Buffalox

So you could, you just choose not to.
I personally never bought a phone though my service provider, I don't care for that kind of bullshit tie in.

Why aren't you able to buy any unlocked phone?
Unless of course you are in USA that sucks hard on consumer protection.
But in "normal" countries that wouldn't be a problem.

Hey a buck is a buck, why do you hate America?
/s

Hey don't criticize how I play!

The legality of the Iraq war is a contested subject, the question is whether Iraq broke international law or not.
In my opinion they there wasn't reliable evidence that they did, because I found it pretty obvious that we were mislead by the Americans. But Germany denounced the invasion and did NOT aid USA, apart from the use of the base in Germany, which would have been very extreme for Germany to deny.

Unfortunately my own country actively helped USA, and I was both pissed and disappointed about that. Denmark has been so far up the American ass it's insane, as also 7 eyes member and spying on EU countries for USA! Fortunately election of Trump for a 2nd term, has FINALLY made them wake up.

So in conclusion: Compared to many European countries, Germany actually did well, refusing the American war mongering at least partially.

Humanitarian should absolutely be included, but I haven't seen Ireland being that high on that either compared to the Nordic countries.

We should be doing more

Absolutely, Ireland is a joke of an ally in this.

No, UK is not as close as Italy, and Spain is about the same. And Austria is way closer than UK.
Netherlands is further away than Austria and Italy, but they for instance joined Denmark in delivering F16.
Hungary and Slovakia borders directly to Ukraine, and would be exposed if Russia takes Ukraine, despite that they have not helped, and even tried to prevent aid to Ukraine.

Also the protection of Europe is still important to EU countries that are not the closest, even if you are not a country in immediate danger, it will have an immense impact on security and economy for those countries too, if Russia chooses to make further problems, just as it already did when gas prices exploded in 2022.

AFAIK the use of the Rammstein base was based on old agreements that had nothing to do with the Iraq war.
But I 100% agree on the part about Merz abandoning the respect for international law.

The fact that the usually very peaceful Nordic countries give more than anybody else, should be a strong hint to the rest of Europe about the necessity of this.

UK, Germany and France, all have more than twice the population but give less.
Honestly I'm disappointed that other European countries don't support Ukraine more. Especially Italy and Spain, and Austria is AFAIK an almost complete no show.
But apparently half the European countries didn't mean it when they earlier this year pronounced that Europe needs to stand up for itself, and not depend on USA.

I was unsure if this could really be true, but the story is confirmed by for instance DW:
https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-merz-says-israel-doing-dirty-work-for-us-in-iran/live-72939104

This is a very bad turn. The attack was unprovoked, and based on clearly Israels one sided interests. Not much different from Russia attacking Ukraine.
It's bad that any European leader support this, and it's very bad that Germany is making such a 180° on previous policies of peaceful solutions in the region. For instance being against the invasion of Iraq, a war that resulted in Iran having more influence there than ever.

Funny how they never blame the moon landing on democrats.
Republicans could never have accomplished that, because they are without real ambition or vision. They just want more money NOW!