Putin Threatens The West

[geared]

He was losing money on the whole thing for a while wasn't he?  because he wanted to shut it all down unless someone stepped in and started picking up the bill.

 

Mind you it was probably peanuts compared to the money he's flushed away with Twitter, that's all his own mess though.

Edited April 14, 2023 by geared

[trastrick]

1 hour ago, geared said:

He was losing money on the whole thing for a while wasn't he?  because he wanted to shut it all down unless someone stepped in and started picking up the bill.

 

Mind you it was probably peanuts compared to the money he's flushed away with Twitter, that's all his own mess though.

Sometimes people are attracted to ideas that become profitable due to their intrinsic value, not because of a burning desire to accumulate wealth for it's own sake.

 

Trump was the only President in living memory to lose wealth, billions. during his time in office.

 

Musk follows the same ideals, as I did, when I walked away from accumulating money, on at least 4 occasions in my life.

 

There are more things important to some people than money, but it's a hard concept for followers of the politics of greed and envy to get their heads around;

 

They tend to judge others by their own appetites in life. 

 

Einstein put it this way! :

 

""Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. The mediocre mind is incapable of understanding the man who refuses to bow blindly to conventional prejudices and chooses instead to express his opinions courageously and honestly" - Albert Einstein.

 

 

Edited April 14, 2023 by trastrick

[geared]

I think Musk had decided he could 'fix' Twitter and sort it out.  He certainly made alot of sweeping changes when first taking over.  As brilliant as he is, he's also supremely arrogant.

 

I can't see it working though, Twitter has never made good enough money.

Edited April 14, 2023 by geared

[trastrick]

Just now, geared said:

I think Musk had decided he could 'fix' Twitter and sort it out.  He certainly made alot of sweeping changes when first taking over.  As brilliant as he is, he's also supremely arrogant.

 

I can't see it working though, Twitter has never made good enough money.

I wouldn't worry about him, if I were you!

 

He's probably smart enough not to look for business advice from some anonymous  financial analyst on SF 

 

 

[trastrick]

The West's Liberal New World Order foreign policy approach to the Ukraine War is in trouble.

 

The idea that the Ukraine can, if supplied with enough conventional weapons, can push the Russians out of Crimea and the Russian speaking self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic in Eastern Ukraine, is becoming more and more remote.

 

As is the idea that Putin can be shamed by the "world" into pulling out.

 

As is the idea that regime change in Russia is a realistic.

 

As is the idea the the Ukraine is actually winning.

 

I've said for a long time that the current war is a war of attrition, that only the major combatant  can afford to engage in for an indefinite period of time.

 

Many regional conflicts are eventually settled by pragmatic solutions such as partition. See India, Korea, Palestine, Bosnia, Ireland, et al.  Partition is usually arbitrated by major non-combatants with U.N. backing.

 

I've also pointed out in the past, that the current goal of each combatant is in occupying as much territory as one can so that when the inevitable peace talks do begin, one is at an advantage, and has an element of power over where the final borders are drawn.

 

I've also been calling for this inevitable outcome to be recognized and to end the slaughter and destruction in what is left of the Ukraine.

 

At the same time, I have been called a Putin puppet and worse by the sofa telly armchair warriors, who are willing to support the war for "as long as it takes" which in reality means"fighting to the last Ukrainian".

 

In  the past such peace proposals have been made by the democracies in the West, but no Western Leadership has been forthcoming to effect an end to the killing and destruction. Today the rhetoric has become personal, and egos and elections are at stake.

 

But where a vacuum of leadership exists, it will always be filled! What the West has failed to do, others will be happy to take the initiative and the advantage.

 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-and-allies-look-at-potential-china-role-in-ending-ukraine-war-2d6cbb4d

 

(( It will only take a couple of editorials from the NYT and the Guardian, though, before the clapping seals will be outdoing each other to get on board with the latest MSM "narrative".

 

We've seen it all before with the COVID farce!   ))

 

 

 

 

Edited May 9, 2023 by trastrick

[Magilla]

3 hours ago, trastrick said:

The West's Liberal New World Order foreign policy approach to the Ukraine War is in trouble.

According to your linked article... nope

 

Quote

The idea that the Ukraine can, if supplied with enough conventional weapons, can push the Russians out of Crimea and the Russian speaking self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic in Eastern Ukraine, is becoming more and more remote.

 

As is the idea that Putin can be shamed by the "world" into pulling out.

 

As is the idea that regime change in Russia is a realistic.

 

As is the idea the the Ukraine is actually winning.

Your linked article is framed on the premise that "Russia can't win", and will lose it's appetite to continue... Ukraine's spring offensive could prove to be the straw that bring about negotiations with Ukraine in a position of strength.

 

Quote

I've said for a long time that the current war is a war of attrition, that only the major combatant  can afford to engage in for an indefinite period of time.

 

Many regional conflicts are eventually settled by pragmatic solutions such as partition. See India, Korea, Palestine, Bosnia, Ireland, et al.  Partition is usually arbitrated by major non-combatants with U.N. backing.

 

I've also pointed out in the past, that the current goal of each combatant is in occupying as much territory as one can so that when the inevitable peace talks do begin, one is at an advantage, and has an element of power over where the final borders are drawn.

 

I've also been calling for this inevitable outcome to be recognized and to end the slaughter and destruction in what is left of the Ukraine.

The developments in your linked article are an anathema to anything you have ever suggested in this thread.

 

Quote

At the same time, I have been called a Putin puppet and worse by the sofa telly armchair warriors, who are willing to support the war for "as long as it takes" which in reality means"fighting to the last Ukrainian".

Negotiating from a position of strength, is not "The Ukrainians should be forced to suck it up" solution you have repeatedly proposed.

 

Your linked article lays out a scenario that bares no relation to anything you have ever suggested, quite the opposite... in fact!

 

Quote

In  the past such peace proposals have been made by the democracies in the West, but no Western Leadership has been forthcoming to effect an end to the killing and destruction. Today the rhetoric has become personal, and egos and elections are at stake.

 

But where a vacuum of leadership exists, it will always be filled! What the West has failed to do, others will be happy to take the initiative and the advantage.

 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-and-allies-look-at-potential-china-role-in-ending-ukraine-war-2d6cbb4d

Clearly, you either failed to read it, or utterly failed to understand what it's saying.... what's new!

 

The outcome in your article bares more relation to comments posted by L00b and others, than anything you have ever suggested.

 

 

 

 

 

In other news...

 

Wagner Group boss says he will pull fighters out of Bakhmut:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-65493008

 

Reality of war rains on Russia’s Victory Day parade:

https://www.politico.eu/article/russia-victory-parade-war-crimes-moscow-putin-war-ukraine-ww2/

Edited May 9, 2023 by Magilla

[geared]

The Wagner boss has already done a U-turn on those threats after apparent promises of ammo, and fighting there remains heavy.

 

This is a city which was expected to be taken during the winter offensive, and still remains on the front line as we move into the summer.

[Magilla]

45 minutes ago, geared said:

The Wagner boss has already done a U-turn on those threats after apparent promises of ammo, and fighting there remains heavy.

Indeed, that the threat was made at all though, highlights things really aren't going swimmingly for Putin either...

 

...time is not on his side.

[geared]

The Russians have built up significant defences all over occupied Ukraine, if they hold up against any attack the war will quickly descend into a stalemate.

 

Time won't be such a problem then, Putin can still claim to have won some land and the Ukrainian's won't have the strength to push them out.

[L00b]

19 hours ago, Magilla said:

Indeed, that the threat was made at all though, highlights things really aren't going swimmingly for Putin either...

 

...time is not on his side.

…nor on the side of his glove puppets, as I note that both Aaron Banks and now Nigel Farage have made the #vatniksoup grade:

 

 

I would predict some sleepless nights ahead, given Ukraine’s GUR retaliation promises 😈