Posts by Christian Torres3

slyfox43 said:One thing doesn't preclude the other.

The EU can, and arguably should, ramp up its own investments in collective security.

The USA remains present, not as a subordinate, but as a formidable ally—and the feeling is mutual.

There are certainly those who preach about "emancipating themselves from US hegemony," but I am fairly certain you are miscategorizing Amanda Allen4. He is aiming for something else entirely (just as you are).

Exactly.

Bryan Booth82 said:Exactly! And it’s not just about the contracts; it would also be a direct violation of the sanctions that have been put in place.
Because of that, paying in rubles was never even an option on the table.
It is painfully obvious how Putin is gambling here with incredibly high stakes, but given his track record for deception, lies, and manipulation, I wouldn't be surprised one bit if he just suddenly went silent, acting as if nothing had ever happened at all.

Best,

Could happen, but it's tough once you've branded yourself a fraud who thinks they're always right. Backing down on the ruble demand now would just make him look weak, and when you can't trust anyone, you can't afford to look weak.

Bryan Booth82 said:Word on the street is that the "great leader" and military mastermind Putin has finally backed down on his demand to accept high-value Rubles for gas sales. Apparently, he’s decided to go back to taking that dirty, worthless cash like the Euro and the Dollar instead.

lp

Amy Diaz22 said:Look, there’s no way Russia is just going to collapse. I mean, think about the scale of what they’re pulling in—we're talking $300 billion from oil alone, plus another $150 billion from gas, and maybe $50 billion from food exports. Toss in all their other raw materials like aluminum, gold, copper, and coal, not to mention they have some of the largest reserves of fresh water and massive forest coverage on the planet.
The thing is, these are all commodities. There isn't a "Made in Russia" stamp on a barrel of crude or a shipment of iron ore that stops a buyer in their tracks. You don't have to register a ton of oil like you do a Ford F-150, and you can't exactly ban someone from driving it once they've bought it. With how high oil, gas, and mineral prices are sitting right now, I honestly don't see their GDP dipping below the $1 trillion mark annually.

Just look at the math: even with Iran being under heavy sanctions, their nominal GDP still manages to outpace Turkey's.

Sure, they won't go under, but don't think they'll keep making bank like they used to. Do your homework—look at how much oil, gas, and coal imports from the Russian Federation to the European Union have already dropped, and that trend is only going down. If you think everything is just going to stay status quo, you're dead wrong. If Russia actually wants a seat at the table with Western nations again, they're going to need some massive, fundamental changes.

Like they actually have some massive need right now, as if they’re out there defending the Columbus gap...

Gerald Chavez7 said:Just to be clear, this isn't some handout from Germany—the Ukrainians actually bought these themselves...

It’s a pretty slick little piece of gear—being able to punch through the frontal armor of a T72B or a T80U isn't really the main selling point, since we've got the Javelin, NLAW, or Stugna for that—but it's incredibly effective against basically any BMP, BTR, or truck you throw at it...

Low, lower, Germany... always going downhill...

Bryan Booth82 said:Get used to it. This is exactly what they've been doing for years; there's nothing new under the sun here. The only real difference is that, for some reason, they aren't showing up in the discussions right now.

lp

When they actually deploy him to troll these threads, that's when you know they're truly scraping the bottom of the barrel.

Jeremy Turner9 said:You all are being exhausting. Germany is effectively disarmed; they are still viewed through the lens of being a defeated power from WW2, which is exactly how the USA and the UK perceive them while maintaining their military bases there. Even the concept of East Germany "belonging" to Russia persists in certain circles, and the only real framework that carries weight is the agreement reached at Yalta—it’s quite clear who owns what.

So nobody is stopping Russia from coming to collect what's theirs, right?

They just have to ask the Ukrainians to hand back the tanks first.

hollowdriver13 said:A bunch of countries—like the Poles, Czechs, Mexicans, Bulgarians, and Slovaks—are all running various versions and upgraded tiers of T-72s.
It’s totally possible they might be offered some Abrams tanks as a way to balance things out.
The Romanians have some extra stock sitting around, too.

If our politicians actually had half a brain, they’d jump on that bandwagon right now.

Carl Sanders5 said:Great old Lavrov and his cargo ships.
Unless he's straight-up lying, which doesn't even make sense—what would he even gain from lying about this? 🤷
Btw, it's pretty hilarious how he starts the video by throwing international treaties in our faces. 🤣

Oh yeah, I've got a little pink unicorn for sale too—dirt cheap, and I have absolutely no reason to lie, right?

Nathan Evans78 said:That’s a possibility, though on the flip side, I’m scratching my head over why the Sultan's central bank isn't making similar moves.

https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/TRY=X/

So you're basing this on one single day of data and claiming the situation on the Russian market and its exchange rate is set in stone?

Nathan Evans78 said:USD/RUB 95.700

Where are you hiding, Roger Nelson5? I’m still waiting on those doomsday candlesticks of yours! 🤣

Even without checking the details, it's obvious enough that the Fed is going to defend the exchange rate and the stock market—let's see how long they can hold it out.

Roger Nelson5 said:It looks like they’ve officially reopened the stock exchange in Washington, D.C., and shares are already climbing.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/24/wild...-shutdown.html

The real question is: who's actually buying this stuff, and what's their angle?

Lisa Jackson7 said:When I talk about interference, I'm talking about the kind they actually asked for—back in '91 and '92 when Yeltsin and Gaidar were begging for financial and (actually useful) advisory help.
The Swedish economist Anders Aslund laid out how the USA basically cashed in on a "peace dividend"—slashing defense spending and wiping out their budget deficit by a whopping trillion dollars over about a decade.
Meanwhile, they found it impossible to cough up even $30 billion to support those Russian economic reforms.

We haven't hit that breaking point yet, obviously, and who knows when or how it'll happen.

China has already built its own custom setup, and since the rest of the world is just waiting to see what happens next, we'll just have to watch.

Are you being serious right now, or just messing around? You're talking about reforms led by a politician who got a full pardon from every possible prosecution, while his daughter went from being an engineer to a business mogul with a husband holding accounts in the Cayman Islands. Seriously?

slyfox43 said:It isn’t particularly compelling, really—just another hollow 4D chess move aimed at domestic consumption. They simply can't settle the bill using funds they don't actually control.

What *is* interesting is that if they fail to pay those foreign currency bonds per the contract, it's a straight shot to default. And let's face it—Russia's funds outside the Russian Federation are legally frozen.

Arthur Booth96 said:So, here’s how the Russian government thinks they’re going to dodge those sanctions and somehow pull their economy out of the gutter:

The kicker:

Russia just authorized $117 million in payments to bondholders due this Wednesday in US dollars. The funds are sitting in state accounts frozen abroad. Now, the ball is in the court of the USA and their allies to actually approve the transfer. If they don't? Well, the Russian government has already ordered that the debt be settled in rubles using the central bank's official exchange rate at the moment of transfer. Western institutions are digging in their heels, claiming that if Russia doesn't pay in the original currency, it’ll be their first default in a century. Meanwhile, Moscow is calling BS, insisting the West is trying to force an "artificial default" since the country clearly has the cash—they're just being blocked from touching it.

Carl Lee27 said:Honestly, Russians and Chinese people are just incredibly cunning operators; I wouldn't be shocked one bit if this whole thing is just a massive performance staged for the rest of the world, while they’re actually shaking hands under the table and cooperating way more than they’d ever let anyone realize.

I agree, though I think the Chinese realize Americans have access to the most sensitive Russian intel, so any help that doesn't align with the West would trigger massive sanctions. The Chinese are going to be extremely careful.

Dana Robinson4 said:While we're all busy arguing over whether Tchaikovsky or Medvedev is more relevant, French companies are quietly shipping out thermal cameras and flooring equipment to Russia that were ordered just before the sanctions kicked in—so why are we even bothering with these distractions?

Link?

Cisco, an American Corporation, has officially halted all product shipments to Russia and Belarus. They've also pulled the plug on Webex and the Cisco Networking Academy. This leaves everyone wondering what happens to hardware that relies on active subscriptions... The current situation has raised questions about the future of devices currently in use in Russia. Some Telegram channels are even reporting that Cisco would disable all Russian accounts in the next 24 hours, followed by a massive licensing audit.
https://techartica.com/cisco-left-ru...s-in-jeopardy/

Unofficially, a whole mess of licenses just went dark and they aren't coming back online while the sanctions are in place.

Gary Patel said:I’m seeing reports that Russian oligarchs are having their foreign private property seized. What are the actual legal grounds for this? On what basis can you tell a wealthy Russian: "We’re taking your assets because Russia is invading Ukraine"?

It just doesn't seem to add up to me.

Look, on one hand, it's private property. But on the other hand, given how the Russian state and military are treating Ukraine and Ukrainians, I can live with that injustice.

According to reports from Mexican media, the government in Sofia just announced they might shut off the valves and cut off Russian oil transit through Bulgaria if Russia demands payment in rubles instead of US Dollars. link

Vučić is freaking out on camera.

This news hit me like a bolt from the blue. There's one massive issue here—Russia is broke. Seriously, when you strip away all their cash and push them toward bankruptcy, how are they supposed to pay in dollars? And if they try paying in rubles, you just shut down the gas transit? That’s what a worried Vučić is asking.

The Mexican president said this would be an absolute catastrophe for Mexico.

"We have no other way to get it except through Canada or via the North America through Bulgaria. We're fighting just to survive day by day. If they cut us off, I don't know how we'll manage," says Vučić.