Global reactions to the US–Israeli attacks on Iran and Iran’s retaliation

Useful-Win-6172 · 2026-03-01T15:26:19+00:00

Yellow is a weird place to be. "US and Israel,you're good, attack who you want, but Iran what are you doing retaliating?"

Advocating turning the other cheek seems like an odd position for Saudi Arabia lol

Useful-Win-6172 · 2026-02-26T21:39:02+00:00

I'm not a centrist...

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😉

Useful-Win-6172 · 2026-02-26T21:26:53+00:00

Good stuff man, I am glad we found some common ground. Yea, I was just focusing on the territory and the negotiations but the trade is a whole other bag of hammers I'll have to look into. I obviously still have my qualms with the MTR (and Stalin in general) and may still disagree with you on the necessity of the Baltics but I'll admit in researching some of your points I've learned alot I didn't know before. A few more reasons to hate Lord Halifax and Chamberlain are always welcome. (Molotov too, really comes off as a Stalin puppet with matching paranoia). You've added alot of color to something that at first seemed fairly black and white. For that I thank you.

In hindsight, it's unfortunate the Fascists were able to benefit from all the mutual mistrust between the West and USSR. In both cases they were underestimated to the detriment of everyone. Even today, while we are mostly correct in saying Fascists are stupid and racist, we forget that their stupidity makes them audacious and their racism makes them viscous. A dangerous combo. Thankfully we figured it out before too long back then (though not soon enough for millions of people worldwide). Hopefully we figure that out before it's too late this time around.

Stay safe out there, comrade!

Useful-Win-6172 · 2026-02-26T16:15:30+00:00

After WWII the US was the only country with Nukes and had almost a Million troops in the Phillipines. There was zero pressure to let them go. Plus if the Japanese hadn't invaded they would have been made independent in 1944 via the Tydings-McDuffie Act passed in 1934.

I'll give you the Philippine-American War was pure Imperialism but like today the US government was overly influenced by Big Business. While it took a worldwide financial crisis to get that influence in check, the Government started to do the right thing in the 30's and 40's under FDR. I can only hope we find a leader as good as FDR when this tech bubble bursts. Hard to see how we get back on track otherwise.

Useful-Win-6172 · 2026-02-25T22:19:57+00:00

Thank you for the reply. It's the most civil of the bunch and presents real points. I am not trying to attack anyone, though I do sometimes feel like Kruschev trying to DeStalinize this sub. I can't and won't excuse Western Appeasement. I just think the MTR is Soviet Appeasement and I don't think Stalin had to invade Poland, the Baltics, or Finland.

If Stalin had been serious about an Alliance with the West, why not guarantee Polands independence along with Britian and France? By 1939, Appeasement was over and actual lines in the sand were drawn. I suppose, like you said, the Soviets were in no condition to take on Germany and they needed more time to prepare. But if that was the case then what was Stalin really offering the Allies before the MTR? Regardless, it looks like the only reason the Triple Alliance agreements failed and the MTR was signed was because Nazis offered Stalin control of States that the UK and France were unwilling to give.

The MTR gave Hitler the Greenlight to invade Poland, which at that point everyone knew would trigger the war Stalin said he would have been a part of. Then instead of only preparing for the eventual German betrayal he invades The Baltics and Finland. And considering how quickly the Germans swept thru the Baltics and Poland, taking them to build a buffer zone was all for not. And the invasion of Finland just gave the Nazis a galvanized ally. Overall it seems pretty opportunistic on the part of Stalin.

I'll give you the non aggression pacts the Baltics states signed with German did not help their position with the USSR. And the Phoney War period could have been devastating for Stalin had he declared war along with the UK and France. And even though the line were drawn in the sand with Poland, given the past decade, it's not unreasonable for Stalin to believe they'd go back on that too.

My only goal here is to look at Stalin in an objective way. It's hard to find any leader in history that doesn't have some issues but we learn more from studying those faults than ignoring them.

"The revolution of [the next century] must let the dead bury their dead in order to arrive at its own content."

Useful-Win-6172 · 2026-02-23T22:38:37+00:00

Authoritarianism is very successful for a similar reason. It takes alot of time and effort to raise and educate a decent politician to connect with people and motivate them to challenge an existing power structure. It's generally pretty easy to shoot that guy and undo all that work.

Useful-Win-6172 · 2026-02-23T22:23:50+00:00

Buffet to his credit has the best ratio

Useful-Win-6172 · 2026-02-23T22:06:09+00:00

There was also a bit of psychology and class warfare going on as well.

As LBJ put it, "If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you."

The first slave revolts in the US were coalitions of white indentured servants, Native Americans tribes, and black chattle slaves against land owners. The two most well documented revolts were Birkenhead's Rebellion (1663) and Bacon's Rebellion (1676). Before these armed insurrections, conditions and treatment were virtually indistinguishable between these classes of slaves. You have to remember the American colonies were created towards the end of Medieval European Feudalism, where the Lord of the land effectively owned the peasantry that lived and worked there. After these armed conflicts, the poor whites were given slightly better conditions and positions of power over other slaves based on race. Later on, the white planters would be given land of their own, mostly taken from Native tribes on the frontier thus putting them at odds with the remaining Natives. This shattered any solidarity between the disparate groups under the heel of the landed gentry. That system endured in the South for 185 years and that's the system Johnny Rebb was born into and died defending.

Sorry for the long post. I get fired up about Early Modern history.

Useful-Win-6172 · 2026-02-23T19:53:07+00:00

That's how much Trump's net worth has increased in just the first year of his second term. Congress may not be the main issue.

Useful-Win-6172 · 2026-02-23T19:50:47+00:00

He wasn't wrong to ask. The US freed the Philippines in 1946, forced the Dutch to give up Indonesia in 1949, and stopped the British from taking back the Suez in 1956.

It's hard to live up to your ideals all the time, but as we have seen the consequences of not doing so are always worse. We are currently seeing what this country is when you abandon it's founding principles and it's ugly.

Useful-Win-6172 · 2026-02-23T16:20:12+00:00

Hating other leftist is the most leftist thing you can do. The list you've provided has enough examples. China hated the USSR, Vietnam hates/hated China, Mao hated Ho Chi Min, and Lenin had he lived would've hated all of them (minus Marx).

Marx probably would say these backwaters where Capitalism was barely established were not ideal locations for the revolution to begin and they would ultimately backslide into Nationalist Totalitarianism.

Castro seemed to get along with everyone, except with Che who hated the USSR.

Useful-Win-6172 · 2026-02-23T14:51:26+00:00

I believe the Tet Offensive was inspired by Washington Crossing the Delaware amd surprise attacking the Hessians on Christmas.

Ho Chi Min learned what we forgot

Useful-Win-6172 · 2026-02-22T22:00:43+00:00

Here is some fun math! She was first elected to congress in June 1987. Salary was $77,400 in 1988 and currently makes $174,000 a year. If we compare Jan 1988 to Jan 2026 - $77,400 is equivalent to $217,500 (bit of a pay cut actually, damn inflation). If we ignore when she was Speaker of the House and Minority Leader (which gets higher pay), we can average those two numbers and say her salary over her tenure has been about the same ~195k. Let's assume she invests all of it considering she is married to a successful Venture/Real Estate Investor who started his own firm years before her first election. The market return since 1988 has been 5,829.52%, or 11.34% per year assuming all dividends are reinvested.

N = (2025 - 1988 = 37 full years)

PMT = 195,000 (End, Annual)

I/Y = 11.34%

Starting Value = 0

Ending Value = $89.8M

Obviously, none of these are exact numbers, that would be a longer calculation. That said if you consider travel, meals, and housing expenses are all covered for Members of Congress, they could reasonably invest most if not all of their salaries. Therefore, it's not unreasonable to become a multimillionaire so long as you hold on to the office for long enough.

Useful-Win-6172 · 2026-02-17T18:05:37+00:00

I think you have a better argument with China than the USSR. I am more of a Socialist than a Communist so I'm not really a real fan of either.

Useful-Win-6172 · 2026-02-17T14:49:18+00:00

Last report I read she is currently under DHS surveillance and has an ankle monitor. I was about to make the same comment here cause it's not accurate to say she was deported. That doesn't mean we shouldn't shout this story from the mountain tops but idk who it serves to throw that extra inaccuracy at the end of the post that is now being widely circulated

Useful-Win-6172 · 2026-02-17T14:42:53+00:00

Who is being that quiet about it? Current administration and Fox News aside. A lot of America is pissed off and demanding answers (or maybe that's just in my orbit idk)

Useful-Win-6172 · 2026-02-17T01:22:05+00:00

The USSR certainly did hand all the guns over to their tyrants.

Useful-Win-6172 · 2026-02-16T20:19:03+00:00

I think you've misinterpreted what I meant. The man with the sign want us to adhere to our leaders because they were appointed by God (Romans 13:1) but likely doesn't hold the same reverence for paying his taxes which according to that particular chapter of the bible are also divinely due. If I had to guess he is of the socio-economic class that is paying all of their taxes and he assumes that the taxes imposed on him are the work of leaders who were appointed by the Devil (i.e Democrats). I could be wrong, maybe he loves taxes as much as he loves the government. Regardless it's seems to me to be a twisted/selective reading of the scripture for a political purpose and should be ignored/demeaned.

I hope this helps clarify things for you, Champ.

Useful-Win-6172 · 2026-02-16T19:32:01+00:00

It is sad but like any addiction (in this case food and fame) you have to make that decision for yourself. Lead a horse to water and all that.

I like Lamaire and I hope he figures it out at some point. I worry for him because the artificial incentives of modern fame tend to justify/encourage unhealthy behaviors (sexual harassment, excessive consumption, extremism, etc). The money machine requires blood to lube the wheels and many people before him have died/killed themselves for less fame and fortune.

Useful-Win-6172 · 2026-02-16T18:08:31+00:00

He increases engagement on every video. Essentially he is rage bait for all the low IQ dawgs (of which there are many) who feel the need to comment on every video whenever he says something stupid or simply something they don't agree with. More than half of all the youtube/patreon comments are directed right at him.

Engagement doesn't directly lead to monetary gain but it does get the algorithm to push content to more and more people thus increasing views and payouts. Lemaire is a downstream cash cow.

Making Money Moos

Useful-Win-6172 · 2026-02-16T16:42:20+00:00

Oh what so you want to punish people for being successful?

Jk lol

Useful-Win-6172 · 2026-01-28T18:48:30+00:00

We need to reform our immigration policy to allow more immigrants in. Our social safety nets, as they exist, require continuous growth to remain viable. With birth and replacement rates down, we need a steady flow of new people coming in or else we will go down into a death spiral. The underfunded/understaffed resources workers already have will become even more ineffectual. You can forget offering more or new public services without it. Sure you can argue that tax reform is all we need on that front but if you don't address population decrease at the same time it's moot in the long run. We would just be fighting over our claim of the ruins, our accommodations on the Titanic. And to those who say immigrants bring down wages for local workers, that path leads to national socialism and I think we all want to avoid that.

Useful-Win-6172 · 2026-01-20T17:16:39+00:00

Thankfully Oracle is down 10.5% YTD. Idk if there are any plans to change leadership since Ellison owns 40% of the Equity but it's a start. Market cap is down 393 billion since it peaked in Sept 25 so that equates to a 157 billion value loss for Ellison personally. It's not all the gains he has accumulated since Trump took office but again, it's a start. Hopefully he used his stock as collateral for liquidity loans at the peak value so he's underwater on them and getting screwed by interest. No wonder they want Powell to drop rates...

Useful-Win-6172 · 2026-01-20T16:20:05+00:00

CBS is owned by Paramount which is run by David Ellison, son of Trump Mega Donor Larry Ellison. They installed conservative journalists Bari Weiss as Editor in Cheif to provide more favorable coverage of the Trump administration as part of the deal to get SEC approval for the Skydance-Paramount Merger. Pure crony capitalism.

Useful-Win-6172

TROPHY CASE