Stupid Shit in Kyiv

[QUOTE=Travv;2670787]Kyiv UkraineAs shells have begun exploding in the heart of Kyiv, museums have rushed to protect their most prized, valuable pieces: the original artwork of once-in-a-generation talent Hunter Biden.

"The Louvre may have Van Gogh and the Mona Lisa, but here we have Coke On Coke by Hunter Biden," said museum owner Ivan Rostyslav. "I will never forget when he sold us this piece, he said to me, 'Ivan, I don't know how I got here or where my pants are but can you get me to the airport?' Ha! What an artist he is!

According to sources, most of the paintings were initially purchased for the Burisma boardroom with the tacit understanding that then-Vice President Joe Biden would look out for Ukraine. Museum owners waged huge bidding wars to acquire the pieces, knowing that beyond the remarkable art, each painting came with the assurance that the United States would have their back..[/QUOTE]Even if one is a Biden supporter, you have to appreciate some funny satire.

[QUOTE=Xpartan;2670673]He's contradicting himself all the time. First he admits that Ukraine is a special project for Putin who's trying to restore the empire. Then in the same breath, he blames Biden for lifting objections to Nord 2 as if that emboldened Russia to invade. Makes no sense. That's not an analyses, that's a collection of soundbites.[/QUOTE]Niall Ferguson is a highly engaging and interesting presenter. He is part of an elite group of well-marketed experts who articulately present the past and package it up with some soothsaying. I would put Ian Bremmer, Thomas Friedman and a few others in the same group. I enjoy listening to them and they routinely show up in a Charlie Rose-type format to promote themselves and their ideas.

Do they know what is going to happen in the future more than anyone else? No, not really.

[QUOTE=Jojosun;2671240]The Warsaw pact countries led by The Evil Empire invaded Czechoslovakia in August 1968,occupied it for few months, set up a puppet government, then withdrew their armies.

The rest is now history, But how does the Czech Republic now stand in world rankings?

'The Czech Republic Among the 20 Happiest Countries In The World'. [URL]https://www.praguemorning.cz/the-czech-republic-among-the-20-happiest-countries-in-the-world/[/URL].

[URL]https://kafkadesk.org/2019/10/02/czech-republic-ranked-in-worlds-top-10-best-countries-for-expats/[/URL][/QUOTE]My first venture into Eastern Europe was to Czechoslovakia and its beautiful capital Prague.

[URL]http://www.internationalsexguide.nl/forum/showthread.php?644-Prague&p=974864&viewfull=1[/URL]#post974864.

Had the people resisted the Soviet invasion, Probably the city could've been flattened just like Grozny in the 90's.

:;The 1999–2000 battle of Grozny was the siege and assault of the Chechen capital Grozny by Russian forces, lasting from late 1999 to early 2000. The siege and fighting left the capital devastated. In 2003, the United Nations called Grozny the most destroyed city on Earth. Wikipedia.

[QUOTE=WyattEarp;2671596]Niall Ferguson is a highly engaging and interesting presenter. He is part of an elite group of well-marketed experts who articulately present the past and package it up with some soothsaying. I would put Ian Bremmer, Thomas Friedman and a few others in the same group. I enjoy listening to them and they routinely show up in a Charlie Rose-type format to promote themselves and their ideas.

Do they know what is going to happen in the future more than anyone else? No, not really.[/QUOTE]I'm not saying he's not engaging, I'm just saying that his logic is flawed. Putin had been planning this war for many years, at least since 2013, and Biden's sanctions on Nord 2 wouldn't have changed anything.

[QUOTE=Xpartan;2671355]How far back do you want to go to prove your non-existent point? The Punic Wars?

What else are you driveling about? EU will be the same thing as NATO?[/QUOTE]Funny thing, I thought I saw "Pubic Wars" when I first read your post. My bad. Wishful thinking, I guess (wink).

[QUOTE=Jojosun;2671641]My first venture into Eastern Europe was to Czechoslovakia and its beautiful capital Prague.

[URL]http://www.internationalsexguide.nl/forum/showthread.php?644-Prague&p=974864&viewfull=1[/URL]#post974864.

Had the people resisted the Soviet invasion, Probably the city could've been flattened just like Grozny in the 90's.

:;The 19992000 battle of Grozny was the siege and assault of the Chechen capital Grozny by Russian forces, lasting from late 1999 to early 2000. The siege and fighting left the capital devastated. In 2003, the United Nations called Grozny the most destroyed city on Earth. Wikipedia.[/QUOTE]Well, it was totally different. Czechoslovakia was the Warsaw Pact member and all alone. The world couldn't help.

[QUOTE=Xpartan;2670533]And Obama's inability (or lack of desire) to adequately confront him back in 2014 was a profound and costly mistake.

But Trump's incessant, baffling and, quite frankly, nauseating bootlicking has certainly emboldened him to a huge degree.[/QUOTE]In reality, I think Trump was schmoozing Putin like a salesman would. Clearly, Putin likes to have his ego massaged.

Believe what you want about Russian collusion, the United States still needs to pivot away from Russia to China. The Europeans are perfectly capable of defending Europe with some American assistance.

[QUOTE=Jojosun;2671641]My first venture into Eastern Europe was to Czechoslovakia and its beautiful capital Prague.

:;The 19992000 battle of Grozny was the siege and assault of the Chechen capital Grozny by Russian forces, lasting from late 1999 to early 2000. The siege and fighting left the capital devastated. In 2003, the United Nations called Grozny the most destroyed city on Earth. Wikipedia.[/QUOTE]Czechoslovakia ceased to exist on January 1, 1993. Prague is in Central, not Eastern Europe.

The Russian forces did a good job rooting out ISIS from Grozny. Have you seen what the US terrorist forces did to Raqqa, to say nothing of Tokyo, Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Americans have no moral cards. Never had and never will.

Europe's root problem is having the USA here.

[QUOTE=Xpartan;2671667]I'm not saying he's not engaging, I'm just saying that his logic is flawed. Putin had been planning this war for many years, at least since 2013, and Biden's sanctions on Nord 2 wouldn't have changed anything.[/QUOTE]I basically agree. Guys like Niall Ferguson's opinions can be classified as infotainment. One might learn something about history, economics and politics, but one shouldn't get too bought in on his opinions.

[QUOTE=PedroMorales;2671989]Czechoslovakia ceased to exist on January 1, 1993. Prague is in Central, not Eastern Europe.

The Russian forces did a good job rooting out ISIS from Grozny. Have you seen what the US terrorist forces did to Raqqa, to say nothing of Tokyo, Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Americans have no moral cards. Never had and never will.

Europe's root problem is having the USA here.[/QUOTE]I'm guessing Europe's "root problem" is about to get worse, since there will probably be several countries (Poland? Baltics?) asking the US to station additional troops (in existing or new bases) on their soil. One likely outcome of Putin's actions will be to make for stronger ties between individual European countries and NATO / US.

Thankfully, Zelensky is finally being reasonable, or maybe it's the extreme nationalists who are finally allowing Zelensky to be reasonable rather than threatening to kill him for any signs of capitulation. Article below shows agreement on 3 of Putin's 5 demands. Remaining demands are no EU membership and de-militarization. If Ukraine can swallow no NATO, they can swallow no EU. As for de-militarization, probably no offensive weapons will be enough to satisfy Russia. Unlimited anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles, but no long-range surface to surface missiles, limited aircraft, certainly no nukes. Putin must be given a victory soon, otherwise Kyiv and orher cities get saturation bombed. Hopefully, CIA is communicating this clearly to the Stepan Bandera crowd and hopefully that crowd is satisfied with how many Russian tanks and troops they have destroyed so far. , so that this war can finally end.

[URL]https://us.yahoo.com/news/ukraines-zelensky-says-cooled-joining-181721289.html[/URL]

[QUOTE=WyattEarp;2671965]In reality, I think Trump was schmoozing Putin like a salesman would. Clearly, Putin likes to have his ego massaged.

Believe what you want about Russian collusion, the United States still needs to pivot away from Russia to China. The Europeans are perfectly capable of defending Europe with some American assistance.[/QUOTE]Sorry, but I strongly disagree. Europe is not capable of defending itself (nothing new there), and Putin's mad-tsar disease is threatening the world right now. While Xi might become way more dangerous in the future, is it wise to ignore a present danger fighting a possible threat down the road instead?

Tell you what, though. I wouldn't mind if we tried to tackle both. Especially that Xi seems to be going out of his way to please his buddy Pu. Let's hit him with something like, I don't know, warning sanctions if he tries too hard.

[QUOTE=PedroMorales;2671989]Czechoslovakia ceased to exist on January 1, 1993. Prague is in Central, not Eastern Europe.

The Russian forces did a good job rooting out ISIS from Grozny. Have you seen what the US terrorist forces did to Raqqa, to say nothing of Tokyo, Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Americans have no moral cards. Never had and never will.

Europe's root problem is having the USA here.[/QUOTE]There wasn't any ISIS in Grozny, you cretin. And yeah, they did a heck of a job, bombing the living hell out of everyone in Grozny including ethnic RUSSIANS who had a misfortune of living in Chechnya for decades. When did he give a fuck who to kill? You do know he had blown up two apartment buildings in Moscow to ramp up public support for that war?

[QUOTE=Kozerog;2672152]Thankfully, Zelensky is finally being reasonable, or maybe it's the extreme nationalists who are finally allowing Zelensky to be reasonable rather than threatening to kill him for any signs of capitulation. Article below shows agreement on 3 of Putin's 5 demands. Remaining demands are no EU membership and de-militarization. If Ukraine can swallow no NATO, they can swallow no EU. As for de-militarization, probably no offensive weapons will be enough to satisfy Russia. Unlimited anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles, but no long-range surface to surface missiles, limited aircraft, certainly no nukes. Putin must be given a victory soon, otherwise Kyiv and orher cities get saturation bombed. Hopefully, CIA is communicating this clearly to the Stepan Bandera crowd and hopefully that crowd is satisfied with how many Russian tanks and troops they have destroyed so far. , so that this war can finally end.

[URL]https://us.yahoo.com/news/ukraines-zelensky-says-cooled-joining-181721289.html[/URL][/QUOTE]LOL. The only "agreement" this article shows is an agreement to start a conversation, LOL.

The USA is a serial invader of other countries. Right now, it is occupying and looting Syria of its oil. It destroyed Libya, got its side kicks to destroy Libya, is complicit in the Saudi genocide of Yemen, destroyed the Nordstream 2 gas project.

[QUOTE=Xpartan;2672180]Sorry, but I strongly disagree. Europe is not capable of defending itself (nothing new there), and Putin's mad-tsar disease is threatening the world right now. While Xi might become way more dangerous in the future, is it wise to ignore a present danger fighting a possible threat down the road instead?

Tell you what, though. I wouldn't mind if we tried to tackle both. Especially that Xi seems to be going out of his way to please his buddy Pu. Let's hit him with something like, I don't know, warning sanctions if he tries too hard.

There wasn't any ISIS in Grozny, you cretin. And yeah, they did a heck of a job, bombing the living hell out of everyone in Grozny including ethnic RUSSIANS who had a misfortune of living in Chechnya for decades. When did he give a fuck who to kill? You do know he had blown up two apartment buildings in Moscow to ramp up public support for that war?

LOL. The only "agreement" this article shows is an agreement to start a conversation, LOL.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=MojoBandit;2671134]It also amazes me with how many people are not up on international relations enough to realize that Russia and China are the same. They have a mutual defense pact. They are the same animal in this regard. So you cannot hope to fight one and not the other. So weakening our position in Europe or NATO is also appeasing China as much as appeasing Russia well but it seems politically convenient for people to ignore.

[URL]https://www.militarytimes.com/flashpoints/2021/11/24/russia-china-sign-roadmap-for-closer-military-cooperation/[/URL].[/QUOTE]Russia has taken so many land from China in the last 200 years. At least 90% Chinese hate Russians. But Chinese has not so many atom bombs and advanced weapons like Russia and they share the probably longest country board in the world. China does not want to offend Putin. You didn't mean that a bear and a dragon can be good friends, did you? The Chinese also doesn't like Americans, but it is more like wrestling, after wrestling they are still friends, because in the WW 2 Americans have helped China a lot and Americans have never taken even one square meter land from China. Trade, human right, or technology conflict are there, but they are changing. If you have lost your land, like Alaska, Texas, Falkland (Argentina) or Crimea, it would be almost impossible or even impossible to get it back.

If China supported Ukraine, later Putin could make big troubles on the boarder after the war in Ukraine, (because otherwise he would lost his face), let alone China needs the oil and gas from Russia (each year about 20 billion dollars). EU trades about 50 billion Euros oil and gas from Russia per year and it is not included in the current sanction.

During the WW 2, nobody made such a sanction to Hitler. Now look at the EU and USA, they want 'Putler' to stop the ear but they are continuously doing business with his land. What a shame! With the 50 billion Euros Putin can fight 365 days per year! Are there still bravery spirit in Americans? I cannot see any of them like in WW 2, Irak, Afhan, Korea or Vietnam! Remember you (esp. USA and England) have promised Ukraine that you will defend Ukraine if any country invade Ukraine as Ukraine damaged his atom bombs. China has also a similar pact with Ukraine, that's why even now China does not admit, that it is an invasion.

Putin said there is Nazis in Ukraine and he has to clean them out for his country's benefit, but there is always Nazis in Germany, will later Putin also take care Germany? For example, attacking Berlin? If Americans now send troops, I don't think China, India, Brazil etc. Will do any business with Russia, because it will be a final contest, it's a matter dying for justice or dying as a coward!

The above is only my two cents, it doesn't represent any groups or governments' opinion.

[QUOTE=PedroMorales;2671989]The Russian forces did a good job rooting out ISIS from Grozny. Have you seen what the US terrorist forces did to Raqqa, to say nothing of Tokyo, Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Americans have no moral cards. Never had and never will.

Europe's root problem is having the USA here.[/QUOTE]The GDR ceased to exist after 'reunification' while the Bundesrepublik continued. This was no end to the Cold War; it was the post-war Allied Occupied Zone expanding. The root problem is America has refused to release its subjugated German vassal, and won't do so until they're rooted out.