Please don't engage them. They're simply trolling in many forums.
Well, yes, but they are kind of useful, for you can rest assured that the arguments they tout are meant to divert away from the stuff that really upsets their paymasters.
This whole fear of NATO thing and protecting the geographical borders is actually bullshit. The invading hordes are not on horseback anymore. They come via the internet and with rules-based agreements in their hands. It's also obvious that geopolitical manoeuvring is not Putin's main reason for the war, as he just opened his entire back door to the Chinese, who will be rubbing their hands in glee.
No, Robert Reich is right at least on this one. What Putin is actually afraid of is the spread of liberal democracy. Look at how repressive the reaction was in Belarus. Now Ukraine. Putin knows his days are numbered and he feels like a cornered rat - and he's acting like one.
Please don't engage them. They're simply trolling in many forums.
Everyone is an equally valid member.
Are you engaging in harassment and bullying?
That's against the rules.
Focus on the debate, not personalities
Thanks
"This war and suffering could have easily been avoided if Biden Admin/NATO had simply acknowledged Russiaâs legitimate security concerns regarding Ukraineâs becoming a member of NATO, which would mean US/NATO forces right on Russiaâs border"
Russia tries to justify it's aggression against Ukraine as it places yet another potential NATO/OTAN member on Russia's door step.
Will not the current attack on Ukraine ,if successful still bring Russia hard up against borders of existing NATO/OTAN members along with all their forces?
That argument falls short Mr. Putin.
This is more about a corrupt bored-shitless dictator doing a power/land grab of Ukraine's wealth potential.
appeasement?!?
"This war and suffering could have easily been avoided if Biden Admin/NATO had simply acknowledged Russiaâs legitimate security concerns regarding Ukraineâs becoming a member of NATO, which would mean US/NATO forces right on Russiaâs border" WEF's Tulsi Gabbard
Like Putin would be nicer if we were further away? Not likely....
As a reserve officer in the Army not sure why she gets to criticize the commanding officer, perhaps her WEF membership? Putin is WEF too.
posted this in the russia thread about a month ago
===========================================
for me this was sort of difficult to follow (due to accent) while driving, but once seated at home i found it worthwhile
highlights really poor thinking (or thought process) of the extremes
typical pre-modern and post-modern framework
authoritarian rule and an unabashed lack of fidelity to objective science
what could go wrong? ;-)
and this guy is supposedly very influential to putin...
Hmm, MEAGA? (MakeEurAsiaGreatAgain).
Backwards looking, trying and maybe successfully unwinding global progress...though he is right in some cases, like how far gone today's liberals are.
ps., glad you are safe and hopefully things settle down.
At the heart of this post-Soviet revival of Christianity is another Vladimir. Vladimir Putin. Many people donât appreciate the extent to which the invasion of Ukraine is a spiritual quest for him. The Baptism of Rus is the founding event of the formation of the Russian religious psyche, the Russian Orthodox church traces its origins back here. Thatâs why Putin is not so much interested in a few Russian-leaning districts to the east of Ukraine. His goal, terrifyingly, is Kyev itself.
Great links btw, keep them coming.
The West has long understood the cultural and religious significance of Ukraine to Russia. No surprise here.
If Putin is really motivated to invade Ukraine and seize Kyev because of the long-ago past, he is mentally unbalanced. Such a mindset reminds me of Hitler's desire to conquer Russia and other Eastern Europe countries because they were populated by Untermensch Slavs who threatened the cultural and genetic purity of the Germans.
Putin is likely more motivated by his desire to restore a Russia-based empire with satellite regions and states serving as protective buffers around Russia. Controlling Ukraine would help allow Russia guard against invasion from the West over the European plain and solidify his control of gas flows through Ukraine to Germany and other Western nations.
You mean, like this 2017 article by Australia News on the Russian playbook (published at the height of this 'other conspiracy')?
In some other press-release, Aleksandr Dugin, the author of the book previously mentioned had been named as Putin's Guru with the author meanwhile sanctioned by the US and Canada, in person.
posted this in the russia thread about a month ago
===========================================
for me this was sort of difficult to follow (due to accent) while driving, but once seated at home i found it worthwhile
highlights really poor thinking (or thought process) of the extremes
typical pre-modern and post-modern framework
authoritarian rule and an unabashed lack of fidelity to objective science
what could go wrong? ;-)
and this guy is supposedly very influential to putin...
At the heart of this post-Soviet revival of Christianity is another Vladimir. Vladimir Putin. Many people don’t appreciate the extent to which the invasion of Ukraine is a spiritual quest for him. The Baptism of Rus is the founding event of the formation of the Russian religious psyche, the Russian Orthodox church traces its origins back here. That’s why Putin is not so much interested in a few Russian-leaning districts to the east of Ukraine. His goal, terrifyingly, is Kyev itself.
Great links btw, keep them coming.
You mean, like this 2017 article by Australia News on the Russian playbook (published at the height of this 'other conspiracy')? In some other press-release, Aleksandr Dugin, the author of the book previously mentioned had been named as Putin's Guru with the author meanwhile sanctioned by the US and Canada, in person.
good lord, I love this. You supply written confirmation of everything I have suspected over the years.
yep, there's the definite whiff of a poker player suddenly throwing all his chips down and is now playing for broke. EDIT, I should also add, that that means he knows he's got a losing hand, which of course makes him dangerous as hell.
At the heart of this post-Soviet revival of Christianity is another Vladimir. Vladimir Putin. Many people don’t appreciate the extent to which the invasion of Ukraine is a spiritual quest for him. The Baptism of Rus is the founding event of the formation of the Russian religious psyche, the Russian Orthodox church traces its origins back here. That’s why Putin is not so much interested in a few Russian-leaning districts to the east of Ukraine. His goal, terrifyingly, is Kyev itself.
omg, the look of fear on his face. as to internal solutions.. one can only hope.
Putin allowing this to get out, and his threats of nuclear response to any western interference...seems like he's smells the weakness, chaos... in the west, and playing all his cards.
yep, there's the definite whiff of a poker player suddenly throwing all his chips down and is now playing for broke.
EDIT, I should also add, that that means he knows he's got a losing hand, which of course makes him dangerous as hell.
Putin allowing this to get out, and his threats of nuclear response to any western interference...seems like he's smells the weakness, chaos... in the west, and playing all his cards.
Vladimir Putin made the Budapest Memorandum a dead letter with his first invasion of Ukraine in 2014. But the betrayal of Budapest isn’t forgotten in Kyiv, as President Volodymyr Zelensky noted bitterly in weekend remarks in Munich.
Budapest shows again the folly of trusting parchment promises in a world where autocrats think might makes right. More damaging is the message that nations give up their nuclear arsenals at their peril. That’s the lesson North Korea has learned, and Iran is following the same playbook as it connives to build the bomb even as it promises not to do so.
The inability of the U.S. to enforce its Budapest commitments will also echo in allied capitals that rely on America’s military assurances. Don’t be surprised if Japan or South Korea seek their own nuclear deterrent. If Americans want to know why they should care about Ukraine, nuclear proliferation is one reason. Betrayal has consequences, as the world seems destined to learn again the hard way.
Hadn't read that, but damn, the more I hear from Zelensky the more I like him.
That fits the neo-fascist mold, wie das Faust aufs Auge, to use an apposite German phrase.. Fighting imaginary demons to gain control of .. . what exactly? Your own people?
It will only be a matter of time before any neo-fascist enterprise fails:
1. Either it is beaten down from outside forces
or
2. it succeeds and starts consuming itself from within for want of a perceived enemy.
Nazi Germany suffered from both of these. It didn't manage to rid itself of its demons even when it conquered most of Europe and had exterminated literally millions of its perceived enemies (who were quite innocent) and even before it got push-back (from Russia ironically enough) and the other allies it was already crippled by internal fighting.
Putin's Russia is an attempt to resurrect the one-party state of the Soviets and extend Russian influence. To do this it needs imaginary enemies (in this case the allegation that NATO is adversarial and out to invade it) and is willing to exterminate its own people to reinforce this narrative. Sooner or later it will devour itself from within. It's already corrupt as hell, dependent on exporting oil and gas to earn revenue but it can't help but frame the very people it sells to as its enemies.
there is no way this can end well for Russia.
i agree and there's a nonproliferation lesson in this too...
Kyiv gave up its nuclear weapons in return for security assurances. So much for that.
By The Editorial BoardFeb. 23, 2022 6:52 pm
As the people of Ukraine steel themselves for a Russian attack, itâs worth recalling how the U.S. persuaded the country to give up its nuclear weapons. The event was the Budapest Memorandum of 1994, in which the U.S., Great Britain and Russia offered security assurances to the nation that had won independence when the Soviet Union dissolved.
That was the halcyon post-Cold War era when history had supposedly ended. Some 1,800 nuclear weapons were on Ukrainian territory, including short-range tactical weapons and air-launched cruise missiles. The U.S. wanted fewer countries to have fewer nukes, and U.S. credibility was at its peak.
The memo begins with the U.S., U.K. and Russia noting that Ukraine had committed âto eliminate all nuclear weapons from its territory within a specified period of time.â Then the three countries âconfirmâ a half-dozen commitments to Ukraine.
The most important was to âreaffirm their obligation to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine.â They also pledged to ârefrain from economic coercionâ against Ukraine and to âseek immediate United Nations Security Council action to provide assistance to Ukraineâ in the event of an âact of aggressionâ against the country. Ukraine had returned all of the nuclear weapons to Russia by 1996.
Vladimir Putin made the Budapest Memorandum a dead letter with his first invasion of Ukraine in 2014. But the betrayal of Budapest isnât forgotten in Kyiv, as President Volodymyr Zelensky noted bitterly in weekend remarks in Munich.
Budapest shows again the folly of trusting parchment promises in a world where autocrats think might makes right. More damaging is the message that nations give up their nuclear arsenals at their peril. Thatâs the lesson North Korea has learned, and Iran is following the same playbook as it connives to build the bomb even as it promises not to do so.
The inability of the U.S. to enforce its Budapest commitments will also echo in allied capitals that rely on Americaâs military assurances. Donât be surprised if Japan or South Korea seek their own nuclear deterrent. If Americans want to know why they should care about Ukraine, nuclear proliferation is one reason. Betrayal has consequences, as the world seems destined to learn again the hard way.
are safe and hopefully things settle down.
omg, the look of fear on his face. as to internal solutions.. one can only hope.