Hans-Christoph Steiner @eighthave@librem.one

@NatureMC Das stimmt. Ich meine dass viele diskutieren #Amazonas Probleme, um heimische Probleme zu vermeiden, z.B. "Autofahren muss sein, aber rettet den Regenwald!"

#CarFree and even bike-free #Kotor in Montenegro shows the kinds of freedoms we give up when we let vehicles, especially large motorized ones, dominate our cities and towns. There, even babies can roam around the streets alone, and the neighborhood cats can sleep undisturbed until humans wake up.

„Für mich ist es frappierend, dass beispielsweise der Amazonas-Regenwald in den Medien regelmäßig mit dem Aufruf erscheint, die Biodiversität dort zu schützen, dabei sterben vor unserer Haustür Arten aus" https://science.orf.at/stories/3218278

#biodiversity

@blotosmetek yes totally. This #Russia vs The West narrative hides what is actually going on, which is something more like #FossilFuel interests vs the majority of people.

@EyalL I'd say it is pretty clear that attacking civilian infrastructure many hundreds of kilometers away from the war is not legal. You might try asking Germany how they feel about it. And if you think this attack was legal, then Russia's attacks putting Ukrainians in the dark would also be legal. That's a terrible precedent to set.

And as a resident of this overheating planet, I'm disgusted by the largest release of methane ever https://www.newscientist.com/article/2342081-nord-stream-leak-may-have-been-largest-methane-emission-ever-recorded/

Just because #Putin is bad and his invasion of #Ukraine horrendous does not automatically make the powers that be in Ukraine good. There are some very sketchy elements in the government in Ukraine, for example #NordStream, https://www.spiegel.de/international/investigating-the-attack-on-nord-stream-all-the-clues-point-toward-kyiv-a-124838c7-992a-4d0e-9894-942d4a665778

@nanoelquant @tootiredtothink I'm also a New Yorker. On 9/11, I watched with my own eyes the 2nd plane hit and both towers fall. I worked around the corner then. My home and office was immersed in its smoke for a month. NYC knows what it means to be attacked, and yet the vast majority were opposed to both the Iraq and Afghan wars. It crushed me to see the logic of war set in in Ukraine. More weapons means more death and destruction with no other guarantees. History shows there are other ways 2/

@nanoelquant @tootiredtothink I suggest you look into what actually happened to start the war in Afghanistan. No one believes that Afghanistan or the Taliban attacked the US on Sept 11th. The Taliban even offered to turn over Al Qaeda to a third country. The Bush administration was hell bent on war, and NATO was sympathetic given the scale of the attack. 1/

@nanoelquant @szbalint Erica Chenoweth is a researcher with a military background, her research showed that non-violent struggle between 1900-2006 was twice as likely to succeed as violent struggle. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJSehRlU34w 2/

@nanoelquant @szbalint Austria lets anyone spy on any foreigners. We have at least two NSA spy bases, for example. If you single out Russian spying in Austria, you're only seeing a tiny piece of the whole story. Usually that point of view comes from people pushing a specific agenda rather than sticking to the facts and history.

War is not the only defense, for example, India kicking the British out, Czechoslovakia freeing themselves from Soviets and Communism, and so many other examples. 1/

@peterjsefton @nanoelquant I agree that it all hangs on how the war ends. Perhaps NATO could bring stability there. Based on the past decades, it looks more likely that NATO countries would continue to push for instability in Russia if they think they can get away with it. And if Putin falls, it looks like a sure thing that NATO countries will be pushing to help choose the successor, like in the early 90s. I think stability in the region would require a stalemate with a negotiated peace.

@tootiredtothink @nanoelquant NATO invoked its mutual defense clause, that's what started the war. The UN and other organizations did not just give up on doing anything in Afghanistan, and rightly so, in my opinion

@vitali64sur ok, that's fine. I was just hoping you could test the F-Droid client to see if it still triggers that warning

One of the things I sometimes appreciate about using #invidious is that is sometimes pauses and doesn't work for a bit. That forces me to think: did I just click through to this video, or is it actually worth watching? I hate interruptions in general, but I also hate being driven by social media #algorithms to waste my time and my brain.

@szbalint @nanoelquant @Lazycog@mastodon.online The hard part is that there is big money in selling weapons, and not for selling neutrality and peace. That gives the military industrial complexes around the world big money to spend to sway opinions to keep the money gushing towards weapons, both in #NATO and in #Russia. And more NATO members means more money to spend on proxy wars like Ukraine, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Afghanistan, etc.

@szbalint @nanoelquant @Lazycog@mastodon.online That logic presumes that NATO decreases war. The evidence is pretty clear that NATO just shifts wars outside of NATO. That is not anything I think a democratic and anti-war Europe should take part in. That line of reasoning is exactly what the PR firms of NATO weapons industry is spending lots of money pushing. Austria contributes by supporting global diplomacy, there is a good reason why things like the Iran Nuclear Deal is handled in Vienna.

@tootiredtothink @nanoelquant @Lazycog@mastodon.online Right, and Austria's security is certainly not based on our military, it would be basically useless against any large scale invasion. Our security is based on being strategically neutral, and being the home to #UN #OPEC #OSCE and many other international organizations. Austria chose this strategy. Austria's situation now is not comparable to Ukraine. When Austria was forced to be neutral, it was in a very similar position to what Ukraine is now.

@tootiredtothink @nanoelquant Austria sent a small contingent of soldiers to Afghanistan that mostly did logistics then some police work. It peaked at something like 100 solders, but was 5-10 soldiers for most of the duration of the war. This was a symbolic contribution, and was also largely based on UN Security Council decisions rather than duties from a military alliance. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einsatz_des_Bundesheeres_in_Afghanistan

@nanoelquant @Lazycog@mastodon.online we also have a giant monument in one of the main squares of #Vienna thanking the #Soviet army for liberating us. We have to keep it forever as part of the treaty that ended the occupation. People hated it for a long time, but in the end, it does not really limit our freedom, and it was an important symbol for the #Soviets. I think that it was a brilliant move by the Austrian negotiators to accept it.