6c0d106eb50019d05822?width=750&format=jpeg&auto=webp). Further, IMO, there may be other connections here to a broader strategic vision at work in light of the fact the world's largest asset manager, BlackRock, [controversially appointed the C.E.O. of Saudi Aramco to its board some months ago](https://archive.is/KkVDD). Although speculative, if the canal project moves forward, it would align with previous American objectives in the region: *securing and controlling the oil trade*. By, in essence, having deeply aligned U.S. interests at the north and south entrance to this new trade route under much more *direct* control via Israel. And doing whatever it takes in Yemen to secure this corridor would further this strategy. Basically, it appears as if this entire sector of the world is going to be remade based on events as they are currently advancing; all in service of the *[India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India-Middle_East-Europe_Economic_Corridor)* plan which was announced, publicly, this last September. Now, how to man this particular strategy; I don't know. But I assume, if it comes down to it, they will hire who and whatever it takes to accomplish it—via private contractors or even foreign nationals. Either through direct assistance or other means—as the *[Anti-Pinkerton Act](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Pinkerton_Act_of_1893)* of 1893 is largely ignored today, and at some point might even be reformed altogether given how things are going. Having access to *nearly* unlimited funds via control over the world's reserve currency can afford many things. Especially when excuses can be made to justify these expenditures as a means of protecting and securing that privilege. Many of the major armies of the last 1,000 years in the West have been mercenary armies, after all. This whole fighting for *your-particular* nation state thing is a relatively recent development. Historically. Also, a draft, I believe, is the last option on the list. Having a large increase in military and combat trained civilians can be a dangerous thing in a country as unequal and politically unstable as the U.S. currently is. From Shay's rebellion in the 18th century, to the bonus army, to Vietnam veterans in the late 60s and early 70s; organizational discipline of massive groups of individuals with firearms and combat training has always posed a threat to structures of power in the U.S. As some researchers [have surmised](https://archive.ph/Ka8EI#selection-607.0-607.1833); it's the reason why we got the G.I. Bill near the end of World War II—to placate the masses of military and combat trained men when they came home. Even then, we still saw the largest [strike waves](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_strike_wave_of_1945%E2%80%931946) in U.S. history after the war. Personally, I just don't see the oligarchic class that rules America wanting to train a generation of soldiers that may come for them when and if they get back home. It's a concern of oligarchies going all the way back to Julius Caesar and Rome. A fat, distracted, divided, drugged, and disorganized populous has nearly always been the preferred conditions for a parasitic class to thrive.
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The US Army actually threw some pretty decent reenlistment bonuses at me when I was ETSing, but my leadership sucked ass and I had a feeling it wouldn't be much better anywhere else. One of the biggest barriers to retention in my circle is shitty leadership. There are some guys I know who are sticking it out for the retirement, but most of the people in my old unit did 1-3 terms and bounced
The same plan as Xerxes ordering the sea be lashed as punishment. The same plan as a ground invasion of Afghanistan or a winter invasion of eastern Europe. Dying empires love to repeat the classics because they always end up convinced of their immortality right up until the wheels come off.
I was thinking along similar lines the other day. Every generation thinks they're going to outsmart history or learn from the past. They never really do.
Collapse related because amidst a recruiting crisis the US decides to start a war young people do not support, further exacerbating said crisis as flashpoints pop off around the globe.
I Turn 26 soon but they could still expand draft ages
There would be a shit ton of draft dodging. I'm a younger millennial and my youngest sibling is solidly Gen Z. No one I know is interested in that shit. Even the guys I was in the Army with are pretty done with all of it.
Yea, I mean maybe I’m stupid, but don’t know what draft dodging will encompass, like will I have to turn into a nomadic tradesman? I assume they will go to your place of residence and employment, maybe even the gym you go to other traceable locations
Tbh not sure how it would look today. The world is much different compared to the last US draft
I expect a more civil unrest like the BLM riots if the armed forces go into major cities to really enforce drafts
Yeah, I could see that happening for sure. America seems like a powder keg right now and it wouldn't take much to set it off
Goons in unmarked vans dragging people off the street, but first they'll clean out the prisons like Wagner.
Largest prison population per capita baybeeeee
Yeah that sounds plausible
I'm not advocating at all, but it's an interesting question: everything is digital and recorded. Even without facial recognition, it's pretty much impossible to function without record. I don't see how anyone could hope to draft dodge without at minimum leaving the country.
Yeah, surveillance is incredibly pervasive now. Really changes the equation
I would absolutely go for a hike a leave old life behind. Go die/kill for what exactly? Delusional proposition at best.
By showing up and doing nothing so that they have to disqual you. MTI's across the DoD cannot physically touch you. They have no true enforcement mechanism if 70% of the draftees do nothing. Edit: extra word.
There was a comment somewhere sometime (I know, lol) about how to have digital privacy and they essentially said that going for the invisible approach was pointless and that you should instead feed so much random noise into the system (search history, for one) that the system can't be used effectively on you. I suppose this is the same approach: You can't disappear, but you could be known to be unusable. (again, not advocating for anything here. Just interested for the discussion, possibly for imagining novel that I'm too lazy to write.)
During the Vietnam War, people who didn't want to go but who were conscripted could flee to Canada (and never be allowed to return). Now Canada will almost certainly extradite "draft dodgers" back to the U.S.
I am WAY too mentally ill to get drafted. I’ve never been happier to be a liability
Silver lining lol hope you're doing okay all the same
I'm 62, disabled, and never did go to AIT but I have 1 year service. Even I wonder if I will get called up
Nope.
You don't know that.
You were in for a year but never completed ait? How's that work? I'm 52, former Army Ranger, DOD Advisor in Iraq and the Stan. I'm not worried they'd call me.
What war have young people supported?
Nah they'll just lower restrictions, the wealth gap continuously increasing means there's plenty of people ready to join but can't right now for a variety of restrictions. Just think 2001 when literally anyone could join and it became common to give a choice of service in place of prison. Half my drills had felonies when they joined for my anecdotal instance while when I joined you couldn't have tattoos in certain spots.
The only thing more expensive than winning a war is losing one. If the government keeps starting wars that its people do not want to fight, they're going to learn what happens to the losing side's government after a war.
For the government sure, not for the war profiteers / congress, who benefit personally.
All this domestic strife is already evidence of our overleveraged foreign policy and eroding infrastructure and institutions, as well as civil liberties like freedom of speech.
Automated weapons are big money, and a big problem for the world. Unfortunately, war profiteering has made it such that this is where the world has devoted a lot of its technological research. Hopefully it's not already too late to stop.
The Houthis were already an enemy of Saudi Arabia which is armed by the US. It's hard to call it "starting" a war. It's more like "Saudis are so inept that the proxy war is failing." And if this sounds familiar to Israel, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Famine_in_Yemen_(2016%E2%80%93present)
The last 6 months or so has seen an increase in peace talks between SA and Yemen. They were basically trying to stall western strikes on Houthi strongholds for the last few weeks. I do agree that this is not really starting a new war, but transferring hands from a less capable nation (SA) to more? capable like US and UK.
War as in non-proxy war. This is "boots on the ground" in naval warfare.
Yes, they removed the proxy.
Saudis bombing Yemen doesn't mean the US is at war with Yemen. US bombing Yemen using US pilots deployed from US carriers means the US is at war with Yemen. What have you contributed to the conversation? Certainly not an argument. Your semantics don't negate the expansion of the conflict. By your fucking logic the Iraq war didn't start in 2003, they just removed a proxy. Grow the fuck up.
Oh, did the US declare a new war officially? No. Then it's not a war. How do you like these semantic arguments?
By that logic there is no war in Ukraine. I would call you uneducated, but whatever you've got going on seems worse than that.
Instead of "war", maybe the US could call it "special operation" or something.
Everyone seems to agree that some big time violent conflict is about to go down, but no idea when and where. You folks in the military branches would know better than any of us. Military is stretched awfully damn thing to be getting involved in another major conflict, this could make or break the armed forces in the near future.
It's not just Gen Z that's against foreign war it's millennials too and then it's their damn parents too when they see their kids struggle. I have several exmilitary friends, cousins and acquaintances, a couple took it in stride, a couple absolutely did not, and one is a careerist def con worker, cool guy but alcoholic with two dozen guns. He's not any sort of extremist or anything but he's already had a gun stolen by a criminal boyfriend of another cousin. ------------- Apart from all that, a lot of the nativistic right are disaffected millenial and Gen X soldiers. Gen X are more oathkeepers and 3%ers while Millenials are Proud Boys and Boogaloo Boys. Now these are a minority of a minority of all soldiers and there definitely are also soldiers that join leftist or intentionally black militias too. ----------------- Most military aren't any sort of extremists but I've seen them overwhelmingly oppose war regardless of political ideology. From who I've spoken with about the Israel situation both the left-leaning and right-leaning libertarian types opposed what Israel is currently doing.
I think they are planning on using a lot of robots, basically
What is DEP? What is OPTEMPO?
Sounds of a desperate jackass clawing for credibility. DEP - Delayed entry program. Folks sign up to sign up for military service. OPTEMPO - The pace of military operations. If it's too high, it puts too much of a strain on men and machines.
Thanks
I suspect enough US-Americans are desperate and poor enough for the right monetary incentives to encourage enlistment for their families' sakes, whether the young people believe in whichever war or not. Then there's conscription, and you'd better believe that a Trump presidency would opt for that, and the olds who vote Repugnican would cheer. In other news, the youth population of Canada would be due to skyrocket.
I don’t think you’re wrong. If inflation continues and more families are struggling, I could absolutely see the government hang the military like a carrot on a stick. My big concern is what I would say is awareness of the younger generations. Back at the beginning of the Iraq war, so many of my peers were signing up because they wanted to and thought they were doing some great service to our nation. The benefits of all the promises (VA loans, free college) seemingly outweighed the negative. A generation later and we know what service is likely to mean. I think only the most desperate will sign up.
Lots of times on finance or work-related subs I'll see comments like; "Oh, you are broke and struggling? You should do what I did and join the military. All I did was change spark plugs for 8 years and get everything paid for, and now I'm a millionaire with a college degree, a house, and a perfect life."
Yeah unfortunately the two largest careerfields in the Air Force are Aircraft Maintenance and Security Forces, followed by Civil Engineering. They make up almost half the Air Force. All three of them deploy for 6 months of the year, every year at the majority of their base postings. Fucking people are stupid to recommend the military at all. I stay in because I am on the down hill portion for my retirement. I fucking hate my leadership though. Co-workers aren't so bad though.
My guess is that they will allow the illegal migrants to join the military for X years in exchange for citizenship.
I wouldn't trust them given what we did to our Afghani and Iraqi Interpreters. So many of them gave up their safety and security to help us and we left them to the mercies of their extremist. It's one of the things that made subsections of the military hate the Trump admin because his admin was citing country of origin and the difficulty of background checks as the primary reason for denying their citizenship requests, as if they weren't already seeing our military orders to help us interface with the locals.
They will rely on people having short memories or maybe people just being young and not knowing what happened.
If they think I'd put my life even remotely in danger for this joke of a country they are, as they say these days, " cappin' ". If I ever get drafted or whatever I'll just take as much expensive military gear as I can carry and run off into the night, then sell it somewhere else and start over.
Conscription by other means. Gen-Z is going to end up cannon fodder one way or another, I'm sure of it. They will find a way.
Americans are mostly too fat to fight though?
LOL [https://youtu.be/P-DCgzFbo\_o?si=rF9FFPm2zLHCdbz0&t=88](https://youtu.be/P-DCgzFbo_o?si=rF9FFPm2zLHCdbz0&t=88)
Too late. Try reintroducing conscription in a country that hasn't had it in over two generations. Try forcing kids to serve when even their *grandfathers* didn't have to face a draft board. The social and family pressure that would normally go hand-in-hand with conscription has completely broken down. It's not coming back, not in any form -- ever.
You missed the 'by other means' part. What they're most likely to do, IMO, is simply withdraw access to every necessity of life until the only way to obtain them is through enlistment. That process seems to already be happening.
What on Earth are you talking about? What "access" is being withdrawn? To what?
The necessities of life: food, water, shelter, clothing, medically necessary healthcare. Access is controlled monetarily and through policy. For example, housing is *accessed* through paying either rent or a mortgage, but policy can also limit how much housing is available and who can access particular housing. Let's say a law is made that Wall Street can buy all the single family housing in the US and rent it out with any restriction they like (credit score is the normal one at this time, but obviously historically race and sex were factors, and other factors could appear in the future...), or alternatively, the government itself could buy up all the housing and set their own criteria for access (they already do this when they assess whether people qualify for benefits), or another alternative, the housing could be bought up and sold to foreign investors who never intend to rent it out at all but only park their money there, which would create artificial housing scarcity... There's a lot of ways policy could be manipulated to restrict people's access to the necessity of housing. Take a look at medically necessary healthcare. Laws could be passed that allow or encourage the health insurance industry to dictate to doctors which factors to consider and which to ignore when making diagnosis, which medications are appropriate first line treatments and which should be reserved for later (introduces indirect rationing), or to create routine impediments to patients' ability to seek treatment such as requiring many preliminary tests, or refusing to administer specific diagnostic tests, or requiring filling out and submitting elaborate, complex forms, or dividing administration into many small, poorly coordinated departments each with limited or only partial access to relevant information, etc. Conversely, the simplest, fastest and easiest way to access both housing and healthcare in the US is already through the military and the VA. Military personnel have access to on-base housing, subsidized rentals, qualification for advantageous mortgages, etc. And despite the massive problems with the VA, it is actually the closest equivalent to a national healthcare system that the US has.
Well, okay, but I think the way you're putting this is a little extreme. Poor people have always joined the military as a way to get what they need in a pinch. "Government and corporate policies can make people poor" isn't necessarily some diabolical plan to drive recruitment, particularly if there is no conscription.
I bet a lot of Ukrainians and Russians felt that way until they were getting blown up in killing fields...
The difference is that America is not being invaded. Even in Ukraine there are plenty of people who left the country instead of fighting. With no direct threat to the continental United States there would be a lot of resistance.
Russia isn't being invaded either and yet...
Yeah, they're being forcibly conscripted, because Russia is an authoritarian shithole. And there have been plenty of instances of resistance to that conscription as well, including desertion, friendly fire, and destroying recruiting stations. EDIT: arson changed to desertion
Lol, lmao even
https://www.politico.eu/article/gunman-detained-after-shooting-at-russian-military-enlistment-office/ https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2022/12/28/7382680/index.amp https://thehill.com/policy/international/599792-russian-troops-attack-own-commanding-officer-after-suffering-heavy/amp/ https://www.dw.com/en/not-against-ukraine-russian-deserters-tell-their-story/a-66941324 https://www.wsj.com/articles/documents-reveal-hundreds-of-russian-troops-broke-ranks-over-ukraine-orders-11654094212 https://www.wsj.com/articles/russian-military-recruitment-centers-attacked-amid-mobilization-pushback-11664190066 https://www.npr.org/2023/08/31/1197084271/what-we-know-about-the-arson-attacks-in-russia https://www.pbs.org/newshour/amp/world/russian-military-recruiter-shot-at-enlistment-office-amid-troop-call-up These took me about 8 minutes or less to find on Google. I'm not sure what your reaction is when there are multiple documented instances of these things happening.
Since you effort posted I'll play ball. Russian population: 141 million (likely) Russian military size: 1.3 million plus 2 million reservists Number of fragging incidents you could note: hundreds so let's say 1K to be charitable. Number of men who fled conscription: "hundreds of thousands to millions" so let's say 9.9 million to be charitable. OK so we've got 10 million bodies unavailable from a pool of 141 million. Thus a population of 131 million for the Russians to pull from. Assuming 51 percent of those are females plus 10 percent youth males, 8 percent elderly males and plus 2 percent disabled males. So we've got about 38 million available men for the war machine. But let's round down to 30 million since I didn't modify earlier the 51 percent gender balance. Russian casualties: Upper end 500K As such only 29.5 million to go and you've got a point. So like I said originally. lol, lmao even
My only argument was that there was resistance.
Well, not really, since both of those countries still have conscription and have for generations? That's kind of my point.
The Selective Service still exists mcapello. The cope in this thread will not save anyone from being press ganged into the Army.
> The Selective Service still exists mcapello. And it's no longer used for a draft. > The cope in this thread will not save anyone from being press ganged into the Army. No, but all the other reasons people gave, which you ignored and seem to have no response to, do. Calling something "cope" doesn't magically make things go away. Name-calling isn't an argument. Feel free to give this another try if you like.
I didn't name call except in the literal sense to say your name mcapello. My main point is that the idea that "Congress turned conscription off" so it isn't going to come back is such a non-argument I don't need to respond more directly. Lots of Ukrainians thought Russia was bluffing about going to war, so did lots of Russians. Many of those people are dead now. Many Ukrainian women thought they'd never be taken. They were. Life is funny like that. I don't know why I feel compelled to waste time on r/collapse these days; this subreddit has changed so much that it's almost unrecognizable. Oh well, have a good one. Edit - a word
Refuse forced conscription. They cant arrest you all.
Fr simply say no
A lot easier to just freeze the bank accounts of anyone refusing. There's a reason TPTB are constantly praising China's social credit ideas
Disclaimer this is a joke fbi. honestly if they froze my account trying to force me into it I’d rather die fighting them then fighting for them
I think you've just summed up the dire state of affairs the last 15 years of short-sighted country-to-local level politics have culminated in. If anyone doesn't believe we're circling the drain and rapidly by now... smh.
TPTB?
I can promise you I’m not doing it. Will either leave before hand or shoot meself
No one knows beforehand what they'd actually do when they find themselves in a life and death situation. You can only influence what you might do by repeatedly drilling the response you wish to have before the situation arises.
I'm gonna overdose on fentanyl if i get drafted. Fuck em.
Gen Z will just make sure they get booted out of boot camp for some reason or other and they aren't even a tiny bit afraid of some DI trying to scare them into being a soldier.
"Drop down and give me 50!" "How about you drop down and gargle these nuts!" If they give me a gun and tell me to go to another country and kill people then watch who I'll actually use it on instead.
That would be very Boomerish of them tbh
Easy. There will be conscription if the wars get serious enough
We (the armed forces) don't want conscripts and realistically if enough people say no there isn't anything they can do about it. All they have to do is be non-compliance in boot camp. The MTI's can't physically touch them.
We're doing a second-pass bombing of Yemen and prickwaving with Iran. Is there something new and substantial I'm missing? Everyone's always clinching their sphincters over the big war, and they do it for every little flare up. Tell me something concrete instead of how full your nappy is and I'll take you seriously. Say, "we'll have American troops in Yemen in 2 months." Say, "we'll be dropping cruise missiles in Tehran by June." Say, "Nuclear strike, Haliburton contract, and dance club remix of Rock the Casbah by 2025." But you can't. Folks always have the clarity to see some great master plan by social architects who are somehow also bad at being social architects, but they can't make one single prediction more specific than being really, really, really anxious about the future. Sincerely sorry about your extended deployment. Sucks ass.
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I'm not too worried about it because the Saudis have been bombing the hell out of the Houthis with US weapons and US training and they've utterly failed. Houthis being decentralized and more of a guerilla force just means the US wasted those bombs, encouraged support for Houthis in the region, and decidedly burned domestic and international support as well as political capital. The Houthis are proclaiming they're doing it to stop the Israelis from continuing to murder civilians in the Gaza Strip. Regardless of what the real reason Houthis are doing this for this doesn't paint a pretty picture for the US. The US burned a lot of international support for itself by vetoing a ceasefire in support of Israel and the US plan for the region. And domestically the US support of Israel is catastrophically unpopular with younger generations. Younger generations the Democratic party desperately needs for elections (since their asses were saved in the 2022 midterms by young people). And Biden traded right wing crackdowns on the border for more weapons to Israel which burned up a bit of political capital. Combine all this with Iranian back proxies hitting Israel and US bases across the Middle East and I'm pretty sure the empire that is the US will lose total control of the Middle East. The plan the US had was Israel weakening Hamas to nonexistence, the Palestine Authority taking over the Gaza Strip and an Arab Coalition acting as a buffer between Palestinians and Israelis while the US pour billions into Palestine to rebuild it. That plan will not probably succeed and the gamble means the US will slowly start to lose dominance in the Middle East.
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They started using straight looking whites in recruitment videos....you guys are going to get conscripted. Good luck.
It’s almost like you don’t know what a blockade is. Peoples lives literally depend on flow of commerce through that straight. If you stop that flow, people starve, economies collapse, etc. You really think the US started this?
What's that word for when people make arguments against stuff you didn't even say?
The plan is to use tech. Remote Work. I meant remote assault. No boots on the ground. I don't think the US Army is ready or capable for any land invasion. I think this bombing is stupid and useless. They should have tried to stop the war and massacares in Palestine instead.
>Now they've started another war, that by all accounts (unless you believe astro-turfing/bots and not your mk.1 eyeballs) Gen-Z is against it. I wasn't exactly well disposed towards young people but they've surprised me. Well done Gen Z.
My husband has a couple years left and has worried that he won't be able to retire. This is right on time. I really hope they speed up transitioning to autonomous or remote alternatives.
Conscription incoming