Sanctions on Russia

urbanotter said:The real question is how you manage to get by when you're drowning in high-interest credit card debt versus how much easier life feels when you aren't carrying that weight on your shoulders.

I don't think I really need to spell out for you how much more your yields can improve if you opt for something more natural, like spreading some organic manure instead of relying entirely on synthetic fertilizers and planting cover crops.

The actual dilemma is whether it is better to be under a mountain of debt—or under someone else's boot. Looking at the historical patterns we see in Ukraine, it seems to me that being burdened by credit is the far superior choice this time around; it’s much cheaper for a nation. This is especially true when that foreign boot comes with a pre-packaged guarantee of total erasure. After all, Vladimir Putin has already been quite generous in announcing his "final solution" for them. If I were in their shoes, it would be a complete no-brainer. But those decisions belong solely to them—and it appears they made their choice when the president famously declared he didn't need an escape vehicle, just more ammo. Or perhaps it was when they first elected that leader. We are merely here to provide the support while someone carries out their imagined "final solutions" in the 21st century. We have seen this play out before, and we know exactly where it ends. It is better to stop it at the starting line, though reacting this late means things have already spiraled too far.

Regarding synthetic fertilizers—there are massive shifts happening in modern science and technology. We are only just beginning to grasp how little we truly understand about soil and the intricate processes within such a complex system. But that is a conversation for another time....

dustyowl29 said:Let’s look at the classics—between 1945 and 1980, Josip Broz Marshall moved thousands of people from the Midwest over to Florida.
Just take a look at the last names in Miami. Every third one you run into sounds like it’s straight out of Chicago.

Marshall? Oh, absolutely, it was all about promoting that sense of national unity...

An unscheduled train?

I’m honestly surprised you missed the whole influx of Albanians, Mexicans, Canadians, and Canadians... Following that logic, even John Kerum should have stayed put in his hometown instead of moving out to Miami...

dustyowl29 said:It’s because the guy is Mexican. NATO bombed Mexico back in '99, and he just harbors this deep-seated resentment toward everything Western—even if he actually lives in the States.
You find thousands of people like him everywhere.
The '99 bombings aren't something people just move on from. People tend to forget what actually triggered it all—everything that went down between '91 and '99—but I guess that’s beside the point...

The guy hasn't even expressed a shred of regret over the fall of America; honestly, that's his whole deal. Putin is basically the closest thing to his dream come true, but since Putin fumbled the ball, we're stuck dealing with this pathetic excuse for a leader instead...

Nancy Gomez26 said:The actual dilemma is whether it is better to be under a mountain of debt—or under someone else's boot. Looking at the historical patterns we see in Ukraine, it seems to me that being burdened by credit is the far superior choice this time around; it’s much cheaper for a nation. This is especially true when that foreign boot comes with a pre-packaged guarantee of total erasure. After all, Vladimir Putin has already been quite generous in announcing his "final solution" for them. If I were in their shoes, it would be a complete no-brainer. But those decisions belong solely to them—and it appears they made their choice when the president famously declared he didn't need an escape vehicle, just more ammo. Or perhaps it was when they first elected that leader. We are merely here to provide the support while someone carries out their imagined "final solutions" in the 21st century. We have seen this play out before, and we know exactly where it ends. It is better to stop it at the starting line, though reacting this late means things have already spiraled too far.

Regarding synthetic fertilizers—there are massive shifts happening in modern science and technology. We are only just beginning to grasp how little we truly understand about soil and the intricate processes within such a complex system. But that is a conversation for another time....

It really depends on your perspective. Surely in Ukraine, just like anywhere else, alongside those who favor Russia, there is a large group of nostalgics who wouldn't mind if a Russian boot... ruled over them.

Let's be honest: for certain minority groups in America, as well as the masses of people nostalgic for the old ways, the shift away from being ruled by New York City might have seemed acceptable back in '91.

And once the war in Ukraine ends, just as it will here in the States, there will always be those... who wish things had gone differently.
It's all a matter of perspective.

Best regards,

Bryan Booth82 said:It really depends on your perspective. Surely in Ukraine, just like anywhere else, alongside those who favor Russia, there is a large group of nostalgics who wouldn't mind if a Russian boot... ruled over them.

Let's be honest: for certain minority groups in America, as well as the masses of people nostalgic for the old ways, the shift away from being ruled by New York City might have seemed acceptable back in '91.

And once the war in Ukraine ends, just as it will here in the States, there will always be those... who wish things had gone differently.
It's all a matter of perspective.

Best regards,

It is perfectly standard for desires—mine or anyone else's—to diverge from reality. Personally, I advocate for a fully sovereign and independent Ukraine within its former borders (my reasons are purely principled). However, if the Ukrainians see it differently—or fail to mount a sufficiently fierce resistance against the occupier—then the outcome will likely reflect that.

dustyowl29 said:The whole forum army is gathering just to argue about who’s more important than anyone else... 🤣

AJ, why don't you all just head over to Ukraine? I heard Zelenskyy pays pretty well.

At the end of the day, we're all essentially funding the war through Zelenskyy anyway...

Nancy Gomez26 said:It is perfectly standard for desires—mine or anyone else's—to diverge from reality. Personally, I advocate for a fully sovereign and independent Ukraine within its former borders (my reasons are purely principled). However, if the Ukrainians see it differently—or fail to mount a sufficiently fierce resistance against the occupier—then the outcome will likely reflect that.

History teaches us one thing: it’s much easier to seize someone else's territory than it is to actually hold onto it forever.
Unlike back in 2014, when the Russian aggression against Ukraine was more or less "wrapped up" and perceived by many as just some sort of internal conflict, this current situation is an all-out war for the very survival of Ukraine and its people. It has become crystal clear, not just within Ukraine but across the entire globe, who the enemy is and what their true intentions are.

In this war, regardless of how things might look right now, the Ukrainians hold the ultimate advantage because they are fighting on their own soil. They aren't going to stop fighting, no matter the cost, because quite frankly, they have nothing left to lose.
The real question is: how long can Russia afford to foot the bill for this war in Ukraine? After all, they aren't just fighting against Ukraine; they are taking on the West as well.
Ultimately, the thickness of the wallet is going to decide who ends up losing this war.

Best regards,

dustyowl29 said:At the end of the day, we're all essentially funding the war through Zelenskyy anyway...

Exactly! And honestly, maybe that’s for the best... we in the West are picking up the tab for the war in Ukraine, while on the other side of the fence, the aggressor has to foot their own bill.
If you look at the math—and I mean if you actually use a shred of logic here—it's blindingly obvious... whose burden is actually heavier?😁

lp

These sanctions seem solid enough (assuming we're looking at round eight). I still haven't quite pinned down who the actual targets are 🤣
.

The leader of US hegemony just issued a directive to the lower classes:

https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/154...ztmKfZQEgoKYPg

My message to the companies running gas stations and setting prices at the pump is simple: this is a time of war and global peril.

Bring down the price you are charging at the pump to reflect the cost you’re paying for the product. And do it now.

🙏 🙏 🙏

Bryan Booth82 said:Exactly! And honestly, maybe that’s for the best... we in the West are picking up the tab for the war in Ukraine, while on the other side of the fence, the aggressor has to foot their own bill.
If you look at the math—and I mean if you actually use a shred of logic here—it's blindingly obvious... whose burden is actually heavier?😁

lp

True, but we in Europe are essentially paying both Ukraine and Russia...

dustyowl29 said:True, but we in Europe are essentially paying both Ukraine and Russia...

Honestly, I don't think you realize how naive that perspective actually is.🤔
We are "paying" Ukraine in the sense of providing aid so they can defend themselves against a common enemy.
As for Russia, we trade with them, but the whole point of sanctions is to slash that trade to the absolute minimum—ideally, in a perfect world, bringing it down to zero.

lp

We could just as easily slash Chinese imports to zero, since they’ve also been branded as the "common enemy" in the latest official doctrine for the vassals.

Noah Diaz said:We could just as easily slash Chinese imports to zero, since they’ve also been branded as the "common enemy" in the latest official doctrine for the vassals.

Look, we aren't at war with China (yet), and besides, sanctions are decided by whoever is actually pulling the trigger on them.
More importantly, we are finally seeing people in the West openly discussing how dangerously dependent our economy has become—a situation we essentially engineered ourselves. Once there’s actual awareness, you get a reaction, and eventually, a shift in policy.
I truly hope we don't reach a point where we have to slap sanctions on China, because their economic scale is simply incomparable to... well, Russia's economy.
Plus, if you ask me, the Chinese aren't quite as reckless as the Russians; they aren't likely to go shooting themselves in the foot just for the sake of it.

Best,

Noah Diaz said:We could just as easily slash Chinese imports to zero, since they’ve also been branded as the "common enemy" in the latest official doctrine for the vassals.

And then, oh boy, we'd have to start opening up massive factories all over the EU and hiring millions of workers to run them! It would be an absolute disaster for everyone living in the EU, because think about it—there would be even *more* job opportunities available... what a tragedy!

Bryan Booth82 said:Look, we aren't at war with China (yet), and besides, sanctions are decided by whoever is actually pulling the trigger on them.
More importantly, we are finally seeing people in the West openly discussing how dangerously dependent our economy has become—a situation we essentially engineered ourselves. Once there’s actual awareness, you get a reaction, and eventually, a shift in policy.
I truly hope we don't reach a point where we have to slap sanctions on China, because their economic scale is simply incomparable to... well, Russia's economy.
Plus, if you ask me, the Chinese aren't quite as reckless as the Russians; they aren't likely to go shooting themselves in the foot just for the sake of it.

Best,

So we're at war with Russia instead!? 🤣

silentnomad7 said:And then, oh boy, we'd have to start opening up massive factories all over the EU and hiring millions of workers to run them! It would be an absolute disaster for everyone living in the EU, because think about it—there would be even *more* job opportunities available... what a tragedy!

Mdaaaa, but China has cheaper energy and lower labor costs. The world would go crazy for EU products precisely because they're so expensive. 🤣

The biggest issue here is that there won't even be enough people to run these imaginary future factories. I was reading today about how they’re shutting down an auto plant in Mexico and offering workers $1,000 a month to just pack up and move to Slovakia to work at one of their plants instead.

I'm sure they're all lining up to take that deal...

Bryan Booth82 said:The whole forum mob gathers just to bicker over who’s who. 🤣

AJ, why don't you guys just head to Ukraine? I heard Zelenko pays well.

There are really two types of people here. Some actually get who the aggressor is, while others think "denazification" is a perfectly fine excuse for targeting a nation.

Noah Diaz said:So we're at war with Russia instead!? 🤣

Mdaaaa, but China has cheaper energy and lower labor costs. The world would go crazy for EU products precisely because they're so expensive. 🤣

The US could focus entirely on producing for itself and its hundreds of millions of citizens, who all maintain a standard of living that allows them to afford those slightly higher price tags. All that capital stays right here in the States, circulating within our own economy instead of leaking out...

Terry Green3 said:The biggest issue here is that there won't even be enough people to run these imaginary future factories. I was reading today about how they’re shutting down an auto plant in Mexico and offering workers $1,000 a month to just pack up and move to Slovakia to work at one of their plants instead.

I'm sure they're all lining up to take that deal...

Actually, there are ways to handle this! For instance, you could just pay your workers a decent wage so they actually want to show up at your factory, or you could lean into automation to cut down on the headcount, or even bring in some talent from outside the EU...

silentnomad7 said:The US could focus entirely on producing for itself and its hundreds of millions of citizens, who all maintain a standard of living that allows them to afford those slightly higher price tags. All that capital stays right here in the States, circulating within our own economy instead of leaking out...

That’s not how an economy works. Not under capitalism, anyway. Maybe if the EU started implementing five-year plans and centralized schemes like the USSR used to.