Earlier quoted context omitted.
One of my traumas from life in Russia during my childhood is the understanding that you live in a North Korea redux, and you have McDonalds, and other Western companies from democratic countries coming here, and feeding that regime. US politicians kept droning how terrible Russia was through whole 200X, yet allow their companies to "wage business on the free world" Can you imagine McDonalds in Pyongyang, and Don Thom…
>"One of my traumas from life in Russia during my childhood is the understanding that you live in a North Korea redux, and you have McDonalds, and other Western companies from democratic countries coming here, and feeding that regime." A child traumatized by the thoughts about geopolitical issues?
McDonald’s to Exit from Russia
341–350 of 394 posts
Re: McDonald’s to Exit from Russia
#342Can you sell the Russian business without violating the sanctions?
Russian social media are full of winking posts hinting that McDonald's will sell operations to a Russian company which it will still profit from "behind the scenes" (via offshore proxy or some other indirect way). They also hint that this will pave the way for other Western companies currently in limbo: split ownership between controllable proxy and Russian owner. And at the same time shout in Bloomberg how much you…
Re: McDonald’s to Exit from Russia
#343Earlier quoted context omitted.
Iraq was not a NATO operation, hence the term "coalition of the willing."
This is laughable on the same level as Putin when he denied that Russian troops are in Crimea. "These are just some people who bought their uniforms in the military store" "That was not a NATO operation but an operation carried out by NATO countries" Meanwhile for the whole world, NATO has waged war in Iraq. Yugoslavia before that. Lybia after that.
It was an ill-conceived conflict yes, but not an actual NATO conflict. In fact the lack of support from key NATO allies led to a very acrimonious relationship with founding NATO members that did not participate. To characterize Iraq military operations as a NATO operation in the face of these facts is simply ridiculous, especially when the actual contributions by NATO members that did join the coalition, with the possible exception of the UK, were very small. (Though their soldiers should still be honored for their willingness to serve and sacrifices made) It was not approved by NATO and if the US had officially sought Article 5 support for the conflict it very well may have been denied, a likely reason why they didn't invoke it to avoid embarrassment. After the country fell to US & coalition forces, only then did NATO send humanitarian assistance & resources to help rebuild, and they were strictly limited in scope.
The Iraq invasion was no more a NATO operation than the Suez Crisis was, with both giving their countries black eyes on reputation and credibility.
As for the other conflicts you mention, NATO's intervention with Yugoslavia was brutal & likely excessive, but it did stop a genocide in its tracks. It's rightfully criticized for its methods but it's difficult to fault their involvement itself. Libya on the other hand I agree was a complete mess. Regardless, none of that justifies Russia's own actions.
Re: McDonald’s to Exit from Russia
#344Can you sell the Russian business without violating the sanctions?
Russian social media are full of winking posts hinting that McDonald's will sell operations to a Russian company which it will still profit from "behind the scenes" (via offshore proxy or some other indirect way). They also hint that this will pave the way for other Western companies currently in limbo: split ownership between controllable proxy and Russian owner. And at the same time shout in Bloomberg how much you…
so Huawei way of solving sanction issues...
let's all pretend Honor is now different entity bought by bunch of unrelated companies
Re: McDonald’s to Exit from Russia
#345Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's about removing sanction: denying the Russians - particularly the urban Russians - their veneer of civilization, affluence, westernization. The notion that they had accomplished something material positive in regards to moving forward in the world among nations after the Soviet collapse. Sure they can clone brands, and sometimes they can clone products and services, you can also go to Walmart and buy Great Value…
The scale of these delusions can only match the scale of Putin's delusions. How detached from real life should one be to reason about people as though they were homo economicus , pathetic humanoid consumers? Linking “brands” to “civilization” is just a widespread publicist cliche that is only observed in various “analysis” in media. When you look at what people actually did, there is no trace of such feeling. Those w…
Re: McDonald’s to Exit from Russia
#346Earlier quoted context omitted.
Russian social media are full of winking posts hinting that McDonald's will sell operations to a Russian company which it will still profit from "behind the scenes" (via offshore proxy or some other indirect way). They also hint that this will pave the way for other Western companies currently in limbo: split ownership between controllable proxy and Russian owner. And at the same time shout in Bloomberg how much you…
Ruble is definitely not much stronger, it’s just practically frozen so it is not defined by free market rules, but by Russian government made ones.
Re: McDonald’s to Exit from Russia
#347Something that has been bugging me for some time (genuine question, please forgive me lack of geopolitics/economy understanding) is this: Supposing we want to hurt Russian economy - how are we hurting it by stopping selling them licenses/branding/machines to make and sell burgers and fries? Are we not ripping them off money if we sell to them? As in: we gain, they lose? I understand we don't want to sell advanced tec…
Re: McDonald’s to Exit from Russia
#348Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't have to understand those countries to believe they should have the right to make their own sovereign decisions. Let Russia try to influence by diplomatic means, let the west do the same, let the country decide what it wants. You just seem to be arguing that these countries should be Russian proxies instead of Western proxies, which is absurd. Let them be neither. Russia's problem is that it's primary mode of…
Almost all of the countries that you have listed depend on Russia economically to the same extent as on the West, or in greater fashion. "Let them be neither" does not work, as demonstrated by the NATO expansion.
Germany for example has very strong economic interests with both the US & Russia, and until the Ukrainian invasion there wasn't too much of a problem with that. The US warned that Russia would use its fossil fuel exports as a political weapon (as it turns out, correctly, but the US wields economic influence in similar, if more subtle ways) but Germany was still free to enter into an agreement despite that, and it did so, along with many other European countries to a lesser extent.
Finland & Sweden were perfectly content to "be neither" for three quarters of a century! But now, faced with a belligerent Russian regime, they're driven to the extreme of knowing they could be next on Russia's list. Russia has brought this on itself, and if more countries are choosing a closer alliance to the west it is in no way through pressure or threats of violence by the west (or the US in particular) but instead due to fear of violence from a their neighbor to the east. Russia has created a situation where "we don't need to pick a side, we can be neither" is now a choice that risks annihilation of national sovereignty.
Re: McDonald’s to Exit from Russia
#349Earlier quoted context omitted.
Apple products can be brought from overseas with McDonalds they would just make a clone which uses same formulas and suppliers
It's about removing sanction: denying the Russians - particularly the urban Russians - their veneer of civilization, affluence, westernization. The notion that they had accomplished something material positive in regards to moving forward in the world among nations after the Soviet collapse. Sure they can clone brands, and sometimes they can clone products and services, you can also go to Walmart and buy Great Value…
Yeah I feel very civilized, affluent, and Western when I walk into a McDonalds.