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Posts by Tacitus  

Joined: 6 Jul 2017 / Male ♂
Warnings: 2 - OQ
Last Post: 25 Mar 2024
Threads: 2
Posts: 1,354

Displayed posts: 1356 / page 7 of 46
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Tacitus   
21 Jun 2022
Life / Poland's birthrate on the decline [480]

Only women are expected to make this choice.

Very true. Women have to bear the physical risks and inconveniences of birth and pregnancy and there is often an expectation that they sacrifice their careers instead of men. Which means that they are often at risk of poverty in old age if their marriage terminates (which happens more and more).

I am a man thus I do not have to worry about those things, yet I don't want any children either for multiple other reasons. The progress we have made as a species means that people do not need large families anymore in order to provide for themselves in old age, and women can actively choose if and how many children they end up with. Which also makes the decision to have children more noble and meaningful, but there should not be any pressure on women to "breed".
Tacitus   
14 Jun 2022
UK, Ireland / Is it good for Poland as Sinn Fein will win today in Northen Ireland [254]

I see plenty.

Me too, since I just read that it is possible that this proposal might not get a majority in parliament. Hopefully enough MPs will see that a clear violation of international law and a possible trade war with EU are not in the UKs' interest.
Tacitus   
12 May 2022
History / What do Poles owe to Hungarians? [231]

sheep like stupidity

More like the result of Merkel's policies reflecting the wishes of most Germans to some degree and an appreciation how she had steered Germany through multiple crisis by this point ( and would do so again during the pandemic). It of course also helped that the refugee crisis was well over by 2017.

they did vote for the nazi party

The NSDAP never received a majority in any fair and free election.

Please get this thread back to Hungarians, some of you are debating a different country
Tacitus   
12 May 2022
History / What do Poles owe to Hungarians? [231]

Merkel was reelected as chancellor 2 years after the decision, and the party that was decisively against her refugee policies got 10% of the votes.

That should never be allowed

Referendums are rarely practical, even in non-emergencies. A simple yes/no question hardly ever reflects the reality of the sitution. Something you seem either unable or unwilling to acknowledge.
Tacitus   
5 May 2022
News / Should Poland pay for gas in rubles? [155]

Germany placed far too much trust in Russia

True. But misplaced trust is different from malicious intent.

why do you think we left

Because you fell for a campaign based on lies and bigotry which was heavily supported by Russia. The EU is probably better off long-term without you, but it is still regrettable that British voters handed Putin this win.
Tacitus   
3 May 2022
News / Should Poland pay for gas in rubles? [155]

It is not just a question of demand but also logistics. Germany's pipeline network is still a relict of the German division. There is no direct connection between East and West Germany. East Germany has to rely on Schwedt which os now problem, but one that might be solved soon.
Tacitus   
30 Apr 2022
History / Sarmatism in Poland [119]

Always keep in mind that Crows posts do not just reflect his own delusions but those of a lot of Serbs (well, except maybe for the "Sarmatian nonsense). There are some really worrying signs coming from the Serb Republic in Bosnia, and Russia is gleefully sponsoring Belgrade and others who are flirting with another war in the Balkans.
Tacitus   
22 Apr 2022
History / How much Poles trust to France? [93]

There is no diffrence between them in that regard.

France under Macron is sending weapons to Ukraine.

MLP has previously called for recognizing Crimea as Russian and wants to stop sending weapons to Ukraine.
Tacitus   
19 Apr 2022
History / What do Poles owe to Hungarians? [231]

Germany has been sending arms to Ukraine, Klitschko is not arguing that Germany is not sending any weapons.

Klitschko is condemning Germany for not sending heavy arms like Tanks. Ignoring some serious doubts how useful the available tanks would be in any case, it is rather telling he singles out Germany for criticism despite the fact that no other country - except the Czech Republic who could so on short notice - has send any such weaponry.

There are no Abrams or Challengers in Ukraine either, but somehow the lack of Leopards' is what is deplorable.
Tacitus   
19 Apr 2022
History / What do Poles owe to Hungarians? [231]

at least among those who count

Quite the opposite. Germany is now sending arms to an active war zone. Buying gas from Qatar and the USA. Keeping coal plants longer online. All approved by ministers from the Green party. A seismic change to be sure.

That's all that matters.

It might look so now under the direct impression of the war, but this will perspective will change in a few years. People will then appreciate that we still have an economy and the EU.
Tacitus   
19 Apr 2022
History / What do Poles owe to Hungarians? [231]

Orban was elected democratically as well,

And since then he has been rigging the rules in order to stay in power. Redrawing voting restricts, banning media that portrays him unfavourably and outspending the opposition 10:1 during election campaigns. Merkel has done nothing of the sort.

crippling the entire political system along the way

Nonsense. There was a very smooth transfer of power after her departure. Smoother than Ibmight add in e.g. the USA.

no head of state is really effective at serving

Her exceptional handling of the Covid crisis begs to differ. We got really lucky that we had her, instead of someone like Johnson who has now blood on his hands.

horrifically misguided policy

That "horrifically misguided policy" helped keeping the peace in Europe for 50 years. In hindsight it was wrong to continue it past 2015, but there was little to no support for a drastic change in Germany back then. Other countries felt the same, even countries like Poland that had been sceptical of Moscow still bought gas from Russia.

That failing of her is more than balanced by her defence of the EU. If not for Merkel, Ukraine would not today be in position in which it can aspire to join the EU, and Europe would be even more fragmented and vulnerable to Russian aggression.
Tacitus   
18 Apr 2022
History / What do Poles owe to Hungarians? [231]

Why not?

Because she was a democratically elected leader who upheld the rules of democracy unlike the former.

Those who did not like her in Germany could vote against her and her opponents could make a case against without fear or consequences. They just failed to do since she was the greatest European politician of her generation.
Tacitus   
18 Apr 2022
History / What do Poles owe to Hungarians? [231]

Like Putin and Merkel and Erdogan, Orban

Could we please not put Merkel in a line with those people? Like or dislike her, she has won her elections fairly without murdering her opponents (Putin), imprisoning them (Erdogan) or redrawing election districts and rules and outspending the opposition 10:1 (Orban).
Tacitus   
12 Apr 2022
History / The Smolensk air disaster [6]

The Russians were obviously capable and willing to commit this crime.

They were certainly capable and would have had no qualms about it. But I don't really see what they got out of it. They had little reason to kill Lech Kaczyński since he was part of the eurosceptical movement that the Kremlin likes to sponsor in order to weaken the EU. I've also read claims that Kaczyński was also quite unpopular shortly before his death and thus likely to loose the next election. So if they wanted to get rid ofd him for some reason, they could have just waited.
Tacitus   
3 Apr 2022
UK, Ireland / Boris Johnson - is the new British PM a popular figure in Poland? [150]

money which is useless!

Training and maintaining a professional army costs money. More money is spend on wages than on new equipment. It also needs support from an effective administration, which Germany also helped with. German money is part of the reason that Ukraine was able to reform its' army and state after 2015. There are countries like Poland who can claim to have done more for Ukraine than Germany. But the UK? Never and it is laughable that some British people might think so. Your country did not even put up any pretext of wanting to help Ukraine in 2015 despite having signed the Budapest memorandum. Johnson only started to play tough when he wanted to distract the public from his many scandals.

will be welcome

Yeah "welcome". I encourage everyone to read up the visa guidelines for Ukrainian refugees who want to travel to the UK and compare them to German hospitality for Ukrainian refugees (let alone Poland's).

relying on Russian gas

Again, fair criticism from most country. But not from the one that assisted Russian oligarchs the most to launder their money and make them lords in return for investments and donations.

thetimes.co.uk/article/boris-johnson-will-sink-along-with-his-oligarch-pals-35x7hv32l
Tacitus   
3 Apr 2022
UK, Ireland / Boris Johnson - is the new British PM a popular figure in Poland? [150]

Since the war started? Plenty.

Arms are useless if you do not have the money to pay those who use them. Germany gave more money to Ukraine than any other European country.

The UK has signed the Budapest memorandum, yet was too busy with their Brexit folly instead of trying to help Kiev out afterwards.

The UK can start talking once it has accepted more than 100k refugees.
Tacitus   
3 Apr 2022
UK, Ireland / Boris Johnson - is the new British PM a popular figure in Poland? [150]

The UK is hardly in a position to criticize Germany on Ukraine. They have done nothing for them diplomatically leading up to the war, have given them less financial aid and are not willing to take in any meaningful number of refugees.
Tacitus   
16 Feb 2022
History / Where did the power of Poland vanish to, since... let`s say, some 300 years ago? [180]

Totalitarian

I don't think any regime from the 18th century would qualify as totalitarian, but it is true that those who were governed by enlightened absolute monarchs tended to be succesful (as long as the monarch was competent). That being said, the UK was on its' way to become a global superpower during the same time despite having a royal figurehead.

But having a competent, deeicated monarch could really make a difference back then, since the governmental affairs were still small enough for a king to oversee, and his spending habit could directly affect the state finances. Prussia's ascendence is populary linked to Frederick the Great, yet it was his father who made his conquests possible. When Frederick Wilhelm Icame to power, Prussia was almost bankrupt, with a small ineffective army that fared poorly in the War of the Spanish Succession and with a potential encirclement by Saxony and Poland. He left his son a huge surplus that financed his wars, a huge standing army that was best drilled on the continent and - by the standards of the time - highly sophisticated bureaucracy. Frederick Wilhelm was a truly terrible person in his private life, yet probably the best monarch one can hope for his country. Compare the results with the exploits of his contemporary August II of Saxony and the results for his domains.
Tacitus   
16 Feb 2022
History / Where did the power of Poland vanish to, since... let`s say, some 300 years ago? [180]

If we look at the time period, we can see that not necessarily wealth or size (in terms of ressources or territory) determine the success or failure of states, but how effective they can utilize their potential. Sweden used to be a powerhouse in the 17th century and continued to punch above its' weight despite being relatively poor and sparsely populated because it had a good administration and a very effwctive recruitment system. That only came to an end because of the disastrous Northern War (and Sweden continued to prosper nevertheless). In the 18th century, states like Russia, Prussia and to a certain extent Austria managed to significantly improve the reach of their bureaucracies, as historians note, we suddenly have much more detailed documentations about their subjects and wealth. As a result they could suddenly field professional armies several times the size of the undisciplined mercenary groups that dominated the 17th century. Poland was unable to do so and fell behind. But again, Poland was far from the only case. Saxony uses to be incredibly rich, it was in fact wealthier than Prussia until the Seven Years War, yet its' money was not invested into the military and thus it could only field a pitiable army that got easily crushed by Prussia.
Tacitus   
7 Feb 2022
UK, Ireland / Boris Johnson - is the new British PM a popular figure in Poland? [150]

Honestly, you can think what you want about his career or politics in general. But someone who bans people from visiting their dying loved ones or hold proper funerals for them, while he himself holds several parties with dozens of guest is despicable, plain and simple. Leaders are supposed to set an example in tough times, but how can he serve as one after that?