If you are anxious and sad about the state of the world, that's fine, and there are plenty of strategies for dealing with that. But I think you already know that drive-by online dooming isn't a strategy. It's selfish and adolescent. It's a contagion that only spreads the worst of you, not the best.

> It is that immigrants should be treated with respect, as human beings, not with suspicion, as a problem to be solved

Hell yeah

> if kids were killed it's pretty reasonable to assume the parents deserved it
Quite a take ngl

The US possesses a not completely non-credible preemptive/damage-limiting strike capability. They *might* not have to trade NYC for anything.

They can also match Russia in limited escalation.

Neither is the case for minimal deterrence countries like the UK or France.

This is precisely why the US has spent an enormous amount of effort creating a possibility in the mind of its adversaries that it would not need to trade.

The possibility of the US engaging in counter-force is credible, regardless of one's opinion on counter-force. There is no credible possibility of that for France or the UK with our current arsenals.

Imagine Russia threatening to nuke Narva if they don't surrender. Can Britain credibly threaten to retaliate, trading London for Narva? I don't think so.

Europe either needs to be way more united for those threats to be credible, or it needs a much more capable and flexible nuclear arsenal.

Problem is, extending French or British nuclear umbrella is largely fiction. Both are only offering "minimal deterrence" (a threat to innflict limited, but severe damage, eg incinerate central Moscow). It kind of works for threats against home countries, but not when extended to allies.

British nuclear deterrent is operationally independent, claims to the contrary are popular, but nonsensical. There are medium-long term sustainment problems, sure, and they are expensive to sort out, but that's not an operational concern.

[1]: alexwlchan.net/2025/create-...
[2]: github.com/strukturag/l...

Veblen good innit

Here's another level of toxicity:
- social care can't fail
- therefore the councils will always get bailed out (and are subsidised by the exchequer anyway)
- therefore there's little actual incentive to increase business rates and council tax receipts
- therefore there is no incentive to build

And also that the vast majority of immigrants in the UK are middle class professionals, that we should attract more, and that we have every advantage in doing so

It's the nativists who are fighting an uphill battle in the UK, normal people just need to show up

The third direction, and that's something Britain is historically excellent at, is to wage a memetic war against nativists and remind people that being British by choice is at least as valid as just being born here

Very sorry to hear that. Good people posting normal human things is how places online survive, without people like you it's just idiots, grifters, and bots. I hope those assholes don't get under your skin and won't silence you.

Happy holidays from a stranger ❤️

Also

> when nuclear weapons make hegemonic war impossible

Does the Cold War count? Shall the collapse of the Soviet Union be considered one such burn?