I really don't care for how everything the Bad Guy Countries do has to be some "scheme" full of "ambitions." it's always such loaded language, and it is so normalised people think you're a crank for displaying basic media literacy and pointing out the bias here.

Also it's all kinds of fucked up how they will portray western countries with human leadership, but the bad guy countries are portrayed by animals and fictional creatures, to make them seem more savage and dangerous and literally inhuman. Even if the bear and dragon holding hands is kind of adorable.

[–] FlakesBongler@hexbear.net 36 points 1 month ago (2 children)

I'm supposed to agree with the angry Belgian?

No, I am friends with the cute gay animals

[–] alexei_1917@hexbear.net 16 points 1 month ago

Exactly. You've drawn someone involved as the most adorable little fluffy hug shaped bear, and I'm supposed to agree with the guy mad at the bear? Yeah, no, I'd rather hug the bear than agree with the guy yelling at the fuzzball.

[–] ShareThatBread@hexbear.net 12 points 1 month ago

They’re Belgian? Should have given them something recognisable, like a severed hand.

[–] alexei_1917@hexbear.net 28 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Honestly, I swear, these people cannot draw a "scary bear" that doesn't look hug shaped. Couldn't do it during the Cold War when they were using the Soviet Bear as a scare image, couldn't do it when they used to draw China as a panda bear, still can't do it when they draw Russia as a grizzly bear.

And even now that they've switched to drawing China as a dragon, the dragons are just as cute as the panda bears were. A little less hug shaped, but even more boopable.

[–] laziestflagellant@hexbear.net 28 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

To be fair, the image is AI generated, you ask it for simplified cartoon bear and dragon holding hands and its probably going to spit out something cute it ripped from etsy and redbubble stores

[–] alexei_1917@hexbear.net 21 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

That explains a lot.

Wow, those USAID funding cuts hitting hard, anti China propagandists can't afford human made art? That's kinda funny.

[–] came_apart_at_Kmart@hexbear.net 27 points 1 month ago (2 children)

im trying to think how one should portray a personified western leadership, and all i can really come up with is heavily armed settler-cops for US/Canada and wealthy/aristocratic cartoonish vampires in suits for Europeans.

I can't really think of an animal, unless its just all fattened hogs in suits / military uniforms. all squealing over the non-functioning slop dispenser.

[–] Wheaties@hexbear.net 12 points 1 month ago

if we're looking for reductive fictional monsters, there's always Daleks

[–] Damarcusart@hexbear.net 7 points 1 month ago

Corpse eating ghouls would certainly fit.

[–] glimmer_twin@hexbear.net 10 points 1 month ago

Real citations-needed hours

[–] ShimmeringKoi@hexbear.net 50 points 1 month ago

Chinese ambitions

scheme

Damn bro this this is going crazy hitler-detector

[–] Rod_Blagojevic@hexbear.net 28 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Are we about to see a lot of English speaking, Mongolian freedom fighters in the news?

[–] theturtlemoves@hexbear.net 11 points 1 month ago (2 children)

I'm guessing this is specifically why Russia insisted that the pipeline go through Mongolia and the Mongolians get a generous toll for the use of their land.

[–] dumpster_dove@hexbear.net 9 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

get a generous toll for the use of their land.

Ukraine had that too, though.

It's surprising that there hasn't been more shit going down in Mongolia. One might expect that a large country right between the two main US enemies would be a priority target for destabilization attempts.

[–] aanes_appreciator@hexbear.net 10 points 1 month ago

It's incredibly sparse, though.

Mongolia barely has a higher pop than Wales (3,500,000 vs 3,200,000) but is... considerably larger (1,500,000KM^2^ vs 20,000KM^2^), with nearly half of the population live in the capital city.

Even if NATO flipped the government, there's not much that they could do. The armed forces are minuscule (35,000 active service, most of the country is on the draft) and culturally/politically the civilian population is far too under the Russian sphere to ever accept that hypothetical govt for long.

I guess it could be a tactic to further tie up Russian forces on multiple fronts, but I feel as though if that were an option it would have happened by now.

[–] jack@hexbear.net 7 points 1 month ago

It is entirely surrounded by Russia and China. Not easy to access.

[–] TankieTanuki@hexbear.net 19 points 1 month ago

TIL Lisbon is in North America.

[–] gayspacemarxist@hexbear.net 12 points 1 month ago

The dragon and bear holding hands is objectively cute.

[–] aanes_appreciator@hexbear.net 10 points 1 month ago

It's fascinating how influential the East-West transfer of oil and gas is considering how little leverage it provided the East during the first cold war.

[–] jUzzo6@hexbear.net 7 points 1 month ago

Linky link: https://27khv.substack.com/p/power-of-siberia-2-the-eus-greatest

[–] uSSRI@hexbear.net 7 points 1 month ago

Siberia 2: electric boogaloo, the story of the trans siberian who heroicaly built that railroad