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Region: The Confederacy of Free Nations

History

Nuremgard wrote:They are an aristocracy in the sense that their lobbying and power influences how government forms policies. Low taxation, deregulation etc. Furthermore, many of them do in fact inherit their fortunes and run the companies that their families ran. Moreover, they serve themselves. Their own enrichment is their goal. Profit before people is the corporate motto.

Why shouldn't they be able to run the companies their families ran? As long as they're not monopolies, which is a clear market failure by all means, they should continue to enjoy the inheritance their family earned them. Profit maximisation is not, in the strictest sense, the sole economic objective of a firm, there are many more such as sustainable growth, etc. In terms of profit maximisation, why is this necessarily bad? In a free, competitive market these firms would be able to generate huge multiplier effects and propel growth and full-employment higher than ever with little inflationary pressure, so how exactly is that bad? Their lobbying power doesn't make them aristocracies, it just makes them an influential factor in the political process (which should be removed, by all means). As I said before, ultimately the consumer is king in a free market and therefore as long as there is competition and relatively perfect information, the ability of the consumer to bring these companies to their need *if they so chose* is immeasurable. More importantly, these companies can produce exactly what the people want through allocative efficiency, so it ain't half bad in terms of the reallocation of inputs of production. If everyone suddenly decided I don't like iPhones, Apple would die, but that won't happen - why? Because people like them. Is that bad? Hell no. Ultimately the only failure that comes out of this situation is that Apple sits on top of a fat wad of cash it does sh*t all with, reducing their investment, research and environmental spending, sadly. But ultimately it is *their* money, we shouldn't be able to tell them what to do with money they have more than rightfully earned, as I wouldn't like to be, either.

Aldaur, Intelligentpeople

Well I just found out the leading cause of death in my country is Work

The Royal Republic Of Kumania, Jaslandia, Aldaur, Penguania And Antarctica, Pirate Kingdoms, Intelligentpeople

Flynnvakia wrote:Well I just found out the leading cause of death in my country is Work

Get back to work!

Jaslandia, Aldaur, Intelligentpeople

Yukona wrote:Get back to work!

Back to the Mines I go

Jaslandia, Aldaur, Penguania And Antarctica, Yukona

Flynnvakia wrote:Back to the Mines I go

Come to Penguania. We have cookies, hot chocolate and penguins. :)

Jaslandia, Pirate Kingdoms

Yukona wrote:Get back to work!

You're misunderstanding me here. I'm not saying corporations are literally an aristocracy. I'm describing them so metaphorically because historically, the aristocracy were the most powerful group in society. I'm saying that's how it is for corporations today.

Wie geht es euch allen denn ?

Nuremgard wrote:You're misunderstanding me here. I'm not saying corporations are literally an aristocracy. I'm describing them so metaphorically because historically, the aristocracy were the most powerful group in society. I'm saying that's how it is for corporations today.

So I wrote all that for nothing. To me you said that corporations themselves are the aristocracy, which as above they are not. If you mean metaphorically, I still don't get what you mean - it is the Whitehall elite that are the aristocracy, if they are business men, that's irrelevant, it's their position of power and influence that makes them a modern aristocracy. Corporations are ultimately ruled by the people in a roundabout way, if a free-market energy provider started dumping nuclear waste into Loch Ness I think they might lose a few customers, ygm fam

Aldaur, Intelligentpeople

Yukona wrote:So I wrote all that for nothing. To me you said that corporations themselves are the aristocracy, which as above they are not. If you mean metaphorically, I still don't get what you mean - it is the Whitehall elite that are the aristocracy, if they are business men, that's irrelevant, it's their position of power and influence that makes them a modern aristocracy. Corporations are ultimately ruled by the people in a roundabout way, if a free-market energy provider started dumping nuclear waste into Loch Ness I think they might lose a few customers, ygm fam

Right okay. Just gonna agree since this will never end.

Aldaur

Nuremgard wrote:Right okay. Just gonna agree since this will never end.

One does not get me, fam

Aldaur, Intelligentpeople

Continental Commonwealths wrote:Even worse that the White House turns around and uses this as a "justification" for Trump's proposed immigration ban.

Truly a pleasure to have the Trump administration capitalize on our tragedy...

Yukona wrote:Terrorism has no colour and no creed, but I don't think we should ignore it is a problem within Islam which is promoting this reactionary extremist movement in Europeans and North Americans. I really don't know how we're gonna fix it, I think it lies with Wahabism and the Saudi aristocrats, although I'm by no means no expert

What are you talking about ? This was a terrorist attack on muslims by canadians.

Yukona wrote:we shouldn't be able to tell them what to do with money they have more than rightfully earned, as I wouldn't like to be, either.

Everything you said up to this point is true and I agree with. However, the State should guide these corporations so they continue to spur healthy economic growth. When companies don't invest in their own infrastructure, in their own employees and in their internal mechanisms, the economy slows down, companies cut costs, unemployment goes up, there is less consumer spending, less tax revenue and the whole system falls apart because of this vicious cycle. Therefore, the State should mandate that companies are required to spend a minimum amount of their annual revenue on their employees through benefits without cutting their wages (which must be in proportion to market value). This will then increase productivity, which means more consumer spending, which means more profit, which means more hiring, meaning higher employment, which means more consumer spending, etc. All this also generates more tax revenue, so everyone wins, and since the economy is a public item, it is the business of the State to be involved.

Nuremgard, Intelligentpeople

Jotunheim Collective wrote:What are you talking about ? This was a terrorist attack on muslims by canadians.

I don't think you quite understand my friend

Jotunheim Collective wrote:What are you talking about ? This was a terrorist attack on muslims by canadians.

This is either a joke, or a poorly made attempt to separate Canadian Muslims from other Canadians.

Yukona, Intelligentpeople

Aldaur wrote:Everything you said up to this point is true and I agree with. However, the State should guide these corporations so they continue to spur healthy economic growth. When companies don't invest in their own infrastructure, in their own employees and in their internal mechanisms, the economy slows down, companies cut costs, unemployment goes up, there is less consumer spending, less tax revenue and the whole system falls apart because of this vicious cycle. Therefore, the State should mandate that companies are required to spend a minimum amount of their annual revenue on their employees through benefits without cutting their wages (which must be in proportion to market value). This will then increase productivity, which means more consumer spending, which means more profit, which means more hiring, meaning higher employment, which means more consumer spending, etc. All this also generates more tax revenue, so everyone wins, and since the economy is a public item, it is the business of the State to be involved.

I totally understand what you mean and wish I could agree but I fundamentally disagree with telling people what to do with their money. Once profit is earned and taxed, it is their's, and their's to keep. For me, it's an issue with personal and civil liberties.

Aldaur, Intelligentpeople

Yukona wrote:I totally understand what you mean and wish I could agree but I fundamentally disagree with telling people what to do with their money. Once profit is earned and taxed, it is their's, and their's to keep. For me, it's an issue with personal and civil liberties.

Well, I don't mean to argue but...

Yukona wrote:Corporations are not people

IMO, Corporations need to be made to work for the public good.

The profits of the individual can remain theirs, but the organization needs to be brought to bear for the Public Good.

Nuremgard, Aldaur

Kalaron wrote:Well, I don't mean to argue but...

IMO, Corporations need to be made to work for the public good.

The profits of the individual can remain theirs, but the organization needs to be brought to bear for the Public Good.

How do you define public good? Does profit maximisation and growth and the subsequent positive effects as a result constitute as public good? You simply can't enforce that, the economy is too complicated. I understand where you're coming from and agree to prosecute companies who work against what can loosely be considered the public good if taken before a court, but in terms of actually forcing them to pursue it as an objective would, in my opinion, not work and be detrimental to the function of the business.

Aldaur, Intelligentpeople

Kalaron wrote:Well, I don't mean to argue but...

IMO, Corporations need to be made to work for the public good.

The profits of the individual can remain theirs, but the organization needs to be brought to bear for the Public Good.

Corporations have a moral obligation to the society that enriches them. It's the State that pays to educate their workforces, treat their employees when they're sick and it's the expenditure of the State which provides corporations with the necessary infrastructure to function. Corporations who whine about contributing or who don't want to ought to f*ck off IMO.

Aldaur, Intelligentpeople

Yukona wrote:How do you define public good? Does profit maximisation and growth and the subsequent positive effects as a result constitute as public good? You simply can't enforce that, the economy is too complicated. I understand where you're coming from and agree to prosecute companies who work against what can loosely be considered the public good if taken before a court, but in terms of actually forcing them to pursue it as an objective would, in my opinion, not work and be detrimental to the function of the business.

Public good and public goods, there is an economics joke in there somewhere and I will find it, copyright it and sell it for millions

Aldaur, Intelligentpeople

Yukona wrote:How do you define public good? Does profit maximisation and growth and the subsequent positive effects as a result constitute as public good? You simply can't enforce that, the economy is too complicated. I understand where you're coming from and agree to prosecute companies who work against what can loosely be considered the public good if taken before a court, but in terms of actually forcing them to pursue it as an objective would, in my opinion, not work and be detrimental to the function of the business.

Well, I define it by the same margin as the Public Welfare, that is to say that the common good is the total health and well being of the people.

Profit maximization in the Chicago meat packing industry included mixing and using rotten meat and rats, after all >.>

Regulation is the simplest way to endorse actions that better peoples lives while punishing certain actions for the pursuit of profit.

Nuremgard, Aldaur

Kalaron wrote:Well, I don't mean to argue but...

IMO, Corporations need to be made to work for the public good.

The profits of the individual can remain theirs, but the organization needs to be brought to bear for the Public Good.

This ^^

Also, the State retains the right to regulate any sector if the legislature wills it.

Nuremgard, Intelligentpeople

Kalaron wrote:Well, I define it by the same margin as the Public Welfare, that is to say that the common good is the total health and well being of the people.

Profit maximization in the Chicago meat packing industry included mixing and using rotten meat and rats, after all >.>

Regulation is the simplest way to endorse actions that better peoples lives while punishing certain actions for the pursuit of profit.

Well that would constitute as a crime and is borderline evil, the trouble with free market capitalism and I don't shy from admitting it, is that it's circumstantial. It can work wonders in certain markets, but others - eh, not so much. This is more so down to market failures but even a strictly regulated economy can't prevent that, look at that horse burger scandal in the UK a few years ago (wow was it that long ago now?). Of course there should be regulations, as such, but I believe there is a limit, environmental legislation for example I love but others not so much.

Intelligentpeople

Penguania And Antarctica wrote:Wie geht es euch allen denn ?

E: How are you all ?

FR: Comment allez-vous tous ?

ESP: ¿Cómo están todos ustedes?

ITA: Come state ?

GRE: Πώς είστε όλοι ?

POR: Como vocês estão ?

RUS: Как вы все?

POL: Как вы все?

DAN: Hvordan har I det ?

SWE: Hur är det med er alla ?

FIN: Miten te kaikki?

NOR: Hvordan har du det hele tatt?

HIN: आप सब कैसे हैं ?

HEB: מה שלומכם ?

ARAB: كيف حالكم ؟

AFR: Hoe gaan dit met julle almal ?

Latin: Quomodo enim omnes vos ?

CHI: 你们好吗

JAP: あなたはどうですか

Pirate Kingdoms, Yukona, Intelligentpeople

Yukona wrote:Well that would constitute as a crime and is borderline evil, the trouble with free market capitalism and I don't shy from admitting it, is that it's circumstantial. It can work wonders in certain markets, but others - eh, not so much. This is more so down to market failures but even a strictly regulated economy can't prevent that, look at that horse burger scandal in the UK a few years ago (wow was it that long ago now?). Of course there should be regulations, as such, but I believe there is a limit, environmental legislation for example I love but others not so much.

Well, the thing is, free market capitalism can't be pledged in any significant capacity to work for the common good. Honestly, the only way I can see this whole situation is that Communism promises that the Business leaders are evil and vile while Capitalism sells you your own socks and proclaims the great men who once roamed the open market.

Like, just looking into the past of the UK or the US will show you that money is a form of power which -like it's brothers- corrupts. From Robber Barons to Captains of Industry, the simple fact is that getting money is more important than keeping morals to many people, and so the Economy needs to be strictly monitored to keep an eye out for those people who would put the welfare of others in the ground for a few more shillings.

Frankly, I believe that -within limits respecting the individual- the Government has every right to push the common good ahead of the goals of any corporation. This doesn't mean I wish them ill will or a lack of Justice, just that they ain't people and don't have the same rights.

Aldaur

Penguania And Antarctica wrote:E: How are you all ?

Good, you?

Penguania And Antarctica, Intelligentpeople

When I become President, the first thing I am going to do is reform the civil service so it is performance based and easier to fire people who are under performing. Then, I will implement further reforms to make our government more citizen focused in it's services, such as involving the public more and using innovative solutions created in other countries. I want to bring more participation back to local municipalities as well. Then, I will push a bill through Congress that will balance the Executive branch by making the Secretariat elected and focused on running their departments individually and then coming together to focus on domestic policy collectively. The Presidency will absorb the State and Defense Departments and focus on foreign policy. In Congress, I will advocate for more State and municipal autonomy, as well as serious limitations on the Presidency such as abolishing the right of executive privilege and the ability to pardon.

Intelligentpeople

Kalaron wrote:Good, you?

I'm doing fine. Just booked a train ticket. :)

Jaslandia, Kalaron, Percyton

Penguania And Antarctica wrote:I'm doing fine. Just booked a train ticket. :)

Do you leave for Berlin tomorrow?

Penguania And Antarctica

Kalaron wrote:Do you leave for Berlin tomorrow?

Nope, on Friday. But it's cheaper (although it's still expensive) when I book it some days earlier and I also don't have to think about it anymore. :P

Penguania And Antarctica wrote:Nope, on Friday. But it's cheaper (although it's still expensive) when I book it some days earlier and I also don't have to think about it anymore. :P

Makes sense, prebooking does tend to be better than straight up purchase the day you need it.

Penguania And Antarctica

Kalaron wrote:Makes sense, prebooking does tend to be better than straight up purchase the day you need it.

Furthermore I don't need to bother with a ticket machine, arsey personnel at a ticket counter nor long queues.

Penguania And Antarctica wrote:Furthermore I don't need to bother with a ticket machine, arsey personnel at a ticket counter nor long queues.

We don't even deal with that here, normally.

Automation is great.

By the way, might write up a line of ship that your nation can have, depends on if I have time in the near future.

Penguania And Antarctica, The United Providences Of Perland

Kalaron wrote:We don't even deal with that here, normally.

Automation is great.

By the way, might write up a line of ship that your nation can have, depends on if I have time in the near future.

Okay. Take as much time as you need.

Since it's pretty early in the night, I figure I might as well go and spurg about two things.

First, [B]please understand how to use special forces[/B] before you deploy them.

The proper application for them is not against Tanks, Armoured Infantry, Motorized Infantry*, Aircraft, Naval Assets or anything that isn't Infantry.

As a general rule, view infantry as a quick and and broad response that can handle most objectives provided they only have to fight one of their worst enemies...other infantry.

Should you ever put 20,000 highly trained specialized troops in combat with an army 50,000 strong supplemented with Tanks, Artillery and air superiority, you will die.

A proper application for Special Forces is to handle Infantry, and to handle other threats when supported with assets like Armour and Indirect Fire. Or you can use them to teach other -worse- troops for the meat grinder.

On another topic, please don't choose military equipment for it's cool factor, or because the nation that made it [B]says[/B] that it is amazingly hard to knock out. Good examples would be Israel with their Merkava Gen 1, where it marched into a hostile nation that was equipped with thousands of ATGMs but had a pathetically few number of tanks be rendered inoperable despite being made of steel.

In fact, ignore state news about military equipment if you can because almost all of it is just propaganda and RL god-modding. Look at as much material about the model as you can, think about where your nation is, and try to remember that you're writing for an organization of professionals...it's OK for incompetence, but remember to improve what you can if you care to.

Yukona, Magnatronia, Intelligentpeople

Kalaron wrote:

Ah, one other thing.

Unless you want to lose a war, don't got over 150mm for your main cannon.

I can't stress this enough, your crew can't keep lifting and ramming a heavy projectile for a very long time in a cramped tank that might not have room for two people.

Either focus on strong ammunition upgrades or make a new main-gun, but please for god's sakes don't make the 160mm main gun and get confused when people say that your tank has 20 rounds in the bustle at most and can't fire more than five before the loader drops dead.

Yukona, Intelligentpeople

Kalaron wrote:Ah, one other thing.

Unless you want to lose a war, don't got over 150mm for your main cannon.

I can't stress this enough, your crew can't keep lifting and ramming a heavy projectile for a very long time in a cramped tank that might not have room for two people.

Either focus on strong ammunition upgrades or make a new main-gun, but please for god's sakes don't make the 160mm main gun and get confused when people say that your tank has 20 rounds in the bustle at most and can't fire more than five before the loader drops dead.

Tbh I just send an unspecific amount of soldiers to the battlefield so my enemy can't turn around and say "Oh, you sent 100 soldiers to the frontline? I've sent 200!" Not that Andy does that. In fact, he's fun to RP with. But I don't wanna give him a chance XD

Intelligentpeople

Penguania And Antarctica wrote:I'm doing fine. Just booked a train ticket. :)

Thank you for supporting the railways! Even if it's not ours, or if it's not steam, I'm always glad to see rail is still in use.

Jaslandia, Penguania And Antarctica

Magnatronia wrote:Tbh I just send an unspecific amount of soldiers to the battlefield so my enemy can't turn around and say "Oh, you sent 100 soldiers to the frontline? I've sent 200!" Not that Andy does that. In fact, he's fun to RP with. But I don't wanna give him a chance XD

Well...that's kinda god modding on his part if he would do that, but I like being pretty specific in what I do.

Kalaron wrote:Since it's pretty early in the night, I figure I might as well go and spurg about two things.

First, [B]please understand how to use special forces[/B] before you deploy them.

The proper application for them is not against Tanks, Armoured Infantry, Motorized Infantry*, Aircraft, Naval Assets or anything that isn't Infantry.

As a general rule, view infantry as a quick and and broad response that can handle most objectives provided they only have to fight one of their worst enemies...other infantry.

Should you ever put 20,000 highly trained specialized troops in combat with an army 50,000 strong supplemented with Tanks, Artillery and air superiority, you will die.

A proper application for Special Forces is to handle Infantry, and to handle other threats when supported with assets like Armour and Indirect Fire. Or you can use them to teach other -worse- troops for the meat grinder.

On another topic, please don't choose military equipment for it's cool factor, or because the nation that made it [B]says[/B] that it is amazingly hard to knock out. Good examples would be Israel with their Merkava Gen 1, where it marched into a hostile nation that was equipped with thousands of ATGMs but had a pathetically few number of tanks be rendered inoperable despite being made of steel.

In fact, ignore state news about military equipment if you can because almost all of it is just propaganda and RL god-modding. Look at as much material about the model as you can, think about where your nation is, and try to remember that you're writing for an organization of professionals...it's OK for incompetence, but remember to improve what you can if you care to.

This is why I don't bother RP-ing.

Kalaron, Intelligentpeople

Bearlong wrote:This is why I don't bother RP-ing.

But most of it is just about factbooks and everything related to military matters.

Just so y'all know, Tomorrow I'll be writing about how much fanaticism was (and wasn't) a role in the Defense of Germany by the Army, and about the hard difference between the normal troops and the Volksgrenadier, as well as other members of Hitler's army.

So, if you like spurg, you'll like tomorrow?

Intelligentpeople

Here is an interesting article on the national debt and how it is a threat that needs to be solved. Below, I posted on my opinion on how it is a threat and how it causes many other problems such as rising inequality and slow economic growth.

https://www.cato.org/publications/testimony/need-balance-budget-reduce-federal-debt

On the National Debt:

[spoiler]We must get our debt under control. Having this large national debt does nothing but increase inequality and make us more instable. Sure, our military is keeping foreign debtholders from collecting now because we secure global trade, but what happens when we lose a war or turn away from our international role? They will lose confidence in us and collect. Over 40% of our national debt is owned by foreign powers, so we are enriching people outside our country and in some cases, enriching our adversaries. The other people who own this debt are private interests, the bankers, the Creditor Class and who we imagine as the Top 1%. By continue to incur this debt, we are handing the keys to our Republic to foreign and private interests. We are causing our own inequality too. We like to complain about the income disparity, and so we adopt unsustainable welfare and entitlement programs without realizing that we are making things worse. There is a reason that poverty has gotten worse, that wages have gone down and unemployment too. When we incur more debt, we tax the citizens through using that money to subsidize consumption spending (money the government has to spend now). When people are taxed, they have less money to spend. Less spending means less consumption, which means less profit for companies, which means rising unemployment and lower wages, and so on.

It's not that we can't have things like entitlements, I am a firm believer in social insurance, but it has to be reformed in a sustainable way. If we want to eliminate inequality and strengthen our economy, we need to reduce the national debt. This isn't an impossible task either. We've reduced the national debt by sustaining an annual budget surplus or balanced deficit for 150 years. We even completely eliminated the national debt once. It wasn't until Keynesian economics came around that we adopted it's fiscal irresponsibility. It is true that debts can be good if they are put into high capital investments like infrastructure or education, but only 3% of the trillions of dollars we spend go to investments. When we incur such an enormous debt, we limit economic growth (we are at a sparse 1.4%) and investment in our economy. A little debt is fine, and sometimes good if we spend it on proper investments, but what we have now is irresponsible and in fact dangerous. Now I understand that the national debt isn't a very sexy issue, but if we want to avoid a financial crisis, an economic collapse, decrease income inequality, unemployment and improve on stagnating wages, we need to tackle it in a bi-partisan effort. If we don't, we will see all those problems, as well as an undermining of our democracy. For how can we be free if we are indebted to interests outside the public?[/spoiler]

The United Providences Of Perland, Yukona, Intelligentpeople

Penguania And Antarctica wrote:I'm doing fine. Just booked a train ticket. :)

I remember being at Alexanderplatz and some guy with a guitar came on and started chatting with me and when he realised I was English started to play The Saints Come Marchinng In. I enjoyed it until I realised the connotations and that every Berliner on the train was giving me the daggers.

Yukona wrote:I remember being at Alexanderplatz and some guy with a guitar came on and started chatting with me and when he realised I was English started to play The Saints Come Marchinng In. I enjoyed it until I realised the connotations and that every Berliner on the train was giving me the daggers.

I don't understand what you are trying to tell me.

Penguania And Antarctica wrote:I don't understand what you are trying to tell me.

I think he's saying that those people who rode the Train in Berlin were displeased with him (or the guy he talked to) playing "The Saints Come Marching In" which is a song about the military entering a town, presubably because they thought he was makijg fun of Germany's bisection?

Why in the world they'd be upset with a Brit in Berlin, I don't know, Berlin was specifically a Red Army target.

Kalaron wrote:I think he's saying that those people who rode the Train in Berlin were displeased with him (or the guy he talked to) playing "The Saints Come Marching In" which is a song about the military entering a town, presubably because they thought he was makijg fun of Germany's bisection?

Why in the world they'd be upset with a Brit in Berlin, I don't know, Berlin was specifically a Red Army target.

Well, you have those guys with their guitars playing on the trains quite often. They try to earn some money with it although it's not allowed to play on the trains and beg for money. Maybe because of that. I doubt that they locked so angry on you because of that song or because you are British, [nation=short]Yukona[/nation]. I think they were annoyed by this guy with his guitar. They can be really obtrusive.

Kalaron

Penguania And Antarctica wrote:Well, you have those guys with their guitars playing on the trains quite often. They try to earn some money with it although it's not allowed to play on the trains and beg for money. Maybe because of that. I doubt that they locked so angry on you because of that song or because you are British, [nation=short]Yukona[/nation]. I think they were annoyed by this guy with his guitar. They can be really obtrusive.

*looked

Hello dudes. Wish you all a nice day. :)

DIP Readers' Survey

https://goo.gl/forms/MqGYZXTyCuHr2Yon2

[spoiler=Today are:]

Today are:

- Abolition of Slavery Day (Mauritius)

- Air Force Day (Nicaragua)

- Car Insurance Day

- Change Your Password Day

- Day of Remembrance and Respect to Victims of the Communist Regime (Bulgaria)

- Decorating With Candy Day

- Federal Territory Day (Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya, Malaysia)

- G.I. Joe Day

- Heroes Day (Rwanda)

- Hula in the Coola Day

- Imbolc (Ireland, Scotland, Isle of Man, and some Neopagan groups in the Northern hemisphere)

- Memorial Day of the Republic (Hungary)

- National Baked Alaska Day (United States)

- National Freedom Day (United States)

- National Get Up Day (United States)

- National Girls & Women in Sports Day (United States)

- National Serpent Day (United States)

- Robinson Crusoe Day

- Spunky Old Broads Day

- Vasant Panchami (India)

- World Hijab Day

- Work Naked Day

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=February is observed as:]

February is observed as:

- Adopt a Rescued Rabbit Month

- African American History Month

- AMD / Low Vision Awareness Month

- American Heart Month

- American History Month

- Avocado and Banana Month

- Bake for Family Fun Month

- Beans Month

- Beat the Heat Month

- Berry Fresh Month

- Canned Food Month

- Celebration of Chocolate Month

- Cholangiocarcinoma Awareness Month

- Dog Training Education Month

- Exotic Vegetables and Star Fruit Month

- February is Fabulous Florida Strawberry Month

- Free and Open Source Software Month

- "From Africa to Virginia" Month

- Great American Pies Month

- International Boost Self Esteem Month

- International Expect Success Month

- International Friendship Month

- International Hoof Care Month

- International Prenatal Infection Prevention Month

- Jobs in Golf Month

- LGBT History Month (United Kingdom)

- Library Lovers Month

- Love the Bus Month

- Marfan Syndrome Awareness Month

- Marijuana Awareness Month

- National Bird Feeding Month

- National Black History Month (United States and Canada)

- National Cancer Prevention Month

- National Care About Your Indoor Air Month

- National Cat Health Month

- National Cherry Month

- National Children's Dental Health Month

- National Condom Month

- National Embroidery Month

- National Fiber Focus Month

- National Fondue Month

- National Grapefruit Month

- National Heart Healthy Month

- National Hot Breakfast Month

- National Laugh-Friendly Month

- National Mend a Broken Heart Month

- National Parent Leadership Month

- National Patient Recognition Month

- National Pet Dental Health Care Month

- National Prevent a Litter Month

- National Senior Independence Month

- National Snack Food Month

- National Sweet Potato Month

- National Therapeutic Recreation Month

- National Time Management Month

- National Weddings Month

- National Wild Bird-Feeding Month

- National Wise Health Consumer Month

- Pet Dental Health Month

- Plant the Seeds of Greatness Month

- Potato Lovers Month

- Pull Your Sofa Off the Wall Month

- Relationship Wellness Month

- Responsible Animal Guardian Month

- Responsible Pet Owner Month

- Return Shopping Carts to the Supermarket Month

- Spay/Neuter Awareness Month

- Spunky Old Broads Month

- Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month

- Unchain a Dog Month

- Wise Health Care Consumer Month

- Worldwide Renaissance of the Heart Month

- Youth Leadership Month

Note: All month observances with "National" are observances of the United States of America.

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=This day in history:]

This day in history:

- 481 – Vandal king Huneric organises a conference between Catholic and Arian bishops at Carthage.

- 1327 – Teenaged Edward III is crowned King of England, but the country is ruled by his mother Queen Isabella and her lover Roger Mortimer.

- 1411 – The First Peace of Thorn is signed in Thorn, Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights (Prussia).

- 1713 – The Kalabalik or Tumult in Bendery results from the Ottoman sultan's order that his unwelcome guest, King Charles XII of Sweden, be seized.

- 1796 – The capital of Upper Canada is moved from Newark to York.

- 1814 – Mayon Volcano in the Philippines erupts, killing around 1,200 people, the most devastating eruption of the volcano.

- 1835 – Slavery is abolished in Mauritius.

- 1861 – American Civil War: Texas secedes from the United States.

- 1865 – President Abraham Lincoln signs the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

- 1884 – The first volume (A to Ant) of the Oxford English Dictionary is published.

- 1893 – Thomas A. Edison finishes construction of the first motion picture studio, the Black Maria in West Orange, New Jersey.

- 1895 – Fountains Valley, Pretoria, the oldest nature reserve in Africa, is proclaimed by President Paul Kruger.

- 1897 – Shinhan Bank, the oldest bank in South Korea, opens in Seoul.

- 1908 – King Carlos I of Portugal and his son, Prince Luis Filipe, are killed in Terreiro do Paço, Lisbon.

- 1918 – Russia adopts the Gregorian calendar.

- 1924 – The United Kingdom recognizes the USSR.

- 1942 – World War II: Josef Terboven, Reichskommissar of German-occupied Norway, appoints Vidkun Quisling the Minister President of the National Government.

- 1942 – World War II: U.S. Navy conducts Marshalls–Gilberts raids, the first offensive action by the United States against Japanese forces in the Pacific Theater.

- 1942 – Voice of America, the official external radio and television service of the United States government, begins broadcasting with programs aimed at areas controlled by the Axis powers.

- 1946 – Trygve Lie of Norway is picked to be the first United Nations Secretary-General.

- 1946 – The Parliament of Hungary abolishes the monarchy after nine centuries, and proclaims the Hungarian Republic.

- 1960 – Four black students stage the first of the Greensboro sit-ins at a lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina.

- 1964 – The Beatles have their first number one hit in the United States with "I Want to Hold Your Hand".

- 1965 – The Hamilton River in Labrador, Canada is renamed the Churchill River in honour of Winston Churchill.

- 1968 – Vietnam War: The execution of Viet Cong officer Nguyễn Văn Lém by South Vietnamese National Police Chief Nguyễn Ngọc Loan is videotaped and photographed by Eddie Adams.

- 1968 – Canada's three military services, the Royal Canadian Navy, the Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force, are unified into the Canadian Forces.

- 1968 – The New York Central Railroad and the Pennsylvania Railroad are merged to form Penn Central Transportation.

- 1972 – Kuala Lumpur becomes a city by a royal charter granted by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia.

- 1974 – A fire in the 25-story Joelma Building in São Paulo, Brazil kills 189 and injures 293.

- 1979 – Iranian Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returns to Tehran after nearly 15 years of exile.

- 1981 – The Underarm bowling incident of 1981 occurred when Trevor Chappell bowls underarm on the final delivery of a game between Australia and New Zealand at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

- 1982 – Senegal and the Gambia form a loose confederation known as Senegambia.

- 1989 – The Western Australian towns of Kalgoorlie and Boulder amalgamate to form the City of Kalgoorlie–Boulder.

- 1990 – Humanitas publishing house is founded in Bucharest, shortly after the Romanian Revolution, by the philosopher Gabriel Liiceanu.

- 1992 – The Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal court declares Warren Anderson, ex-CEO of Union Carbide, a fugitive under Indian law for failing to appear in the Bhopal disaster case.

- 1996 – The Communications Decency Act is passed by the U.S. Congress.

- 1998 – Rear Admiral Lillian E. Fishburne becomes the first female African American to be promoted to rear admiral.

- 2003 – Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during the reentry of mission STS-107 into the Earth's atmosphere, killing all seven astronauts aboard.

- 2004 – Hajj pilgrimage stampede: In a stampede at the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, 251 people are trampled to death and 244 injured.

- 2005 – King Gyanendra of Nepal carries out a coup d'état to capture the democracy, becoming Chairman of the Councils of ministers.

- 2009 – The first cabinet of Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir was formed in Iceland, making her the country's first female prime minister and the world's first openly LGBT head of government.

- 2012 – At least 72 people are killed and over 500 injured as a result of clashes between fans of Egyptian football teams Al-Masry and Al-Ahly in the city of Port Said.

- 2013 – The Shard, the tallest building in the European Union, is opened to the public.

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Famous Birthdays:]

Famous Birthdays:

- 1402 – Eleanor of Aragon, Queen of Portugal

- 1552 – Edward Coke, English lawyer, judge, and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales

- 1659 – Jacob Roggeveen, Dutch explorer

- 1792 – Johann Friedrich Dieffenbach, German surgeon

- 1874 – Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Austrian author, poet, and playwright

- 1894 – John Ford, American director and producer

- 1901 – Clark Gable, American actor

- 1931 – Boris Yeltsin, Russian politician, 1st President of Russia

- 1946 – Elisabeth Sladen, English actress

- 1971 – Michael C. Hall, American actor and producer

- 1994 – Harry Styles, English singer-songwriter

[/spoiler]

Quote of the day

Love is supreme and unconditional; like is nice but limited.

- Duke Ellington -

Note: Penguania_And_Antarctica assumes no responsibility or guarantee for correctness of any given information. Any recourse to courts of law is excluded.

Jaslandia, Continental Commonwealths, Tserra, The United Providences Of Perland, Magnatronia

Penguania And Antarctica wrote:Well, you have those guys with their guitars playing on the trains quite often. They try to earn some money with it although it's not allowed to play on the trains and beg for money. Maybe because of that. I doubt that they locked so angry on you because of that song or because you are British, [nation=short]Yukona[/nation]. I think they were annoyed by this guy with his guitar. They can be really obtrusive.

Yeah, I don't doubt that.

Is a hell of a lot more reasonable than my explanation :P

Penguania And Antarctica

Kalaron wrote:Yeah, I don't doubt that.

Is a hell of a lot more reasonable than my explanation :P

Well, I don't think that anyone gets angry because of the song. I mean it's played quite a lot during carneval season or at fun fairs or theme parks

Kalaron

Penguania And Antarctica wrote:Well, I don't think that anyone gets angry because of the song. I mean it's played quite a lot during carneval season or at fun fairs or theme parks

Really?

I haven't been to a lot of Carnivals -I have been to a few theme parks- so all I know is the songs that tend to filt arounf those places...typically the screams of those people on the rides as they whip round on a ride.

Penguania And Antarctica

Hey guys I'm going to be a bit inactive for a while, if anyone needs me or if I have to perform a duty as acting Chief Justice please get in touch with me on Discord or tell someone who frequents Discord to get in touch with me and I'll get on it.

Everestopia, Jaslandia, Penguania And Antarctica, Tserra, The United Providences Of Perland

Unfallious wrote:Hey guys I'm going to be a bit inactive for a while, if anyone needs me or if I have to perform a duty as acting Chief Justice please get in touch with me on Discord or tell someone who frequents Discord to get in touch with me and I'll get on it.

Alright. Thanks for letting us know!

Penguania And Antarctica

Penguania And Antarctica wrote:Come to Penguania. We have cookies, hot chocolate and penguins. :)

*books flight*

The Royal Republic Of Kumania, Jaslandia, Penguania And Antarctica, The United Providences Of Perland

Well, I might as well spurg about some misconceptions about WW2 that people have.

I have to ask that those of you who read this to bear with me, it might feel bad to hear the first misconception

Japan should have been invaded, not A-bombed

I can understand the argument on this one, but I can't stress the modern thought that goes into it.

Japan in WW2 was an Imperial realm, the Emperor was to them as Hitler was to Hitler's Youth, and disobeying the orders of the Emperor was something people killed themselves over, and when one considers that the United States had been in a state of total war for four years -more if you count our time just supplying the Allies- and had lost half a million people and countless amounts of material, they find that the Nation was in a terrible state to continue the war from a moral perspective due to things like the Replacement Depot.

There is evidence to show that Japan was further preparing for this invasion by training some of it's civilian populace to charge the landing boats while the others dug in to bleed American forces while they invaded. For obvious reasons, no one wanted American bombarding former civilians (like Women and Children) with the massive main guns of a battleship, and no one wanted to go to shore to draw them out for the guns, and that's ignoring the massive casualties that would occur from the conflict, considering that Japan still had it's Naval Fleet docked inland.

I'll write the next post in a few hours maybe.

(sorry if any of you dislike this, just tell me and I might stop)

Pirate Kingdoms, Yukona

Yukona wrote:I don't think you quite understand my friend

Well, you litterally said "but I don't think we should ignore it is a problem within Islam" and the problem does not come from islam here. It comes from the fact that too many people in Québec are abiding by hate speech and someone eventually took action and shot six muslims in a mosque in Québec City. Islam didn't come up with terrorism and it's certainly not a problem that is within islam. And yes, please note that Trump has used "alternative facts" picturing this as a terrorist attack BY muslims. Just so we're clear here.

Jotunheim Collective wrote:Well, you litterally said "but I don't think we should ignore it is a problem within Islam" and the problem does not come from islam here. It comes from the fact that too many people in Québec are abiding by hate speech and someone eventually took action and shot six muslims in a mosque in Québec City. Islam didn't come up with terrorism and it's certainly not a problem that is within islam. And yes, please note that Trump has used "alternative facts" picturing this as a terrorist attack BY muslims. Just so we're clear here.

I'm talking generally, I'm by no means specifying the Quebec attack, so again - I don't think you understand. Considering that hundreds of attacks occur in Muslim countries, they are justified by Muslim thought/philosophy and are supported by Muslims, I would say it is a problem with Islam that Muslims need to unite to combat. I never said it was a Muslim that perpetrated the attack nor did I suggest it, and yes, please note that.

Yukona wrote:I'm talking generally, I'm by no means specifying the Quebec attack, so again - I don't think you understand. Considering that hundreds of attacks occur in Muslim countries, they are justified by Muslim thought/philosophy and are supported by Muslims, I would say it is a problem with Islam that Muslims need to unite to combat. I never said it was a Muslim that perpetrated the attack nor did I suggest it, and yes, please note that.

Sooo why do you say that now ? Since it's kind of unrelated to the pain and guilt that we share for not having been able to change the mindsets of terrorists... and also... since this kind of statement kind of helps the people who are afraid and misinformed about muslims to nourrish their fears.

And I'm under the impression that people, muslims included, are pretty fed up with terrorism. You say : "they are justified by Muslim thought/philosophy and are supported by Muslims" but you really mean to say justified by "Muslims-who've-been-bombed-and-had-their-countries-torn-apart-by-war-with-weapons-sold-to-them-by-western-folks-like-you-and-I-so-they-desperately-resort-to-extremism", didn't you ?

Would you say that the dozens of mass shooting happening in a muuuuch more stable country like the USA are justified by christian thought/philosophy and supported by Christians ?

Jotunheim Collective wrote:Sooo why do you say that now ? Since it's kind of unrelated to the pain and guilt that we share for not having been able to change the mindsets of terrorists... and also... since this kind of statement kind of helps the people who are afraid and misinformed about muslims to nourrish their fears.

And I'm under the impression that people, muslims included, are pretty fed up with terrorism. You say : "they are justified by Muslim thought/philosophy and are supported by Muslims" but you really mean to say justified by "Muslims-who've-been-bombed-and-had-their-countries-torn-apart-by-war-with-weapons-sold-to-them-by-western-folks-like-you-and-I-so-they-desperately-resort-to-extremism", didn't you ?

Would you say that the dozens of mass shooting happening in a muuuuch more stable country like the USA are justified by christian thought/philosophy and supported by Christians ?

God I get into too many arguments on the RMB nowadays, anyway - let's break it down. Say what now? That I wasn't specifying Quebec? I thought that was made pretty clear when I talked about terrorism having no colour or creed, I don't believe that Islam, for example, is directly responsible for terrorism (nor any other ideology). In terms of your referrence to pain and guilt, I don't understand what you mean, you're going to have be clearer. I have absolutely no problems with Muslims or Islam, and I don't understand how I'm "nourishing fears" - I said it doesn't have a "colour and no creed, but I don't think we should ignore it is a problem within Islam which is promoting this reactionary extremist movement in Europeans and North Americans". If there was no Islamic extremism, there would be no reactionary movement - hence reaction. That statement is not fear mongering, it's simply acknowleding that the Islamic community has to recognise it's a problem within themselves, and they have (many Muslim figureheads in Britain are working to counter extremism and have invested a lot into protecting their mosques and subsequently local groups of faith from terrorist recruiters). I hope that outlines my thought process for you, you're clearly super defensive about this, but I encourage you to not assume I mean Islam =/= terrorism.

I don't get why you hyphenated every single part of that sentence and underlined it, it just makes it hard to read, but hey - you do you. I meant exactly what I said, a lot of funding for Islamic fundamentalist terror groups come from Wahhabi Saudi donators, that's an absolute fact. In addition to this, many terrorist groups claim to be Muslim and the people supporting them - be them in their ranks or on the sidelines call themselves Muslims too. I don't think the argument of it's not real Islam is at all relevant as to me if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck...well it's a duck. I'm by no means saying them represent Islam, no, I'm saying they are definitely Muslims, just the same that Stalin was a communist and Salazar was a Catholic, you can't really deny it. Of course, many Muslims also have a hatred for these groups, which is great, but they are present in Muslim countries and operate in the Middle East, meaning there is still obviously a problem. What I was saying to Nurem - what was it now, two days ago? - was that we need to find the roots and cut it off. This includes the Islamic community not defaulting to "it's not real Islam" and instead pushing forward for progress and seeing why people do this, be that looking at the way they interpret scriptures or the way in which extremist ministers preach.

To address your last comment, that's a class "A" starwman argument if I've ever seen one. It would wholly depend on the context, if a member of the Westboro Baptist Church shot up a Mosque and the Westboro Baptist Church started burrowing away arms in preparation for some kind of terrorist operation, well - the man/woman who done it was Christian, the church is Christian and therefore yes, I would say so. I am not saying it is a Muslim problem just because it happened in a single area, that's ridiculous and you are absolutely twist my words. As aforementioned, it has no creed and no colour, therefore it does not represent Christianity of Islam, but it definitely is a problem that needs to be acknowledged. Just because people don't agree with how certain individuals interpret religious texts/ideals, doesn't mean they're not what they say they are. If I believe in Stalinism and think the Holodomor was a good idea (? I don't know to be honest), other people can't go "he's not a real Marxist ya de ya de ya", that's just ridiculous in my eyes.

So, to end yet another pointless argument on a thread that was grave dug - I haven't nourished fears, I have a great respect for Islam but I also think it has a problem within it, just the same as Irish Republicanism has a problem with terrorism but is now moving into more democratic means, for example.

P.S - without sounding mean, I didn't really want to have to explain a view about something that is incredibly complicated and I don't wholly understand therefore if you're gonna try and gun for it further, I don't think I have the time or effort to respond. A short response/question is always appreciated but I don't wanna write another essay and piss everyone in the RMB off.

Penguania And Antarctica

Jotunheim Collective please excuse my spelling mistakes and grammar mistakes

Yukona wrote:Jotunheim Collective please excuse my spelling mistakes and grammar mistakes

Water under the bridge.

"In terms of your referrence to pain and guilt, I don't understand what you mean, you're going to have be clearer."

What I mean to say is that in Québec, we feel a lot of pain and guilt for the super awesome double phd university teacher and other amazing people who got killed. Your answer to this, instead of empathy, is : "Yeah sucks, but muslims gotta fix their terrorism problem." am I right ?

You know, our taxes helped creating the problem they have. So instead of pointing out the obvious and phrasing it in a way that islamophobic people could use for their arguments, just... give it some empathy. We gotta fix our terrorism problem first.

Yukona

Jotunheim Collective wrote:Water under the bridge.

"In terms of your referrence to pain and guilt, I don't understand what you mean, you're going to have be clearer."

What I mean to say is that in Québec, we feel a lot of pain and guilt for the super awesome double phd university teacher and other amazing people who got killed. Your answer to this, instead of empathy, is : "Yeah sucks, but muslims gotta fix their terrorism problem." am I right ?

You know, our taxes helped creating the problem they have. So instead of pointing out the obvious and phrasing it in a way that islamophobic people could use for their arguments, just... give it some empathy. We gotta fix our terrorism problem first.

Of course I empathise with the people hurt and injured all over Canada, be it physically and emotionally. Again, I'm not referencing directly to the attack, it just so happens that it prompted dialogue about terrorism and how to stop it exactly. I would argue against our tax moeny creating it, Islamic extremism has pre-dated the Gulf War, but that's an entirely different argument.

Kalaron

Jotunheim Collective wrote:Water under the bridge.

"In terms of your referrence to pain and guilt, I don't understand what you mean, you're going to have be clearer."

What I mean to say is that in Québec, we feel a lot of pain and guilt for the super awesome double phd university teacher and other amazing people who got killed. Your answer to this, instead of empathy, is : "Yeah sucks, but muslims gotta fix their terrorism problem." am I right ?

You know, our taxes helped creating the problem they have. So instead of pointing out the obvious and phrasing it in a way that islamophobic people could use for their arguments, just... give it some empathy. We gotta fix our terrorism problem first.

Well, that directly connects to fixing their terrorism problem.

Like, promote understanding all you want, but you also have to crush terrorism in the ME or suffer from multiple resurgances in hate due to people being killed by terrorists.

The best solution is as the COIN field manual says, to engage the Civilian population, establish faith, trust, and power in the hands of a legitimate government, and to ensure that people know the gov can protect them.

In short, we need to clean the cancer of terrorism from both sides over time.

Yukona

The best thing about immigrants is the food. Those Arabs sure now how to create an explosive taste in my mouth.

Nuremgard

Aldaur wrote:The best thing about immigrants is the food. Those Arabs sure now how to create an explosive taste in my mouth.

ayyy lmao

Aldaur

Aldaur wrote:The best thing about immigrants is the food. Those Arabs sure now how to create an explosive taste in my mouth.

But it's tru tho. Baklava is the bomb tbh

Aldaur, Andromitus

#Peng4Pres

Jaslandia, Continental Commonwealths, Yukona

#Vista4Prez

Penguania And Antarctica

Penguania And Antarctica wrote:#Peng4Pres

Vista Major wrote:#Vista4Prez

Is it that time again?

Vista Major, Penguania And Antarctica, Yukona

Andromitus wrote:Is it that time again?

Yes. It is. :)

Vista Major, Andromitus, The United Providences Of Perland

Welp, I'm home and won't make as many typos as before, I hope.

[B]CAUTION[/B]

This is long as a history class, so if you like reading about the war, you'll love this.

[spoiler]This post is going to be focused on the misconceptions that have been aided by the Media, specifically, focusing on the German Army's supposed fanaticism with regards to Hitler.

Many shows and movies focus on the ruthless Axis Soldier's actions, watching as he preforms the iconic "Hail Hitler" salute, slaughters wounded troops, desolates American GIs with vastly superior equipment and marches into death solely because Hitler ordered it, but in reality most of this was patently false with the exception of a minuscule number of divisions...if one would even refer to them as such.

The simplest fact of war is that casualties happen for a multitude of reasons, though none are more tragic than that of ineptitude or it's closely related brother, Chickenshit-ness, who's guilt is pronounced in any Commander who stresses following the word of a Command rather than the spirit...for every ingenious success there is a Commander ordering his troops to assault a machine gun line, watching as hundreds of them run into ramstag crisscrossing lines of bullets rather than give the order to retreat or -god forbid- find another way to accomplish the mission unless their own life depended on it, and though America would not escape this fate before the war was through, Germany fared far worse.

Before the War, Germany had a thriving Officer School, the men in charge cared about their Troops and it showed in how they went about their operations with the utmost security and the highest morale just after Normandy, especially when they had their greatest asset immediately handy. This asset was the invaluable terrain directly outside of the Normandy beaches, which formed hedgerow after hedgerow, an expanse where a dedicated defending power had the capacity to set killing sight lines while their enemy blindly trudged forward, blindly walking forward into death. And indeed Germany used the 80 Kilometer hell to their advantage, bringing the superior numbers of their enemies to a near halt as the Allies were forced to choose between walking into preplaced ambushes or attract German Artillery through the use of explosives which were at times unable to overcome the dense hedge-growth that formed their battlefield.

For every field, twenty lives were lost, more if they hadn't observed the area for days. For every German tank driving leisurely down the road, begging for reprise, ten watching for enemy tracers.

However, despite the preplaced positions of German troops, this was a fundamentally different organization than had preformed the Blitz that had perforated Europe. Some of the men were veterans of Stalingrad, or had seen the terrible conditions of Russia and found nothing but praise for the American Soldiers, noting how "They fight like Rich Men" bombarding the enemy with a seemingly endless supply of High Explosive from artillery before even thinking of moving in. Furthermore, high casualty rates lead to the induction of slave units from captured Red Army elements, or conscripts from the Eastern European nations who had no wish to fight when they could simply put their weapons down without fear of being slaughtered by Commissars or the Generals of Hitler.

Indeed, most of those aforementioned Generals were pleading with him to push for peace such that they could focus their efforts on destroying the Soviets -and more importantly, ally with the American War machine to do just that- while being secure on one front at least. The German Army was worn down by 1942 and was eventually pushed into a full retreat, pulling back from France and drawing into Germany...it is here that one sees the misconception pushed onto them, the German Army would never have retreated if it had really been so fanatical about Hitler's order because he directly ordered for France to be held, the impossibility of such a goal would not matter had their Army been comprised of Fanatics, and indeed the case of them was wholly overblown due to two factors.

After the retreat across the Seine by the battered German forces -spurred by the cataclysmic "Operation Cobra" which annihilated over 1,000 men through massed carpet bombing alone- , they had their own little "Miracle" in the same way the Union had during the Civil War. The Wehrmacht was inundated with support for an unsurprising reason.

While most people would focus on the cause as being Nazism, or point to the concentration camps as being the reason for such a strong defense, the answer is far more rational than most would admit. The German People had been fed tales of conquering Europe by Hitler, and their very nation's existence had hinged on the capability of a King to conquer those small nations around him. The German people were no strangers to War, and knew the price of being conquered -this belief was vindicated by the subsequent division of Germany- and as such set about reconstituting their army with an influx of supplies.

[B]The German Army did not march to meet America because Hitler had order it, but rather because to not do so was to allow for their country to be picked apart[/B]

The next major offensive was also the start of the misconceptions about German's shooting the Wounded, having amazing equipment and being fanatical.

The Ardennes Offensive was a specific operation with the intent of trapping Allied Units behind enemy lines to starve, and to do this a massed movement was made to get them the best of everything. The German Army was reconstituted with the VolksGrenadier, Teens who had grown up under Hitler and believed him to be a god of sorts. Too old to be a part of the Hitler's Youth, but too young to know any better, these Young men believed that their Leader was doing what was best for the Nation, and the sudden influx of military weapons and equipment was integral in aiding that belief.

If I recall correctly, more than 2,000 Panzers were delivered to the so-called "Breakthrough Troops" and they received a limited amount of success as they pushed their way through scattered and depleted forces from the US -the other troops having been moved due to the believed and actual suicidal stupidity required to attempt to move that many troops without a supply line- before being stopped.

They had made great headway, but were made to suffer when as one German Officer had predicted, they ran out of Fuel. Thus the Germany Army was made to abandon many of the tools of war that they had just created, leaving them in the snow to return to more defensible positions.

The battle(s) of the Bulge -so named due to the distinctive "bulge" of the German line pushing against the Western Front- was a bloody and useless battle, but it was also where this belief of German mass murder of PoWs originates.

At one point a division from the US surrendered to a German Company, they were wounded, hungry, and without ammunition or reinforcements and thus attempted to surrender. The German Commander gave one of the only explicit orders to kill that I can recall.

The Division was slaughtered, but a few men escaped and were able to inform fellow GIs about the supposed mass murders the Germans were committing to those who surrendered, and it wasn't long until the GIs responded in kind.

I'll save you from a long debate about this, but suffice to say that Commanders became very picky about who was allowed to escort PoWs after the tale of one particular GI -Junior- began circulating. As a captain from his division noted, at one point Junior had been given a simple order to ferry some reports back to a command post a few miles back when a German Soldier marched out of a house completely weaponless. He got on his knees with his hands on his head and began to shout "Kamerad" to signify his intent to surrender. The GI didn't even break his jog as he put two bullets between the PoWs eyes and continued on.

This last part will be much simpler than the preceding points as it is simply a matter of historical fact, rather than a explanation of historical events.

The Hitler Salute was not mandatory until slightly after the failed attempt on his life in 1944, before that point they used the far more common military salute -the same as all nations use- when speaking to higher ranking officers. [/spoiler]

Andromitus, The United Providences Of Perland, Pirate Kingdoms, Yukona

#TCaDS4Prez You won't be crossed.

Penguania And Antarctica, The United Providences Of Perland

Andromitus wrote:Is it that time again?

Absolutely

Issue: "Scientists Declare that Cardinals are Persons".

O...k. Maaaaybe choosing not to fund education was a mistake...

Nuremgard, Jaslandia, Vista Major, Penguania And Antarctica, Yukona, Intelligentpeople

https://goo.gl/forms/IOXBVuIMD4XC0Ltr2

Guys, have anything you want to hear me describe in detail?

Penguania And Antarctica

Continental Commonwealths wrote:Issue: "Scientists Declare that Cardinals are Persons".

O...k. Maaaaybe choosing not to fund education was a mistake...

Libertarian savages.

Aldaur, Vista Major, Continental Commonwealths

Continental Commonwealths wrote:Issue: "Scientists Declare that Cardinals are Persons".

O...k. Maaaaybe choosing not to fund education was a mistake...

Sounds like speciesism is dying to me

Great job

Aldaur, Jotunheim Collective

Nuremgard wrote:

Libertarian savages.

But still accurate

Aldaur

Nuremgard wrote:Libertarian savages.

Why do some people wish to live as barbarians? I can understand not wanting the government to be authoritarian or have so much control, but it is really just silly to say they want it to be so small they can't see, just for the sake of being small. The point of government is actually to protect liberty, not erode it. Therefore, a balanced approach is best.

Nuremgard

I think it is wrong that blacks have to be so fearful of authority in everything we do. My teacher doesn't even let her children play with toy guns because she is legitimate afraid that they might get shot. Whether she should actually be afraid or not is irrelevant, but the perception is much more potent. Same with how people view crime. Crime is at it's lowest point, and yet, people are the most afraid of crime than they have ever been.

The Royal Republic Of Kumania, Intelligentpeople

Aldaur wrote:Why do some people wish to live as barbarians? I can understand not wanting the government to be authoritarian or have so much control, but it is really just silly to say they want it to be so small they can't see, just for the sake of being small. The point of government is actually to protect liberty, not erode it. Therefore, a balanced approach is best.

I can respond to this in full when I get hike this evening

Aldaur, Intelligentpeople

Vista Major wrote:Sounds like speciesism is dying to me

Great job

I'm pretty sure Vista major thinks Rocks are people too.

Jaslandia, Continental Commonwealths, Intelligentpeople

Hello people.

[spoiler=Today is Feburary 2 and today are:]

Today is Feburary 2 and today are:

- Anniversary of Treaty of Tartu (Estonia)

- Ayn Rand Day

- Bonza Bottler Day

- Constitution Day (Philippines)

- Crepe Day

- Day of Youth (Azerbaijan)

- Feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple or Candlemas (Western Christianity)

- Groundhog Day (United States and Canada)

- Hedgehog Day

- Imbolic

- Inventor's Day (Thailand)

- Lung Leavin' Day

- Marmot Day (Alaska, United States)

- National Heavenly Hash Day (United states)

- Rheumatoid Awareness Day

- Sled Dog Day

- Tater Tot Day

- World Play Your Ukulele Day

- World Wetlands Day

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=This day in history:]

This day in history:

- 506 – Alaric II, eighth king of the Visigoths promulgates the Breviary of Alaric (Breviarium Alaricianum or Lex Romana Visigothorum), a collection of "Roman law".

- 880 – Battle of Lüneburg Heath: King Louis III is defeated by the Norse Great Heathen Army at Lüneburg Heath in Saxony.

- 962 – Translatio imperii: Pope John XII crowns Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, the first Holy Roman Emperor in nearly 40 years.

- 1032 – Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor becomes king of Burgundy.

- 1141 – The Battle of Lincoln, at which Stephen, King of England is defeated and captured by the allies of Empress Matilda.

- 1207 – Terra Mariana, eventually comprising present-day Latvia and Estonia, is established.

- 1461 – Wars of the Roses: The Battle of Mortimer's Cross is fought in Herefordshire, England.

- 1536 – Spaniard Pedro de Mendoza founds Buenos Aires, Argentina.

- 1653 – New Amsterdam (later renamed The City of New York) is incorporated.

- 1709 – Alexander Selkirk is rescued after being shipwrecked on a desert island, inspiring Daniel Defoe's adventure book Robinson Crusoe.

- 1848 – California Gold Rush: The first ship with Chinese immigrants arrives in San Francisco.

- 1876 – The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs of Major League Baseball is formed.

- 1887 – In Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania the first Groundhog Day is observed.

- 1899 – The Australian Premiers' Conference held in Melbourne decides to locate Australia's capital city, Canberra, between Sydney and Melbourne.

- 1901 – Funeral of Queen Victoria.

- 1913 – Grand Central Terminal is opened in New York City.

- 1920 – The Tartu Peace Treaty is signed between Estonia and Russia.

- 1920 – France occupies Memel.

- 1922 – Ulysses by James Joyce is published.

- 1925 – Serum run to Nome: Dog sleds reach Nome, Alaska with diphtheria serum, inspiring the Iditarod race.

- 1934 – The Export-Import Bank of the United States is incorporated.

- 1935 – Leonarde Keeler administers polygraph tests to two murder suspects, the first time polygraph evidence was admitted in U.S. courts.

- 1942 – The Osvald Group is responsible for the first, active event of anti-Nazi resistance in Norway, to protest the inauguration of Vidkun Quisling.

- 1943 – World War II: The Battle of Stalingrad comes to an end when Soviet troops accept the surrender of the last German troops in the city.

- 1966 – Pakistan suggests a six-point agenda with Kashmir after the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.

- 1971 – Idi Amin replaces President Milton Obote as leader of Uganda.

- 1971 – The international Ramsar Convention for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands is signed in Ramsar, Mazandaran, Iran.

- 1972 – The British embassy in Dublin is destroyed in protest at Bloody Sunday.

- 1976 – The Groundhog Day gale hits the north-eastern United States and south-eastern Canada.

- 1980 – Reports surface that the FBI is targeting allegedly corrupt Congressmen in the Abscam operation.

- 1987 – After the 1986 People Power Revolution, the Philippines enacts a new constitution.

- 1989 – Soviet war in Afghanistan: The last Soviet armoured column leaves Kabul.

- 1990 – Apartheid: F. W. de Klerk announces the unbanning of the African National Congress and promises to release Nelson Mandela.

- 2000 – First digital cinema projection in Europe (Paris) realized by Philippe Binant with the DLP CINEMA technology developed by Texas Instruments.

- 2004 – Swiss tennis player Roger Federer becomes the No. 1 ranked men's singles player, a position he will hold for a record 237 weeks.

- 2007 – The worst flooding in Indonesia in 300 years begins.

- 2012 – The ferry MV Rabaul Queen sinks off the coast of Papua New Guinea near the Finschhafen District, with an estimated 300 people missing.

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Famous Birthdays:]

Famous Birthdays:

- 450 – Justin I, Byzantine emperor

- 1208 – James I of Aragon

- 1455 – John, King of Denmark

- 1650 – Pope Benedict XIII

- 1754 – Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, French general and politician, Prime Minister of France

- 1829 – Alfred Brehm, German zoologist and illustrator

- 1851 – José Guadalupe Posada, Mexican illustrator and engraver

- 1873 – Leo Fall, Austrian composer

- 1882 – James Joyce, Irish novelist, short story writer, and poet

- 1883 – Johnston McCulley, American author and screenwriter, created Zorro

- 1905 – Ayn Rand, Russian-born American novelist and philosopher

- 1926 – Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, French academic and politician, 20th President of France

- 1939 – Dale T. Mortensen, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate

- 1959 – Hella von Sinnen, German entertainer

- 1963 – Eva Cassidy, American singer and guitarist

- 1977 – Shakira, Colombian singer-songwriter, producer, and actress

[/spoiler]

Quote of the day

I never said it would be easy, I only said it would be worth it.

- Mae West -

Note: Penguania_And_Antarctica assumes no responsibility or guarantee for correctness of any given information. Any recourse to courts of law is excluded.

Jaslandia, Continental Commonwealths, Tserra

DIP Readers' Survey

https://goo.gl/forms/MqGYZXTyCuHr2Yon2

Continental Commonwealths wrote:Issue: "Scientists Declare that Cardinals are Persons".

O...k. Maaaaybe choosing not to fund education was a mistake...

Same, except with giant Somali leopards roaming about as equals. CUE THE CAT-PERSON RESEARCH :p

Jaslandia, Penguania And Antarctica, Intelligentpeople

Nuremgard wrote:Libertarian savages.

*sics sentient leopards*

Jaslandia, Continental Commonwealths, Penguania And Antarctica

Pirate Kingdoms wrote:*sics sentient leopards*

Leopards are already sentient.

Jaslandia, Penguania And Antarctica, Intelligentpeople

How is everyone today?

Jaslandia, Penguania And Antarctica, Tserra

Everestopia wrote:How is everyone today?

I'm doing very good today. How about you ?

Everestopia

The Cross And Davids Star wrote:Leopards are already sentient.

Pretty sure he was referring to more Anthropic styles of sentience or intelligence.

Intelligentpeople

Andromitus wrote:Pretty sure he was referring to more Anthropic styles of sentience or intelligence.

The issue listed rudimentary language, complex understanding, and some other crap I can't recall. Either way, time to fund the intelligent leopard soldier program :p

Jaslandia, Penguania And Antarctica, Intelligentpeople

Pirate Kingdoms wrote:The issue listed rudimentary language, complex understanding, and some other crap I can't recall. Either way, time to fund the intelligent leopard soldier program :p

I don't have leopard's, but I've been funding my own military animal initiative:

http://i.imgur.com/OwuTjdH.gif

Penguania And Antarctica, Pirate Kingdoms

Pirate Kingdoms wrote:Same, except with giant Somali leopards roaming about as equals. CUE THE CAT-PERSON RESEARCH :p
This is precisely the kind of nonsense that arises when the furrie lobby becomes too powerful.

Jaslandia, Penguania And Antarctica, Pirate Kingdoms, Intelligentpeople

Pirate Kingdoms wrote:The issue listed rudimentary language, complex understanding, and some other crap I can't recall. Either way, time to fund the intelligent leopard soldier program :p

Andromitus wrote:I don't have leopard's, but I've been funding my own military animal initiative:

http://i.imgur.com/OwuTjdH.gif

Continental Commonwealths wrote:This is precisely the kind of nonsense that arises when the furrie lobby becomes too powerful.

http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/lscstealthninja/images/4/42/Penguin_Army.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20120522190410

:)

Jaslandia, Pirate Kingdoms

Penguania And Antarctica wrote:I'm doing very good today. How about you ?

Glad to hear it! Not too bad myself, was my birthday yesterday!

Jaslandia, Penguania And Antarctica

Everestopia wrote:Glad to hear it! Not too bad myself, was my birthday yesterday!

Oh, Happy Late Birthday !!! :)

How old did you get if I may ask ?

Continental Commonwealths wrote:This is precisely the kind of nonsense that arises when the furrie lobby becomes too powerful.

At least you don't have to worry about me using cat ears and tails: besides, I adhere more to the Japanese version of cat-people any day :p

Penguania And Antarctica wrote:http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/lscstealthninja/images/4/42/Penguin_Army.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20120522190410

:)

Long live the Penguin Armies of Earth

Andromitus wrote:I don't have leopard's, but I've been funding my own military animal initiative:

http://i.imgur.com/OwuTjdH.gif

Let the Seals reign with Penguins

Penguania And Antarctica

Has the HoD had any session lately?

In my alternate history of Scotland, the lords who tried to forge a union between Scotland and England were hung, drawn and quartered.

If only...

Penguania And Antarctica

Penguania And Antarctica wrote:http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/lscstealthninja/images/4/42/Penguin_Army.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20120522190410

:)

Hail the alliance!

Penguania And Antarctica

Assembled with Dot's Region Saver.
Written by Refuge Isle.