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In Moscow, McDonald's packs up, radio falls silent and the brain drain begins

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31–40 of 146 posts

Re: In Moscow, McDonald's packs up, radio falls silent and the brain drain begins

#31
post #9
post #5

What an epic blunder by Putin which we can only hope leads to some kind of change in Russia.

I agree with the blunder part but only if he ends up failing to control ukraine. So long as he succeeds there, the russian people will lose big time but Putin will do just fine. But if he loses, I don't think he will leave peacefully but he will leave.

I don't really know anything about his personal goals - he's an old man who will probably be dead in around 10 years. But it's difficult to see how even a successful conquest of Ukraine is a positive result. Russia would have gained some territory of minimal value at the cost of crushing sanctions.

There's no rational benefit, it's just the bizarre thinking that a physical buffer between Moscow and NATO is somehow helpful in a world with thousands of ICBMs.

Re: In Moscow, McDonald's packs up, radio falls silent and the brain drain begins

#33
post #2

"Has become a mall society" - And the US has spent the last 30 years abandoning or malls. When I was a teenager it was definitely the place to hang out on weekends!

From my tangential experience, Russian society is about 20 years behind the West, and 30+ years behind USA. As an American, I absolutely _loved_ mall society. But that peaked in the 1980s and 1990s in USA. It's mostly over at this point. I envy that they are (were) still enjoying it.

Re: In Moscow, McDonald's packs up, radio falls silent and the brain drain begins

#35
post #7
post #5

What an epic blunder by Putin which we can only hope leads to some kind of change in Russia.

Curiously, when the wall came down I thought we could all finally be friends.

Maybe if the Soviet Union hadn't just completely collapsed, things might've been different. Or even just not having a corrupt, alcoholic clown for a president during the most critical period in Russian history since the war.

Re: In Moscow, McDonald's packs up, radio falls silent and the brain drain begins

#36

Well, we're about to find out whether or not McDonald's Peace Theory[1] is true or not. > In Thomas L. Friedman's 1999 book The Lexus and the Olive Tree,[56] the following statement was presented: "No two countries that both had McDonald's had fought a war against each other since each got its McDonald's". He supported his belief, as a theory, by stating that when a country has reached an economic development where i…

Ukraine had McDonald's since 1997 I don't think this has been a valid theory since at least 2014.

Now hold on a minute. Let’s not assume it’s the theory that’s wrong. Isn’t it possible the entire war was invented by Burger King as anti McDonalds propaganda?

Re: In Moscow, McDonald's packs up, radio falls silent and the brain drain begins

#38
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ours seems to be staying open because of a planet fitness that took over a large section. Macys, Penney's, Seats and BonTon were the anchor stores. It's likely a casino will take over half the building.

Yikes, a casino? That sounds like a really bad thing for the community. I thought casinos need special permissions to operate and should not be too easily accessible by the “vulnerable”.

No, casinos are not necessarily bad for a community, you’re mistaken. Ohio legalized casinos in major cities and they aren’t bad (whether they’re successful or not is another matter).

And idk what you’re referring to regarding “vulnerable”? Vulnerable to addiction? Alcohol is addictive and bars are legal. Casinos are still heavily regulated, but beyond that people are allowed to make their own decisions and gamble if they wish.

Re: In Moscow, McDonald's packs up, radio falls silent and the brain drain begins

#40
post #22

Well, we're about to find out whether or not McDonald's Peace Theory[1] is true or not. > In Thomas L. Friedman's 1999 book The Lexus and the Olive Tree,[56] the following statement was presented: "No two countries that both had McDonald's had fought a war against each other since each got its McDonald's". He supported his belief, as a theory, by stating that when a country has reached an economic development where i…

I guess the theory has already fallen through, hasn't it? Presumably both Russia and Ukraine had McDonalds.

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