131–140 of 146 posts
And Moscow is the richest part of Russia. The rest of the country will be even more miserable.
Also many (from my experience at least) generally just have lower expectations... the joke is "we never used to live well, no reason to start now" (никогда хорошо не жили, нечего и начинать).
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Western schools teach a lot of crap that is fundamentally useless, at the expense of mathematics, science, and history.
mathematics, science, and history are not the only subjects worth teaching.
The brain drain began in 1990 and never stopped.
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Putin seems quite rational in the interviews I've seen. A much more rational clear-thinker in fact than the last couple US presidents. I think it is fair to call him a power-hungry, aggressive, ruthless authoritarian. Even if NATO is just a fig leaf, why give it to him? Why give him the chess piece that makes it easier to justify this war? One of the great things about a liberal democracy is that we can openly critic…
There’s nothing rational about his Ukraine invasion. Russian gains absolutely bubkis from this, and NATO has become stronger than ever. From what perspective was the invasion rational? Elites in Russia are in absolute disbelief. Putin lost all his cards the minute he actually invaded. So much for being a rational player. It’s great to be skeptical of our government. It’s not so great to repeat kremlin talking points…
Are invasions and overthrow of governments somehow okay when they install a pro-democratic and/or US-friendly leader? What if it fails and that leader turns out to be worse than the previous one?
Keep in mind that the US/NATO has been closely involved in many of these overthrows: Libya, Yemeni, Syria, Iraq, Uganda, Somalia, Pakistan, Yugoslavia, Panama, Grenada. Pretty much all of these involved lots of civilian death and collateral damage.
These aren't kremlin talking points, this is history. It's important to try to break out of the filter bubble and consider alternative viewpoints. At least consider the possibility that NATO is abusing its power and taking actions that are far beyond its original charter/purpose.
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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 hy…
The problem is that Ukraine was not able to join NATO and is invaded anyway.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine%E2%80%93NATO_relations...
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There’s nothing rational about his Ukraine invasion. Russian gains absolutely bubkis from this, and NATO has become stronger than ever. From what perspective was the invasion rational? Elites in Russia are in absolute disbelief. Putin lost all his cards the minute he actually invaded. So much for being a rational player. It’s great to be skeptical of our government. It’s not so great to repeat kremlin talking points…
Was the Bay of Pigs invasion rational? Are invasions and overthrow of governments somehow okay when they install a pro-democratic and/or US-friendly leader? What if it fails and that leader turns out to be worse than the previous one? Keep in mind that the US/NATO has been closely involved in many of these overthrows: Libya, Yemeni, Syria, Iraq, Uganda, Somalia, Pakistan, Yugoslavia, Panama, Grenada. Pretty much all…
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It’s not a brutal regime. That’s what the media wants you to believe. Have you lived there and been treated brutally? The US is a brutal regime. Check the incarceration rates.
Americans don't throw you out of windows for criticising the President
>Webb was found dead in his Carmichael home on December 10, 2004, with two gunshot wounds to the head. His death was ruled a suicide by the Sacramento County coroner's office. According to a description of Webb's injuries in the Los Angeles Times, he shot himself with a .38 revolver, which he placed near his right ear. The first shot went through his face, and exited at his left cheek. The coroner's staff concluded that the second shot hit an artery.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Webb#Death
>The Supreme Court declared last week that Americans have no right to learn the grisly details of CIA torture because the CIA has never formally confessed its crimes. The verdict symbolizes how the rule of law has become little more than a form of legal mumbo-jumbo to shroud official crimes. Why should anyone expect justice from a Supreme Court that covers up torture?
https://mises.org/wire/supreme-court-uses-twisted-logic-prot...
If you looked, you could find a full page of citations like this. The difference is who's propaganda bubble you are living inside of. This doesn't excuse Putin or statists anywhere.
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It's funny you say that because in Los Angeles, mall culture is MASSIVE. Malls aren't stagnant. They are high-end and a lot of fun. Kids go there to hang out and adults go there to shop. I love it and it's sad it didn't take in other areas.
You find it sad because you have never experienced the beauty of a society without malls. With small little local shops instead of the big corporations and high street brands that all look the same. Europeans have. But it is being destroyed by the malls.
Los Angeles probably has the most non-chain businesses in any of the cities I've lived in.
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Was the Bay of Pigs invasion rational? Are invasions and overthrow of governments somehow okay when they install a pro-democratic and/or US-friendly leader? What if it fails and that leader turns out to be worse than the previous one? Keep in mind that the US/NATO has been closely involved in many of these overthrows: Libya, Yemeni, Syria, Iraq, Uganda, Somalia, Pakistan, Yugoslavia, Panama, Grenada. Pretty much all…
I am not following your logic. Are you saying that the USA has done bad things in the past, therefore Russia should be allowed to indiscriminately murder Ukrainians? In my lifetime, I have never seen the USA do anything as evil as what Russia is doing right now.
The US almost started WW3 over exactly that same thing in the not so distance past during the cuban missile crisis.
We get mad when Russia interferes with US-elections with a few online bots but the US directly funded and participated in the overthrow of the pro-Russia Ukrainian government in 2014. There was violence involved, why is it okay when the US murders Ukrainians to install a sympathetic government but not when Russia does it? It's hypocritical.
If it were up to me, I'd disband NATO entirely (too much polarizing history) and replace it with a new organization with a very similar charter, but open membership to Russia and China. The purpose of this organization should be to prevent world wars, not to decide local elections, especially when those elections/conflicts involve non-member countries.
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The truth is readily available in Russia. But just like everywhere else, truth and lies are rejected or embraced regardless of how flimsy or strong they are. Human bias and other psychology can be astounding.
The scary thing is that there's no TV or radio channel to tune to or a newspaper to buy that would offer an alternative, truthful take. Even foreign press suspended activities in Russia after the March 4th law that made independent reporting punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Determined people may seek out independent online sources if they can digest that everything they've been told is a lie, but that's an ins…
People often believe what they want to believe. Repression of the press is not helpful. But it isn't hard to find the truth in Russia. You can find whatever truth you want to find.