Comments by "William Masselink" (@williammasselink) on "High Russian GDP Growth Explained" video.

  1. I'm dense. I didn't catch potato water for vodka til I read a comment below. Hilarious. Know what a doublewide is though. However, I've long used the term piled higher and deeper for PhD. Heard that joke some years ago when I was a student.(B.S.=well, you know and M.S. being More of the Same). Had to look up Koshmar (Russian for nightmare). Great stuff. Another brilliant, no-nonsense, thought-provoking and on-point analysis that I look forward to each day to enhance my knowledge of Russia's sorry economic situation. And they richly deserve their coming, inevitable economic and financial collapse for all the grief they've visited on the world.
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  2. Perfectly stated!
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  3. I've heard that's a definition of genius, doing just that.
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  4. ​ @smk4902 Which is why 1.2 million of their best and brightest have recently fled the country, and Russia's population is precipitously declining. Because it's such a great place to live and raise a family.
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  5. What's there to envy? Russia's screwed under Putin.
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  6. NATO has 20x Russia's sanctioned economy and Europe is starting to wake up to the Russian bear. Advantage EU and NATO.
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  7. ​ @EconLessons It certainly is for the Little Dictator personally. Should we refer to him as "Vladimir the Small"? The very antithesis of his hero Peter the Great who he strives to emulate.
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  8. Eating up that Russian propaganda swill, huh? FYI it's the Russians launching the human wave attacks as is their wont historically. According to Prigozhin, it cost him 22,000 kia's in a nine month period to take Bakhmut: half convicts and half his own Wagner mercenaries. A U.S. general called it "a slaughterfest for the Russians". And the Russkies similarly suffered horrendous losses in men and equipment taking Adiivka. Defense almost always has the overwhelming advantage in kill ratio. Prigozhin also stated that when the tens of thousands of bereaved Russian families become hundreds of thousands, then Russia will be facing the very real possibility of another 1917 style revolution. Those were his words. He also said Russian MOD information was pure science fiction meant to deceive the president. Russia has already sustained over a third of a million casualties. Significantly more than the original invasion force of 190,000. And don't forget, a third of the vaunted Russian Black Sea Fleet is currently keeping the fish company. Need I say more?
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  9. To see the future accurately when others are blind or unaware or oblivious to it is a gift or even genius. As Thomas Edison once stated, it's 90% perspiration and10% inspiration. Mark qualifies on both counts.
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  10. Both great. He keeps you on your toes and makes you think.
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  11. Say, isn't that socialism? How well has that worked out for USSR, Venezuela and Cuba? Where everybody is equally miserable and poor. Except for the power elites.
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  12. He certainly has a dismal outlook for Putin's Russia. And it deserves it.
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  13. ​ @CR67 Just when you thought it couldn't get worse.
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  14. ​ @EinFelsbrocken They never do.
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  15. No, no, yes, no, no.
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  16. Already have, with more to come.
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  17. Especially when they're based on Russian (dis) information.
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  18. ​ @jarcadipane2849 Right now Russia has the worst economic disparity in the world by far. Putin and his 3000 oligarch cronies own one third of the wealth of Russia. Elon Musk says Putin has more money than him "by far". Consequently, a Russian's average annual income is lower than that of India. With 1/10th the population of India and vast natural resources. Something fishy going on here? Doesn't ad up, does it?Or maybe it does. And all that money being poured into Putin's war in Ukraine comes at the expense of education, healthcare and infrastructure. So I guess we do have a lot of catching up to do to get to where Russia is today.
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  19. ​ @valerijoukov239 Especially check out the backwaters, where 66% of Russians lack indoor plumbing and many lack basic health care. The Russia they don't want you to see. Not just the showcase cities like Moscow and St. Petersburg where ethnic Russians live decently and spurn flocking to the colors to die for Putin's war in Ukraine.
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  20. The rest of the world does NOT see Russia's cause as "just". U.N. votes have consistently been 150-5 to condemn Russia's unwarranted invasion of Ukraine. The five supporting are the likes of N. Korea, Iran, Venezuela besides Russia itself. The rest abstain, including India and "friendship without limits" China, both sopping up the cheap, discounted Russian oil. 50 nations with 30x Russia's sanctions beleaguered economy actively aid Ukraine.
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  21. I guess that's why Russia's robust economy is 2.5x smaller than Germany or California. And good luck with 16% interest rate, higher taxes, and a collapsing ruble. The strength of a nation's currency is a reflection of its economic health. And the ruble is sick; it has no value on the world market. It's unviable. Nobody wants it. It's trash. And sanctions are further hollowing out the Russian economy. Murphy was an optimist too.
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  22. ​ @jarcadipane2849 Huh? Just the opposite is true. It corroborates what many others are independently saying. The handwriting is on the wall for Putin's Russia. It's historically inevitable.
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  23. Seems to be the general consensus.
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  24. I don't see that. I learn a great deal from Mark. I love his presentations. Both highly informative and entertaining. And I love Joe Blogs and Perun.
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  25.  @StephenKaspou-x2n  The evidence and logic support the "doomsayers" prognostications concerning Russia's "doom". The economic and financial collapse is just a matter of time. And it's not a case of if, but when. Russia's war economy is simply not sustainable in the long run. The handwriting is already on the wall for all to see. And it couldn't happen to a more deserving terror state.
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  26. @Covadex600 Right. So China and India are going to mix their strong currencies with Russia's basket case near worthless ruble. Why would they ever do that? You dream. "BRICS currency" hah! Russia's economy and financial outlook are grim based on the steadily collapsing ruble. If you want to see Russia's future, watch the ruble. India's already stopped buying Russian oil, and China's banks are having to go through painstaking new western criteria to avoid bringing down secondary sanctions on themselves thereby delaying payments to Russia by months. And both refuse to deal in rubles
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  27. BRICS currency ain't gonna happen. Russia's ruble is a basket case and steadily collapsing. Its and Russia's financial future are anything but bright. Wanna see Russia's future? Then watch the ruble. India's already stopped buying Russian oil. And China's banks are having to delay Russian payments by months to meet new western criteria to avoid bringing down secondary sanctions on themselves. And both refuse to deal in rubles. Any questions?
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  28. Actually, Russia is manufacturing weapons for OFFENSE, and nobody's buying them anymore because they've performed so abysmally in Ukraine and elsewhere versus western weaponry.
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