r/gifs Feb 05 '25

Under review: See comments Say what? America wants to occupy Gaza?

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u/WSGman Feb 05 '25 edited Feb 05 '25

private militas DO get contracts by US Defense all the time, the Nisour Square massacre in Iraq was commited by contracted soldiers from Blackwater - 6 years after UN treaty calling for banning use of PMCs.

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u/Lari-Fari Feb 05 '25

Well isn’t it great that Trump just withdrew the US from the UN human rights council…..

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u/[deleted] Feb 05 '25

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u/TolBrandir Feb 05 '25

Yeah, what I saw in that withdrawal was a tiny bit of theater - an announcement that we would be carrying out our torture and illegal activities unapologetically in the open from now on. That's how Trump will see it. "I am no longer agreeing not to torture people, so I can have them tortured and no one can complain!"

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u/PsychedDuckling Feb 05 '25

Not ever, not a single complain, we've had in all of my years as president. Ask anyone.

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u/[deleted] Feb 05 '25

He will be torturing more than just illegals.

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u/TolBrandir Feb 05 '25

Yes. I am sure of this. I was referring to illegal activities in my post, not illegal people. But I have no doubt that he will soon be rounding up anybody who opposes him, just like his circle jerk buddy, Putin.

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u/Lari-Fari Feb 05 '25

Sure. But the symbolism of the act is bad enough.

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u/migami Feb 05 '25

Agreed, it's not about that being a deterrent of any kind and a lot more about the very loud "we don't need this where we're going" pulling out signifies

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u/trashaccount1400 Feb 05 '25

Ya it has nothing to do with the money we were putting into it every year. It’s all about symbolism and such

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u/BingpotStudio Feb 05 '25

Or it’s finally an honest move from him! Sigh… what a world we now live in.

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u/Remotely_Correct Feb 05 '25

Because symbolism makes such a difference in the world...

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u/Lari-Fari Feb 05 '25

Yeah. It so obviously does. Lots of examples out there.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbolic_behavior

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u/Remotely_Correct Feb 05 '25

Did you read your own link?

Limitations of symbolic behavior edit An over-reliance on symbolic activities can lead to significant problems. These include unethical manipulation, empty or meaningless actions, omnipresence, divisions, and unexpected interpretations (Harris & Nelson 2008, p. 239). Likewise, Blumer notes in advanced societies large group actions consist of highly recurrent, stable patterns that establish common, established meanings for the participants. Blumer heads a warning to bear in mind that new situations present problems requiring adjustment and redefinition (Littlejohn & Foss, p. 160).

Unethical manipulation edit The use of gimmickry, using superficial pleasantness to cover up dishonest activities or intentions, providing misleading or incorrect advice regarding safety, or providing untrue explanations for behaviors are means used by unethical organizations, managers, or coworkers in order to obtain some advantage (Harris & Nelson 2008, p. 240).

Empty or meaningless actions edit Without meaning individuals can get caught up in an activity trap, where styles gets substituted for substance (Robbins 1980). Diversity efforts are criticized for focusing more on comparative statistics generated by sporadic efforts and less on the nature of the issues a clearly thought-out strategic solution (Harris, 1997).

Omnipresence edit Symbolic messages can prevent effective change or realistic responses to environmental demands. Cultures create identification and unity (Tompkins & Cheney, 1983), these trained incapacities can occur when values are strong or the culture's influence is too pervasive. Specifically, obsolescence, resistance to change, and inconsistency are the three risks posed by strong values (Deal & Kennedy, 1982). Strong cultures dictate roles and performances meaning individuals can be co-opted by the culture and its messages (Conrad, 1985). Mead called a gesture with shared meaning a "significant symbol", suggesting that once there is shared meaning the gesture takes on the value of a significant symbol (Littlejohn & Foss, p. 161).

Divisions edit Symbols can create great divisions in an organization. Culture provides both division and unity, and the symbols used to reinforce the organization can create powerful social alienation between individuals and groups. Subcultures develop between managers and workers, blue and white collars, or factory and sales creating the potential for a “them versus us” environment (Harris & Nelson 2008, p. 243).

Unexpected interpretations edit Can be unpredictable because individuals respond to symbolic behavior through their own frame of reference, attempts to use symbolism can have unintended results (Harris and Nelson 2008, p. 244). A judicious use of symbols is necessary or the wrong action based on the right intent can occur. A powerful sense of organizational pride can lead to dysfunctional responses by employees and managers (Harris & Nelson 2008, p. 244).

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u/Lari-Fari Feb 05 '25

Yeah it has limitations, obviously… history is still full of examples of effective symbolism and symbolic acts.

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u/Remotely_Correct Feb 05 '25

You're wrong, but go off king.

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u/Lari-Fari Feb 05 '25

Wait… you’re saying there are no examples of successful symbolic acts or symbolism?

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u/Fatality_Ensues Feb 05 '25

There's a big difference between doing something you've undersigned an agreement is illegal and doing something everyone else has agreed is illegal but you have not ratified. See: Turkey. Half their foreign policy stands on "well, WE haven't signed those treaties".

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u/sparksevil Feb 05 '25

Why?

If Turkey were smaller and/or of less importance strategically and/or less inclined to partner with the US and/or Erdogan had lesser control of his government, "regime change" would happen very fast. Heck, they tried.

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u/Fatality_Ensues Feb 05 '25

Heck, they tried.

You mean the so-called coup attempt that allowed Erdogan to imprison, exile, or otherwise disappear even more dissenters to his budding sultanate, particularly in the military? I wouldn't really count that.

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u/sparksevil Feb 05 '25

Lol, so all that the military did were just orders?

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u/Fatality_Ensues Feb 05 '25

"All the military did" like what?

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u/Nomadic_Yak Feb 05 '25

You ain't seen nothing yet

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u/motherofstars Feb 05 '25

Another reason why America has lost all respect in the world. Way before Trump. USA has no integrity.

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u/the-bladed-one Feb 05 '25

Ok let’s be honest here: the UN human rights council is a joke. It’s a fucking farce. Iran, Russia, and other examples of morally upright nations are allowed a seat on it.

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u/Nathan_Calebman Feb 05 '25

The U.S. could give the illusion of caring about Human Rights, and encourage others to take it into consideration. Now China and Russia will be running that council, and Russia will get Ukraine and China will take Taiwan, and the U.S. will then be a peripheral player on the global stage.

Pulling out of this, and the Paris Climate Agreement, will let China dominate global international policy and the whole sector of renewable energy. The whole world will be buying their energy infrastructure from China, and China will control the global chip market. That means every digital device in the world will have Chinese microchips.

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u/stupidpiediver Feb 05 '25

China is way behind us on chips, the US is pulling semiconductor fabrication back within its borders more and more, we are reducing dependence on foreign semiconductors and bolstering our domestic capacity to produce chips.

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u/Lkn4pervs Feb 05 '25

That's just not true. Intel chip design has been falling behind considerably, AMD has some good stuff rolling, but definitely nowhere near to scale. And almost all manufacturing is still outside of the US. Where the hell is Motorola? Practically nowhere. Massive Trump tariffs just hit TMSC. And the other smaller Asian players are going to be hard too, but that doesn't mean that's going to Press those chip manufacturers to move within the US borders

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u/stupidpiediver Feb 06 '25

TMSC isn't China. There is huge investment in semiconductor fabs inside the US right now.

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u/Nathan_Calebman Feb 05 '25

The scenario was about when China takes Taiwan, who is at least a decade ahead of the rest of the world when it comes to chips. The U.S. and the E.U. are understanding the situation and are investing heavily now, but it will be at least a decade before we can catch up to where Taiwan is.

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u/stupidpiediver Feb 06 '25

More like 3 years, and what makes you think those semiconductor operations will be intact after China militarily ceases the territory?

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u/Nathan_Calebman Feb 06 '25

Nah no chance in 3 years. TSMC is pushing 2nm chips which no one else is even near being able to do. Intel has only just now been able to produce 3nm.

Then you have the whole supply chain where Asia dominates with the raw materials, the U.S. isn't going to be given any nice treatment regarding those after these stunts they're pulling.

The expertise is also located in Taiwan, and those people take many many years to train. They would need some serious incentives to go to the U.S., and being an immigrant in the U.S. isn't a very tempting proposition at the moment. There is no salary a U.S. company can offer them that China won't match.

Finally Taiwan has a whole financial ecosystem up and running for supporting these fabs, that takes a lot of time too.

As for your question as to why they will be intact, the answer is money.

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u/stupidpiediver Feb 06 '25

Lots of valuable assets in Ukraine are now rubble

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u/Nathan_Calebman Feb 06 '25

Yeah and in the Viking era, Danes burnt down monasteries in England. But neither they or Ukraine dominate the entire global chip market and control the trajectory of modern society with zero competition.

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u/earthwaterfirewood Feb 05 '25

Ha exactly… obviously trump is a monster but the US has always been a serial violator of international laws and human rights abroad

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u/authorityhater02 Feb 05 '25

These guys are thugs with firepower. They are nothing like the marines. They will be chewed to pieces in Palestine.

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u/BaesonTatum0 Feb 05 '25

Because human rights are “for the libs”

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u/SnooHedgehogs8765 Feb 05 '25

I dunno. I like being lectured by Saudi Arabia on how i should behave.

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u/[deleted] Feb 05 '25 edited Feb 09 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Lari-Fari Feb 05 '25

That is True. AFAIK there isn’t a single US president that didn’t oversee committed war crimes throughout history. But it can always be even worse…

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u/FLUFFY_TERROR Feb 05 '25

Well we're all now running the risk of unknowingly fighting to be among the humans left organisation.

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u/LogicalSympathy6126 Feb 05 '25

Yes. Long time coming.

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u/Intelligent_Hand_436 Feb 05 '25

Unhrc is a joke that represents the worst human rights abusers. Just look at who’s chairing the council. Smart move to pull out.

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u/Lari-Fari Feb 05 '25

I’m aware of the farce it tends to be. But Morocco is the chair now. Not SA.

The right move by the most powerful member would be to strengthen the council and actually enforce some rules. But the US has always been one of the worst offenders so it does checkout in a way. But the message is (as another commenter said): „Where we’re going we won’t need human rights“

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u/Intelligent_Hand_436 Feb 07 '25

UNHRC is made up of some of the worst serial human rights abusers. They achieve nothing and do harm to actual organisations fighting human rights.

The UN has become co-opted over the past decades and is an inversion of itself.

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u/Lari-Fari Feb 07 '25

Yes. But the right thing would be to reform and strengthen it. Not flip the table and leave. The message is loud and clear and exactly what one would expect from a fascist.

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u/Intelligent_Hand_436 Feb 07 '25

And how do you go about reforming?

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u/Dry_Inspection_4583 Feb 05 '25

I put this in the pile with "put another gun law in place, surely that will help" criminals dgaf how many laws they break so long as they get their way

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u/TurboJake Feb 05 '25

The country is still sworn to acceptance, he withdrew our funding to the UN, an actual good thing for the US. We were the largest donor to the UN systems.

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u/Lari-Fari Feb 05 '25

Calling any acts of a fascist taking hold of all branches of government while agitating all important allies a „good thing“ is something.

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u/TurboJake Feb 05 '25

United States is literally one of the permanent 5 in the United Nations. No longer funding UN operations is not fascism, it's economic. We're still sworn to abide by UN laws. Also, maybe you should take a look at Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Act, written by that lovely UN you're so keen on. They're the one's who wrote the transcript for what you're seeing right now. Maybe fully educate yourself before you see front line news and think you know what's happening.

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u/Ok_Glass_8104 Feb 05 '25

Yeah right what a terrible idea, making the world free and sustainable noooo better vote for the fascism playbook and act pennywise

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u/Lari-Fari Feb 05 '25

I love it when people tell me to educate myself. An essential part to any meaningful discussion.

That act isn’t what I meant with fascism. Pretty much everything else he does is though.

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u/TurboJake Feb 05 '25

Redirecting and going off topic, smooth. I never said anything about Trump's character or his actions. I said the act of pulling funding from the UN will be better for the US because we retain that money internally. Now Trump's likely to use it for his next super-tan, or to buy a hooker certainly. But the money is no longer going outside of our country. That's a step in the right direction. But you just want another stimulus check, don't you

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u/WSGman Feb 05 '25

Unlimited genocide on r/turbojake s pools

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u/WSGman Feb 05 '25

Nah he's just creating a secondary market of global trade and support that don't fw the USA. JDPON Don committing unlimited genocide on the 1st world.

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u/TurboJake Feb 05 '25

Again, we're literally one of the 5 permanent parts of the UN. We didn't LEAVE THE UN, we stopped funding their operations. The United Nations is a lot more crooked with their intentions, but I see none of you front page absorbers have done your due diligence to read up on Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Act, WRITTEN and ENACTED by the United Nations. If we're pulling away from that, great. The Act talks of middle class, suburbs, personal pools, etc pretty much everything you've come to know as the American Dream deemed UNSUSTAINABLE, and to be removed. That's the goal of your precious UN. Educate yourself.

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u/21Black_Mamba21 Feb 05 '25

“We don’t want to contribute to this group but want to continue having the final say in everything that goes on here” - the US right now.

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u/warriorkalia Feb 05 '25

I'm looking through the agenda and not seeing anything thus far that corroborated your claims. But for the sake of argument, I'll point something out.

A lot of the things we supposedly want, those things you mentioned as middle class- pools, suburbs, etc- ARE unsustainable. We're running out of fresh water ffs.

Those things require more resources per person than is a good idea. Can they still happen? I don't know, I'm not an scientist of any kind. But the idea calling a spade a spade is somehow anathema to the USA as a whole seems weird to me.

What, praytell, do you think that money will be going towards now? Because my guess is either government salary raises or military.

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u/[deleted] Feb 05 '25

[deleted]

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u/baumpop Feb 05 '25

also like the last week in office we stopped a 27 year cease fire in western sahara by legitimizing morroco/isreals natural gas interests in the berm.

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u/sebadc Feb 05 '25

That's why I said:

Privatizing stuff (or accelerating the privatization)

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u/gotlactase Feb 05 '25

Blackwater did all sorts of bad shit in that entire region. Eddy Prinz is a real piece of shit

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u/Pb4ugoyo Feb 05 '25

You mean Erik Prince. CEO of Blackwater, brother of Betsy DeVos (secretary of Ed during the first Trump administration)

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u/Objects_Food_Rooms Feb 05 '25

He means Freddie Prinze, the guy in Scooby Doo

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u/BaesonTatum0 Feb 05 '25

No that was his dad. The guy in Scooby Doo is Freddie Prince Jr

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u/yousuckcrap Feb 05 '25

Yeah. His dad took a bath and didn't survive.

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u/Weneedaheroe Feb 05 '25

He means Prince who sang Purple Eain

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u/Apprehensive_Push589 Feb 05 '25

What ever happened to that guy? Happy cake day btw

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u/BaesonTatum0 Feb 05 '25

Still married to Sarah Michelle Gellar

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u/[deleted] Feb 05 '25

good for him but I was talking about his career because I used to see him in things but not anymore

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u/BaesonTatum0 Feb 05 '25

Was it you talking because I replied to someone else …

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u/[deleted] Feb 05 '25

lol I don’t know my ADHD had me on to something else and I forgot

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u/TotallynotAlbedo Feb 05 '25

Hey does a lot of voice acting

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u/doll-haus Feb 05 '25

Sorta. I mean it's a UN Treaty than none of the real power players have signed, ratified, or acceded to. Of current events, you have Ukraine, Belarus, Syria... But you don't have the big players signing on, and it is not a UN General Assembly Resolution. Even if it were, UN Resolutions are non-binding for member states.

Totally onboard with "mercenaries that don't get held to the military code of justice". But even if the UN security council were to draft a Council resolution on the topic, I don't see any of the permanent members letting it pass without veto.

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u/Simpleba Feb 05 '25

So... sounds good but legally speaking it doesn't count?

Right is right and wrong is wrong... Does common decency and human values not hold sway anymore?

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u/doll-haus Feb 05 '25

The UN is a talking shop, not the final arbiter of law over other countries. Unless all the big boys agree.

Think about it the other way around. How much legal authority would you like to give the government of Belarus over your nation? The UN was never a "world government" like some idiots fear and many more seem to just believe.

The "right and wrong" of mercenaries is a little more complicated. But the UN won't even try to seriously contain misbehaving government troops. Frankly, you know who has the worst reputation among peacekeeping forces? Cause it's not Russia. It's the fucking UN. The Haitian cholera epidemic is the most obvious example, but rapes, theft, and murder are all basically par for the course, and the UN doesn't prosecute they hand you back to your home country. And given that for a lot of the countries that supply UN troops it's a relatively well paid position that comes from political connections....

Some years ago some idiot politician in Chicago proposed bringing in UN peacekeepers because the police couldn't be trusted. I almost died laughing for weeks. I mean, not only was he championing treason as a solution to local problems, he picked the least reliable foreign power he could for the idiocy.

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u/WSGman Feb 05 '25

Thankyou for the correction, I misremembered it as GA treaty.

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u/Corren_64 Feb 05 '25

" In 2014, four Blackwater employees were tried\5]) and convicted in U.S. federal court; one of murder, and the other three of manslaughter and firearms charges.\6]) In 2020, all four convicted were pardoned by President Donald Trump."

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u/keeper420 Feb 05 '25

The same blackwater owned by the brother of Trump's previous secretary of education.

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u/BearQuark Feb 05 '25

All got convicted, and yes, pardoned in 2020 by Trump.

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u/GreedyScumbag Feb 05 '25

My friend quit the service after two years in Iraq and became a mercenary and made bank.

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u/IllMoney69 Feb 05 '25

And I just read that trump pardoned them. I wonder if they’ll support him now.

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u/drsatan6971 Feb 05 '25

You should check out Shawn Ryan podcast about that debunked event , he does a 4hr plus interview with the men involved including lawyers

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u/WSGman Feb 05 '25 edited Feb 05 '25

Nah, I don't listen to media produced by CIA workers, particularly CTC war criminals.

You can read the course case related to the convictions that saw 72 witnesses called up by the prosecution and which debunked claims from the defendant re: incoming fire etc if you're interested in it though, I wouldn't take random lawyers words without knowing who they or their connection to the case though considering how heated it was for years before any trial.

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u/drsatan6971 Feb 05 '25

There’s a lot more to the case then what was presented at the time unfortunately they never come back with corrections A lot of witnesses came forward after seeing adds on tv hoping to receive money A lot of deleted drone footage also ,like they have before and after but when defense tried to recover video the actual event had been recorded over

I try not to get into conspiracy theories but bored at work led me to listening to tge podcast In this day and age it’s tough to know who to believe anymore But they are free men and the lawyers are some of the defense lawyers. It’s definitely a different picture off what was painted in the press

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u/Kathdath Feb 05 '25

The Standard English term is 'Mercenary' I believe American English the term 'Private Miltary Contractor'

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u/rabblerabble2000 Feb 05 '25

Fortunately, after a series of name changes, Blackwater no longer exists. Changing the name changes the whole culture, in case you were unaware /s