Bulgaria and Romania have been fully integrated into the Schengen Area, as of 1 Jan 2025.

The free-travel area now includes all EU states except Cyprus, which is in the process of joining, and Ireland, whose membership is complicated by its Common Trade Area with former EU-member the United Kingdom. Also members are four non-EU states: Iceland, Switzerland, Norway and Liechtenstein.

There are also four small countries that are not officially in Schengen but effectively have open borders with a Schengen state or two: San Marino, Andorra, Monaco, and the Vatican.

Why is Australia Preparing For War with China?

Is an invasion of Australia by China possible? Rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific, military buildups, and fears over Taiwan have Australians on edge. Experts warn Australia could be dragged into a U.S.-China conflict—or face direct threats from Beijing. This video dives into the risks, military comparisons, and the strategic stakes for both nations. Is Australia ready for such a challenge?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THcjBOV-7yg

Spiny Norman said:

Why is Australia Preparing For War with China?

Is an invasion of Australia by China possible? Rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific, military buildups, and fears over Taiwan have Australians on edge. Experts warn Australia could be dragged into a U.S.-China conflict—or face direct threats from Beijing. This video dives into the risks, military comparisons, and the strategic stakes for both nations. Is Australia ready for such a challenge?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THcjBOV-7yg

Any move by China to take Taiwan is not a US-China war. It is a regional war. If China succeed in taking Taiwan then they control the whole region, and can choke off any other regional trade they chose. Including ours. Being part of the pro-Taiwan group is not being dragged into somebody else’s war.

Spiny Norman said:

Why is Australia Preparing For War with China?

Is an invasion of Australia by China possible? Rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific, military buildups, and fears over Taiwan have Australians on edge. Experts warn Australia could be dragged into a U.S.-China conflict—or face direct threats from Beijing. This video dives into the risks, military comparisons, and the strategic stakes for both nations. Is Australia ready for such a challenge?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THcjBOV-7yg

When was Australia ever ‘ready for such a challenge’?

To my mind, the nearest we’ve ever been to being ‘ready for such a challenge’ was the lateer 1960s / first half of the 1970s.

We had an army that was (more or less) geared for combat in Asia, especially south-east Asia, a reasonably-well-balanced air force (the arrival of F-4 Phantoms and then F-111s did much to bolster that), and a quite capable navy, with its own aviation component, and a strong emphasis on anti-submarine warfare, enhanced by the early ’70s expansion of amphibious landing abilities.

Since then, it’s been a process of fragmenting of the cohesiveness of the force structure (despite various efforts to coalesce it again), with much due to the RAAF’s paranoia, self-adoration, and sulking about various perceived slights, and the politicking and lobbying that came from that.

sorry we haven’t factchecked

SCIENCE said:

sorry we haven’t factchecked

I hope they give him a note

look we don’t know much about burning down wildlife in major urban centres but as to the last part we suppose people could just not engage in gunfire and war in the first place

oh what was that did someone just say that fireworks led to guns

ah fuck

dv said:

SCIENCE said:

sorry we haven’t factchecked

I hope they give him a note

I don’t think they give notes to allow people to remove heads or commit war crimes

There’s still plenty of footage of people’s heads being sawn off by the new government. New boss like the old boss.

Canadialand.

https://globalnews.ca/news/10945543/cochrane-daughter-death-urgent-care/

annexation by a cuntry with an awesome healthcare system would have prevented slash fixed this

The Danish Coat of Arms has been updated.

OLD

NEW

The Ram representing the Faroes and the Polar Bear representing Greenland have been given greater prominence. Schleswig is represented by the two lions passant. Whereas before there were two representations of the three lions of Denmark, now there is only one.

The three crowns representing the Kalmar Union between Denmark, Norway and Sweden have been removed completely. This symbol has been part of the Danish CoA for 500 years but in fairness I suppose it is not so relevant now.

There’s been some speculation that the greater prominence of Greenland is a rebuke to the once and future President.

dv said:

The Danish Coat of Arms has been updated.

OLD

NEW

The Ram representing the Faroes and the Polar Bear representing Greenland have been given greater prominence. Schleswig is represented by the two lions passant. Whereas before there were two representations of the three lions of Denmark, now there is only one.

The three crowns representing the Kalmar Union between Denmark, Norway and Sweden have been removed completely. This symbol has been part of the Danish CoA for 500 years but in fairness I suppose it is not so relevant now.

There’s been some speculation that the greater prominence of Greenland is a rebuke to the once and future President.

going to be in sore need of revision again when the Second Fascist Occupation occurs

Wait so they admit it then¿ In the anti doping world, you pay for results¿

Dissatisfied over the handling of the Russian doping scandal, the first Trump White House started asking for reforms with the potential of tying them to its annual payment.

More recently, WADA’s handling of cases involving 23 Chinese swimmers has been a focal point of criticism.

A government study that came out in 2020 concluded Americans didn’t get their money’s worth from the contribution. Shortly after, Congress gave the ONDCP discretion to withhold future funding.

makes sense

notgreen land

While Kristrún, who at 36 years old is not only Iceland’s youngest ever leader but also understood to be the world’s youngest serving state leader, says she had no intention of forming a female-dominated government, she has ended up with a coalition run entirely by women.

as some of yous have suggested it would be wise for governments that run their own currencies and websites and identity services to also provide a sovereign online town square, we are on board with this idea

SCIENCE said:

as some of yous have suggested it would be wise for governments that run their own currencies and websites and identity services to also provide a sovereign online town square, we are on board with this idea

sorry forgot to include the context here have some

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jan/12/elon-musk-and-the-new-world-order-the-hijacking-of-the-global-conversation

SCIENCE said:

notgreen land

While Kristrún, who at 36 years old is not only Iceland’s youngest ever leader but also understood to be the world’s youngest serving state leader, says she had no intention of forming a female-dominated government, she has ended up with a coalition run entirely by women.

Interesting.

SCIENCE said:

as some of yous have suggested it would be wise for governments that run their own currencies and websites and identity services to also provide a sovereign online town square, we are on board with this idea

Works for China…

Michael V said:

SCIENCE said:

as some of yous have suggested it would be wise for governments that run their own currencies and websites and identity services to also provide a sovereign online town square, we are on board with this idea

Works for China…

Limiting speech as a modus operandi is not what MZL is suggesting.

Witty Rejoinder said:

Michael V said:

SCIENCE said:

as some of yous have suggested it would be wise for governments that run their own currencies and websites and identity services to also provide a sovereign online town square, we are on board with this idea

Works for China…

Limiting speech as a modus operandi is not what MZL is suggesting.

yeah well it was also mentioned that ABC had something like that 25 years ago but it got too much so FTL but as private enterprises have shown, it’s not infeasible for a sovereign state to provide such access to a curated public space

we’re suggesting that governments provide that space as an option, not that governments restrict users to that space

(but yes it does seem to work for CHINA so make of that what yous will)

SCIENCE said:

dv said:

SCIENCE said:

dv said:

The DOJ’s “view that the Constitution prohibits the continued indictment and prosecution of a President is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the Government’s proof, or the merits of the prosecution, which the Office stands fully behind”

Honestly that’s completely fucked up. Boris Johnson was successfully prosecuted in office. Park Geun-hye was convicted of bribery. Jacques Chirac went down for embezzlement. It’s just a gig. It’s an administrative position. It’s not supposed to be a get out of jail free card.

so uh how’s the law enforcement with that Korean ex president fella going then

She was imprisoned for five years and then received a pardon on compassionate grounds. She paid a fine of around 10 million dollars.

the fella not the shella… but we suppose it ain’t over yet, they’re still out with a warrant

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01-15/police-enter-yoon-suk-yeol-presidential-compound-south-korea/104818212

South Korean authorities are at impeached president Yoon Suk Yeol’s residence to execute an arrest warrant tied to his controversial martial law declaration in December.

Yonhap News Agency is reporting that some ruling party MPs have formed a human chain outside the residence to block the arrest.

About 6,500 supporters have also gathered in front of Mr Yoon’s residence, according to police data.

South Korean police are attempting to enter Mr Yoon’s residence from back of compound.

Video footage showed investigating officers trying to push through a crowd of Mr Yoon’s supporters gathered outside his hillside villa, where he has been holed up for weeks behind barbed wire and a small army of personal security.

SCIENCE said:

SCIENCE said:

dv said:

She was imprisoned for five years and then received a pardon on compassionate grounds. She paid a fine of around 10 million dollars.

the fella not the shella… but we suppose it ain’t over yet, they’re still out with a warrant

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01-15/police-enter-yoon-suk-yeol-presidential-compound-south-korea/104818212

South Korean authorities are at impeached president Yoon Suk Yeol’s residence to execute an arrest warrant tied to his controversial martial law declaration in December.

Yonhap News Agency is reporting that some ruling party MPs have formed a human chain outside the residence to block the arrest.

About 6,500 supporters have also gathered in front of Mr Yoon’s residence, according to police data.

South Korean police are attempting to enter Mr Yoon’s residence from back of compound.

Video footage showed investigating officers trying to push through a crowd of Mr Yoon’s supporters gathered outside his hillside villa, where he has been holed up for weeks behind barbed wire and a small army of personal security.

oh

South Korea’s anti-corruption agency says impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol has been detained, several hours after hundreds of the agency’s investigators and police officers arrived at his presidential compound to apprehend him.