Posts by William Anderson5

dustyowl29 said:Putin isn't losing sleep over Gazprom, Rosneft, or some random billionaire oligarch. He doesn't give a damn about Russia or its economy, either.
He is strictly focused on his own legacy—on how he’ll be remembered as a historical figure in the textbooks. And he'll get his way, obviously.
The guy is going all the way. Pure madness. Just like Hitler.

Putin's backed into a corner, and this is the last weapon he has left. I suspect he knows deep down he won't actually shatter the unity of the European Union, but he'll certainly try. What else does he have? By next spring, Russia's position will only continue to erode. Ukraine will be better armed than they are now, the sting of sanctions will start to really bite, and oil and gas revenues will begin to dry up, dragging production capacity down with them. A downward spiral has begun...

Sandra Harris2 said:The Italians are already cracking; elections are just three weeks away, and they're in full swing trying to score points.
Salvini and Berlusconi have already started questioning whether the sanctions are even worth it with their usual "good intentions."

Historically, the Italians haven't been able to form a solid Government capable of taking a truly "anti-European" stance. Making major moves like that requires a strong parliamentary majority, but in Italy, Governments are always just fragile compromises between a bunch of different parties, where the whole thing rests on the whims of every single one...

The gas shutoff comes as no surprise at all. Even without the sanctions on Russia, they would have found some excuse—like a sudden turbine "malfunction"—to pull this move. It’s just another tool in their arsenal, one they were always going to swing regardless of whether we hit them with sanctions or not. It's a strategic advantage they'll exploit every single time...

If I had to place a bet on who actually pulled off the hit on Dugin or his daughter, I’d put my money on the factions within Russia who view him as Putin's Rasputin. It's hard to imagine Ukrainians organizing an operation like this, and honestly, it's probably not even on their radar right now. However, there are power players inside Russia—whether they're intelligence agencies, oligarchs, or high-level political circles—who are looking for someone to blame for this whole disaster. They might just decide to take matters into their own hands. At the end of the day, this kind of thing isn't exactly unprecedented in Russia...

Joshua Myers432 said:That isn't my argument—it's the Russian one. If you want to know what's actually driving it, you'll have to ask them. History is full of these lines in the sand. Back in 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Americans drew a line in the sand over Cuba. They basically said it would be WW3 if those missiles weren't moved. Maybe it was a bluff, maybe it wasn't. Either way, Russia backed down and retreated.

The two situations aren't even in the same league. That was an unprecedented crisis at the height of the Cold War, a pure ideological clash between the East and the West when nuclear saber-rattling was at its peak.

What we’re looking at now is a complex in the Kremlin who attacked a neighboring country for no reason and started acting like a lunatic by threatening nuclear strikes. There was virtually no tension between Russia and the West until this guy decided to invade Ukraine. The West had mostly moved on from Crimea, and trade with Russia was flowing more than ever. The West wasn't even focused on Russia; everyone was too preoccupied with COVID-19 and economic issues until this little man lost his mind.

Trying to compare this to the Cold War just proves you don't really grasp what was happening in the fifties and sixties, or how the world actually functioned back then...

goldenowl73 said:Does anyone else remember those super critical Siemens turbines? You know, the ones without which Nord Stream 1 is basically a paperweight, and the ones that caused all that massive drama from the Russians for weeks on end.

They finished them a long time ago, but it looks like the Russians aren't exactly in a rush to finally take delivery. I mean, it’s hard to believe they aren't just playing games and lying to us again.

Crucial Nord Stream turbines still waiting to be picked up by Russia

https://english.nv.ua/nation/crucial...-50263893.html

Even Siemens has started low-key trolling Russia by posting about that lonely little turbine.

Our famous turbine is still not where it should be. It’s standing around lonely at our site in Mülheim. Let’s do the poor thing a favor and create a @Spotify playlist. What should be included?
We'll start with "So Lonely" by the @ThePoliceBand ... what are your suggestions? https://t.co/uVgvV8Jaza

Forget about the Russians; in this entire saga, the Germans have come out looking the most pathetic. As if being humiliated by Russia wasn't enough, they managed to humiliate themselves even further with this attempt to return the turbine. That turbine was never the actual reason gas supplies dropped, nor did the Russians ever actually want it back.
It's a total collapse of the once-great Germans; they should have just dumped the turbine and left it in Canada...

Just like the geniuses over here who seem to think Putin wouldn't have shut off the taps to Europe if Europe hadn't imposed sanctions and started arming Ukraine.

Joshua Myers432 said:Look, the Russians have been pretty damn clear about this since the early 1950s: they don't want NATO on their borders, and they certainly don't want it anywhere near them. It’s a simple choice. You either respect their demands—which, let's be real, are issued from a position of strength—or you go to war. Or, you can just sit there thinking they're bluffing.

Europe thought they were dealing with option three, but instead, they got hit with option two. 😁

We'll see. If the Russians don't attack Finland, then all those theories about NATO being the cause of the war just fall apart...

James Phillips92 said:I'm seeing reports in the media about Zelenskyy calling for citizens in the Donetsk region to evacuate. Does this mean he's decided to hand over that territory to the Russians without much of a fight? Is there some kind of deal in the works?

It just means he wants to minimize civilian casualties. Civilians in urban areas are always a complication; people don't want their homes becoming targets if the military moves in, and urban warfare almost always ends up centered around residential buildings anyway. Given that the Russians are hitting civilian targets regardless, there’s really no reason not to advise civilians to get out...

That's enough about the Russian narrative regarding "human shields." If a "human shield" actually prevented the Russians from hitting civilian targets, the Ukrainians wouldn't be evacuating them in the first place...

Honestly, who actually takes anything Putin says seriously anymore?

rowdypilot53 said:We can all sit here wishing that Ukrainians could push back to their borders and see arrogance punished, but it isn't realistic. What is realistic is a truce similar to 2014, followed by a lull until the next conflict. With such an unresolved situation, no one is going to admit Ukraine into NATO, and I doubt there will be much investment in a country perpetually on the brink of war. Naturally, Russia would prefer it that way; a weak, unstable Ukraine is easy prey. They are playing the long game.

Now, perhaps the West sends enough weapons, the Ukrainian military gets properly trained, and they drive the Russians out of Kherson, then Zaporizhzhia—or inflict losses so heavy that the Russians simply retreat. But even then, Crimea and the Donbas remain, and it will be incredibly difficult to dislodge them from there. That is my perspective, so judge it as you wish and go read your history books...

That only happens if the West puts enough pressure on Ukraine, similar to how things played out in 2014 and 2015. But honestly, it's become clear to everyone in the West that freezing this conflict isn't an option anymore. No one in Washington or Brussels is looking for that kind of deal because Russia completely burned its bridges and shattered any trust that was left. This time, the war will likely go on for as long as the Ukrainians have both the will and the capacity to fight. And they seem to have significantly more of both than the Russians do...

Jose Clark2 said:Fair enough. If they just validate the pre-February 24th borders, does that mean they actually won the war?

And what exactly did Ukraine concede prior to February 24th? Just the stuff from the Minsk Agreement. That’s really the ceiling of what they can offer.

If Putin had been even slightly smarter—if he actually acted like a negotiator—the West would have been ready to hand over Crimea just to secure the Donbas, forcing the Ukrainians to swallow it. But the way things have played out, there isn't even a chance of getting his seizure of Crimea legitimized anymore...

Jose Clark2 said:What does "winning" even mean? Until someone actually defines what victory looks like for Russia or Putin, any claim about whether they can or cannot win is purely speculative.

Right now, for the Russians, winning would mean—assuming Ukraine agrees to it on paper—achieving anything more than what they had before February 24th. They have nothing beyond that, and they’re going to have to face that reality, whether it's under Putin or whoever follows him...

Jose Clark2 said:It's obvious they won't pull out of Ukraine completely. Russ simply cannot afford to lose this war; they need concessions. If we don't give them what they want, what happens then?

Then let Putin fight until there isn't a single Russian left to fight. Because Russia simply cannot win this one.

Noah Sanchez2 said:Viktor Orbán is quite simply a bought man. It's pure corruption at the highest level; a Russian mole inside the European Union. There isn't a shred of genuine concern for Canada here.

The problem is most people think he's acting "in Canada's interest." It reminds me of how Americans cheered for Neville Chamberlain when he handed over the Sudetenland to Germany; they thought avoiding a confrontation with Germany was better for the economy and stability in Europe. In the end, it turned out that standing firm would have been what was actually best for the people. It was much easier to deal with Germany in '37 or '38 than it was in '39. And despite all those efforts to dodge the conflict, the war happened anyway. People tend to focus on short-term gains, but politicians are supposed to be looking at the long game and making the right calls, regardless of how unpopular they might be in the moment...

Terry Green3 said:The biggest conversation happening in Germany today regarding the war in Ukraine boils down to one thing: whether the Russians will turn the gas back on after ten days.

Scholz actually went out of his way to thank Canada for lifting those sanctions on Russia for a single day, allowing Siemens Canada to ship over the turbines needed to keep the pipelines running...

We’re seeing history repeat itself, much like the era of Adolf Hitler. Vladimir Putin is going to shut off that gas regardless of whether they have those turbines or not. In twenty years, people will laugh at Merkelov and Scholz just like they mock Neville Chamberlain today, looking back at these pathetic episodes. And let's not forget that Chamberlain claimed everything he did was "in the interest of his people." Viktor Orbán also thinks he's acting "in the interest of Canada." But what if it turns out that it was actually in Canada's best interest to show greater unity within the European Union? The greatest catastrophes happen when a leader miscalculates which move truly serves their nation and its citizens. History shows us that the biggest mistakes occur when economic interests are prioritized over political ones when they shouldn't be—in the end, the economy suffers far more than it would have if they had engaged in the economic struggle immediately, all while facing a massive political defeat...

Bryan Booth82 said:The only genuine parallel between Russia and Nazi Germany—the one that actually holds water—is the similarity between Hitler and Putin, specifically regarding their sheer delusions of grandeur.

Russia hit a brick wall at the very first obstacle, whereas Germany was practically knocking on the door of their ultimate goal.
Back then, the world was caught completely off guard by Hitler, but Putin? The West saw him coming from a mile away and reacted immediately.

Best regards,

Compared to Putin and his inner circle, Hitler and his associates were nothing more than clowns, with very few exceptions.

I’ve stopped following this war closely because, in my mind, it's already decided. Ukraine could fight like this for another fifty years, but it seems someone convinced Putin that once he turns off the gas in the winter, Bolshevik-style revolutions will just erupt across the West. He’s played his hand, thinking he’s won... It’s just pure delusion.

And then there's Zelenskyy, who basically stepped into politics with zero experience and managed to outmaneuver him completely.

Zachary Jackson4 said:Now I have to ask about the Holodomor. It was brought up in another thread. You might recall Vladimir Putin claiming the connection is misrepresented when people say only Ukrainians suffered. So, I went to check the Wikipedia entry for context.

"In 2013, the Institute for Demographic and Social Research, named after the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, hosted an international scientific conference titled 'Famine in Ukraine in the first half of the 20th century: causes and consequences (1921-1923, 1932-1933, 1946-1947).' During this event, demographic loss estimates were presented based on published results regarding the 1932-1933 famine: deaths in Ukraine totaled 3,917,800 people, in Russia 3,264,600, and in Kazakhstan 1,258,200, totaling 8,731,900 across the entire USSR. Relative losses from the 1932-1933 famine were highest in Kazakhstan at 22.42%, followed by Ukraine at 12.92%, Russia at 3.17%, and an average of 5.42% across the USSR."

The famine in Ukraine was manufactured. Back then, just like today, Ukraine was the breadbasket—producing far more food than it actually needed—yet millions still starved to death. I'll let you draw your own conclusions on how that works...

steelfox98 said:The reverse is just as true. It won't hit Germany quite as hard, but losing access to a market of 140 million people also leads to layoffs.

And where exactly are they going to get the raw materials? Unlike the struggling European Union, which country on this planet actually holds the most resources? Even if they manage to grab some, how can they possibly compete with the Chinese, who will secure everything at a fraction of the cost compared to Russia?
Or are we just switching to manufacturing things out of thin air?

Do I really need to remind everyone how all those self-proclaimed "experts" predicted Russia would collapse within a month, yet now it's the European Union shivering in fear of the upcoming winter?
A few days ago, Macron "accidentally" found himself explaining the situation to Biden in front of the press. Not to mention how the European Union hasn't even implemented sanctions on Russian gold—they're still just "considering" it, which is trivial compared to the energy crisis facing Europe.
Clearly, they've realized sanctions are a double-edged sword that cuts us just as deeply. Of course, that doesn't apply to those living off their parents' dime, blissfully unaware of what's happening around them.

The Macron - Biden scene is pure surrealism:

Even if Western cars were actually available, how many would that market even buy in the coming months?

I suspect that market is gone for good...

urbanotter said:The reality is that about half the components in those "sophisticated" Western cars are manufactured in China, and the relationship between Russia and China is actually improving.
People are already noticing that more and more Chinese vehicles are appearing on American highways, and honestly, they aren't any worse than the Western brands. Their only real "downside" is that they're cheaper.

Look, buddy, take a car and drive over to Germany. There are hundreds of companies in Bavaria that exist solely to serve BMW. You talk about the damn Chinese... if you head out into the countryside, you'll find at least one small shop producing some scrap metal for the auto industry. And they're all using the same German machinery—Bosch equipment, or heaven knows what else. This isn't about China; China has nothing to do with the core of the auto industry.
Then there's the other issue: where are these Chinese cars actually being serviced? Are you even aware that a car requires maintenance? Where are the supply chains for parts, or the network of authorized mechanics?
This transition is going to take years, if it ever actually happens...

Melissa Rivera5 said:Yeah, I mean, how they talk about it... like Donetsk and Lansing should've been totally leveled and the people there just eaten alive by cannibals or something. But honestly? The cities are basically fine. Electricity, water, gas—everything's still running.

Back in 2020 and 2021—so over the last two years—separatist sources claimed civilian deaths in the Rust Belt matched what we saw in this recent missile strike on a shopping mall. Though, honestly, those separatists might have inflated that count of 15 civilians killed over two years. That’s all there is to it...