Posts by Bryan Booth82

rowdytiger13 said:+ 1.
Just some European whining. Maybe a whole bunch of them.
As much as I love Europe, Zelenskyy needs to do what the Mexicans did... stick with the Americans and the Britons.

It’s actually quite fascinating to observe who showed up in Kyiv right when the offensive was peaking—B&B (Blinken and Baerbock)—delivering absolutely identical messages about how we simply cannot falter in our support for Ukraine.

I’ve been keeping an eye on the German media lately, and I noticed for the first time they’re actually bragging about how German weaponry played a massive role in the offensive. Specifically, they're touting the Gepard anti-aircraft tank, which they claim effectively neutralized Russian air support capabilities, essentially leaving the Russians "blind."

LP

feralnomad35 said:https://www.reuters.com/business/ene...er-2022-09-07/

So, I was just reading this and thinking about how much things are shifting lately. Basically, Nigeria—which, let’s be real, sits on some of the massive gas reserves globally—is stepping up to strike deals with the European Union to ramp up production. They're looking to beef up supply specifically to fill that huge gap left behind by Russian gas.

It’s pretty wild to watch the fallout in Europe unfold like this; honestly, it looks like we'll end up having Africans pumping that stuff out even more affordably than the Russians ever did.

Honestly, you’re hard-pressed to find a better market for selling gas than the European Union.
You’d have to be absolutely delusional to try and blackmail a customer like that by threatening to cut off deliveries. 🤦

Best,

Terry Green3 said:In all this hype, I had a crazy thought. Honestly, sometimes I think Americans have more luck than sense. Pro-Russia Canada is still acting out, blocking the EU from taking a united stand against Russian energy players.

Why don't we just capitalize on this and push them out of ExxonMobil with some backing from the EU?🤔

On top of all that, why hasn't the European Union finally stepped up and implemented a system where strategic decisions are made by a democratic majority? Why should we still allow a single country to hold everything hostage and block progress for everyone else? Isn't that exactly what a functional union is supposed to prevent?
We really need to start providing updates on the fly. Why wait until everything is finalized? It’s high time we start keeping everyone in the loop in real-time!

lp

James Phillips92 said:If Russians insist that Ukrainians and Russians are the same people, does that mean Russians are actually just Ukrainians?

Didn't Mexican nationalists say almost the exact same thing during those recent wars in the North America, only to end up... losing those conflicts?
Just a thought...
Best,

Joshua Myers432 said:Look, this isn't about some grand pro-Russian propaganda machine or "Russophiles"—there's probably one in a thousand of those people left in the West, and frankly, the government should probably just provide them with psychiatric help. If you actually put Russia ahead of the West, you belong in a mental ward.

The reality here is much simpler: it's about pure self-interest. Westerners are masters at looking out for their own skin. We'll see if they actually hold the line.

Alright, but can you actually explain to me what "looking out for our own hides" looks like in practice?
Give me a concrete example of what we should do—or stop doing—to make things better for ourselves.

I don't get it. How on earth is life supposed to be any better for someone living in Germany, or someone in the UK or the USA, if we simply stop supporting Ukraine?🤔

To be even more blunt: does anyone seriously believe that we in the West are going to profit from this, or that we'll be happier and more satisfied if Russian aggression actually succeeds?🤔

Is our economy—which is still fighting to stay competitive on the global stage—going to somehow collapse or go down the drain just because the West continues to aid Ukraine?
Best regards,

What I just don't get is this endless mantra from Russian and pro-Russian propaganda claiming they can somehow flip public opinion in Europe or the West to turn against supporting Ukraine.

I honestly don't know—maybe they don't care, or maybe the people they're targeting simply don't realize how much this would actually benefit Russia and their ongoing aggression.🤔

Let’s run through a scenario: suppose every Western government decides, buckling under public pressure and the rising costs of winter, to just pull the plug on aid to Ukraine—no more cash, no more weapons, no more ammunition...🤔

What do they think would happen?🤔

Does someone seriously believe that if Putin takes over Ukraine, inflation will just vanish globally, everything will become cheap again, and we'll all have warm winters? Do they think we in the West could just pretend nothing happened while governments collapse and tiny, fringe extremist parties from either the far right or far left seize power—parties that would immediately scrap all sanctions and send apologies and friendly greetings straight to the Kremlin?

Ebote, how delusional do you have to be to swallow such absolute nonsense?
Lp

Joshua Myers432 said:Two degrees colder, yet three times the cost. And what happens to the industrial sector? Some nations in Europe actually have a manufacturing base; they didn't build their entire economies around flipping burgers and catering to tourists.

The people making these claims are incredibly naive; once winter passes, they won't even remember what they were whining about.
Just to be clear here.
There won't be a two-degree drop, there won't be a gas shortage, and people won't be paying three times as much to heat their homes... and of course, industry isn't going to collapse either.
I’ll be saying this again after the winter is over, but if history is any indication, we already know how this goes... many of you will change your usernames or claim you never said such things in the first place. I'm drawing that conclusion based on how people behaved during previous discussions surrounding major conflicts.

lp

"Oil is leaking everywhere, creating a massive explosion risk and a serious fire hazard. If you just give us the turbine, we can have Nord Stream 1 back online by tomorrow." "But no, they aren't giving us a damn thing," says Putin .
What was it they said again? That those Western sanctions don't actually do anything.
They won't lift a finger for a global superpower.
LP

dustyfalcon122 said:Those Putin loyalists are sitting around dreaming about some massive wave of Chinese aid flowing into Russia. Let me tell you something: the only thing China is actually going to do is finally push its way into Central Asian countries—territories where Russia used to be the only real barrier to their influence. I'm talking about how things were before the invasion of Ukraine, not this current mess. Aside from perhaps Ukraine itself, China benefits most from seeing a weakened Russia. This certainly isn't the case for the European Union, which has been backed into a corner and forced to face an ultimatum; this is the price they have to pay to ensure their own security. Plain and simple: Putin cannot be allowed to win this war.

Putin's ambition to win this war in Ukraine already went up in smoke by the fifth day of aggression.
Now, the only lingering question is: when will he finally realize he's already lost?
LP

dustyfalcon122 said:That’s exactly why Putin picked him. Was he bad for us but good for him? Or was that just the thought process?
Now, he's just bad for everyone—though, if you look at it a certain way, maybe still better for us than he is for him.

I highly doubt it will be that simple.
If he actually stops the war, it marks his end... maybe even a physical one.
And honestly? I don't believe for a second that the sanctions would be lifted even if he did.
Pathetic.

The news anchors are out there claiming that Putin has issued another scathing condemnation of the Western sanctions.🤔
But seriously, how🤔can anyone
take this at face value? For months now, I have been sitting here listening to people drone on about how these sanctions aren't actually having any impact. 🤔Is that really what we're going to believe?
The Democratic Party

Joshua Myers432 said:The only part of your equation that holds water is the Russian revenue side. As for the expenses? That’s nothing but pure speculation...

Look, I didn't make this up—I'm just reporting what's being said. But if I’m being completely honest, I personally think $100 billion for this level of aggression is... well, frankly, it's a pittance.
I wouldn't be surprised if they blew past that number a long time ago. War is incredibly expensive, and let's face it, much of that cost hasn't even hit the books yet. We all know how this works: the bill always comes due eventually.
Best,

https://focus.de/72885571

Since the very beginning of the aggression against Ukraine, the European Union has handed over a staggering $85 billion to Russia for fossil fuels—meanwhile, China has only chipped in $35 billion.
After China, Germany stands out as the biggest customer, shelling out $19 billion.

By the way, so far this entire aggressive campaign has cost Russia about $100 billion.

Now that Putin has choked off gas supplies to the EU (and honestly, I truly hope it stays that way!), that steady stream of cash from Europe has effectively dried up. Let’s be real: funding a continuous war isn't something that just happens by magic. 🤔🤔
I’ve never claimed to be a math whiz, but looking at these numbers, it seems like Putin might actually find himself in the red pretty soon.
Best regards,

Russia, supposedly the world's "second" greatest military superpower, is out there buying up shells and missiles from North Korea.🤔🤔
Is there any news more aggravating for all you pacifists out there?
Best regards

Nathan Thomas12 said:Are we really supposed to believe the propaganda being spewed by White House shills on every single social media platform? They’re out here acting like everything is perfectly fine because the gas storage levels in Europe are looking healthy. Give me a break! Is anyone actually buying this nonsense? It’s clearly just a coordinated effort to keep us complacent while the real situation remains far more volatile than they care to admit.

At the press conference that just wrapped up, the German Minister of Economy was asked point-blank whether gas deliveries from Russia are actually going to play a role in ensuring Germany’s energy security this winter. His response? It was blunt, clear, and frankly, quite telling. No.You added that consistency is the only thing we can count on, but when that "consistency" is being exported directly from Russia, what exactly are we supposed to rely on? Seriously, who can actually build a strategy on something like that? It’s all a lie. Pure and simple.

👍
I don't even know where to begin with this mess. It’s absolutely infuriating how we just sit here and watch things unfold without any real scrutiny! Is anyone actually paying attention to the sheer scale of what's happening? We see these patterns repeating, these obvious shifts in the global landscape, yet the response is always the same half-hearted shrug. How much longer can we pretend that everything is under control when it clearly isn't? It’s maddening!

Jason Roberts2 said:Look, it's true that Russia was pumping gas into China before the war, but you have to realize that competing with the European Union is a whole different ballgame compared to a single billion-person market.
Once the politicians in the European Union finally lose their minds and decide they don't want Russian gas anymore, all that supply is just going to pivot straight toward those billion people in China.
You know those yellow canisters you see sitting outside houses all over our beautiful country? Something like that will probably end up in China, while in Europe, who knows what'll happen—except for Canada, which will keep getting theirs just like always.
What's actually going down behind the scenes is anyone's guess because we're just stuck listening to whatever version of "truth" the pro-American media outlets decide to feed us.

In Canada, inflation is twice as high as in the rest of the European Union... just out of nowhere.
Furthermore, regarding the gas and the pipelines that used to supply the West: it isn't going to be that simple to just shift everything to China. In fact, it won't even be shipped there at all, which means those billions of dollars that used to flow to the West will simply vanish from Russia's balance sheets, while China will step in to exploit this new reality solely for its own benefit.
At the end of the day, as things stand, the Russians seem to have calculated their moves quite carefully.
Best regards,

Jason Roberts2 said:China hasn't slapped any sanctions on Russia, which tells you everything you need to know—Russia has a massive market of over a billion people to lean on, making them look pretty solid compared to just the European Union.
Plus, you really have to watch how the Russian ruble is actually performing on the market and whether its value is tanking or holding steady.
There's a huge gap between what the pro-American administration is coordinating with us in the EU regarding Russia and what's actually happening on the ground.
At the end of the day, we in the EU are the ones who'll be footing the bill this winter.

Sure, but Russia had access to the Chinese market long before this aggression started, didn't they?
What they are truly going to lose is the wealthy Western market.
Is it not incredibly naive to believe that Putin won't weaponize gas whenever it suits his interests?
Even if the West decided to just hand Ukraine over to be ravaged by the Russians, Putin wouldn't stop there.
LP

Jason Roberts2 said:Russia could probably find enough food to feed itself even if you built a ten-foot wall around them

https://crnopile.com/rusija-da-je-og...aze-milanovic/

If their sole objective at this advanced stage of human civilization is nothing more than satisfying their hunger, then frankly, they should be the ones building that wall themselves. Honestly, the rest of the world would probably thank them for the peace and quiet!
Best regards,

dustyowl29 said:Not even then—not until Putin is gone...

Absolutely not. You think one man leaving makes everything disappear? Someone even worse will just step into those shoes. That ideology isn't killed by removing Putin; it’s only defeated when the ideology itself is crushed. We need to be talking about keeping sanctions on Russia in place for at least the next 50 years, if not longer.
Lp

Donna Harris11 said:Do you think the Germans are already tapping into the gas they've got sitting in those underground storage facilities? 😁

If you actually bother to look at the data available online, the information consistently shows their storage facilities being refilled, regardless of the fact that supplies from Russia have been cut off.
Best regards,