Comments by "Luis Aldamiz" (@LuisAldamiz) on "How the Rich Ate Moldova" video.

  1. Europe is a mere peninsula of Asia.
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  2. Only 70%? I'm sure 95% of Europeans have little idea of how to pronounce Romanian names... or anything that's not their own native language and some mediocre English (myself included, mind you).
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  3.  @lenas6246  - Ukrainians change "o" by "i", "g" by "h" and stuff like that Bielogorovka and Bilohorivka are clearly different pronunciations, as are Ugledar and Vuhledar, Dinpro and Diepropretovsk, Lviv and Lvov, Kharkiv and Kharkov, etc. I don't really have to make an effort for the Ukrainian Nazis and their manias, really. First quit fascism and repent of all the crimes, then we can speak. You don't deal with nazis, you fight them to death.
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  4. A most interesting historical report. When even the communists promote robber baron capitalism... things go downhill for sure. Poor little Moldova!
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  5.  @Daniel1341-t2p  - I would not describe the Roman Empire as "European", rather "Mediterranean". Rome failed to conquer Germania and thus half of non-Eastern Europe remained at large from their imperialism (3/4 of Europe were never under the Roman Empire, if we include Eastern Europe, as we should). On the other side it did conquer all the Mediterranean region and integrated it in a single political, social and economic entity. Could this have happened under a non-European power? Probably not, although Carthage had a shot at it. Why? Because Europe is a peninsula of many peninsulas and some, like Italy, manage to provide for a large number of people (in Roman times, when non-Mediterranean agriculture was still limited, and even today). Maybe if the Lydians decided to go naval instead of trying to invade Persia, maybe if Egypt was not already a Greek colony... but probably not: the geography of Italy was uniquely optimal for such endeavor and the context in which Rome expanded was uniquely favorable for them: sufficiently but not excessively influenced by Greeks and Phoenicians, as well as the often forgotten Etruscans, who also came from the East (Asia Minor surely, Troy-related). As for considering it "the greatest civilization", I beg to disagree: it was a very powerful and extremely influential one, comparable to China or India in their day, or Parthia/Persia, their eternal rival, as well. China actually accidentally triggered Rome's downfall by defeating the Huns (Turkics almost certainly) and sending them packing to the west, which in turn, as you surely know, gained control over most of the rest of Europe, sending many Germanic tribes packing to the Roman Empire. They were anyhow, especially as the Empire consolidated, a civilization of lazy oligarchs living on slave labor, who considered work something bad. They shine at military prowess at the beginning but gradually they become relatively poor even at that. IMO the ultimate cause of their deep crisis and downfall was that oligarchic lazy avarice, which sent all the precious metals to Asia in exchange of stupid luxuries like silk and cinnamon. Once the slave-manned Iberian and Dacian mines got exhausted, they got into a most serious economic crisis, which turned socio-political and weakened the state until the barbarians kicked down their rotten doors. I would rather think that other civilizations like Perikles' Athens or modern Switzerland are much much greater than Rome. Persia even was much greater in many aspects like not relying on slavery...
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  6. OK, guys I get it: it's an Ukrainian name. Not that important, is it? I still pronounce all Ukrainian placenames with old Russian (Soviet Era) versions because I find it easier. Ukrainian is weird.
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