General statistics
List of Youtube channels
Youtube commenter search
Distinguished comments
About

Nicholas Conder
Good Times Bad Times
comments

Comments by "Nicholas Conder" (@nicholasconder4703) on "Good Times Bad Times" channel.

I have to admire how plucky the Kazaks are when dealing with Russia. I wish them success.
116
I guess Putin's motto is, "Short term gain for long term pain".
25
I suspect that NATO would have a couple of weeks to plan a defense strategy against Russia, as it would take time to move troops and build up for an assault. Also, seeing how Russia is pretty much over-extended in Ukraine, it would be the height of folly to start another war right now. Then again, sanity does not seem to be Putin's strong suit at this time.
22
Although, if you managed a major breakthrough in the Zaporizhzhia region the Ukrainians might be able to cut off the Crimean Peninsula and the rail connections to Russia, thereby trapping a large number of Russian troops.
20
Of course the sabotage of both NordStream 1 and 2, which effectively shuts down these pipelines, is purely coincidental. Since the breakages occurred under the Baltic, I think we can all draw conclusions as to who was responsible.
15
@Postal Mann East Indian pro-Russian troll?
13
@skylanh4319 A stopped watch is right twice a day. Trump was also buddy-buddies with Putin, and admired him.
12
I think Biden might have gotten more done if the GOP wasn't being obstructionist, but rather giving constructive criticism of policy. Of course we have the same thing here as well - the governing party proposes something and the opposition fights against it. But the reason they oppose it is not because it is bad policy, but because the party in power proposed it. It is even worse when seeing (years ago) the GOP working with the Democrats to create a bill, come to an agreement, then vote almost unanimously against the bill they just helped to create. This sort of stupid factional politics needs to end. It is the kind of thing that led to Nazi Germany and the USSR.
10
@pratiptadey2700 That may be true, but they don't appear to be following the beat of Moscow's drum.
8
I think the primary reason for not tapping this resource was because of ground subsidence. Not a good thing to have when you live close to sea level and the ocean levels are rising.
7
At least one other youtube channel indicates that Ukraine is basically conducting spoiling attacks, small probing attacks and minor offensives while they build up for another massive attack sometime in the near future.
7
I know. I had high hopes for China when they had Deng Xiaoping and Hu Jintao in power. They seemed to understand that the path to greatness wasn't military power or threatening your neighbors, but rather developing a proper market economy and integrating into the global economy. Rather then trying to be the biggest bully on the block, it was better to make everyone need you and be dependent on your products. You military was only there to protect your country, not invade others. Xi, on the other hand, is only interested in power and domination, and is leading China down a dark path that they didn't need to follow. It also shows that both Deng and Hu cared about the citizenry, but Xi cares only about his status on the world stage. Same with Russia. I had high hopes when the USSR collapsed, but started to have concerns when the Georgia war started. When Russia invaded Crimea, I immediately saw that Putin wanted to recreate the USSR (or more to the point, a Russian Empire covering the former territory covered by the USSR and Warsaw Pact).
6
I think the latest round of missile strikes sent a reality check to Moscow, actually. The latest round of terror attacks accomplished two things that Putin did not want: 1) It has strengthened Ukrainian nationalism and resolve, and that includes that of the Russian speakers, to throw the Russians out and create strong ties with Europe, and 2) Depleted Russia's stock of smart munitions to the point where they barely have enough to use on other borders. Russia now has only 30% of its pre-war stock of smart missiles left. And with the sanctions in place, they cannot produce more. In other words, like the Luftwaffe bombing of London in 1940, this accomplished almost nothing. And in fact probably less than nothing, because like the Blitz in 1940 it has turned the bulk of world opinion against Russia.
5
Source? And please don't say Russian TV.
5
I fully agree with the comment made around the 9:00 mark. The more I look at it, the more I begin to think the problem with Russia is not that they are searching for natural borders for their country, but rather that natural boundaries like deserts and mountain ranges are what prevent their further expansion. In this regard I get the feeling that, in the case of Russia, most geopoliticians get this whole notion of natural borders backwards. If you think about it, don't the Urals present a natural boundary to Russia? Yet they pushed beyond it. The Black Sea presents a natural border, yet Russia craves taking Istanbul and opening the Bosporus. They talk about defendable borders, yet dream to taking the Balkans. I think the "natural boundaries" concept seems more a case of finding excuses for Russian expansion than anything.
4
@s.k634 Yes, I know what the remnants of the KMT claim, but they are a small minority. The rest of people in Taiwan just want to be left alone. By the way, you didn't take into account the number of civil wars and proxy wars the USSR started. You might want to look into all those "revolutions" and ask yourself how they got all those AK-47s and other weapons. Most people don't.
3
@s.k634 If you look at the civil wars that have occurred in the world, it is very interesting to see a sharp drop in them after the USSR collapsed. I doubt that is a coincidence. When it comes to US intervention/invasions/bombings, do you even consider why? Like trying to stop ethnic cleansing in the Balkans, or attacking terrorist bases. it appears that a lot of these things just get dropped from the conversation whenever the US is involved. Why it is done is as important as what is done. That said, I will agree that not all of these were done with the best intentions, like the 2nd Gulf War (Bush Jr. wanting to finish Daddy's war). But often they are done with the best of intentions and WITH UN support. By the way, the US did not found Al Qaeda. They helped the anti-Soviet partisans in Afghanistan, what became the Taliban was a small part of this effort. It was Ben Laden founded Al Qaeda, and helped the extremist Taliban gain power in Afghanistan after the Russians were driven out. Please get your facts straight.
3
@Postal Mann Then you belong in the PT Barnum category of the "one born every minute".
3
@amongstus4418 Yes, Russia always supports murderous oppressive dictatorships. Should also be remembered that the West's support of Gaddaffi was the epitome of the saying "the enemy of my enemy is my friend". As far as the West being somewhat schizophrenic, that is the result of democracy's changing governments, and is one of the downsides of democracy.
3
I think the overall effect will be that the Russians will tend to congregate even more around houses, villages and cities, which will give the Ukrainians more opportunities to conduct infiltration tactics. Also, with the gear they have, the Ukrainians can own the night.
3
@fredthefish581 According to Covert Cabal, based on satellite photography, they don't. Many of their storage areas for armored vehicles and artillery are almost completely depleted. Based on this information, the Russian military is getting close to running on empty.
2
All these tangled positions remind me of a quote from Sir Walter Scott, "Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive".
2
@patrickhenry7416 Which is why they are trying to buy artillery shells from North Korea. Why they cannot clothe their own soldiers. Why the "new recruits" have started surrendering as soon as they enter the front lines. Why Russia has started building T-62s. Russia is losing, and losing badly. Ukraine is merely taking an operational pause to regroup, prepare their supply lines, and launch another major push. Wait a week or so.
2
@vyros.3234 And about one-sixth of the Red Air Force.
2
Your comment about the war uniting the two ethnic groups into one Ukraine is something that I thought about when the war started. If anything was going to drive a wedge between the Russian nationalists and Putin, it would be an aggressive war the indiscriminately kills the populace. One issue that Ukraine may be stuck trying to deal with are those of nationalist sentiments within the occupied Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk regions. That will be a thorn in Kyiv's side if or when the war ends. How will the Ukrainian government and people deal with this? One suggestion I have would be taking busloads of inhabitants from these regions to Mariupol and Kharkhiv to show them Russian brutality. Even though they won't have lived through it, they would see Russian brutality first-hand. Then again, we have no real idea how much the people of those regions have really bought into the Russian propaganda. Guess we will have to wait and see how the war ends, and the immediate aftermath before this problem raises its ugly head.
2
I have read a lot of the history pertaining to the wars promulgated by France wanting to "reach their natural boundaries", especially monarchs like Louis XIV. And how they seemed to fight a lot of their wars beyond those boundaries, like in northern Italy and the Holy Roman Empire. Being of British descent, I also feel that France did a lot of things they shouldn't have done as well (although to be fair, BOTH sides were as bad as each other during the period of the 100 years war).
2
I think you are forgetting about snow. Those hit and run tactics might not work as well travelling across snow-covered fields. Having lived in the North, I can tell you the snow also conceals ditches and other obstacles to rapid movement. Of course, if Canada and the US supplies Ukraine with snowmobiles, that is a different matter. However, lacking cold weather gear the Russians will be tending to stick much closer to villages, while the Ukrainians wearing cold weather gear will be able to carry out infiltration tactics. Also, Ukrainians heavy armor will no longer be restricted to the roads once the ground freezes.
2
@jacobjorgenson9285 Because they don't. And they don't train is Siberia in the winter.
2
The Persian Corridor won't really help Russia while the Ukrainian invasion is ongoing. India won't be able to trade directly with Russia because of the possibility of secondary sanctions. I don't think India is prepared to be sanctioned either. They will have to be very careful indeed.
2
The MiG question really boils down to how you can get the jets into the country without "being sent by NATO". If they could be shipped in by train, or flown in from a neutral country, that changes they dynamic. It is all a matter of plausible deniability, and doing it in such a way that Moscow cannot point fingers at NATO. After all, Putin WANTS NATO to get directly involved, because that will be a great propaganda coup. As long as western countries can keep supplying Ukraine with what they need without being seen to do so, we can keep shipping stuff to Ukraine to keep up the fight and hopefully win.
2
The irony is that Russia is actually destroying the base of its own foreign exchange. If the EU can adapt, Russia will have lost about 50% of its foreign trade, and will probably be running massive deficits. Plus, noone will trust Russia for critical resources again. Also, Ukraine has large oil and gas reserves, so if they win the war the EU will have a new source of natural gas.
2
bill ted And not buying a smart phone is a bad thing? I'm a neo-Luddite, and don't even use a basic cell phone.
2
@icecp4279 You missed what this video is talking about. They are talking about the sanctions hitting the really high end chip production. China already has the ability to produce the lower end chips, which are used in standard computers and cars. The chips that are affected are those used in supercomputers, missiles and jet fighters.
2
That is more or less what a couple of other Youtubers have said, and I agree.
1
@anartapoashan5714 You might want to talk to Vietnam, Taiwan, Japan and the Philippines about that.
1
@s.k634 I have no problem with a bi-polar or tri-polar world as long as the other poles are not imperialistic expansionistic psychopathic dictators. Unfortunately, that is exactly what Xi is. The reason why China is doing so well is because of the efforts of Deng Xiaoping and Hu Jintao. Xi is just using what they put in place, much like Adolf Hitler used what the previous administrations had developed to create his war machine. China needs to be contained until they get a better leader, one who isn't a megalomaniac who subverts and pressures his fellow countrymen into making them dictator for life.
1
The funny thing is that by destroying the dam, the area upstream of the dam is becoming exposed. Turns out there is a lot of sand and potentially navigable land for heavy fighting vehicles in the area previously covered by the reservoir. Recent satellite images show the actual river itself is not that wide, perhaps 500m, so not as big an obstacle as before. Especially once it dries out. This means that a region that previously could be held by relatively few troops must now be fully manned, and has no real fortifications for the Ukrainians to overcome. Can we say, "Oops"?
1
Ryan McBeth did a very good video showing that it was likely that Russian incompetence, rather than deliberate action, that lead to the dam collapse. It is similar, but not quite the same, as the hypothesis I have about the collapse (my hydraulic uplift hypothesis versus McBeth's overtopping theory). Mind you, he consulted engineers and geologists before compiling his video, so it is probably the more likely one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6z4rhBKTT5U&t=814s&ab_channel=RyanMcBeth
1
No, they just elected Xi, a militaristic imperialist dictator, like Russia did. The US is finally waking up to the threat these dictators pose to world peace and prosperity.
1
@Calligraphybooster As the British would say, Putin is cutting off his nose to spite his face. In the long run, all he has done is isolate Russia more than it was during the Cold War.
1
Russia has to burn off the gas. Once the gas has been tapped, it cannot be shut off, only capped. That would mean the wells would have to be re-drilled.
1
@attilamarics3374 Funny how when someone doesn't have a counterargument they fall back on insulting people. Covert Cabal has used satellite photography to follow the removal of both armor (IFVs, AFVs and tanks) and artillery from their storage yards, and both categories of weapons are getting depleted rapidly. Actual Russian losses are probably somewhere between those recorded by the Ukrainians, and those reported by Oryx (which only records losses based on photographic evidence of geolocated wrecks).
1
@TrassseB I know they have been training on A-10 simulators. I would suspect they have pilots training on other aircraft as well, likely F-14s, F-16s or F-18s. I think what is happening with the deployment of these systems is that Ukraine has been trained on them from the start, but the announcement that Ukraine is receiving these pieces of equipment are only made when the crews are fully trained and the equipment is just about ready to be deployed. Very clever on the part of the Americans.
1
@TrassseB I did see a video of Ukrainian pilots training for the A-10 in the US. This is likely because they will need a ground attack plane to replace their SU-25s, of which not many are left in NATO countries. I agree with you on the F-16 vs the Gripen. One video I watched indicated that Ukrainian runways may be too rough on the front landing gear of the F-16 and could lead to landing gear failures due to stress.
1
@TrassseB The issue the youtuber brought up was how rough the runways were, not their length. The lightweight nose gear of the F-16 might not be able to handle the stress. Also, having the jet intake underneath the aircraft means the engine will more likely ingest FOD and get damaged.
1
Funny thing is that, as a 15-year-old back in 1975, I predicted the collapse of the USSR based simply on the fact that Communism was a bankrupt economic system. Indeed, I even predicted it would occur in the 1990s because that would be when the first of the post-WW2 generation politicians would take power. These people would lack the revolutionary fervor of their predecessors, try to fix the system, and cause it to fail. And this is what happened. What will happen this time? That depends. I think the biggest wild card in all this will be the same one as in 1917 - the army. If the army stays united behind its commanders, then whoever gains their support will likely come out on top. If the army splinters, I foresee a nasty civil war occurring as various groups and factions vie for power. I also suspect there will be at least one wave of purges as the new leaders take control. Again, like 1917, if the St. Petersburg-Moscow region remains as one unit, it contains the largest cohesive population block and should wind up controlling what remains. The question then comes down to whether some of the Oblasts try to join Finland, Georgia or some of the other surrounding nations rather than remain part of Russia. If the central authority completely collapses, it will be a real mess.
1
The one thing that Ukraine has going for it is its natural resources. If those can be tapped and used to rebuild the country, Ukraine has a very good chance to become a vibrant modern economy. Not only that, but like Germany and Japan after WW2 (and South Korea after the Korean War), they will be able to build completely new infrastructure and industrial facilities equipped with all the latest technology. This could put them on the fast track to a rapid recovery and becoming a regional economic powerhouse. Like a phoenix from the ashes. Only time will tell if this is what will happen, though.
1
Putin has plans, but they are plans concocted by a psychopath (Putin) who is using a book written by a delusional ultra-nationalist (Dugin) as a template for imperialistic conquest to establish a Russian Empire running from the Pacific to the Mediterranean.
1
@LackToez Um, Nazis are ultra-nationalist Socialists. Ukrainians are capitalists who want an open free market liberal democracy. Russia, on the other hand, is a dictatorship, has government owned and operated industry (socialist) and believes in Russkiy Mir (ultra-nationalism). That makes Russians the only Nazis in Ukraine. So if you don't like Nazis, why are you rooting for them to win and conquer a free democratic Ukraine?
1
I think part of the issue for Pope Francis is that, like Angela Merkel and other European politicians, he has great difficulty comprehending a psychopath. Psychopaths like Putin are very good at faking emotions and telling people what they want to hear. Someone who is trying to be honest, and lead an organization that spans the globe probably has difficulties understanding just how corrupted Russia has become under the current regime. Someone like Pope John Paul II, who lived under that system did understand. Pope Frances hasn't had that experience, and so is not as well equipped to deal with it. He also must be careful about labelling a country as "evil", even if they and what they are doing are evil.
1
@Wallyworld30 Yes they will. The Detroit tanks will be of better quality.
1
This is interesting. Someone seems to be using my name in vain on this site. Or there is another Nicholas Conder replying to viewers in the comments. I haven't added a comment to this post yet, so none of these comments are mine. Maybe it is a software glitch.
1
To a Canadian, them's fightin' words!😁
1
@lance4337 If your sources are so good, why don't you list them? This is starting to sound like the "a friend of a friend who is in the know told me ...".
1
I disagree. If you look historically, birth rates tend to drop when there is an increase in the standard of living. There is a delay in this effect, usually 1-2 generations, which is why one initially sees surges in population (like Britain during the Industrial Revolution). However, once that initial surge has passed, one sees a population decline as people have more time to spend on recreational activities and want to "enjoy life" rather than raise children. Higher education levels mean people stay in colleges and universities, and get married later in life. Couples don't want to have children because that eats into their budget and free time. The development of electronic means of communication has led to the reduction in face-to-face social interactions, again leading to a drop in birth rates. By the way, Calhoun did a wonderful experiment with rats back in the 1960s. I think what happened in this experiment was quite prophetic, and describes what you are talking about. I added a link to the wikipedia page on this, but there are other articles and videos on this experiment. Personally, I think we are seeing Calhoun's experiment taking place in human society right now. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behavioral_sink
1
@J-IFWBR It depends. The current sanctions that are levied against Russia are affecting their ability to build new missiles, repair their aircraft, etc. Sanctions don't usually affect things overnight, they take time. And yes, they are not 100% effective, but reducing Russia's ability to equip itself or degrades the combat effectiveness of their equipment still helps. Also keep in mind there are a variety of sanctions that can be used, including limiting access to the world banking system.
1
@xijinpig8982 Don't forget there are different ways to sanction. You can sanction individuals or individual companies, not the country as a whole. Depends on how things are targeted.
1
What is really stupid about China's strategy is that they would have way more security if they worked with their neighbours and signed trade and navigation treaties. Instead, they are threatening their neighbours, trying to control and dominate them. By pressuring the other nations in the region, they have unified them into an anti-Chinese alliance with the US. This is the exact opposite of what they initially wanted, and is forcing them into an arms race, much like the pre-WW1 dreadnought race between the UK and Germany.
1
@dpakj989 If Russia is having to press-gang every male they can find in the Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts, and are recruiting prisoners from jails in Russia, they are in dire straits for manpower. If they are taking T-62 tanks out of storage and using old ammunition on the front lines, they are in serious trouble equipment-wise. Putin cannot call up his reserves without declaring war, and doesn't want to because a lot of those people are in his security services, police departments, etc. Calling them up will not only expose the lie of the "special military operation", but potentially reduce his law enforcement/suppression forces to the point where open revolt might be possible by the Russian population. Russia needs to keep a large chunk of its army along the borders with China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Georgia, the Baltic States and Finland. The troops that Putin sent to Ukraine are those he can spare without degrading his border defenses to the point that another nation, most likely China, can grab some Russian territory. The Russians also do not have the huge reserves of operational tanks they used to either. The number is estimated at around 3,000. Biggest problem Russia has is graft and corruption. Org tables have been inflated by generals to get money out of the system. Many of the tanks were not upgraded to the latest versions of armor, hence the "cages" many of them sported at the beginning of the conflict. The T-14 is years behind in development and deployment (Russia has a total of 20), as is their newest fighter. The majority of Russian troops don't have night vision equipment, which they should have had by now. The majority of their equipment is out of date, and their allies from the DPR and LPR are using WW2-era rifles and helmets. A large quantity of the funds meant to purchase modern equipment has ended up in dacha and mega-yachts for the oligarchs, including Putin. façade And if Russia is outnumbered 3:1 by the Ukrainians, like you claim, why did Russia attack in the first place? Only an idiot does that. I have included links to sites explaining all of this in detail. Forced conscription of DPR and LPR citizens: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbK1umnRR-s&list=PLscTZuOqKWIwl9ud2oKoGVGdiZVu454kt&index=4 Recruiting from jails: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-88Wsjprfs Military corruption - Russian army figures may be inflated: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8F0kSDV9U_E Russian tanks in storage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHhgVrKJJoA&t=457s
1
@araara4746 I am aware of that, but what they are really talking about here are the chips used in really high end uses, like hypersonic missiles, jet fighters and the like. Disrupting that supply chain will have a major impact on China's military. Just as the sanctions on chips going to Russia has affected their ability to build missiles. Hence Russia's acquisition of drones and missiles from Iran, and attempts to buy the same from North Korea.
1
@araara4746 Towards the end of the video the presenter actually says this. The question boils down to how much of a delay will this put on Chinese chip development (as well as aircraft and missile development), and can the US keep ahead of China in this field. To use an example from the Ukraine war, will China be forced to use T-62s while the US has Abrams?
1
bill ted No, I'm not making fun of you or anyone else who uses an iphone. I just never found I had a use for them. So why would I buy one.
1
@Fauzanarief-n7i Perhaps, but some of the higher end stuff won't be. Like chips for the hypersonic missiles.
1
@Wustenfuchs109 What happened in Afghanistan is just the latest "wash, rinse, repeat" cycle that has been going on in the country for the last 200 years or so. Basically, it boils down to the government in Kabul decides it needs to modernize. This upsets the hill tribes who unite under a charismatic leader. The tribes then come out hills, stomp the reformers, and often raze Kabul. There follows a 1-2 decade period where they are in control, then the old feuds come to the surface. The tribes then start fighting amongst themselves, fall apart and disappear back into the hills until the next thing upsets them. I discovered this reading a history of Afghanistan, and discovered I could just change the names and/or countries involved, and the same scenario repeated itself. That is, sadly, Afghanistan's albatross - a group of atavistic, xenophobic tribes who are raised on intertribal warfare and abhor change.
1
On question that is not addressed in this presentation are possible problems with the Chinese navy. There are indications that at least on of their aircraft carriers has cracks in their hulls, and lack aircraft. Many of the Chinese vessels are small patrol craft. And there is a question of how well trained their crews are. This is not to undersell the Chinese Navy, but there are a lot of questions about their combat ability and effectiveness. We have seen the Russian Navy get humiliated by the Ukrainians. Will China suffer the same fate?
1
@onefastr6 However, it will all be brand new infrastructure. One need only see how the Japanese and German economies rebounded within 20 years of the end of WW2.
1