March 2, 20223 yr 2 minutes ago, Parrot Head said: Not right away, but eventually they will, and Russia will recover financially. And they will have Ukraine….which is part of the ultimate goal. Much more important to Putin than temporary financial problems. Simple risk/reward. I don’t expect Russia sanctions to waiver one bit if they take the country or install a puppet government. Not one bit. Welcome to the new Cold War, one the west will win again
March 2, 20223 yr 3 minutes ago, DEagle7 said: Fair enough I guess. Look I absolutely agree that historically he is, unfortunately, a lot brighter than people like to admit. And I agree a portion of the "rah rah look at Ukraine go!" narrative is wishful thinking and propaganda. Guess I just disagree that this particular move seems well executed/well thought out because logically the juice doesn't seem worth the squeeze. Putin has strong interpersonal political ability and knows how to bluff a position of weakness and leverage a position of strength. But the notion that he's some kind of long thinking strategic genius is a mystique, a product of propaganda. Being able to bully around nations well outside NATOs purview like Georgia and Chechnya while trading on the reputation of Russia's military strength is one thing. But he badly miscalculated in invading a nation bordering numerous NATO members that was fostering relationships with Western powers.
March 2, 20223 yr 6 minutes ago, barho said: I don’t expect Russia sanctions to waiver one bit if they take the country or install a puppet government. Not one bit. Welcome to the new Cold War, one the west will win again I suppose we will find out, because I do fully expect that Russia will soon steamroll Ukraine, despite all of their valiant efforts. We will also see what role China will play in financial support going forward. Most certainly there were assurances made by Xi. My opinion is that Putin knew this was coming and was perfectly fine with the trade off. They will absolutely recover financially.
March 2, 20223 yr 36 minutes ago, JohnSnowsHair said: Yeah that's just false. That guy is wrong about literally everything, especially when it comes to musical stylings.
March 2, 20223 yr 1 minute ago, EaglesRocker97 said: That guy is wrong about literally everything, especially when it comes to musical stylings. Absolutely obsessed with me….so weird.
March 2, 20223 yr 3 minutes ago, Abracadabra said: Our Hero Oh, and of course, Putin's worse mistake of them all. Sending Abra to conquer that crucial gauge of international public opinion: the ghost of the EMB.
March 2, 20223 yr 1 hour ago, TEW said: You are really underestimating him. You think he hasn’t thought this through?
March 2, 20223 yr Just now, VanHammersly said: But who exactly is going to punch him in the mouth? Certainly not NATO.
March 2, 20223 yr Mexico’s president Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Tuesday said he will not impose economic sanctions on Russia.
March 2, 20223 yr Imagine seeing Russian tanks running out of gas in the Ukrainian countryside and trying to argue that things are going exactly according to Russia's plan.
March 2, 20223 yr The Ukrainian flags at the state of the union are encouraging. I half expected MTG to be waving a Russian one.
March 2, 20223 yr 1 hour ago, eagle45 said: The propaganda arm of national war machines is fascinating (obviously a flippant use of the adjective given the grotesque and tragic nature of wars). It's an important weapon. If there was not some overriding sense or sentiment that Putin is frustrated and confused over a failing invasion, then Ukranians would be laying down their arms and either fleeing or surrendering en masse (and I'm sure some are). Morale is critical to get your troops to run towards the conflict. The irony, in the hyper-speed information age, is that we still have no better idea of what is going on than we did in the prior world wars. Back then, information traveled slower, individual snapshots and type-written reports told American civilians what was happening. Twitter, Instagram, YouTube...they can all bring you right to the conflict, but each of those platforms and each individual smartphone user presents an opportunity to curate the information we receive. If the full might of the US military were to mobilize and invade Sesame Street tomorrow, you'd probably see one blackhawk go down and one humvee break down and smoke out on the side of the road. Plaster that all over the internet with some good clips and suddenly Big Bird and Elmo derailed the early plans for the American war effort. Look, I'm as pro-Ukraine and anti-Russia as it gets. I just don't trust any of the information we receive. It has been marinated, seasoned, and presented better than a Michelin meal at this point. Put my thoughts into words better than I ever could. I hope at the least some of the positive news is a half truth. But the psychological warfare in this digital age is at an all time high.
March 2, 20223 yr 1 minute ago, Gannan said: They’re next They won't control the border as it is. What do you think he's going to do? 😆
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