|
Register | Sign In |
|
QuickSearch
Thread ▼ Details |
|
Thread Info
|
|
|
Author | Topic: The War in Europe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Phat Member Posts: 18351 From: Denver,Colorado USA Joined: Member Rating: 1.0 |
Percy writes: And I try and be honest as much as I can. I remember that book. Here were the other things. Lets go down the list and compare the list with the world we see, the ideologies we discuss and those we embrace:
Do you remember an old book called All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten: Uncommon Thoughts on Common Things? One of the things learned is honesty. To be continued.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Phat Member Posts: 18351 From: Denver,Colorado USA Joined: Member Rating: 1.0 |
What mess?
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Phat Member Posts: 18351 From: Denver,Colorado USA Joined: Member Rating: 1.0 |
According to Colonel Douglas Macgregor, a controversial yet well learned conservative,(Ph.D in international relations) is controversial and outspoken on the Russian Ukrainian conflict. He claims that Ukraine cannot win the war no matter what they do despite massive US and NATO support unless NATO gets directly involved.(which would lead to escalation) Wasn't Wagner initially on Russias side as hired mercenaries? If so, I suspect that this whole 180 degree turn by Wagner is in some way staged and is a form of propaganda to convince the world that Ukraine will win and that it is Russia who is nearly finished.
Some of you have mentioned that the conservative playbook is to spread fear rather than patriotic (and unified) optimism regarding the course of such a war. If so, Macgregor is doing his job for the conservatives, but I might point out that he is no country bumpkin with an opinion. In his opinion (he has written several books) Putin never intended to conquer all of Ukraine but simply consolidate the annexed provinces into Russia...UNTIL his army got bloodied and beaten, at which point Putin used superior Russian artillery and missiles to destroy Ukraine. (Ukraine's population has dropped by at least a third since the war started) Trump liked him and as I peruse his bio, I can see that he has been labeleda racist, anti Muslim, and anti immigration type. Quotes such as this one support that: Wiki:The Wiki article exposes his public gaffes and racist/nationalist comments. So why do I listen to him? What if he is right? What if the war in Ukraine never gets won by Ukraine? Maybe dwise1 can help me with this one. He is ex-military and not a far right conservative.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Phat Member Posts: 18351 From: Denver,Colorado USA Joined: Member Rating: 1.0 |
I asked:
quote: Percy writes: Yeah, that's kind of a major issue in this thread. Any thoughts of your own? I just want to know the truth. I hear more than one narrative and I dont simply trust the presidential press secretary or the news that I hear. If Macgregor is an echo chamber for the far right agenda, who or what is to say that the powers that currently be don't have their own agenda and narrative? Why can't the government and current administration have an agenda of their own? Is there only one story? Is Zelensky the Saint he is made out to be? Is he in fact a "good guy"? One of "us" ? And the 64 thousand dollar question: Who IS us? Who does the peanut gallery represent? And who do they oppose?
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Phat Member Posts: 18351 From: Denver,Colorado USA Joined: Member Rating: 1.0 |
Theodoric writes: One critique of many modern colleges is that over 90% of the professors vote for the same political party. If someone has said anything racist in the past, you cancel them and dismiss any academic credibility that they may have.
He posted the wiki page. He does not care and embraces these assholes.Tanypteryx writes:
As soon as this war started, the majority of the peanut gallery was in lockstep and all agreed Considering that the vast majority of what Phat posts promotes that bullshit, that is exactly what he himself wants to promote!to staunchly oppose Czar Vladimir The Condemned. I never questioned that since it appeared that Putin was in fact the aggressor. Now I am exposed to another narrative that tells me that Putin never wanted to go hard and eliminate Ukraine but that his generals did. Ive also heard an alternative narrative that states that Zelensky is no Saint and that this war is only being supported by NATO due to the military industrial complex, the assets of Ukraine, and the fact that the Western belief is that everyone on earth has a right to freedom. But at what cost? And how did Prigozhin turn 180 degrees against Putin? I smell a rat. Percy writes: Explain what sort of political advantage "they" would gain and who "they" are? Anyone claiming to have even just a fair idea of how the Ukraine war will end is wrong. No one knows how this will end or what will happen before it ends. I hope most people are hoping for a free and independent Ukraine rather than for outcomes, no matter what they are, that will give them a political advantage. It couldnt be Trump. The system is closing in on locking him up. There are, after all, at least two political parties globally as well as nationally. Why must only one be kept in power? More to the point, why is there only one answer?
Percy writes: I suppose that you want me to throw away all that I hear that "sounds right" or that strikes an emotional chord. Yet the bleeding hearts claim that the poor Ukrainians are worthy of support. Could you please stop rummaging around in your echo chamber?I say its because Ukraine is valuable to NATO. We wouldnt be sending much support to a backwash like Yemen!
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Phat Member Posts: 18351 From: Denver,Colorado USA Joined: Member Rating: 1.0 |
I bet if Joe Biden or Jerome Powell told you an assertion you wouldn't demand evidence from them.
Anyway here is a bit of evidence: College professors donate to Democrats over Republicans by ratio of 95-to-1: Study
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Phat Member Posts: 18351 From: Denver,Colorado USA Joined: Member Rating: 1.0 |
Par for the course. Liberal authoritarianism lives on. Im obviously unwelcome here...why the hell do I stay around?
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Phat Member Posts: 18351 From: Denver,Colorado USA Joined: Member Rating: 1.0 |
Yeah but now I cant use links at all! Ive never seen anyone else hit with that kind of discipline. Percy mentions my echo chamber, but his whole forum is virtually a left wing echo chamber!
nwr writes: Maybe I disagree with you most of the time, but diversity is good. Well, if his discipline is in fact corrective rather than punitive, perhaps I will have to learn to make my points more in my own words....but I expect him to eventually reinstate my links since I have also used links creatively at times.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Phat Member Posts: 18351 From: Denver,Colorado USA Joined: Member Rating: 1.0 |
First of all, I thank all of you for bothering to encourage me and explain the motive of the corrective discipline. It may irritate me having to think rather than link, but its probably good for me.
Meanwhile in Europe...
Sky News:Im not sure what this parallel society comment refers to, but it seems to be targeting the immigrants to(in) France. One thing I *do* see is that the rioters...whomever they may be...are fighting against authority (the police) and this bothers me as I fear that this could happen here in America. People need to work with authority figures and authority figures need to respect people. Tearing everything up helps no one. The world needs to learn from these events and people need to educate themselves. The whole group (herd) mentality reaction is caustic to a civilized society/ Edited by Phat, .
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Phat Member Posts: 18351 From: Denver,Colorado USA Joined: Member Rating: 1.0 |
I was heading in that direction! Yes, I realized that I had not mentioned Ukraine in the post but was too lazy to change the title. Besides, mass riots are wars between people and other people. Rioting is a form of civil conflict. It is far from a peaceful protest.
Peoples stuff gets destroyed through missile strikes or through the herd mentality of rioters. And why didn't these people protest and riot in the countries that they came from? Why come over to the neighbors house and ruin it?
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Phat Member Posts: 18351 From: Denver,Colorado USA Joined: Member Rating: 1.0 |
Percy writes: I've been doing that more lately. The BBC is my usual go to site, but I also listen to Al Jazeera. NBC News with Lester Holt is another one I watch occasionally. Stop looking for stories and start seeking reliable information. So here are two stories that I found on the BBC that gave me a better perspective of the troubling expansion of global conflicts. Ukraine war: Russia goes back to prisons to feed its war machine Adopting the practice of recruiting prisoners as did the now disbanded Wagner Group, (led by Yevgeny Prigozhin - until he and other Wagner group commanders died in a plane crash in August 2023) Russian military is using ex-prisoners to fill the gaps in its defenses (and offenses).
BBC: War is a nasty business and Putin is heartless. If he treats his own people as badly as he is doing, imagine how he thinks of treating the United States and Israel someday.Russia has resumed nuclear testing, a sure sign of saber rattling. On a final note, lest the world thinks that two wars are not enough, South China Sea: Biden says the US will defend the Philippines if China attacks I have no critique regarding Biden's assertive foreign policy stance in all three areas of contention, but can our economy handle paying all of this money funding other people's wars? Do we have other options or are we going to get sucked into playing global cop as inflation goes up and our aging population counts on Social Security?
Percy writes: That's for sure. Your whole approach to finding out what is true is horribly flawed because instead of seeking facts, information, and analysis you're looking for someone who has the answers. But that's a huge fallacy. No one has the answers.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Phat Member Posts: 18351 From: Denver,Colorado USA Joined: Member Rating: 1.0 |
Percy writes: Can the United States remake the world in our own image? Is global Democracy even an ideal? It won't solve all of the problems. I DO agree that there are "forces" of authoritarianism seeking to overthrow the West. The magnitude of the threat means that these aren't other people's wars. They might not be taking place on our own territory, but they are our wars, too. Concerning countries like Ukraine, the Philippines, Israel, and many more, the forces of authoritarianism take one step closer to our own shores each time one of these countries falls. Looking at BBC reports on Ukraine:
Ukraine war: Marines gain riverbank foothold but front lines barely move Many now say that Ukraine cannot win.
BBC: As long as Russia keeps feeding its army with new blood, Ukraine will continue to be involved in a war of attrition and one in which they are unlikely to win.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Phat Member Posts: 18351 From: Denver,Colorado USA Joined: Member Rating: 1.0 |
Omni writes: I think we will go broke anyway. We have spent so much money on wars that did nothing (such as Afghanistan) If world peace arrives, we'll probably go broke.and are now being seen as the instigator of wars we don't even fight in, but only support financially. My latest financial apologists all predict a major change in the economy set to hit around March of 2024. Let's hope they are full of hot air!
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Phat Member Posts: 18351 From: Denver,Colorado USA Joined: Member Rating: 1.0 |
If Putin beats us, it will be through dethroning the dollar itself. Apart from nuclear and hypersonic missles, he has no weapons with which to defeat us.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Phat Member Posts: 18351 From: Denver,Colorado USA Joined: Member Rating: 1.0 |
Percy writes: You did your homework in this post! I predict that History will show us that we essentially were hoisted on our own petard when we bagan to weaponize the U.S. Dollar. As reported by many news outlets yesterday, With Russian economy far from collapse, U.S. opts for tougher punishment. In other words, more sanctions. As pointed out several times in this thread, sanctions don't work. That we still have a range of sanction options available to us is one of the reasons. All the many sanctions we've added since the initial round means that we are always leaving many sanction options on the table. One other reason sanctions don't work is that the target always finds other trading partners or relies more on domestic sources. Another reason, at least when dictators are involved, is that there are paltry political costs from a suffering citizenry. And executing political opponents works marvelously for squashing opposition. We weren't serious enough in providing military aid at the outset of the war to give Ukraine sufficient advantage within its own borders. Military aid was far too slow in ramping up (and still is), in the early stages usually because of unsubstantiated fears that arming Ukraine too strongly would incite Russia to go nuclear. All we accomplished was guaranteeing a longterm stalemate resulting in greater suffering. Fun fact that many might already know: Ukraine was prepared to take out Russia's Black Sea fleet using StarLink communications provided by Elon Musk, but Musk, citing a fear that Russia would go nuclear, blocked StarLink from working anywhere near Russian ports or fleets.Essentially, our sanctions forced the need for an alternative financial network apart from dollars. Omni writes: In the case of our present economic "boom" (some would argue otherwise) the wars have done little except to fire up our military-industrial complex and prevent (or delay) an economic downturn. We shot the dollar in the head, and the bleeding won't likely stop until a financial reset. What that will look like is unclear at the moment.
War is big business. As long as it's conducted somewhere else, war means immense wealth and power to the right people. The billions of dollars sent to Ukraine largely return to U.S. producers of munitions and other war materiel. (...)I smile when I see references to the Post-War Boom -- there was no post-war. An existential world war was downsized to a sustainable operation with maximized returns. Nothing moves money around like war, but war also has great utility in social and political management. Congress lards the budget with more than the military requests, then directs that bacon to bases and factories in key voting districts. More jobs, more money; more votes, more money; more war, more money. Nothing shores up political support at home like a good enemy. War may offer the best return on otherwise idle youth, always a volatile political demographic. No doubt Putin is delighted to empty his prisons and literally dragoon the unemployed to throw into Ukraine with little to no training. Boost the ranks, lower prison rolls and costs, remove a poor and restive set: win-win-win. You worry that proxy wars will break the bank. They make us rich. They break our souls.
|
|
|
Do Nothing Button
Copyright 2001-2023 by EvC Forum, All Rights Reserved
Version 4.2
Innovative software from Qwixotic © 2024