Posts by hollowdriver13

feralhawk45 said:Imagine if Lukashenko fires a nuclear missile at Ukraine or Poland on Putin's orders, then Putin just shrugs and disavows him, cleans house, and installs some other puppet. Would that kind of tactic even work for them?

Honestly, Lukashenko isn't nearly as dim-witted as he lets on. He plays this "clueless guy" persona for the cameras, but the man is way too slick and smooth to be the simpleton he pretends to be in politics.

Then again, if the EU or the US told him, "Hey, no worries, you can rule until the day you die and we won't meddle," he’d probably flip his stance faster than you could blink.

https://twitter.com/RadinaCNN/status...78704296148993
View on twitter

Putin: "We’re speeding up the integration of Belarus with Russia"

Honestly, it sounds like he's just frustrated that Lukashenko isn't jumping into the war headfirst. Plus, let's be real—the Belarusians have already tried to push back against Russian boots on their soil a few times, only to be "persuaded" otherwise by force. It feels like he's decided to just grab whatever he can get while he still has the chance, before it all slips through his fingers.

"Goodwill" at Snake Island Russia ended up costing $915M in military gear (though let’s be real, most of that junk probably just ended up at the bottom of the ocean with the Moscow submarine, maybe $750M worth)

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FWlSPr_X...jpg&name=large

goldenowl73 said:A massive win for the US! It might seem like a tiny thing to some people, but honestly, after all those heated internet debates we went through, it feels pretty huge.

I'm not sure if you guys all remember the whole Apple Pie wars from a few years back, but man, those comment sections were absolute battlegrounds. https://www.independent.co.uk/life-s...-b1341315.html

Well, it looks like UNESCO finally stepped in and sided with the US in the great Apple Pie debate.

UNESCO has officially decided to add Apple Pie to the global list of Intangible Cultural Heritage. This move is a small but significant victory in the US struggle to reclaim aspects of its national identity following centuries of British cultural appropriation https://t.co/Kd4arKgYKp

Get ready for the Meltdown Zarov reaction in 3....2....1....

Honestly, it's still sitting right up there in my top 10 all-time stupidest takes since the war started.

"The Ukrainians hid the recipe and won't share it!" 🙂 🙂

https://twitter.com/oryxspioenkop/st...Cz7a_Ut-gqAAAA

So, Russian state media is out here claiming they’ve taken down 1,000 Lockheed Martins over Ukraine 🙏. 🙏 🙏

I mean, seriously? What kind of math are they using? They're claiming to have shot down more TB2s than Lockheed Martin has even manufactured in total. 🙏

So, apparently Russia is somehow "thriving" under all those sanctions. You know how it goes—the folks close to Putin keep insisting they’re stronger than ever despite the West hitting them with everything they've got. But if you actually look at the numbers, the reality tells a pretty different story. Check out this comparison from May 21/22

https://census.gov/compendium/document/50801

I pulled some of the biggest drops to show just how much these industries are actually struggling right now.

Ford: -96.7% (3,700 vehicles)
Freightliner: -39.3%
ICE motors: -57%
Passenger rail cars: -59.8%
Freight cars: -51.8%
Fiberglass cables: -80.8%
Whirlpool: -58.1%
Washing machines: -59.2%
AC electric motors: -49.9%
Elevators: -34.7%
Excavators: -60%

rowdyraven112 said:Check the promo links. Imports into Russia hit $7.75 billion, and you can see the breakdown by country. Meanwhile, exports are only at $1 billion. Russia isn't losing much since the countries they export to aren't slapping them with sanctions. Japan, South Korea, and Germany are the biggest exporters to Russia.

Most of those imports are just raw components, and honestly, there’s a chronic shortage in the market right now anyway. I don't think the auto part suppliers are going to feel a massive shock; the parts originally destined for Russia will just get rerouted to factories in other countries. As for why exports aren't huge, it's because most cars assembled in Russia were meant for local use. That brings me back to my point: if things go south, most of the layoffs are going to happen in Russian plants, hitting Russian workers directly.

That doesn't mean the major auto corporations won't take a hit, though—they'll still deal with lost sales revenue and having to write off their facilities over in Russia.

rowdyraven112 said:https://oec.world/en/profile/bilater...s/reporter/russ

So, the car market just lost nearly $8 billion. ☕
And when the energy shortages hit, it’s going to be a total wake-up call. They won't blame their own leaders for the sanctions against Russia; they'll just point fingers at Russia for cutting off the fuel. ☕

Most of those layoffs are actually going to happen right there in Russia anyway, since most of these manufacturers had already moved their production plants directly into the country to serve that specific market.

rowdytiger13 said:So, what's the move now?
Basically, NATO expanding isn't the threat itself. Russia didn't launch an invasion because of that.
They launched it because they think Ukraine belongs to them. It's pure imperialism.
Every single time, Putin ends up spitting on his own propaganda machine.

It’s honestly tough to tie such a massive pile of blatant lies together into one coherent story when they're being dumped on us so fast. Even the Russian propagandists are having a hard time keeping up lately—they're totally tripping over themselves. 🕺😬

https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/GAZP.ME/

Trading just kicked off for Gazprom shares on the Moscow Exchange today...

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.

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/...mersant-a78055

Honestly, someone needs to go sit down with that Russian reporter from Kommersant and walk them through the actual math, because their claims about Chinese car sales and parts skyrocketing are totally disconnected from reality. It’s like they’re reading from a script written in a fever dream rather than looking at the data. If you actually look at the import numbers coming out of China, it's a complete freefall. We saw $190 million in imports in March, then it plummeted to $84 million in April, and by May, it had crashed all the way down to $32 million. You can't just ignore a trend that steep and pretend everything is booming. ☕

Jeremy Peterson4 said:I don't know about that. Just look at North Korea.
They’ve got missiles that are better than most places on the map, but they can barely afford basic groceries.

Look, when I said "NORMAL" countries, I wasn't talking about places where 70% of the budget goes straight to the military, another 20% is spent on Mercedes-Benz fleets and Hennessey hypercars for the big boss, and the last 10% is just enough to keep the common folks from starving. 🤷

Jeremy Peterson4 said:I mean, the demands aren't even that crazy. But honestly, I think the USA applied a bit of pressure on their end too.
Btw, idk why everyone is so obsessed with racing for military tech. It’d be way better if they just competed over whose economy is actually stronger.

Well, it's because military tech is basically a way to flex how strong an economy actually is; you want that stuff to be absolute cutting edge.
Plus, let's be real—the money in that industry is pretty sweet... 😬

Melissa Rivera5 said:But I guess there is a specific reason, though—defending against Russia. Since Putin pretty much proved he isn't exactly an angel.🙂>

So yeah, the latest word is that we just can't expect any kind of friendly relationship with Russia anymore. That’s why they’re ramping up readiness levels—shifting from 40k troops to 300k for a quick response.

Up until recently, Russia and NATO actually had this partnership aimed at peace. People used to look at Russia as a decent neighbor and a civilized nation, rather than what it's showing itself to be: an imperialist autocracy.

Even with everything involving Crimea and the sanctions, the general vibe was still that all these disagreements would eventually get smoothed over through diplomacy.

https://twitter.com/ragipsoylu/statu...97090129559553

So, here’s the deal: the Sultan decided to lift the veto on Sweden and Finland, and in exchange, the US agreed to help modernize Turkey's fleet of fighter jets.
Like I was saying before, the whole point was always about getting those restrictions on military tech lifted; the stuff about the Kurds was really just political theater meant for domestic consumption and keeping certain interest groups happy.
You honestly have to give him credit, though—unlike Putin and Russia, this guy actually knows how to cut a deal. You can't just walk into a negotiation, demand 100% of what you want, and call it "diplomacy" like Russia does. That's not negotiating, it's just straight-up blackmail.

Jeremy Peterson4 said:The Russians are absolute masters of strategy. Seriously, everything they set out to achieve has backfired spectacularly, yet they’re still out there acting like every single move is going exactly according to plan.

Honestly, we probably just needed to sit back for a few more years and watch NATO fall apart on its own from all the constant bickering between members, eventually becoming this leaderless, aimless group that doesn't even know why it exists anymore.

Donna Wells2 said:Those Swedes love to lecture everyone else about human rights, acting like they’re the ultimate benchmark for freedom and democracy.
But now? Just like that, they’re going to hand over the Kurds to whatever fate comes their way just to satisfy an agreement with Turkey.
Honestly... hats off to you, Sweden... the supposed guardians of civil liberties and human rights, turning their backs on those very principles at the first opportunity.
It is hypocrisy at its absolute finest!

Honestly, there’s a lot of hot air in these claims. It’s not really as dramatic as people make it out to be when you actually look at what's being said. For example, they aren't saying there will be mass deportations to Turkey; instead, Sweden and Finland are going to share intel with Turkey regarding Kurdish militias and support Turkey's fight against them (at least on paper). They might also take it into account—though it won't be the deciding factor—if someone is on a Turkish terror list when considering entry, and they won't allow political activism from Kurds who weren't even born in those countries. So, this looks more like a list of propaganda wins for Erdogan to use at home rather than some radical crackdown on Kurds living in Scandinavia.
It's basically a total win for Erdogan. It helps him lift sanctions on military equipment and components sold to Turkey (though honestly, that probably would have happened anyway once they joined NATO). Either way, it just makes the Sultan look great to his own people, like he "squeezed NATO by the balls," even though everyone knew Turkey would eventually give its seal of approval.

rowdytiger13 said:Yeah. 😁
The Britons aren't wrong, though... Putin views any kind of concession as pure weakness, so you really only have one way to deal with him: on his terms. I doubt the Sultan will hand anything over anytime soon, knowing this guy isn't Macron—he couldn't care less about Morocco compared to how much he's focused on Ukraine.
I feel for the Kurds. The Sultan definitely gained something from this concession.

He managed to get Sweden lift the ban on arms sales, which was the whole end game, and it's even possible the US agreed to sell more F-16s.
The Kurds were basically just part of the APP region's interests, and honestly, a little bit of state propaganda too.

And on a slightly less serious note, he got NATO members to agree to call Turkey Türkiye instead of Turkey😉 😬

Kimberly Perez82 said:Fine then, let's all just flock to the West. I mean, I'm genuinely curious what we'll do when 1.4 billion Chinese people show up in the European Union. Does anyone know which Chinese welcome song we should sing? Just so we can kiss up to them a little since they're going to be the majority anyway 🙂

To the Chinese, the Russians, and everyone else out there, we *are* the West politically. Do you honestly think they care if our GDP per capita is lower than Belgium's?
The constant doom-and-gloom talk about the West collapsing is actually just inviting our own downfall. It's pretty wild to watch.

Kimberly Perez82 said:You make a fair point. Finland joining NATO presents a new threat to Russia, and this shift is something neither side has truly tested or prepared a response for yet. Personally, I feel like Finland is making a massive mistake; they are sacrificing seventy years of peace and prosperity just to cater to America. It is surprising to see them getting dragged into a mess where they don't belong, especially since they worked so hard to build such a remarkably stable relationship with Russia.

Regardless, if a nuclear superpower—whether we are talking about Russia China or America—tells you, "Don't do that, or I will view it as an act of aggression," then if you have even a shred of common sense, you simply won't do it. It's the same logic as not showing off when a gang of thugs attacks you. Why did we stand our ground in front of Banjaluka back in 1995, even though it didn't suit our interests? Because we had that tiny bit of sense in our heads.

https://www.politico.eu/article/puti...den-join-nato/

Since nobody has tested the limits or found a solution yet, here's a little something: Putin basically said Finland joining NATO isn't his big problem... but Ukraine is. And you know why? Because they moved too close.