Mastodawn

Leendaal 16h ago

@randahl @Paul_stilgar a bucket of water IS still an overstatement.

Aurochs 16h ago

@randahl @Paul_stilgar Yet he's hugely impopular, due to years of relentless media harassment.

Daniel ☀

13h ago

@aurochs @randahl @Paul_stilgar The media tells people how they should feel. And many people follow suit.

ffalaschi 12h ago

@aurochs @randahl @Paul_stilgar
The big media are almost entirely owned by right wing billionaires and big corporations with big interests in petrol, weapons and, overall, in conservation of actual power system

Johns 10h ago

@aurochs @randahl @Paul_stilgar And because, nationally speaking, he sucks. His party is supposed to be left, but is more center than anything and don't make me start about what he does and says about the different nationalities in Spain, because I'm catalan.

But I have to admit, he's becoming a pillar on the European politic battleground, and PSOE are the only big party who speaks against Israel, the USA, and fascist people.

Dodo 15h ago

@randahl I already like them for closing their airspace to warplanes. @Paul_stilgar

samiamsam 15h ago

I have been thinking that moving to Canada would help my mental health, but Spain is now on the list too

Omnivore 15h ago

#alttext

Pedro Sánchez, the Prime Minister of Spain.

Marcin Jakubowski 14h ago

@randahl @Paul_stilgar I wonder whether the Spanish prime minister would be just as principled if Spain were located where Latvia or Poland are. BTW, this is the same Spain that says which does not need to increase Europe’s defense capabilities.

ᴮᵉⁿ ᴿᵒʸᶜᵉVOTE IN THE PRIMARIES 13h ago

i think that whatever the failings of spain on the issue of the ukraine war, we all understand these comments are in relation to the usa and israel's stupid war on iran, where sanchez's words are dead accurate

we are able to celebrate spain in this regard, while also castigating spain for its lukewarm approach on another topic, in different venues

we don't have to fit the entirety of the issues in the world in one social media post

manoel 11h ago

@jakmarcin @randahl @Paul_stilgar that's a very questionable statement and even if true, he's more proucranian than other opposition parties

ENIGMATICO

10h ago

@jakmarcin @randahl @Paul_stilgar Understandably those countries next to the border have a very good reason to be scared and spend more in the military, but that doesnt mean every country in the EU needs a 5% of their GDP in defense. I remind you the goal at first was 3.5 but then Rutte said 5 to make "Daddy Trump" happy.

I remind you that even without the US, Europe has many countries, most of which are NATO members and even if the US does not participate, thats a lot against a country that can barely make any progress in Ukraine, a country with 10 times less defense than Russia. To me, it looks more like a deterrent than a real necessity.

For Spain, commiting to the 5% in defense would mean reducing a lot of funds in social security and wellfares/retirement funds. We already raised the defense spending to a 2.1 this year.

ModestinoSycamore 10h ago

@enigmatico @randahl @jakmarcin @Paul_stilgar

I would also like to point out that, according to the United States, any increase in European countries’ defence budgets must involve the purchase of American weapons. Buying European weapons – or from any country other than the US – is NOT at all looked upon favourably by the US administration.

ENIGMATICO

10h ago

@ModestinoSycamore @randahl @jakmarcin @Paul_stilgar Yup. That's the whole point. They wanted a 5% instead of a 3% because Trump would make more money with that, and the EU agreed to it not only because of the deterrent factor, but also because they wanted to please Trump to have his favor in case of a war. Not because we really need a 5%. Plus, every country's GPD is different, tieing the defense spending budget to the GDP is a bit stupid imho. Some countries could do with less and some countries would need way more than a 5% to match the average spending of the EU.

And besides... not even the US spends a 5%.

guetto 🧑‍💻 🇪🇺10h ago

https://kyivindependent.com/zelensky-arrives-in-madrid-as-ukraine-spain-set-to-sign-defense-agreements/

March 2026

Spain unveils $1.2 billion in military aid for Ukraine

"(President Volodymyr Zelensky) has just arrived at the Sener Aerospace & Defense company. Here, he will inspect equipment samples and the production process," a presidential spokesperson said.

The Kyiv Independent

guetto 🧑‍💻 🇪🇺10h ago

https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/spain-announce-substantial-ukraine-aid-package-during-zelenskiy-visit-2025-11-18/

Nov 2025

guetto 🧑‍💻 🇪🇺10h ago

https://www.politico.eu/article/spain-signs-security-agreement-with-ukraine/

May 2024

Ukraine gets €1B in arms and security pact with Spain

Kyiv is signing security deals with its allies while it waits to join NATO.

POLITICO

Aurora 🐌6h ago

@guetto @jakmarcin @randahl @Paul_stilgar
And helping Ucranian people is also welcome refugees, something that Spanish goverment and spanish people has done.

Enyel of the Saintanne 6h ago

@jakmarcin @Paul_stilgar
Well, one would not finance its number one enemy, and the number one enemy of Spain is the spanish army. I'd argue its the same for many other european states, but well. Not overfunding the army is self protection for Spain (7 coups in the last 100 years and counting)

jer 14h ago

1. Set part of the world on fire.
2. Bring a bucket of water there.
3. Empty the bucket of water.
4. Fill the bucket with oil.
5. Profit!

#usa

Nine Stones Close 12h ago

@jerrej @randahl @Paul_stilgar this ☝️

Cress 13h ago

So proud of Spain!

Virginicus 12h ago

@randahl Makes sense that someone named @Paul_stilgar would be alert to a comment like that.

GhostOnTheHalfShell 10h ago

https://youtu.be/HRPMpBYTpKQ

4 min

The pumpkin spice Palpatine has just entered the finding out phase. I am fascinated that France is enjoying a huge capital gain, but aren’t they taking a physical shipment?

This reminds me of what eventually pushed Nixon to go off the dollar standard

France moves 129 tonnes of gold from New York Federal Reserve

YouTube