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.
No post body was provided.
In Moscow, McDonald's packs up, radio falls silent and the brain drain begins
41–50 of 146 posts
Re: In Moscow, McDonald's packs up, radio falls silent and the brain drain begins
#42Earlier quoted context omitted.
Without full extermination of Ukrainians, I'm having a hard time believing Russia will be able to control it.
I think the problem is morale for russia. If they have it, they can annex ukraine like the USSR days. Chechnya fought very hard like ukraine.
The morale is such that Russia imprisons people who call this a war and any reporting other than rehashing official PR statements is banned, all independent media has been shut down. In official statements, there's only a limited "special operation" against "Neo-Nazi drug addicts" in Ukraine and it's going well, while on the ground everything's falling apart and in some sectors they've deployed rear troops that shoot their own soldiers if they attempt to retreat. Some POWs have even described how their units executed own wounded soldiers to avoid having to deal with treating them.
All in all, thousands of Russian service members have died, but Russian representatives refuse to collect bodies from Ukrainian authorities for proper burial. Relatives are kept in the dark. Many will receive a letter months from now saying that their father/husband/son died in undefined military exercise. Those relatives who speak up get a visit from security service intimidating them into shutting up.
It's a total nightmare. There'd be a violent revolution the next day if Russian TV showed truth for one evening: orthodox churches burning, entire towns razed to ground, kids getting limbs blown off from cluster munitions dropped onto residential areas, all kinds of unimaginable suffering.
The scale of this is such that there's no way to conceal truth for an extended period of time. It will lead to implosion of Russian society just like the Afghan war did in the 1980s.
Re: In Moscow, McDonald's packs up, radio falls silent and the brain drain begins
#43"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.
It really depends on the country. Malls are huge and packed in Japan
Re: In Moscow, McDonald's packs up, radio falls silent and the brain drain begins
#44Quoted post unavailable.
What does this mean?
Re: In Moscow, McDonald's packs up, radio falls silent and the brain drain begins
#45Earlier quoted context omitted.
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 he…
There really should not be a rational benefit, perhaps only a symbolic benefit (not letting an enemy alliance set up camp on your doorstep).
On the flip side, it's ridiculous that the US and NATO leaders are willing to risk nuclear war over something symbolic with miniscule strategic value. If WW3 is started over something as foolish as this when all we had to say was 'Ukraine will never join NATO'.
In a way it is hypercritical to say Russia is overreacting when the US was extremely close to escalating to all-out war over the missiles in Cuba.
Re: In Moscow, McDonald's packs up, radio falls silent and the brain drain begins
#46"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.
Isn't a mall just a private version of a public walkable space? Like what the town square used to be, except ironically with malls in order to reach the walkable space you have to drive there.
Re: In Moscow, McDonald's packs up, radio falls silent and the brain drain begins
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
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…
The people who are the primary denizens of hole in the wall casinos are all gambling addicts. The same people who were illegal gambling in the "internet cafes".
Re: In Moscow, McDonald's packs up, radio falls silent and the brain drain begins
#48"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.
No post body was provided.
Re: In Moscow, McDonald's packs up, radio falls silent and the brain drain begins
#49Earlier quoted context omitted.
The mall in my town is 75% empty, and frequented mostly by older "mall walkers" such as my father, who does four laps a day. Was still cool when I was in high school (circa 2012). I have no idea how they're still open even after COVID. Dave & Buster's was supposed to open a location there but that fell through.
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.
Our local mall (in SF bay area) will be shrunk down in size maybe 50% and the additional space and bulk of the parking will be converted into housing with some commercial stores in the bottom. Costco will take over a portion of the mall and some restaurant/food court area will remain. Not sure what will happen to the rest.
Re: In Moscow, McDonald's packs up, radio falls silent and the brain drain begins
#50Earlier quoted context omitted.
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…
> And idk what you’re referring to regarding “vulnerable”?
Not OP but worked in the industry and enjoying a casino visit once in a while: People left so far behind by society that they see their only hope of escaping poverty in gambling. Or people with issues (poverty, domestic violence, PTSD, ...) who don't have access to other outlets for their frustrations. Lotteries and gambling are called "taxes on the poor and stupid" for a reason!
> Vulnerable to addiction? Alcohol is addictive and bars are legal.
Yes, but you usually can't drink away your life savings in one night out (expensive whisky, wine and strip club champagne aside). You'll pass out before being able to spend more than 200$ in most bars. With gambling, it's scary how fast you can win and especially lose a lot of money - I watched someone at a roulette wheel winning 35k $ in one round (bet a grand on a single number), and lose that and more the next ten minutes.