I am all in favour for handing Ukraine the tools they need to win this war. But at the same time “the others are doing it” is no justification for a free pass on every weapon or tactic.

No, but neither is fighting with both hands behind their backs. Anti-personnel mines remain effective, especially considering Russia’s preferred tactics. Ukraine already is being attacked with chemical weapons regularly, having PoWs tortured and executed, and their civilians murdered and their children quite literally kidnapped by the Russian state, and we’re gonna draw the line at ‘using landmines in non-civilian areas to stop Russian advances’?

Fuck that noise.

Also anti personal mines and cluster munitions from i.e. the Vietnam war are still causing crippling and death today.

Those were also used in very different contexts. Modern cluster munitions do not have the same long-term potential for damage that Vietnam-era munitions did, and the same with landmines - especially since landmine recording protocols were updated in part because of the haphazard way they were used in Vietnam. And, for that matter, we dropped more ordnance on Vietnam than was dropped in the entirety of WW2 by the Axis AND Allies combined, all over the country. The same is not going to happen in Ukraine, neither in scale nor in type. They want to prevent the Russians from advancing along the frontlines, and are not going to use them in civilian areas.

Using weapons that are prone to cause damage to future generations for short term gains is in my opinion short sighted.

How many thousands of Ukrainians dead, maimed, tortured, or ethnically cleansed today would you consider it an insufficient short-term gain to avert?

We should provide Ukraine with more “sensible” weapons in quantities that makes using cluster munitions and mines obsolete.

And what weapons are those? What weapons would make cluster munitions and mines obsolete in the context of the current war?

You know, some people might regard “one side using ‘warcrime weapons’” first as the escalation, not the other side deciding to follow suit.

“Escalation” is when you start using a weapon that your enemy has been using since the start of the war, huh?

Sub human scum.

I might reserve terms like that for, say, the perpetrators of the Bucha massacre, or for those committing ethnic cleansing on a massive scale by kidnapping children. But hey, if you prefer to apply that term to Ukranians trying not to get murdered by fascist invaders, it’s not like I can stop you.

Ah yes, remember how this war famously doesn’t have anti-personnel landmines being widely used?

Oh? What’s that? Russia is already widely using them in Ukrainian territory?

Oh, how sweet, Ukraine is finally allowed to use the same tools Russia is.

Fuck’s sake. All this pussyfooting from Cold War dinosaurs…

“So, since might makes right in your ideology, you’re going to admit that democracy and tolerance is the superior form of governance?”

“No, I’m actually just going to sulk here and spread Lost Cause style myths about how the Wehrmacht Wasn’t That Bad™”

My city commune recently forbade concealed carry, smh.

Yep!

Unfortunately, we’re having trouble filling even part-time positions.

Local manufacturing is politically advantageous and may employ some people at the same time, but that’s where benefits end.

There are legitimate strategic concerns with sourcing things long-term from potentially hostile states.

Europe should absolutely take advantage of current Chinese production to improve their own green energy efforts, but looking into local production in addition is not just a ‘for-show’ move. As sanctions on Russia show, dependence on markets that can potentially turn hostile can be very damaging.

Jordan Peterson, the crying man depicted at the bottom, is known for his, uh, very… abstractly worded defenses of conservative positions like ‘women need to be controlled’ and ‘any deviation from my upper-middle class norms is the fall of Western Civilization™’.

Average American political literacy.

Doesn’t matter, though. The US’s leverage in restricting weapons is the relationship with Ukraine and continued supply of aid. With Trump in office, both are nonexistent; there’s little reason for Ukraine to comply with any US restrictions going forward from that point.

“I feel you are both outsiders compared to the rest of DC, and less ‘establishment’,” said one. Another, “both of you push boundaries and force growth”. And: “It’s real simple … Trump and you care for the working class.”

“You are focused on the real issues people care about. Similar to Trump populism in some ways,” said a fourth. Lastly, a respondent said: “You signaled change. Trump signified change. I’ve said lately, Trump sounds more like you.”

Utterly brilliant. Complete geniuses with a firm grasp on current politics. I see why you count these as intellectual kin.

Nothing to see here, just politics as usual, the liberals are just trying to scare everyone. /s

People are dumb as shit.

Oh, I didn’t mean as a matter of optics for the public, just as a general “Association with repressive Soviet shitheads is undesirable”

Mod privilege is being able to erase bigots with a click of a button

Also why good moderation is so important

It does, unironically. Soviet aesthetics are pretty cool, a shame the Soviets ruined them by being the ones to use it.