Comments by "Grenade Tennis" (@hughjass1044) on "VisualPolitik EN" channel.

  1. China needs to understand that any tactic it deploys against Taiwan can in turn, be deployed against it. China is boxed in by its geography and it doesn't exactly have a lot of friends in its neighborhood. Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, The Philippines, India, Malaysia and Singapore, not to mention Australia and New Zealand, are all either direct US allies or adversaries of China or both. Any kind of blockading maneuver on Taiwan could be quickly and easily matched by any one of these nations and if that were to happen, China would be cut off from its trade both inbound and outbound and would therefore be something like 50 shades of f*cked overnight! Not to mention all of the sanctions that would instantly be applied to it. China needs to understand that it needs the world far more than the world needs it. There are lots of other places the world can go for cheap labor and dollar store junk.
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  2. Why does Russia do it? Well, all of the reasons mentioned are perfectly valid but the thing is, Russia doesn't need a reason to do sh*t like this. F*cking over some western power and causing havoc and chaos is plenty reason enough.
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  3.  @andreimoutchkine5163  Good. Deal with it.... troll!
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  4.  @andreimoutchkine5163  The only thieves involved here are Putin and his gang of kleptocrat oligarch friends so stealing from them would be a public service. An even bigger public service would be blowing the lid off of the decades of pillaging that was done by these criminals and laying bare the facts to the Russian people about how they've had the lifeblood of their nation systematically stolen from them. Maybe then, we would see the uprising the criminal Putin so dreads. What a beautiful day that will be.
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  5. A fine notion.... we'll see how long the sentiment lasts. I wish I could say I was confident that any of this big talk was going to be followed up by action, but I'm not. The financial crisis of '08 taught us valuable lessons about market regulation. Did anything change? No. The pandemic taught us valuable lessons about supply chains and self reliance. Will anything change? Not so far. Ever since the end of the Cold War, the west's default reaction to every problem is to find the cheapest, easiest, fastest and most politically expedient way out of it.... and then just carry on with business as usual as though nothing happened because if it does, it'll be someone else's headache. Russia is headed for economic collapse. It's going to default on its debt which means foreign banks aren't going to get paid. At the same time, Europe relies on Russia for nearly half of its energy and even if they went full bore away from that starting today, there are no other alternatives which would come on stream for 10+ years. At the same time, the absence of grains and fertilizer products from the region is projected to induce a worldwide price explosion in foodstuffs if not an outright famine in much of the world so combine all that with already sky high food and energy prices and you have your recipe for European and western leaders sitting down with Mr. Putin and making some deals that are very favorable to him and not to them. Western leaders will do what western leaders have always done.... make deals to buy their way out of a jam and worry about the consequences later.
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  6. I would also say that that visual of the scoreboard at the General Assembly showing the US voting along with Russia, North Korea, Iran et al is one not soon to be forgotten.
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  7. Then go somewhere else. No one forces you to watch.
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  8. It's novel certainly, but it's not really all that innovative since it's not something that's likely to be tried elsewhere let alone become a regularly used tactic. Indeed, as the video has said, it's already starting to backfire on Lukachenko and he could very well find himself with many more regime opponents on his hands than he already did. The EU particularly and the west more broadly, have many more weapons in their arsenal... weapons being a metaphor for measures.... than Lukachenko does. He's picked a fight that he ultimately cannot win.
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  9. Can we please be serious here for once? If Russia really wanted Ukraine, it would have it and be home in time for supper. It wouldn't even be a fight. It'd be like the US in Grenada or Panama. It would be over before it even began. The fact that they've been busy in Ukraine since 2014 and haven't moved beyond the same territory they've held since then should tell you something. Russia doesn't want Ukraine, it couldn't care less about Ukraine. What it DOES very much care about is NATO on its doorstep ensconced in a feeble, weak, hopelessly corrupt and debt ridden country that is openly hostile to it and owing it billions it'll likely never see a ruble of. As usual, the mainstream media has their heads up their asses and are doing nothing other than parroting whatever talking points the US state department feeds them. Russia has no interest in taking over anyone's territory. If they did, they'd have it already because none of the former republics is in any position to stop them. They have not done so because none of them represents any particular threat. All Moscow wants is for the former republics to be friendly to it; or at least not openly hostile, and cooperate with them and particularly in the case of Ukraine, to pay its damned debts! Anyone remember Georgia when it started getting frisky? Russia could have taken Georgia before noon but they didn't. They just gave it a good hard smack, told it to behave and has largely left it alone ever since.
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  10.  @willrobinson9767  No, everyone was NOT conscripted in WW2 and a great many of those who were were defending their homeland so the motivation to fight was there. And I never said conscripts were useless. I said they're not as effective a fighting force in an out of home country military operation where serious resistance is encountered. And it's not just me saying that. Military leaders throughout history have said the same thing. Someone who is compelled to fight... or do any job, really... will never be as effective as a volunteer who wants to do so.
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  11.  @willrobinson9767  Really? I said that, did I? Well, I suggest you go back and read it again.... all of it this time and not just the parts you want to read.
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  12. The old timers have a saying - "He's a Jack of all trades but a master at none." The meaning of course, is that many people can have a vast repertoire of skills but very few can do them all well. When you translate that to equipment on a modern battlefield it means that - - the more things you expect it to do, times - the harsher the conditions you expect it to do them under, times - how good you expect them to be done, times - the duration you expect them to be done, equals -The total cost Notice that at every level, every factor is a multiplication, not an addition. THAT is why this thing is so expensive. In fact, considering the expectations placed upon it, it's a miracle it hasn't cost 10x what it has.
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  13. To become the primary trading partner of these nations... and to get there before China does.
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  14. Is it inevitable? Yes, and it has been for years if not decades. What's more, the longer it's put off, the more difficult it'll be. So get on with it already!
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  15.  @charlesbruggmann7909  Exactly. That's why they're calling it "failed deterrence."
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  16. Unless and until we see them starting to marshal troops in the region, I wouldn't be too worried. And if they were ever stupid enough to start something, a couple of battalions of US Marines along the border in Guyana..... just to say hello, of course.... should cool their jets.
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  17. South Korea had better watch out or Russia will roll over it like they rolled over Ukraine! Wait.... Hang on......
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  18.  @twoforcesinbalance1543  Yeah, and it's working out great too, isn't it?
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  19.  @belladesa91  Any more quaint liberal talking points?
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  20.  @tandemcharge5114  Perhaps you can enlighten me. Start by telling me why I should give a shit.
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  21. What a circus!! I thought Poland was getting it together. Every government in the world is some flavor or another of crazy! Do all the lunatics in the world just naturally gravitate to politics? Are there any sensible people in charge anywhere?
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  22. This is nothing but one long, tiring infomercial for the Biden campaign!! Hope you were paid well! 22 min on TV would be in the 10s of millions.
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  23.  @codycast  Except racist isn't quite strong enough for them so they have to up the ante all the time.
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  24.  @Sparx632  "Workers of the world...... UNITE!!!" (Or else!) You think we can't see right through these cute little word games you play? You think you're being clever? You're not! FOAD!
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  25. Well, that's really impressive but lets' be frank here; we've got some much bigger fish to fry just at the moment without worrying about any of those trivialities. For one thing, there are still way too many people in this country who won't acknowledge their multiple layers of privilege. Also, we need a coordinated, national strategy to deal with the staggering levels of depression and mental illness due to so many fragile souls being triggered by other people's nasty tweets. And when are we finally going to sort out who is allowed to use which bath rooms? When we can finally put the really important stuff like this behind us, then we can move on to the other fluff described in this video.
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  26.  @THEROOT1111  Relax, monkey! Nobody is seizing fortunes "right and left." It's a thing that would be done to very specific people/entities for very specific reasons and would require legislation and approval from the courts to do. All you'd need to do is show that it was tied to criminal activity and there's mountains of evidence that it has been. It's also a pretty common tactic to fight criminal activity from persons both in and out of a country so there's lots of precedent for it. As far as that red herring of "trust" goes, seizing the assets of criminal activity would actually increase trust from reputable people so the only ones you'd be driving away would be the undesirables. Britain has learned this already... the hard way.
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  27. Culture, plain and simple. A lot of it just comes down to culture. It's getting to a point where left and right can no longer stand to live with one another so people are going where they feel welcome.
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  28.  @VisibilityFoggy  He only pays me $1 for a comment but I get $500 for every stupid, asinine response each one generates so please; keep 'em coming.
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  29.  @davidpak8831  Things are massively out of whack. We gotta do what we gotta do. Other countries can think what they like. Their opinions and a dollar will buy us a coffee.
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  30.  @MrJdsenior  Yup. Totally agree.
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  31. Romania helped kick Russian troops out of Transnistria? When did this happen? Great news but I think we're a little ahead of ourselves.
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  32. Agreed!
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  33.  @hatelovenothing2744  Yes, I realize that, but that's the reality for any military purchase of this type. It's always going to be an insane figure and this one is the most insane we've ever seen. But the point I and others are trying to make is that there are very good reasons why that's the case. Sure, there's no doubt some profiteering going on by Lockheed-Martin; there always is and always has been in these kinds of purchases. But the primary reason it costs what it does is the expectations being placed upon it. It's an aircraft that has to be all things to all people all the time and there's no way in hell that could ever be anything but outrageously expensive. And when the time comes to eventually replace the F-35, whenever in the future that is, and with the advances in technology that are possible then and the expectations that will be put on that aircraft, just imagine what THAT will cost!!
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  34. They used to tease Reagan about being old. Joe Biden was older on his first day in office than Ronald Reagan was on his last.
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  35. To say that aid to Ukraine has been a day late and a dollar short is grossly inaccurate. It's more like a year late and several hundred billion dollars short. The Ukrainian offensive didn't fail as much as it was set up to fail. It did the best it could with the pathetic, piddling amounts it was given to work with.
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  36. Why isn't Europe stepping up to fill the void left by the US? After all, it's their neighborhood. Oh well, never mind. I was just being facetious. We all know why they're not stepping up.
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  37. @@KnowHowTrainer The "almighty Russian propaganda" is definitely a thing but the larger point is that these countries have been in the Russian sphere of influence, the Russian "orbit" if you will, for generations and as such, that's what they understand and gravitate towards. It isn't necessarily a case that they like Russian influence and everything that comes with it, it's just that that's what they've lived with and what they're used to. I'm in Canada and the cultural, economic, political and military colossus that is the USA is butted right up against us and as such, that is what has shaped and continues to shape, our country. We don't always like it but it's the prevailing reality. We can't escape it. I've done some travelling and working in Eastern Europe and I've never met a single person under 50 who wants the communist system back but what they do want is a decent living and a future for their kids. Right now, they're not getting it. Under the communist system, the state controlled everything so people just sat around and waited to be told what to do. That's gone. Replacing it is the prevailing western attitude of "ok, you're free now; go be rich." This they cannot do because they don't know how. No one ever taught them. This is why they need assistance before they slip back into the clutches of the despots.
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  38. That doesn't mean they're wrong in their assessments. There are and have been many, many others not funded by weapons manufacturers, saying the very same thing for years.
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  39.  @olefella7561  You may ask. And I will gladly answer - when you come and throw me off. How's that?
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  40. The bulk of the credit needs to go to the Polish people. Systems, plans and such are all well and good but if the people don't buy in and make them work, they're all just so much useless paper.
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  41. Lots of people do.... until they've lived it.
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  42. Russia and North Korea - 2 countries not the least bit afraid of the west and obviously not the least bit concerned about.... GASP!... Escalation!.... OMG! Why TF are we?
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  43. Pretty complex but it seems to work. Who are we to pick holes in it if it works?
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  44. Is it the next target? Hell, why not? It's not as though they have to worry about anything from Europe and NATO beyond a lot of fretting and grumbling.
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  45. Two things need to be said first off which are of paramount importance.... 1) Planning needs to begin immediately for a united, combined, full spectrum defense and counter attack operation and that plan put into operation at the earliest moment. 2) The US and the rest of the western world, needs to wake up out of this stuporous fog we've been living in for 40 years and get real. China is as powerful as it is and as a result, as dangerous as it is, precisely because we've allowed to to be so. It is us who have enriched them with our shortsightedness and lack of concern for our own interests. The complete decoupling of China from our economic system must begin without delay!
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  46. European bureaucracy strikes again.
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  47. Here in Canada, there's kind of a running joke that comes up now and again, depending on the situation, that one day, the US will just absorb us and make us the 51st state. To this, many people reply that it wouldn't be worth their while to do so since if they did, they'd be responsible for us and have to look after us and since they already control everything of importance anyway.... the narrative goes.... and we're no threat to them, why bother, as the other old joke goes, "buying the cow when you already get the milk for free?" As you say, Russia already controls everything of even marginal importance in Belarus and their leader is a reliable and loyal puppet. I have a friend who is Belorussian and he's explained to me several times that Putin isn't really bothered at all by former Soviet states, including Ukraine, being sovereign countries since he doesn't view that distinction the same way we would. He looks at things in terms of him being in control of anything in his neighborhood which he covets. In short, you answer to him and do what you're told, when you're told, and in other matters, do what you want. If you refuse, "nice little country you've got there. Be a shame if anything happened to it." If Ukraine had decided to follow the same path as Belarus... or more accurately, Lukashenko's Belarus, all would have been fine but they did not and likewise, if the Belorussian people had been successful in toppling Lukashenko, Ukraine's fate would likely also have been Belarus's
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  48. Because they're not a bunch of craven cowards who pee their pants every time someone says the phrase "nuclear weapons?" Because they believe love of country, culture, motherland and liberty are things to be embraced and proud of, not condemned as racist and be ashamed of? Because they believe these things are precious and worth sacrificing themselves for? Because they're not a bunch milquetoast, progressive lady men who are obsessive about pronoun usage? In other words, they're everything we once were and embraced but now scorn and condemn.
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  49. India annoys me in some respects but I still consider them a friend and ally. There is a history of the west and the US not always treating India well or respecting it so I'm glad to see that could be changing. India and the west need each other in the fight against China.
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  50.  @YOUTUBE_AMERICA  That's what I mean. Stupid thing to do supporting Pakistan. Look how we were repaid for that blunder. Under the circumstances, I can't blame India for supporting Russia. We had the chance to and we blew it. Time to set matters right.
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