Comments by "dixon pinfold" (@dixonpinfold2582) on "Professor Gerdes Explains 🇺🇦 " channel.

  1. Orain is a brilliant guy who's knowledgeable and mature far beyond his years. He's only 23 or 24.
    93
  2. An eminent observer characterized the war in Ukraine this way: “It’s a war against us. It’s a war that requires us to mobilize our societies if we are to remain at peace.” — Gen. Sir Richard Shirreff, Deputy Commander of NATO in Europe (2011-14) in an interview, Jan. 2024
    20
  3. He won't be treated well after the regime falls.
    20
  4.  @GARDENER42  Aber nein! Actually the finance minister wanted to put advanced Taurus missiles in Ukraine's hands. Get the basic and undisputed facts coming from multiple sources right.
    15
  5.  @jamesgornall5731  Thanks for the Kremlin point of view, Peskov.
    14
  6. The good people of Japan have been particularly indignant about the Ukraine War since the beginning, more than the people of perhaps any other country besides Ukraine itself. Their support has been outstanding.👍🇯🇵
    12
  7. "Paraffin" more or less means candle wax in the US, while in the UK it means kerosene. It's probably used in the UK sense here, as a candle-wax factory isn't much of a military target.
    12
  8. Fewer than 100 Representatives voted against holding the votes. (55 Reps., 39 Dems.) That bodes well for passage. Fingers crossed.🤞
    11
  9.  @Be-Es---___  But by "the late 1930s" the Weimar Republic was long gone. Basic history. Anyway, if one enumerates the major problems of the Weimar, one sees that the US has none of them. To choose just two of several examples, where's the 50-billion-percent hyperinflation and sheer collapse of the standard of living?
    11
  10.  @frankrenda2519  A poot-bawght talking about truth is like an escort talking about love.
    10
  11. This platform really does bungle a lot of things. Thanks, Prof. Gerdes.
    10
  12. A herring-based diet?
    9
  13. Actually, Canada showed up right away. At one point early in the war there was just one battle-ready division on British soil, and it was Canadian. Btw, although the empire was still a thing for a few more years yet, Canada in a de facto sense was really as independent then as it is today; thus it joined the war of its own accord. (The era when Westminster took any hand in its decisions was already a full lifetime in the rear-view mirror. Britain learned its lesson in 1776-83 and afterwards never treated Canada high-handedly as it had unwisely and unjustly done with the American colonies.) Finally, thanks for extending that metaphorically and very aptly to Ukraine. I absolutely agree.
    8
  14. Absolutely. Please repeat elsewhere and often.
    8
  15. If true, that's marvellous news out of London and Paris.👍 Likewise the account of Trump's call to Putin: "Advised Putin not to escalate the war with Ukraine."👏 My repeated predictions here that Trump would get tough with Putin were scorned or ignored every time. I sense they'll be proved accurate.
    8
  16. You mean 500k to 600k?
    7
  17. 1. Charm offensive in hopes of reversing the steep drop-off in Western investment capital. China's ailing economy is really feeling it.
    6
  18. @ajlynch123 I am Vladimir Putin and I endorse this comment 1,000%. This guy gets it!
    6
  19. Is there anything false in Perplexity's response to my query "Has Switzerland provided aid of any kind to Ukraine since February 2022?" ? Here it is: "Answer: Yes, Switzerland has provided significant aid to Ukraine since February 2022. Here are the key points (Sources: kyiv independent, swissinfo, wikipedia, statista, ifw-kiel [Kiel Institute], 5 more) : Financial and Humanitarian Aid Switzerland has provided substantial financial and humanitarian support to Ukraine: * Over $3 billion in economic and humanitarian aid since February 2022. * Plans to allocate 5 billion Swiss francs ($5.5 billion) to support Ukraine's economic development and reconstruction by 2036. * An initial 1.5 billion Swiss francs ($1.7 billion) earmarked for Ukraine's recovery efforts from 2025 to 2028. Refugee Support Switzerland has taken in and supported Ukrainian refugees: * Introduced a special "S" status for Ukrainian refugees in March 2022, allowing them to work and access integration measures. * Received approximately 86,000 applications for this status as of February 2024. * Expects an additional 25,000 applicants in 2024. Humanitarian Projects The Swiss government has funded various humanitarian projects: * Sent supplies for healthcare, water, sanitation, hygiene, and shelter. * Purchased and distributed food within Ukraine. * Deployed Swiss Humanitarian Aid Unit specialists to Ukraine. Reconstruction and Development Switzerland is contributing to Ukraine's long-term recovery: * Hosted the 2022 Ukraine Recovery Conference in Lugano. * Allocated 58.7 million Swiss francs ($65.5 million) for the digitalization of Ukraine's public administration over four years. * Supports projects in healthcare, education, and humanitarian demining. Diplomatic Efforts Switzerland has also engaged in diplomatic initiatives: * Plans to host a global peace summit on Russia's war against Ukraine. * Continues to support Ukrainian NGOs documenting human rights ab uses. While Switzerland maintains its neutrality policy and does not provide military aid, it has significantly increased its humanitarian and economic support for Ukraine since the start of the conflict in February 2022." [End of Perplexity response] If you want to check the sources, just pose the same query and each one will be linked. Free, no account needed.
    5
  20. Monitoring algo: "This Gerdes guy sure likes to talk about tea. Nice fella. Nothing to see here."
    5
  21.  @madrooky1398  Same guy who, as a leading member of the Marxist youth wing of the SDP in the 1980s, wrote essays railing against "aggressive, imperialist NATO." He remained a youth member into his 30s (!).😂
    5
  22. Mark my words, Trump will confront Putin far more aggressively than Biden has done. You'll see how his tone changes as soon as he's elected, for at that point the threat of Russian interference with his campaign will be past. Note also that he fully backed Speaker Johnson's package of aid bills earlier this month.
    5
  23. In the coming months, watch for Russian government tolerance of criticism of the war. In the lead-up to the USSR's 1988-89 withdrawal from Afghanistan, veterans and other groups protested against the continuation of the conflict. The protests were tolerated by the Soviet government as part of preparing the population for withdrawal.
    5
  24. Loose = opposite of tight Lose = opposite of win
    5
  25. Great move, Poland. Government news is a terrible idea. No one should get their news from the government, for the government writes the laws. Politicians appoint the heads and directors of state news organizations and likewise control their funding. This can easily go wrong. In Canada, for example, the state news enthusiastically propagandizes for Justin Trudeau. Together they are a potent team.
    5
  26.  @AfterTheIce-q4j  How can you ask? To maintain NATO's deterrence credibility, of course, which preserves global and especially European security. American wealth, power and national security greatly depend upon these things. Also because of the type of person he is.
    5
  27. Poland is a trusted and valuable ally.
    5
  28. I understand how Trump views many or most of America's allies as frenemies in the sense of siding with the US against other major adversarial powers, yet showing an eagerness to take advantage of it on security. I get that. On the other hand, they've gotten away with it for decades for a reason: the US nonetheless reaps colossal financial and economic benefits from the present arrangements. As John McCain once pointed out, the alliance with other Western countries was absolutely key to the staggering increase in American wealth after WWII. He was 100% right. And today no less, a collapse of security in Europe or the Indo-Pacific would definitely send the American standard of living tumbling downwards. No question. It would tip the global balance of power instantly to the Authoritarian Axis. And if it were in both regions...I don't even want to think about that. For that reason, Trump has a difficult task: namely, to play chicken with them on security funding without alienating their populations so severely as to fundamentally damage relationships. There's potential for lose-lose in great big capital letters here. I refer to losses so great that funding Ukraine's defense is barely lunch money in comparison.
    4
  29. Nielsen is unbeatable for clear and logical fact-based analysis. Brilliant guy.
    4
  30. He said "fierce" as I recall.
    4
  31. 802bn rubles ($8.02bn) in oil & gas revenues to the federal govt. for a month isn't very much for a country with Russia's population and a large energy industry.😮 Even allowing for the low value of the ruble on international exchanges, it's still only about $21.5bn in local purchasing power. Ouch. I mean Good!👍
    4
  32. He called him a genius for his deception leading up to the war, not for invading, as I recall. Anyway, his occasional praise for Putin is tactical, not sincere. Only a narcissist (e.g. Putin) or a fool would fall for it. Which are u?
    4
  33. I appreciate this. Please revisit the issue sometime. It won't hurt to do even more debunking that will reach even more people. Good work.
    4
  34. No! Ukraine is not trying to cripple Russian oil exports. That risks raising global oil prices and inflation rates, which Russia could get much of the world to blame Ukraine for. (Russia's prop uh gandizing techniques and efficiency are among their top strengths.) So it's far better to disable refining, where profits are high. If Russian oil has to be refined in purchasing countries, it deprives Russia of many billions of dollars. (Actual US dollars, in fact.)
    3
  35. .... [cut to clip of Germany's UN delegation laughing as Trump says same thing]
    3
  36. Yulia Ioffe has a point. In my view Russia remains feudalistic in outlook and politically the place it most resembles is Africa. The Enlightenment never really caught on there. Nor, despite its achievements in science and art, did the full spirit of the Renaissance. Only its urban cosmopolite minority is much like us.
    3
  37. Justin Trudeau: "If they're what I think they are, MANPADS sound like the greatest invention ever!"
    3
  38. Is he ever wrong?🤣
    3
  39.  @nicktecky55  Excellent point.
    3
  40. So it begins to crack, perhaps TDS's sturdiest bastion of all — the faith of the American punditocracy and public alike that Trump if elected would throw Ukraine under the bus. My own view is that in order to sidestep the risk of Putin costing him a close election via interference, he played you all — even Putin maybe — like tiny accordions.😂 I think my comment history here over the past year-plus, based on public statements by Trump which were willfully ignored by all but perhaps one in a thousand people, is in for some sweet vindication. I could still be wrong, but we shall see. Thanks Prof. Gerdes, for setting a good example by exhibiting real flexibility of mind on this. Slava Ukraini! 🇺🇦🇺🇸
    3
  41. Russia's war on Ukraine is a giant threat to peace far and wide. “It’s a war against us. It’s a war that requires us to mobilize our societies if we are to remain at peace.” — Gen. Sir Richard Shirreff, Deputy Commander of NATO in Europe 2011-14, interview, January 2024
    3
  42. The flurry of NATO countries making donations and commitments to Ukraine are likely timed to demonstrate to Americans (Republican politicians and supporters especially, of course) that they're serious about pulling their weight. France and Germany ought to join in. It takes a lot to make Americans notice anything outside the US.
    3
  43. To target crude exports would risk triggering global inflation. So pipelines aren't being hit, refineries are, in order to force production to be exported as crude oil. (Except for some forms of heavy oil which need at least minimal upgrading.) Targeting of refining also takes aim at the billions in refining profits. Another reason it's wise to go after refineries is that the war effort consumes really large amounts of gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel. Ukraine may thus be able to create fuel shortages for ordinary Russians. That would be a huge bonus.
    3
  44.  @madrooky1398  He is dyed-in-the-wool. He even travelled to E. Germany to meet with communist cabinet ministers. He is still a leftist, evidently with deep reservations about NATO and the US, and a strong affinity for Russia (tempered though it may now be). On a more general level, an individual's politics is an extension of his or her personality, or character. (Pinfold's dictum: Politics is a suit of clothes worn not by a person, but a personality.) And character once someone is in their 30s is pretty much fixed for life. It's certainly not true that everyone fully matures, or changes many of the views they most strongly held in their 30s. (For example, some remain enthusiasts of car racing video games long after boyhood.😄) But thanks for your respectful and courteous reply.
    3
  45.  @draraist  Perfect assessment, but you might as well talk to the wall. Politically blinded people can't think. It scares them. Gerdes' poll of a week ago showed this is a Dem-supporter eck o chaym br. Slava Ukraini ! 🇺🇦 I too hope that NATO support will help it to victory. (80% likely.)
    3
  46.  @warhorse03826  For 23 months now I've been warning Putinists here in these sections that Ukraine is Afghanistan 2.0 and that 1989 is coming back for a second appearance. Likewise 1991. They have nothing to say in response so far.
    3
  47. ​ @olgatomenko1828  No! It is factually untrue that "the USA did not give any support to the UK for 2+ years during WWII." The US did provide the UK with extensive support including war materiel during that period. In November 1939, during the so-called "Phoney War" before major hostilities began, the US govt. amended the Neutrality Laws to allow weapons sales. Besides a rapid pace of such sales, it later made a deal (September 1940) to send 50 old destroyers to Britain for base rights. At that point, much in the way of other desperately-needed supplies had already been sent as well: raw materials, food and medical supplies. Later in 1940, when financial conditions in Britain left it too strapped to pay cash for war materiel, the US began putting together the Lend-Lease Program, requiring no immediate payment for arms and ammunition. This was enacted in March 1941, 18 months after the declaration of war, but 11 months into major hostilities. In your remarks, "2+ years" would indicate that support likely began after the start of 1942 (2 years, 4 months after war was declared). To me it might even imply that the US was strictly neutral, which was likewise untrue. In summary, the US provided extensive material assistance to Britain during the first 24-30 months of the war, only some of which it required cash payment for.
    3
  48. Hear! Hear!
    3
  49. Complete loyalty to those above, combined with ruthless exploitation of those below (along with a pretence of protecting them), is the essence of feudalism. Europe moved on from feudalism. Russia never did, not even during the Soviet era.
    3
  50.  @paperandmedals8316  Bravo. And there are other reasons the approach has been the right one.
    3
  51. Prof. Gerdes, this might interest you and your viewers: A survey conducted by the  Chicago Council on Global Affairs (Jan.29) finds that Majority of Non-Trump Republicans Support Continued Aid to Ukraine. Includes an interesting data breakout. Never heard of the CCGA? Me neither. From their site: "Founded in 1922, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing knowledge and engagement in global affairs. Our in-depth analysis and expert-led public opinion research influence policy conversations [etc.]" [italics mine]
    3
  52.  @frankus54  I just call her Hanoi Jane. It would annoy her and her disciples more.
    3
  53. The reconstitution of the USSR? That is a very tall order indeed. In my view it would require a Russia vastly stronger than it is at present. But the re-Stalinization of Russia? That's no problem. It's already nearly complete. Let's just keep in mind how immensely different the two propositions are.
    3
  54. 2025: The end of Scholz, Trudeau and Albanese, all before June. Absolutely marvellous. Champagne shortages on the way.🎉🥂
    3
  55. "He is friends with people who are very pro-Russia." Name them.
    3
  56. 155 vehicles and fuel tanks. That's one every 9 minutes.😳 Ukraine is just picking them off at will. Evidence is mounting that Russia cannot supply its troops.
    3
  57. Yes, it can't be repeated enough: Russia is still firmly in the grip of feudalism. And never mind the Enlightenment: Some would say even the Renaissance never really took hold there.
    3
  58. GenX started in 1965, 60 years ago. Ur a Baby Boomer, my friend. Not sure one can identify as another generation.
    3
  59. It's not "back." While it's fair to say that Putin has been 're-Stalinizing' Russia (in the broad sense of jacking up repression and centralizing power) for 15+ years now, your claim, when taken as a flat assertion at face value, is far past being deeply wrong. It's a comical exaggeration.😂 Private capital was never a central feature of the USSR. I thought everyone knew that. And the Soviet Union had 14 republics besides the Russian SFSR.
    3
  60.  @NiclasHorn  Without a doubt.
    3
  61. The Mongols invaded Muscovy 787 years ago, burning, slaying, enslaving. For a quarter of a millennium the Muscovites drank deeply from their masters' moral cup. And in the 550 years since, not much has changed.
    3
  62. I understand how you feel, but that is easy to say with hindsight. Hindsight also roundly endorses the attritive approach instead taken, which has deeply decimated Russia's war-making capacity. This way, when Russia is forced out, it will face such a long period of rearming that it will have no choice but to stay out.
    3
  63. Traffic through Suez is already >-60%.
    3
  64. The two little Lukashenkos.
    3
  65.  @sirkana  "Germany sent that aid in spite of him, not because of him." My take also. In the 1980s, as a leading member of the Marxist youth wing of the SPD (the same party he leads today), he published essays railing against "NATO imperialism" and visited East Germany to meet with communist cabinet ministers in the government of Erich Honecker. So I'm saying his grudgingness on Ukraine aid is rooted in old antipathies towards NATO and an admiration for the Soviets so strong that it biases him in Russia's favor to this day.
    3
  66. @ Ok, you're right. No war started in 2014. I stand corrected.🙄
    3
  67. Good heavens, an Ivan-free thread with excellent comments. All-too noteworthy.😕
    3
  68. Jake Broe suffers from a few fixed delusions.  Another one is his belief that Elon Musk is the most evil man in the US. As they say in Texas, That boy ain't right.
    3
  69.  @robderich8533  You're familiar with Lord Chamberlain, I expect?
    3
  70. No, the US doesn't want Ukraine to "fight to the last Ukrainian." More like to the last Russian tank, ship, AWACS plane, air defense battery, artillery piece, radar installation, Sukhoi fighter, etc., etc. Is it getting warm in that frog fondue pot, Pooty?
    3
  71. It's refreshing to hear from a "socialist Canadian" who seems a little bit sensible. I know there are dozens of you.
    2
  72.  @johnwaldron7647  Winston Churchill, replying from beyond the grave: "I was just such a beggar for three years and more. If I made anybody sick, I don't give a f.f. I came through and my people lauded me for it." [f.f. = flipping farthing, if you want the polite version.]
    2
  73. Thanks for the dive into the ISW report. Solid go-to resource.👏
    2
  74. All these predictions come almost entirely out of pro-Trump or anti-Trump bias. The fact is that we don't even know what Trump is really saying publicly (it's impossible to decipher with certainty), let alone what he's saying privately, let alone what he really thinks and what his intentions really are. Schrödinger's peace deal.
    2
  75. Dear YouTube: Before vaporizing comments in your tireless efforts, do you ever stop to assess whether they're innocuous or not?
    2
  76.  @matthewwadwell6100  Nah. Don't take everything at face value.😄
    2
  77. Farage is entirely correct. I've been saying the same things for over a year.
    2
  78. A devoted Putinist explained the situation in Russia to his 11-year-old grandson. "Listen carefully, Misha," he said to to the boy, who sat raptly at his knee. "During the age of the tsars and the Soviet era, century after century, every man was subject to perpetual exploitation and abuse by his fellow man. Under Putin, the opposite is true!"
    2
  79. Skull of dubious volume, face that could stop Big Ben, instincts of a Soviet commissar, intellect like a block of Velveeta, ego that dwarfs the Trump Tower, voice that makes ordinary people envy the deaf. Otherwise she's great.
    2
  80. To guard the market share of the Russian Orthodox Church. Drug dealing networks are like that.
    2
  81. Some years back, a clever guy I knew took to playing online poker and made a small fortune over a period of months. His secret was to play on sites Russians were known to frequent heavily. Russians, he told me, always bluff and never fold.
    2
  82. Fake outrage.
    2
  83. Also Russia: "Russia has already placed 1st in this summer's Olympics in Paris."😂
    2
  84. Concerning Musk, I don't think he did anything wrong with his (odd, to be sure) gesture of his heart "going out to" the rally crowd at the Capitol One Arena. And at this point in his life he's one person who, for better or worse, is past second-guessing himself over incorrect public perceptions. As for Germany itself, it's now a full lifetime since 1945. Guilty parties are supposed to move on after admitting guilt and atoning. They must never forget, but they must move on. It applies to people and nations alike and it's both practically and morally right. To me, that's why Musk was correct to say what he did. It seems to me that the AfD appears far more to the right in the eyes of hangdog and guilt-obsessed Germans than Germans with a more healthy and rational outlook. Those of us at a far remove should trust the German nation to put its past in a rightful perspective and feel ordinary pride in itself once again without lurching towards anything unhealthy or dangerous. That's just my opinion and, who knows, there might be a flaw in there somewhere.
    2
  85.  @laars0001  The ship was not in Romania's territorial waters. It was on the high seas.
    2
  86. One inaccuracy, one probable inaccuracy: 1) Russia does have a gas pipeline to China, albeit not one of a really high capacity. (In other world markets a similar delivery volume would be worth $10bn/yr., give or take.) A 2nd one is under construction. 2) I doubt this financial loss will much affect govt. revenues from Gazprom. Besides income tax there are major gas royalties paid to the govt. no matter what. I also doubt Gazprom even incurred a cash loss. It's likely — emphasis on likely — that it only took an accounting writedown due to the fall of the rouble. This is because it went to world debt markets to sell Gazprom bonds before the war, and issued them in US dollars. The rouble's fall thus means that in rouble terms the company has more debt and less equity than before. And because of this, accounting rules require it to charge the decline to net income. Hence the loss. But that would not itself affect the operating health of the company. It has to be harder to pay the higher USD bond interest nowadays, but this loss itself is more of a disaster for shareholders than to Russia or its government. (I repeat, I am not 100% certain the company did not incur a cash loss for some reason.) Key takeaway: The fact that gas exports are way down is a 100x bigger story.
    2
  87. Fantastic. Thanks, I was wondering what was up with that.
    2
  88. Ah, the Kremlin proudly showing off its mendacity. As usual.
    2
  89. Good riddance to a middle-aged man twice convicted of prowling around for underage girls on the internet.
    2
  90. Prof. Gerdes, you have to understand that the Liberals are very unpopular and headed for defeat next year. What they're saying about the Conservatives and their leader is a see-through attempt to scare voters. In short, the Liberals are playing the Trump card, since Trump is as unpopular in Canada as Trudeau himself. It's that simple.
    2
  91. Think longer and you'll understand why lies are protected speech under the 1st Amendment. (Except when it comes to perjury, slander, libel, fraud.) Seriously, think it through. "Lying a lot at public" Which country are you writing from?
    2
  92. The "top" Canadian politician suggesting US states join Canada is actually just the Green Party leader, basically a non-entity. (She's also an American, btw.) In the 338-seat House of Commons she "leads" only herself and one other MP.😂
    2
  93.  @LadaGaga93  He's not anti-Ukraine, he just has a hard bargain he needs to drive. Totally legitimate, and the same goes for the other side. The mutual rancor and stubbornness is mostly for appearance's sake, quite understandably.
    2
  94.  @madrooky1398  Don't judge, says Little Miss Judgy (& Resentful). Hahaha! This is why people flee Germany: so many of their countrymen are unbearable hypocrites. If only we were face to face!😡
    2
  95. So-called "realism": Anything goes. No state should do anything in the name of anything, except whatever maximizes its power, its territory, its advantage. There's no right or wrong, there's only winners and losers, conquerors and the conquered. Its name, as a way to sell this "school of thought," is a stunning bit of low rhetoric.
    2
  96. It seems there's a pretty good chance of the sanctions bill winning 2/3rds approval in both houses. Now wouldn't that be interesting? Classic thickening of the plot.
    2
  97. Actually Putin removed supports to allow the rouble to fall. The hope is to stimulate exports. (However, imports will rise in price too.) It's a negative sign for the Russian economy, yes, but not among the worst.
    2
  98.  @planderlinde1969  Very well then, he studied Hitler. But he omitted to read the last chapters.
    2
  99. In other news, Putin declared human rights a top priority of his government, shortly afterwards clarifying that his political opponents are not real humans.
    2
  100.  @Bob94390  True, what he said was greatly exaggerated. In my opinion this was not just in a factual sense but also in a moral one. Moreover, I strongly sense that the pace of aid has been strategically very adroit. The massive damage done to Russia's war-making capacity could only have been accomplished over this lengthy period. A decision to supply Ukraine with enough for an all-out defensive and counter-offensive response to Russia's invasion might have backfired horribly, with Russia possibly pulling back at little cost to it in terms of equipment, manpower and financial expenditure. Thus, with much of its NATO-provided materiel used up in early hostilities, Ukraine would have been vulnerable to a massive regrouping and fresh offensive by a still-healthy Russian army, navy and air force. In my view it has been vital that Russia be deeply attritted, i.e. weakened militarily, in order that any peace achieved will be both just and lasting. Nothing else will do. I think that NATO's delays and internal bickering, as well as its outward dithering and fearfulness, have been partly genuine but largely feigned. It gambled that Russia would buy it hook, line and sinker, and it was right.
    2
  101.  @richardvale214  My remarks on NATO aid, you mean? Thanks, that is very nice to hear. Hmm, I wonder what you'd say about my hypothesis on Trump's desire (entirely feigned, in my view) to end Ukraine aid...🤔
    2
  102. More like 800.
    2
  103. Don't make things up. Imaginary things and facts are at opposite poles and I thought everyone knew that.
    2
  104. Don't forget Russia's intentional homicide rate of 6.8 per 100k per year. Outside of Latin America and Africa, the highest in the world. (Also possibly Iraq, which has released no official stats since 2013.)
    2
  105. It's fun. There are alternatives for almost anything. And the more of them you purchase, the more the buyers for the retail chains send for more to fill our stores, and so more get made. Meanwhile fewer get made in that certain other country.
    2
  106. It sounds as though you regard women as fungible, interchangeable, monolithic. In fact each woman has her own opinion and own will, and if you were interested enough to find out you would discover that they are divided, as the whole country is. The last poll I looked at (released last night) showed women tilted to Harris by 3%.
    2
  107. Yeah, he seems like a master at talking out of six sides of one mouth. He was hugging Putin a couple of months ago. I've never seen him helping any situation, only trying to make sure India gains somehow...which it has done from this war, buying Russian oil cheaply and marking it up for re-export. Lucrative.
    2
  108. No, don't be revisiting this except maybe once a year. Not in your regular rotation. Very niche. How about something else in the realm of social media wars instead? (East or west.) I want to know if any Western social media platforms are doing anything about the hordes of hostile nation posters. I dip down into comments and 75% are from St. Pete/Shenzhen/Tabriz unlit basement dwellers.
    2
  109. It certainly is. The duping of a fool by a knave has been a classic comic motif since forever.
    2
  110. We mustn't forget that Olaf Scholz was a longtime member of the Marxist youth wing of the party he now leads, the SDP. (He remained in the youth wing into his 30s.🙄) A leading member, he famously wrote essays railing against "aggressive, imperialist NATO." He even travelled to East Germany to meet with communist cabinet ministers.
    2
  111. I agree up to a point, but to me it appears Zelensky knows something you don't. Isn't it time for you to concede that Trump just might be planning to firmly confront Putin?
    2
  112. I knew it would happen. I just thought it would've been about 10 weeks ago. I'm so happy for Ukraine.🇺🇦
    2
  113. Why try to turn this into a pro-Trump/anti-Trump forum? I don't get it.
    2
  114. It shows Russia is strained.
    2
  115. Mike Johnson is a good man. I can't name a more grown-up seeming person on the Hill. (I don't know his earlier career; I refer to the period since he was made Speaker.) As for strikes inside Russia with US weapons, Ukraine needs more air defense first. Its AD is inadequate even now and Russia would rain down hell on Ukraine in response.
    2
  116. The Ust-Luga LNG export terminal is still under construction. It is to enter service in phases (2027-2029), with a capacity of 13.1m tonnes/year, large by world standards. Such terminals are extremely expensive. One in Canada of 14m tonnes, just finished and entering service within months, took six years to build at a cost of $31bn.😮
    2
  117. A funny twist on the Russian noun vranyo. Besides its basic meaning of "lie," it also means a half-lie or white lie not really intended to deceive, but more to create a fantasy in which teller and hearer collaborate superficially: "It's a lie, you know it's a lie, I know that you know, and you know that I know that you know..."
    2
  118. Do you mean his great concern for avoiding war with Russia amounts to an obsession?
    2
  119. Just to clarify, you mean Prof. Gerdes' own survey of his viewers here, right? If so, then don't put too much stock in it. Any survey can be fun and good for stimulating discussion, but if effective steps to obtain a random sample aren't rigorously devised and followed, it mustn't be taken too seriously.
    2
  120.  @33stryker  So Trump curtails Russian efforts before even taking office, but it's only evidence that he's Putin's ally. Omg.🙄
    2
  121.  @33stryker  So if Trump curtails Russian efforts before even taking office, a remarkable accomplishment, it'll still just be evidence that he's on their side. [sigh] Pretzel logic.
    2
  122. @ No matter what one thinks of him, that's simply not true.
    2
  123. Correct, obviously.
    2
  124.  @ajlynch123  Never a genius, he's no longer the least bit stable either.
    2
  125. * med-VYED-ev
    2
  126. The spinning cube serves no useful purpose, as all of us already know which channel we're watching. However, it is rather irritating.
    2
  127. Wow, a great deal of input from Joy Reid Canadians here. Like Joy Reid, many are downright deluded. Pierre Poilievre, the Conservative leader, firmly supports Ukraine. It is a mistake to use a Liberal politician as your sole source on him, Darin!
    2
  128. That clip of Trump on the Ukraine war was much appreciated! It's not being shown or reported on elsewhere, it seems. It looked important to me, so thanks for sourcing and sharing.
    2
  129. I'm still holding out hope that the US is pulling a fast one on Russia, showering it with respect and making it think that the US favors it in negotiations to end the war, but secretly intent on giving Ukraine every advantage, even a shot at something close to an actual victory. I see nothing yet offering proof to the contrary.
    2
  130.  @SonsOfLorgar  Orban is firmly against isolated calls to leave the EU, yet there's no real benefit in remaining. Yeah right.🙄So believable.
    2
  131.  @utb15281  Russia continues to see high rates of new HIV infections each year: * In 2021, there were 58,340 new HIV diagnoses in Russia * This is nearly 6 times higher per capita than the rest of the WHO European region * One in every 2,475 Russians was diagnosed with HIV in 2021, compared to one in 15,536 people in the rest of Europe * Russia had nearly 6 times as many new HIV diagnoses per capita in 2021 compared to the rest of Europe * The U.S. sees around 36,000 new HIV infections per year, compared to 150,000 estimated in Russia for 2023 (and the US has about 200m more people) * Russia was cited as having the 5th highest rate of new HIV diagnoses globally as recently as 2022
    2
  132. Mad Colonel Kurtz here is in a long-established American tradition. Some sided with Saddam Hussein when he invaded and stole the nation of Kuwait in 1990. As late as 1941 Hitler, too, had many defenders in America. He reminds me of Gen. Jack Ripper in Dr. Strangelove (played by Sterling Hayden) and I keep expecting him to go off on a diatribe about "our precious bodily fluids." 😂
    2
  133.  @kerriwilson7732  Valid point.👍
    2
  134.  @hermes7587  You didn't know that in the 1980s, as a leading member of the Marxist youth wing of the SPD (the same party he leads today), he published essays railing against "NATO imperialism" and visited East Germany to meet with communist cabinet ministers in the government of Erich Honecker?
    2
  135.  @MarcPetersson-ak67  What? I am pro-Ukraine.
    2
  136. Putzler: "The main condition for the economic development of Russia is the successful ending of the special military operation." No, just the ending. So far the total economic and financial impact of every type on Russia alone is over a trillion dollars, or about 100 trillion roubles. He's impoverishing his country. Russians must stop him.
    2
  137. He didn't even know that Russia's war on Ukraine started in 2014. He jumped in to correct Zelensky that it was 2015. Imagine! What a buffoon.
    2
  138. 🤨Uh, no. That itself is pure misinformation. Nobody touched any of his degrees, nor did anyone try to, nor has anyone even contemplated it. The body persecuting him is not a university or educational body at all. it's a professional regulatory body called the Ontario College of Psychologists, and it licenses clinical psychologists to practice in Ontario. (He retired from practice some years ago but maintains his licence.) So far he has been given a choice between taking remedial social media training or losing his licence. He appealed and lost in court a few months ago, but has yet to announce what his choice will be. (Btw, it had zero to do with "misinformation." Zero. His posts were judged by the College to be unprofessional, but for other reasons. In one, he tweeted that a particular Sports Illustrated swimsuit model was "Sorry. Not beautiful. And no amount of authoritarian tolerance is going to change that." That was it. That was the entire tweet.) So no, he hasn't had anything "removed." Not yet. And even if he does lose his licence it would still be entirely proper to call him a psychologist. Many psychologists do not practice clinically. According to the BLS, over 40,000 teach psychology at the post-secondary level, being generally university professors. For Peterson himself, clinical work was part-time, as he was professor of psychology first at Harvard then at University of Toronto, and those were full-time appointments. Having retired in 2021, he is now professor emeritus at U of T. But he's still a psychologist, no question. Thus, though you spelled his name right at least, every single thing in your post was untrue. Yet you're accusing him of misinformation. Oh my god. How perfectly emblematic of his adversaries and detractors.
    2
  139. In a Reuters article titled "Kremlin, in change of language, says Russia is 'at war' due to West's role in Ukraine" (March 22, 2024) the top Kremlin spokesman, Dmitriy Peskov, is quoted as publicly and explicitly changing the term to "war" on two occasions in March 2024. (No word on the 2022 law against calling it a war. 😄)
    2
  140.  @Professor-Gerdes  I did listen to him. I watched every one of his Ukraine videos for over a year until he went off the rails on Elon Musk and Republicans. And I did listen to you. And I've listened to many others. And I've determined what fits best. "We all have perspective," you say. Do you include me in that?
    2
  141.  @timrider1224  I agree with your view. There are other interviews and social media posts of his which evinced the same sentiment, but they've been ignored. I think his main aim has been to shrewdly avoid a hawkish stance against Russia, as Putin's interference could tip a very close election.
    2
  142. I think he understands Russia and even Putin fairly well. In the war he sympathizes with Ukraine and thinks Russia is in the wrong, but he understands the Russian perspective and thinks that weak understanding of it has led to strategic mistakes on the part of the West. He also thinks (wrongly, in my view) that it's impossible for Ukraine to win. In this way he resembles Elon Musk, who strongly sides with Ukraine and has made enormous donations to help it defend itself, but thinks that Russia is somewhat justified from its own point of view and, like Peterson, that Ukraine can't win. Of course, if one thinks that struggling any further will be pointless and can only mean greater death and destruction, the best course logically is to sue for peace.   I disagree with them, but they're not stupid, they're not "jokes," and they are good men. I think they're influenced up to a point (and with considerable justification) by respect and admiration for certain aspects (not all) of Russian society and culture — but not of Putin. Musk I am sure despises Putin thoroughly. Peterson perhaps not quite as much, I don't know. His profession teaches the avoidance of black-and-white character assessments except rarely. I do worry that neither of them questions the publicly-made Russian case enough. For my part I think it's exaggerated to the point of being spurious, despite its core of easy plausibility. If it were completely sound, all Russia (or 95%) would accept it and back it, yet a large minority of perhaps one-third or more do not. Finally, it's possible that they have zero conviction that NATO will see things through. Again, such a belief would necessitate the view that the war should end now rather than later. It's not my own view, but NATO has its believers and its non-believers. Many are totally surprised it's still backing Ukraine at this point and expect it to give up at any time. Not me. I see quiet and shrewd resolve in NATO and adroitness in its actions to date. It's my belief that Russia is on a slippery slope to defeat not hugely different from the 1989 defeat in Afghanistan. But I bet both Peterson and Musk are better-informed than I am.
    2
  143. ​ @issadraco532  I believe you are correct. The attempt seems to be to heat the frog to just below a simmer and neutralize but not actually cook it. A very tricky sous vide stunt, really, and I'm not sure whether its like has ever been successfully pulled off.
    2
  144. I'm not at all sure that many Russians yearn to breathe free. Decades ago I knew a Ukrainian man who was born before the Second World War. In mid-life he left with his family for the West. He summed up the Russian people with these words: "Born to be ruled."
    2
  145. Who's that?
    2
  146.  @ernestinebass4371  Come on, put some thought into it. It was the Dems' own choice to put the two things (Ukraine funding and border security funding) in the same bill. No one could've forced them to do that. So why do you think they did? It's because they know damn well the border is the top issue for Americans, including a great many if not most Democrat supporters, so they know they have their own hides to save. So what do they do?... Quite naturally they hand House Republicans a bill with a lever on it marked "Pull Here to Get Your Way on the Border (wink, wink)". Fake "grudgingly giving into the awful Republicans" is just the cover they need for assuaging the emotions of the farther left wing of the party. As for the Republican reaction to such a thing, well, they have mirror-image base support concerns, so they're more than happy to play ball if they can claim a win. Indeed, I would think it was probably as much their idea as the Dems, since they're actually as ok with funding Ukraine as Biden and the Democrats are with a major tightening of the southern border. It's going to be fine. Both parties have to pretend that their arms are being twisted horribly because if they didn't, they couldn't sell any compromise to their respective bases as easily. That's why all this wasn't done in December. There has to be a respectably long period of refusing each other for appearances' sake. But it'll be done soon. And it's politics the way any adult person would realistically hope it would work: that is to say, that multiple issues get moved along with some fairly efficient give-and-take, and a reassuringly large amount of power-sharing. It's usually not that good, so if it turns out I'm right, I suggest you feel really, really good about it. We'll see in the next month or so.
    1
  147. Incorrect! Peterson has always used the pronouns that anyone asked him to. He considers it a proper personal policy from the standpoint of kindness. But he got very mad when the government made it the law. Big difference. [Edit: But I think your overall take was a fair one.]
    1
  148. Let's not forget Palantir while enumerating Ukraine's advantages and strengths in the war. There are credible assertions that the services it provides are massively important. (Likewise we mustn't omit mention of SpaceX's Starlink products and services.)
    1
  149. Definitely true. There's still a big bill for restocking, though. And lower stocks mean less ability to address other hotspots. My opinion is that we're still in the early stages of a massive ramp-up in conflicts. The new axis of China, Russia, Iran, N. Korea and who-knows-who-else is just getting warmed up. I think they want to trigger so many wars and crises that the US has its Suez Moment like Britain in 1956. Except this time the baton of global security wouldn't be passed on smoothly as it was on that occasion from Britain to the US. It gets swiped from the grip of the US by the authoritarian axis. Game over, world ruined, Europe crushed. Developing nations bullied, enslaved or annexed; the US itself under threat on its own soil, no doubt. And certainly impoverished, absolutely no question. So it's important not to fall into traps. Xi and Putin would love nothing better than for the US and NATO to blow half their armaments on one or two or three emergencies and then be so weakened that they can mount no response to the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, tenth ones. (E.g., Venezuela is clearly on the way to forming an intention to invade and annex most of oil-rich Guyana, which is flush with huge recently-made US investments. They want to steal all of them. A referendum seeking a de facto endorsement from Venezuelans for that will take place one week from now.) Each conflict will be selected for its potential to trap the US and its allies, and ruin them.
    1
  150. Prof. Gerdes, it's bizarre to me how your research into Canadian conservative politics consisted of watching a podcast interview with a Liberal politician. That's like researching US conservative politics by watching an interview with Hillary Clinton. Or AOC. Or a commentary by Joy Reid. What on earth were you thinking?
    1
  151. Kasparov is of course correct. But people also fail to realize the extent of the problem on US and other Western platforms. Here we're not talking millions of such posts, but billions. Software to scale up, refine and partly automate the process is invaluable.
    1
  152. One cannot drive a helicopter around, so I don't know about calling it a car.
    1
  153. I keep thinking Col. McGlugger is going to start talking about "our precious bodily fluids." Thanks for giving him what for, so to speak. It's about time somebody did.
    1
  154. Mette Fredericksen is a marvellous leader. She and Denmark are lucky to have each other. I'll never forget her simple message when she ended Denmark's restrictions due to the health event a few years ago, the first Western leader to do so: "We welcome the way of life we knew before." It caught at my throat to hear it.
    1
  155. Also, somewhere/sometime somebody who's now dead probably had the same name as all of us, so levelling this accusation was straightforwardly easy. No scam is too low and obvious for the Kremlin.
    1
  156. "Trump's Peace Plan Unveiled" That part of your video title is false. It is not "Trump's peace plan." If and when Trump has a peace plan, he will announce it as such.
    1
  157. Try watching the video.
    1
  158. In other news, a fragment of a diary belonging to Jeffery Dahmer has surfaced. In it he noted: "They made me kill, dismember and eat them." Kremlin reaction: "Maybe was Russian. We feel like that about all neighbors. Is life." [Not true at all, although in a way it totally is.]
    1
  159. If the Democrats would make major concessions on southern border immigration, Republicans would reciprocate. Both sides have to play ball. Both sides ought to have a say in things, meaning parties have to make deals. That's democracy, that's how free countries are governed, that's how it's always been and always will be — especially when elections result in a government divided nearly equally along party lines. So let supporters of all parties be ashamed if no deal is reached. If you want my opinion, both sides want progress on both issues. Most Republicans are privately and deep-down amenable to aiding Ukraine; most Democrats recognize that in this election year voters see immigration and border security as an issue second only to the falling standard of living. But they don't want to be punished by their respective bases or look like they've make one-sided concessions. So it was bound to go on for weeks and months simply for appearances' sake. When the pressure finally reaches a breaking point an agreement will be reached and both sides can blame the other for forcing them to compromise. Both parties having saved face in this manner, their supporters will, though no doubt with bitterness and resentment, grudgingly accept the outcome. I could see all this coming from miles away as soon as I heard the two issues were to be tied together in a single bill. I expected everything that's happened so far.
    1
  160. He was never a genius, let's get that out of the way. But it was somewhat fair to regard him as stable, at least not the binary opposite. After seeing this news I'd amend that and say Not Anymore. Two weeks left and Justin Trudeau suddenly has competition as worst Western leader.
    1
  161.  @rffromusa8319  Buddy's probably mad after a 90-year-old turned him down for a date.😄
    1
  162. (1) Super-hyper-mega thumbs up. This stuff has to be pointed out. The exaggeration on some right-of-center media and in comments sections is terrible. I hear $200bn sometimes. Who knows, maybe many of them wouldn't mind being set straight. (2) Thanks for sourcing those other breakdowns like the one from the CFR. Highly useful. (3) So where did we end up on Mr. Illarionov? He says $20bn in 20 months, these other sources say $40bn+ in 20 months. Should we give his $20bn some credit but also a big asterisk and a plus-sign? I think in some ways he gives the wrong idea. That's just my opinion, I could be wrong. (4) I guess it goes without saying that this topic deserves ongoing attention. More figures and more commentary are going to be coming out all the time. I'm trying to keep my eye on the big slice contributed by countries other than the US and what's happening with that as well. (5) Lastly I have to state the plain truth that all this aid amounts to lunch money in the wider context and looking into the fairly near future (four to 12 years, say, which isn't that long). If instead of giving it to Ukraine we just let Putin take a wrecking ball to wider European security, the destruction of American economic output and wealth would run into the several tens of trillions pretty quickly. I repeat, in comparison this is lunch money.
    1
  163. Craft similar to the XPeng have been around for a few years.
    1
  164. As a student in the Marxist youth wing of the SPD in the 1980s he wrote essays railing against "the NATO imperialists." I cannot trust him.
    1
  165. 85 armored fighting vehicles? That many in one day? Wow. I know that in most categories of AFVs Russian reserves are running low and production is well outstripped by the rate of losses. Good job, Ukraine! 🇺🇦
    1
  166. I believe he has a surprise in store Putin and us once he's re-elected and safely past the danger posed by the Kremlin's election interference resources. Go way back and read his social media posts right after February 24. Watch his interview with Bartiromo from last summer.
    1
  167.  @AS-np3yq  I believe he has a surprise in store Putin and us once he's re-elected and safely past the danger posed by the Kremlin's election interference resources. Go way back and read his social media posts right after February 24. Watch his interview with Bartiromo from last summer.
    1
  168. I believe he has a surprise in store Putin and us once he's re-elected and safely past the danger posed by the Kremlin's election interference resources. Go way back and read his social media posts right after February 24. Watch his interview with Bartiromo from last summer.
    1
  169. Incorrect. Russia makes its own missiles. It has made a lot since the war began. (A lot fewer than they've used, however.) What they can't do is make their own chips, nor import them directly from most countries which make them. But they're still sourcing the chips, e.g., getting 3rd countries to do it for them.
    1
  170.  @ak5659  Listen to him speaking to an election official 3 1/2 years ago, a phone conversation he never expected to be made public. No sign of the vernacular or his wonted broken syntax. Sounded every bit like the Ivy League graduate he is. Did you want to talk about the fluency of the current president, by any chance?
    1
  171.  @adamk.7177  Jake's views of domestic politics are sadly both simple and simplistic. Nice enough bloke but in some ways low on, uh, mental horsepower. I had to unsubscribe after a year for that reason.
    1
  172. Danish PM Mette Frederiksen is amazing. I'm guessing her move to conscript women carries political risks, and that's one of multiple reasons it's so impressive to me.
    1
  173. I notice you always ignore the tally of Special Equipment losses sustained by Russia. Compared with the loss of trucks and fuel tanks, which you always highlight, these are often far more strategically valuable and hard-to-replace items such as mobile radar units. They may have small, intermittent production runs and cost a lot more.
    1
  174. Obviously the purpose of that TV program is to always make the Kremlin look sober, measured and wise by comparison. That way, the public will be more accepting of its reckless blunders. Although crude, actually not a bad strategy.
    1
  175. I lost neurons just reading that remark.
    1
  176. I see you're now using Perplexity. Good move. But it does make mistakes. Scrutinize its responses carefully. Think them through. It transparently shares every source, so visit them. You can also debate responses and Perplexity will consider your properly-made points in good faith. It admits errors and apologizes for them. Golden.
    1
  177. Imagine the people who watch that stuff night after night, year after year.😮 They're bathing their brains in audiovisual formaldehyde. Although if you think about it, those over 35 had that done to them long ago by the Soviet state. So you can see why Putin wants to act now, before the young attain to senior roles.
    1
  178. Right. Russia remains steeped in feudalism.
    1
  179.  @yellowtunes2756  The USSR had a 20x advantage over Afghanistan but still lost in 1988-89. Ukraine is the Soviet-Afghanistan War 2.0.
    1
  180.  @yellowtunes2756  They withdrew without accomplishing their war aim of defeating the mujahideen. When the Najibullah government collapsed in 1992, it was succeeded by the mujahideen warriors and their political affiliates.
    1
  181.  @yellowtunes2756  Cope-tastic!
    1
  182.  @calispieter  Her weak intellect would sink America.
    1
  183.  @calispieter  The weakness of her mind would breed disasters by the hour.
    1
  184.  @jmdavison62  Omg! If you have to ask, you'll never understand! (Unless you're 16, in which case maybe things will be ok.)
    1
  185. Imagine the furor in the US liberal media if Brazil's awf ul Lula were a conservative. But he's not a conservative, he is a certifiably far-left authoritarian figure.  So he gets largely ignored, either with muted criticism or good old-fashioned crickets.🤨
    1
  186. It's far past time to stop comparing Russia's nominal GDP to that of Ukraine's allies, e.g. Germany. It's meaningless for many purposes, as the rouble is so greatly (though in a sense fairly) undervalued. Russia's GDP at purchasing power parity (PPP) must be considered. On that basis it's about 2x the nominal figure, not far below Germany.
    1
  187.  @patrickdolinski7105  I almost said "Blonde girls with long legs!" (not so sure about Estonia there)
    1
  188.  @patrickdolinski7105  I almost said "Long-legged blondes"
    1
  189.  @patrickdolinski7105  I nearly said long-legged blondes😄
    1
  190. According to Ukraine, in 2022 the population of the Kryvyi Rih metropolitan area was 604,000 (est.). According to Sen. Wicker, Kryvyi Rih is "a little village." 🙄
    1
  191. Glad to see the support down here in the comments for your take on this fiasco.👍 Either the president and VP had this planned or they simply lost their cool. I think it was the former, but either way it was contemptibly bad and unforgivable.
    1
  192. I respect her less for showing up for work in the skimpiest, tightest little top possible. No sense of respect or propriety. If it wouldn't fly at a hospital back home, it's not right for a battlefield either. Why not pair it with a thong?🙄
    1
  193. The new mic sounds excellent. Apparently you're a skilled shopper.👍
    1
  194. Yep, feudalist mindset. Even 70+ years of communist rule failed to do much to it.
    1
  195.  @richardthomas5362  Why? Here is why: “It’s a war against us. It’s a war that requires us to mobilize our societies if we are to remain at peace.” — Gen. Sir Richard Shirreff, Former Deputy Commander of NATO in Europe (2011-2014) in remarks last week. He is also a historian (BA, MA, Oxford). In 2016 he published War with Russia: An Urgent Warning from Senior Military Command, in which he detailed (some say predicted) a full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia—as well as of the NATO Baltic States. In response, the UK government, headed by David Cameron when the book came out, roundly dismissed any such possibility.
    1
  196. My take: (1) Putin has a vanity election coming up in three months. (2) He knows Ukraine has reduced capacity to retaliate and defend itself during this bit of a hiatus in arms shipments. He's trying to deplete their Patriot reserve. [Edit: I see one of your sources (10:50) agrees.]
    1
  197.  Professor_Gerdes_Explains--.  I don't talk to spoof accounts. 😠Muted.
    1
  198.  @julianbransky7168  He said 'Republicans' not 'House Republicans.' So you're omitting not only Senate Republicans but Republicans across the country. Let's be fair, let's be accurate. Including the 2/3rds of Republican senators (31-15) who voted Yes, a narrow majority of Republicans in Congress supported the aid bill. As for Americans identifying as Republicans, their sympathies lie 59% to 7% with Ukraine vs. Russia. (Neither: 29%. YouGov poll of 1,682 Americans, March 16-19). In fact, you have to go to MAGA Republicans only in order to find a majority wishing to see Ukraine aid reduced (51%, YouGov poll of 1,651 Americans, April 21-23). Surprised? If you are, that itself is hardly a surprise. The media simply never mention any Republican support for Ukraine — let alone for direct Ukraine aid — except for that in the Senate. It is necessary to do one's own digging. Thanks media, for helping people not know stuff!
    1
  199. "Happy Birthday to a tremendous leader."😂 Dry, simple, funny.👍 (It's 100% true that brevity is the soul of wit.)
    1
  200. Dear BBC: Apples to apples, please. Most of Russia's fossil fuel export revenue is needed to cover exploration, production, transport and refining costs. The amount going to Russia's government since Feb. 2022 is thus in the range of $350–$400bn, not $940bn. In contrast, all aid from Ukraine's allies can be used or spent by its government.
    1
  201. Kuomintang is pronounced GWOH-min-DUNG in Chinese (usually kwo-min-TANG in English because of the transliteration spelling). The Pinyin system of rendering Chinese into Roman characters is absolutely terrible. No, wait: beyond terrible.
    1
  202. RT: "Men demoralized by DEI leaving labor force in droves, Amerika turns to educating great-grandmothers to fill the void."😄 Sound about right?
    1
  203. Arithmetic boo-boo: "$120m x 165 (days)" should be $120m x 365 days = $43.8bn
    1
  204.  @robertadsett5273  NATO cannot be strong without a larger contribution from Europe. Trump and the Europeans all know this equally well.
    1
  205.  @dontsupportrats4089  The number of locomotives supplied is striking: it was at least 1,900 according to one source, while another states it was 2,047.
    1
  206. Notice that Trump makes a merely symbolic demand in exchange for his blessing. (Loan, schmoan. Ukraine will never repay that loan and Trump knows it.) Which tells me I've been right all along: Trump doesn't intend to "end the war in one day" by abandoning Ukraine; he intends to do it by telling Putin "Withdraw your forces now."
    1
  207. ​ @ubub932  Dictionaries now simply list nearly every word people use, regardless of how abysmally non-standard, and almost never note which words more literate users of the language avoid like the plague. (They make an exception, for instance, for the use of "yous" as a plural for "you.")
    1
  208. In my view, the picture is not an unintentional revelation on the part of Mr. Gerdes, but a proud announcement.
    1
  209.  @ubub932  A bit slow, but you got there at the end. Good boy, now go lie down.
    1
  210.  @laars0001  Well, he's passionately anti-American more than anything else. But sure, yeah, he's a moldy old tankie, every bit as much as Bernie Sanders.
    1
  211.  @laars0001  Yes, although mainly he's passionately anti-American. So for all his life, the USSR and Russia have had a special place in his heart. (Possibly he felt disoriented in the 1990s when Russia and America got along fairly well.)
    1
  212. How much better a path the US would've been on — then and now — if McCain had been president!😕 Economically, fiscally, militarily, culturally, of course on global security, even morally. Very sad how things turned out.
    1
  213. That tweet by Nikki Haley on foreign influence was golden. Excellent share, thanks.
    1
  214.  @Katoshi_Takagumi  Possibly it hasn't changed much since it was sacked by the Mongols in 1238. I consider that it remains stuck in feudalism.
    1
  215. Even the government of Serbia, despite domestic pro-Russian sentiment and close ties with Moscow, supports Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and does not recognize Russia’s claims over any Ukrainian territory, including Crimea.
    1
  216. The weirdest thing by far: That spoof YT channel shows an opening date of 2013! The real channel itself (this one, the one you're on right now) opened in 2022.😮 What's up with that?! It suggests that channel opening dates can be faked. I don't know, but if that's the case it's disturbing. That type of YT info should be un-fakeable.
    1
  217. China is surely learning enormous amounts, too. What can be gleaned from space alone must be valuable. And since it's starting from a lower base, it might well be gaining a proportionally greater benefit. However, I can scarcely speculate on how much Russia is sharing with it — voluntarily😄.
    1
  218. I am Xi Jinping and I approve that comment 1,000%.
    1
  219. Jake Broe is marvellous as a Ukraine booster but is not a worthwhile source of political insight. At all.
    1
  220. If the discussion doesn't interest you I suggest opting out of it, while respecting the desire of others to continue it.
    1
  221. Combined armored vehicle losses for Russia now exceed 30,000. Tanks 9,751 + Armored fighting vehicles 20,271 = Total 30,022
    1
  222. Very interesting side note on Chinese social media reaction. Thanks for that.👍
    1
  223. @ That's got to be true. What reinforces a choice more reliably than knowing the bill is lower as a result?
    1
  224. Sec. Austin knows, but did not acknowledge, that each weapons system is like having a chess piece. One by itself won't literally win the match, but another knight, bishop or rook, well deployed and integrated with the rest into a unified whole, can make every other piece more threatening to the opponent. One more pawn can be a key to victory.
    1
  225. After a few minutes it hit me: This man's outlook & style of thought is like a normal 25-year-old's. That he managed to preserve it all the way to late middle-age astounds me. 🤔Is this the ultimate expression of the power of student ratings? — i.e., that success as a professor hangs on securing the approval of self-admiring 20-somethings?
    1
  226. Hahaha, Gen. Ben Hodges cuts straight to the truth as always.👍🇺🇸
    1
  227. Recent strikes on just three large refineries have disabled over 1 million barrels a day in refining capacity. That's not just a lot for Russia (around 14%), it even registers on a global scale, cutting 1% off the refining capacity of the whole world.
    1
  228. Fiction.
    1
  229.  @KevinForst-n2t  No. You do.
    1
  230.  @KevinForst-n2t  Nope. You do.
    1
  231.  @freebolt5913  That claim, made in John Bolton's book, is unverifiable. The book was dismissed by Trump as "made up of fake stories." Bear in mind that Trump humiliated and fired Bolton, or at least demanded and received his resignation. But let's say that Bolton's claim — namely, that this came out in an in-person meeting with UK PM Elizabeth May — is factually true. I would still put it down to feigned ignorance in an attempt to show disregard for Britain's capabilities. He behaves that way with people to try to get the upper hand with them, to 'put them in their place.' In any case, it's not credible to me that he'd be unaware the UK is a nuclear power.
    1
  232. Don't take Trump so literally and seriously. (1) When he says these things about NATO he's (rightly) trying to scare the countries that are taking the US for a financial ride. Reassuring them would be counterproductive. (2) When he says fairly nice things about Putin he's simply flattering him strategically. (Likewise Kim Jong-un.) Remember, he spent decades dealing with the organized crime bosses who control construction, gambling and other businesses in the NY/NJ area. (3) When he says things about "ending the war in Ukraine" he's angling to avoid Russian state interference with his election bid, as Putin's minions will work hard to defeat whichever candidate is most hawkish on his war — i.e., seems most hawkish on it. Why assume he means and intends what he literally says? I don't think he's like that. I think that if he's elected we'll hear him singing a different tune on these matters, either immediately or when the right time comes. Take a look at his social media posts right after February 24, 2022.
    1
  233. I love the way you think you know anything.
    1
  234.  @GarrisonFall  😂So Iceland (pop. 0.3m) should have equal say in the world with Communist China (pop. 1.4bn)? Dream on. Life and the world will never work that way, nor should they.
    1
  235. Every country has them in every war, even if they have to emigrate to open their mouths. Think of Ezra Pound and Lord Haw Haw.
    1
  236. Q: Could all the seemingly hostile and illogical US trade moves against basically the whole world, especially the ones against its best friends and traditional allies, all be part of a scheme by Trump to beat up on everyone, China included, in order that at some point he can leave off trade attacks on just about everyone except China? In this way he could perhaps pull off a stunning feat. Namely, to have declared economic war on China, while making it look as though it was China's fault, by casting it as the only one among America's significant trading partners unwilling to make peace on trade. There would be plausible deniability for going after China, without which he and the US might very well land in hot water internationally. He could thus escape worldwide (as well as domestic) blame. Whether this is his aim is one question, whether he could succeed in it is indeed another; but I think they're good questions. Who could fail to notice, after all, the very stagy quality of all these events?
    1
  237. I wouldn't be so quick to assume, as that Russian source does, that secondary sanctions on Russian oil would send world prices up, at least not for long. There would be a spike when the news broke but it would be ephemeral. There's a lot of spare production capacity worldwide right now.
    1
  238. Yes, but it relied exclusively on one source. It loses points for that. I liked it though.
    1
  239. I can't rule out the possibility that if Trump keeps favoring Russia and maintains his very tough stance on Ukraine, yet Putin remains intransigent in peace talks, he is ready to turn on Putin and side strongly with Ukraine. Recall that he has pledged multiple times to do just that. Putin would be absolutely unable to claim bias against Russia.
    1
  240. Ukraine has been destroying enemy artillery at a run-rate of around 2,000 a month.😮 Incredible.👏 But I fear Russia's abetters in the Authoritarian Axis will come to its aid.
    1
  241. War is like chess. One piece isn't going to spell victory. It's about all your pieces working wonderfully well together, right down to your pawns. So the A-10 could see spot use. It's suited to war zones where the enemy is limited to armor and infantry and has light air defences. It's slow and it flies low. However, where air defence is thought to have been knocked out, where Ukraine's own air defences against incoming Russian aircraft and missiles are strong, and where the potential benefit makes the risks worth it, it might make a solid contribution.
    1
  242. Thanks for the Russian state viewpoint, Mr. Peskovchik.
    1
  243. I expect Trump will confront Putin aggressively upon taking office. The eagerness of the media to distort what he says, and the public's lemming-like acquiescence to their will, have made it astoundingly easy for him deceive nearly the whole world about his intentions.
    1
  244. For well over a year I've been convinced that one of Trump's central aims is to confuse and mislead the Kremlin.
    1
  245.  @tomrobertson3236  Breaking news: If one wishes to influence people, especially extremely powerful ones, condemning them isn't the best move. At times even to flatter them is wiser.
    1
  246. I notice he has the face of a longtime alcoholic: dead eyes surrounded by overly delicate, overly pink tissue; puffy bags under them; sick-looking skin. And that's even with TV makeup on.
    1
  247.  @robertatkins9419  Quod erat demonstrandum 😂
    1
  248. Just wait.
    1
  249. NATO could've armed Ukraine more heavily at earlier stages but I suspect there are good reasons why it didn't. Forcing Russia back would not have been sufficient in itself. (1) Had Russia been knocked to the canvas (so to speak) early on, but without losing much of its vast ability to make war, it would've remained a colossal danger and probably would've restarted full-scale hostilities after a short pause. It is unfortunately necessary to drain it of its combat power before trying to conclude the war in a way favorable to Ukraine's future. I view this as a sad reality of the war. (2) It is unwise to drain NATO stocks at a rate which leaves it unable to fight a second or third war on short notice. A well-stocked NATO is the world's best hedge by far against widespread outbreaks of war. It must keep huge amounts of its powder dry, and perhaps what it has got is not much above a safe minimum. Its arms and ammunition production capacity needs to go way up. And that takes years, not months. (3) It takes time to see what Russia can do and will do. Know Your Enemy is a valuable maxim which entails studying what the enemy does if circumstances at all allow it. Pitfalls are everywhere in war and it is much better to be safe than sorry. It can mean the difference between winning the war and losing it. (I realize the bitter irony of invoking the concept of 'safety' at a time when Ukraine is in great peril, but avoiding haste and the errors which ensue is of prime importance in pursuit of victory.) (4) It is good during this period of attrition to convince Putin that he's never really very far from success. It encourages him to throw resources at the front faster than is advisable for his long-term chances. The appearance of timidity and reluctance on the part of NATO actually serves Ukraine well in this regard. A little of it is real but mostly, I believe, it is feigned. NATO is under no illusions about the importance of a good outcome in this conflict. I could go on for a while but I don't have all night, so I'm going to cut it short there. I welcome responses of any sort, even from vatniks.
    1
  250.  @TonyM540  I agree with your points.👍
    1
  251.  @kevynnedallaire1815  That amounts to saying that what's good for Ukraine is bad for planet Earth. I'm not going there, sorry. I want Russian energy revenues to be low and I don't want Russia to be able to blame high inflation on Ukraine's actions in the war. If you think it will help anything, you need to stop using energy yourself unless it's from wind and solar, and force your family to stop too. Sell your car and walk or ride your bike everywhere. Stop eating. Have you done all that stuff yet? No? Then I don't want to hear about it.
    1
  252.  @kevynnedallaire1815  To me that amounts to saying that what's good for Ukraine is bad for the Earth. For my part I want Russian oil revenues to be low and world inflation to be low. I want Ukraine to win. Maybe you should just sell your car and reduce your carbon footprint to zero. I said similar things in a reply just a while ago, but I don't see that reply now.
    1
  253.  @jwwebnaut7045  Who says these are not independent outside estimates?🤨
    1
  254. Bartiromo interview, summer 2023. Watch it.
    1
  255. See my reply of just now to the post immediately above yours. [@Gamma_Draconis "The problem..." etc.] (So we're either great minds thinking alike or fools not differing.😂)
    1
  256. 1) I'm so happy for Ukrainians finally getting some news to raise their spirits and their hopes for a favorable outcome. How brave the battalions going into Kursk are!🇺🇦 2) Final clip: What it would be like if Kamala Harris were running America.😄 Wait, I mean 😮and 😥.
    1
  257. Both sides really want both things, because there's an election this year and swing voters must be courted. It's the Rep and Dem hardcore bases that don't want Ukraine aid and an immigration clampdown, respectively. A single bill is the solution: all they have to do is wrangle over it publicly for weeks and weeks, reach a deal, blame the compromise on each other, and their bases pretty much have to forgive them. Democracy works a lot of the time, you just have to accept that it involves well-meaning deception, just like life itself.
    1
  258. I agree with every word of that. Definition creep is a fine term for a nasty thing. And you said "troubling" instead of the faddish problematic. Marvellous.
    1
  259. 1:15 Mistranslation in a quote attributed to Zelensky: "If Putin doesn't come to Turkey it will be his total defeat." The French "cela ressemblera à une défaite totale pour lui " properly translates to "it will look like a total defeat for him." Quite a semantic and rhetorical difference.
    1
  260. Wait, you're saying "maga" is an attack on the US from a hostile foreign nation?
    1
  261. Yeah, however sh!t can serve a useful purpose. It makes crops grow in farmers' fields, and roses bloom in flowerbeds.
    1
  262. Peterson absolutely favors Ukraine. Don't make things up.  It's called motivated unreason. And it's wrong.
    1
  263. Bear in mind that the Speaker of the House of Commons is a Liberal Party MP. Yes, the Speaker is a Liberal politician and government member. The opposition leader criticized and insulted the Speaker's literal boss. Professor, please learn more on this subject this before forming even interim opinions.
    1
  264. I still feel there's a less-than-50% chance it will be a Biden-Trump ballot. Harris and Newsom would vie to replace Biden. DeSantis and Haley would vie to replace Trump. Other rivals might emerge too, so in this sense at least 6 contenders remain, not two.
    1
  265. Stepping way back for a wide perspective on the US, it strikes me that Friday's debacle was all just fallout from the deep deterioration of both political parties. Their potential to lead America forward on a course beneficial to it and the world has practically collapsed. What a dismal pair of tickets Americans had to choose from in November!
    1
  266.  @richardvale214  Yeah, I know this channel is Kamalaland.
    1
  267.  @Kizron_Kizronson  Wow, I don't know where to begin. 1) "Duh!" 2) Who t F said anything about "out of the goodness of their hearts"? 3) What a pointless emotional rant. 4) Great, so you realize what anyone ought to realize. Congratulations on not being born yesterday. 5) Now if you can work on not being so bitter about fixed and eternal realities of relations between people and nations. 6) ....and acquiring a more mature outlook.
    1
  268.  @adriansheldon7778  My mom always told me to beware moralizers. They're reliably worse than the people they moralize about, she said.
    1
  269.  @adriansheldon7778  Hahaha, you know, if the nurses catch patients using the internet they will punish them severely. Don't take chances. (My sister is one on a high-security ward, poor thing. Bad career.)
    1
  270. Nice catch on 'categorical imperative.' Regarding Macron, he's "leaving," yes...in 2027. The elections just now were legislative, not presidential. Dang, that Skabeeva just can't be outdone for false statements and cluelessness.
    1
  271. I retroactively withdraw my sympathy for Hungary over the brutal 1956 invasion by the USSR. (This is unfair, but no matter. It was well before my time, but no matter.) May their callousness towards Ukraine, while basking in the security of NATO (!), be repaid in low-dose karma. 2) Finland is golden! 3) The Kyiv Post really botched the name of the Chinese premier, Li Qiang. He should be called Li, since Li is his surname, not Qiang. (And they they misspelled it 'Quiang'). Incidentally, the 'q' in Chinese romanization, for some confusing reason, has no 'k' sound. It's pronounced as 'ch.' Thus: chee-ONG, roughly.
    1
  272.  @Professor-Gerdes  It's simply a way of expressing my dismay with Hungary. I feel wounded by its Ukraine War stance, which has negatively affected my former longstanding high regard for them.
    1
  273. Recall that Biden met with Trump last Wednesday, a meeting which by all accounts was most cordial and went decidedly well. Ukraine was reportedly on the agenda. I speculate for these and other reasons that the ATACMS authorization had Trump's blessing. I still think Trump has planned all along to take a hard line with Putin.
    1
  274.  @jimbodimbo981  No, up late in Petersburg.
    1
  275.  @rffromusa8319  It was clear enough what the Soviets were, but they had their fifth column in the West in university faculties, newspapers and magazines, Hollywood and everywhere else, planting doubts and trying to persuade the public that the USSR was really a socialist paradise. Just like today, with HamISIS sympathizers in all the same places.
    1
  276. @ Go ahead and offer reasons for believing that taxpayers will fund a Mars colony. Let's hear what they are.
    1
  277. @ I'm not here to promote anyone, just to call out made-up things. Yes, I think his stated intentions, if carried out, will re-ignite inflation in food, gas and more.
    1
  278. @ It's rather splendid, I can tell you, but does mistreat me once in a while (for example it served up your posts). I'm stoic about such things, though. Bye
    1
  279. "Everything will now be collected and shown." 😂 Freely translated from Pooty-speak: "Don't even bother listening to anything I say."
    1
  280. Sudzha: SOO-ja.
    1
  281. "His free speech was never under threat." That's not true. The Canadian government had introduced legislation that would make it a criminal act not to use someone's chosen pronouns. If that's not an infringement of free speech, nothing is. Mind you, Peterson says he always uses people's chosen pronouns anyway. He figures it's just polite and kind and costs nothing. But the door it opened to repression at scale was something he wouldn't stand for. He's just too familiar with the history of the USSR to accept it. (The government, under the current prime minister, passed the law.)
    1
  282.  @OllamhDrab  Ok, commissar.🙄 Look, I just called you commissar! Come and have me arrested!😂Call the cops, comrade!🤣I committed a crime against humanity. Phone the ICC!
    1
  283. Good summary. I agree with every word of that.
    1
  284. What a come-down, listening to Jake Broe's maunderings after Emmanuel Macron's concise and accurate summing-up.
    1
  285. The PRC is a rogue province of Taiwan.🇹🇼
    1
  286. I find it impossible to avoid thinking that Orban avidly accepts financial help from Putin. He's not 100% bad but he's an obvious k ro ok, deeply self-interested, indifferent at best to human rights, and that's much more than bad enough.
    1
  287. Its economy is a lot bigger than it appears at market exchange rates, a fact we ought to face without equivocation. The rouble being very undervalued (not unfairly, of course), it sets Russian GDP roughly on a par with Canada, Italy or Brazil. But measured at purchasing power parity (PPP), it's 4th globally — lower than China, the US and India; but above Germany and Japan. The market rate and PPP measures are both important because they capture different vital realities.
    1
  288. Thank you. Nothing could be more germane.
    1
  289. Nonsense. Without Musk Ukraine would not exist as a country right now. He's still providing more direct aid to its military than any other individual I'm aware of.
    1
  290. 1:16 That's a strange way to use the phrase "the barricades." This metaphor has zero to do with relations between countries and actually refers to domestic unrest (e.g., rioting in the streets, an uprising against the government). I wonder whether the speaker used those words or if it was just a poor translation.
    1
  291. Ukraine: "Get rid of cube. Or we send drone."
    1
  292. 17m tons of oil processed annually by that Ryazan refinery equates to nearly 350,000 barrels a day. At over 5% of the entire national refining capacity, yes, that's pretty big. Also, refining is a very profitable part of the oil business, at current oil prices perhaps the most profitable. And building and repairing refineries is terribly expensive.😄
    1
  293. "Informed"? Do you realize that he read us a tweet from Douglas Macgregor as though it was a news report? 😂
    1
  294. If Europe, in addition to its present level of aid, decided to the shoulder the (now-withdrawn) American share of aid as well, would the US then consent to selling the Europe-Ukraine alliance large amounts of weaponry and ammo?
    1
  295. I guess almost anything is for sale if you make a high enough offer. In the fall of 2022 we were told that the world had already been well-scoured for ammunition by Ukraine's deep-pocketed allies. If that was the case, the fact that Pavel managed to succeed suggests bids for ammo have gone up.
    1
  296. I don't know what that list of losses and airfield damage will cost Russia, but if it were the US the bill would be over $1 billion.
    1
  297. At any time, the cabinet minister responsible for such matters can simply sign an exemption overriding the law, at his/her sole discretion. (Presumably after getting an ok from the PM.)
    1
  298. @Hiafanao I made a reply about ministerial exemptions. It's not visible?
    1
  299. In 1994 Putin would not be president for another 5-plus years.
    1
  300. The number of artillery systems Ukraine has been taking out is massive. I'd like to see a chart of that. Charts are nice.
    1
  301. I can't believe you just read to us a tweet from Douglas Macgregor as though it was a news report.🤯 Holy lord! Don't do this again, please.🤨
    1
  302. 3 short points: My sense of things is that (1) The amount of brainpower being marshalled and allowed to run this war is rising fast on both sides (meaning that many of the slow and the ineffective are being pushed out, which I'm not sure is a good or a bad thing). (2) Likewise the amount of money, especially money that doesn't have to be publicly mentioned, like for arms production and (super-huge deal) arms production capex. And (3), one or more radically different phases of the war probably await us within months. People everywhere should be thinking about whether they're insulated at least a little bit against the proverbial S-H-ing-T-F. (F stands for fan.) That's just my opinion, I could be wrong. For all I know Afghanistan-1988-89 could repeat itself in May.🤷‍♂ (Cf. Montaigne: "What do I know?")
    1
  303. Prigozhin's rebellion never worried or upset Putin. It wasn't against him or the Kremlin, it was against the army. In fact, it likely delighted Putin greatly. The higher the tension between the assorted armed forces, PMCs, the FSB and other security forces, the more secure he feels.
    1
  304. 1) No one told them to. 2) The idea would've spontaneously occurred to them, but metaphorical woke worms have eaten half their brains.
    1
  305. I appear to be muted except for replies, ever since I said something uncomplimentary about J ake B roe's political judgment. He replied back rather angrily.
    1
  306. How about one on how easy it was for Chigh Nuh to infiltrate Gov. Kathy Hochul's office? Does that sound good?
    1
  307. People need to realize that RT concealed what it was doing. Conservative pundits were just told that some anonymous billionaire wanted to reward and encourage them for their work. No one came and said "Here's a hundred grand. Give us 20 minutes on why we shouldn't help Ukraine." Some posters here need to take slow deep breaths.
    1
  308.  @malcolmgibson5088  The clues have been there since the last week of February 2022. But he has been quiet because he knows what is best for him: it is dangerous to an American presidential nominee's election hopes to come out openly as the most hawkish on Russia, particularly since US elections tend to be quite close. Just ask Hillary Clinton.
    1
  309. ​ @malcolmgibson5088  The signs have been there since the first days after February 24, 2022. But quietly. He knows what's good for him. In any presidential election, whichever nominee is the most hawkish against Russia faces the threat of Russian measures against his or her campaign. Putin is hardly omnipotent, but US elections tend to be very close. Just ask Hillary Clinton.
    1
  310. Both the guy's parents were hippies (his word) and he only completed high school. Basically a good guy, but he goes right off the rails sometimes. Mind not properly trained.
    1
  311.  @SuezWSuezW  He's pretty good.
    1
  312. Everybody should see Operation Infektion, (2018, 47 min.) a US documentary about active measures. Everybody. You can be watching it in three seconds. High-quality eye-opener. Still haunts me five years later.
    1
  313. You made a bit of an apples-and-oranges mix-up on Russian govt. budgeting, I'm afraid. We shouldn't directly compare 2023 defense spending ($85bn) with the 2024 total national govt. budget ($415bn). Media sources give the 2024 defense budget as $112bn.
    1
  314. Check Politico website headlines. Far plainer yet.
    1
  315.  @SteveMHN  We need a massively better-financed, expanded and improved Rum ble ... immediately. Years ago, actually!
    1
  316.  @kerriwilson7732  Absolutely right on all three points!👍 However, I was replying about a totally different subject: Video hosting platforms and how few there are to choose from.🙁
    1
  317.  @AstroGremlinAmerican  👍 If no one ever corrected me I'd be a lot worse off.
    1
  318. New camera/lighting/video software? Looking good.
    1
  319. I think the US has limited aid to Ukraine for valid reasons: (1) For lasting European security, Russia's power to keep invading neighbors had to be deeply attritted and (2) the task fell to Ukraine, because (3) a Russia-NATO war must be avoided, because (4) the US must keep maximum powder dry to preserve peace in East Asia.
    1
  320. That Kadyrovite is right that NATO "will cease to exist in the format in which it exists today." But not in the way he thinks. It will emerge larger, stronger and more united. Thanks to Putin in one sense and Trump in another, Europe is finally going to pull its weight, ensuring a much more powerful and sustainable alliance. Long live NATO.
    1
  321. Prof., you should take a quick look at the Ukraine Aid Tracker of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a major German government-funded economic research group primarily studying globalism. It has a summary in charts, full working paper and data files. Altogether it's a lot. It's best not to take one person's word for something so complex and involved.
    1
  322.  @Professor-Gerdes  Thanks. Looking forward to more on this very challenging and interesting subject. When I watched your video I had watched the Illarionov video a couple of hours earlier and my head was still spinning from his shocking assertions on aid levels. Btw, I don't like the way my last sentence comes across (like I'm talking down to you). I wrote the whole comment with the general reader in mind but then failed to alter that last sentence when I added "Prof." at the last moment as an afterthought. It sounds awful so please forgive that! Lastly, I've been enjoying the 3 Things format lately. Great idea, and you're doing it well.
    1
  323.  @Professor-Gerdes 👍Whew, good! There's such a danger of seeming impolite in a comment if one isn't careful.
    1
  324.  @albifreedom9725  <---"Dude, you just mentioned the "T" word." Yeah, cuz everybody gets a lifetime allowance of saying it four times.😆
    1
  325. Don't mistake the re-Stalinization of Russia for something vastly bigger.
    1
  326. It has has never "been back." While it's fair to say that Putin has been 're-Stalinizing' Russia, in the broad sense of a centralization of power and increasing repression for the past 15+ years, your claim, when taken as a flat assertion at face value, is far past even brushing off as a ridiculous exaggeration. It's deeply wrong. Communism was a central feature of the USSR and I thought everyone knew that.😂So was the presence of 14 other republics besides the Russian SFSR.
    1
  327. I maintain that Jake Broe has sharply limited ability to understand politics and media. He's not always wrong but goes off the rails with simplistic views tailored to emotion-ridden biases. He caricatures conservatives and conservative viewpoints clumsily and indiscriminately. What I appreciate about him is his steadfast support of Ukraine and skewering of jingoistic Russians.
    1
  328. "Decorum"! She's the one who told the UK Foreign Secretary "Kiss my a--" a few weeks ago. It can hardly get any less decorous than that. (To which I responded, btw: "If Marjorie Taylor Chamberlain really does want Lord Cameron to kiss her hefty hinder part, she must do her part. As no British Foreign Secretary walks to his appointments, let her not delay a moment in having a helicopter landing pad painted on it.")
    1
  329.  @AfterTheIce-q4j  "Drug"? Ok whatever, Mr. Native Speaker of English.😂 Least penetrating and least correct insights of all time. Just what any country of the Authoritarian Axis would want posted.🙄
    1
  330.  @33stryker  To see my reply(s), please Sort by Newest.
    1
  331.  @Rumb1epit  First of all, there's been no KGB for 33+ years. Second, what the FSB says should be of no interest to anyone in possession of adequate moral and mental faculties.
    1
  332. It seems that the people (as distinct from governments) who are most upset about this war besides the Ukrainians themselves are the Japanese, the British, the Estonians, Lithuanians and Latvians, the Poles and the Finns.
    1
  333.  @cyclewisconsin105  I'd say 90% chance he's a foreign internet comments worker. With automation plus LLM and other AI assistance, working thousands of Western SM accounts each, 1,000 such workers can easily put up a few thousand posts each per hour, or a combined billion posts a month. Easily.
    1
  334.  @cyclewisconsin105  On further inspection of the thread I'd say we were both off. He seems to be a moderate Republican. But I stand by my remarks as to probabilities in general. Best regards.
    1
  335.  @magpiegirl3783  I don't know if that company has home and mobile setups like Starlink does. I don't think so, I think it just has large corporate and govt. customers.
    1
  336. I wouldn't say that. France has been far from a leading contributor of aid to Ukraine, especially considering its wealth and military capacities.
    1
  337. I'm starting to suspect that the whole spat with Ukraine was something which Trump started, feigning toughness in order to convince Russia that negotiations with him wouldn't be tilted in Ukraine's favor. Which would actually be shrewd: Having gone hardcore on Zelensky, he could repeat it with Putin, this time in earnest.
    1
  338. Fairly stated. Mr. High Heels and Mr. Funny Moustache have an enormous amount in common.
    1
  339. He can be very easily impressed by a tough and confident manner sometimes. But I don't think he can have much respect for heavy drinkers. His brother lost his life to drink decades ago. If he isn't already, Macgregor will be cast aside like Bannon et al.
    1
  340.  @Idrathernot13  You would need to show how hitting refineries not only affects Russian exports of crude oil at all, but how it devastates them. Good luck with that.
    1
  341.  @jec5476  Right. He's gotten himself Kamala Harris' job without the approval of voters.
    1
  342. Those strike me as sound insights.👍
    1
  343.  @Comm.DavidPorter  If Russia had attacked NATO countries on its western flank in retaliation, it would have been difficult or, more likely, impossible to repel them. That is the opinion of Gen. Sir Richard Shirreff, Deputy Commander of NATO in Europe, 2011-14. NATO's $1trn-plus annual military budget seems immense, yet it is spent in such a way as to provide a shockingly low level of preparedness for war. Such vulnerability argues powerfully against the sort of risk-taking you wish had occurred. Another aspect arguing for prudence was the unpredictability of the political outcome in Russia were Putin to have been quickly and ignominiously thrashed. His ouster by the siloviki might well have been absolutely disastrous for European, Asian and global security. Multiple wars could've broken out, possibly ones larger than the one in Ukraine. It's too soon to say for certain, but I expect history will judge NATO's response so far to have been, all things considered, highly (and surprisingly) adroit.
    1
  344. What is all this? You did nothing wrong. Neither did Newsweek. You laid the appropriate stress on the fact that the story was unconfirmed. You probably should've put the word 'may' in your title, that's all.
    1
  345. Well, the Engels family had a lot of large textile mills in England. So it figures.
    1
  346. I think Biden and NATO decided that the way to defeat Putin is to first spend a couple of years in attrition, hollowing out Russia's power to make war. Any loss is apt to result in his removal and it's best that his siloviki successor inherits a neutered military. So I think this is phony dithering and they're achieving adroitly what they set out to do. Just my opinion, I could be wrong.
    1
  347. MAGAs are simply against anything Biden and the Democrats are for. If it were Trump who did all the same things to help Ukraine, they would've been pumped. Likewise "progressives" opposed the border wall only because Trump came up with the idea. Now that Harris is down with the wall, they're fine with it.
    1
  348. It's true that Russia's economy is weakening. But somewhat like the US economy coping with its chronic debt illness, the Russian economy with its own maladies can live with them for a long while. Don't count on an imminent collapse.
    1
  349. Some, like Tucker Carlson, who are as anti-Democrat as they come, saw the Ukraine War as a massive danger to Republican prospects from Day 1, and will do anything and everything they can to prevent Biden and the Dems gaining popularity from their response to it. That includes saying innumerable things they know are not true.🤨
    1
  350. Maybe use my term: the Authoritarian Axis.
    1
  351. Cold compresses on the forehead can reduce neurological symptoms associated with fever.
    1
  352.  @Duke_Romilar_III  It wasn't advice. It was a statement of plain fact for your edification.
    1
  353.  @Duke_Romilar_III  <---confession via accusation. Now treat that fever, Your Grace.
    1
  354. Check opinion polls on whom Republicans actually support in the Ukraine War. That should reduce your Trump Fever a few degrees.
    1
  355. Mike Johnson told Politico on Thursday that a vote on Ukraine funding will go ahead in the near future. He indicated that the vote will not be tied to the issues of immigration, the border, or the deadline for general government funding. (Sources: Politico exclusive story, The New Republic)
    1
  356. The word assassination is completely wrong for a soldier in a war context! The word is kill. Assassinations are for political or religious reasons, according to the Oxford English Dictionary.
    1
  357.  @nkosipwl  It could easily turn into something of great importance, knitting the world's authoritarian countries into a massive force against democracy and freedoms. Or it could somewhat fizzle. Only time will tell.
    1
  358.  @nkosipwl  My reply should be visible if you Sort by Newest.
    1
  359.  @richardarriaga6271  Omg, that is such a stretch. Path etic all y silly Joy Reid-ism.😂
    1
  360.  @stephanbaumeister4507  The scale of the problems is not remotely comparable. Avoid hyperbole and be real.
    1
  361. You're forgetting that the Heritage Foundation is not running for high office. Or any office.🙄
    1
  362.  @SuperRetroTheater  I see. And who told you that?
    1
  363. 1) "Shocking how weakness fuels authoritarian ambition." Only to those who never confronted a bully. Or those who haven't noticed the blow to dealt to creeping left authoritarianism in the US itself by the strength of opposition to it in the past two years. 2) Anna's name for the war is too long. Make it the Authoritarian Axis (or AA) War.
    1
  364.  @kevinkanter2537  See his interview with Bartiromo in July 2023. Also his social media posts in the first few days following February 24, 2022. Then consider my proposition that he fears attracting concerted Russian efforts to prevent him winning what will likely be a very close election.
    1
  365.  @economiccrisis9267  I believe you are right. I've been saying the same thing for more than a year. Niall Ferguson just became the first really prominent commentator to suggest it. There's also one of Trump's former European ambassadors and that's it. Just the four of us as far as I am aware.
    1
  366. 🙄Please. He doesn't actually want out of NATO. He wants fairer treatment from allies and was very shrewdly playing chicken with them. And the tactic showed 10x more promise of getting them to pay their fair share for their own security than anything any previous president had done. Think about it: a serious boost to European military spending would not only save American taxpayers many billions of dollars, it would seriously strengthen NATO for the long term, as well as have a major positive impact on global security and prospects for sustained world peace. A strong NATO is by far the entire world's best bet for a safe future and Trump understands that quite well.
    1
  367. Those on staff will still have access, of course. (And maybe some ordinary people with certain VPN services). But if there's a general ban for the public, YT should consider stepping in, if it's even possible, to deny such workers as well. Why let them continue when Moscow has denied their company its market?
    1
  368. Yes, around 90% of replies to my pro-Ukrainian posts are attacks. However, the precise wording of them leads me to suspect that nearly all of those are from Russians, or govt workers in other hostile foreign countries. (Few realize how massive the CCP effort in Western social media is, nor how great a help AI is to them and all such countries.)
    1
  369. Aren't many basically the counterparts of Cuban exiles in the US — i.e., activists against the regime they gladly left behind?
    1
  370. I find myself in agreement with Greenwald about 30% of the time. (Not on Ukraine.) Which is a fairly high percentage. But even then he gives me the creeps. His affected way of speaking gives me the creeps in a major way. He's a bizarre person. If I had a small pet, I wouldn't trust him alone with it.
    1
  371.  @wishusknight3009  Really mature insult.🙄
    1
  372. "Moscow Marge" just doesn't sound great. I actually think calling her "Hanoi Jane" would be more rhetorically biting. It's what I call Tucker Carlson as well.
    1
  373. ​ @MarcPetersson-ak67  Patiently read each word, please: My point was to disparage Scholz and suggest why he is so grudging of support to Ukraine; namely, that he is a despiser of NATO from way back and a Russophile to boot. What's wrong, anyway? Too much elderflower cider and meatballs? Fell on the road with no bike helmet?
    1
  374.  @hermes7587  What a shallow take: dismissing an argument because it's not footnoted and contains an anglicization of the SPD's name (which in English is Social Democratic Party). Guess what, I call Köln "Cologne" too...and it really shows how "superficial" I am! Btw, working from memory, I made an error: it wasn't the socialist youth wing of the SPD, it was the Marxist youth wing. (And he remained in it into his 30s.) 🤣
    1
  375. ​ @MarcPetersson-ak67  Please read carefully: My point was to disparage Scholz and suggest reasons for why he is so grudging in his support for Ukraine; namely, that he harbors antipathies towards NATO from way back, and admired the Soviets so much that it biases him in favor of Russia to this day. So what went wrong when you read my post? Too much elderflower cider? Fell on the road with no bike helmet?
    1
  376.  @MarcPetersson-ak67  Why do you say that? I am ardently, passionately pro-Ukraine.
    1
  377.  @davidmarkwort9711  Personally I thought he was pretty great.
    1
  378.  @davidmarkwort9711  Nein!😄 Helmut Schmidt.
    1
  379. The art of peace is the art of deterrence.
    1
  380. The mental contortions they perform are breathtaking. They'd find a way to rationalize destroying the sun if it suited them.
    1
  381. Kringela
    1
  382. How does "US" translate to "White House"?🤨 Likelier Mar-a-Lago, Camp David or some other place.
    1
  383.  @michaziomek  6th.
    1
  384.  @michaziomek  Oh crap, I saw "EU" but it registered in my mind as "Eur." So of course I thought 6th including Britain. Oops! 🙄
    1
  385.  @michaziomek  At least it's their own bed once again! I would think a Pole would understand a people cherishing and prizing their full autonomy. But I guess not.
    1
  386. “It’s a war against us. It’s a war that requires us to mobilize our societies if we are to remain at peace.” — Gen. Sir Richard Shirreff, Former Deputy Commander of NATO in Europe (2011-14) in an interview, Jan. 2024
    1
  387. I wonder if the Bulgarian public supports President Radev, who is backed by the remnant of the old Communist Party (as you might guess from looking at him). An opinion poll a few years ago found that just 15% of Bulgarians consider their elections fair. Luckily, although he is the head of state, his veto is easily overridden by parliament. (In Bulgaria it is the PM who heads the govt.) Fingers crossed.
    1
  388. Interested in Canada's tariffs on US dairy goods, I see! Well, be aware that Levitt was cherrypicking: under a tri-level USMCA tariff scheme, a quota of US dairy goods enters Canada duty-free, another at a 7.5% tariff, then any more gets a high tariff...and US exporters don't even use their whole duty-free/low-tariff allowance. Btw, the US has its own tri-level tariffs on Canadian goods, enshrined in the "tremendous" USMCA. Pesky facts!
    1
  389. May I add that another voice of reprobation for Russia's annexation is the usually supportive country of Serbia. Its government expressly refuses to recognize the annexed territories as legitimate parts of Russia. President Vučić came right out and said Serbia cannot support Russia's invasion.
    1
  390. Sorry, but the Gallup poll really showed only that Democrat voters are against Trump as much as ever. And its most promising finding was the response to an unclear question — did "additional weapons and military supplies" mean "additional" in the sense of continuing or increased? "Yes" respondents might have taken it either way. My take, therefore: Meh. Meanwhile you tell us of an impending large and multi-month offensive by Russia! So overall, not an excellent news day at all.
    1
  391. 👍These summaries are useful in case I miss uploads during the week. I usually see them all, but not always. This week I had missed the bad news on Taurus. Germany, you dropped the ball. But I suppose it's possible the decision will be reversed in time.
    1
  392.  @carlossaraiva8213  😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 Stop it. I can't breathe, that's so funny.
    1
  393. Trilemma: "Excuse me, I'm right here."
    1
  394.  @Groffili  I wonder if you got the point: Russia seemingly stopped calling it an SMO about five months ago.
    1
  395.  @robderich8533  He was the British prime minister who appeased Hitler, claiming to have achieved "Peace in our time." The British soon replaced him with Churchill.
    1
  396. So who says MiG-29 as "emm-eye-gee-29"? No one.
    1
  397. Professor, you don't have to say OH-blast. It's not mandatory. In all the US and UK dictionaries I checked, AWB-last is either preferred or accepted. In American English we don't say pa-REE, we say PAIR-iss. (Paris) We don't say MANCH-ə-stir, we say MAN-chest-er. MOSK-ow, not MUSK-vah. It's fine.
    1
  398.  @tapeo1  Watch his interview with Bartiromo from July 2023.
    1
  399.  @timrider1224  Yes, I agree with all that and see no contradictions between my views as expressed and your own. If he wins I expect him to confront Putin with an ultimatum.
    1
  400. They weren't forbidden. They went along. That's all we really know. Also, keep in mind the necessity of creating false impressions. Many things we see and hear are various NATO countries playing parts.
    1
  401. ​ @tjalvehund82  I think time will show NATO's actions to have been uncannily astute. Remember, the outcome of this conflict, while it must be favourable for Ukraine and must be as soon as possible, must not be rushed because most of all it must last. It's no good to knock the front lines back 50 miles in six months if Russia might simply re-advance before long. It's no good to stake Ukraine to a strategy allowing the war to last ten, twelve, twenty years. It must be done right — the first time.
    1
  402.  @heathermccall8015  For every person who cares what you think, 10 million care what they think. I caution against self-delusion about who's important. Neither of them is a "misogynist" either. Get over yourself, Ms. Dworkin. And your reply itself was a very neat line in pomposity.
    1
  403.  @heathermccall8015  I was busy satisfying my girlfriend, honey.
    1
  404.  @heathermccall8015  I was busy attending to my girlfriend's womanly needs, honey.
    1
  405.  @heathermccall8015  Be careful you don't slide out of your seat.
    1
  406. As a young West German, Scholz greatly admired the Soviet-installed regime in East Germany. A leading member of the Marxist youth wing of the party he today leads, the SPD, he wrote essays railing against "aggressive, imperialist NATO" and went to East Germany to meet communist cabinet ministers.🤢
    1
  407. Jordan Peterson should be left out of this. He condemns Putin thoroughly, he just thinks Ukraine is destined to lose no matter what help the West provides it. I think he's wrong, but at least he has some grounds for his opinion. McGregor, on the other hand, I believe shows a bias in Putin and Russia's favor.
    1
  408.  @littlerainyone  Thanks for your comment. Carlson is a dishonest hack. He has said things on other subjects which I've agreed with, but on a few subjects which I actually know a good deal about, I have caught him telling outright factual untruths. And not just minor things in passing, either. Things which he made major hay out of. I believe Fox settled the Dominion lawsuit to their own disadvantage in April just to get rid of him.
    1
  409. Dedicated feedback videos: great idea! They draw out critiques from a better cross-section of viewers than just viewer-initiated critiques do. Sort of like a store manager surveying customers, rather than just going by complaints. Yeah, so maybe do these once a year.👍
    1
  410. Darin, you seem to be unaware of the distortions inherent in measuring the GDP of countries with a currency undervalued in USD terms. The distortions have an important reality of their own, especially for international financial heft, but for an adequate view of economic output it's necessary to look at GDP at PPP. The NK PPP figure was on the screen right in front of you!
    1
  411. I'd attribute the drop-off in views to people taking a post-election YT break. Many of us just felt like doing something else, such as (depending on one's leanings) celebrating or grieving, and probably in person with others. Just my guess.
    1
  412. In the clip of the Putin-Xi video meeting, we do see Xi quickly raising his hand in a gesture of greeting. Brief but unmistakable.
    1
  413. I've always loved the term Orwell used for the motivation you're talking about: Party feeling. And by no means did he have in mind only (or even especially) political parties. Not at all. He used it concerning any sort of group identification. (E.g. with one's own sex.) But the word party gives a wonderfully clear idea of motivation by group membership.
    1