War in Ukraine

[NorthDallas40]

It's a honor reserved for those who raped the most civilians. Age and gender don't matter. Just total rapes

Oof. Probably fairly accurate in this case.

 

[OrangeTsar]

Then at this point they don’t know any different and they have no reason to act to affect change.

A nation that is so backward that their most visible looting target is the washing machine is really sad when you think about it. That in a way says more than anything else One could manage

 

[McDad]

I think the next decade will be pain for the Russian people. But yeah I agree we have zero idea if there is success in unseating the Russian government that the next version will be any different. We are doing what we always do. Look at another culture and applying our Western colored glasses on what will happen

I feel for the Ruskies. I hope they are learning that corruption is not an easy fix but worth the pain needed to correct.

I don't worry about Russia's power as a country. They have a GDP of Texas and a population density between Idaho and Nebraska.

 

[OrangeTsar]

The Russians must have a damn General factory that rolls these guys out on a conveyor belt. How can any military sustain the losses of 8 generals in 51 days? If this report is accurate.

Militaries everywhere are just like businesses and bureaucracies in general, too too heavy. Chief to Indian (yes politically incorrect analogy I know) ratio is too high. The thing about actual war is that it quickly reveals who is really necessary and who is not

 

[Orangeburst]

Militaries everywhere are just like businesses and bureaucracies in general, too too heavy. Chief to Indian (yes politically incorrect analogy I know) ratio is too high. The thing about actual war is that it quickly reveals who is really necessary and who is not

How many Generals and Admirals in the Pentagon?

 

[Matt2496]

Ukrainians be like:

I'm not buying that this many generals have died. I'm sure several have been killed but I'm just very skeptical of these numbers.

 

[OrangeTsar]

How many Generals and Admirals in the Pentagon?

More than there are Bama fans at a tractor pull

 

[Orangeburst]

I'm not buying that this many generals have died.

Generally speaking the number is still Admiral
Dad McGold

 

[landscapingvol]

They are probably targeting the command structure if they were smart. It's what they should be doing

 

[volfanhill]

Generally speaking the number is still Admiral
Dad McGold

We must chiefly remember, that generally speaking, it is admirable for a leader to be in on the action with those they lead.

 

[AM64]

China's wheat imports are 10X their exports, and they're looking at a poor crop this year. They eat their production. Russia was the world's top exporter of wheat pre-2022.

Meanwhile here in the US we are growing corn to dumb down our gasoline rather than growing wheat that could help our trade imbalances. Stupidity and greed rule in DC. Nothing really against corn farmers; but if you look at pictures from the '70s and earlier, we were a lot thinner nation when we were using cane sugar. Earl Butz (USDA Secretary - and a fitting name) gets the credit for that blunder.

 

[McDad]

Generally speaking the number is still Admiral
Dad McGold

It is a major number of generals in private, but publicly there isn't a colonel of truth to it.

 

[AM64]

Anybody living in Ukraine or Russia right now should be entitled to steep discounts on the purchase of a new Barrett

If we're shipping those to Ukraine, the Murfreesboro economy should be booming soon if not now.

 

[AM64]

I think Putin wanted to expand Russia's borders like one of the great Czars so the Russian people would celebrate him for generations to come. I don't think he wants to be known as the leader that sent Russia back to the stone age. I think there are some lines he won't cross.

Or he could be a realist - your place in history (or how many shoes a woman owned) don't really mean much when you are dead.

 

[OrangeTsar]

I don't see anything which leads me to believe Russia's politics will change. There will not be a defeat of Russia. At best there is a defeat of Putin, and another leader is elected. Our hope is that leader will be a friend to the west...but we can't classify the election of a pro-west Russian president as a defeat of Russia.

I have no idea what the future will be for Russia's people.

We had about a five year window in the early 90s to encourage positive changes and real democracy under Bush sr and Clinton. That window has now slammed shut; never to reopened in our lifetime. Missed opportunity of catastrophic consequences

 

[McDad]

We had about a five year window in the early 90s to encourage positive changes and real democracy under Bush sr and Clinton. That window has now slammed shut; never to reopened in our lifetime. Missed opportunity of catastrophic consequences

The most effective way to facilitate positive changes in another country is free trade. Exporting our "lifestyle" does more to move the masses than dumping dollars or diplomacy.

 

[lawgator1]

The most effective way to facilitate positive changes in another country is free trade. Exporting our "lifestyle" does more to move the masses than dumping dollars or diplomacy.

There can be little doubt but that long term western values win out because they are superior and especially people living under restrictions embrace them as an alternative.

 

[Orangeburst]

The most effective way to facilitate positive changes in another country is free trade. Exporting our "lifestyle" does more to move the masses than dumping dollars or diplomacy.

Not in China

 

[McDad]

Not in China

I disagree. In fact, China might be the gold standard of the US facilitating change via trade.

 

[DonjoVol]

You really believe that everyone who disagrees with you is some CNN watching gay supporting child molesting liberal. It’s really scary that your dogma and ignorance blinds you to reality

That's not what I said. That's the assumption you have come to.

I've listed plenty of reasons not to trust the media considering their past. Unless it's a major weather event there is no reason for me to watch certain media outlets.

It's also quite sad that we have many people in here who resort to cheap shots, name calling, and insults at the first disagreement. Says a lot about the character of some in here.

 

[Orangeburst]

I disagree. In fact, China might be the gold standard of the US facilitating change via trade.

Increased their standard of living but hasn’t touched the hands of power

 

[AM64]

I’ll nibble at the stink bait a bit mcdaddio

I think we’re already at the point that “Russia” as we know it today will be quite different 5 years from now from a socio-economic standpoint. The already imposed sanctions if left in place for the long term will indeed change the future state from where it is now. I think what you’re alluding to is that it won’t affect the state leadership. And I can’t say that’s wrong either, there might be no change at all. I think it’s likely that there will be for the average Russian citizen is in for some serious long term hardship.

But also the $50B in question I am guessing would not go to Russia but rather Ukraine for rebuilding maybe? So in the longer term the average Russian would see their own country an isolated socio-economic pariah while the little country they tried to bully get rebuilt and flourish? I think that SHOULD have a huge civil unrest impact. But this is Russia … with Russian state media. So who knows what the “average Russian” will see information wise.

So in ending I think I can positively say it’s a definite maybe

Colonialism and empires made countries (England, for example) great in the past. Now without colonialism to gather the necessities, it seems it's more landmass and resources, and that basically means the US, Russia, and China. Russia has a lot of frozen landmass with rich resources hard to extract - but possible. China's landmass includes some pretty inhospitable land and too many mouths to feed. We are sitting in the catbird seat if our population would see exceptionalism as an asset rather than something to be ashamed of. Seeing a Russian slide gives us an opportunity to focus on China as the real enemy. We need alliances like NATO to keep Russia in check, and we should be building a formal Pacific alliance to do the same with China. Alliances that you groom not by force but by friendship and sometimes with the purse are force multipliers especially for a nation isolated by oceans, Unfortunately we don't have the leadership to lead toward those goals; we somehow prefer pandering to pansies and being victims.

 

[McDad]

Increased their standard of living but hasn’t touched the hands of power

Maybe. I am not familiar enough with day to day life or the political evolution of China to know.

But to your point, free trade facilitated change is a very slow process.

 

[Orangeburst]

Maybe. I am not familiar enough with day to day life or the political evolution of China to know.

But to your point, free trade facilitated change is a very slow process.

Those millions locked down and starving in Shanghai could care less about blue jeans

We are just going to agree to disagree
Nothing wrong about that

 

[McDad]

Those millions locked down and starving in Shanghai could care less about blue jeans

We are just going to agree to disagree
Nothing wrong about that

I feel like we're supposed to argue minutiae and call each other names so much so that everyone else just quickly qscrolls past until the thread becomes relevant again.