Thanks for verifying your abject defeat
[QUOTE=PedroMorales;2677040]Americans like to win. The LA Olympics was the best ever, no competition. There is emerging competition in Ukraine in the form of Russian ordnance. Most of Asia, the Lev ant (which the US destroyed) and Africa (which the US rape) are watching, many wondering if Americans will be turned on the way Germans were after 1945.
I have not bothered reading your essay as there is no point. American expansionism is being blocked in Ukraine. That is the first necessary but not sufficient condition. Western Europe is going to take a massive hit because of US / NATO meddling. "Putin" can only be blamed so long.
I have has a productive day so far today and intend to stay on this winning track. No time to squander wrestling with American and their Fox News / CNN / Coca cola injections.[/QUOTE]Two classic ways of trying to avoid admitting defeat:
1. Change the subject (box checked).
2. Abandon the original argument (box checked).
It must be your worst nightmare that your pathetic ad hominems keep getting pummeled by simple logic and argumentation. Just like it must be Putin's worst nightmare that he's exposed just how weak his military is. As I've posted previously, Ukraine's future will not be an easy one, but Russia's future is in the shitter.
Russia already had a demographic problem, with low birthrates among ethnic Russians. Now they've isolated themselves and tens (hundreds?) of thousands of the youngest, brightest, and best, are leaving. Will that be offset by people emigrating into Russia? Not very likely, given current conditions, except maybe a few Syrians who have it even worse in their own country.
No matter what the outcome of the war, win, lose, or draw, Russia is well and truly fucked. And Putin is solely responsible. The rest of the world already knows all this. Putin's big problem will be when the chickens of awareness come home to roost.
Nationalism is a knife that cuts both ways
[QUOTE=Golfinho;2677149]They had their freedom and then more and more fascistic elements and more and more western psyops and weapons showed up abetting a coup until the 'spirit of freedom?' was held hostage to extreme nationalism which has led to the present situation.[/QUOTE]By no means am I looking at Ukraine with rose-colored glasses, but it's quite interesting to see criticism of Ukraine for having nationalist elements while completely glossing over the existence of the same phenomenon in Russia. Here are a few comments and observations to consider:
1. Interview of Nikita Khrushchev's great-granddaughter in which she calls out Putin for his poisonous nationalism. And, while she's not shy about criticizing Ukraine, the US, and the West, she's crystal clear about Putin bearing sole responsibility for the war.
[URL]https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/nina-khrushcheva-on-putins-poisonous-nationalism-and-a-new-new-russia[/URL]
2. Russia and Putin have their own history of cultivating nationalist and Neo-Nazi groups. Which means that Putin's pointing the finger at Ukraine is a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black.
[URL]https://theconversation.com/putins-fascists-the-russian-states-long-history-of-cultivating-homegrown-neo-nazis-178535[/URL]
3. The concept of Russkiy Mir, which imbues Russian nationalism with a religious component and fervor. Russkiy Mir (my take) elevates nationalist desires into a crusade in which Russia has both the calling and the God-given right to unite and rule over Greater Russia.
[URL]https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2022/03/21/russia-ukraine-putin-kirill/[/URL]
Western and Russian psyops have been going at each other since at least the Cold War. And, even assuming a worst-case scenario of Ukraine applying to join both NATO and the EU, those processes would have taken years, even if those organizations were favorably disposed. I'm no expert but, as I understand it, unanimous votes are required to admit new members. I can think of at least two (Germany and Hungary) that would very likely cast a negative vote.
Before Putin decided to invade, he was in a position of strength and had "soft power" in high degree. He could have chosen any number of paths but chose this one. Nobody forced his hand. Now he and Russia are royally screwed because, no matter how the war turns out, Russia will be a pariah state for years, if not decades.