March 3, 20223 yr https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/03/people-leaving-russia-ukraine-war Russians are fleeing Russia. No hard numbers in the article, but it would be an interesting development.
March 3, 20223 yr 5 minutes ago, 20dawk4life said: So what would trump do? Or what do you want Biden to do? Mean tweets bro. Works every time.
March 3, 20223 yr 12 minutes ago, Mike31mt said: He doesnt have to be afraid of him, just acknowledge that there are some neurons firing and have a suspicion that there will be a reaction when he blatantly violates international peace Biden is weak, there is currently no "leader of the free world," theres a bunch of beaucrats managing by consensus (just like Obama) Some people prefer that. Im not one of them Isn't that what democracy is though? And so are you suggesting that you're better served by a "strongman" who does whatever he feels like?
March 3, 20223 yr Call this the strange friends that politics make, but I’m with Wyote on this… You don’t risk a global nuclear war with Russia over Ukraine. The BEST outcome from that would be something in the realm of hundreds of millions of people dying. Worst outcome is the complete annihilation of human civilization. You don’t risk that over Ukraine. Period. Full stop. That’s a completely lunatic risk to take to prevent Russia from taking Ukraine. Worst case situation there is a few million people dying which, while obviously horrific, would be a rounding error compared to the destruction a nuclear war would cause.
March 3, 20223 yr 6 minutes ago, Mike31mt said: He doesnt have to be afraid of him, just acknowledge that there are some neurons firing and have a suspicion that there will be a reaction when he blatantly violates international peace uh, you don't think there's been "a reaction"? Putin thought he could weather whatever sanctions came. what he didn't bank on was the West coming together on sanctions in the way they had. I'm reading more detail about the sanctions. they're really crushing. Here's an example: one of the reasons Putin felt he could deal with the sanctions was they had a fund worth about $640B. here's the problem: most of that (~$400B) is in US, EU, and Japanese government bonds or held in accounts in banks around the world, and completely inaccessible in face of sanctions. (pretty stupid of Putin Another $84B or so is held in Chinese bonds, but there are challenges to directly exchanging the Yen to Ruble. You also have a bit of a wildcard in China who wants to dominate the world through economic power and trade, and is unlikely to go too far out on a ledge to help a nation in Russia that only makes up about 3% of their trade. They will probably help for sure, but they will moderate the amount to where they think they won't get too much pain. The only part of their "Fortress Russia" economic sanctions defense that might help them is what they're carrying in gold ($130B). But liquidating that amount of gold in a near term to someone willing to buy it (probably someone from the middle east) is just logistically challenging. And you need to find a ME state willing to risk sanctions from the US and the West. https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2022/03/05/vladimir-putins-fortress-russia-is-crumbling Prior to this it as a reasonable take that sanctions were not a proportional response to some of the actions Russia has taken. Given how throttling these sanctions have been, that's just not the case anymore. Sanctions are proving to be an incredibly powerful weapon to wield in situations where committing boots on the ground is unpalatable.
March 3, 20223 yr 8 minutes ago, 20dawk4life said: So what would trump do? Or what do you want Biden to do? their only argument is "Putin was afraid of Trump's tough talk so he wouldn't have invaded" which is easily disproven despite their insistence of its viability. the sanctions crafted in large part by Biden's administration with Europe the last 3-4 mos are economy killers. it's the closest thing to nuking an economy you can get to.
March 3, 20223 yr 9 minutes ago, 20dawk4life said: So what would trump do? Or what do you want Biden to do? I noticed you said "would"....he already prevented Russia from invading Ukraine for 4 years
March 3, 20223 yr 4 minutes ago, TEW said: Call this the strange friends that politics make, but I’m with Wyote on this… You don’t risk a global nuclear war with Russia over Ukraine. The BEST outcome from that would be something in the realm of hundreds of millions of people dying. Worst outcome is the complete annihilation of human civilization. You don’t risk that over Ukraine. Period. Full stop. That’s a completely lunatic risk to take to prevent Russia from taking Ukraine. Worst case situation there is a few million people dying which, while obviously horrific, would be a rounding error compared to the destruction a nuclear war would cause. Poop. I knew this war would go badly for Russia the moment Trump said it was genius. And now that you've said you agree with me I'd probably better reverse my opinion. Let's crank some 80s metal and NUKE EVERYBODY NOW!
March 3, 20223 yr 11 minutes ago, 20dawk4life said: So what would trump do? Or what do you want Biden to do? Trump would have agreed not to admit Ukraine into NATO forever. Giving Putin what he wanted on sliver platter.
March 3, 20223 yr 2 hours ago, Mike030270 said: I called my pops the other day since I haven't spoke to him in a few weeks. His dad was Ukrainian First thing he says to me is "How proud are you right now of that quarter Ukrainian in you?" followed by him gushing about the resistance they are putting up as well as the spirit of the citizens (Snake Island F you, treating Russians who surrendered with kindness, etc). Assuming Russia does take Ukraine, it will be a tough pill to swallow despite all signs pointing to that eventuality.
March 3, 20223 yr 1 minute ago, paco said: I called my pops, who's dad was Ukrainian, the other day, haven't spoke to him in a few weeks. First thing he says to me is "How proud are you right now of that quarter Ukrainian in you?" followed by him gushing about the resistance they are putting up as well as the spirit of the citizens (Snake Island F you, treating Russians who surrendered with kindness, etc). Assuming Russia does take Ukraine, it will be a tough pill to swallow despite all signs pointing to that eventuality. I’m 1/4 Ukrainian too. Thankfully me and my family are safe, unlike real Ukrainians.
March 3, 20223 yr 3 minutes ago, paco said: I called my pops, who's dad was Ukrainian, the other day, haven't spoke to him in a few weeks. First thing he says to me is "How proud are you right now of that quarter Ukrainian in you?" followed by him gushing about the resistance they are putting up as well as the spirit of the citizens (Snake Island F you, treating Russians who surrendered with kindness, etc). Assuming Russia does take Ukraine, it will be a tough pill to swallow despite all signs pointing to that eventuality. Russia's almost certainly going to take it -- if not, it'll be a historic embarrassment for them. The question in the long will be whether they can hold it. Maybe Ukraine will surrender and the people will live with it... but maybe there'll be a hostile occupation, and if so, Russia will eventually have to leave. But tell your pops that he and his people are amazing all of us every day, almost every hour.
March 3, 20223 yr 7 minutes ago, Mike31mt said: I noticed you said "would"....he already prevented Russia from invading Ukraine for 4 years What do you want Biden to do?
March 3, 20223 yr Playing right into Putin’s hands. And now Gaetz is on your team too! House Democrats Block Bill to Approve Keystone XL Pipeline, Promote ‘American Energy Independence From Russia’ Matt Gaetz explains why he joined Democrats in opposition
March 3, 20223 yr Just now, 20dawk4life said: What do you want Biden to do? He wants him to fail. I think that's pretty obvious at this point.
March 3, 20223 yr 3 minutes ago, wyote said: Poop. I knew this war would go badly for Russia the moment Trump said it was genius. And now that you've said you agree with me I'd probably better reverse my opinion. Let's crank some 80s metal and NUKE EVERYBODY NOW! Hey, we can always roll the dice that Russian maintenance on their nuclear weapons is worse than the rest of their military.
March 3, 20223 yr 24 minutes ago, VanHammersly said: Good point. After all, Trump nailed his cognitive test So Presidential for a ****.
March 3, 20223 yr Just now, TEW said: Hey, we can always roll the dice that Russian maintenance on their nuclear weapons is worse than the rest of their military. Man, that money had to have gone somewhere.
March 3, 20223 yr 4 minutes ago, The_Omega said: Playing right into Putin’s hands. And now Gaetz is on your team too! Gross. They can have Gaetz. Trade him and a 2nd round pick for Manchin?
March 3, 20223 yr Just now, TEW said: Hey, we can always roll the dice that Russian maintenance on their nuclear weapons is worse than the rest of their military. The safest place on Earth might turn out to be Philadelphia, right in the middle of all the nukes that can't get there and all the nukes that can't get to DC and all the nukes that can't get to NYC. But French Polynesia -- well, may God have mercy on their souls.... 2 minutes ago, Paul852 said: Man, that money had to have gone somewhere. You in the market for a superyacht?
March 3, 20223 yr 2 minutes ago, Outlaw said: Gross. They can have Gaetz. Trade him and a 2nd round pick for Manchin? That's like trading Simmons for Harden.....oh wait.
March 3, 20223 yr 1 minute ago, wyote said: The safest place on Earth might turn out to be Philadelphia, right in the middle of all the nukes that can't get there and all the nukes that can't get to DC and all the nukes that can't get to NYC. But French Polynesia -- well, may God have mercy on their souls.... I was thinking Mar-a-Lago
March 3, 20223 yr While it's a great book, I know now the Russian Military isn't capable of defeating NATO in conventional warfare. But back then they were feared. Not anymore.
March 3, 20223 yr 14 minutes ago, TorontoEagle said: Isn't that what democracy is though? And so are you suggesting that you're better served by a "strongman" who does whatever he feels like? I'm talking about internationally, so no there is no democracy. There are leaders and followers, but Obama and now Biden both live in a pollyanna world, and thus are shocked and surprised when other nations are so bold as to make decisions on their own
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