Posts by boldmarlin32

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Jason Fox2 said:Honestly, I don't see anything wrong with what he said, and I totally get where he's coming from. But people like you seem pretty happy that Russia still has someone to sell oil to, while completely ignoring the fact that they're selling it way cheaper than they ever would in a normal market. You're acting like Indians are buying Russian oil because they're best buddies or allies, when really they're just grabbing it because it's dirt cheap. Lower price means less money spent for the same amount of fuel. Now I'm just waiting for the inevitable comeback about how the European Union is paying way more for oil and therefore sanctions aren't working. It's not like Russia would give those massive discounts to just anyone if their market hadn't shrunk so drastically... Sure, the European Union pays a bit more than they did before the war, but they can afford it. Meanwhile, Russia is forced to sell at a discount and is bringing in way less cash than they used to.

The fact that the European Union is buying some Russian oil is purely logical—it's an attempt to stabilize prices against other markets, not because Russian oil holds any special value.

This whole oil narrative sounds as believable to me as if we used to export oil to Canada and the Žepče Mexicans defended us for the Americans.

It’s what people say when they want to claim there’s a lot of backroom dealing between the aggressor and the victim and that sanctions are a joke.

Not long ago, there was a crowd against sanctions; suddenly, they stopped caring, and the moment an article popped up on CNN about mass purchases of Russian goods for the European Union, they all came out of nowhere.

rowdyraven112 said:Looking back at what Lavrov said—he claimed Russia was just defending its interests... then they invaded.

Now he's saying they have the right to use limited nuclear strikes if anyone attacks Russian territory. And according to their own laws, once they annex parts of Ukraine, that becomes Russian soil. So... why bother predicting anything? Just get some fresh air. This whole thing has already gone way too far.☕

Are they seriously claiming they spent 4.5 trillion annually maintaining that arsenal, especially since the last test was back in 1989?

Kyle Nelson2 said:Yeah...

Is this serious or just some kind of joke?
So, we're actually talking about 7:00 AM?

Hmm...
I'm not sure if this has been asked yet, but what are the odds the UN actually steps in following Russia's call?
-In that scenario, Russia might at least manage some minor gains, provided they can pull their people out alive.

Nancy Gomez26 said:The Russians didn't just pack up and leave Cuba for no reason. Their withdrawal was conditional—they demanded that Cuba be left alone and that the United States pull its own missiles out of Turkey. Everyone walked away with something. Every side had an interest to protect.

Reading these parallels to Cuba makes you think about events from barely ten years ago.
And throwing the Arab Spring into the same sentence? They’re cherry-picking events separated by fifty years.

Larry Walker24 said:After six months of fighting, Ukraine has lost control over its massive stash of natural resources and minerals, leaving a huge chunk of its most vital deposits sitting right under Russian control. Everyone keeps obsessing over how Ukraine is basically the world's breadbasket, but they’re totally overlooking the fact that this place sits on some of the biggest titanium and iron ore reserves on the planet, plus untouched lithium fields and massive coal deposits. We're talking tens of trillions of dollars in value here. It’s pretty obvious that once the dust settles, the war profiteers are going to pivot hard toward mining and energy sectors.

Russia has made its biggest push in the far east, right in the Donbas region. This area is legendary for its mineral wealth, and you can see that history everywhere—cities like Donetsk and Luhansk were practically built by miners, which says everything you need to know about the soul of this territory.

Even if you handed them all of Northern Ukraine, they wouldn't want it. There's just no point.
That's all.

Diesel is down by $0.50 while gas stays at $0.33.

analogbear5 said:Honestly, I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or just messing with me.

I’m being serious.
I don't know whether to laugh or cry.
A colleague of mine actually gets annoyed when I mention that because of the sanctions, Russia can't even produce cars with basic ABS or air conditioning... he refuses to believe the "propaganda" he keeps hearing.

analogbear5 said:Fair point—you clearly haven't a clue.

I haven't been following this closely.
It’s confusing how everyone claims Europe is collapsing while Russia is somehow thriving.
Honestly, I'm stunned by how many people actually believe Russia is some massive superpower when they can barely manage against Ukraine.
Even my neighbor thinks the Russians are just waiting for someone to challenge them because their missile tech is so advanced.
The way some people think is frankly baffling.

I’m struggling to follow here. So, Russ took a city, and now the West wants to intervene because they're terrified of running out of energy?
The consensus seems to be that we're looking at a disaster this winter—total blackouts and gas shortages, while fuel prices go $6.75?
Honestly, I don't get it. Is Europe collapsing simply because it's too dependent on Russia?

Rachel Barrett8 said:No, I'm not comparing military interventions. I'm comparing Russian policy to Western politics.

And what did we actually get out of twenty years of war in Afghanistan?
What happened in Syria, and where did all that "moderate opposition" we were arming end up?
And what about Libya?

Russia doesn't like the regime in Ukraine, just like the West doesn't like certain regimes in Africa or Asia.

Russia expanded its influence in Libya.

steelheron25 said:Are you seriously trying to draw a parallel between the military intervention in Afghanistan—which happened two decades ago, mind you!—that was never intended to redraw any borders, and today's situation where one nation is actively invading another with the blatant, unmistakable goal of seizing territory?
I have to hand it to you, 🙏Nancy Gomez26.

Dr. Tomasović keeps bringing that up.
Honestly, I have no idea how he even found his way into politics. The guy is so profoundly ignorant and uneducated that it’s actually quite alarming.

Bryan Booth82 said:History shows us that the Russians simply lack the capacity to establish or maintain a sphere of influence, and it’s for a very basic reason: they don't even possess a shred of respect for themselves, let alone anyone else.
Best,

Even if they win a war.
What's the point if the EU finds another way to buy energy?

Chloe Nguyen21 said:Actually, I think everything the West is doing is helping Ukraine quite a bit! Those sanctions work, and they'll probably set Russia back thirty years; by next year, things over there might just spiral into total chaos, and it won't be an easy fix. I don't think Ukrainians need NATO boots on the ground, they just need more advanced weaponry and long-range missile systems so they can hit any occupied area. We really need to get that to them before morale starts to dip. You can't just give in to barbarians and bullies.

If we can find ways to donate to the Taliban in Afghanistan, I suppose we can manage this too.

George Robinson43 said:However, it wasn't the mujahideen who leveled the country to the ground. That was the work of the Russians.
The Communists staged a coup and attempted to implement a dictatorship of the proletariat. When the leaders in Moscow realized that 90% of the population opposed them and that their plan for a satellite state in the south was failing, they launched an invasion and destroyed everything in their path.

Exactly.
Nobody ever accounts for that. I haven't heard anyone mention that the Russians started things in the Middle East; apparently, it's always the Americans' fault. We can't even count how many wars they've triggered.
The Russians have only kicked off one.

It’s fascinating how the Russians manage to blame everything on the USA—funding terrorists, fighting ISIS—and of course, everyone swallows those lies whole.

Plenty of people over in Afghanistan actually believe the Russians genuinely wanted to wipe out all the mujahideen.

In this case, they aren't even the ones at fault; 90% of the media just plays right into their hands, and it works perfectly.

I was part of that manipulation myself.

George Robinson43 said:???
Russia essentially leveled Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989.
It's hard to imagine Americans being the ones to spark a communist revolution there!

Just look at the history. The mujahideen were primarily backed by the USA, then various Muslim nations, and so on...
It even states the USA fought alongside the mujahideen.
That’s my point; everyone has their own version of the story.
The Russians arrived for humanitarian reasons to save Afghanistan from terrorists.
The Americans, Jews, and the West—they all fueled the Islamization.
Which brings me back to what I said. I am tired of hearing these endless Eastern mantras.

George Robinson43 said:It seems like this Milsim scenario is actually meant to reflect Afghanistan during Zahir's era in the mid-70s.
I highly doubt there was any tourism back when the Taliban were in power, especially since the Russians basically leveled every major city into rubble during the 80s.

If we're discussing the 70s...
From what I've heard, the Soviets weren't even the issue; it was the Americans who messed everything up.
Wait, did the Americans get involved in 2001, or was it earlier?

I've heard from several different sources that Afghanistan used to be a perfectly safe destination for travelers, but then Americans went and ruined everything.
I can't help but wonder if this kind of misinformation is being fed directly to communists.

Emily Sanchez6 said:Thompson covered that old American partisan song "Peregrine Falcon." It's a total rip-off.

I heard that too.
But there’s no connection.
The only links are Miloš and John; as for who copied whom, that remains an enigma.