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52
DnD Central / Re: I'm bemused: No one here wants to discuss the Gaza-Israel war
Last post by OakdaleFTL -
Is Hamas a race or ethnicity? Against whom is the IDF "committing" genocide?

It's both interesting and not surprising that members of the UN aid organization dealing with Palestinian "refugees" participated in Hamas's October attack on Israel...

BTW: Has the UN Court you tout had anything to say about Ukraine? Yemen? Etc.?
53
DnD Central / Re: The awesomesauce with Chimerica
Last post by ersi -
Who is threatening? Is One China policy threatening? Both mainland China and Taiwan have the exact same rhetoric of One China policy, the only difference being whose regime should preside over the single China. (There are more small differences, such as Taiwan claiming more landmass to itself than the current mainland China holds, but that aside.)

Of course mainland China looks more menacing to Taiwan due to its manpower, but let's remember that it was Kissinger of USA who made the world recognise mainland China as the proper China so that Taiwan became a barely recognised country. Don't you think Taiwan felt threatened back then? Quite ironically, nobody thought of the cost-effectiveness of such a move. It's quite costly to have a recognised scary mainland China now.
54
DnD Central / Re: I'm bemused: No one here wants to discuss the Gaza-Israel war
Last post by ersi -
The U.N. Court made a good decision. Finally, when Israelis are committing genocide, it is legal to say that they are committing genocide. And it's confirmed yet again that part of the rules of war is proportionality.

But the court did not rule Israel to stop.[1] When the other party is not a recognised country, then the perpetrators can argue more liberties for themselves, just like USA did in war against Afghanistan, explicitly refusing to abide by Geneva Conventions. 
1 To stop the war, that is. The court ruled Israel to abstain from genocide.↵
56
DnD Central / Re: The awesomesauce with Chimerica
Last post by ersi -
Quote from: jax on
I too (three?) can't see an invasion of Taiwan as anything but a loss for the CCP. Nor the military establishment raring to go fish either.

However threatening to invade could be cost-effective and threats must be taken seriously.
Cost-effectiveness does not matter at all whatsoever. Russia is trying to teach you this very hard, but you are not learning. In Ukraine war, Russians happily wallow in senseless pain and suffering. They think it makes them glorious and glory is what matters. You should already have seen how much they are willing to sacrifice for nearly nothing. The reality is that they are willing to sacrifice far more than we have seen, far more than the West can imagine.

How much are you willing to sacrifice for your home country? Obviously your mind went instantly into cost-effectiveness calculation mode, so the correct answer is: Nothing. As soon as you start calculating, it is not a sacrifice any longer. And you think everybody else is the same as you. Well, Russians are not, and I suspect the Chinese also are not like that. There is some diversity in the world, can you imagine?

The Chinese can afford to expend with about half a billion lives. But I think they won't. For the current regime, starting a war would be a totally new activity. They have not had a war since their civil war around WWII. They have not committed any external aggression for some 300 years or so. A war would be a completely new thing for them and this is probably the main reason why they think very carefully and are very cautious about it.

However, they have the manpower. And they keep getting indirect encouragement from the West, as Russia has been consistently rewarded for every incursion.

58
DnD Central / Re: The awesomesauce with Chimerica
Last post by jax -
I too (three?) can't see an invasion of Taiwan as anything but a loss for the CCP. Nor the military establishment raring to go fish either.

However threatening to invade could be cost-effective and threats must be taken seriously. China has the size advantage (Taiwan is to Mainland China what Canada is to USA), while Taiwan would be key to a blockade of China. So economic-military blackmail on the island group could work in their favour if handled deftly. Which it isn't.
59
DnD Central / Re: Finding the best system of economy
Last post by ersi -
‘No one should have more than €10m’: the author of Limitarianism on why the super-rich need to level down radically

Quote from: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/jan/21/how-much-personal-wealth-is-enough-ingrid-robeyns-limitarianism
Here’s a couple of good questions for an election year: while we may talk about minimum wages, why don’t we ever discuss maximum wages? And, while our politicians may argue about how little a family can survive on, why do they never address the other end of the inequality scale: just how much accumulated wealth might be too much?

The best move ever is of course to come up with a catchy name for your theory. In this case, it's Limitarianism.