Posts by William Anderson5

Noah Ward2 said:China is definitely the biggest challenge we face... what's happening in Ukraine is almost trivial compared to the kind of chaos that might come from dealing with them...

Instead of the West trying to strike a deal with Putin over the last 20 years to keep a lid on the Chinese before they became too powerful, they've just let them expand. Meanwhile, they're busy fighting a Cold War with Russia, which isn't even the main player in the global picture anymore...

Now that Putin has finally lost his patience, everyone is panicking... unfortunately, it looks like the big winners in all of this will be the Chinese...

You can't cut a deal with Vladimir Putin; he's simply incapable of it. If he actually could, he would have settled things in Transnistria, Georgia, and Syria by now. It’s pretty obvious the man just doesn't possess the capacity for negotiation.

And it wasn't the West that started this Cold War—it was Putin. For the West, Russia has been a declining power for decades. Americans practically walked away from Europe as a primary zone of interest and shifted their focus toward China back during the Obama administration. If you want proof, look at Canada or Mexico, where the US basically handed everything over to the European Union.
The Russians just pulled them right back in...

Bryan Booth82 said:You really have to learn how to read between the lines if you want to get a clear picture of what Russia is actually up to.
With the current gas delivery blackmail—specifically that 60% cut to Germany—Russia is starting to act completely against all economic logic. They are clearly attempting to squeeze and intimidate Germany economically, even if it ends up causing self-inflicted damage to their own interests.
I was just listening to Habeck, the German Minister of Economics, and he didn't mince words: he stated plainly that this reduction in gas supplies by Russia is nothing more than a blatant attempt at extortion by the dictators in The White House.
He also confirmed that this behavior was entirely predictable. Furthermore, he noted that there won't be an immediate supply crisis right now, as Germany is already legally preparing itself for the possibility of gas shortages during the winter months.

The sanctions are starting to take a real bite out of Russia. We're looking at 17% inflation, a 35% drop in industrial investment, and a 10% slowdown in economic growth already.
The real question is, how much success will Putin actually have by choosing to ignore basic economic reality?

Lp

Putin is definitely going to go all in, mostly because he’s too reckless to consider anything else. Russia is looking at a dead end starting next year, so the propaganda machine is already working overtime to paint a picture where the West is doing much worse than Russia. He knows that by the end of the year, most of his oil revenue will vanish, and that's the endgame for Russia. That kind of loss is permanent, and no amount of fairy tales from The Kremlin about magically teleporting oil to new markets will change that...

The only move left for him is an all-in gamble, even if it costs Russia its entire economic future, by attempting to trigger an energy crisis in the West. He's panicking, and I suspect we'll see a desperate, irrational move like that very soon...

urbanotter said:What's all the rush about? It’s like they say, there's no sense in hurrying when the devil's already gone and taken the whole damn press.

Honestly, I don't think there's any real pressure for Russia to hurry up and fix their energy situation; they actually have more than enough supply to go around.😁

If they don't actually need it, I don't get why Russia seems so obsessed with what happens to Europeans.

It honestly touches my heart how much Medvedev worries about Europeans having to pay higher prices for gas instead of just taking cheap Russian supply. I'm practically moved to tears by how much the Russians seem to care about the welfare of Europeans...

The Russians are claiming they can't deliver gas because of some random pump failure, all while General Electric refuses to step in and fix it.

It turns out they don't even have the tech to handle basic gas transport, let alone manage drilling operations without Western expertise (just look at what happened in Venezuela)

northernangler8 said:Congrats to you, then, for only seeing Russia. You're totally ignoring Australia, Austria, Germany, Canada... what exactly did those countries do to their own people during the pandemic? And you really want to claim they're any better than the Russians?

Are you seriously comparing lockdowns to the invasion of Ukraine? That's surreal...

northernangler8 said:I guess there isn't much to say here since the original message was just empty, but I'll be waiting if anyone actually has something worth discussing.

I guess I could just say you’ve written a massive pile of nonsense. Using the phrase "WE chose" is a stretch. First off, when it came to joining NATO, nobody actually asked us for our input. So, it wasn't really a choice "we" made. As for joining the European Union, half the country didn't even show up to vote. Not to mention how much the politicians were running up against us back then. I mean, remember that famous line from Kamala Harris to the seniors? She basically told them they wouldn't see a dime of their pensions if they didn't vote for the EU.

Is this really what they call freedom of choice? It feels exactly like it did during the lockdowns. You don’t want to listen, so they just force your hand until you finally cave and accept whatever they're spoon-feeding us. They use threats and coercion to make it happen, and then they have the nerve to act like we all asked for it ourselves. I guess you have to wonder if political terror is actually pulling the strings behind our decisions.

And that is exactly how Russia treats Ukraine. Congratulations on the insight.

northernangler8 said:Give me a break, we were asking for an end to the fighting too, just so those guys would finally pull back. 😁 Look, you have to see that it doesn't work that way. In this situation, I guess Ukraine just has to give something up in exchange for peace and freedom.

Haha, what exactly are we even arguing about here? Is the argument just "oh, maybe I should drop dead" or "Vladimir Putin is a dictator"? Wow, you guys really floored me with those heavy-hitting points. You literally haven't said a single thing of substance. So, come on then—convince me. Where’s the actual proof for your little theory? Where's the evidence that Putin is actually out there trying to conquer the entire world? 🙂

Fine, if Russia truly believes they can actually win this war, let them go ahead. Let them fight, let them "win," and see if they can somehow force Ukraine to give up what they hold dear...

By the way, we're talking about sanctions...

There’s that one dark meme where Vladimir Putin knocks on the door and says, "I'm here to protect you," only for everyone to ask, "Protect us from what?" and he replies, "From whatever I'll do to you if you don't let me in." That is exactly the kind of twisted logic used by those defending Russia...

northernangler8 said:Oh, absolutely they would. That’s basically why this whole conflict started—to push the Russians out of Ukraine. It's all about chasing new political fantasies, and the Ukrainian people are the ones paying the price for it. I guess you could say Zelenskyy bears a massive amount of responsibility here; he doesn't seem interested in stopping the fighting, but rather in provoking even more tension. As for why Ukrainians would march on Moscow? I don't see the point.

After the USSR collapsed, Russia essentially gave Ukraine its freedom and stayed out of their business, though they made it very clear that the US military shouldn't be meddling in Ukrainian politics. And that is exactly what happened. A free Ukraine ended up caught in a war just to satisfy NATO's desire for expansion. I suppose that's what happens when you have internal enemies—politicians who drag you into a war that wasn't even necessary.

The Americans just had to come up with a narrative explaining why Putin attacked Ukraine, because obviously, the US isn't going to point the finger at itself.

So, this "Free Ukraine" is actually being told by Russia what they can and can't do?😁

wiredseal7 said:Nice comparison—comparing a country sitting on the planet's largest stash of natural resources to nations that basically have to beg for their fuel and raw materials just to keep the lights on.

Iran manages to stay afloat despite the sanctions—they've got enough resources to weather the initial storm—but the rest of them were caught totally off guard. Take Syria, for example.

And a good chunk of it hits populated areas—think places like Chicago or northern New York. We aren't talking about some empty stretches of the Midwest where you can risk contaminating the water supply or messing with seismic activity without anyone noticing. We could just do it in the rural heartland—everyone’s already left for jobs in the cities anyway.

The reality is that technology and expertise matter far more than just having raw resources. If you possess the tech and the know-how, you can easily acquire resources and actually do something productive with them.

Without that technological edge and specialized knowledge, you're stuck doing exactly what Russia does—just selling off raw materials...

It looks like someone finally sat Putin down and explained that he can just keep using Euros to buy Rubles to prop up his own exchange rate, just like he’s been doing all along. What an idiot.

wiredseal7 said:Russia blinked first. But even with that little bluff, they managed to hike up gas prices over the last week—just another way to pad their pockets.
The threat hasn't gone away, either; they’re just moving the goalposts 😁

It probably scared off those sanction supporters who were pushing for escrow accounts to handle gas payments. If that doesn't work, then the whole thing about paying in rubles will likely actually happen.

Except Russia isn't actually selling gas at those rates. They're trying to move oil below market value, for instance. Someone else is the one profiting here, not Russia...

Andrew Miller102 said:That’s all well and good,😁 but once gas shortages hit and factories start shutting down their production lines, the mood is going to shift pretty quickly.

The Germans are acting incredibly reckless here, though honestly, anyone would be if their entire manufacturing sector was tethered to Russian gas.☕

Honestly, they brought this on themselves...

Nathan Evans78 said:USD/RUB 95.700

Where are you hiding, Roger Nelson5? I’m still waiting on those doomsday candlesticks of yours! 🤣

It’s just the short-term fallout from the heavy-handed moves over in Russia. They've basically frozen all foreign currency assets there. I assume even you can see how unsustainable that is...

Linda Lee4 said:Watching Germans moan about being too dependent on Russian gas makes me wish Moscow would just shut off the valves entirely... They’d find out pretty quickly what happens when the supply actually dries up. It wouldn't be much of a party then. ☕

The Germans are really at fault for this entire mess. They spent years convincing everyone across Europe that the Russians weren't using gas as leverage, claiming it was all just American propaganda. Then, right after the annexation of Crimea, they doubled down on building ST2... Meanwhile, they don't have a single LNG terminal to show for it. It’s just pure incompetence...

Merkel will go down in history as the new Neville Chamberlain...

Nathan Evans78 said:The Kremlin is actually demanding that gas payments be made in rubles. 🤣🤣

USD/RUB 100.32

Next he'll probably explain how he plans to settle the bill in cash...

Is there actually anyone left in Russia who understands how economics works?

slyfox43 said:It’s becoming increasingly difficult to play the role of Putin’s loyal little lapdog in a free society.

https://twitter.com/marcobreso/statu...01298762485761

Salvini actually showed up at the border between Ukraine and Poland just to be laughed at like a total clown.

The entire gutter-tier half of the world that the CIA gnome cultivated is starting to unravel. Svarozic arrives with the light, while the rabid dogs scramble for cover under rotting timber—exactly where they belong.

What a total disaster for the European populists. Putin buried them all in a single day...

silverotter72 said:Now Russia is just going to end up with a surplus. Maybe the EU should try asking for a discount. 😁
Google. Look, my friends, we're dealing with capitalism over here—it's all just supply and demand, I guess.

A chunk of Russian oil has been sitting on tankers for ten days now, being offered at deep discounts, but the real issue is that nobody has the guts to actually buy it.

bluerider63 said:The Germans can't make up their minds if they want to stand up or just fold. They talk big about sanctions, then quietly sneak in more Russian gas when nobody's looking. While Washington dictates the policy for everyone else, all of Europe—meaning us too—is going to end up footing the massive bill for their little crusade. Honestly, the USA is the only one walking away with a win here.

Take a look at a map and see where the conflict is actually happening. The war is in Europe. Is there any scenario where Europe doesn't end up being the primary victim of a European war? It’s pretty obvious that Europe is the one bearing the brunt of it all...