Comrade Marx

I don't know man, we granted you peace when we were joining up against the Coal Mines but then you decided to start raiding our "inactives" so we responded in force. Then you declared war against us at the alliance level. It seems like a pretty open and shut case to me.

It does not, as far as negotiations are concerned.

Rommel's ~successes~ were often by sheer luck and not due to some innate genius. For instance, his foray into France earned his 7th Panzer Division the nickname of "Ghost Divison", not because ~it sounds cool~, but because he was often out of communication with his own troops and Army Group Command for extended periods of time and for advancing recklessly into enemy territory. He was incredibly lucky to not be captured or killed himself, and his division was very lucky to not be encircled and decimated. He was not involved in any plot to assassinate Hitler, but he was implicated and forced to commit suicide in order to spare his family. His close relationship with Hitler and his position in German High Command would also imply he was incredibly aware of the atrocities being committed in death camps throughout Germany and western Poland. Yet he continued to support the war effort and was against assassinating Hitler.

I'm glad we've found yet another demonstrable excuse to argue over something that isn't relevant or necessary. Nominations for the awards were open to the masses for days, and the voting was open to the masses as well. Everyone had an opportunity to participate in free and open elections for cheevos that do not matter. So why must we re-litigate the entire process? Why, so we can all continue arguing of course. Some of the folks that are wasting time here to argue over awards should instead redirect their energies to the negotiating table for the war they've lost instead of dying on this proverbial hill.

Going to respectfully decline on this one. Increasing the GC penalty will only compound the issues with this war system's balance, which is already way out of whack on beiges and Vacation Mode alone.

Update your prescription, or learn how to click and zoom.

Yes thank you. Please keep us apprised of your progress in this conflict.

It's a lateral disbandment.

Trump is by no means the first to attempt to counter-act the rise of China. Every US President since Truman has overseen containment policies targeting China. Nixon was notable, however, when he opened trade with China because this wasn't just some diplomatic overture to further the divide between the USSR and PRC after the Sino-Soviet split, but a calculated economic decision that benefited Western Capitalists. Arrogance on part of the West assumed China would never be able to catch up to the rest of the world in industrial output and technological advancement. But the terms of the deal struck between the Capitalists and the Chinese is what sowed the seeds of a rising China. And the deal worked something like this: In exchange for allowing the West to exploit cheap, Chinese labor they had to enter into partnerships with state-owned (and eventually, increasingly "privately owned") apparatus that included sharing their technology with the Chinese. As American and western European and Japanese companies gleefully ramped up outsourcing to China for production, they enabled an economic boom that has been ongoing over there for the last 40-50 years that has seen the standard of living for the average Chinese person quadruple while in the same amount of time the standard of living for an American has been stagnant. Flat. When you have an economy that routinely sees 9-12% of growth per year it is no surprise that they are rapidly catching up to one that at best sees 2-3% per year. Even China's lowest growth rate at 6% is still double that of the best the United States can do. It's no surprise then that China is increasing its military budget to compete with regional powers and against US influence in the region. And the US has been actively involved in containing China, as I stated before, with alliances with Japan, South Korea and the regional ASEAN bloc that includes the Philippines (a former US colony), Vietnam, Indonesia and Brunei. All of whom have competing territorial claims with China in the South China Sea, where the United States has been conducting routine "Freedom of Navigation" patrols through since Barack Obama. Whereas before that we simply just did whatever we wanted in the region, we now increasingly have to contend with China reasserting control over its own neighborhood, and that comes at the cost of the deal the West struck with China back in the 1970s coupled with the decline of Capitalism in the United States. Every future US President will continue to attempt containment of China, but the American Empire is in decline. There will be no return to the glory days. I strongly disagree that decorum, procedure and optics are all that there is left. The Democrats make a big show out of opposing Trump and the GOP but continue to pass his budgets and bills. I do agree that the crisis has nothing to do with one law or politician. These are merely the symptoms of a system organized to be controlled by the wealthy. But the Democrats would rather make Hot Takes all day instead of challenging a system that holds the nation hostage.

So many rising powers, I'm not sure I can keep up with them all! 2020 is shaping up to be something spectacular indeed.

Congratulations on modding your server.

You're no Charlie Chaplin. Go away.

It's been longer than a week, not that I care. This ~unofficial~ server already exists in the servers of every alliance in this game. This is just an explicit declaration that, aside from the Anti-GOONS Society Discord (lol), bigoted nonsense will be tolerated if not outright welcomed there. Congratulations on appealing to the lowest possible denominator, Robert.

Ascend or be recycled. There are no alternatives.

Not at all. The political reality behind the impeachment isn't to hold Trump accountable, but to distract the democratic base during what will be crucial opening months of the actual primaries. They could have impeached months ago, but chose to do it during primary season. They won't pursue it competently and they will most likely lose the senate vote to convict the President. Liberals have an obsession with decorum, procedure and optics. The appearance of taking on Trump is what fires them up, but undertaking real action to institute change takes the backseat nearly every time. That's why there is a large #Resistance "movement" of tepid liberals cheering on Nancy Pelosi's ~sarcastic~ clapping and other kinds of Woke Activism that never moves beyond the digital spaces they started in - Twitter and Facebook. Impeachment gives the liberal base another thing to spectate and cheer for while they continue to do nothing else. Which is precisely what the Democratic Party's leadership and donors want. The alternative is what you see with Bernie Sanders building and galvanizing a movement that threatens a disruption of the status quo.

Our offsite forums are not relevant to PnW rules discussion. Thanks.

Point being is I cannot and will not micromanage our membership. I tell them to follow the rules (and for the Grace of Holy Jesus, stop posting in NDF threads that don't directly concern them) but if they break them anyway that is on them, and they face the consequences accordingly.

Only if you ignore how many members we have and will continue to recruit. I think that's a pretty good ratio in proportion to our size.

I tell them to chill out but folks will get angry at perceived slights, valid or invalid. I do appreciate the patience you have for this, it can't be easy.

I know it was all fun and games harassing folks with lynching "jokes" and using the slightly more obscure Waffen SS insignia on your nation pages. I'm not sorry that you're upset that the free ride is over and feel the need to lash out and project your insecurities onto us. You're welcome to delete your nation if you don't like not being allowed to toss slurs around anymore, though. Nobody will miss you.

They were already allied with BK, though?

I, for one, welcome our new GROOT overlords.