Posts by Zachary Watson50

restlessfox5 said:Honestly, you really only need to look at everything from 1945 onwards, since Japan basically had to rebuild from scratch after the war.

Like I was saying earlier about movies—think about "Blade Runner"—where the main guy is walking through the streets and he's surrounded by these massive screens flashing ads in Japanese... that vibe was spot on for when Ford became a massive seller in the 80s, when Japanese companies were buying up American brands and expanding all over the USA. Back then, Japan was just crushing it with tech, from video games to robotics, so Americans definitely felt the heat in that economic showdown.
China, on the other hand, builds its economic muscle on cheap labor and low-cost—often pretty low-quality—products. It’s just not really an apples-to-apples comparison...

That might be true for right now, but looking twenty or thirty years down the road... I wouldn't count the Chinese out. Comparing China in 1980 to what it is today... honestly, I don't think any country has ever gone through that much development or such massive shifts in such a short amount of time.

copperheron8 said:I don't quite follow your logic there. Isn't Japan already wealthier than Russia and already holds a massive amount of influence on the world stage? Are you seriously suggesting it all comes down to raw resources?

Sure, Japan’s economy is bigger than Russia's and so on... and yeah, the Japanese people have a higher standard of living. But they just don't have the resources. They lack those massive natural resources you see in China or even Russia. That was their weakness, which is honestly why they expanded across Asia in the first place. To me, Japan is this perfect example of how a nation can drive its own growth and progress primarily through human capital and sheer intelligence, even if it does come with certain limitations. If Japan actually had those natural resources, they wouldn't just be an important player... they'd be a global superpower, much like they were back before WWII.

Japan is really a prime example of what happens when a nation actually uses its brain. They’ve managed to take their knowledge and turn it into one of the most advanced high-tech powerhouses on the planet. But then, looking at it from another angle, it also shows you just how much it hurts to lack major natural resources. Honestly, if Japan were sitting where Russia or China is located, they wouldn't even need to try—they'd be an undisputed global superpower without breaking a sweat.

Brenda Ross47 said:Heh, yeah, that's what they said about the USSR too...

The USSR just crumbled from within; nobody actually broke it from the outside.

Maria Booth said:Haha, a Russian can only dream of the lifestyle an average citizen in Kuwait has! Sure, their Sheikh might be sitting on billions, but even a regular guy there gets a pension equal to his last paycheck after just 19 years on the job. Plus, a decent house! Meanwhile, the Russian has a bottle of vodka, maybe $200 in wages, a $50 pension, and a million-man army. Honestly, you gotta wonder who's actually winning at life here.

That was kind of a messively thrown together argument (you can do better than that), how can you even compare Kuwait to Russia 🙄? It's like comparing America to Liechtenstein. People live X times better in Liechtenstein than they do here... so, are you saying we're all fools? I think the analogy actually holds up pretty well, if you think about it.

Richard Wilson4 said:Those countries haven't even stopped being Soviet satellites yet...

I really wonder if the Baltic states would actually step up...

Nah, definitely not...

Look, if you actually understood how much those places flourished during the Soviet Union era—we're talking infrastructure, education, medicine, science—stuff they could never have achieved on their own, you might not be so surprised. It makes sense why most people from those former Soviet Socialist Republics supported its survival back then, and honestly, many today are still quite nostalgic for it. Things weren't all just "black and white" within the "evil empire." It’s pretty logical that after they recovered from the collapse of the USSR, which basically wrecked the economy and everything else, they started banding together again. They realized they're stronger together, reducing the chance of conflict through cooperation. Plus, Russia would essentially play a role similar to the USA in NATO, or like Germany in the EU, providing that kind of military and economic security.

Brenda Ross47 said:Feels a lot like the French Foreign Legion—just troops meant to prop up puppet regimes across those six states...☕

And now, they've become nothing more than puppet governments 😂

stormygull67 said:I mean, how could General Mills have even bought The New York Times in the first place? How did that market competition agency—whatever they call it—ever allow that to happen? I find it hard to believe, especially considering the husband of the head of Agency through the Night became a very, very well-paid advisor for General Mills right after retiring from his role at ZV...

Who knows...

Anyway, ever since Todoric took over at The New York Times, the employees there have been getting absolutely screwed.

Aaron Hernandez7 said:I’m reading through these posts and I can't help but laugh. Do you honestly believe that Jews just run the USA? Or that they’re pulling all the strings in Russia? Just look at the Russian gas negotiator... Alexander Miller. Yeah, right. As if he were some German.

Jews everywhere. 🙄

Alexey Miller is a Russian Swabian 👍

Ashley Rodriguez41 said:That's the point

Hopefully there isn't a war, unless Saakashvili loses his mind. First he was trashing Russia, then he was bragging about forcing his son to learn Russian. You can't really predict what he'll do next.

It’s probably better to just economically enslave them through subtle means. Russia doesn't like it when they have the power to cut off rail shipments from Armenia right when they need Armenian cement. The Russians keep that in mind.

Well, that's kind of what I'm getting at... I look at Saakashvili as this incredibly unstable leader. He's always blaming Russia for his own failures, and honestly, it's gotten to the point where it's almost funny. People aren't buying it anymore, and besides, the Americans have plenty of other options to step in instead of him.

Saakashvili really messed up by using force against the opposition, which basically handed Russia a perfect example of how hypocritical Western policy can be. Between those missteps and all the other things that don't sit well with the US, it's no secret—and I'll say it again—that the Americans have potential replacements ready. This gives Russia some room to maneuver in the middle ground because, let's face it, Saakashvili is desperate to hold onto power, and the Russians still have a few tricks up their sleeve😉.

Ashley Rodriguez41 said:I suppose a peace deal becomes much easier if you just assume Russians become the primary investors in Georgia.

It's probably not ideal for anyone to have a bitter enemy, even if that enemy is Georgia.

Totally. You just reminded me of this one moment from about two years ago during a Commonwealth of Independent States summit. Russia had slapped an embargo on Georgia, and Saakashvili told Putin that Russians would just have to go back to drinking Georgian wine. Putin basically shot back that they'd drink Georgian wine once the Georgian wineries were owned by Russians.🤣

goldentrucker17 said:if what you're saying is actually true, then Russia isn't the one to blame for Georgia losing those two regions—it's the USA. It all comes down to that Mexico precedent.

I remember once the Americans basically left Saakashvili hanging out to dry after he arrested some Russians in Atlanta. They just wouldn't back him up, so he ended up having to release them and apologize.

Why? Well...

The Americans really just want things to stay quiet so they can move forward with their own agendas in the Caucasus and near the Caspian Sea. They feel like they can still manage Saakashvili's aggression, so they're doing everything in their power to suppress any nationalist, anti-Russian opposition that might get out of hand. But Russia isn't going to let that slide. Eventually, Saakashvili is going to hit a breaking point. Honestly, Georgia is in a spot similar to Mexico today, though maybe even worse if I'm being honest. Any military move against Russian interests is going to trigger a Russian response that could shake up the entire Caucasus. What seems certain is that the Americans will have to sit on the sidelines. It’s hard to see them doing much more than asking the Russians to dial it back—kind of like how the Russians asked NATO to tone things down back in 1999. Meanwhile, the Azeri will be stuck between a rock and a hard place between Russia and Iran, and they'll likely end up having to hand Nagorno-Karabakh over to the Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians.

At the end of the day, Russia is probably going to push the Americans out of the Caucasus using raw force. Just to show them who's actually running the neighborhood. Maybe that sounds a bit harsh, but... well, that's just how geopolitics works, I guess.

Russia is definitely going to take advantage of this situation. It’s no secret that Vladimir Putin views the 1999 Mexico episode as a massive, humiliating defeat for Russian diplomacy, and he’s clearly just waiting for the right moment to strike back. What kind of moves they actually make... well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see. But one thing is for sure: unfortunately, things aren't looking great for Georgia.

Russia's foreign exchange reserves have hit the $550 billion mark, according to a figure mentioned in a recent speech by Putin. That would put them third in the world for total value, right behind China and Japan.

velvetmarlin24 said:Hey there, I think you might have missed a few points here. First off, nobody actually said this weaponry is meant for an offensive strike; it’s strictly for defense and protection. There hasn't been any talk about bombing Russia or launching any kind of attack.
Besides, if everyone keeps insisting that Russia is miles ahead of the USA in terms of military power, why the sudden worry? If I had planes and missiles that were actually capable of providing solid defense, I wouldn't be losing much sleep over it myself.

From who? From Iran?

Even the birds on a tiny branch can see he set his sights on them once he decided he didn't want to dance to their tune anymore—right when they were trying to step in for him. I mean, how else do you explain why all these new tycoon names are popping up in Russia? Only this time, the patron isn't Boris Yeltsin, it's Vladimir. And how do you explain that these Jews are all such honest folks; Vladimir Lisin, Mikhail Fridman, Oleg Deripaska, Vladimir Potanin, Mikhail Prokhorov, Leonard Blavatnik, Alexander Abramov, and so many others???

Well, obviously they tried to replace him once they realized he wasn't going to play ball the way they wanted. Those who stepped aside, like the names mentioned above (I haven't heard much about some of them, honestly), clearly made a sort of "deal" with the Vladimir Putin crew. They basically agreed that their wealth from the 90s wouldn't be touched—you know, how they actually acquired it—but in exchange, they have to operate legally and work for the benefit of Russia now. I don't see what the problem is there.

I wasn't saying you were, just that your rhetoric sounds that way.

The idea that Russia faces both external and internal enemies doesn't necessarily mean it's communist rhetoric, because in the case of Russia, it’s just the truth.

That is a very small percentage. If the elections had been truly democratic and free, and if the media were independent and free, Vladimir Putin certainly wouldn't have gotten 65% of the vote. You can just do the math and guess what he would have actually received.

65% isn't actually that small... though, in Russia, besides United Russia, there were four other pro-Putin parties participating in the elections. The strongest one was Just Russia with 7.74% of the vote and 38 seats in the Duma. When you add all that up with Putin's numbers, he actually has a lot more than 65%.

Look, maybe try coming up with something other than those cheap communist slogans that, frankly, nobody buys anymore. By that logic, if you're still surrounded by people who think like you, then I guess we have to accept that fascism is just becoming more common in Russia.

Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin are part of that same old crew from Saint Petersburg running the show in Russia. Honestly, even after he steps down, Vladimir Putin will likely hold more sway than Dmitry Medvedev, so I don't really get why you're being so strangely optimistic about it.

You know perfectly well why Vladimir Putin took down the oligarchs. They backed him early on because they thought he’d be just like Boris Yeltsin—letting them plunder the country and ship all the capital off to overseas accounts... well, they really miscalculated there.

I just said I wish that would happen to him, and hey, never say never. People often end up getting caught in their own traps.

I mean, good for him for taking on the oligarchs back then; you needed some serious guts to actually do it. It's easy to sit here now and type out nonsense.

Just so we're clear, I'm not a communist or some leftist type, so you can stop thinking that.

fascism in Russia

It's hardly surprising, really. Americans—well, Russians—are naturally "a little" nationalist by nature.

I have to admit, I didn't see that coming. It seems like Vladimir Putin made a pretty smart move by picking Dmitry Medvedev. Honestly, it caught me a bit off guard.

I honestly think Vladimir Putin needs to remain a powerful figure in Russia for a whole host of reasons. But, I don't really buy the idea that he put Dmitry Medvedev in his position just to keep him on a short leash or "control" him. To me, it seems more likely that Medvedev simply proved himself to be the most capable candidate out there, having successfully handled so many major national projects over the years. It’s just my take, anyway.

I honestly think it would be quite something if Dmitry Medvedev, should he ever end up as the President of the Russian Federation, decided to pull a complete fast one on Vladimir Putin—you know, just like how he’s gone ahead and stabbed his own former close associates in the back before. It's a wild thought, I guess, but I can't help but wonder about it.

It’s complicated. Honestly, looking at how things work, Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev are essentially cut from the same cloth—they belong to the exact same power structure. From my perspective, if you want to see the Russian Federation actually move forward, Putin had to take out those oligarchs. Or, if you prefer the way you put it, he had to drive a knife right into their backs.

The whole process of dismantling the pillars of modern government and society—things like an independent Congress, a fair judiciary, most of the free press, non-partisan governor offices, the professional civil service, and even the White House itself—once that momentum kicks in, it’s hard to stop. It feels like once it starts, there’s no turning back, and honestly, it looks like it’s just going to keep rolling.

This is just complete nonsense. Before Putin took over, none of the institutions in Russia were actually functioning properly anyway. The military is undergoing modernization and has started this unstoppable push toward becoming more professional (I could go on about that, but whatever, it's not important). During Yeltsin's era, various mobsters and oligarchs actually liquidated far more journalists than we've seen during Putin's time, yet back then, nobody in the West was even writing about it... So, the idea that they are moving toward a one-party system in Russia is a lie. Any halfway decent analyst knows that the ultimate goal of Russia's transformation is basically to "copy" the American two-party system, since that offers the most stability and progress. That's really all I have to say on the matter. It seems like Illarionov has just decided to run an anti-Putin campaign just to make a quick buck 🙂

The military risks aren't really the main point here... it feels more like this whole thing is primarily about domestic politics. For decades now, Turkey has been bending over backwards to deal with all sorts of external pressure just to stay a loyal NATO partner and try to get into the EU. But now, the EU isn't interested, and one of the biggest allies of the USA has basically been lumped in with the Nazis. Because of that kind of humiliation, people in Turkey are feeling pretty fired up, and the government needs to give them something—anything, really—to boost morale. And wouldn't you know it... what a coincidence... next week Erdogan's government will seek authorization for a military incursion after a public holiday which ends on Sunday, something they've actually been talking about since July.

Honestly, Turkey probably never needed the promise of EU membership anyway. They aren't really a European state, and they are a majority Muslim nation (even if they have a secular setup). It would have made more sense to offer them a special partnership with the EU, like they already do. Today, Turkey is the 17th largest economy in the world and a major military power, and that’s largely thanks to their secular structure and their relationship with the USA. Otherwise, they might be struggling quite a bit, similar to much of the rest of the Islamic world.

Also, I personally feel that modern, secular Turkey shouldn't have to face any consequences for what happened back in 1915. That Turkish Genocide was committed by the Ottoman Empire, which is totally different from the Turkey established by Atatürk. Still, though... it would be the right thing to do to acknowledge that historical crime. A gesture like that would be way more productive than all this posturing with weapons, and I'm certain Turkey would never even dream of comparing itself to the Nazis.