this post was submitted on 13 Jul 2025
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Mildly Interesting

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The troop withdrawal created a ton of surplus armament. Through the so-called “1033 program,” police departments can acquire excess military gear from the Pentagon for free.

Source: https://www.stephensemler.com/p/how-the-iraq-war-turbocharged-police

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[–] theUwUhugger@lemmy.world 20 points 1 day ago (5 children)

Well yea, but you can buy a semi-automatic riffle on walmart and legally own a bump that makes that automatic…

I may be too european, but cops are not bastards here in Hungary…

[–] FelixCress@lemmy.world 23 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I may be too European but cops are not bastards

It is different in the vast majority of of the EU, true.

here in Hungary

Aren't they Orban's bitches? Genuine question. I have seen examples where they definitely have been.

[–] theUwUhugger@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago (2 children)

No, actually they and the military quite a bit dislike Orban regardless of their political standing! He started his first 4 year by fucking over their benefits and retirement plan… What did you see?

[–] FelixCress@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

What did you see?

Police declining to execute European Arrest Warrant, inconvenient to Orban.

[–] theUwUhugger@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

Not one person, not in the public sector is going to stand up in defiance alone?

My dad works in the army, he and his colleagues were out on the pride (which was kinda a protest too since the Orban said we can’t have a pride)! He didn’t agree with… well anything (gonna be a fun day when he finds out I am bi) but in a face mask, a face covering shawl and a sunglass he was out there

[–] silasmariner@programming.dev 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Generic sentiment that Orban is dictatorial coupled with an association of dictatorships and a dependency on the military? That's probably enough to be getting on with, ain't nobody got time to know about everything. But actually not OP, I probably would've drawn the same inferences and am enlightened by you.

[–] theUwUhugger@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

Orbans rule is not that of military one? Despite his best efforts we are atill a European country

His rule can be thanked to a multitude of reasons mainly: -Gerrymandering: With 43% of vites he received 76% mandate somehow in the last cycle -Insane levels of corruption that among other thing were used to buy and build a media empire to control the narrative -Lack of real opposition: all were bought or their rep destroyed by the before mentioned news empire! Peter Magyar seems like he will finally finally win ag Orban, as his name is kinda impervious (he used to be the husband of the formal minister of justice; someone who were forced to stepped down after she gave pardon to the pedofile friend of Orbans brother) and to some degree he was a party member, tho neither site is willing to reveal how much… And tho every election cycle had the same hype: that fidesz is finally going to prison…

[–] driving_crooner@lemmy.eco.br 10 points 1 day ago (2 children)

ACAB, but some are more bastarts than others.

[–] theUwUhugger@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago

I would really disagree, I haven’t the faintest clue whats its like in the US but as someone of gypsy descent and as someone who grew up in a soviet era 10 story building I have never had a singular bad experience with them!

[–] 3abas@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

ACAB is a very good slogan, but only if we understand it.

It's very specifically referring to cops like the American police system, not the concept of policing. Community policing and ensuring people are safe and have someone to help them in emergencies is a good thing, community policing makes community livable, it's a basic feature of society.

Cops in America trace their roots to violent thugs who were paid by wealth slavers to return their slaves. Their job is literally to protect the property of the rich, not to protect or serve the community as they claim.

[–] atomicbocks@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Wal-Mart does not sell guns for the most part anymore.

[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Mine does, redneck town, but it's all hunting style rifles and shotguns, nothing tacticool. I won't buy from big corpo, too big a pain. I just use guns.com for the most part.

[–] theUwUhugger@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Huh… Kinda glad! Studied a semester out there in 2019 and was really really shocked when I saw a weapon stands in almost every larger supermarket!

[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago (2 children)

What?! I've lived in gun happy states almost my whole life and have never seen guns sold in grocery stores. Walmart might be considered weird, but everywhere else is a sports store and a dedicated gun shop.

[–] AlligatorBlizzard@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

It wasn't widespread, but I've been in gas stations in Florida that sold firearms.

[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

LOL WUT!? Never been anywhere that redneck and I live in the panhandle. Wonders never cease.

[–] theUwUhugger@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

I definietly saw a gun stand in target in florida!

[–] Tempus_Fugit@midwest.social 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Nah dawg, they only sell pellet guns, long-barrel rifles, and shotguns at Wal-Mart, but I get your point. I'll just say, it may be important over here to own those semi-automatic death makers when SHTF.

[–] theUwUhugger@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

But what sort of shit would hit the fan? I really don’t want to be an asshole, but one of the reasons I heard ‘to protect your rights’ but how? Like an armed militia against the government? If all is in favor ag the gov, then there is no need for bloodshed; and if none but your cause is just then history would would honor it without bloodshed

The other thing I heard is self defense… But like if none one had guns, would you need guns to defend yourself?

[–] Tempus_Fugit@midwest.social 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Economic and political collapse are not an impossibility, so having a way to defend myself if things get dicey is a nice reassurance. Luckily I'm in BFE and guns double as a food resource tool.

[–] theUwUhugger@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

…how? Isn’t the us a first world country?

[–] Tempus_Fugit@midwest.social 3 points 1 day ago

🤣 FWINO, First World In Name Only.

[–] TheReturnOfPEB@reddthat.com 12 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

soon patriot missile systems will be the only way to keep the local police safe

[–] SnokenKeekaGuard@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

I got some stuff that was meant to go to Afghanistan through Pakistan. Some containers get stolen after they port in Karachi and the stuff gets sold around. NATO containers fkr the us military there.

Still have some of that stuff. Surprisingly unseedy place.

Only tangentially related but had to mention it.

[–] Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Hey, remember when Bush was 100% certain that Iraq had "weapons of mass destruction", and then USA swept in, and reported back "Well, we killed Sadam, took over the region, opened a power vacume that allowed the formation of ISIS, and the rise of power of the taliban, and all in the name of finding nukes? Yeah.....they didn't have them. Whoopsie doodles!"

Remember that?

Yeah. Found where they went. This guy has them.

[–] SnokenKeekaGuard@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Lmaooo.

What's funny is that when Iran moved their nuclear stuff before the us bombed them, there were theories that it was moved to Pakistan too. (Unlikely IMO)

Pakistan has possibly also helped Iran in their nuclear project

[–] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 1 points 1 day ago

i wonder if russia did, and the ccp too, china helped develop pakistans nukes.

[–] FordBeeblebrox@lemmy.world 4 points 15 hours ago

MRAPs are cramped inside and have shit visibility, but they look tacticool so these chucklefucks will mount up every chance they get, just to sit outside a school and jerk each other off under the camo while kids are getting shot.

ACAB

[–] SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

According to the graph there were fewer US troops deployed in Iraq during the last years of Obama's presidency than there are now.

So Bush started the war in Iraq and Obama ended the war in Iraq?

Sorry, but this graph just doesn't fit with the both sides forever war narrative.

[–] Tempus_Fugit@midwest.social 6 points 1 day ago

I was deployed to Iraq in 2010, the mission at that time was changed and called "Operation New Dawn" this was Obama's drawdown of forces. The base I was on had one more deployment after us then it was turned over to Iraqi forces and we pulled out, mostly.

[–] errer@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Gotta be careful not to link correlation with causation here. Could just be that vendors started selling to cops a lot more in the 2010s for different reasons.

[–] burgerpocalyse@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

no... this is literally what happened. the us military has been giving local police assloads of hardware for decades, and thats why you have cops running over dogs with APCs

[–] errer@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Maybe, but this plot doesn’t show that.

[–] burgerpocalyse@lemmy.world 1 points 15 hours ago

am I losing it? the picture says the name of the federal program

[–] SektorC@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 1 day ago

In the Bible and at the end of the Cold War, the motto was: swords into plowshares.

[–] Unlocking_Freedom@lemmy.world 1 points 15 hours ago

Who is the oil in Iraq privatised to which companies? What currency is the oil in Iraq sold in?