Potentially. I think it depends on how they’re used. If a country decides to completely disarm itself though, then it’s entirely possible that other countries will seek to invade and subjugate.

I think ideally there would be no nukes in the world, because they are dangerous. But nukes do exist. If western countries got rid of their nukes, then the remaining nuclear countries would be able to do what they like. “Surrender to our demands or we will nuke your cities.”

Exactly. If Ukraine had their own nukes by the time of 2014, or if they had been part of NATO, then maybe Russia wouldn’t have invaded Ukraine.

This reminds me of a discussion I was having with Hexbear members on Lemmy recently.

I was suggesting that perhaps it makes sense for the UK to have nukes, for self-defence against other nuclear countries like Russia, China, and potentially even the US, given their unpredictable behaviour. People from Hexbear got angry at this suggestion. One of them suggested that it’s immoral to have nukes because nukes are “threatening civilians”.

Maybe the OP image of this thread is right though: megalomaniacs are not deterred by words, but they are deterred by weapons (such as nukes). Ukraine was invaded because they didn’t have enough deterrents. Iran is currently being bombed because I suppose they also didn’t have enough deterrents.

It would be great to live in a world without nukes. But as it stands, quite a few countries have nukes. If the UK gave up its nukes then Russia or China could come along and take over the UK. “Surrender or we’ll nuke you.”

Why are you so upset about my posts?

I dunno what that means. Anyway what’s the point of your insults? I mean I could call you a fucking idiot but is that actually productive? Maybe every time I see a post from Hexbear I should just reply “you’re a moron”

The “”“protests”“” were deeply unpopular among the majority of the residents of Hong Kong

I don’t think I ever read that when I read about the topic. Perhaps it could be true, but it could also not be true.

writing their protest signs in English (the most obvious tell that a “”“protest”“” is actually for the benefit of foreign audiences rather than being an organic movement of local people)

Just because they want to get the attention of English speakers, I don’t think that means it’s not an “organic movement of local people”. In Spain there are anti-tourism protests and they write “tourists go home” in English, because they want English speakers to receive the message. That doesn’t mean the protests are organised by some shadowy English speaking cabal, rather than Spaniards themselves.

In the first three days of the George Floyd uprisings, US police arrested more people than HK police had in six months.

Okay… I didn’t mention the US though and I don’t believe the US is a perfect country. I just think it’s plausible that some people in China (whether in Hong Kong or on the mainland) want to live in a democracy. Maybe not all of them want a democracy. But some may well do.

persecuting Russian-speaking Ukrainians in the Donbas region

Is this true? I know that Russia has alleged that Ukraine did such things. Maybe there are some Ukrainians who have done such things. Russia suggests that the Ukrainian state is responsible for such persecution though, and I haven’t come across anything suggesting the truth of that.

your white chauvinistic ass

You don’t know what my ethnicity is. You’re obviously upset about the UK for whatever reason, but that doesn’t automatically mean that your views are correct or moral. All you’re showing is that you’re very emotional.

I think the UK is a democracy but it’s a bit flawed (like every democracy I guess). I often think the UK would be more democratic if we had proportional representation.

Anyway the subject is just being changed, this is a tangent. My original point was that nukes could help the UK to defend itself. Perhaps Europe as a whole can have a shared nuclear capability, starting with British/French nukes.

I can’t see this reply because it was removed by a mod.

I can’t see your post because it was removed by a mod.

Removed by mod

Do you have evidence to support the idea that pro-democracy protestors in Hong Kong were “CIA-backed stooges”? Maybe they were just ordinary citizens who wanted to live in a democratic society?

Yes they’re civilians. Not just bankers (although I don’t think bankers deserve death just because someone on the internet doesn’t like them). There will be cleaners, bus drivers, shop workers, etc, and you want to murder them all with a nuclear bomb.

That link isn’t working for me. But in any case I can’t really change what the UK government does. I can vote but that doesn’t really make a huge difference.

Yeah, you’re definitely on the moral side of the argument when you fantasise about murdering civilians with a nuclear bomb.

Why do tankies always leap to the defence of Russia and China? Really odd.

If the UK got rid of its nukes then we’d just be defenceless against Russia, China, and even the US if the US decides they don’t value their old allies (which seems to be the case these days).

Ok cool so you side with Hamas

No I don’t side with Hamas. Hamas went into Israel and murdered over 1,000 people. I don’t think Israelis or Palestinians should be killed.

settler colonial project

What’s your solution for Israel/Palestine? Should Jews never have moved to Mandatory Palestine? Should Jews have been prevented from moving to Mandatory Palestine? Should they now be expelled from Israel/Palestine?

What I suggested in my previous post is “maybe there should be a single state in the land of Israel/Palestine with citizenship given to everybody who currently lives there”. But would it be wrong in your view to give Jews citizenship in this hypothetical state, if the Jews are indeed colonial settlers?

It’s funny that you think Russia is justified in their invasion of Ukraine because a western-aligned Ukraine is apparently an “existential” threat to Russia. Ukraine is a much smaller country than Russia. Russia has some of the most powerful military capabilities in the world. If Ukraine, a relatively weak country, joined NATO, it wouldn’t make a massive difference to the capabilities of NATO. Russia would still have great military resources that they could use to defend Russia.

The reason some Ukrainians want to join NATO is because of the very real existential threat that Russia has posed to the state of Ukraine. But that existential threat just doesn’t matter, right Dmitri?