The Peanut Gallery: Honestly It's Mostly Just a Rant About Democracy.
January 18, 2024
Welcome to the Peanut Gallery! Your daily dose of unfounded speculation.
Please remember that I know nothing.
Howdy Folks,
I’m going to need your help today because I know jack-shit about EU politics.
The European Union (EU) Parliament voted to endorse another step in a rule of law procedure that could eventually suspend Hungary’s voting rights after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban vetoed an EU vote for further military assistance to Ukraine.
Forgive my off-topic rant—Orban is so obviously a piece of shit that I don’t see value in proclaiming it—but it seems to me like there’s a bit of a theme forming. In the Polish Commonwealth there was something called the Liberum Veto, an unfortunate reality of democracy which may be pertinent to our present-day problems.
Here’s how the Liberum Veto works: essentially, it’s the idea that all 16th century Polish nobles are equal, therefore any legislation passed must be unanimous. Across a legislative body of several hundred, any one of which could render the body’s deliberation and previous legislation irrelevant with a sentence. It’s the democratization of the veto, an absolute empowerment of the minority. Unfortunately, this empowerment equaled inaction through the individual’s unwillingness to sacrifice.
Thinks of it this way: global warming is a problem; to reduce global warming we must all agree to never turn the heat up above sixty-nine degrees Fahrenheit. If even a single one of our eight billion humans says, “That’s bullshit and you can’t make me,” then the none of us can collectively legislate to stop it. We are all equal, therefore the individual’s discontent is as important as the majority’s.
Again. I can’t help but feel the European Union should take note. I know here in America there’s a damn many things I’d like to apply the lesson to...but can’t because of the completely unrelated and utterly irrelevant to this topic anomaly that is the filibuster. And the Senate in general. And apparently the House rule which allows for the calling a new Speaker every time the GOP accidentally makes a good decision. Also Citizens United. I didn’t know how to transition to it, but it really needed to be said. Fuck Citizens United.
The Polish Commonwealth fell because the minority could veto the majority. They were utterly incapable of collective action, because not one of them was willing to sacrifice for the collective. You want to know why autocracy is on the rise? Look no further than the wealth divide.
The reason fascism always loses, why autocracies seem riddled with corruption, is because of the Free Rider Problem. When society rewards the individual more for their achievements than for their contribution to the collective, then the individual has an incentive to prioritize gain at the cost of others. They don’t donate their labor to the collective. Instead, all must serve the self, because the self is all that society values. All for one.
But we only progress as a species when we work for the tribe. That’s what democracy offers: a chance to choose, to select for ourselves what the line should be between the collective and the individual. These conversations, the ones we have here on this bloated, pompous website, they’re the discussions which will shape the future. We will decide for ourselves what freedom means—not Putin, Trump, or anyone else. Does the individual have the right to veto the collective’s will? Or should it be one for all?
I feel that will be the conversation of the Twenty-First Century.
The battlespace in Ukraine continues to be the center of the technological offense-defense race between Russian and Ukrainian forces.
ISW quotes a Ukrainian official who says Russia upgraded the Kh-101 and subsequently made them harder to hit. These things haul around EW now, which is fucking remarkable. Ukraine has also demonstrated notable trouble knocking down Kh-101s lately, meaning this official is probably speaking legit.
While this development is certainly a problem, Russia’s slow production numbers mean exacerbation is limited by production.
In other news, I saw Ukraine testing a fucking jet-powered Shahed today. The thing’s tiny. They seem to be hoping it’ll serve as a sort of suicide AA device, which, if they can pull it off, then amazing. Seems to me, however, that they’re just developing intelligent cruise missiles at this point. No, I’m serious: that’s what that fucking thing is—that is not only an AA device. That is an anti-tank, anti-infantry, multipurpose, self-guided, long-range munition. Give it a single generation of innovation and I guarantee it will be fully autonomous. You are looking at the future of warfare, ladies and gentlemen.
Recent widespread GPS disruptions across Poland and the Baltic region are prompting speculation about the potential operation of Russian electronic warfare (EW) systems in the region.
Man, fuck the Kremlin.
Ukrainian partisans and satellite imagery confirmed that Ukrainian strikes against occupied Crimea in late December 2023 sank a Russian Tarantul-class corvette near Sevastopol.
Woah! Ukraine’s special forces have been busy. I must have completely missed when it originally happened, but I guess it’s no wonder the BSF are terrified of venturing west of Crimea.
The Ukrainian Main Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR) reportedly conducted a successful drone strike on Russian military facilities in Leningrad Oblast on January 18.
To be clear, these drones are produced entirely in domestic Ukraine. If there are bombs falling on St. Petersburg, then it’s because Ukraine is demonstrating new capabilities.
Ukrainian National Defense and Security Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov stated on January 18 that Ukraine is one of the top three drone manufacturers in the world and that private companies in Ukraine are currently supplying weapons to Ukrainian forces.[86] The Kyiv City Council announced that it will allocate 500 million hryvnias ($13.27 million) to purchase drones for Ukrainian forces in 2024.[87]
This right here, folks, is the end result of the literal remote-controlled missile you saw above. When we get right down to it, that’s all war really is: two competing defense industries chucking ordinance at each other.
Russian officials continue to target naturalized migrants as part of ongoing crypto-mobilization efforts.
Yeah, so, this is fuckin’ whack. Check it,
Russian officials continue to target naturalized migrants as part of ongoing crypto-mobilization efforts. Russian opposition outlet Astra stated on January 18 that Russian officials issued military summonses to at least 15 foreigners immediately after their citizenship ceremony in St. Petersburg.[79] Russian officials similarly issued summonses at a naturalization ceremony in St. Petersburg on December 20.
“Congratulations, sir. Here’s your passport and citizenship. Welcome to the Russian Federation. Now if you’ll please follow me over to the Mustering Hall, it seems you’ve been drafted.” Pitch perfect. Like this is Kafkaesque in every sense of the word.
Like let them get their fucking bearings, at least. How hard-up is the Kremlin for people if they need to draft folks at the ceremony? It just screams desperation.
Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko confirmed that Russian authorities have deported over 2,100 Ukrainians, including 500 children, to Russia for medical reasons in 2023.
Please give Ukraine what they need to bring this to an end.
'Q’ For the Community:
Guess the protests disappeared...or did they? Y’all think they’re still ongoing and the Kremlin’s blotting them out? Or are they effectively smothered?
Could someone please explain the recent EU drama regarding Hungary?
Join the conversation over on /r/TheNuttySpectacle.