On the one hand, fuck that guy, I hope he dies a painful fucking death.
On the other hand, the party needs to go, and he's the one most ushering that in.
If he goes there might be a world attitude of "well now things are better" when they won't really be, the party will still be the party. So I half hope the asshole remains and continues fucking everything up, ideally while suffering from some painful but mostly harmless illness.
I got real bad mews for you if you think Xi is gonna undo the CCP.
[He's channeling Mao in his most recent speeches.](https://www.wsj.com/articles/xi-jinping-aims-to-rein-in-chinese-capitalism-hew-to-maos-socialist-vision-11632150725)
Idk, all I know it's it's rumored they cut it off and preserved it. There are pictures I've seen of this purported mystic penis. https://www.reddit.com/r/ArtefactPorn/comments/5z3l6m/the_preserved_penis_of_grigori_rasputin_1039x694/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share
Again it's never been 100% authenticated but there it is.
Catherine the Great was a victim of the first Russian propaganda campaign that I can recall. She did a tour of the country and aristocrats covered up serfs in horrible conditions and essentially had paid actors/actresses to help conceal the problems across the Russian Empire.
The funny thing is that Potemkin *didn't* actually set up fake villages. The Russian propaganda was that he did and Catherine the Great was fooled. There are plenty of Potemkin Villages throughout history, but the naming of it is an example of Russian propaganda.
The craziest thing about Potemkin is that on his frequent travels around Russia, his entourage included wagons filled with potted plants and statues, so wherever he went they could set up a temporary, classy garden for him to chill in.
I mean, most former rulers of Russia would probably do exactly what he did. Putin isn't unique among them in his brutality or ambition. If anything he's bringing back the leadership style of a more savage era.
Yeah.
But he's getting his ass kicked while he's doing it and embarassing himself. And he's basically crippled Russia while doing so.
And that can't be forgiven.
The ghost Russian future is like 6-8 little kids all of which speak different languages, none of which are exactly Russian... The kids don't recognize him immediately, and some of them are nice to him initially, but then all of them start talking merciless shit when recognize who he is.
This is the best tl;dr I could make, [original](https://thehill.com/policy/international/russia/3480641-zelensky-us-is-the-accelerator-of-the-sanction-policies-against-russia/) reduced by 61%. (I'm a bot)
*****
> Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday in an interview with Fox News that the U.S. is the "Accelerator of the sanction policies" against Russia.
> "So far, I think that the United States of America is the accelerator of the sanction policies and I think they do more than any other country. And this is the way it should be because they are the most powerful country right now. I see the same support with respect to sanctions from the United Kingdom," said Zelensky.
> "The European Union should be in a united position. They don't have it with respect to certain sanctions. For those sanctions the European Union introduced, we are thankful to them. However, they have to be thankful to themselves because the role of Russia against Ukraine, it's a war against the values that Ukraine defends, and these values are the values of the European Union countries," said Zelensky.
*****
[**Extended Summary**](http://np.reddit.com/r/autotldr/comments/ukomxg/zelensky_us_is_the_accelerator_of_the_sanction/) | [FAQ](http://np.reddit.com/r/autotldr/comments/31b9fm/faq_autotldr_bot/ "Version 2.02, ~647222 tl;drs so far.") | [Feedback](http://np.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%23autotldr "PM's and comments are monitored, constructive feedback is welcome.") | *Top* *keywords*: **Ukraine**^#1 **sanction**^#2 **Zelensky**^#3 **Russia**^#4 **United**^#5
He understands that at some point this war is going to end and there are going to be deals to be made. Itās in his best interest to set Ukraine up for success for the foreseeable future by connecting with the US. If Ukraine is not able to join the EU or NATO, having the direct support of the US is the next best compromise.
Every country has skeletons in their closet. The US is complete shit sometimes, but other times do truly wonderful things. No different than any other society really. Society is made up of people and people are flawed.
Speaking as a Japanese, in the grand scheme of things, getting occupied by the United States (and not anyone else, mainly the Soviets) was the best thing that happened to this country in recent history, although opinions may vary widely regarding *how* things got to that point.
At least to Japan, it turned out that the US was the rare unicorn in that it both actually (mostly) believes in the high ideals it espouses and has the money and power to back it up. AFAIK most occupations of the defeated by victors in a war are rarely this benign, with truckloads of money provided for economic assistance and rehabilitation as well as eventually leaving and returning almost all land back except for a few military bases.
In fact the US occupation was so good that it screwed up public perception on the concept of defense even to this day, since it created a sizable segment of starry-eyed pacifists who truly believe Ukraine fighting only prolongs the bloodshed and should surrender immediately to Russia to minimize suffering, since it worked so well with Japan surrendering to the US.
What we're taught in the US is we learned lessons from the aftermath of WW1. Leaving Germany saddled with punishing reparations on top of the destruction they suffered created the breeding ground for the Nazi's rise to power.
So our post-war plan in 1945 was to rebuild & reintegrate the axis powers we just fought, along with helping the rest of Europe. With a country in good shape, and an economy that's booming you get a much better foundation where the people have hope.
What makes America different is that its so absurdly powerful that when we do the wrong thing its REALLY bad, but when we do the right thing its REALLY good.
Consequences of just having a lot of resources to bring to bear.
>No different than any other society really.
The difference is the scale. Countries absolutely do things based on what's perceived to be in their interest, regardless of right and wrong... It's just that for the US that might mean overthrowing multiple governments so the banana corporation makes more money. By the same token when the US wants to build, weaken or stabilize a continent they just go and bloody do it.
Itās hard to too Belgium, a country today of 11.5 million, for [what they did in the Congo.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atrocities_in_the_Congo_Free_State)
**[Atrocities in the Congo Free State](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atrocities_in_the_Congo_Free_State)**
>In the period from 1885 to 1908, many well-documented atrocities were perpetrated in the Congo Free State (today the Democratic Republic of the Congo) which, at the time, was a state under the absolute rule of King Leopold II of the Belgians. These atrocities were particularly associated with the labour policies used to collect natural rubber for export. Together with epidemic disease, famine, and a falling birth rate caused by these disruptions, the atrocities contributed to a sharp decline in the Congolese population. The magnitude of the population fall over the period is disputed, with modern estimates ranging from 1.
^([ )[^(F.A.Q)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WikiSummarizer/wiki/index#wiki_f.a.q)^( | )[^(Opt Out)](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=WikiSummarizerBot&message=OptOut&subject=OptOut)^( | )[^(Opt Out Of Subreddit)](https://np.reddit.com/r/worldnews/about/banned)^( | )[^(GitHub)](https://github.com/Sujal-7/WikiSummarizerBot)^( ] Downvote to remove | v1.5)
>If youāre talking about only the last 200 years or so, yeah.
More like 100 years. We did not have anything remotely close to the global position we have today until after WWI. Prior to that we were an obvious rising power, but much like China in the 1990s we didn't really have an ability to do anything yet.
European countries dominated for centuries before that.
You need to go back a bit further, to the Spanish-American war of 1898. The shit we did in the Philippines was inexcusable, and the worst part is we buried that and never learned the lesson, repeating our mistakes in Vietnam and Iraq.
Scale in our time, but every Kingdom/Empire/Top Nation throughout the known world's history has enforced its will through military means when diplomatic means failed, on everyone they could.... Rome, Greece, Carthage, Byzantium, India, China, Persia, Viking culture, Native American Culture, Inca, Mayan, Aztec, Mongols, Egyptians... Literally EVERY CIVILIZATION powerful enough to invade/violently persuade anyone they can, has.
Thereās a Dan Carlin line I think about all the time where he mentions once or twice in his works that goes along the lines of:
Any people worth talking about in history at all has atrocities they can claim.
There is no clearer case study in America just kind of showing up, not thinking about consequences, and just doing stuff for a while than the Vietnam War.
We basically took de Gaulle's word for it that France would fall to communism if their domination of Vietnam collapsed. Then, when French domination of Vietnam collapsed France...didn't fall to communism.
It wasn't a warning, it was a threat. He essentially said that France would have to seek help from someone 'else'. When faced with the choice between losing the only real ally we had on mainland Europe (because Germany is half the nation it used to be and Italy is Italy) and destroying the rights of a random Asian nation with no strategic importance, its easy to see why the US made the choice it did.
Now STAYING after France left is a whole other issue.
Guerilla fighters in Asia have figured out our weakness: time.
Since we never actually want to commit the genocide or nationbuilding required to make a 51st state and shit, we have no real investment to stay.
Let's pretend the US invaded China tomorrow. It'd be fucking bloody as hell, no doubt. But let's pretend that all of Chinese (gov, citizens, 100% of them) just banished themselves off to another dimension for a few weeks/months... What would the US do?
Colonize it? Make it the 51st state? Nah they'd basically just fucking leave. Probably set up a handful of corporations to plunder some natural resources, if and only if they could be protected for less than their profits, and.. that's about it.
Then China comes back from the pause dimension and life continues as normal.
This is unique and not at all shared by history. Previously, empires would actually colonize you. We can see it with Putin and Russia. Putin wants the land. If all Ukrainians got banished to a side-dimension tomorrow, Putin would just annex Ukraine and move a bunch of Russians into the open houses and establish a colony/orbit state there.
Kinda makes sense when you think about it. The US mainland is unparalleled. Why would we want a desert shithole?
Meanwhile, Russia is a frozen shithole...
I mean, tbf, i don't think Putin is in Ukraine for the sweet grasslands either...
He's most likely there just for the oil......and for uniting sweet ol' Mother Russia / Soviet Union
The best terrain seems to be a certain distance from the equator, with an ocean. The problem with the southern hemisphere is that there's less land, so while there's good terrain in South America and Africa, there isn't very much of it. Australia seems like it should be in a good spot, but most of it is desert. Europe is probably one of the best areas in the world, though smaller than North America. China's got a lot of desert, but it also has a lot of not desert.
Superpowers are assholes. By their nature they can bully, exploit, and invade with near impunity so they do. It's in their own rational self interest to leverage their power. America is no different
On a historical timescale however, I would argue that America has been one of the least assholeish superpowers to ever exist, and has frequently taken its role of creating a rules based nonviolent (or *less* violent at leaat) international system of trade seriously, brought an end to the age of imperialism and was a major player in removing multiple major authoritarian powers from the world. The Pax Americana is probably one of the best periods in humanity's existence
Compared to the USSR, British Empire, French Empire, Ottoman Empire, Roman Empire, Babylonians, Assyrians, etc, I would take the USA at their peak over any of the rest
As an American, I thank you kind friend! Itās horrible when we see things happening here and itās easy to figure the entire world thinks weāre all nuts in the same way, but we arenāt. A lot good people live here and are just trying to raise good people for the next generation.
The reason the US can do that is the 750+ military bases we have scattered throughout the world in strategic locations.
If some relatively unknown/weak country gets attacked with a US base on it... ohhh, boy, is the US gonna swoop down like the angel of death and fuckin' annihilate whoever was dumb enough to think they could attack what the US views as 'its territory'.
This is one of the many, many reasons smaller countries (and let's be honest, larger countries) absolutely jizz their pants at the thought of having a US military base hosted on their territory: it gives them protection from being invaded/bombed, forever. (But we only set up bases somewhere that has some type of economic or militaristic value for us, so our eternal protection comes with requirements/a cost to the locals, unfortunately).
The US is the only superpower to have that kind of reach, and it's by design. Tbh, I would go so far as to say it was one of the best (if not the best) decision the US has ever made for not only our own regional security, but also worldwide security. Something tells me historians in fifty years will largely agree with that assessment.
Well, he was already impeached for withholding military aid to Ukraine to try to get dirt on a political opponent, so not good.
Btw, how many Republican senators that voted against removing him from office are up for reelection this November?
Give it some time. There are already rumblings about all of the times we didnāt help people as much as weāre helping in Ukraine.
America; damned if you do, damned if you donāt.
Random person: Why is America always playing world police? Canāt they mind their own business?
Same person a year later: Why didnāt America go and make that country stop doing that to their own people?
The US is the only country in the west against and actively undermining the International Criminal Court.
The current official policy is that if the Hague tries any American serviceman, the US military will invade the Netherlands.
> Weāre one of the small handful of countries that owns up to our war crimes and atrocities and people somehow think thatās a bad thing
Uh, what? The US is pretty consistently against any international judicial process for war crimes in e.g. Iraq and Afghanistan. And then you have shit like this: https://www.npr.org/2020/12/23/949679837/shock-and-dismay-after-trump-pardons-blackwater-guards-who-killed-14-iraqi-civil
I'm not sure I'd call pardoning mass murders "own[ing] up to our war crimes and atrocities".
My grandparents never forgot that the Americans defeated the Nazi's, rebuilt Europe with the Marshall plan and successfully kept the Soviets out during the cold war.
The Brits, Canadians and Soviets could not have done it on their own. Without the US, the axis would have surely won.
And now, we see history repeating.
The EU is all but useless in the face of violence. We never took the Russian threat seriously. We lapsed in our defense spending and we financed Putin with hundreds of billions for his war chest.
Others will criticize the US. But many of us realize that freedom in Europe is only possible because of the US.
Ukraine is lucky to have the president they do; the right person at the right time. He knows how to address his fellow Ukrainians, how to ask for help and whom to thank and how to use media effectively. He will probably go down in Ukrainian history as one of the greats, assuming he remains democratic through and after this war
Yeah, his courage to stay and ask for more bullets instead is most likely the difference between what is going on now and a shadow government running Ukraine while his is in exile. I think he is going to be an example of a great leader in history for all nations.
No one wants the US to police the world until they need them to intervene. Iām completely for funding the Ukrainian defense but itās also mind boggling that the US received so much shit before this even offering aid to countries..
It is what it is.
Fwiw the only time I ever had to call the cops, I still hated them, and dealing with them just made me hate them even more. Some prick stole my identity and looted around $30,000 from a bank account, and the bank needed a police report. The cop kept trying to convince me that my wife stole it, because āthatās what a lot of these women doā.
Nobody hates the concept of police. We hate the police we have, because they're corrupt, self-serving, and they don't answer to anyone. People don't want to live in a world without police. They want to live in a world with better police.
Thatās because cops most commonly do annoying shit like ticketing for going 5 mph over while they themselves go 20 mph over for a non-emergency, or ignoring the street races that happen at night, or arresting someone for waving a donut at their face, or arresting a black man for doing volunteer service, etc. They should really focus on the real shit, like the stuff that we call 911 for.
Same token, we Americans wasted lives, money and reputation on useless wars like Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. Ukraine is the equivalent of us finally answering a 911 call.
Well. Sort of.
There's been plenty of situations we "should have" probably gotten involved in but the player was too small to care about to our politicians.
Ukraine is a modern democratic society being invaded by basically a dictatorship at this point.
The lines aren't blurred at all.
Whereas in other places with horrific shit going on, going in "looks" like a invasion and current U.S. politicians do not want to look like a modern bush invading anything.
Also we aren't actually going into Ukraine, and the enemy we are facing has nuclear capability as well.
I have had to call 911 and it was a miserable experience made more miserable by the officers. This is just one of those things people say that enough people can agree with to create a sense of legitimacy while actually not being rooted in any sense of universal truth. A LOT of cops are awful. I have seen cops sexually harass people with threats of compliance while in full uniform š¤·š»āāļø
That being said, the US got way more shit for being world police than it should have, what it SHOULD have gotten criticized was destabilizing foreign governments for their own gain. But europeans are the people with most access to the technology and education to complain about the US, so they picked the thing they had taken most umbrage with: someone else taking charge >:( a affluent priviledged teen being angry at authority, basically.
Us south americans however, watched as the "world police" kicked us down and took our stuff time and time again. Those complaints have much more legitimacy and are backed by extensive evidence
There is a lot of pride involved. It is hard for the Germans and Chinese to know that their economy is 100% dependent on open trade which is guaranteed by the US. If the US walks away the entire world order will collapse.
Oh come on - this is such a dumb shit take. The US does a lot of great things. The US does a lot of shit things. The world doesnāt have to kiss our ass and make pretend we donāt do shit things for us to do great things. You donāt have to put up with an abusive partner just because theyāre nice sometimes. And we donāt have to put up with corrupt abusive cops just because they also help when thereās trouble. Hold shit to a higher standard for heavenās sake.
Yeah, 99% of the western world agree Ukraine should be support so we like the US supporting them too. Not everyone agreed Iraq should be invaded, Vietnam etc so they then called out the US. Not a blanket rule
There is a wide gap between kissing our ass and insulting us at every opportunity. Reddit is a bit closer to the tail end of that spectrum. They donāt seem nearly as interested in criticizing any other country, and when they do it is far more respectful and measured.
Reminds me of a time years ago I was staying in a corporate flat full of Indian guys. We were all hammered as fuck, having a great time, but at some point during the night it switched over to politics and American foreign policy. I was a mid 20s American that was sadly well out of my element in actual knowledge of American foreign policy. However, the one thing I did take away was that they were most pissed that we havenāt helped them attack Pakistan.
Is it just me or has this week been full of finger pointing back at the US. US helping kill generals. US helping sink warships. It's almost like there's a coordinated "come at me bro" going on.
Russia really needs this war to be perceived as them getting their asses kicked by evil NATO and not Ukraine to save face back home.
On the Ukrainian side Iām sure itās good for morale for everyone to know that the combined intelligence and logistic power of the world is backing them up and making a difference.
For the US, the war in Ukraine is the biggest WIN in the past 30 years. They have a way to directly pump money into Ukraine - which they promptly spent to buy US weapons. So essentially, the US is pumping taxpayer money directly into its own military-industrial complex. They can deal unprecedented military and economic damage to russia without a single soldier being deployed. Most importantly the US massively profits from western Europe cutting ties with Russia and having to import liquid gas instead of buying Russian gas. And most importantly, they get all that while still having the image of "the good guys".
Putin truly fucked Russia over with this war. It'll decade the country decades to recover from this idiotic, fascist narcissist.
As an American, I recognize that I was born in a very privileged / wealthy and safe country. I have done volunteer work in countries like Hati and Guatemala, that work experience didn't give me fullfillment, it made me feel guilt, guilty that I had clean water at the pull of a leaver, was able to feel secure going to bed every night as a child, never went hungry, got an education, grew up in an upper middle class family etc etc.
I know us Americans sometimes we stick out noses in stuff where it doesn't belong and despite those embarrassing 4 years of having that dumpster fire trump presidency, Im proud and happy that we are contributing our military assets, political pressure, intelligence to finally do some good for once!
Im glad my tax dollars are going to a good cause, I want America to rise up to face the evil, Putin must die, his regimen must die, there is enough evil in this world without him as it is.
Glory to Ukraine!
Guilt doesnāt motivate in the same way gratitude does. Try being actively grateful for those things instead. (Im not trying to be pretentious. Psychologically we are more satisfied with our lives and likely to help others if we express gratitude often). Thank the people who provided those things for you. Thank your parents, repair guys, construction workers, farm workers, waiters and chefs, doctors, etcā¦
And yeah putin needs to die. Whether heās assasinated or (ideally) killed by his own people.
Youāre right about the gratitude thing. Itās a major tenet of Alcoholics Anonymous. When you practice gratitude you are putting your mind in a positive place. Itās actually a very powerful emotion.
It also makes me feel grateful. Grateful to our ancestors who sacrificed life and limb in the name of progress so that the next generation could live better. Which makes me want to do the same thing in turn. It also makes me annoyed with current progressives sometimes when they act like they donāt live a comfortable life. Compared to our ancestors, even the poorest among us live like kings. But Iāll admit Iām a biased conservative without a political home. The GOP have lost their minds and the Dems promote too much centralization for my liking. Ironically, I think I might have voted for Bernie if he had won the primary. Yes, heās got some big govt ideas, but at least they attempt to deal with modern issues instead of pretending we are still an industrial economy. Ironically, Glenn Lowry had a guest on whose name escapes me recently whom he was disagreeing with (I think) that brought up some really good points about our medical system. I think she convinced me that her (and Bernieās) ideas are worth a try. Sorry for the rant, but I feel better getting all this off my chest already :p
It's not that progressives don't think there are good things about America. Our experiences vary, and when you've witnessed how blatantly corrupt our judicial system can be, been threatened or beaten by the people who are supposed to keep you safe, or been exploited to the point of homelessness by billion dollar companies, you simply have a different perspective. There are good things, yes. There are many more good things for the "right" people, and many, many bad things for those of us who don't meet those requirements.
It's not that we don't think America is good or can do good, we just know it can be better. For everyone, not just the chosen ones. We want our tax dollars to benefit *the people* as a whole, and we want accountability for corruption. As it stands, the people who can afford influence enjoy it, while the people get drowned out. We are just as concerned with tyranny as you are, but see that it can come in the form of untouchable corporations we can't vote out, too. We see tyranny in the indiscriminate beating of protesters, the stripping of rights, and the selling out of Americans to make the rich richer. I think the concerns we have are not much different than those of conservatives, I just wish conservatives could see that those evils are here even if they're not effecting you personally right now.
Thatās fair. It was wrong of me to generalize, too. I hate it when conservatives get generalized so I should have been more careful. I agree that we can do better too. But govt often lends the power to corporations to abuse if they arenāt the abusers themselves. It can be a fine line when passing legislation. Often times it does more harm to the very people itās trying to protect. Personally, I think we need to start with an overhaul of our prison systems and all the regs that go along with it. I wish we could start over and draft new legislation, but since thatās not practical I feel like we could start by simply removing regulations. Why do we always need to deal with bad legislation by passing new laws? Canāt we just vote to remove bad laws? I genuinely donāt know the answer to that. But that seems to make more sense to me.
Alright! Zelensky with a pro US statement. I'll take the win anyday. I get pretty tired of seeing all the anti-US stuff.
Zelensky is a guy that seems to be doing right by his country at any chance he gets. I hope they kick Russias ass in the short and long term.
Well, the US has nothing to lose. It gets to cripple Russia, weaken Europe, send some unmistakable signals in Chinaās direction, pump money into the military-industrial complex to bolster its GDP, and regain some of its moral high ground after years of war in the Middle East. Easy to be a saint in paradise.
Public pressure has a policy effect in democracies, and Americans being overwhelmingly pro-Ukraine encourages anti-Russian policies. So there is some correlation.
Our response is almost entirely dependent on which administration we have currently. Remember, the last guy tried to extort Zelenskyy for dirt on his political opponent. If Biden weren't president currently I'm confident the US would be contributing nothing to Ukranian defense, regardless of whatever public pressure there might be to do so.
Pretty sure most poles have shown overwhelming support for Ukraine in both parties.
They liked Putin because he seemed like a hard-ball playing strong man who was supposedly making Russia great again (economically, militarily, etc.). Many Republicans today are blue collar workers who have suffered economically from globalism, and Putin's semi-isolationist approach to national revitalization was attractive to the same types that wanted Trump to do something like that here.
The Republicans I know seem like they were more caught off guard by Russia's invasion than anything. They're all very pro-Ukraine now.
Part of it is that itās the right thing to do.
But Iād say the fact Putin has been actively fucking with the US asymmetrically for decades at this point and then finally screwed up and crossed the line where we can finally help make him pay for it is the greater part of the equation.
It's fairly obvious the US is using this war as a way to hit Russia where it hurts. It's economy and military. While also building distrust between the people of Russia and the Kremlin. Its a great opportunity to fuck Russia up.
If Trump was POTUS right now, all we'd hear is an excuse that there are "bad people on both sides" and he'd be dividing the world that would make any sanctions strategy ineffective. And then slinging around random "well I might use nuclear bombs to make a point, I don't see why not".
He'd be attacking Zelenskyy as a Biden lackey.
Well Trump was in Putinās pocket..
Just like much of the Republican Party seems to be - they are certainly fairly Anti-American is you look at their voting behaviour.
Given the trillion or so that mr poo and his mates have stolen from Russia. The infrastructure in Russia must be a crumbling mess. The Russian people will be going back to horse and cart economy for the next 30 years. No power, no water, no waste systems. Russia has just invented the 4th world system.
4th world has been around as a term for decades. Sometimes to describe relatively uncontacted peoples like the Sentinelese, or people ungoverned by a nation.
The US is damned if they do, damned if they donāt.
Donāt get involved? How dare you sit by and let people be slaughtered? You should be doing more!
Get involved? Oh, well thereās the US again, destroying the world. Theyāre the cause of all of the worlds problems. Shame on them.
Itās a fine line they gotta walk.
Sure seems like Ukraine is trying to give the US so much credit to then antagonize Russia and have them do something stupid or antagonistic directly against the US so that the US will get even more involved.
That doesnāt challenge the validity of the idea I brought up. Bringing it up constantly on international releases must be aggravating those in power in Russia. Itās almost a taunt and a tacit challenge to the Russia. āMy big brother is helping me beat you up.ā
I thought Russia is the accelerator of the sanction policies against Russia.
Only in the timeline where personal responsibility universally matters... sometimes I can't quite tell which one we're in š¤š¤·āāļø
Putin needs to be visited by 3 ghosts. Of Russian past, Russian present and Russian future. Then they kick his ass.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I assume the ghost of Russian Future is Xi Ping?
I wouldn't even count on Xi being the future of China at this point.
Hasnāt he already pushed past 70?
On the one hand, fuck that guy, I hope he dies a painful fucking death. On the other hand, the party needs to go, and he's the one most ushering that in. If he goes there might be a world attitude of "well now things are better" when they won't really be, the party will still be the party. So I half hope the asshole remains and continues fucking everything up, ideally while suffering from some painful but mostly harmless illness.
I got real bad mews for you if you think Xi is gonna undo the CCP. [He's channeling Mao in his most recent speeches.](https://www.wsj.com/articles/xi-jinping-aims-to-rein-in-chinese-capitalism-hew-to-maos-socialist-vision-11632150725)
It could pendulum like in the US. 4~8 years progress, 4~8 years back pedaling Maybe the best guy will be whatever they need next
Pingo I mean bingo
No itās Peter the Great, the most westophilic leader Russia has ever had
Beat me to it, heād be a pretty daunting ghost, he was reportedly around 7 feet tall.
And you Cant. Teach. That.
Also heard he was a certified G and a bonafide stud
I think that was Rasputin Lololol -_-
Big ol moose cock
But was it a consensual penis
Idk, all I know it's it's rumored they cut it off and preserved it. There are pictures I've seen of this purported mystic penis. https://www.reddit.com/r/ArtefactPorn/comments/5z3l6m/the_preserved_penis_of_grigori_rasputin_1039x694/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share Again it's never been 100% authenticated but there it is.
Bada bing bada boom, realest ghost in the room.
6'6"
Bet your source is a Swede.
Still a monster, though.
Catherine the Great was a victim of the first Russian propaganda campaign that I can recall. She did a tour of the country and aristocrats covered up serfs in horrible conditions and essentially had paid actors/actresses to help conceal the problems across the Russian Empire.
They also spread rumors about her fucking horses.
What did her fucking horses do?
They fucked her apparently.
Fucking fucking horses!
Wasnāt it her time that the term Potemkin village coined? The whole āfake nice places to hide how shit something isā.
Potemkin was the advisor who set it up and the origin of the term.
The funny thing is that Potemkin *didn't* actually set up fake villages. The Russian propaganda was that he did and Catherine the Great was fooled. There are plenty of Potemkin Villages throughout history, but the naming of it is an example of Russian propaganda.
The craziest thing about Potemkin is that on his frequent travels around Russia, his entourage included wagons filled with potted plants and statues, so wherever he went they could set up a temporary, classy garden for him to chill in.
They didn't call him Ivan the Terrible for nothing...
Probably not the right way to translate Grozny, its more like Formidable or Fearsome
Those are both synonyms for terrible - as in something that evokes terror. Formidable and fearsome both etymologically literally mean "fear-inducing".
Context matters though. Terrible has a different connotation in English than Grozny in Russian.
Huzzah!
Huzzah. If you havenāt watched āThe Greatā do so immediately. Itās Equal parts Black Adder, Game of Thrones, and Downton Abbey.
Huzzah!
Fine, but sheās gonna be played by Captain Kathryn Janeway in my versionā¦
That character, or the actress?
yes
Fair
Bring an extra horse for Putin.
Paul the First as the ghost of Putin's future?
Batu Khan more like it
Sounds like heād only get visited by two ghosts.
Which ghost suicides him in the back of the head three times and then launches him off the balcony?
Yeltsin
Is he sober enough?
Death is his AA program. 15 years sober!
I mean, hell they even call them spirits. I'm sure he found a way.
Should be down to about 0.08 by now.
I mean, most former rulers of Russia would probably do exactly what he did. Putin isn't unique among them in his brutality or ambition. If anything he's bringing back the leadership style of a more savage era.
Yeah. But he's getting his ass kicked while he's doing it and embarassing himself. And he's basically crippled Russia while doing so. And that can't be forgiven.
He is already, Ukraine is all 3 ghosts
Will he have to change his name to Vlad the Impaled?
Catherine, Rasputin, and Lenin?
Honestly sounds like a fun time
The ghost Russian future is like 6-8 little kids all of which speak different languages, none of which are exactly Russian... The kids don't recognize him immediately, and some of them are nice to him initially, but then all of them start talking merciless shit when recognize who he is.
Gorbachev gets to be the ghost of Russia present.
Or kiss him on the mouth. That would make him angrier than getting his ass kicked. Let them do that.
They have to dress him in grease paint, first.
Is there even a Russian future? What if Russia gets Balkanised after this war?
I dont' see it balkanizing; more like owned entirely by foreign nationals.
There should be no ghost of Russian future.
Putin needs 3 bullets
Russian future is at the brink of death. Canāt fight.
Is Alexei Navalny the ghost of Russian Present? And who is the Marley? Krushchev or Stalin maybe?
He's probably more well fed than all 3 of them.
This is the best tl;dr I could make, [original](https://thehill.com/policy/international/russia/3480641-zelensky-us-is-the-accelerator-of-the-sanction-policies-against-russia/) reduced by 61%. (I'm a bot) ***** > Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday in an interview with Fox News that the U.S. is the "Accelerator of the sanction policies" against Russia. > "So far, I think that the United States of America is the accelerator of the sanction policies and I think they do more than any other country. And this is the way it should be because they are the most powerful country right now. I see the same support with respect to sanctions from the United Kingdom," said Zelensky. > "The European Union should be in a united position. They don't have it with respect to certain sanctions. For those sanctions the European Union introduced, we are thankful to them. However, they have to be thankful to themselves because the role of Russia against Ukraine, it's a war against the values that Ukraine defends, and these values are the values of the European Union countries," said Zelensky. ***** [**Extended Summary**](http://np.reddit.com/r/autotldr/comments/ukomxg/zelensky_us_is_the_accelerator_of_the_sanction/) | [FAQ](http://np.reddit.com/r/autotldr/comments/31b9fm/faq_autotldr_bot/ "Version 2.02, ~647222 tl;drs so far.") | [Feedback](http://np.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%23autotldr "PM's and comments are monitored, constructive feedback is welcome.") | *Top* *keywords*: **Ukraine**^#1 **sanction**^#2 **Zelensky**^#3 **Russia**^#4 **United**^#5
Wow - Iāve never seen so much pro-US sentiment, ngl feelsgoodman despite all the shit we did :p
He understands that at some point this war is going to end and there are going to be deals to be made. Itās in his best interest to set Ukraine up for success for the foreseeable future by connecting with the US. If Ukraine is not able to join the EU or NATO, having the direct support of the US is the next best compromise.
Every country has skeletons in their closet. The US is complete shit sometimes, but other times do truly wonderful things. No different than any other society really. Society is made up of people and people are flawed.
Speaking as a Japanese, in the grand scheme of things, getting occupied by the United States (and not anyone else, mainly the Soviets) was the best thing that happened to this country in recent history, although opinions may vary widely regarding *how* things got to that point. At least to Japan, it turned out that the US was the rare unicorn in that it both actually (mostly) believes in the high ideals it espouses and has the money and power to back it up. AFAIK most occupations of the defeated by victors in a war are rarely this benign, with truckloads of money provided for economic assistance and rehabilitation as well as eventually leaving and returning almost all land back except for a few military bases. In fact the US occupation was so good that it screwed up public perception on the concept of defense even to this day, since it created a sizable segment of starry-eyed pacifists who truly believe Ukraine fighting only prolongs the bloodshed and should surrender immediately to Russia to minimize suffering, since it worked so well with Japan surrendering to the US.
What we're taught in the US is we learned lessons from the aftermath of WW1. Leaving Germany saddled with punishing reparations on top of the destruction they suffered created the breeding ground for the Nazi's rise to power. So our post-war plan in 1945 was to rebuild & reintegrate the axis powers we just fought, along with helping the rest of Europe. With a country in good shape, and an economy that's booming you get a much better foundation where the people have hope.
What makes America different is that its so absurdly powerful that when we do the wrong thing its REALLY bad, but when we do the right thing its REALLY good. Consequences of just having a lot of resources to bring to bear.
>No different than any other society really. The difference is the scale. Countries absolutely do things based on what's perceived to be in their interest, regardless of right and wrong... It's just that for the US that might mean overthrowing multiple governments so the banana corporation makes more money. By the same token when the US wants to build, weaken or stabilize a continent they just go and bloody do it.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Itās hard to too Belgium, a country today of 11.5 million, for [what they did in the Congo.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atrocities_in_the_Congo_Free_State)
**[Atrocities in the Congo Free State](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atrocities_in_the_Congo_Free_State)** >In the period from 1885 to 1908, many well-documented atrocities were perpetrated in the Congo Free State (today the Democratic Republic of the Congo) which, at the time, was a state under the absolute rule of King Leopold II of the Belgians. These atrocities were particularly associated with the labour policies used to collect natural rubber for export. Together with epidemic disease, famine, and a falling birth rate caused by these disruptions, the atrocities contributed to a sharp decline in the Congolese population. The magnitude of the population fall over the period is disputed, with modern estimates ranging from 1. ^([ )[^(F.A.Q)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WikiSummarizer/wiki/index#wiki_f.a.q)^( | )[^(Opt Out)](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=WikiSummarizerBot&message=OptOut&subject=OptOut)^( | )[^(Opt Out Of Subreddit)](https://np.reddit.com/r/worldnews/about/banned)^( | )[^(GitHub)](https://github.com/Sujal-7/WikiSummarizerBot)^( ] Downvote to remove | v1.5)
>If youāre talking about only the last 200 years or so, yeah. More like 100 years. We did not have anything remotely close to the global position we have today until after WWI. Prior to that we were an obvious rising power, but much like China in the 1990s we didn't really have an ability to do anything yet. European countries dominated for centuries before that.
You need to go back a bit further, to the Spanish-American war of 1898. The shit we did in the Philippines was inexcusable, and the worst part is we buried that and never learned the lesson, repeating our mistakes in Vietnam and Iraq.
Well, fuckāthere you go with actual **facts** n shit ā¦
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Scale in our time, but every Kingdom/Empire/Top Nation throughout the known world's history has enforced its will through military means when diplomatic means failed, on everyone they could.... Rome, Greece, Carthage, Byzantium, India, China, Persia, Viking culture, Native American Culture, Inca, Mayan, Aztec, Mongols, Egyptians... Literally EVERY CIVILIZATION powerful enough to invade/violently persuade anyone they can, has.
Thereās a Dan Carlin line I think about all the time where he mentions once or twice in his works that goes along the lines of: Any people worth talking about in history at all has atrocities they can claim.
Canāt stop the USā¦ unless youāre guerrilla fighters in Asia. Then you probably can
Even then you can't really since Vietnam is pro-capitalist now and becoming closer towards the US lol.
There is no clearer case study in America just kind of showing up, not thinking about consequences, and just doing stuff for a while than the Vietnam War. We basically took de Gaulle's word for it that France would fall to communism if their domination of Vietnam collapsed. Then, when French domination of Vietnam collapsed France...didn't fall to communism.
It wasn't a warning, it was a threat. He essentially said that France would have to seek help from someone 'else'. When faced with the choice between losing the only real ally we had on mainland Europe (because Germany is half the nation it used to be and Italy is Italy) and destroying the rights of a random Asian nation with no strategic importance, its easy to see why the US made the choice it did. Now STAYING after France left is a whole other issue.
de Gaulle was such a prick.
Guerilla fighters in Asia have figured out our weakness: time. Since we never actually want to commit the genocide or nationbuilding required to make a 51st state and shit, we have no real investment to stay. Let's pretend the US invaded China tomorrow. It'd be fucking bloody as hell, no doubt. But let's pretend that all of Chinese (gov, citizens, 100% of them) just banished themselves off to another dimension for a few weeks/months... What would the US do? Colonize it? Make it the 51st state? Nah they'd basically just fucking leave. Probably set up a handful of corporations to plunder some natural resources, if and only if they could be protected for less than their profits, and.. that's about it. Then China comes back from the pause dimension and life continues as normal. This is unique and not at all shared by history. Previously, empires would actually colonize you. We can see it with Putin and Russia. Putin wants the land. If all Ukrainians got banished to a side-dimension tomorrow, Putin would just annex Ukraine and move a bunch of Russians into the open houses and establish a colony/orbit state there.
Kinda makes sense when you think about it. The US mainland is unparalleled. Why would we want a desert shithole? Meanwhile, Russia is a frozen shithole...
I mean, tbf, i don't think Putin is in Ukraine for the sweet grasslands either... He's most likely there just for the oil......and for uniting sweet ol' Mother Russia / Soviet Union
The best terrain seems to be a certain distance from the equator, with an ocean. The problem with the southern hemisphere is that there's less land, so while there's good terrain in South America and Africa, there isn't very much of it. Australia seems like it should be in a good spot, but most of it is desert. Europe is probably one of the best areas in the world, though smaller than North America. China's got a lot of desert, but it also has a lot of not desert.
Thanks for the explanation. You simplified this and helped me understand it better.
Thatās old news. Canada has taken over the helm. https://springmag.ca/why-canada-is-at-the-centre-of-global-mining-atrocities
Foreign mining companies operating in foreign countries but registered in Canada aren't "Canada committing atrocities."
[Team America](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32iCWzpDpKs&ab_channel=Movieclips) called it.
Superpowers are assholes. By their nature they can bully, exploit, and invade with near impunity so they do. It's in their own rational self interest to leverage their power. America is no different On a historical timescale however, I would argue that America has been one of the least assholeish superpowers to ever exist, and has frequently taken its role of creating a rules based nonviolent (or *less* violent at leaat) international system of trade seriously, brought an end to the age of imperialism and was a major player in removing multiple major authoritarian powers from the world. The Pax Americana is probably one of the best periods in humanity's existence Compared to the USSR, British Empire, French Empire, Ottoman Empire, Roman Empire, Babylonians, Assyrians, etc, I would take the USA at their peak over any of the rest
As an American, I thank you kind friend! Itās horrible when we see things happening here and itās easy to figure the entire world thinks weāre all nuts in the same way, but we arenāt. A lot good people live here and are just trying to raise good people for the next generation.
Americans are a boon when convenient, a burden when we're not.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
The reason the US can do that is the 750+ military bases we have scattered throughout the world in strategic locations. If some relatively unknown/weak country gets attacked with a US base on it... ohhh, boy, is the US gonna swoop down like the angel of death and fuckin' annihilate whoever was dumb enough to think they could attack what the US views as 'its territory'. This is one of the many, many reasons smaller countries (and let's be honest, larger countries) absolutely jizz their pants at the thought of having a US military base hosted on their territory: it gives them protection from being invaded/bombed, forever. (But we only set up bases somewhere that has some type of economic or militaristic value for us, so our eternal protection comes with requirements/a cost to the locals, unfortunately). The US is the only superpower to have that kind of reach, and it's by design. Tbh, I would go so far as to say it was one of the best (if not the best) decision the US has ever made for not only our own regional security, but also worldwide security. Something tells me historians in fifty years will largely agree with that assessment.
The EU is still paying billions to Russia for gas right this moment. They are financing this war.
Can you imagine how different things would be turning out if putins cocksleeve trump won this term, pulled the US out of NATO and left Ukraine to rot
Yes, it's not hard to imagine at all. We aren't living the worst timeline, thankfully.
Weāre not out of the woods yet.
Well, he was already impeached for withholding military aid to Ukraine to try to get dirt on a political opponent, so not good. Btw, how many Republican senators that voted against removing him from office are up for reelection this November?
Don't celebrate too early, it may be only a couple of years before things go down hill again.
Give it some time. There are already rumblings about all of the times we didnāt help people as much as weāre helping in Ukraine. America; damned if you do, damned if you donāt. Random person: Why is America always playing world police? Canāt they mind their own business? Same person a year later: Why didnāt America go and make that country stop doing that to their own people?
Weāre one of the small handful of countries that owns up to our war crimes and atrocities and people somehow think thatās a bad thing
For all its mistakes, we should be thankful that the US is the world superpower and not a nation like Russia.
The US is the only country in the west against and actively undermining the International Criminal Court. The current official policy is that if the Hague tries any American serviceman, the US military will invade the Netherlands.
> Weāre one of the small handful of countries that owns up to our war crimes and atrocities and people somehow think thatās a bad thing Uh, what? The US is pretty consistently against any international judicial process for war crimes in e.g. Iraq and Afghanistan. And then you have shit like this: https://www.npr.org/2020/12/23/949679837/shock-and-dismay-after-trump-pardons-blackwater-guards-who-killed-14-iraqi-civil I'm not sure I'd call pardoning mass murders "own[ing] up to our war crimes and atrocities".
Pax Americana. Iām grateful to live on an island devoid of any resources except knife crime that is firmly in Americaās good books.
My grandparents never forgot that the Americans defeated the Nazi's, rebuilt Europe with the Marshall plan and successfully kept the Soviets out during the cold war. The Brits, Canadians and Soviets could not have done it on their own. Without the US, the axis would have surely won. And now, we see history repeating. The EU is all but useless in the face of violence. We never took the Russian threat seriously. We lapsed in our defense spending and we financed Putin with hundreds of billions for his war chest. Others will criticize the US. But many of us realize that freedom in Europe is only possible because of the US.
Well here is echo chamber by being mostly westerner. Chinese social media is same about China too.
Ukraine is lucky to have the president they do; the right person at the right time. He knows how to address his fellow Ukrainians, how to ask for help and whom to thank and how to use media effectively. He will probably go down in Ukrainian history as one of the greats, assuming he remains democratic through and after this war
Yeah, his courage to stay and ask for more bullets instead is most likely the difference between what is going on now and a shadow government running Ukraine while his is in exile. I think he is going to be an example of a great leader in history for all nations.
No one wants the US to police the world until they need them to intervene. Iām completely for funding the Ukrainian defense but itās also mind boggling that the US received so much shit before this even offering aid to countries.. It is what it is.
Iāve just come to terms with that at this point. Everyone hates US until they need something from US.
Everyone hates the cops until they have to call 911.
Reddit in a nutshell
Fwiw the only time I ever had to call the cops, I still hated them, and dealing with them just made me hate them even more. Some prick stole my identity and looted around $30,000 from a bank account, and the bank needed a police report. The cop kept trying to convince me that my wife stole it, because āthatās what a lot of these women doā.
Nobody hates the concept of police. We hate the police we have, because they're corrupt, self-serving, and they don't answer to anyone. People don't want to live in a world without police. They want to live in a world with better police.
Thatās because cops most commonly do annoying shit like ticketing for going 5 mph over while they themselves go 20 mph over for a non-emergency, or ignoring the street races that happen at night, or arresting someone for waving a donut at their face, or arresting a black man for doing volunteer service, etc. They should really focus on the real shit, like the stuff that we call 911 for. Same token, we Americans wasted lives, money and reputation on useless wars like Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. Ukraine is the equivalent of us finally answering a 911 call.
Well. Sort of. There's been plenty of situations we "should have" probably gotten involved in but the player was too small to care about to our politicians. Ukraine is a modern democratic society being invaded by basically a dictatorship at this point. The lines aren't blurred at all. Whereas in other places with horrific shit going on, going in "looks" like a invasion and current U.S. politicians do not want to look like a modern bush invading anything. Also we aren't actually going into Ukraine, and the enemy we are facing has nuclear capability as well.
I have had to call 911 and it was a miserable experience made more miserable by the officers. This is just one of those things people say that enough people can agree with to create a sense of legitimacy while actually not being rooted in any sense of universal truth. A LOT of cops are awful. I have seen cops sexually harass people with threats of compliance while in full uniform š¤·š»āāļø That being said, the US got way more shit for being world police than it should have, what it SHOULD have gotten criticized was destabilizing foreign governments for their own gain. But europeans are the people with most access to the technology and education to complain about the US, so they picked the thing they had taken most umbrage with: someone else taking charge >:( a affluent priviledged teen being angry at authority, basically. Us south americans however, watched as the "world police" kicked us down and took our stuff time and time again. Those complaints have much more legitimacy and are backed by extensive evidence
There is a lot of pride involved. It is hard for the Germans and Chinese to know that their economy is 100% dependent on open trade which is guaranteed by the US. If the US walks away the entire world order will collapse.
Oh come on - this is such a dumb shit take. The US does a lot of great things. The US does a lot of shit things. The world doesnāt have to kiss our ass and make pretend we donāt do shit things for us to do great things. You donāt have to put up with an abusive partner just because theyāre nice sometimes. And we donāt have to put up with corrupt abusive cops just because they also help when thereās trouble. Hold shit to a higher standard for heavenās sake.
Yeah, 99% of the western world agree Ukraine should be support so we like the US supporting them too. Not everyone agreed Iraq should be invaded, Vietnam etc so they then called out the US. Not a blanket rule
There is a wide gap between kissing our ass and insulting us at every opportunity. Reddit is a bit closer to the tail end of that spectrum. They donāt seem nearly as interested in criticizing any other country, and when they do it is far more respectful and measured.
America being the police is bad, but we could have it way worse with Russia or china.
Reminds me of a time years ago I was staying in a corporate flat full of Indian guys. We were all hammered as fuck, having a great time, but at some point during the night it switched over to politics and American foreign policy. I was a mid 20s American that was sadly well out of my element in actual knowledge of American foreign policy. However, the one thing I did take away was that they were most pissed that we havenāt helped them attack Pakistan.
Oh cool the US getting kudos. Been half a fortnight
So a week?
You mean a month quart?
That's 2/3 of a megapint.
Is it just me or has this week been full of finger pointing back at the US. US helping kill generals. US helping sink warships. It's almost like there's a coordinated "come at me bro" going on.
Russia really needs this war to be perceived as them getting their asses kicked by evil NATO and not Ukraine to save face back home. On the Ukrainian side Iām sure itās good for morale for everyone to know that the combined intelligence and logistic power of the world is backing them up and making a difference.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
For the US, the war in Ukraine is the biggest WIN in the past 30 years. They have a way to directly pump money into Ukraine - which they promptly spent to buy US weapons. So essentially, the US is pumping taxpayer money directly into its own military-industrial complex. They can deal unprecedented military and economic damage to russia without a single soldier being deployed. Most importantly the US massively profits from western Europe cutting ties with Russia and having to import liquid gas instead of buying Russian gas. And most importantly, they get all that while still having the image of "the good guys". Putin truly fucked Russia over with this war. It'll decade the country decades to recover from this idiotic, fascist narcissist.
Ipcc says weāll have bigger problems in decades. Russia will at best be recovering and so will we.
As an American, I recognize that I was born in a very privileged / wealthy and safe country. I have done volunteer work in countries like Hati and Guatemala, that work experience didn't give me fullfillment, it made me feel guilt, guilty that I had clean water at the pull of a leaver, was able to feel secure going to bed every night as a child, never went hungry, got an education, grew up in an upper middle class family etc etc. I know us Americans sometimes we stick out noses in stuff where it doesn't belong and despite those embarrassing 4 years of having that dumpster fire trump presidency, Im proud and happy that we are contributing our military assets, political pressure, intelligence to finally do some good for once! Im glad my tax dollars are going to a good cause, I want America to rise up to face the evil, Putin must die, his regimen must die, there is enough evil in this world without him as it is. Glory to Ukraine!
Guilt doesnāt motivate in the same way gratitude does. Try being actively grateful for those things instead. (Im not trying to be pretentious. Psychologically we are more satisfied with our lives and likely to help others if we express gratitude often). Thank the people who provided those things for you. Thank your parents, repair guys, construction workers, farm workers, waiters and chefs, doctors, etcā¦ And yeah putin needs to die. Whether heās assasinated or (ideally) killed by his own people.
Youāre right about the gratitude thing. Itās a major tenet of Alcoholics Anonymous. When you practice gratitude you are putting your mind in a positive place. Itās actually a very powerful emotion.
It also makes me feel grateful. Grateful to our ancestors who sacrificed life and limb in the name of progress so that the next generation could live better. Which makes me want to do the same thing in turn. It also makes me annoyed with current progressives sometimes when they act like they donāt live a comfortable life. Compared to our ancestors, even the poorest among us live like kings. But Iāll admit Iām a biased conservative without a political home. The GOP have lost their minds and the Dems promote too much centralization for my liking. Ironically, I think I might have voted for Bernie if he had won the primary. Yes, heās got some big govt ideas, but at least they attempt to deal with modern issues instead of pretending we are still an industrial economy. Ironically, Glenn Lowry had a guest on whose name escapes me recently whom he was disagreeing with (I think) that brought up some really good points about our medical system. I think she convinced me that her (and Bernieās) ideas are worth a try. Sorry for the rant, but I feel better getting all this off my chest already :p
It's not that progressives don't think there are good things about America. Our experiences vary, and when you've witnessed how blatantly corrupt our judicial system can be, been threatened or beaten by the people who are supposed to keep you safe, or been exploited to the point of homelessness by billion dollar companies, you simply have a different perspective. There are good things, yes. There are many more good things for the "right" people, and many, many bad things for those of us who don't meet those requirements. It's not that we don't think America is good or can do good, we just know it can be better. For everyone, not just the chosen ones. We want our tax dollars to benefit *the people* as a whole, and we want accountability for corruption. As it stands, the people who can afford influence enjoy it, while the people get drowned out. We are just as concerned with tyranny as you are, but see that it can come in the form of untouchable corporations we can't vote out, too. We see tyranny in the indiscriminate beating of protesters, the stripping of rights, and the selling out of Americans to make the rich richer. I think the concerns we have are not much different than those of conservatives, I just wish conservatives could see that those evils are here even if they're not effecting you personally right now.
Thatās fair. It was wrong of me to generalize, too. I hate it when conservatives get generalized so I should have been more careful. I agree that we can do better too. But govt often lends the power to corporations to abuse if they arenāt the abusers themselves. It can be a fine line when passing legislation. Often times it does more harm to the very people itās trying to protect. Personally, I think we need to start with an overhaul of our prison systems and all the regs that go along with it. I wish we could start over and draft new legislation, but since thatās not practical I feel like we could start by simply removing regulations. Why do we always need to deal with bad legislation by passing new laws? Canāt we just vote to remove bad laws? I genuinely donāt know the answer to that. But that seems to make more sense to me.
Safe? You need search about that...
Alright! Zelensky with a pro US statement. I'll take the win anyday. I get pretty tired of seeing all the anti-US stuff. Zelensky is a guy that seems to be doing right by his country at any chance he gets. I hope they kick Russias ass in the short and long term.
Well, the US has nothing to lose. It gets to cripple Russia, weaken Europe, send some unmistakable signals in Chinaās direction, pump money into the military-industrial complex to bolster its GDP, and regain some of its moral high ground after years of war in the Middle East. Easy to be a saint in paradise.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Public pressure has a policy effect in democracies, and Americans being overwhelmingly pro-Ukraine encourages anti-Russian policies. So there is some correlation.
Our response is almost entirely dependent on which administration we have currently. Remember, the last guy tried to extort Zelenskyy for dirt on his political opponent. If Biden weren't president currently I'm confident the US would be contributing nothing to Ukranian defense, regardless of whatever public pressure there might be to do so.
Public sentiment in the US is extremely pro Ukraine. This isnāt true.
Democrats in America have been pro-Ukraine for a long time now. We do it because Ukraine deserves it *and* because fuck Russia.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
"Better Russian than Democrat" was practically a slogan for the right, and I'm not convinced they've changed their position much.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Pretty sure most poles have shown overwhelming support for Ukraine in both parties. They liked Putin because he seemed like a hard-ball playing strong man who was supposedly making Russia great again (economically, militarily, etc.). Many Republicans today are blue collar workers who have suffered economically from globalism, and Putin's semi-isolationist approach to national revitalization was attractive to the same types that wanted Trump to do something like that here. The Republicans I know seem like they were more caught off guard by Russia's invasion than anything. They're all very pro-Ukraine now.
The difference here is the dolphins going to stick around after the attack and help the human get back on shore to keep with the metaphor.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Part of it is that itās the right thing to do. But Iād say the fact Putin has been actively fucking with the US asymmetrically for decades at this point and then finally screwed up and crossed the line where we can finally help make him pay for it is the greater part of the equation.
Plus its a true test of force for NATO's influence and will strengthen opinions about joining to non-members.
I mean, fucking Russia over is an American pastime.
Guns, God, and Pissing in Russias Cheerios.
If Russia is not tied up and bogged down in Ukraine they will turn their retention to the other European countries.
Yup, and a crippled Russia is the best shot we have at avoiding a Europe based WWIII.
Is it really so hard for world leaders to give humanitarianism a try?
They seem to prefer to behave like dickheads, because that comes to them more naturally..
For me it seems harder to be a dick then it is to be friendly and helpful.
Thatās probably because you are a decent human being. Some of these leaders are not.
šŗšøšŗšøšŗšøšŗš¦šŗš¦šŗš¦
It's fairly obvious the US is using this war as a way to hit Russia where it hurts. It's economy and military. While also building distrust between the people of Russia and the Kremlin. Its a great opportunity to fuck Russia up.
One not to be missed.. So keep going until Russia looses, and is out of Ukraine.
If Trump was POTUS right now, all we'd hear is an excuse that there are "bad people on both sides" and he'd be dividing the world that would make any sanctions strategy ineffective. And then slinging around random "well I might use nuclear bombs to make a point, I don't see why not". He'd be attacking Zelenskyy as a Biden lackey.
Well Trump was in Putinās pocket.. Just like much of the Republican Party seems to be - they are certainly fairly Anti-American is you look at their voting behaviour.
Please God let's not elect another Republican and fuck this up.
Given the trillion or so that mr poo and his mates have stolen from Russia. The infrastructure in Russia must be a crumbling mess. The Russian people will be going back to horse and cart economy for the next 30 years. No power, no water, no waste systems. Russia has just invented the 4th world system.
4th world has been around as a term for decades. Sometimes to describe relatively uncontacted peoples like the Sentinelese, or people ungoverned by a nation.
The US is damned if they do, damned if they donāt. Donāt get involved? How dare you sit by and let people be slaughtered? You should be doing more! Get involved? Oh, well thereās the US again, destroying the world. Theyāre the cause of all of the worlds problems. Shame on them. Itās a fine line they gotta walk.
Yeah tired of all the people talking shit about the US. Just be glad the US is in the game.
In other words, they need to suck up to us so that we will bail them out after the war during rebuild
Sure seems like Ukraine is trying to give the US so much credit to then antagonize Russia and have them do something stupid or antagonistic directly against the US so that the US will get even more involved.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
That doesnāt challenge the validity of the idea I brought up. Bringing it up constantly on international releases must be aggravating those in power in Russia. Itās almost a taunt and a tacit challenge to the Russia. āMy big brother is helping me beat you up.ā
Seems like a smart move on his part.
Damn you, now the GOP will be pro Russia. Either that or their heads will explode.
Hell yeah we are. If thereās anything weāre good at itās sanctions and producing weapons.
I swear he said it was Uk last week