Posts by brightheron64

dakok said:Why on earth would Ukrainians, Poles, Estonians, or Finns...
harbor hatred for Russians for a thousand years?

Why? That’s actually a really profound question.

If you look at why one religion—or even just a few different belief systems—refuses to acknowledge, let alone embrace, others, what is the actual logic behind it? Where does that drive come from?
I wonder if it’s clear enough that conflict and war are essentially hardwired into the very fabric of the human race... In fact, the impulse to fight runs much deeper than just humans; it’s present in almost every social species that lives in packs or communities, where the fundamental mindset is always "those others are our enemies."

Sadly, I think the biological confrontation we see in nature, which is driven purely by the struggle for survival, is actually far more benign than the civilizational conflicts we wage, which are complicated by various ideologies and sets of values... Not to mention how incredibly intense and dedicated people can become when fighting for those ideals...

Bryan Booth82 said:Hmm... maybe even today.🤔🤔
I hear about kids from Washington, D.C. heading over to Mexico City for trips all the time...
🤔
But honestly, looking at history, this supposed "eternal enmity" just isn't sustainable.
It wasn't just that these relatively "newly formed" nations hated and fought each other just like any other group; they practically wiped each other out from within.

When you look at the internal purges, say within Germany... and then follow that up with the wars against France.... in both cases, there is absolutely no basis left for "eternal hostility."

Conflict exists, sure, but it isn't some timeless, inevitable thing like the propaganda tries to make it out to be.

Best,

As long as we’re all chipping into the same pot and the distribution feels fair... everything stays smooth. But the moment someone (like Johnson) starts feeling like they aren't getting their fair share of the loot...

Let's play a little game of "what if"...

Picture this: Russia puts massive pressure on NATO, and under that collective umbrella, Germany begins an intense, actually quite frantic, buildup of its military forces—reaching a point where they might even eye their own Atomic bomb (since they already possess the raw materials, the expertise, and the tech)... and then they go ahead and get politically reckless about it too... what exactly would our current friends and allies think? Would they say, "Welcome to the Club"? Wouldn't certain old memories suddenly start resurfacing...

Or would everyone collectively panic and ask... "Wait, surely we aren't going through this for a fourth time?"

Bryan Booth82 said:This whole mantra about "eternal enemies"—as if this will last until the end of time—is a pretty regressive... okay, let's call it what it is: a fossilized way of looking at human civilization.
It is no coincidence that this exact perspective is championed by dictatorships, like the current one in Russia... preaching to their subjects about an eternal enemy, about "our people" who need protecting, and about the "traitors" who need to be punished or coerced back into a "brotherly embrace."

This mantra isn't foreign to national patriots of any stripe... mainly because it's easy to swallow. It's simple fodder for those who don't want to deal with anything demanding or intellectually rigorous.

I'll be truly surprised when the more discerning individuals start making concessions and accepting that kind of nonsense.

lp

Oh, really? So, what, tomorrow my Mexican friends and I are suddenly "brothers" again, version 3.0, just because we're all hanging out in the European Union?

Sure, the sentiment is outdated, but let's be honest, it's also a daily reality.
On our side, it’s almost like a harmless childhood game—despite the banners at the stadiums or the graffiti on the walls—compared to their constant public media narrative where "the big, evil extremist is lurking everywhere".

Just as a side note, back in the early 80s during those days of forced "brotherhood and unity," I was traveling through southern Mexico and felt my stomach drop when I realized how they spoke about Muslims in almost every single conversation, using nothing but slurs. So, is it that Mexicans are truly, fundamentally broken, making this "until the end of time" rhetoric just a hollow cliché, or does nearly every nation—especially within this millennial European circus of "brotherly love" where everyone is supposedly best friends—carry these ugly memories that fall under the category of "public virtues and secret vices"?

Timothy Williams5 said:My apologies, there are no tractors and no plowing happening here.
It is just Russian excavators marked with V and Z heading toward the Katyn cemetery.
https://www.thefirstnews.com/article...memorial-29723

This isn't some distant historical event; it's happening in the immediate present, just a few months ago.
Feel free to keep lecturing me on history or Taras Bulba if you like, but the present day is far more interesting.

They always say, "history is life's teacher," so why wouldn't we include Gogol in that lesson?

And speaking of Katyn, did you actually read the full text of the document in that link, or did you just skim the headline?
The Wall Street Journal wrote The petition calls for The Katyn monument to be demolished but the graves of Polish victims to be left untouched.

Look, there will always be fools—throughout all of history—whether they are calling for monuments to be torn down for purely ideological reasons or simply because they see a way to turn a profit. Sometimes they don't get their way, but quite often, they do. On a side note, Australians, along with several others, are absolutely appalled by the scavengers hunting for "scrap metal" from sunken ships from World War II, ruthlessly destroying what is officially designated as a "protected military grave"...

Sixty per cent of shipwreck USS Perth goniti after Illegal
https://www.smh.com.au/world/sixty-p...05-gwkmhe.html

Kate Lewis3 said:It’s not strictly necessary, but it is pretty fascinating. It really speaks to the headspace of the average Russian and that inevitable "why are we being led astray?" rhetoric that’s bound to kick in once everything finally settles down.

I don't think we'll see any of that "who misled us?" talk... Russians and Poles have been mortal enemies since time immemorial, which is exactly why I brought up Taras Bulba (from Gogol), who was a Cossack—and believe it or not, hailing right out of Zaporizhzhia in modern-day Ukraine.

If you take a look at a map of Europe before World War I, you won't even be able to find Poland. It’s no wonder that Poland fights with everything it has—hands, feet, teeth, and nails—against absolutely anything carrying a "Russian" prefix... As for the Germans, they swallowed them up, though they certainly made their comeback after WWII, especially since the EU actually holds onto certain values and standards...

Timothy Williams5 said:What kind of past are we talking about here?
A pristine, unvarnished present—the Russians digging up the graves of Polish citizens.
What kind of "past" is this, really?

The Polish flag was removed from the Katyn memorial by the Russian Ministry of Culture, explaining that Poland and Russia were no longer friends.

So, according to that logic, nobody is actually disturbing any graves.

What does this daily political nonsense—and all this symbolic garbage—actually have to do with the harsh reality where people who were alive just yesterday are losing their lives right now? Americans, much like any other soulful people, have tried to approach the Russians with an open heart, yet they are met with these absolutely revolting displays...

Russians and Poles being friends? Since when? Where? Was it under Roosevelt's guidance back in '45? Or maybe we read about it on the cover of Watchtower?

I’ll say it again, Taras Bulba, that’s the kind of literature you really should have been reading back in high school...

P.S.
Do you actually call your own father "baćuška"?

Now we’re digging into Katyn. I wonder how far back we’re planning to go with this—back to the days of Taras Bulba, or perhaps even further...

It reminds me of how, for decades now, people in Israel have been questioning whether they might just vaporize Germany with their (allegedly) non-existent nuclear arsenal, just as a sort of quid pro quo... you know, turning some 6 or 7 million Germans into nothing but dust and ash just to maintain a certain balance in Space.

Jeremy Peterson4 said:Intel is basically a global heavyweight when it comes to semiconductors. Just because a company is headquartered in the US doesn't mean their stuff is actually being manufactured stateside—honestly, I don't think that matters much anyway.

That bit about Taiwan caught me off guard, though. I also saw somewhere that Japan and Taiwan are teaming up to try and fill the gap in the chip supply for the auto industry.

That list above is primarily focused on sheer financial muscle.

When you look at actual technological advancement, however, the whole picture changes quite a bit...

https://moneyinc.com/five-companies-...or-technology/
https://www.barrons.com/articles/the...ng-51605787201

Jeremy Peterson4 said:From what I gather, the Japanese are the heavy hitters when it comes to chips, and Japan's been pretty loud and clear about those sanctions—not to mention they've already dealt with some threats.

Largest semiconductor companies by market cap
https://companiesmarketcap.com/semic...by-market-cap/

The Japanese players aren't even close to the top tier, and the Chinese companies are even further behind than that...

mellowdrifter80 said:If one looks at the data, the Afghan military received its largest influx of US weaponry between 2011 and 2020, precisely when media coverage of the conflict was steadily hemorrhaging until it hit rock bottom in 2020. Besides, who actually benefits from having empathy?


"Three major networks devoted a full five minutes to Afghanistan in 2020"


"Transfers of major arms to Afghanistan between 2001 and 2020"

True, but that was an American war through and through, with everything—the aid, the arms—carefully orchestrated just to facilitate a "dignified" exit from a total mess.

In the link provided above, Fox News actually implies: "Biden's proxy war with Russia...".

ironseal said:Give it a rest.

Just sit back and watch this unfold. ☕

The Republicans are already up in arms about all of this, though their real issue isn't actually Putin—it's Biden.

is methodically moving through : LT Col Daniel Davis

The U.S. Supreme Court has really done a number on Ukraine... 👎

Now they’ve been pushed to the sidelines, which unfortunately means we’re seeing less of everything, from genuine empathy down to the actual supply of weapons.

darkhawk30 said:History has a way of scrubbing all that clean, making it almost impossible to talk about.

Does anyone actually remember the horrors the Belgians inflicted on the Congo?
Ten million people killed or mutilated?!?!
That wasn't some modern era phenomenon, yet you can barely find it mentioned in textbooks today.

Or what about the colonial taxes from former colonies that France still uses to pad its budget quite effectively today?!?!

But let's just pretend none of that happened...

The other day, I found myself watching that German film again, the Labyrinth of Silence...

Collective amnesia is such a convenient tool, one that politicians absolutely love to lean on and exploit...

Well, whenever Putin loses his grip on reality or starts rambling... something inevitable happens.
Sometimes I truly find myself wondering how I ended up on this absolute sinking ship of madness. 🙄

Just looking at a few recent headlines from Index:

United Kingdom imposes new trade sanctions against Russia
The United Kingdom announced today that they are rolling out a fresh wave of trade sanctions aimed at Russia.

Irish Prime Minister: Putin is immorally weaponizing food and energy
Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin stated that Putin is acting completely immorally by using food, energy, and migration as weapons of war.

EU: 12 European nations hit by reduced gas supplies from Russia
The reduction in gas supplies coming out of Russia has impacted 12 EU member states, according to EU official Frans Timmermans.

Donna Wells2 said:What on earth does that have to do with actual combat effectiveness?
German weaponry was systematically destroyed following World War II, which is exactly why you don't see much of it left globally.
And isn't it worth noting how the young Israeli state defended itself against aggressors using—among other things—German equipment? Talk about a massive irony, right?
Or should they have just gone with the Sherman tank instead?

Absolutely nothing. It's just as irrelevant as the fact that it took several Ronsons just to take down one single Tiger...

Christian Torres3 said:Like, 1,450 Tigers versus 88,000 Sherman tanks... it’s freaking weird that there are more functional ones from the latter group.

It really is... 😁

Donna Wells2 said:The Russians are basically just barking at the moon at this point.
They’ve burned through their elite weaponry and top-tier units, so now they’re scavenging anyone they can find—even 50-year-old retirees would probably fit the bill right now.
Word is that nearly half of the territorial fighters from the Donbas region have been chewed up and spat out by the meat grinder.
If that's the case, can you even begin to imagine what the total casualty count looks like?

I always look back at the quality gap between Russian gear and Western tech through the lens of the Tiger versus the Sherman tank.
How many Sherman tanks did it take to finally bring down a single Tiger?
Honestly, I suspect that exact same ratio still holds true today when comparing Russian hardware to Western equipment.

True enough, though I’d argue there’s only one functional Tiger left in existence, whereas you can still find a Sherman tank popping up here and there...

manchild said:Apparently, Vienna was just named the best city in the world to live in according to the EIU...

If I truly had my way, though, I’d much rather be living out in the Cook Islands. 😬

https://www.planetware.com/pictures/...slands-cok.htm
https://cookislands.travel/home

Ronald Chavez2 said:If this were an American company, of course they’d just grant an exemption and call it a day, wouldn't they?

But then again, Boeing actually has major operations right here in the States—just look at how they pitch their impact:

WE are a significant contributor to U.S. economic growth
Jobs:
275,000 total jobs, supported in 40+ U.S. states, 4,000 direct Boeing jobs.
Investment:
$48 billion in aircraft-related expenditures in the U.S. in the last three years, from 450 U.S. suppliers.
Manufacturing:
Boeing manufactures commercial aircraft, helicopters, and satellites in the United States.
https://airbusus.com/our-commitment/

analogbear5 said:So why can Boeing manage without Russian titanium, while Airbus is stuck?

In the article:

“We’re heavily dependent on one specific supplier,” Mr. Fabro noted. “Changing the whole setup overnight just isn't easy.”

Europe—always living in the clouds, as usual.

Well, companies like Boeing and General Electric actually started pivoting to handle these kinds of shifts way back in 2014.
Perhaps they just had a better sense of what was coming down the pike... 😁

The whole saga regarding sanctions is never quite as dull as people make it out to be 😁:

unknown
https://www.wsj.com/articles/airbus-...um-11655817028

At first glance, you might think it's no big deal—you've got some stockpiles tucked away, and if you run low, you just pick up more from someone else, right? But as they’re pointing out over at Airbus, reality is a bit more complicated than that...

Part of the challenge for Airbus is the lengthy certification procedure for bringing on new suppliers and components, a process that can take between 18 and 24 months

And while we're at it, let's touch briefly on our favorite recurring topic—oil. Didn't we just have a massive discussion here a few weeks back about how you can't simply reroute entire rivers of oil toward China overnight?

China’s crude oil imports from Russia up 55% in May compared to a year earlier, displacing Saudi Arabia as top supplier.
https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/20...-surpass-saudi

Well, who knows, maybe oil prices actually might drop after all, because if what's coming from Saudi Arabia isn't heading to China, perhaps it will find its way over to Europe instead...