Posts by Chloe Jones3

Everything in the headline. Shocking twist! Huge surprise! Exclusive news and all that—honestly, don't even bother opening this, because 99% of it is just total nonsense.

Noah Diaz said:My take is simple: the European Union needs to pull out of the NATO alliance immediately. It's time to prioritize our own interests and finally achieve political and military independence. The smartest move would be to declare neutrality and trade with whoever is interested.

The war in Ukraine is a mess cooked up by the people who started it, and frankly, it doesn't concern anyone else. That means Russia, the USA, Unknown, and of course, Ukraine. How they choose to settle their mess is none of my business. My only hope is that they have enough sense left to prevent this from escalating into a point of no return—total nuclear annihilation.

I'll give you an answer, but honestly, it's probably not even worth it. This forum is meant for actual discussion, not trolling. You've got your vision—which is really just a set of lies—and the more counterarguments you get, the more you lie to yourself. Best to just say nothing at all, and that's my advice to everyone else too.

Melissa Peterson19 said:I assume you're a young man, so listen closely: don't let yourself get sucked into fanatical assumptions and prejudices. During the most intense periods of the Cold War, the USSR was capable of producing nuclear bombs, nuclear icebreakers, and submarines; they conquered space and even downed a US spy U2 from 19 miles altitude and captured the pilot... yet here you are asking about tractors and other trivialities. Are you aware that their heavy machinery in Alaska starts up perfectly fine at -40°C? Do some research and try to grasp the sheer scale of that nation. They can survive a nuclear war, whereas others likely cannot; their resources are inexhaustible. This is a country with deep roots, tradition, and a culture that has contributed to civilization just as much as powerful European nations like Italians, Germans, Frenchmen, or Englishmen.

And don't worry, the collapse of Russia as a state is impossible. There will always emerge a leader strong enough to hold it together, whether through diplomacy or force, regardless of the cost. The West won't allow a collapse either, because letting the world's largest nuclear arsenal fall into unstable hands would create a situation that is impossible to control.

Don't fall for the pipe dreams of Putinophobes.

Sure, they're such a "global superpower," yet there isn't a single serious product in the entire world that we can't live without unless it comes from them. China produces everything under the sun, and the world would be in serious trouble if Chinese goods vanished. India might not be on that scale, but they certainly have plenty to offer, especially in services and industrial support. As for Russia? Aside from fossil fuels, what have they actually exported? Middle Eastern countries have that too, so they aren't exactly unique powers.
Until now, I thought the issue back in the USSR was just incompetent communists and bad central planning—that modern Russia had modernized into a better version of itself. But damn, it turns out the USSR was actually more capable, organized, and both militarily and economically sound (especially the sectors supporting the military).
The real problem with the USSR was having a powerhouse military industry and nuclear tech paired with a weak economy; they tried to match the USA militarily and neglected everything else. Right now, Russia is pouring all its strength into supporting the war and the military, and that’s going to drain them. It might not be in a month or two, but it'll set them back fifty years.

Sam Alvarez4 said:The impact of sanctions 😬...

An American company, Viatris, has suspended Viagra supplies to the Russian market.

The Russian Ministry of Health announced today that despite this, pharmacy stocks remain steady because they've already kicked off production of a local Russian version of Viagra.

It looks like Russians are capable of churning out local versions of everything—phones, cars, tractors, heavy machinery, even meds—all in record time. Makes you wonder why they bothered importing anything or using foreign brands in the first place if they're this efficient. As for Russian Viagra... who's actually going to buy it? Are we looking at a spike in heart attacks?

View on twitter

The Russian Department of Homeland Security is showing off their latest "breakthrough": horse harnesses for wounded soldiers.

Total Middle Ages vibes. And we all know how that ends. 😵

Donna Harris11 said:Actually, if you look at how they’re bringing in the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republic, I guess they're seeing a bit of a population bump right now.

Even if they did get a higher total headcount, the actual makeup of that population is what matters. Those war-torn areas are just going to be left with elderly people; the youth have already left or died, much like the rural heartlands of the Midwest.
Not to mention, a massive chunk of the young population within Russia itself has already fled or been lost.
Their demography is already a mess, similar to the rest of Europe, except unlike Europe or the USA, they can't count on an influx of young, capable, or even educated workers moving in to help.
So, things aren't looking great for them.

Andrew Booth29 said:Most of Europe is currently dealing with temperatures way above average—meanwhile, a massive polar cold snap has slammed into Russia. Seriously? Lol.
They were actually burning noticeably less gas than everyone anticipated.

Russia's main issue is that everyone basically "betrayed" them.

- Winter in Europe betrayed them.
- The West actually stayed united, even though they were counting on everyone being divided and slow to act.
- The U.S. elections for Congress betrayed them (though I'm not sure if a different outcome would have changed much anyway).
- The Italian elections betrayed them; days before, people were claiming the new government would pivot and cut off aid to Ukraine (even Vojislav Šešelj was talking about it), saying the regime change happened mainly because of Ukraine policy and that the people wanted something else. Instead, this government actually ramped up the support.
- They betrayed themselves through pure incompetence and overconfidence.
- The Ukrainians betrayed them by actually fighting back (and reclaiming territory).

Who else can add to the list?😛

Melissa Rivera5 said:It’s the same crowd that buys knockoff Nikes at a flea market. No joke. There’s always a market for cheap $13 jeans.

Russian weaponry is going to end up like cheap consumer electronics from overseas—affordable and everywhere, but definitely not top-tier. Still, everyone has their preferences, right? There's always a demand for Kalashnikovs, budget tanks, or APCs out in Africa, used by various militias fighting amongst themselves or against civilians in developing nations. This stuff isn't high-tech; you can pick it up on the black market, and nobody's really worried about anyone stealing the blueprints.

wearytrucker22 said:Spot prices for natural gas have tumbled down to the €23–€33 MWh range.

https://www.eex.com/en/market-data/natural-gas/spot

Even the futures—looking at November and December—are sitting under €100 MWh.
But honestly? Liquidity is dead. There’s practically no one buying right now.

https://www.eex.com/en/market-data/natural-gas/futures
I mean, who is going to buy that stinking gas from the Russian trolls now?

Prices spiked because of market volatility, setting up new supply lines, and mostly just pure speculation and panic over shortages. A lot of people sat on their hands, waiting for prices to climb even higher. Now that most folks have secured what they need, storage is full, the fall is looking mild, and things are shifting. Once surpluses start building up, those prices are going to tank. Those speculators will dump everything just to free up capacity and avoid being caught empty-handed. At the end of the day, Putin's plan failed here, just like it did everywhere else.