Posts by rowdytiger13

Bryan Booth82 said:Habeck, the German Minister for Economic Affairs, is making some bold claims according to reports from the German press... he’s suggesting that Germany will finally break its reliance on Russian coal by early summer, move away from Russian oil by the end of the summer, and completely cut ties with Russian gas by sometime in 2024.

The big question remains: does Putin actually have the stones to double down on demanding energy payments in rubles? If he does, he might just end up fast-tracking the entire process of cutting off his own lifeline to the West.

lp

It took an actual war for them to wake up.
The Germans are an absolute embarrassment.

Linda Lee4 said:Watching Germans moan about being too dependent on Russian gas makes me wish Moscow would just shut off the valves entirely... They’d find out pretty quickly what happens when the supply actually dries up. It wouldn't be much of a party then. ☕

They really screwed themselves. It's no surprise they're complaining now.

Nathan Evans78 said:The Kremlin is actually demanding that gas payments be made in rubles. 🤣🤣

USD/RUB 100.32

Well, maybe Viktor Orbán will start paying for gas in rubles too, since he’s such a loyal member of the European Union. 🤣 🤣
Or perhaps this will be the turning point where everyone tells him to either get back to normal or pack his bags and head over to join the Russians. He’s already being kept in line by an increasingly agitated group of Poles.

Lisa Jackson7 said:rowdytiger13, Russia isn't Afghanistan—they're actually stronger and way more dangerous.
We can't just pull the "let them be" card when it comes to them.

How can you say Russians don't want democracy under any circumstances? Maybe they aren't ready right now, but back in the 90s, if I was your average Russian, I probably would've concluded that democracy just stripped away my basic security and tanked my quality of life from "bad" to "non-existent."

Maybe things didn't have to go down that way... I mean, would Europe have even cared about human rights or democratic ideals later on without the Marshall Plan (and you gotta look at that plan as more than just cash)?
I'm not buying it for a second.

Maybe Russians are ready, but if they are, they'll make their own move.
I'm pretty much against outside interference now, even though I used to advocate for it. It's simple: not every nation follows the same path or shares the same history. That doesn't make them better or worse... it just means things aren't the same everywhere. China will likely develop a system tailored to its own needs (they haven't been truly communist for a long time anyway).
The Western model of democracy doesn't fit everyone. Maybe it works for Russians—only time will tell—but it doesn't work for everyone, and if it turns out it's not for them, what then?

Lisa Jackson7 said:Hold on, I'm not so sure about that.

I'm personally skeptical that things will escalate to direct intervention, but if they do, it's the wrong move.
Not every nation actually wants democracy, nor are they necessarily ready for it.
Let them be, just don't let them exert their influence.

Bryan Booth82 said:Let’s be brutally honest here: now that the West has secured its victory in Ukraine... who on earth gives a damn about Russia? 🤔
Let them squirm in their own little bubble. If they ever actually decide to step out—though I seriously doubt they will—they can just pray for a chance to rejoin civilization (Western civilization)

Best,

+ 1
Help Ukraine get back on its feet after this devastating war and integrate them into the West.
As for Russia, isolate them and let them do whatever they want.

Lisa Jackson7 said:Look, when I talk about helping Russia, I'm not talking about helping Putin or anyone like him.
Helping Germany after World War II didn't mean propping up Hitler or the Nazi Party to keep them in power—it involved denazification.

In Russia's case, we either have to wait or find a way to support and facilitate the rise of democratic forces—kind of like how Gorbachev eventually stepped in after Brezhnev, even if things were messy at first. Everyone thought that was the "end of history." It wasn't.

When the chance actually came, the West missed it—they either slept through it, couldn't figure it out, or were too busy trying to profit from the situation in Russia. Whatever.

And please, don't start pulling out polls about support for Putin... what kind of polls would you run about support for Hitler in Germany right after he took power?

Wait.
Zero interference.

The European Union has approved a four-part package of measures, which are set to take effect in just a few hours.

"Quote:"

George Robinson43 said:I actually think he completely miscalculated.
To truly tie the West's hands for even a few months, the attack should have been launched before the heating season began.
By starting near the end of winter instead, he essentially gifted the West the maneuvering room and time they needed to adapt.
That said, I fully endorse this new Russian direction toward self-sufficiency—this rejection of materialism and Western values within the Euro-Asian Orthodox sphere. I wish them nothing but the best! For all those in the West who recoil at modern Western culture, they finally have a place to seek out a spiritual life in the name of Saint Basil!

+1
All I can say to this is... HALLELUJAH!

The EU just announced a four-part package of measures, which should be finalized today.
This includes a ban on exporting all luxury goods from EU nations to Russia, along with a prohibition on importing iron and steel products. They’re also banning any investment in the Russian energy sector—that covers everything from direct investments and technology transfers to financial services used for energy research and production.
This follows the G7's pledge to strip Russia of its privileges within the World Trade Organization and restrict its access to assistance from the IMF.

https://www.politico.eu/article/brus...teel-and-more/

Timothy Nelson5 said:All this talk about those Mig aircraft... honestly, it feels more like a distraction technique to pull focus away from things, or maybe just a way to mess with Russia's head, rather than anything that would actually give Ukraine a decisive edge right now.

If you look at it logically:

1. It's essentially a signal to Russia that there's a faction within NATO willing to send whatever weaponry is requested.
Maybe that way, Russia might eventually find it easier to tolerate these massive shipments of lighter weaponry. At the highest political levels, I suppose they don't quite grasp that such gear can be much more lethal against their invasion forces than a single squadron of MiG-29s.

Russia will likely view the fact that these jets haven't been delivered to Ukraine (at least not openly or in bulk) as a sort of victory for their diplomacy and threats. They'll probably feel like they've succeeded, while also realizing that all this light weapon stuff doesn't actually stop them much.

2. Showing that NATO is ready to step up by sending this kind of hardware might convince Russian leadership to scale back airstrikes and cruise missile attacks on western Ukraine, specifically in areas closer to the borders of NATO member states.
It’s simple logic, I guess—if the border countries feel less threatened, they might push less for the heavier, more sophisticated weapon systems to be sent to Ukraine.

3. Those planes might actually just complicate air defense, especially since units are being mass-distributed Stingers, Arrows, Wasps, and eventually Starstreaks...
Ukraine still has some operational S-300 batteries, and when you factor in their likely real-time connection with AWACS, it makes flying at higher altitudes pretty dangerous for the Russian Air Force. That system could potentially be coordinated with the Ukrainian MiG-29.
But then again, it would be incredibly difficult to prevent someone armed with a Stinger from accidentally targeting their own planes, since they're trained to see only the enemy in the sky.
So, in my opinion, it would probably make more sense to send extra missiles for the S-300s, maybe some mobile short-to-medium range systems... and try to get those captured Pantsirs and Tunguskas back in working order...

Yeah, that holds water, because after certain representatives started complaining about the delays in Mig deliveries, the Americans announced they'd ramp up the shipment of things like Javelins instead.
Harris went to Poland and is heading to Romania next, likely to iron things out in person since she mentioned resolving disagreements through direct conversation rather than just over the phone.

Sam Alvarez4 said:160 Russian names hit the European Union blacklist today: 14 oligarchs and 146 senators.

13:12
The European Union adds 160 Russian senators and oligarchs to its blacklist

They're also ramping up sanctions against the Russian maritime sector and expanding the list of goods and technologies banned for export to Russia.

Singapore is signaling new sanctions against Russia: https://www.timesofisrael.com/livebl...aine-invasion/
They’re freezing four banks and banning the export of electronics, computers, and military gear. It's worth noting that Singapore rarely touches the sanction button unless they absolutely have to.
Since Singapore serves as a major financial hub for that part of Asia, this carries some weight.

Larry Newman4 said:I’m really curious to see what the US is actually going to send over. The Government is expected to make an official decision on it later today.

Protective gear and small arms worth about $18 million.

Nancy Gomez26 said:Everyone else will suffer regardless, simply due to the inherent nature of how sanctions function. It is my belief that those who will feel the brunt of these measures are the ones least responsible—the general public. There is a universal rule that this specific demographic always bears the heaviest burden of any disruption. Their lives are already strained, and they are perpetually living on the edge financially. When chaos hits, it inevitably translates into new, unavoidable costs of living.

The initial blow was aimed at the oligarchs. Obviously, they won't be starving, but if you take away their ability to play around in the West, those criminals are going to lose their minds.

James Chavez91 said:China will probably just play it smart and ignore this. Or maybe—if I had to guess—they'll just sleep on it.

China is already rubbing its hands together.

Michael Davis10 said:I mean, what kind of assets does the Russian central bank even have in the EU?
And they'll probably just freeze Western central banks' assets in return.

It's all just a mess, honestly.
Seems like they're getting squeezed, so they left some banks in SWIFT, I guess, just so they can still buy energy without having to lug suitcases of cash back to Moscow.

That won't last long either. The longer this drags on, the more Russia will just retreat into total isolation.

Michael Davis10 said:So I'm reading this on CNN... They've kicked those banks out of SWIFT. They were already under sanctions anyway, but maybe more will follow if they have to.

I guess Uncle Sam is really playing hardball here.
Looks like things are getting pretty intense over in Europe too, I suppose.

Yeah, but they're basically paralyzing the Russian central bank's assets—freezing transactions so they can't actually cash out their holdings.
The main players involved are the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, the UK, Canada, and the USA.
That's a real hit...

Is it actually possible that the EU machine has finally started turning?
I honestly can't wrap my head around it...

Olaf Scholz held talks with Poles and Lithuanians today, and let me tell you, the Polish representative wasn't exactly sticking to the usual diplomatic script.

Gary Wilson said:It’s finally happening—the European Union and the United Kingdom are cutting Russia out of SWIFT and freezing every cent of their central bank's assets.

Can someone actually verify this?
And if it turns out to be true, I’d really love to see the look on the German Chancellor's face.