Putin who the hell do you think you are?

[Twilight Hue]

What's funny is you guys actually think Russia is in the wrong. Self-delusion of your goodness when you've done enough evil and someone has to stop your world order.

I don't think Russia is doing the right thing but I do see why they are making the attempt.

 

[Suave]

The socalled leader of Russian fedderation.. who the hell do you think you are?

Not only is He going to war in Ukraine, but now he say if Finland and Sweden join Nato Russia has to respond with force?

Enough is enough, Putin your beloved Russia may not be free because of you.

But stay the Hell out of the free Europe...

Please let us consider Sweden and Finland as being peaceful neutral states like Switzerland. Perhaps Putin considers himself as a de-Nazifier.of eastern Europe.

 

[Mock Turtle]

I tend to go with the assumption that Putin wants a ressurected USSR and/or reestablish the office of Tsar.

In some ways, like China, these monsters get created from the very people who oppose them in a twist of irony and maybe get consumed by them in the future.

Well I don't know if he does but he certainly seems to be going the wrong way about it. Has he already forgotten how the USSR ended up - and as to how things have moved on from there? Notice the reaction around the world to his actions? The fact is he can't excuse what he has done - an invasion and his lying as to not doing so for weeks - such that he will be held responsible. It's just a matter of time before he is toppled most likely - in whatever manner. Can't say who or what will replace him though.

 

[Stevicus]

Putin lives in a world where power comes by brute force and he's reached the top of the power pyramid, and held onto that power for many decades, now. So he's very good at knowing when and how to wield brute force.

Our politicians live in a world where lying and cheating and stealing to amass great wealth are the preferred methods of obtaining and holding onto power. So our politicians are befuddled, now, when they are being confronted with the reality of brute force. Putin knows this, and so he knows that now is a good time to project that brute force into the world, to expand his domain. And He's quite right. Our politicians are befuddled and impotent in the face of his brutal aggression.

Our politicians live in a world where the deck has been stacked in their favor for so long, they've lost all perspective and have grown incredibly out of touch. The US ruling class has been cocooned in their mansions and insular worlds that they really don't have much of a clue about anything, not even within America, let alone Russia or the rest of the world. They apparently fear losing control over a divided America, so it seems evident that they've concocted some kind of "wag the dog" scenario to distract the masses with some imaginary external enemy.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Our politicians live in a world where the deck has been stacked in their favor for so long, they've lost all perspective and have grown incredibly out of touch. The US ruling class has been cocooned in their mansions and insular worlds that they really don't have much of a clue about anything, not even within America, let alone Russia or the rest of the world. They apparently fear losing control over a divided America, so it seems evident that they've concocted some kind of "wag the dog" scenario to distract the masses with some imaginary external enemy.

I can't disagree.

Living entirely in an insular environment, where everything and everyone dissappears out of sight and mind, save for a limited circle of exclusive companions in an exclusive circle will render all others insignificant and irrelevant in due course will produce a narrow unrealistic view of the world outside that circle.

It metaphorically becomes farmers and their cattle.

I think that's why politictions are so out of touch.

 

[Revoltingest]

The sad thing is, this statement could have been made by almost any US President in the last 40 years.

A couple exceptions....
- Bill Clinton was smarter than average.
- Ron Reagan learned on the job,
which is a rare quality.

Note:
The above seemingly complimentary things
don't mean that I like or approve of them.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Well I don't know if he does but he certainly seems to be going the wrong way about it. Has he already forgotten how the USSR ended up - and as to how things have moved on from there? Notice the reaction around the world to his actions? The fact is he can't excuse what he has done - an invasion and his lying as to not doing so for weeks - such that he will be held responsible. It's just a matter of time before he is toppled most likely - in whatever manner. Can't say who or what will replace him though.

Well he's pretty much in his 70s after this year. Putin will likely die in 10 or 15 years from now anyways.

Regime change will always happen.

 

[Martin]

Please let us consider Sweden and Finland as being peaceful neutral states like Switzerland. Perhaps Putin considers himself as a de-Nazifier.of eastern Europe.

Putin is acting like a Nazi.

 

[Martin]

Well I don't know if he does but he certainly seems to be going the wrong way about it. Has he already forgotten how the USSR ended up - and as to how things have moved on from there? Notice the reaction around the world to his actions? The fact is he can't excuse what he has done - an invasion and his lying as to not doing so for weeks - such that he will be held responsible. It's just a matter of time before he is toppled most likely - in whatever manner. Can't say who or what will replace him though.

Yes, I don't know who might replace him.

 

[Spirit of Light]

Please let us consider Sweden and Finland as being peaceful neutral states like Switzerland. Perhaps Putin considers himself as a de-Nazifier.of eastern Europe.

Putin can stay in his own country, no need for dictators in europe

 

[Link]

Putin can stay in his own country, no need for dictators in europe

For sake of argument, say they were doing that and that was the reason which it's not. No need of your dictators in the middle-east yet US and NATO has done everything to keep them in power. Your interest is not the what the world revolves around. It sort of has for too long.

 

[PureX]

I actually think about that a lot and while I think your perspective is a gem in the rough, the reality of humanity is etched in nature and I'm not sure if that is something that can be completely overcome.

Humanity is defined by our ability to overcome our animal nature. To see beyond it and so to rise above it. It's what gave us dominion over our own fate. All we need to do is accept that gift, and reign in those who are for whatever reason unable or unwilling to honor it. Yet for some strange reason, we just won't do it. We keep allowing the 'animal men' among us take control of our human collectives, and drive them to self-destruct.

Why? I don't know the answer to that. But I do know this is not inevitable. And we aren't going to stop it by capitulating to it.

 

[exchemist]

Sadly, the only way to counter brute force is to make it ineffective. Figuring out the best way to do that requires superior intelligence, and the courage to implement whatever measures are decide upon. These are not characteristics that liars, cheaters, and thieves tend to possess in any great measure. So our current politicians are not likely to pose much of an effective opposition to Putin's forced aggression.

The solution was to not allow ourselves to be hoodwinked into such a state of blinding greed and selfish stupidity where such weak men can attain positions of power and piles of wealth. But that ship has sailed, and we may now have to pay the consequences. In which case the only way to counter brute force is with with brute force. But that'd a be a very dangerous strategy given the fact that this is basically a big game of "chicken", now.

So no alternative ideas, then, to those your despised politicians are now putting forward. I thought as much.

I agree. It seems to me our politicians are doing the only things they can, given where we are. They, are, after all, advised by some of the best military and diplomatic brains on the planet and most of them are sensible enough to listen to them. (Trump wasn't).

If there is one thing that I believe, with hindsight, was a big strategic error, it was Angela Merkel's knee-jerk decision that Germany would give up nuclear energy, after the Fukushima incident. It was that which led to a fatal energy supply weakness in Europe. Her successor has quite rightly and boldly decided Nordstream 2 will not open, but even so Germany and other parts of Europe are still far too dependent on gas from Russia. That considerably weakens the sanctions that can be applied to Putin. (The country that has shown the most far-sightedness in this respect is France, which gets 70% of its electricity from nukes.) I generally admired Merkel but she called that wrong. As a physicist, she should have been far less scared of nuclear power. And as an ex-GDR citizen, she should have been a lot more circumspect about Russia's motives.

The other thing that will have to change, and will be deeply unpalatable to weak politicians, is telling the people of Europe they will have to put their hands in their pockets and fund bigger defence budgets from here on. Trump was actually right about that.

 

[PureX]

The other thing that will have to change, and will be deeply unpalatable to weak politicians, is telling the people of Europe they will have to put their hands in their pockets and fund bigger defence budgets from here on. Trump was actually right about that.

Even more difficult for them will be facing our own dependence on external sources for materials and products that we should have been generating at home, but that thanks to our greed and stupidity, we outsourced.

 

[Spirit of Light]

For sake of argument, say they were doing that and that was the reason which it's not. No need of your dictators in the middle-east yet US and NATO has done everything to keep them in power. Your interest is not the what the world revolves around. It sort of has for too long.

I am against every dictator or dictature in the world, and against war in general. Nit just because Iran happens to be a friend of Russia.

 

[Watchmen]

Putin lives in a world where power comes by brute force and he's reached the top of the power pyramid, and held onto that power for many decades, now. So he's very good at knowing when and how to wield brute force.

Our politicians live in a world where lying and cheating and stealing to amass great wealth are the preferred methods of obtaining and holding onto power. So our politicians are befuddled, now, when they are being confronted with the reality of brute force. Putin knows this, and so he knows that now is a good time to project that brute force into the world, to expand his domain. And He's quite right. Our politicians are befuddled and impotent in the face of his brutal aggression.

I think it’s more about nuclear deterrents. It’s a paradox.

 

[Watchmen]

What's funny is you guys actually think Russia is in the wrong. Self-delusion of your goodness when you've done enough evil and someone has to stop your world order.

Looks like someone can’t tell the difference between wrong and right.

 

[sayak83]

The socalled leader of Russian fedderation.. who the hell do you think you are?

Not only is He going to war in Ukraine, but now he say if Finland and Sweden join Nato Russia has to respond with force?

Enough is enough, Putin your beloved Russia may not be free because of you.

But stay the Hell out of the free Europe...

Putin is the absolute ruler of a country with the 2nd largest millitary and the 2nd largest nuclear arsenal in the world.
That's what he is and he is ruthless enough to use it.

 

[Spirit of Light]

Putin is the absolute ruler of a country with the 2nd largest millitary and the 2nd largest nuclear arsenal in the world.
That's what he is and he is ruthless enough to use it.

Unfortunately yes you are right. He should never have been in power

 

[exchemist]

Even more difficult for them will be facing our own dependence on external sources for materials and products that we should have been generating at home, but that thanks to our greed and stupidity, we outsourced.

On the other hand, that outsourcing has spread wealth around the world in a way unmatched in previous eras and has brought down the cost of manufactured goods, bringing more of them within reach of more people. It is simply the result of removing artificial barriers to trade, not because of greed or stupidity. Putting those barriers back will make everyone poorer.

But I do agree that it would have been more prudent for governments to make sure that critical goods could be sourced from multiple regions, in case geopolitics were to give particular states an unhealthy dominance. A bit like the the monitoring organisations that enforce the provisions of the Treaty of Rome and Sherman Act against company monopoly.

 

[PureX]

On the other hand, that outsourcing has spread wealth around the world in a way unmatched in previous eras and has brought down the cost of manufactured goods, bringing more of them within reach of more people. It is simply the result of removing artificial barriers to trade, not because of greed or stupidity. Putting those barriers back will make everyone poorer.

But we didn't do it strategically, or even altruistically. We did it based solely on the greed of capital investors. And as a result, we placed ourselves in a completely unnecessarily vulnerable and weakened position as a nation among nations in a "brutal world".

But I do agree that it would have been more prudent for governments to make sure that critical goods could be sourced from multiple regions, in case geopolitics were to give particular states an unhealthy dominance. A bit like the the monitoring organisations that enforce the provisions of the Treaty of Rome and Sherman Act against company monopoly.

Not only that, we didn't even consider the well-being of our own people. It was all solely for the sake of profit to those who already had more wealth that they'd ever need. And in fact this is the motive behind pretty much EVERYTHING we do in this country. And it's the reason we keep making really stupid decisions and doing really stupid things.

The old soviets warned us long ago that our obsession with capitalism was going to destroy us from within, and although the timeline has been a lot longer than those old fascists envisioned, they were essentially right about the toxicity of the capitalist ideal. Profit cannot be the determining factor behind every decision we make. And yet it is. And it has been for many decades, now. And although it filled the world with toasters and washing machines, it also blinded us to what really matters. And to what's really important when the crap hits the fan in life. Which is why the fascists are on the rise both at home and abroad. They don't give a damn about toasters and washing machines. Or Richie Rich's bank account. They just want to rule the world.