Posts by electricsurfer47

Gregory Ramos3 said:Yeah, you're totally right about that.

Honestly, looking at the numbers, the Russian economy is absolutely on fire right now. They’re stacking up massive reserves, and their credit rating is actually looking solid enough that they could snag some really sweet deals if they ever decided to go on a borrowing spree. Honestly, they're sitting in this perfect little sweet spot where they could just drop billions into building out those massive pipeline projects heading toward China and India whenever they felt like it. ☕

but the Chinese recently backed out of signing that "Power of Siberia 2" deal

so that's not happening.

Drew Gonzalez5 said:Wait, so Russ is sabotaging the pipeline, but they have access to the valves???
This doesn't seem to have anything to do with Russ. It feels more like someone just doesn't want them to have any leverage in negotiations, or maybe there's a desperate push to escalate the war against Russia at any cost.

The Russian angle would be—"It wasn't us, why would we do that when we hold the valve?" Just playing the innocent card.

But if they actually shut off the valve? You can't exactly play the victim then.

dustyfalcon122 said:You just proved my point.
And no, they wouldn't have better conditions. At best, it would stay the same—but let's be real, even Putin isn't stupid enough to think his bargaining power would be anything but significantly weaker, even if everything had gone exactly according to his plan.

I think you misunderstood what I was getting at.

Even if Russia occupies territory, it doesn't mean Ukraine can't tap into its own resources—Russia could choose to drain those assets, or they might not bother at all since they still have their own supplies to export.

If this war hadn't happened... Ukraine would probably have leaned much harder into using its own resources. That's what would have actually bothered Russia. They wouldn't be able to dictate terms anymore because they'd finally have some real competition on the field.

placidsurfer13 said:Wait, hold on... do you seriously believe Putin just woke up one day feeling bored at the White House, decided he needed a little hobby to pass the time, and then just gave the order for hundreds of thousands of Russians to invade Ukraine? Like he’s just playing some video game?......And you're still watching this like it's some sort of simulation?

btw, does Putin not already know that Russia is more or less a major global power or something?

Just look at what Boris Nemcov said back in 2015 regarding what Putin is planning and why. We're seeing it all play out right now in 2022.

dustyfalcon122 said:Russia has way more natural resources than they could ever actually sell, plus they've got more land than they’ll ever be able to fill up.
Honestly, the whole reason for this invasion is just Putin's massive ego—nothing else.

Just think about it.

If Russia actually managed to occupy Ukraine, would that really give them better leverage to sell their own resources?

Europe is going to be buying whatever they can from Ukraine now because of this war. It's pretty much impossible to go back to how things used to be.

gentlerider7 said:Look, in Russia, there isn't anyone actually capable of pulling together an organized opposition, unless you count a soldier like Navalny trying everything from a prison cell, or those guys living abroad. What they're really left with are these sudden, explosive outbursts of rage—and honestly, isn't that always how something much bigger starts to brew?

Navalny isn't the only one, though. I'm pretty sure there are others out there who can step up. Besides Navalny being behind bars, you've still got Ilya Yashin.

Nancy Gomez26 said:I suspect they would make decent soldiers. It’s quite evident they’ve been thoroughly indoctrinated to embrace the "Russian world" ideology—even if they are currently stationed at a safe distance from the actual front lines. 😁

The Dagestani population is only about 2.5 million. For them, the West is a distant concept; instead, they are much closer to Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Georgia. But looking at their situation provides a clear window into how modern Russia actually functions—it’s a system where the state crushes anyone too weak to fight back, while those deemed "untouchable" enjoy elite privileges at the expense of everyone else.

Just try to wrap your head around this—the Russian Federation is letting foreigners fight in Ukraine for a year, and after that, they can grab citizenship without going through the usual red tape or waiting out that five-year rule.
The whole point I'm making is that the people rushing to join the Russian Federation are absolute fools. If another war breaks out, they'll be the first ones sent right back into the meat grinder.

rowdytiger13 said:Vladimir Putin has them.
We really ought to bar psychopaths from holding office, but let's be real, that’s an impossible mission.

Edit: Dejo is out here with his bronchitis "subtly" nudging Mexicans to go join the Russian army by dropping all the intel on how to do it. Honestly, first smart move he's made.

I mean, Putin's been running things for almost 25 years now. If Americans actually followed the rules and stuck to them, they wouldn't end up with a leader who can just stay in power forever without any limits.

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I think you've got it all wrong. Older leaders can be just as great as the younger ones.

But honestly, they can be just as crazy or narcissistic as any young guy out there. Over in the Philippines, you can only serve one term as president—I can't remember if it's 5 or 6 years, but something like that.

And look, anyone can lose their mind while they're in office, so there really needs to be some kind of rule in place to actually remove someone.

Carol Johnson21 said:The real issue here is that he can't just lean on his nuclear arsenal to secure his position. If he pulls the trigger on that first strike, his own people will likely stage a coup.
Besides, the second one isn't going to be Russian anyway.

They’re talking about shutting down the borders to Russia—if you fled, you fled. Meanwhile, over in Germany, they’re still holding rallies to show support for Mother Russia. Maybe it's time we look into mobilizing them instead.

Even if illegal crossings stay an option, they honestly don't have enough troops to actually watch the borders effectively.

Ronald Collins33 said:The USSR had nukes back when they were fighting in Afghanistan, and they didn't drop them then.
Putin won't do it now either.
It would be an absolute catastrophe right out of the gate.
Launching a nuke isn't just about pressing a button, you know.

You're comparing apples to oranges here.

Putin doesn't look at the war in Ukraine as just some foreign country... he sees it as something deeply personal that he has to own. He's gotten so stuck in this mindset that he's willing to send tons of Russ soldiers to die over there.
Another thing—he needs this win to solidify his power. He refuses to admit defeat and he won't recognize it, so he's ready to go all the way. Now, maybe he’s still a long way off from thinking about bombs, but if he's becoming hysterical and obsessed, he might stop caring about the Russians or even Ukrainians and just pull the trigger on a bomb.

It also really depends on how much leash the people surrounding him are willing to give him.
Does anyone in his inner circle actually have the guts to step in and stop him?

Melissa Rivera5 said:Replacement and returning stuff aren't really the same thing, right? I mean, supplying UA with nuclear weapons just feels like playing it safe and being a bit of a coward.

They started on denuclearization because they were pressured by the US.

So honestly, the Americans should at least deliver some of their own.

Otherwise, word is there were two of them down in sunken Moscow. Maybe pull those out?

darkhawk30 said:Sure, but they aren't even needed by the Ukrainians.
First off, they have no idea who they can actually trust.
Second, they barely have enough food or housing for their own people, let alone a massive influx of prisoners or whatever status these people would end up with.

They’re truly pathetic. Honestly, it might be better if that scumbag just sent them to Siberia; they'd probably have a better shot there. They're miserable, but then again, these people are miserable too. You can't tell which group is worse.

if they surrender right away

Could Ukraine offer to let them leave peacefully for another country to seek asylum?

I've been sitting here thinking about this move Putin just made

Honestly, I feel like Europe, the US, and everyone else in NATO really need to kick weapon production into high gear right now.
Just so we're actually ready if things start escalating.

gentlerider7 said:Even if they draft you, those mortgage payments aren't going anywhere

"Andrew Kartapolov, who heads up the House Defense Committee, basically said that folks called up during this partial mobilization are still on the hook for their mortgages. According to the Shot Telegram Channel, that's the official word.

"Look, if you get drafted, you'll just keep paying that mortgage using your new paycheck—which, by the way, is supposed to be huge," the deputy claimed.

https://www-gazeta-ru.translate.goog..._x_tr_pto=wapp

But what happens to health insurance and social security when they come home without a leg, an arm, or an eye, etc.?

So, word on the street is Putin and Xi Jinping were on the phone for about half an hour today. Who knows if he managed to sway him or anything, but I guess the big question is how exactly that went down.

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Anthony Hill5 said:With the sanctions firmly in place, Russian oil imports have already ceased, but let’s be honest: even if those sanctions didn't exist, Rosneft would have likely pulled the plug on supplying the refinery regardless. Given that reality, wasn't the only logical course of action to simply step in and take temporary control of the refinery ourselves?

The European Union is set to export some 38 million tons of wheat this year—a figure that sits right alongside Russia’s output. So, how am I supposed to swallow this tired narrative that the EU is somehow stealing or buying up Ukrainian grain because we're facing a shortage here? It is utterly absurd to suggest we are desperate for supplies when the EU is simultaneously footing the bill for Ukraine with tens of billions of dollars in financial aid. Honestly, is it not laughable?

So, about that Durum wheat coming out of Ukraine... people keep saying it doesn't grow well here in the States. It makes you wonder, though—does the European Union actually need that specific wheat, especially since they’re busy exporting their own stuff anyway?
Durum wheat. It’s one of those things you don't really think about until you're staring at a box of pasta wondering why the texture feels different, right? But there's actually a lot going on under the hood with this grain. It’s hardier than your average wheat, which I guess makes sense—nature doesn't make stuff easy for nothing. It grows well in these semi-arid spots, much like parts of the American West or the Great Plains. It needs that specific kind of environment to really thrive. And honestly, when you look at how it's used, it's almost all about that structural integrity. You can't make high-quality semolina without it. Without the protein content in durum, your pasta would just be a mushy mess. Not exactly the gourmet experience we're looking for. I was reading some stuff earlier about global supply chains—you know, how everything is connected—and it’s wild how much a single crop type can swing the needle on food security. If something happens to the major producers, suddenly everyone is feeling the pinch at the grocery store. It's all very interconnected. Anyway, just a random thought while I was thinking about dinner. Just something interesting to chew on.

Just sitting here, reading through all this... it's something else.

Durum wheat is honestly one of the toughest grains out there to deal with. When people talk about its "hardness," they’re really talking about how the grain resists being milled—specifically when it comes to that starchy endosperm. Because of that, the flour you get from it ends up being pretty weak or "soft." It makes durum amazing for making semolina or pasta, but if you're trying to bake bread, it's a total pain. You have to work way harder with it compared to standard hexaploid wheats, like your typical bread wheat. Even though it packs a huge punch in terms of protein content, don't let that fool you—durum isn't actually a "strong" wheat when it comes to building that gluten network needed to give dough structure. Interestingly enough, durum has about 27% extractable wet gluten, which is only about 3% more than what you'd find in common bread wheat (T. aestivum L.). Just a little bit higher, but it doesn't change the fundamental struggle of working with it.👋I don't really know what to make of this one. It looks like a random string of characters or maybe just some broken link that doesn't lead anywhere. Honestly, it’s kind of hard to wrap my head around what the point even is here. Is it a typo? A glitch? I'm just sitting here staring at it, trying to find some sort of pattern, but nothing is jumping out at me. Just feels a bit lost in the shuffle.

I was just reading up on this, and it looks like Kazakhstan is also a great spot for growing Durum wheat. I've been trying to dig around for some actual numbers, though—I can't seem to find any solid data on exactly how much Durum wheat the European Union produces.

Kenneth Cruz67 said:In my humble opinion, Milorad Dodik could probably just declare independence whenever he felt like it without anyone lifting a finger. I suspect nobody would actually start a war over him; instead, it seems more likely that the Canadians and Americans would just end up bickering over whatever territory is left behind.

I mean, maybe the Canadians would actually want to join America on their own terms? And what’s even left of Canada once the Mexicans break away?

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Timothy Williams5 said:Migrants are being incentivized to enlist in the war to fast-track their way to citizenship

The authorities in Moscow are essentially recruiting migrants to fight in Ukraine by offering them an expedited path to citizenship. Mayor Sergey Sobyanin announced that the infrastructure required "to assist the Department of Defense in organizing the enlistment of foreign nationals into military service" will be established at the Saharovo migration center.

Very soon, the Moscow government plans to set up a complete logistical framework at Saharovo to support the Department of Defense in processing foreign citizens for military service. According to Sobyanin’s own blog, city services will ensure that signing these contracts is made as "convenient as possible" for those involved.
On September 20th, the State Duma passed legislation through its second and third readings aimed at simplifying the process of obtaining citizenship. Under this new law, foreign nationals who sign a one-year contract to serve in the Russian Armed Forces can secure citizenship much faster, effectively bypassing the usual "long waits and bureaucratic hurdles."

Previously, the requirement for foreign nationals to qualify for this streamlined citizenship was a minimum three-year service commitment within the Russian Armed Forces.

https://theins.ru/news/255232

I wonder though... if they end up losing a leg or an arm or whatever, is the Russian healthcare system actually going to cover those medical bills?

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Do you think we'll ever see China and India actually step up and say "enough is enough," and start giving Ukraine some real help???