Re: Eastern European chicks they are hot when they are young but they age horribly. By the time they are mid 30s, it’s a mess. i don’t believe that’s the case with women from other regions, particularly those with darker complexions (Mediterranean women,Latina, etc), and certainly not with Asian women who look like they are 20 when they are 40
The Crimea was part of Russia until Kruschev gave it to the Ukraine in 1954. He did this to try to reconcile the Ukrainian SSR with the Russian SSR. Stalin screwed the Ukraine over many times during his rule. When he died there was a natural separatist movement waiting to go in Ukraine and the Ukrainian communists were as much on board as anybody. Eastern Ukraine has never been part of Russia. Taking it would be theft.
I’m really hoping someone is going to put forward some robust game theory analysis of what Biden’s doing here. It’s almost like he thinks he’s giving Vlad no way to save face except by NOT invading. At least, that’s the only sense I can make of it.
The theory I've seen put forward is that by massing around the borders the Russians are trying to provoke some sort of preemptive reaction from the less stable elements in Ukraine, giving them an excuse to invade in retaliation. I think NATO countries are just saying we know what you're doing Vlad.
I think he’s just waving his dumbfuck hands in the air for attention. I don’t think he has any intentions of invading, he just wants to make sure the Ukraine doesn’t enter NATO, and maybe get some other reassurances on top of it. What is scary though is the prospect of a China-Russian alliance, since China controls most of the worlds critical supply chain goods. The West needs to fix that. The only good thing is those dickheads would eventually turn on each other rather quickly just like Hitler and Stalin (they’re not the same, but the comparison would be there if they formed an alliance to fight the world).
They definitely need to fix that. There’s nothing like having to buy 2 tools from Home Depot for one job, because you know damn well the first one will break half way through
We must protect Democracy! Even if that democracy shuts down television networks openly critical of the "elected" President and puts his political opponents in jail. Because Democracy!
That's definitely part of it. I suspect that he wants initially to consolidate the annexation of Crimea and possibly the parts of Eastern Ukraine that are held by Russian separatists too. Putin probably sees himself in a position where he can't really lose. A ton of sabre rattling and he gets some concessions - either NATO or territorial, or some Ukranian does something really fucking stupid and he gets to go in. China will support Russia whatever and will use this as a model for their ambitions - they've already built bases on all those atolls and are claiming additional territorial waters as a result. And between them they basically fund the non North American and European world.
Yup. If Europe and The US/Canada and Mexico to a lesser extent were smart they’d stop turning their nose up at Central and South American countries and start building them up as manufacturing hubs. I’m not sure if those countries contain pressure metals and resources like North Africa does, but China already owns all of that territory. And they did it simply by loaning them money they won’t be able to pay back so they have them by the balls and can suck all of their pressure resources up as they need them. The Western world relies way too much on China for basic important manufacturing down to pharmaceuticals like Tylenol and such. If they wanted to cut them off, the West would be in big boy trouble.
Well, this whole affair began back in 2014 when the US and EU bankrolled overthrowing of Viktor Yanukovych, who was president of the Ukraine back then and had Russian support. Yanukovych was corrupt to the core but honestly who isn't in those lands? The next elected president was chocolate tycoon Poroshenko, who was accused of state treason and multiple other crimes just a few months ago. Some democracy I must tell ya. Putin quickly responded by taking over the Crimea and starting the mess in the Donbas. Who got hurt the most as a result? Population of the Ukraine, of course. Average income has drastically fallen, unemployment has gone up, etc., etc. ever since the removal of Yanukovich, but it's all good for the US/EU team, as long as they can stick it to Putin. The US should stay the hell out of that shit show but with all the failures on the domestic front, they just had to meddle in a situation thousands of miles away.
The theory that is being used is that Putin is going to do what Putin is going to do, whatever that is. Along the way the US and our allies are calling out all the buildup and the provocations and the tactical situation that is continually developing. This will keep the pressure on Putin while he decides what he is going to do. The pressure is in the form of the growing understanding that there will be intense economic and legal repercussions associated with whatever he does. These repercussions will not end when Russian forces leave Ukraine after they have entered. There will be cases brought in the International court of Justice in the Hague, not limited to just against Russia but also against Putin and likely against ranking officers who participated in the invasion. Charges will probably be brought against Lukashenko and against any ranking collaborators in Ukraine. Some of the evidence in these proceedings will be in the form of the intelligence that the US and NATO are putting publicly on display now. The plan is clearly to position Putin such that if he follows through with the invasion he will never be able to unentangle himself in the end. It's a logical strategy when confronted by a dictator with nuclear weapons where a tactical defense is likely to be unviable.
This makes sense to me. Personally, I'm just glad we're no longer in the position of kissing the butts of autocratic scum like Putin and are trying to support and stand behind people like Zelenskyy, who seems to me is trying to develop a viable democracy. It shocks me that some Americans seem to be following the Kremlin party line that Ukraine is the aggressor. I wonder if these people would have advocated staying out of European affairs as the 1939 "America First" movement did, while Hitler began the process of crushing all of Europe and murdering millions of Jews, gypsies, gays, Poles, etc. Sometimes, you just have to do what is right and stand up to the bully. In retrospect, it's clear that Neville Chamberlain was wrong in trying to avoid war by appeasing Hitler's land grabs. It didn't work because the only thing a bully understands is a busted lip.
democracies don't ban/block foreign social networks and TV channels. This is straight out of the CCP playbook. As I said, it's a total shit show and all outsiders should stay the F out, for the sake of the Ukrainian people. But of course, who gives a flying F about regular folks when it comes to global geopolitical games.