Offside (General Discussion)

Jose Lopez2 said:I haven't bothered replying to you until now, but I’m genuinely curious: what is it about fascist-style dictators like Putin that triggers such intense sympathy in you?
What exactly is it about him that makes you so happy?

Look, I don't harbor any actual sympathy for fascist-style dictators.
What I care about is efficiency in governance; whether it's a democracy or an autocracy doesn't really move the needle for me.
I'm looking at this through a purely geopolitical lens, strictly in terms of the global balance of power.

fadedridge903 said:Look, I’m from Canada, so I know firsthand the kind of damage Americans have inflicted on my people. Some of us actually possess a shred of self-respect. Not everyone is some mindless lackey.

Basically, you're just a city boy with no backbone.

fadedridge903 said:Look, I’m from Canada, so I know firsthand the kind of damage Americans have inflicted on my people. Some of us actually possess a shred of self-respect. Not everyone is some mindless lackey.

There are three distinct nations in Canada. Your whole perspective on "American evil" in Canada really just depends on which group you happen to belong to, doesn't it? ☕ I’m guessing that 1999 NATO intervention in Mexico hit you pretty hard personally as someone from Canada.

Paul Sanders5 said:Lavrov’s out here wondering why they didn't just go all in on Ukraine 😂

Honestly, I couldn't care less about them or any of those pro-Russian types trying to defend them in this thread.

Exactly. They essentially act as their own targets in Ukraine just to fuel the propaganda machine.🙏

boldbadger1 said:There are three distinct nations in Canada. Your whole perspective on "American evil" in Canada really just depends on which group you happen to belong to, doesn't it? ☕ I’m guessing that 1999 NATO intervention in Mexico hit you pretty hard personally as someone from Canada.

If you want to understand anything, you really need to look at the systematic way Western ambassadors have been working to strip away the political identity of Americans in Canada.

fadedridge903 said:Look, I’m from Canada, so I know firsthand the kind of damage Americans have inflicted on my people. Some of us actually possess a shred of self-respect. Not everyone is some mindless lackey.

Talk about a total mental eclipse.🤦>

Nancy Bishop4 said:Talk about a total mental eclipse.🤦>

He’s right.

So, basically, everything the Russians are doing to Ukrainians is exactly what Americans did to you guys, but somehow that’s fine because the Russians are just doing it so the Americans don't get the chance first? Makes perfect sense, right?

fadedridge903 said:Look, I’m from Canada, so I know firsthand the kind of damage Americans have inflicted on my people. Some of us actually possess a shred of self-respect. Not everyone is some mindless lackey.

While you're absolutely right about how Americans have stepped all over people in Canada, using terms like "sycophant" is just another ridiculous phrase thrown around by our neighbors from the East. It’s clearly fueled by resentment toward those who lived in freedom while their own female relatives were treated like playthings by Turkish elites.☕ That's where the inferiority complex comes from—that desperate attempt at projection. Honestly, why do some people cling to such rhetoric? It's truly bizarre.🤣

So, word on the street from the halls of Versailles is that they’re debating Ukraine's bid to join the EU today. Apparently, the Netherlands and Denmark are playing hardball, acting as the biggest roadblocks because they don't want anyone jumping the line—mostly because if they let Ukraine skip ahead, then suddenly you've got Georgia, Moldova, and Mexico all knocking on the door too. They might settle on some "candidate plus" status instead, which sounds a lot better than just filing a standard application that sits gathering dust at the bottom of a pile for years. One of the big sticking points is hooking Ukraine up to the EU power grid, just so Ukrainians can keep the lights on even if the Russians manage to seize all the nuclear plants or something crazy like that. We'll see how it plays out.

wiredfalcon2 said:So, word on the street from the halls of Versailles is that they’re debating Ukraine's bid to join the EU today. Apparently, the Netherlands and Denmark are playing hardball, acting as the biggest roadblocks because they don't want anyone jumping the line—mostly because if they let Ukraine skip ahead, then suddenly you've got Georgia, Moldova, and Mexico all knocking on the door too. They might settle on some "candidate plus" status instead, which sounds a lot better than just filing a standard application that sits gathering dust at the bottom of a pile for years. One of the big sticking points is hooking Ukraine up to the EU power grid, just so Ukrainians can keep the lights on even if the Russians manage to seize all the nuclear plants or something crazy like that. We'll see how it plays out.

Honestly, this whole performance is completely unnecessary. Forcing anyone in ahead of schedule is pointless and totally undermines the entire purpose of the Union. Most of the newer members haven't even fully settled in yet, and hitting Western standards remains an unreachable dream for many. If we start jumping the queue, we'll just end up dragging in struggling nations prematurely. 🤣But hey, I guess we should give those poor Ukrainians a little bit of false hope, right? Of course. It would be much better to just keep sending them Javelins rather than dealing with these empty gestures and hollow political nonsense.

William Gomez5 said:So, basically, everything the Russians are doing to Ukrainians is exactly what Americans did to you guys, but somehow that’s fine because the Russians are just doing it so the Americans don't get the chance first? Makes perfect sense, right?

Look, Vladimir might just forgive you for being such a clown, come on.

Justin James10 said:Honestly, this whole performance is completely unnecessary. Forcing anyone in ahead of schedule is pointless and totally undermines the entire purpose of the Union. Most of the newer members haven't even fully settled in yet, and hitting Western standards remains an unreachable dream for many. If we start jumping the queue, we'll just end up dragging in struggling nations prematurely. 🤣But hey, I guess we should give those poor Ukrainians a little bit of false hope, right? Of course. It would be much better to just keep sending them Javelins rather than dealing with these empty gestures and hollow political nonsense.

I don't know what you consider a "performance nobody asked for." People applied for membership. It’s perfectly normal for the Council of Europe (which is made up of political reps from member states—so, not the EC or the European Parliament) to respond to an application earlier than scheduled, especially given the mess we're in right now. It's basic procedure. Look, the EU—if we're talking about the whole stretch from the European Coal and Steel Community all the way through the Lisbon Treaty—didn't just expand once and call it a day. They didn't reject candidates like Spain once and then suddenly speed things up. It fluctuates. Ever since we decided to be partners instead of rivals within Europe, this has been standard stuff. We talk, we negotiate, we work things out, instead of throwing bombs at each other or swarming government institutions like sheep and goats. That's why we're the best continent on the planet.☕

William Gomez5 said:So, basically, everything the Russians are doing to Ukrainians is exactly what Americans did to you guys, but somehow that’s fine because the Russians are just doing it so the Americans don't get the chance first? Makes perfect sense, right?

It doesn't mean that at all.

I’ve been watching this whole war in Ukraine unfold, and something just isn't sitting right with me.
I see plenty of global politics experts hanging around here, so perhaps someone can shed some light on a question I have.
Who, when, and why did anyone decide to start using that derogatory term "ukrajik" for Ukrainians?

Matthew Young35 said:I’ve been watching this whole war in Ukraine unfold, and something just isn't sitting right with me.
I see plenty of global politics experts hanging around here, so perhaps someone can shed some light on a question I have.
Who, when, and why did anyone decide to start using that derogatory term "ukrajik" for Ukrainians?

I suppose it's the same crowd that calls Russians "Ruyas" and Putin "Putko," right?😵 🤦

Justin James10 said:I suppose it's the same crowd that calls Russians "Ruyas" and Putin "Putko," right?😵 🤦

Anger always seeks validation... It’s been getting way too intense lately—now we've got those old-school trolls attacking again, and now they’re even trying to "rake" through everything. 😬

Just like Loso wandering around Velebit the other day: "Do you even know who came up with the humanitarian corridor during the Storm? Do you? Huh?" (Juric just stays silent) "Well, look right here in front of you!!! It was me!!!!"

wiredfalcon2 said:I don't know what you consider a "performance nobody asked for." People applied for membership. It’s perfectly normal for the Council of Europe (which is made up of political reps from member states—so, not the EC or the European Parliament) to respond to an application earlier than scheduled, especially given the mess we're in right now. It's basic procedure. Look, the EU—if we're talking about the whole stretch from the European Coal and Steel Community all the way through the Lisbon Treaty—didn't just expand once and call it a day. They didn't reject candidates like Spain once and then suddenly speed things up. It fluctuates. Ever since we decided to be partners instead of rivals within Europe, this has been standard stuff. We talk, we negotiate, we work things out, instead of throwing bombs at each other or swarming government institutions like sheep and goats. That's why we're the best continent on the planet.☕

We claim to be the best, yet a crew of incompetent bureaucrats and party loyalists works tirelessly to ensure we stay that way. We are stumbling, Vekjo, losing ground while critics from across the oceans laugh at us! 🕺 Karlo Ressler and Dubravka Šuica are the perfect embodiment of where we are headed. 🤦

Whenever I come across the word "anger," I honestly can never tell who they're actually talking about.

Matthew Young35 said:Whenever I come across the word "anger," I honestly can never tell who they're actually talking about.

Good Lord, I honestly thought "anger" was the actual name being used here... 😬

My bad, 🙂