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- Topics: Active | Unanswered
- Randall Flagg
- Rep: 139
Re: Current Events Thread
I don’t think so. Putin took Crimea in 2014 and Obama did nothing. Germany won’t even authorize Estonia to move weapons they purchased to the Ukraine. Germany has done nothing to assist in this, as they’re entirely dependent on Russian oil. France and the UK will bluster in chorus with the US, but war over a former Soviet bloc country isn’t coming.
The west can concern itself with social media and the slogans people with blue color hair chant outside government buildings, but Putin’s aware how the real world functions.
Just remember the US media and establishment was against the man who ended wars and improved peace in NK and Israel for the one who lost Afghanistan and allowed the rest of Ukraine to be taken that he oversaw as VP.
Re: Current Events Thread
I don’t think so. Putin took Crimea in 2014 and Obama did nothing. Germany won’t even authorize Estonia to move weapons they purchased to the Ukraine. Germany has done nothing to assist in this, as they’re entirely dependent on Russian oil. France and the UK will bluster in chorus with the US, but war over a former Soviet bloc country isn’t coming.
The west can concern itself with social media and the slogans people with blue color hair chant outside government buildings, but Putin’s aware how the real world functions.
Just remember the US media and establishment was against the man who ended wars and improved peace in NK and Israel for the one who lost Afghanistan and allowed the rest of Ukraine to be taken that he oversaw as VP.
If Russia moves on the Baltic states (unlikely but possible) and the US does nothing, NATO is finished.
We can excuse making no military moves over Ukraine. In fact it should be expected. Sanctions or nothing. That isn't the case with the others.
Yeah Putin is smart...I just hope he doesn't pull a Kruschev and paint himself into a corner.
- Randall Flagg
- Rep: 139
Re: Current Events Thread
Never say never, but he certainly won’t move on the Baltic states anytime soon. He waited nearly 8 years from taking Crimea to where he’s headed now. If anything, he’d continue the use of assassination and finding friendly regimes to attract people back to his new USSR.
Attacking a NATO country would incur a military response today. I just don’t know how much longer that will be the case. Trump lambasted NATO and was derided for pointing out the pittance Europe contributes to its own defense. The US saved West Germany from Soviet rule and rebuilt Western Europe 70 years ago, but Europe is going to do its own thing. But if Europeans aren’t willing to prevent an authoritarian regime from grabbing vital land in the 21st century, Americans need to be asking themselves how many of our citizens lives and economic comfort do we sacrifice that Europeans won’t even offer up.
It’s been 30 years since the fall of the Soviet Empire, and in that time China has risen from an afterthought to one of the biggest kids in town. And Russia’s looking for friends to help do what Russia’s always done. It’s a different world today and US hegemony isn’t the case anymore.
- monkeychow
- Rep: 661
Re: Current Events Thread
In a world full of vastly different cultures it sometimes surprises me that the USA and Russia have so much tension.
I mean as I understand it Russia is big on family values, heavily christian, reasonably traditionalist overall, and has a strong history of literature arts and music. Now that we're past socalism vs captialism you'd think USA and Russia have more in common than against each other in some ways.
At least compared to some of the asian and middle eastern groups that really look at life a completely different way.
It would be cool if USA and Russia could be more like relations are between UK and USA - where both sides are fiercely independent but don't actually need to compete and generate bad blood all the time.
- Smoking Guns
- Rep: 330
Re: Current Events Thread
In a world full of vastly different cultures it sometimes surprises me that the USA and Russia have so much tension.
I mean as I understand it Russia is big on family values, heavily christian, reasonably traditionalist overall, and has a strong history of literature arts and music. Now that we're past socalism vs captialism you'd think USA and Russia have more in common than against each other in some ways.
At least compared to some of the asian and middle eastern groups that really look at life a completely different way.
It would be cool if USA and Russia could be more like relations are between UK and USA - where both sides are fiercely independent but don't actually need to compete and generate bad blood all the time.
Monkey this goes back a looooong time.
- Randall Flagg
- Rep: 139
Re: Current Events Thread
I don’t agree with that comparison at all Monkey. The US and Russia have as much in common as any two nations with humans. Family values is important in every nation and every culture. Yea, the youth rebel against those norms before accepting and promoting them later in life. Eastern Orthodoxy is vastly different than the non-denominational Christianity found in the majority of the US. The only minor distinction is whether you think the pope is in the picture. To say nothing of the decades of secular mandates that existed through Soviet Russia.
100 years ago Russia was a non-industrious monarch that had a violent revolution that installed 60 years of communist/authoritarian rule. Their nation publicly assassinates and poisons dissidents. A nation where they actually lock up your political rivals. They’re a nation that invades nations to take over rather than a nation that replaces regimes and leaving that area to decide its own future. See Japan, Germany, Italy, Korea, Iraq and Afghanistan for examples. You can argue moral differences, but land grabs through military force was supposed to have ended in the 20th century.
If you’re interested in a future that’s the least restrictive on progressive ideologies and permitting personal freedom/expression, there’s really only one side to be cheering for.
Re: Current Events Thread
Eliminating the filibuster, packing the supreme court, abolishing the senate, making a glorified city a state (which is specified in the constitution cannot happen), rewriting the constitution, among other things, is an attempt to intact a One party rule over government and a dictatorship. There's only one party attempting to do this.
- monkeychow
- Rep: 661
Re: Current Events Thread
I don’t agree with that comparison at all Monkey. The US and Russia have as much in common as any two nations with humans.
That's fair...I mean don't get me wrong I am very pro the usa...
I just mean like the differences are so pronounced (eg cold war era history and the modern power grabs globally) that we don't seem to notice what we used to have in common with them too.
Like for example lots of Europe is roman catholic, lots of the USA is protestant, lots of Russia is orthodox - heaps of stuff to disagree on there but fundamentally they are all under pinned on variations of Judeo-Christian concepts and thus ethics.
It's hard to put it without sounding really racist but I think like compared to say china or some of the arab nations that just have a completely different outlook and framework under pinning their societies.
Just like pre-20c russia to me doesn't seem all that different to say pre-20c EU countries culturally.....whereas China is like a whole different thing.
- Randall Flagg
- Rep: 139
Re: Current Events Thread
I get the appeal of saying “look how far we’ve come” by nominating a Justice based on a checkbox demographic. But isn’t telling someone “I picked you because you’re a black woman” from the same line of thought that would say “I’m not picking you because you’re a black woman”?
It just feels insulting to make a decision based on an intransmutable feature for a position that has no concern for intransmutable features. It sounds racist. And more to the point, any opposition to this justice’s judicial ideology will be dismissed as racist attacks only made because she’s a black woman.
It just defies reason.
Re: Current Events Thread
So Neil Young wants Spotify to remove Joe Rogan for spreading covid misinformation, even though he couldn't show the misinformation. They chose Joe. How other artists are demanding them remove Rogan.
As far as I can tell, Fauci has spread more false information than Rogan saying masks aren't effective. He admitted he lied about that.
