Posts by Nancy Gomez26

Nathan Thomas12 said:Not quite. Aside from actual cash, all the money moving through the system is sitting in primary bank accounts at the central banks. New money doesn't just pop into existence as random numbers on a screen—the central bank keeps a tight leash on that.

Still, you have to admit the Fed can print as much as they damn well please, right? They could theoretically fund massive stock market speculation by lending at dirt-cheap interest rates if they felt like it. Let's take this to a private thread.

Jose Clark2 said:The Russian Federation is constitutionally structured around a powerful president, making it a presidential federal republic rather than a de jure dictatorship. They hold democratic elections where the majority-supported option typically wins.

That’s how it looks on paper. In reality, the only thing that matters is "who counts the votes" and how many years of prison time they can hand out to opposition candidates. Putin essentially emerged from nowhere; he was hand-picked as the successor by the previous president. Elections have become little more than a formality—a farce—because there is no genuine political contest. There is no struggle because there is no real opposition left. Any true opposition has been forced into exile, thrown behind bars, or driven underground. The few "oppositionists" who remain serve primarily as window dressing for the current administration, existing solely to maintain a Potemkin village version of democracy.

And by now, this has likely become entirely normalized. The fundamental issue is the total absence of a democratic tradition; it simply never existed. For many, the concept of changing political leadership feels alien. They likely fear that shifting power will lead to a complete systemic collapse—a lesson learned painfully from past upheavals. Naturally, those currently in power have zero incentive to prove otherwise. Consequently, they remain stuck in the status quo, dealing with all the inevitable fallout.

Jose Clark2 said:You're oversimplifying things. Claiming Russia is still a democracy ignores how laws actually function. Even here in America, minor offenses can land you behind bars for years or even life. It's all about the legal framework.

The reality is more nuanced than just the political system; you have the rule of law and the separation of powers to consider. Legal systems vary wildly. Then there's the matter of human rights. Take the USA, for instance—acting as a beacon of democracy while using drones to eliminate ideological enemies abroad, often resulting in civilian casualties and zero right to a fair trial.

Americans don't really have a legal basis to prosecute that specific crowd operating those drones. Do you honestly believe an Iranian general feels obligated to respect American laws? I highly doubt it. On the flip side, if that same Iranian general targets American citizens anywhere on the globe, the US will simply take him out. Others can ponder their motivations and how they intend to deal with Americans all they want. Americans can be cooperative, certainly, but they can also be incredibly stubborn. The dilemma for Iran and similar adversaries is that the US possesses the technological reach to strike anyone, anywhere. They have this capability because they possess advanced technology, and they have that technology because they aren't a closed society; they aren't monolithic like Iran. In many ways, Iran is sawing off the very branch it sits on—their internal political structure drives away anyone with independent thought or the means to flee, leaving behind nothing but the dregs of society. That is, essentially, the current limit of their system's reach. There is little use in being overly burdened by ideology or faith; one must attempt to understand the world around them.

dustytiger8 said:Fine... so everything supposedly differs from the "properly named socialist" USSR, but how exactly does that work? Especially when you consider the subtle distinctions regarding National Socialism...

The difference between those two brands of socialism boils down to their relationship with the nation. The German model was nation-centric, while the Russian one was internationalist. It all stemmed from local political necessities, given the homogeneity of the domestic population. The Russian version lasted longer, but the end results were identical. Enslaving entire nations and purging anyone who dares to think differently.

Today, Russians are attempting to resurrect that exact same machine. This necessitates denying the very existence of the Ukrainian Nation.

Does absolutely nobody see the connection here?

Precisely.

casualranger15 said:If the Russian authorities actually wanted to clear him, they could have found a hundred different ways to make it happen. They wouldn't have let this woman get a one-way ticket to the afterlife.

The motive here could easily be internal consolidation within Russia. Perhaps the focus has slipped, and now there is a perceived need to once again whip up fervor against the external and internal enemies that supposedly never sleep:

goldenowl73 said:Russian propagandists were out there this morning making all these loud threats against Kyiv because of what happened to Dugin. Margaryta Simonyan is actually out here saying they should just target the heart of Kyiv and completely tear apart the neighborhood where the government and the president are based. They’re basically promising that Kyiv is going to be shaking in its boots after this

https://tsargrad.tv/news/russkaja-ot...drognet_609139

As I have noted before, the Russian propaganda Machine will never pass up a situation this convenient to spin to their advantage, regardless of the actual causes behind a bombing attack. It might even serve as a blunt instrument to remind Muscovites of the absolute necessity of mobilization... It wouldn't be the first time such tactics have been deployed.

Crippling Russia, part two.

brightheron64 said:Well, you can certainly think that...

But we've already discussed this—reparations are only ever paid by the defeated. By those who have been forced onto their knees...
Even back during the Paris negotiations regarding how the USA would pay reparations to Vietnam, they talked a big game. And did they actually pay? Not a dime!...

That’s the ideal scenario, without question. It should happen immediately, right now!...
But, goodness, the Russian leadership making these calls is playing an entirely different movie in their heads... 😵

This "special operation" was envisioned much like a coup in Afghanistan. Yet, here we are, watching it evolve in exactly the same direction. It seems someone simply refuses to grasp the old adage: "history is the greatest teacher"....

That assertion is far from reality.
Long ago—back when wars were fought on actual battlefields and the Rothschilds funded both sides through massive credit lines—one of the primary conditions for lending was that the victor would settle their own debts along with the debts of the losing side. It sounds paradoxical at first glance, yet the logic is sound.
As for money today... it has lost its substance. It isn't even a pile of colorful paper anymore—neither dollars nor lire—but merely a digital figure sitting in some computer, somewhere. You can generate as much of it as you please in an instant; they don't even need paper or ink to print it anymore. Consequently, the concept is losing its inherent meaning. In the modern economy, being frozen out of the system—exactly how they handled the Russian Federation—is a far more pressing concern than the hypothetical question of future war reparations.

dustytiger8 said:Nice try... 🙂

I'll tell you this much: the party in Germany was called the NSDAP—the "National Socialist German Workers' Party." So, Nazism is just shorthand for National Socialism. The only real difference between them and Russia (the USSR) was the focus on the national versus the international. You can see that clearly in the Hitler-Stalin pact signed right before the second war.
In both cases, the result was millions of dead people.

It’s good to remember that occasionally...

What you’ve pointed out is merely a matter of nomenclature.

The moment where socialism crosses the line into a criminal societal system occurs when its theory grants itself the right—indeed, the obligation—to 'settle scores and annihilate anyone deemed an enemy of the socialist idea and system.' Of course, they will decide who qualifies as an 'enemy' and how to eliminate them using a judiciary that is entirely indoctrinated by the ideology. Many don't even make it to a courtroom.
That is inherently criminal behavior, yet it is precisely the mechanism the system uses to saw off the very branch it sits on.

Christian Torres3 said:There are absolutely factions. One group is basically just focused on getting filthy rich, and this war is a massive payday for them.

Generally speaking, anyone sitting just outside the inner sanctum of political power is focused on one thing: accumulating wealth through government contracts. Now, everything has been frozen. Given the current trajectory, most of those business avenues are going to vanish permanently. As for the capital they managed to park in the West? They can probably kiss that goodbye. Every nation is proficient at seizing assets—you just have to provide the pretext and the opportunity. This crowd was essentially forced to retreat back to Russia, and now they find themselves hovering near the same starting line they occupied at the beginning of their careers.
It has become painfully obvious that this war, which supposedly "proceeds according to plan," is actually stumbling along. They failed to exploit that crucial window of surprise during the first three days to break Ukraine, and as time drags on, the friction will only increase. There is no end in sight for the sanctions; they intensify daily, and frankly, I’m not sure what else is left to sanction. The people who grew accustomed to an easy life in the West are now stuck living under a strict regime in Moscow.
Since any significant shift in the status quo will inevitably require a change in the current administration—which has utterly exhausted its credibility—the future of these oligarchs, who tied their fates so tightly to the regime, is incredibly uncertain. That is, unless the next reshuffle of the deck allows them to bypass the leadership and renegotiate state relations to suit their own interests. However, they likely lack the muscle to pull off such a maneuver; without the involvement of intelligence services or military brass, an efficient takeover is impossible. Still, an attempt might occur. One only needs to recall how Boris Yeltsin ascended to power via a coup attempt, and how the establishment tried to pull the rug out from under him just a few years later in another attempted coup. The stakes are immense, but the potential reward for whoever wins this game is equally massive.

dustyowl29 said:Down the road, once we're looking at lifting the sanctions on Russia, we could potentially force them to foot the bill.

There are endless ways to spin this. For instance, they could agree to divert a portion of the revenue from Russian gas sales directly to Ukraine as reparations over the next decade or so. It’s all just a matter of optics. The Russians will tell their people that Western consumers are essentially footing the bill for Ukraine's reconstruction. Meanwhile, the European Union will tell its citizens that Russia is paying the damages, even if it means receiving slightly less for their gas imports. In reality, the truth will likely sit somewhere in the murky middle of those two narratives. Right now, the priority remains simple: stop the fighting and ensure Ukraine remains free. Ideally, Russia would show some cooperation and withdraw "out of goodwill," seeing as it's become obvious to everyone that this prolonged attrition serves no one. Honestly, that realization hit most people by the fourth day of the conflict. If they didn't manage to break Ukraine then, they certainly won't do it now.

Kyle Nelson2 said:Just another tragedy for all those countless Ukrainian families who have gone through something almost identical.
Maybe it's just karma. I guess he should finally feel at least a fraction of the misery he keeps pushing onto everyone else.

☕

The guy is absolute trash. Honestly, I hope he lives another 50 years just so he can spend them visiting graveyards.

The ideology he pushes has left many Russian families in mourning, not just Ukrainian ones. Given his relatively low profile in Russia—if this was an act of revenge against him, someone chose their target with chilling, calculated intelligence. That kind of precision is a rarity in this conflict. It could easily be an internal purge, or perhaps the authorities themselves are finally deciding to prune away some inconvenient dead weight.

Bryan Booth82 said:If being "friends" meant living under the Russian boot, Mexico would have jumped at the chance ages ago. But even they aren't quite as foolish as they pretend to be.
Lp

Mexico views itself as an absolute peer to Russia—or perhaps just a 'younger brother.' In any tight alliance with Moscow, they would end up being treated exactly like everyone else: as subjects. The reason many Mexicans glorify Russia is simple history; they’ve never actually lived under their thumb. If they had ever experienced the true nature of the Kremlin administration, their attitude toward them would look a lot more like their view of Turkey. Mostly, the Kremlin just uses them to manipulate and bolster its own standing. Mexico would be much better off pursuing a rational, independent foreign policy instead of leaning so heavily on the Kremlin, especially since that support system is currently drowning in its own mess. Mexico is far too small and weak to help Russia dig itself out of the hole it dug for itself. By clinging to this policy, they are essentially digging their own grave. It’s like if a tiny state tried to 'help' the USA through an economic or military crisis—they wouldn't have the resources to make a dent. But hey, if things are going so well for Mexico right now, good for them.

Jessica Peterson2 said:Neither Dugin's name nor his philosophical ramblings are common knowledge among the average hardliners in the Kremlin, let alone the general American public. I’d venture to say that 99.999999999999% of us haven't the slightest clue who he is or what he actually does for a living.
The same goes for his daughter, though in her case, the percentage hits a solid 100%.
Dugin isn't Putin's Rasputin.
If you want to talk about Putin's Rasputin, you're looking at a tight-knit circle of high-ranking officials: the head of Patrushev's Security Council, FBI Bortnik, ExxonMobil Secin, the CEO of Lockheed Martin Cemezov, ExxonMobil Miller, the Deputy Chief of Staff Kirienko, the Secretary of Defense Sojg (though he’s really just there for the optics), and perhaps a few other shadowy figures whose names never make the evening news.
I find myself agreeing with my colleague Nancy Gomez26; it seems highly probable that this liquidation has some sort of private motive behind it.

Patrushev and Putin have a long history together. It's worth noting that Patrushev never left active duty, climbing the ranks all the way to general, while Putin eventually pivoted toward a different career path. Patrushev remains one of the rare individuals permitted to publicly interpret Putin's intentions. It appears Putin's rise was facilitated by a Western-imported norm: the idea that top intelligence officials shouldn't hold the highest political offices. This created a vacuum for someone like Putin—a man who wasn't "active duty" in the traditional sense (holding a relatively minor rank), yet remained perfectly acceptable to the establishment because he was "one of them." Once you are part of that intelligence culture, it defines you for life; it is baked into the profession. That provides a logical framework for how an unknown figure like Putin could leap from total political obscurity to a lifelong presidency, bypassing much more obvious candidates.

electricsurfer47 said:Can you tell me

Why on earth is Turkey fighting them??? Why wouldn't they be allowed to have their own little state within Syria? They aren't even that big, and they don't really pose a threat to Turkey.

If the Americans had actually worked out some kind of diplomatic deal between the Kurds and the Turks, they could probably sit under the Turkish umbrella to defend themselves from Bashar al-Assad.

The Kurds are spread across Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and Iran. If they ever managed to unify into a single nation—which, politically speaking, seems highly improbable—it would result in a state of very substantial size. Such a territory would naturally diminish the influence of the surrounding nations. That is precisely why Turkey views them as an existential threat. Furthermore, Turkey requires an "external enemy" to justify its internal systems of repression. Historically speaking, Turkey has lost vast amounts of territory; now, they are simply playing a cautious, defensive game. Had they maintained control over the Arabian Peninsula, they might actually be a global superpower today...

A single assassination doesn't necessarily signal a shift in the status quo. It could just be a private matter. Who can say? However, if this turns out to be part of a pattern, we might start to see which way the wind is blowing. From what I can gather, she wasn't a protected figure, which essentially makes her easy prey for anyone looking to make a move. Furthermore, the depth—or lack thereof—of the investigation will likely reveal how much the government actually cares about the whole situation. Knowing the Kremlin administration, they’ll find someone to blame, and more than likely, those scapegoats will be nothing more than tools for political maneuvering and propaganda. After all, why would they pass up such an opportunity?

goldenowl73 said:Just your typical Russian "tourists" roaming around NATO countries like they own the place. Word is it was two guys and one woman.

Further update to this story: 2 Russian men and one women arrested inside the grounds of weapons factory after attacking guards. Two soldiers injured. Anti-terror and Intel service of Albania now on the ground. Local media claim they came in as tourists. https://t.co/BwHGFMMSVI

If—or rather, when—their visas are mass-revoked, their ability to operate on the ground will be severely crippled. Right now, they can easily hide in plain sight within large tour groups. Their most likely play would be smuggling themselves around using forged Ukrainian documents; it's probably the path of least resistance.

goldenowl73 said:Looks like we've got some Russians moving into our neck of the woods. This situation is looking pretty intense

Breaking: Albanian media report that Three Russians exchanged Fire with Albanian military while Trying to infiltrat weapons facility in The town of Gramsh. One attacker is reported dead, and they're saying two soldiers are currently getting medical help for injuries caused by a chemical attack. https://t.co/akQZk70WkA

Apparently, we're looking at three intruders hitting some kind of weapons plant under the cover of a storm. Two are in custody, while the third remains at large. At first glance, this feels like a predictable extension of how Russian intelligence services have historically targeted ammunition depots and factories across Europe. We’ve seen them blow things up before. Everyone plays the hand they're dealt—the Ukrainians have their HIMARS, while the Russians rely on the FSB. It would be interesting to pinpoint exactly what is being manufactured at that site; it might explain why it’s such a tempting target.

Megan Thomas5 said:Germany never paid reparations for World War II, since the consensus back then was that war indemnities just fuel more resentment and future conflicts.
There’s zero chance someone is just going to conjure up war reparations out of thin air today.

It all depends on who you're talking about—who is demanding the money, how much leverage can actually be used to squeeze the culprits, and whether those culprits even have the solvency to pay. Russia won't feel the full weight of sanctions immediately; the impact will only intensify as they drag on. It really comes down to how deeply integrated Russia has become with the global economy—the more intertwined they are, the harder isolation hits. I suspect any lifting of sanctions will eventually be tied to reparations, or perhaps some sort of settlement between Ukraine and Russia regarding the matter. But first, there has to be a military victory.

Olivia Turner49 said:Don't forget about the Poles, though—they were first in line. They sent over a massive amount of tanks immediately. We're talking actual action, not just empty promises. Honestly, I'd much rather have gear on day one than some "Uber Eats" delivery of broken equipment three months after the war actually started.

Within the European Union, Poland provides the most significant support, but they also stand to gain the most from this shift. Between themselves and their perpetually problematic neighbor, Russia, they now command a substantial buffer state that is no longer—and likely won't be for a long time—inclined toward Moscow. They aren't just "first in line to the coast" anymore; they're looking at a coastline where tsunamis are a regular occurrence.

Gerald Torres84 said:In any case, the European Union has "finally" realized that Rue will never be satisfied; after Crimea, they will move further. The European Union decided with all these sanctions—despite the significant cost to itself—to stop the Russians.
From a pragmatic standpoint, it is better to provide Ukraine with money and weaponry and spend billions of dollars on those efforts, rather than facing barbarians on our borders in ten years and likely facing a larger war where European citizens will also perish.

With that same move, the EU is likely succeeding in pulling Ukraine into its orbit. That means an additional 40 million people joining the Western sphere who will eventually integrate with the West. If Ukraine is simply left to the mercy of the Kremlin, they’ll end up integrating with Russia instead. That would make Russia significantly stronger by adding those 40 million people to their side, which is no small feat under these circumstances. Russia desperately needs people; regardless of how many they have, Russia remains a vast wilderness. They have the resources, but they lack the manpower to actually exploit them.
The situation is far better for the Ukrainians this way, because whether it's Putin or anyone else, they would just be sent off to fight wars elsewhere, much like how they are currently sending Buryat and other minority groups.

wiredseal7 said:War reparations? Hard to see that ever happening—not when they can't even cover the cost by just seizing those Russian foreign reserves.
Look, I’m not against it. Once the Americans and their client states finish paying out all the damages to Iraq, Afghanistan, Mexico, Syria, Libya, and everywhere else they’ve torn apart, maybe it’ll finally be Russia's turn.

When Iraq, Afghanistan, Mexico, Syria, and Libya eventually gain enough leverage to kick the USA out of Swift and slap them with economic sanctions—that is when Washington, D.C. will start singing a different tune. Until then, it's unlikely. It will take time, and they'll need to fix themselves up quite a bit before that becomes even a possibility.

It will be interesting to see how this whole reparation situation plays out regarding everything Russia is currently doing in Ukraine. When the line is finally drawn—no matter how they try to pivot—it is going to cost them dearly. The most elegant, least painful solution would be the total liquidation of the political leadership and an immediate end to the war. I don't see anyone capable of pulling that off right now, except for one specific individual, though I doubt he'd be quick to step down. Still, you never know.