Ukraine has already lost the war

[TheEncogitationerParticipant]

Unseen,

Not one thing John Meersheimer has said regarding the Russo-Unkrainian War has been accurate. One doesn’t have to make accurate predictions over decades to be accurate about what is going on now. If Meersheimer’s statements are “peer-reviewed,” it doesn’t say anything good about either “Realism” or the peers he keeps.

By contrast, Matt Johnson was accurate about Meersheimer’s “Realism” and I hope the rest of his work is this good too. Steven Pinker’s writings on the state of world progress are very good as well, being based on simple raw data, with the addendum that we need to do what it takes to keep those statistics good and better and honest minds (myself included) can disagree with some of Pinker’s proposed solutions.

And again, no one is out to destroy Russia or the Russian people except Putin–through his dragging the Russian people into his homicidal, genocidal atrocities, as well as his ideological muse Alexandr Dugin and his religious agitproper Patriarch Kirill–through their moral support for Putin’s atrocities.

Russia can be a great nation of people contributing much to the world…if it’s political, religious, and intellectual leadership just got out of the way!

Finally, one can condemn foreign and domestic policies of both Putin and the U.S. simultaneously. It’s called walking and chewing gum. To think otherwise is (literal) Whataboutism.

[UnseenParticipant]

@Enco

And yet, we are driving Russia and China into each other’s arms. Probably a big, and maybe fatal, mistake, especially if it brings about the end of the dollar (aka “petrodollar”) as the world’s reserve currency.

[TheEncogitationerParticipant]

Unseen,

Putin’s Russia, Red China, Saudi Arabia, and Iran are already together, regardless of anything we’ve done. Tyrants of a feather flock together.

• This reply was modified 2 months, 2 weeks ago by  TheEncogitationer.

[_Robert_Participant]

China has a long way to go before becoming the world’s reserve bank. They hang huge decisions on the head of their dear god-like leader of that surveillance state and frankly it’s not a good system. Can’t trust their data either. They have been “a-suckin” on cheap capital from the West, selling cheap goods and providing cheap labor for pennies on the dollar. As their living standards rise and population age rises they are in trouble. Especially as the US brings production home again. Russia is a mess. Seven years in jail for just saying their army sucks. Everyone with a brain is gone.

[_Robert_Participant]

John Meersheimer is the guy that once said Putin is too smart to attack Ukraine. Opps. That didn’t age well. He blames the West for the war. I have to agree in a way because Russia is that inconsequential. Maybe Putin got played into this suicide mission, but I don’t think it was intentional. It was just the way it went down because Trump made his decision easier.

I see the democratic countries near Russia are combining their Air Forces into a cohesive unit. And Putin’s visit with the Chinese didn’t really yield anything. China plays the long game and Russia is just a dying vendor selling cheap resources.

[UnseenParticipant]

_Robert_ wrote:

China has a long way to go before becoming the world’s reserve bank.

Countries are moving away from America’s monetary teat. Just FYI:

China, Brazil strike deal to ditch dollar for trade | The Straits Times

China and Brazil announced a new trade agreement that will allow both countries to ditch the U.S. dollar. This is big for the U.S. as it cuts the nation out of approximately $150 billion per year in bilateral trade. 

This means that China and Brazil can conduct their massive trade by exchanging the Chinese yuan and the Brazilian real directly without basing trade on dollar value or trading in currency for dollars first, a highly inefficient system for everyone who is not the U.S. 

“The expectation is that this will reduce costs… promote even greater bilateral trade and facilitate investment,” the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil) said in a statement.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was set to make this announcement in China this week but he postponed his trip after he came down with pneumonia. 

China is racking up these deals with major world powers such as Russia, Pakistan, France, Saudi Arabia. The partnering nations are willing to risk hurt U.S. feelings because it means that they won’t be at the mercy of sanctions and they can deal directly with nations that have the resources they want: oil, gas, minerals and agriculture. The U.S. has not had to compete for foreign business because the dollar was the beneficiary of most foreign trade for the last 50 years. That all seems to be changing fast all because of politics.  (from the Redacted show’s morning newsletter)

 

[UnseenParticipant]

Things are more dire than the mainstream media implies:

[UnseenParticipant]

Leaked Pentagon documents paint grim picture of Ukrainian air defense supplies, may only last a month

[UnseenParticipant]

Wait for it…wait for it…wait for it. It’s been summer for a few days now, and still no Ukrainian “spring counteroffensive.” Isn’t it time to start wondering if it’s coming at all? It seems like the vaunted spring offensive is becoming the military equivalent of vaporware.

Could it be because all of Ukraine’s best, well-trained professional soldiers are dead or injured and are thus out of the picture., leaving 15-17 year old boys and elderly men to fight the russkies? Russia is in much better shape in terms of manpower. True, they are not as well-trained and equipped as American and NATO troops, but they don’t have to be as long as NATO stays out of the war. They just have to be better than the Ukrainians, which they are.

Remembering that “the first casualty of war is the truth,” I wonder if our assumption that the war in Ukraine is going badly for Putin and well for Ukraine is just what Ukraine and U.S. propagandists are being told to make us believe.

Perhaps this war can only be won for Ukraine if NATO takes over, but that would mean declaring war on Russia, a massive escalation which would have many Americans coming home in flag-draped coffins.

Americans are largely hidden from this by a mainstream press that is little more than an arm of the government , but not everyone thinks Ukraine is prevailing and some will tell you it has already lost.

And not only that, that Russia isn’t hurting from sanctions and has a thriving economy.

A typical suburban grocery/convenience store:

• This reply was modified 5 days, 12 hours ago by  Unseen.
• This reply was modified 5 days, 12 hours ago by  Unseen.
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[UnseenParticipant]

It looks like Ukraine will be receiving F16 from various countries well-used or mothball inventory. The ones Russia doesn’t take out as soon as they get there will face lots of obstacles before they get in the air, using money and other resources perhaps best used elsewhere.

Of course, that’s assuming Ukraine still is fighting by that time. What I mean is, hopefully a peace treaty will have been signed by then.

[PopeBeanieModerator]

I’m seeing Ukrainian military and pro-Ukrainian paramilitary actions on the rise. But instead of bickering over the timing or definition of “counter-offensive”, I ask:

Is Russia actually “winning”? Or to put it in your terms, have they “already won”?

[UnseenParticipant]

PopeBeanie wrote:

I’m seeing Ukrainian military and pro-Ukrainian paramilitary actions on the rise. But instead of bickering over the timing or definition of “counter-offensive”, I ask:

Is Russia actually “winning”? Or to put it in your terms, have they “already won”?

I would view Ukraine conducting terrorist acts within Russia’s borders as evidence of desperation. Evidence that they aren’t winning on Ukrainian soil. Yes, Russia is winning a war of attrition and are winning their fallback position, securing the Eastern areas largely populated by Russian speakers who have been terribly oppressed not just by the neo-Nazi Azovs but by the central government as well.

While we’re on the subject of who’s winning, Blackrock, the gigantic investment company is a big winner. They own 30% of Ukraine so far as well as investing in a number of Russian corporations. Smart investing.

Zelensky(y?), who is quietly wealthy, seems to be selling off his country, and I think we can assume he’s benefitting personally. BTW, he may be much wealthier than he even appears because his friends are super wealthy and may simply be holding his wealth for him to help him with his public image. Certainly, as a group, he and his friends are involved in a wide-ranging network of real estate holdings and are involved in a complicated array of holding companies and offshore accounts in tax havens, usually an indication of corrupt activities.

[UnseenParticipant]

Hey, Ukraine, we’re American capitalists and we’re here to “help” you (take advantage of your estate sale).

Blackrock affects every one of us every day. And not for the better.

[UnseenParticipant]

Where do the mainstream media get their information? From sources which are or can be traced back to think tanks. Think tanks with entrenched points of view and/or who receive primary support from defense contractors wanting to be able to continue selling their goods. Such sales are more frequent and constant in wartime situations, creating an interest in beating back attempts at peaceful resolutions.

Defense Contractor Funded Think Tanks Dominate Ukraine Debate

 

[TheEncogitationerParticipant]

Unseen,

If money is what’s desired by these big investor groups, they could net a whole lot more if lives and resources weren’t being destroyed by Putin’s invasion and could be given productive uses instead of towards munitions for war.

Broken windows do not create net prosperity for an economy, whether it’s done by onesy-twosy kids with rocks or fighter planes sending missiles and sonic booms.

And again, never forget, none of this would be happening if Putin had never invaded.

[Author]

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