vandreas2 | 4 years ago | on: China Is Not Russia. Taiwan Is Not Ukraine
It would cripple them too. Being rich is only relative.
vandreas2's comments
vandreas2 | 4 years ago | on: China Is Not Russia. Taiwan Is Not Ukraine
Depends on the chances of pyrrhic victories in general. You score no points for predicting the most probable outcome. To reverse this, would you be right if you said that Russia won and Russian media agreed?
vandreas2 | 4 years ago | on: How Does This End?
Putin has to be seen to threaten and others have to be seen to threaten to meet him. Otherwise why stop at Ukraine when he can keep threatening?
vandreas2 | 4 years ago | on: How Does This End?
Or so he says. There is be no point in bombing your own territory though.
vandreas2 | 4 years ago | on: How Does This End?
He has to threaten it, it doesn't cost him anything.
vandreas2 | 4 years ago | on: How Does This End?
Russia has not taken on any power it can defeat nor does it have the economy, allies or even approval of it's populace. The neighbours that has been invading lately don't really count for "powers" and it's already struggling as it is.
vandreas2 | 4 years ago | on: How Does This End?
His close circle of oligarchs and military chiefs are not Putin groupies they 're just getting massively greased. When the tide changes the calculations change. They signed up for a kleptocracy not to get sanctioned and their assets seized.
vandreas2 | 4 years ago | on: Putin says Western sanctions are akin to declaration of war
> His only play is to act (?) even crazier.
If only playing crazy could get you anything you wanted life would be so easy for good actors. He could pretend he won, pack and go home. If his propaganda machine is so strong people will eat it and even if they don't there's not much they can do about it anyway. He may just need a pyrrhic victory he can sell domestically.
vandreas2 | 4 years ago | on: Ukraine accepted to NATO cyber defence centre
> None of this matters. What matters is ending this war. It's the best outcome for pretty much everyone who isn't Lockheed, Boeing or Northrop. Or I guess the hawks in Washington who see the strategic value in Russia being mired in Afghanistan 2.0.
You can easily end this war and any war by always surrendering.
vandreas2 | 4 years ago | on: Ukraine accepted to NATO cyber defence centre
Nobody tried to install nuclear missiles in Ukraine and there are plenty of European countries that haven't joined NATO despite much closer ties to the west than Ukraine like Sweden and Finland. I think Ukrainians wouldn't even have considered that their ethnic brothers would attack them (and most ordinary Russians are probably still in denial about it) before Donbas in 2014 and last week which makes their joining NATO an absurdity, you don't need protection when you don't fear someone. Your neighbours joining NATO can be perfectly avoided if you stop invading them.
vandreas2 | 4 years ago | on: Ukraine accepted to NATO cyber defence centre
They perceived that their ethnic brothers would join a defensive alliance against them? Is that extreme paranoia or were they planning to attack anyway and seized the chance now?
vandreas2 | 4 years ago | on: Ukraine accepted to NATO cyber defence centre
I don't think trying to join the EU and installing nukes is even remotely comparable.
vandreas2 | 4 years ago | on: Ukraine accepted to NATO cyber defence centre
This narrative of a military superpower having no choice but to invade much weaker neighbours because it's being bullied by them is non-sensical but has a lot of appeal to people. The inherent contradiction in the rhetoric of being so strong that you 're being victimized by much weaker parties was really perfected by Trump.
vandreas2 | 4 years ago | on: Ukraine accepted to NATO cyber defence centre
Why didn't Putin resist to being forced by the US to commit war-crimes? Is he a weak US puppet or does he have no conscience?
vandreas2 | 4 years ago | on: Ukraine accepted to NATO cyber defence centre
> Ukraine has become an American pawn in geo-political chess.
Shouldn't we at least consider what's their view on this instead of painting everything as big power rivalry? Didn't they democratically choose to apply for EU membership? Considering neighbouring Poland has joined the ranks of high income countries and Ukraine has been stagnating under Russian protection can you blame them? Also, considering the blood ties between Russia and Ukraine before this war why would Ukraine consider joining NATO if it was not afraid of Russia (and still isn't apparently)? I think this line of reasoning of Ukraine pursuing NATO membership before all this started is a bit absurd.
https://freepolicybriefs.org/2018/03/12/polands-road-high-in...
vandreas2 | 4 years ago | on: Low-meat and meat-free diets associated with lower overall cancer risk
I wish there was an authoritative guide about eating healthy, there seems to be too much contradicting information in this space.
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