Posts by hiddeneagle98

Matthew Young35 said:They have no intention of doing that.

Fine then, let them be the ones to pitch a solution, and we can just shut it down ourselves.😉

Look, if the U.S. goes ahead and elects Trump again, we’ll just have to point out that our own resident madman with his finger hovering over the red button is actually several tiers more unhinged than their guy, and you'll instantly see how flawed your logic is—this idea that whoever is slightly less insane is the one who has to blink first. It's way too easy to just put a wildcard at the head of the table and expect everyone else to cave simply because they're terrified of how unpredictable he might be.

Rachel Barrett8 said:The war in Ukraine actually started six months ago.
Europe shouldn't have frozen up in the middle of summer, and they definitely shouldn't have bought even a single gram of gas from the Russian aggressors.
Russia would have been defeated by now, completely drained of fuel (and cash).

Of course, Ukraine needs weapons, humanitarian aid, and help with reconstruction—I couldn't agree more. But above all else, we should have shut off the Russian financial faucet instead of dealing with this absolute nonsense.
Now they have enough money left over for additional mobilization.

Save that war-mongering propaganda, styled like those COVID-era religious fanatics, for someone else.
I didn't fund Putin, "buddy"... I didn't feed his appetite, and no citizen in America gained anything from those Russian billions.

And I certainly didn't sit idly by while they aggressively moved into Canada, Mexico, or even the US. (Damn you, Walmart, and you two idiots, anemic retard and PPD).

He was with PPD, that guy who got caught at the border wearing a necklace worth half a million euros.

Nancy Gomez26 said:You aren't being particularly consistent here.

If it is true that

we are looking at a "prearranged war" where billions of dollars in Russian gas flows through Ukrainian gas pipelines straight to the West

then why on earth would the West be freezing if that Russian gas is flowing through Ukraine without any interruption? You cannot have it both ways—unless someone in the West is actually buying that same gas and then burning it off in a flare. Care to explain that logic?

Well, he actually has a point there.

The moment any kind of sanctions were slapped on the Russians, they should have done the bare minimum and banned increasing gas imports from Russia right then and there. Basically, Nord Stream 2 should have been dead in the water from the start, and honestly, back in 2014, we should have already been capping how much Russian gas we bought and kicking off a real plan to break away from that dependency. The Americans were shouting this from the rooftops to everyone. Now we see just how much of a "hegemon" the US really is—they let everyone make their own (tragically wrong) decisions, even though they almost certainly knew all about the Russian corruption involving Schröder (and I bet Mutti was bugging them just to see if they were in on it too).

Obviously, you couldn't just stop buying everything overnight, because people would have frozen to death.

I mean, you can ship tangerines anywhere in the world, but you can't just conjure up enough natural gas out of thin air to keep a whole nation warm if you aren't getting it from Russia. So, it’s not exactly an apples-to-apples comparison.

But look, if you want this argument to actually hold water, the real mistake wasn't stopping trade entirely; it was allowing the volume of Russian gas being pulled in to keep growing. If they let people keep trading for even larger quantities of gas, then sure, banning tangerine imports is nothing more than blatant discrimination.

gentlestag15 said:So this guy drives his car right up to the front of the bankruptcy office, sets the vehicle on fire, and then just torches the entire building too. 😁
View on twitter

Did he park it in a way that blocked the exit?

James Chavez91 said:I don't know... I actually dig the suggestion someone made. If the whole deal for Ukrainian Independence was supposed to involve denuclearization, but now these bastards are just trampling over those borders and acting like they get a say in it anyway
Then maybe it’s only fair to hit the reset button and let the Ukrainians have some of that arsenal back—just to level the playing field, I guess.

And yeah. People who are terrified of nukes? I get it. Honestly, we’re all a little scared deep down. Especially if you're a parent—that fear hits differently.
But you just can't give in to an aggressor simply because they have the upper hand. That logic doesn't hold up. By that reasoning, anyone could just decide to take over Switzerland, Austria, Ibiza, or Canada... just because they feel like it.
We don't justify a physically stronger partner hitting a woman just because they're able to do it. No. In a civilized society, we call out that kind of behavior and we punish it.

To be perfectly honest with you, I'm not even remotely afraid of that scenario where we all just vanish at once.

gentlerider7 said:The Russians can just pack up and leave Ukraine along with whatever territory they actually claim—doesn't that sound awfully familiar to anyone watching this unfold?

"State Duma deputy Mikhail Sheremet, hailing from the Crimea region, basically signaled the start of a massive exodus of Russian-aligned territories out of Ukraine following the referendums held in Donbas and other areas under the control of the Russian Federation. That’s what RIA Novosti is reporting.

“[President Volodymyr Zelenskyy] has made it crystal clear more than once that there’s no room for Russians in Ukraine, so they've decided to head out. They should just take their territories with them... Honestly, the Kyiv regime shouldn't be complaining about holding these referendums. We're seeing the beginning of a huge exodus of lands that are historically Russian leaving Ukraine. These are places returning to Russia,” Sheremet claimed.

He went on to argue that, unlike the West, Russia actually respects the "right of people to self-determination," which is why they'll be backing the choices made by the people in Donbas..."

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

Yeah, sure, because Chechnya is such a shining example of that principle in action.

Lisa Patel4 said:The issue is that most people there are Russian-speaking Ukrainians. And clearly, they don't support the Kyiv regime, because if they did, the DPR would have existed for eight years already—complete with militias and local guards.

Like I said, identity is the core problem here. How else do you explain why the Russian army took the areas with Russian-speaking populations, yet got totally wrecked everywhere else?

It's not like I have anything to give anyone when I've got nothing left myself. Ukraine screwed up by not agreeing to military neutrality. Anyone with half a brain can see this could end up being the equivalent of a Cuban Missile Crisis. Would the USA tolerate an equivalent of Times Square happening in Mexico?

Their logistics only really hold up within about 62 miles of their own borders.

I don't have anything to give anyone when I'm sitting here with nothing myself. Ukraine screwed up by not agreeing to military neutrality. Anyone with even two brain cells can see this is just going to end up being the equivalent of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Would the USA ever tolerate an equivalent of the Maidan happening in Mexico?

The Americans haven't placed—nor do they intend to place—nuclear arsenals in NATO countries near Russia, let alone in Ukraine. So, calling this a Cuban Missile Crisis thing doesn't fly, especially since Russia already has NATO states right on its doorstep. How can this be some massive "burning issue" in a neighboring country that wasn't even close to joining NATO?

Putin basically just wants the West to leave Ukraine at the mercy of the Russians. Anything else is just him labeling it a "Cuban Missile Crisis" scenario or claiming the West is meddling in Russian interests—interests that Russia supposedly has a "right" to protect as a superpower.

The US doesn't try to install governments in Mexico by bribing officials, and when they fail to send in troops for an annexation by pretending to be threatened—claiming, "Hey, Mexico has an army and such"—it's just nonsense.

The Americans are decent to their neighbors when it makes sense and provides an opportunity, whereas the Russians just go around raping, looting, and seizing territory. There is zero equivalence here.

Look, if Putin has already "made all his decisions," then he should have just cut his losses and dropped the hammer a long time ago. I mean, think about it: you go in, you fight a fair fight, you expose every single weakness of the Russian military, and then, right when everything is falling apart and looking desperate, you drop a nuke. That’s the kind of scenario that would essentially wipe Russia off the map forever on every possible level. It honestly blows my mind that I'm even allowed to let him drag the entire country down this far just because he's trying to salvage what was clearly a massive, catastrophic miscalculation in judgment.

The Russians have basically bet the whole house on this. Ever since the invasion of Ukraine, they've poured everything into the mix—Russian capital, business interests, political influence, bribes, spies, you name it. Now, nothing is going to fly anymore, not even tourism. All those journalists and politicians who were essentially bought and paid for? They’re finished; they're going to face massive purges and get canceled globally. For the longest time, the Russians had everything served to them on a silver platter when it came to buying influence, but that era is over. Unfortunately, they got so arrogant that they ended up dragging the very identity of being Russian through the mud, much like how the world viewed the Nazis back in the day.

This latest move to mobilize ethnic minorities is going to cost them dearly, not just abroad, but right at home. This is heading straight toward becoming a domestic genocide for many of them. Maybe he thinks he's solving the problem of potential uprisings by using these groups, but if you ask me, he's just guaranteeing that those rebellions will happen.

rowdyraven112 said:Fine. Let's say he drops one. Or two. They don't even need to be massive—maybe 10 kilotons? Enough to level most of Washington, D.C. Who’s going to react? Who’s going to retaliate? And who wants to gamble with the total collapse of civilization in the Northern Hemisphere?

It's funny how everyone just ignores that famous line from Zakharov about how "Europe is wrong to think Russia can lose this." People ignored it too much. That’s exactly why we’re in this mess. ☕

uh oh, some drunk Russian drone pilot said something again.

I mean, seriously, if Putin wants to mobilize a million people, why hasn't he done it yet? He's been running his mouth about it for six months straight. If it's so easy and so necessary, why is he still stalling?

Up until about six months ago, the Russians genuinely believed their air defense systems were untouchable. Now they've finally realized they're basically flying around in glorified scrap metal.

jadetinker85 said:Now they’re out in the streets demanding parts of Ukraine be annexed. 🤷 At this rate, they might start asking for chunks of the Moon or specific plots of the Milky Way. I wonder which country would even bother giving them a permit for their luggage there.

It’s the same old story: the ones protesting against the war get hauled off to recruitment, while the people who actually support the war don't even bother showing up or volunteering. Honestly, Orwell couldn't have scripted a more twisted reality if he tried.

wiredfalcon2 said:If Macron was actually handing over parts of Ukraine, how do you explain that Macron's France was the single biggest contributor in terms of cash and training for the Ukrainian military between 2014 (after the Crimea annexation) and the start of the full-scale war? Without that training and those resources, the Ukrainian military would have folded in three days. Also, how do you explain why Ukraine is so desperate to join this same EU, when its leading members are basically looking to let Russia take 20% of Ukrainian territory?

See, that's the thing—Index is a textbook Euroskeptic outlet (though mostly they just chase clicks). Just look at any of the columns by Vojković or the takes from Babić talking about how sluggish the EU is, the fossilized bureaucracy, how irrelevant European institutions have become (those MEPs who just sit around doing nothing while we pay for them), or stories about how Putin laughed at the EU and how failed the sanctions were. Index only likes the EU when they're busy arresting local politicians that the site is aligned with (like the GOP), or when they need to make the US look bad by saying "we're the worst in the EU," or mocking domestic conservatives because they don't fit the EU mold.

Like, have you ever actually seen an analysis on Index about which statistical data points the Russian Federation stopped releasing once the sanctions really started biting?
The RF stopped showing data on:
- foreign trade balances
- financial reports for major corporations
- capital inflows and outflows
- imports and exports of gas and petroleum products
- central bank data
- air transport data for goods and passengers
- credit exposure and loan data
and so on...

Never. Just like you've never seen reporting on Index regarding European policies, various infrastructure projects, or anything similar. That doesn't get clicks. Instead, you get some "analysis" of French elections written by a 22-year-old student who clearly hasn't a clue about the French political scene and has probably never even set foot in France.

Just because Index is against the "right wing" doesn't mean they aren't pumping out total bullshit regarding what's happening in the EU—which is exactly what matters here, specifically what's going on with the sanctions.

Just because someone criticizes the EU doesn't mean they want it to collapse or that they wish it ill.

You're getting worked up and projecting your own views onto me. I haven't been tracking every single thing that specific outlet has covered or ignored.

But I do know that the RF stopped publishing data, and despite that, everything in the RF still suffers from that classic Potemkin village syndrome...

Matthew Young35 said:The Chinese are probably just calculating how easy it would be to nuke Taiwan, while the Indians are likely thinking about their own move against Pakistan.

I mean, seriously, why on earth would China even consider dropping a nuke on their own people? It’s not like Taiwan is some backwater wasteland; it’s a highly advanced, sophisticated region where the population is ethnically Chinese and they’re just trying to live their lives in peace—you know, free from Communist interference. The whole world basically agrees that Taiwan belongs to China territorially anyway. Taiwan doesn't even exist as an independent nation; it isn't in the UN, you won't see them at the Olympics, and most maps in the US don't even list them as a separate country. From what I can see, the Chinese leadership is focused on reintegrating Taiwan peacefully if possible, specifically because destroying it would be a massive loss—it would easily become the most valuable asset in a unified China. Anything else is just a total disaster, and the idea of nuking it is honestly just mind-numbingly stupid.

Kenneth Cruz67 said:Putin has made it incredibly clear that he isn't bluffing. I suppose you have to be pretty relaxed—maybe even a bit reckless—to dismiss his stance as just more šbbkbb, though I’d say it's actually something much more serious than that.😉

Personally, I tend to believe him; I really do feel that he isn't playing games and that he might actually be prepared to pull the trigger on some tactical move, no matter how crazy it seems.

Now, I'm certainly not suggesting that doing something like that would actually help his cause, but still...

Look, if the man says he isn't playing games, then you have to take him at his word.

wiredfalcon2 said:Is that what your local euroskeptic news outlets drilled into your head? Seriously, just look at which single country poured the most money into training Ukrainians between 2014 and 2022—before the war even started. Or better yet, check the reports on how much weaponry has been shipped to Ukraine from EU soil while leaders kept quiet about the specifics for security reasons or to maintain a strategic edge.

The EU is basically a punching bag for every euroskeptic bully out there because everything is happening "so far away." Since those stories don't reach every backwater corner of the states, people can just feed their own sense of self-importance and nationalism by attacking an opponent that isn't fighting back. Most people aren't even following the details, and the local media loves feeding them sensationalist headlines like "Putin mocked the EU," while the local useful idiots push nonsense like "sanctions hurt the EU more than Russia." It's all total nonsense.

Since this whole conflict kicked off in February 2022, the EU hasn't been anything but solid.

Macron would probably hand Putin a slice of Ukraine if he could; the Germans were hoping they could somehow charm Putin, so they sent tanks, tried to block Spain from sending Leopards, and so on... all while sending practically nothing significant over two years. Between Nord Stream 2 and Canada, that’s pretty much the whole EU story right there.

I don't know anything about "euroskeptical media"—I'm not a skeptic myself, and I have no idea which outlets you're talking about. Most of that kind of trash you can just read on some tabloid site.

Look, I'm not saying nobody in the EU sent aid, or even a lot of aid, but in the beginning, things were a mess coming from all different directions. Nowadays, some of those stances have shifted a bit, both within the EU and outside of it. I'm not saying this as a skeptic, but as a citizen who is honestly embarrassed by that specific behavior.

The EU definitely has its issues, but I'm not looking for an exit; I just want those problems fixed so we can actually make the union better.

Sam Alvarez4 said:Whenever I read comments like that, I have to wonder what parallel universe some people are living in? 🤦

France: they aren't energy-dependent on Russia, and they certainly aren't unarmed like the US was in 1991.

Just saw your reply. Let me correct myself: it isn't just France...

That’s what I used to think too, but it turns out the Russians found ways to squeeze the French energetically speaking. From what I gather, they’re importing over 30% from Nigeria, and Nigeria is basically playing both sides and pulling them toward Russia... that puts the French in an even tighter spot than everyone else because replacing that much uranium isn't exactly a walk in the park. On top of that, half their nuclear plants are scheduled for major overhauls within the next year... things aren't looking pretty for Macron's administration.

The Americans really stepped up and handled business here... the UK did their part too, I guess. Honestly, the European Union has been nothing but an embarrassment lately... except for the Poles and a few others who actually seem to have a backbone.

analogbear70 said:This guy hits the nail on the head:

It’s the same point I keep making: the West needs to dial back the rhetoric because Russia isn't going to budge. I'm convinced that de-escalating the tension could actually lead to somewhere productive. Look, let's be real—they have nuclear weapons, and that’s a reality that could end us all. Regardless of how you slice it, we need a voice of reason coming from the West, because right now, there isn't one to be found in Russia, and nobody there seems interested in finding it either.

Man, you clearly aren't getting it: you're talking about a planet that's shaking in its boots at the thought of Putin, a planet that practically deserves to be blown to smithereens.

As long as Putin stays breathing, he’s going to keep pushing. He’ll just keep grinding forward until there’s nothing left to push against...

Sandra Harris2 said:Are you Italian?
I see this kind of nonsense all over their news sites.
Things like, "we must stop sending weapons to end the war," or "NATO is exploiting Ukraine." According to them, the solution is for Ukraine to just stop defending itself and everything will be fine.

You can only negotiate with someone who actually wants to talk. I don't know how that isn't obvious.

It's pretty obvious that Russia has been busy buying off a lot of journalists and media outlets over there.

analogbear70 said:The West's response here is to flood Ukraine with weapons, whereas our approach was an embargo and talks. Who was sending us aid packages? Nobody. I'll say it plainly: the West (meaning the USA and the UK) genuinely seems focused on bleeding Russia dry without giving a damn about what happens to Ukraine in the process. Russia is the aggressor, which makes them dangerous if they're strong, but even more unpredictable if they're weak. That's a dynamic we need to keep in mind.

It’s funny how these "well-meaning" Russians are supposedly so deeply concerned about the fate of the Ukrainians; it’s clearly their biggest priority. They take such meticulous care to carpet bomb civilian neighborhoods just to make sure absolutely no one is left standing.

Seriously, it's hilarious. To all you guys acting like some kind of patriots when you're really just playing parts: they aren't interested in anything other than wiping everything out—the people, the language, the entire state.

While the "evil" USA and UK are allegedly trying to maliciously weaken or even defeat the KGBMafijas-run state where political opposition gets poisoned with Polonium, the "benevolent" KGBMafijas are just trying to finally solve the massive global problem of the Ukrainian state, its people, and its language existing at all.

After all, the benevolent KGBMafijas are a "superpower," and clearly, that gives them the divine right to commit genocide within their own "sphere of influence." That’s how the world has always worked, so I don't know why everyone is suddenly pretending to be so morally upright.