Posts by Zachary Booth36

Cameroon vs. Mexico 1 : 2
South Korea vs. Ghana 1 : 1
Brazil vs. Switzerland 3 : 0
Portugal vs. Uruguay 1 : 1

goldeneagle36 said:You're being truly evil, and it's only the beginning. 🙂

Strict, yet fair. 🥳

Kyle Flores32 and goldeneagle36, you are both late to the party, much like myself. Your first match won't even count toward your standing. 😳

Belgium - Morocco 1 : 1
USA - Canada 3: 0
Spain - Germany 1: 2

Tunis - Australia 1:0
Poland - Saudi Arabia 1:0
France - Denmark 2:1
Argentina - Mexico 3:1

Wales vs Iran 1:1
Qatar vs Senegal 0:2
Netherlands vs Ecuador 1:0
England vs USA 3:1

11.24.

Switzerland vs Cameroon 2:0
Uruguay - South Korea 3:0
Portugal - Ghana 3:1
Brazil - Mexico 2:1

Belgium vs Canada 1:0

I neglected to account for the pairings. 🙂

Argentina vs Saudi Arabia 5 : 0
Denmark vs Tunis 2 : 0
Mexico vs Poland 1 : 2
France vs Australia 3 : 1

Brian Howard2 said:Well done, expert. 👍

Gracias. 😁

England - Iran 2:0
Senegal - Netherlands 1:2
USA - Wales 2:3

Qatar - Ecuador 0 : 2

This should be an excellent way to pass the time during the SP. I intend to participate. 👍

A protracted war doesn't serve Chinese interests. Wouldn't they have preferred a swift conflict that left Russia with more leverage to blackmail the EU? This endless slaughter serves no one on their side.
I wouldn't be surprised to see certain European corporations start shifting their manufacturing back from China to the US.

It is essential that China and India exert pressure on the madman. Who actually benefits from an escalation?

bluepuma9 said:They'll have to react, otherwise Iran and others will just follow the Russian playbook. According to the NATO Secretary General, the response is going to be devastating for Russia.

That isn't even a question.
I suspect the US would dismantle their entire Black Sea fleet if necessary. There is no need for nuclear weapons when they possess more than enough conventional firepower to crush the Russians.
If he fails to grasp the message, let his own people deal with him or let it all go to hell.

Russia is an utterly rogue state. This isn't just about one man's madness; the entire collective seems lost to insanity.
One would expect half a million women to take to the streets in protest. They cannot be sent to the front lines, yet this has become a reckless gamble with the fate of all humanity. This nation is dancing on the edge of a massive abyss.

In that arena, some 500 people are shouting "Russia" at the top of their lungs while their military makes a complete mockery of itself. What exactly is their objective, and where do they intend to stop?

hollowdriver13 said:https://twitter.com/igorsushko/statu...23076472823808

Word on the street is they’re actually sending about 10% of the FSB's active duty staff over to Ukraine just to "boost troop morale." Honestly, getting some serious NKVD vibes from that one.

They never actually abandoned those NKVD methods. In essence, it has always been the same agency since the days of Imperial Russia; they simply rebranded every few decades.
These agents answer to no one except the Tsar (Vladimir Putin) and their own directors.

Z888-Progenitor said:The actual war is only just beginning, and the collective West has nothing to hope for. They represent about 12% of the world and certainly do not constitute what is called the international community. They are merely a small subset of it. The world is changing rapidly and irreversibly toward a truly multipolar reality. Spheres of influence and red lines exist, and they should not be crossed under any circumstances.
The dream of a Western NWO is officially dead. Global affairs and history are moving in an entirely different direction.

Even if that were true, Russia would not be part of this new world order. You present your thesis as if Russians are thriving demographically and economically. 🤣If Europe is failing, imagine how fast Russia is collapsing.

Matthew Young35 said:I agree.
I was merely offering an example of what a compromise might look like.
To be honest, I'm not sure what any other kind of compromise could even look like at this stage.
Without some form of compromise, we're looking at a war of attrition until one side wins, carrying the terrifying risk of escalating into World War III.

Either way, it's a grim situation.

A true compromise would involve restoring the status quo ante. Russia could maintain its presence in Crimea, while autonomy remains off the table entirely. NATO membership would also be out of the question.
However, Ukraine could still pursue integration with the European Union and other European institutions.

But that only holds water if we actually believe the Russian narrative—that they only care about Crimea and preventing NATO expansion.
The real objective behind the "special military operation" was something else entirely: expanding the Russian sphere of influence and demonstrating raw power. It is clear that certain actors, such as Viktor Orbán, were already poised to exploit the situation.

Matthew Young35 said:The perfect scenario would be if Russia stopped threatening nuclear escalation and NATO stepped in directly to push the Russians out of Ukraine entirely.
That isn't going to happen.
Ukraine simply cannot win this war on its own.
Despite how incompetent the Russian military has proven to be, they can still mobilize millions of soldiers without much trouble. They have the capacity to arm them, too.

The Ukrainians refuse to settle for anything less than the full restoration of their stolen territory, yet the Russians have absolutely no intention of giving any of it back. Especially not Crimea.
I struggle to see how this ends well.

If I were forced to search for a compromise, it might look something like this...
Russia could be granted significant autonomy within Ukraine specifically in the DNL and LNR.
Regarding Crimea, the Russians could lease it for 100 years—much like the British handled Hong Kong—with a guarantee that I'm always allowed to maintain a military base there.
In exchange, Ukraine would receive massive economic aid from the West.
Over time, fueled by that economic support, Ukraine could become strong enough that the people in the DNL and LNR wouldn't even want to be associated with Russia anymore. Perhaps not in five or ten years, but certainly in fifty.

The question, naturally, is whether anyone would ever actually agree to such a deal.

Have you been asleep for the last few years? Putin's greatest nightmare, along with his security elites, is seeing the LNR, the DNR, or even just Ukraine itself flourish thanks to Western funding.
They cannot afford to have a success story right on their doorstep that serves as proof to Russians that they can live better lives.

This compromise offers absolutely no guarantees to Ukraine.

Sean Watson3 said:Who cares if it’s a bluff?

There really isn't any other way to look at it. First it was Crimea, and then he claimed he had no interest in anything else—yet here we are, seeing that he clearly does. It seems there's no end to these dictators hungry for someone else's territory.

Precisely. Putin intended to seize all the territory he desired from Ukraine—specifically Donbas and the south—while reducing the rest to a vassal state similar to Belarus.
His plan failed, so now he is merely calculating how to exit this situation without it looking like a defeat.

Had he succeeded in his initial ambitions, he would be targeting new victims within a few years.
He only respects raw power; therefore, the only way to resolve this is to demonstrate that same force. We must continue arming Ukraine.

The greatest challenge for Russia will be integrating all these people into a coherent force. They have the equipment, given how massive those old Soviet stockpiles are, but how do you turn a crowd like that into a unified fighting unit? Even with some basic military service under their belts, it’s just not enough.
They are heading toward a battlefield facing seasoned Ukrainian veterans. They'll be slaughtered like flies.

It’s clear Putin doesn't care if tens of thousands more die; I can't even fathom what his goal is. The USA needs to urgently ramp up HIMARS donations and find a way to transition the Ukrainians over to Abrams tanks.