Reading through this thread and it’s funny to me how Americentric all these takes are. I don’t blame y’all. The British are the same way, thinking it’s about them and bringing their internal politics into this. The Germans don’t care as much, they got their discount Russian gas pipeline and checked out. The French are playing the heroic part of diplomat since the others don’t care and are letting them pretend they’re a big boy. Poland is pissed, and as soon as they wipe the grease of their hands and figure out how to use the two factor authorization thingy to unlock their phone they will explain why.
Anyway, the American transition to becoming a nation of pussies is almost complete. Old Bush started it when presented a golden opportunity he ignored, Clinton was lazy and thought it was over, other Bush or whoever called the shots at least had some balls but traded in their chips to a more cunning player, Obama completely fucked it up worse than any of them, Trump only had four years or he would have rivaled him, and Biden is trying but he’s out of his element and that’s the nicest thing I can say about his entire existence. Magic underwear Romney was partially right, and everyone laughed at him. Never thought I’d see the day.
Since I'm an American, I like America First takes. If the Euros don't like Putin messing in their backyard, then they should man up. Their combined economies are multiple times as large as Russia. Relying on Russia for their energy is just as smart as relying on the chicoms for all our drugs and then funding their gain of function research on bat viruses at a substandard bio lab.
Nothing wrong with caring about the US as top priority. I’m the same way.
At the same time, there are high stakes here. The Euros aren’t going to do shit, it doesn’t matter if even Italy has a bigger economy than Russia. German business interests would never allow it. American hegemony is long gone, maybe we don’t need it anymore or ever even did. But let me tell you, there’s some major fallout coming from watching this happen. It’s the old ounce of prevention for a pound of cure. We’re just kicking the can down the road if we do nothing and eventually the costs will be magnitudes greater.
I’ve spent years working in that part of the world solving problems and I am beyond surprised that it’s gotten to this point, it’s a surreal scenario that is one step away from worst case. The repercussions are bigger than most people realize, and the old man in Washington has done a shitty job explaining them to the American people.
Honest question. What moves could be made to stop the bleeding, if any, at this point?
Reading through this thread and it’s funny to me how Americentric all these takes are. I don’t blame y’all. The British are the same way, thinking it’s about them and bringing their internal politics into this. The Germans don’t care as much, they got their discount Russian gas pipeline and checked out. The French are playing the heroic part of diplomat since the others don’t care and are letting them pretend they’re a big boy. Poland is pissed, and as soon as they wipe the grease of their hands and figure out how to use the two factor authorization thingy to unlock their phone they will explain why.
Anyway, the American transition to becoming a nation of pussies is almost complete. Old Bush started it when presented a golden opportunity he ignored, Clinton was lazy and thought it was over, other Bush or whoever called the shots at least had some balls but traded in their chips to a more cunning player, Obama completely fucked it up worse than any of them, Trump only had four years or he would have rivaled him, and Biden is trying but he’s out of his element and that’s the nicest thing I can say about his entire existence. Magic underwear Romney was partially right, and everyone laughed at him. Never thought I’d see the day.
Since I'm an American, I like America First takes. If the Euros don't like Putin messing in their backyard, then they should man up. Their combined economies are multiple times as large as Russia. Relying on Russia for their energy is just as smart as relying on the chicoms for all our drugs and then funding their gain of function research on bat viruses at a substandard bio lab.
Nothing wrong with caring about the US as top priority. I’m the same way.
At the same time, there are high stakes here. The Euros aren’t going to do shit, it doesn’t matter if even Italy has a bigger economy than Russia. German business interests would never allow it. American hegemony is long gone, maybe we don’t need it anymore or ever even did. But let me tell you, there’s some major fallout coming from watching this happen. It’s the old ounce of prevention for a pound of cure. We’re just kicking the can down the road if we do nothing and eventually the costs will be magnitudes greater.
I’ve spent years working in that part of the world solving problems and I am beyond surprised that it’s gotten to this point, it’s a surreal scenario that is one step away from worst case. The repercussions are bigger than most people realize, and the old man in Washington has done a shitty job explaining them to the American people.
Damn, now these are some takes. Could you please expand on the bolded above? Also, why are you so harsh on the Polocks?
"Poland is pissed, and as soon as they wipe the grease of their hands and figure out how to use the two factor authorization thingy to unlock their phone they will explain why."
First off, much like a strip club owner, I love the Poles. They’re one of the few countries in Europe that doesn’t have their head up their ass. Krakow is a very underrated city to visit, I’d love to go again. They are the poster child of recovery after being under Moscow’s less than benevolent rule.
Second, on some consequences and why many Americans are unaware of the shockwaves this unleashes. I know brevity is not my strong suit, you’ll regret asking, my apologies etc:
1. Ukraine’s population has declined from the 50+ million it had in the 1990s, but it’s still big by European standards. It’s about the same as the combined populations of Czechia, Slovakia, Finland, Hungary, Belarus, Lithuania, Moldova, Latvia, and Estonia. Kiev alone has three million people without including the million plus in the suburbs or all the undocumented refugees. The only other non-Russian cities in Europe with over 3 million people are London, Berlin, and Madrid. Having ~40 million people from an already poor nation that borders the EU and NATO be at war is less than ideal.
2. Ukraine is the second biggest exporter of grain in the northern hemisphere behind the US. Their rich farmland was modernized after the asinine collectivism of the USSR and was still just scratching the surface. Something like 1/5 to 1/4 of the worlds grain export and the biggest exporter of seed/vegetable oils. That’s what poor countries eat. Bangladesh, Egypt, Libya, Malaysia, Indonesia rely on Ukraine as their main source of imported grain. China is a big importer of food. That’s just what the world needs, more instability in those places. I wasn’t aware of this until recently, but Ukraine produces 90% of the world’s neon, which is necessary for the lasers that cut the little lines into computer chips and allow Moore’s Law to cling to existence. Chip shortages are already fucking annoying, at this rate a ten year old Toyota Tacoma will be worth more than a solid gold one.
3. They still export weapons. Not diversified enough to survive on their own, but we’re talking big ticket items they’ve been nice enough to not sell to the people we don’t want to have them. Stealth radars, guidance systems, helicopter engines, etc. The Paki/Indian sides are both supplied, and a big client are the Saudis. The Iranian wet dream: Yuzhmash, which used to manufacture the SS-24 ICBM. 230,000 pounds including 10 nuclear warheads, nearly 7,000 mile range, accurate to within a football field even if you detonate 1000 tons of TNT next to it. They were still making the civilian version of the SS-18 Satan for going to the ISS.
3. Speaking of bad no-no weapons, Putin is always full of shit so when he said this I didn’t take it seriously - Ukraine has everything needed to make new nukes. The only reason I even mention that is because public opinion there has shifted dramatically from not wanting anything to do with it after Chernobyl to the majority wanting them as a deterrent. One of their top diplomats basically said to the Germans let them into NATO or they will need to arm themselves with nuclear weapons. I feel bad for anyone who hasn’t seen Russian TV, it’s a trip. All of it is state sanctioned propaganda, but when they’re not talking about destroying the US they make it seem like Wile E Coyote, Darth Vader, and Gargamel are on their Southern border ready to blow up the Chernobyl sarcophagus and stand there with fans to waft radiation to their innocent Smurf kingdom.
4. I’m a bit surprised Ukraine hasn’t gone rogue earlier. The people there are really naive when it comes to world relations. They think that if they behave like the better off Western countries that they’ll be accepted, economically improve, and will be protected. They jump at every UN peacekeeping mission or US desert boondoggle, try to ape whatever the EU does, etc. Pretty soon they’re going to realize that the liberal Western democracies are full of shit and dancing for IMF loans that their corrupt politicians skim half of isn’t working for them.
5. Call me a nostalgic Pollyanna, but there seemed to be something just in the world order Europe had for my lifetime. Allowing Putin to have his Crimean Anschluss and then some Sudetenland seems very 1930s to me. That chubby little round faced rascal isn’t going to stop, and the threat to the world of order collapsing in Russia is a danger magnitudes greater than Ukraine collapsing.
Reading through this thread and it’s funny to me how Americentric all these takes are. I don’t blame y’all. The British are the same way, thinking it’s about them and bringing their internal politics into this. The Germans don’t care as much, they got their discount Russian gas pipeline and checked out. The French are playing the heroic part of diplomat since the others don’t care and are letting them pretend they’re a big boy. Poland is pissed, and as soon as they wipe the grease of their hands and figure out how to use the two factor authorization thingy to unlock their phone they will explain why.
Anyway, the American transition to becoming a nation of pussies is almost complete. Old Bush started it when presented a golden opportunity he ignored, Clinton was lazy and thought it was over, other Bush or whoever called the shots at least had some balls but traded in their chips to a more cunning player, Obama completely fucked it up worse than any of them, Trump only had four years or he would have rivaled him, and Biden is trying but he’s out of his element and that’s the nicest thing I can say about his entire existence. Magic underwear Romney was partially right, and everyone laughed at him. Never thought I’d see the day.
Since I'm an American, I like America First takes. If the Euros don't like Putin messing in their backyard, then they should man up. Their combined economies are multiple times as large as Russia. Relying on Russia for their energy is just as smart as relying on the chicoms for all our drugs and then funding their gain of function research on bat viruses at a substandard bio lab.
Nothing wrong with caring about the US as top priority. I’m the same way.
At the same time, there are high stakes here. The Euros aren’t going to do shit, it doesn’t matter if even Italy has a bigger economy than Russia. German business interests would never allow it. American hegemony is long gone, maybe we don’t need it anymore or ever even did. But let me tell you, there’s some major fallout coming from watching this happen. It’s the old ounce of prevention for a pound of cure. We’re just kicking the can down the road if we do nothing and eventually the costs will be magnitudes greater.
I’ve spent years working in that part of the world solving problems and I am beyond surprised that it’s gotten to this point, it’s a surreal scenario that is one step away from worst case. The repercussions are bigger than most people realize, and the old man in Washington has done a shitty job explaining them to the American people.
Damn, now these are some takes. Could you please expand on the bolded above? Also, why are you so harsh on the Polocks?
"Poland is pissed, and as soon as they wipe the grease of their hands and figure out how to use the two factor authorization thingy to unlock their phone they will explain why."
First off, much like a strip club owner, I love the Poles. They’re one of the few countries in Europe that doesn’t have their head up their ass. Krakow is a very underrated city to visit, I’d love to go again. They are the poster child of recovery after being under Moscow’s less than benevolent rule.
Second, on some consequences and why many Americans are unaware of the shockwaves this unleashes. I know brevity is not my strong suit, you’ll regret asking, my apologies etc:
1. Ukraine’s population has declined from the 50+ million it had in the 1990s, but it’s still big by European standards. It’s about the same as the combined populations of Czechia, Slovakia, Finland, Hungary, Belarus, Lithuania, Moldova, Latvia, and Estonia. Kiev alone has three million people without including the million plus in the suburbs or all the undocumented refugees. The only other non-Russian cities in Europe with over 3 million people are London, Berlin, and Madrid. Having ~40 million people from an already poor nation that borders the EU and NATO be at war is less than ideal.
2. Ukraine is the second biggest exporter of grain in the northern hemisphere behind the US. Their rich farmland was modernized after the asinine collectivism of the USSR and was still just scratching the surface. Something like 1/5 to 1/4 of the worlds grain export and the biggest exporter of seed/vegetable oils. That’s what poor countries eat. Bangladesh, Egypt, Libya, Malaysia, Indonesia rely on Ukraine as their main source of imported grain. China is a big importer of food. That’s just what the world needs, more instability in those places. I wasn’t aware of this until recently, but Ukraine produces 90% of the world’s neon, which is necessary for the lasers that cut the little lines into computer chips and allow Moore’s Law to cling to existence. Chip shortages are already fucking annoying, at this rate a ten year old Toyota Tacoma will be worth more than a solid gold one.
3. They still export weapons. Not diversified enough to survive on their own, but we’re talking big ticket items they’ve been nice enough to not sell to the people we don’t want to have them. Stealth radars, guidance systems, helicopter engines, etc. The Paki/Indian sides are both supplied, and a big client are the Saudis. The Iranian wet dream: Yuzhmash, which used to manufacture the SS-24 ICBM. 230,000 pounds including 10 nuclear warheads, nearly 7,000 mile range, accurate to within a football field even if you detonate 1000 tons of TNT next to it. They were still making the civilian version of the SS-18 Satan for going to the ISS.
3. Speaking of bad no-no weapons, Putin is always full of shit so when he said this I didn’t take it seriously - Ukraine has everything needed to make new nukes. The only reason I even mention that is because public opinion there has shifted dramatically from not wanting anything to do with it after Chernobyl to the majority wanting them as a deterrent. One of their top diplomats basically said to the Germans let them into NATO or they will need to arm themselves with nuclear weapons. I feel bad for anyone who hasn’t seen Russian TV, it’s a trip. All of it is state sanctioned propaganda, but when they’re not talking about destroying the US they make it seem like Wile E Coyote, Darth Vader, and Gargamel are on their Southern border ready to blow up the Chernobyl sarcophagus and stand there with fans to waft radiation to their innocent Smurf kingdom.
4. I’m a bit surprised Ukraine hasn’t gone rogue earlier. The people there are really naive when it comes to world relations. They think that if they behave like the better off Western countries that they’ll be accepted, economically improve, and will be protected. They jump at every UN peacekeeping mission or US desert boondoggle, try to ape whatever the EU does, etc. Pretty soon they’re going to realize that the liberal Western democracies are full of shit and dancing for IMF loans that their corrupt politicians skim half of isn’t working for them.
5. Call me a nostalgic Pollyanna, but there seemed to be something just in the world order Europe had for my lifetime. Allowing Putin to have his Crimean Anschluss and then some Sudetenland seems very 1930s to me. That chubby little round faced rascal isn’t going to stop, and the threat to the world of order collapsing in Russia is a danger magnitudes greater than Ukraine collapsing.
Add in what it signals to the CCP about invading Taiwan...
Reading through this thread and it’s funny to me how Americentric all these takes are. I don’t blame y’all. The British are the same way, thinking it’s about them and bringing their internal politics into this. The Germans don’t care as much, they got their discount Russian gas pipeline and checked out. The French are playing the heroic part of diplomat since the others don’t care and are letting them pretend they’re a big boy. Poland is pissed, and as soon as they wipe the grease of their hands and figure out how to use the two factor authorization thingy to unlock their phone they will explain why.
Anyway, the American transition to becoming a nation of pussies is almost complete. Old Bush started it when presented a golden opportunity he ignored, Clinton was lazy and thought it was over, other Bush or whoever called the shots at least had some balls but traded in their chips to a more cunning player, Obama completely fucked it up worse than any of them, Trump only had four years or he would have rivaled him, and Biden is trying but he’s out of his element and that’s the nicest thing I can say about his entire existence. Magic underwear Romney was partially right, and everyone laughed at him. Never thought I’d see the day.
Since I'm an American, I like America First takes. If the Euros don't like Putin messing in their backyard, then they should man up. Their combined economies are multiple times as large as Russia. Relying on Russia for their energy is just as smart as relying on the chicoms for all our drugs and then funding their gain of function research on bat viruses at a substandard bio lab.
Nothing wrong with caring about the US as top priority. I’m the same way.
At the same time, there are high stakes here. The Euros aren’t going to do shit, it doesn’t matter if even Italy has a bigger economy than Russia. German business interests would never allow it. American hegemony is long gone, maybe we don’t need it anymore or ever even did. But let me tell you, there’s some major fallout coming from watching this happen. It’s the old ounce of prevention for a pound of cure. We’re just kicking the can down the road if we do nothing and eventually the costs will be magnitudes greater.
I’ve spent years working in that part of the world solving problems and I am beyond surprised that it’s gotten to this point, it’s a surreal scenario that is one step away from worst case. The repercussions are bigger than most people realize, and the old man in Washington has done a shitty job explaining them to the American people.
Honest question. What moves could be made to stop the bleeding, if any, at this point?
Nevermind. You answered above.
I think it’s too fucked by now. The time to act was 2008 or 2014.
No real opposition in Russia despite how many Russians are tired of Putin. Their beef is that 3/4 of them are still in poverty and he raised the retirement age to one they don’t live long enough to reach, not the repression or the wars. In fact, most older people love the return to Soviet style dictatorship. I’ve had a usually very smart and reasonable person in Moscow explain to me how he missed the days when roads were built well. Because if the people building the roads did a shitty job one of them might get shot as punishment, but if the road was great they’d get a vacation in a nice Black Sea resort so it was fair.
Get drastic and make the average Russian think it’s 1996 all over, but who knows if that will work.
Reading through this thread and it’s funny to me how Americentric all these takes are. I don’t blame y’all. The British are the same way, thinking it’s about them and bringing their internal politics into this. The Germans don’t care as much, they got their discount Russian gas pipeline and checked out. The French are playing the heroic part of diplomat since the others don’t care and are letting them pretend they’re a big boy. Poland is pissed, and as soon as they wipe the grease of their hands and figure out how to use the two factor authorization thingy to unlock their phone they will explain why.
Anyway, the American transition to becoming a nation of pussies is almost complete. Old Bush started it when presented a golden opportunity he ignored, Clinton was lazy and thought it was over, other Bush or whoever called the shots at least had some balls but traded in their chips to a more cunning player, Obama completely fucked it up worse than any of them, Trump only had four years or he would have rivaled him, and Biden is trying but he’s out of his element and that’s the nicest thing I can say about his entire existence. Magic underwear Romney was partially right, and everyone laughed at him. Never thought I’d see the day.
Since I'm an American, I like America First takes. If the Euros don't like Putin messing in their backyard, then they should man up. Their combined economies are multiple times as large as Russia. Relying on Russia for their energy is just as smart as relying on the chicoms for all our drugs and then funding their gain of function research on bat viruses at a substandard bio lab.
Nothing wrong with caring about the US as top priority. I’m the same way.
At the same time, there are high stakes here. The Euros aren’t going to do shit, it doesn’t matter if even Italy has a bigger economy than Russia. German business interests would never allow it. American hegemony is long gone, maybe we don’t need it anymore or ever even did. But let me tell you, there’s some major fallout coming from watching this happen. It’s the old ounce of prevention for a pound of cure. We’re just kicking the can down the road if we do nothing and eventually the costs will be magnitudes greater.
I’ve spent years working in that part of the world solving problems and I am beyond surprised that it’s gotten to this point, it’s a surreal scenario that is one step away from worst case. The repercussions are bigger than most people realize, and the old man in Washington has done a shitty job explaining them to the American people.
Damn, now these are some takes. Could you please expand on the bolded above? Also, why are you so harsh on the Polocks?
"Poland is pissed, and as soon as they wipe the grease of their hands and figure out how to use the two factor authorization thingy to unlock their phone they will explain why."
First off, much like a strip club owner, I love the Poles. They’re one of the few countries in Europe that doesn’t have their head up their ass. Krakow is a very underrated city to visit, I’d love to go again. They are the poster child of recovery after being under Moscow’s less than benevolent rule.
Second, on some consequences and why many Americans are unaware of the shockwaves this unleashes. I know brevity is not my strong suit, you’ll regret asking, my apologies etc:
1. Ukraine’s population has declined from the 50+ million it had in the 1990s, but it’s still big by European standards. It’s about the same as the combined populations of Czechia, Slovakia, Finland, Hungary, Belarus, Lithuania, Moldova, Latvia, and Estonia. Kiev alone has three million people without including the million plus in the suburbs or all the undocumented refugees. The only other non-Russian cities in Europe with over 3 million people are London, Berlin, and Madrid. Having ~40 million people from an already poor nation that borders the EU and NATO be at war is less than ideal.
2. Ukraine is the second biggest exporter of grain in the northern hemisphere behind the US. Their rich farmland was modernized after the asinine collectivism of the USSR and was still just scratching the surface. Something like 1/5 to 1/4 of the worlds grain export and the biggest exporter of seed/vegetable oils. That’s what poor countries eat. Bangladesh, Egypt, Libya, Malaysia, Indonesia rely on Ukraine as their main source of imported grain. China is a big importer of food. That’s just what the world needs, more instability in those places. I wasn’t aware of this until recently, but Ukraine produces 90% of the world’s neon, which is necessary for the lasers that cut the little lines into computer chips and allow Moore’s Law to cling to existence. Chip shortages are already fucking annoying, at this rate a ten year old Toyota Tacoma will be worth more than a solid gold one.
3. They still export weapons. Not diversified enough to survive on their own, but we’re talking big ticket items they’ve been nice enough to not sell to the people we don’t want to have them. Stealth radars, guidance systems, helicopter engines, etc. The Paki/Indian sides are both supplied, and a big client are the Saudis. The Iranian wet dream: Yuzhmash, which used to manufacture the SS-24 ICBM. 230,000 pounds including 10 nuclear warheads, nearly 7,000 mile range, accurate to within a football field even if you detonate 1000 tons of TNT next to it. They were still making the civilian version of the SS-18 Satan for going to the ISS.
3. Speaking of bad no-no weapons, Putin is always full of shit so when he said this I didn’t take it seriously - Ukraine has everything needed to make new nukes. The only reason I even mention that is because public opinion there has shifted dramatically from not wanting anything to do with it after Chernobyl to the majority wanting them as a deterrent. One of their top diplomats basically said to the Germans let them into NATO or they will need to arm themselves with nuclear weapons. I feel bad for anyone who hasn’t seen Russian TV, it’s a trip. All of it is state sanctioned propaganda, but when they’re not talking about destroying the US they make it seem like Wile E Coyote, Darth Vader, and Gargamel are on their Southern border ready to blow up the Chernobyl sarcophagus and stand there with fans to waft radiation to their innocent Smurf kingdom.
4. I’m a bit surprised Ukraine hasn’t gone rogue earlier. The people there are really naive when it comes to world relations. They think that if they behave like the better off Western countries that they’ll be accepted, economically improve, and will be protected. They jump at every UN peacekeeping mission or US desert boondoggle, try to ape whatever the EU does, etc. Pretty soon they’re going to realize that the liberal Western democracies are full of shit and dancing for IMF loans that their corrupt politicians skim half of isn’t working for them.
5. Call me a nostalgic Pollyanna, but there seemed to be something just in the world order Europe had for my lifetime. Allowing Putin to have his Crimean Anschluss and then some Sudetenland seems very 1930s to me. That chubby little round faced rascal isn’t going to stop, and the threat to the world of order collapsing in Russia is a danger magnitudes greater than Ukraine collapsing.
Add in what it signals to the CCP about invading Taiwan...
Ybe btw.
Very similar situation and China is loving the precedent. China said the situations are different - because to Beijing, Taiwan is not a separate country *wink wink* they’d never do what the Russians are doing.
Younger brother of someone I know is in Taiwan now, doing his mandatory military service. Dude lived like 95% of his life in the US but they don’t kid around in recalling their citizens.
5. Call me a nostalgic Pollyanna, but there seemed to be something just in the world order Europe had for my lifetime. Allowing Putin to have his Crimean Anschluss and then some Sudetenland seems very 1930s to me. That chubby little round faced rascal isn’t going to stop, and the threat to the world of order collapsing in Russia is a danger magnitudes greater than Ukraine collapsing.
Putin might make some waves in the Baltic States and in the Crapistan states in the east. I don't think he could take the Poles or Hungary. The entire Soviet Union couldn't take Afghanistan and Stalin had a hell of a time in Finland. Frankly, if the Germans want back into the Soviet Union let them. If the Euros want to continue to be Euros let them man up. We have the ability to bankrupt them with our oil and gas production if we choose. Nothing pisses me off more than seeing mangled Iraq and Afghan vets who sacrificed everything for nothing. The Ukranians could have nuked up but didn't. I'm guessing that Taiwan has nukes otherwise Xi would already have moved.
Comments
Oh hurt me, hurt me
Nevermind. You answered above.
Second, on some consequences and why many Americans are unaware of the shockwaves this unleashes. I know brevity is not my strong suit, you’ll regret asking, my apologies etc:
1. Ukraine’s population has declined from the 50+ million it had in the 1990s, but it’s still big by European standards. It’s about the same as the combined populations of Czechia, Slovakia, Finland, Hungary, Belarus, Lithuania, Moldova, Latvia, and Estonia. Kiev alone has three million people without including the million plus in the suburbs or all the undocumented refugees. The only other non-Russian cities in Europe with over 3 million people are London, Berlin, and Madrid. Having ~40 million people from an already poor nation that borders the EU and NATO be at war is less than ideal.
2. Ukraine is the second biggest exporter of grain in the northern hemisphere behind the US. Their rich farmland was modernized after the asinine collectivism of the USSR and was still just scratching the surface. Something like 1/5 to 1/4 of the worlds grain export and the biggest exporter of seed/vegetable oils. That’s what poor countries eat. Bangladesh, Egypt, Libya, Malaysia, Indonesia rely on Ukraine as their main source of imported grain. China is a big importer of food. That’s just what the world needs, more instability in those places. I wasn’t aware of this until recently, but Ukraine produces 90% of the world’s neon, which is necessary for the lasers that cut the little lines into computer chips and allow Moore’s Law to cling to existence. Chip shortages are already fucking annoying, at this rate a ten year old Toyota Tacoma will be worth more than a solid gold one.
3. They still export weapons. Not diversified enough to survive on their own, but we’re talking big ticket items they’ve been nice enough to not sell to the people we don’t want to have them. Stealth radars, guidance systems, helicopter engines, etc. The Paki/Indian sides are both supplied, and a big client are the Saudis. The Iranian wet dream: Yuzhmash, which used to manufacture the SS-24 ICBM. 230,000 pounds including 10 nuclear warheads, nearly 7,000 mile range, accurate to within a football field even if you detonate 1000 tons of TNT next to it. They were still making the civilian version of the SS-18 Satan for going to the ISS.
3. Speaking of bad no-no weapons, Putin is always full of shit so when he said this I didn’t take it seriously - Ukraine has everything needed to make new nukes. The only reason I even mention that is because public opinion there has shifted dramatically from not wanting anything to do with it after Chernobyl to the majority wanting them as a deterrent. One of their top diplomats basically said to the Germans let them into NATO or they will need to arm themselves with nuclear weapons. I feel bad for anyone who hasn’t seen Russian TV, it’s a trip. All of it is state sanctioned propaganda, but when they’re not talking about destroying the US they make it seem like Wile E Coyote, Darth Vader, and Gargamel are on their Southern border ready to blow up the Chernobyl sarcophagus and stand there with fans to waft radiation to their innocent Smurf kingdom.
4. I’m a bit surprised Ukraine hasn’t gone rogue earlier. The people there are really naive when it comes to world relations. They think that if they behave like the better off Western countries that they’ll be accepted, economically improve, and will be protected. They jump at every UN peacekeeping mission or US desert boondoggle, try to ape whatever the EU does, etc. Pretty soon they’re going to realize that the liberal Western democracies are full of shit and dancing for IMF loans that their corrupt politicians skim half of isn’t working for them.
5. Call me a nostalgic Pollyanna, but there seemed to be something just in the world order Europe had for my lifetime. Allowing Putin to have his Crimean Anschluss and then some Sudetenland seems very 1930s to me. That chubby little round faced rascal isn’t going to stop, and the threat to the world of order collapsing in Russia is a danger magnitudes greater than Ukraine collapsing.
Ybe btw.
No real opposition in Russia despite how many Russians are tired of Putin. Their beef is that 3/4 of them are still in poverty and he raised the retirement age to one they don’t live long enough to reach, not the repression or the wars. In fact, most older people love the return to Soviet style dictatorship. I’ve had a usually very smart and reasonable person in Moscow explain to me how he missed the days when roads were built well. Because if the people building the roads did a shitty job one of them might get shot as punishment, but if the road was great they’d get a vacation in a nice Black Sea resort so it was fair.
Get drastic and make the average Russian think it’s 1996 all over, but who knows if that will work.
Younger brother of someone I know is in Taiwan now, doing his mandatory military service. Dude lived like 95% of his life in the US but they don’t kid around in recalling their citizens.
Putin might make some waves in the Baltic States and in the Crapistan states in the east. I don't think he could take the Poles or Hungary. The entire Soviet Union couldn't take Afghanistan and Stalin had a hell of a time in Finland. Frankly, if the Germans want back into the Soviet Union let them. If the Euros want to continue to be Euros let them man up. We have the ability to bankrupt them with our oil and gas production if we choose. Nothing pisses me off more than seeing mangled Iraq and Afghan vets who sacrificed everything for nothing. The Ukranians could have nuked up but didn't. I'm guessing that Taiwan has nukes otherwise Xi would already have moved.