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German men 18-45 need military permit for extended stays abroad

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Re: German men 18-45 need military permit for extended stays abroad

#731
post #626

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Americans during WWII thought it was a fight for national survival, starting with the shock of Pearl Harbor. Isolationishm turned to intervention in the "Good War." I won't defend any war after that...

> Americans during WWII thought it was a fight for national survival Right, they did. But in retrospect, was it actually? If the US had stayed neutral from the beginning, do we think Japan would have bombed America's military base?

Interesting counter-factual.

Philip K. Dick's The Man in the High Castle suggests what would have happened if the US did lose the war. Remaining neutral would have been a different result, though.

Re: German men 18-45 need military permit for extended stays abroad

#732
post #665

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How about we just don’t fight stupid wars? There hasn’t been a real need for a draft in America since the civil war (in the sense that America was not plausibly threatened by the world wars, Korea, Vietnam, etc).

Wars are part of nature. It is inevitable. So your proposition is based on wrong assumptions.

You have parsed “stupid wars” differently from what I meant.

It’s not that war in general is stupid, it’s that the wars America has gotten involved in for a long time now have all been stupid.

Re: German men 18-45 need military permit for extended stays abroad

#733
post #575

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Such laws are unconstitutional in Germany. I'd be interested in which country you live in and an example of such a law.

This: https://legislatie.just.ro/Public/DetaliiDocumentAfis/224130 article 2, paragraph 9. I tells there is no discrimination if you do it under the pretext of improving equality or if it is a positive measure for "disadvantaged groups". A disadvantaged group is any group that is in a position of inequality with the majority, basically anyone rating less than 50%. That was used to define any group the state wanted to…

Interesting, this seems to license forms of affirmative action that are unconstitutional in Germany.

Re: German men 18-45 need military permit for extended stays abroad

#734

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is basically redefining the word defense, though. I can’t be like “it was self defense” if I beat somebody up because they are getting too big at the gym and they could beat me up later if I don’t beat them up first. That doesn’t mean such a thing is never ever justified, in international relations, it just ain’t “defense”.

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Well that depends. Are they saying this because they have a problem with me specifically? Or is it because they have a problem with my asshole friend who I for some reason support financially?

If it’s the latter (like it is in reality, AFAICT), I would first do some serious reflection about my friend.

Re: German men 18-45 need military permit for extended stays abroad

#737

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We're not having this conversation in a cultural vacuum; men figure out at a young age that if things go to shit, their lives become expendable for the sake of the community. I view conscription as a form of slavery; something that I hope never happens to me or anybody, but could conceivably happen. That's the way the world has worked for thousands of years, and the Bayesian meme asks me to therefore bet on it contin…

Why should men sacrifice and die for nothing, by not getting anything in return, not even a simple appreciation? Why should only men die when things get tough? I also would much rather see other unknown women die, than to send myself or my son to die for them. Women need to pull their weight. And since they aren't doing that from the evolutional POV, neither in practice (birth crisis) nor in theory (not like giving b…

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Re: German men 18-45 need military permit for extended stays abroad

#738
post #418

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thats not how most of the manpower gets there, without even knowing the Ukraine example, I venture to guess based on the superior morale of Ukrainian forces, that most are drafted willingly. This still does not prove the very general statement GP made, which doesn't align with draft reality in historical wars

Many of those who were drafted willingly, already died, it’s the 5th year of war

We are talking 150k dead and 800k volunteers, and another 1 million more drafted. I don't think your statement is correct

Re: German men 18-45 need military permit for extended stays abroad

#739
post #442

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry I am failing to see your point. Are you implying that the fact there are no common soldiers famous for liberating concentration camps, means that saving further millions that would be killed by the eventual Nazi occupation of Europe, is in vain?

You - who ask for people to sacrifice their lives in the most horrific ways - don't even care to know the names of any of those who have done that before. To most people, these soldiers are just part of a nameless and faceless mass of flesh and meat to be utilized and expended. Who would want that to be his destiny? Certainly not you, because you are here on HN typing and not putting your life on the line to defend i…

I don't know, I served in my country's army so I have no issue saying that.

You don't have to be the famous astronaut to be an anonymous part of the space program and participate in doing something worthwhile like getting a man to the moon. I am having trouble understanding your all-or-nothing argument, and apparently your need for worldwide recognition for an action to have meaning.

In any case, I am sure you have done something in your life as worthwhile as the anonymous https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roddie_Edmonds

Re: German men 18-45 need military permit for extended stays abroad

#740

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why should men sacrifice and die for nothing, by not getting anything in return, not even a simple appreciation? Why should only men die when things get tough? I also would much rather see other unknown women die, than to send myself or my son to die for them. Women need to pull their weight. And since they aren't doing that from the evolutional POV, neither in practice (birth crisis) nor in theory (not like giving b…

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