electricsurfer47 said:Look, I don't want to be the guy who kills your hope about Russia collapsing or whatever. But honestly? Ford has always struggled with reliability issues—take this, for example, back about nine years ago when they were trying to push certain models too.
If a Ford performs just as poorly today as it did nine years ago, it’s a clear sign that Russian innovation is essentially non-existent. 😁
Russ isn't exactly throwing a party over being paid in rupees, especially since the Indians are essentially getting oil at a massive discount. I wouldn't be surprised if Russ starts demanding dollars instead.
Bio The USSR built its own entire ecosystem from the ground up, avoiding that messy era of oligarchic takeover we see under Putin today. More importantly, they actually maintained a distinct sphere of influence; modern Russia lacks that kind of structural leverage, which only serves to make the impact of sanctions much harder to dodge.
Slowly but surely, those sanctions are starting to gnaw at Russia. The Russians can cheer for Putin until they're blue in the face, but once the wallets run dry and the refrigerators go empty, things are going to get interesting.
analogbear5 said:The ruble’s been sliding against other currencies since early December—not exactly great news. It makes imports into Russia pricier while exports lose their edge. Meanwhile, Chinese people and Indian people are just sitting back, rubbing their hands together.
That’s just not the case, as the Russian economy has actually never been more resilient, largely because those sanctions seem to have come swinging back at the West like a boomerang, supposedly tearing them apart if you listen to the prevailing narrative.😁div>
It’s almost certain that China and Brazil are settling their trade deals with the US and the rest of the globe using their own currencies; BRICS is just starting to gain some serious momentum.
It’s almost hard to believe, but these sanctions have only served to fortify a Russia that's stronger than ever, while simultaneously pushing Western nations right to the edge of an economic precipice.😁
Turkey actually stopped accepting those Russian peace cards back in the day. If you listened to the Russian propagandists, though, you'd walk away thinking the Turks were the ones slapping sanctions on the USA and the European Union and basically declaring war on them.
India is part of the Quad and has been making significant moves alongside the US military while ramping up their purchases of American weaponry. That should be more than enough to suggest they'll need a serious prayer if they ever actually have to hold the line against China, given how close they've been to a standoff with them for quite some time now.
It’s quite telling how you keep feeding us these Russian talking points about how brilliantly everything is going over there. I honestly can't wrap my head around why they haven't just slapped themselves with sanctions if their economic policies are supposedly such a miracle cure.
Noah Diaz said:A $60 cap is nothing more than a fantasy on paper. It’s an open secret that Russian oil is trading north of $70 a barrel.
If we apply a bit of actual logic here, why would anyone hand $70 to Russia when they’re under sanctions and essentially being squeezed by the West? It's pretty simple: a Chinese buyer can just pick up oil from Saudi Arabia, Iran, the UK, or Nigeria, whereas Russia is stuck trying to offload its supply to China or India at massive discounts just to stay afloat.
Back on February 24, 2022, Spain’s ranking sat at one level, but it has already slid down to where Mexico sits, with a slow, steady descent toward Iranian standards looking all but inevitable.
"They’re installing barbed wire fences, deploying drones, and setting up surveillance cameras. Europe is being fortified."
The narrative I keep hearing is that Russia is going to be completely leveled—economically decimated, stripped of their oil, buses stalling out because of sanctions, gas exports drying up, a massive brain drain, an aging population left behind, just a collection of failing states everywhere, and potential debt defaults. It's supposed to be total chaos, absolute lockdowns on everything... yet, somehow, they’re still busy building fences.
Is there something our leaders in the EU aren't telling us about future migration plans, or did someone just grease some palms to secure a massive government contract for fencing? Honestly, if Russians and Belarusians actually intended to stage a mass exodus, it wouldn't happen this way. For heaven's sake, migrants aren't just mindless kids wandering aimlessly; they have access to information and know exactly how to navigate the system. ☕
I highly doubt you're typing all this from the comfort of a booming, unstoppable Russia.😁