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.
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  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
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  3. He won't be treated well after the regime falls.
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  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.
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  5.  @jamesgornall5731  Thanks for the Kremlin point of view, Peskov.
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  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.👍🇯🇵
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  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.
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  8. Fewer than 100 Representatives voted against holding the votes. (55 Reps., 39 Dems.) That bodes well for passage. Fingers crossed.🤞
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  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?
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  10.  @frankrenda2519  A poot-bawght talking about truth is like an escort talking about love.
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  11. This platform really does bungle a lot of things. Thanks, Prof. Gerdes.
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  12. A herring-based diet?
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  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.
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  14. Absolutely. Please repeat elsewhere and often.
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  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.
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  16. You mean 500k to 600k?
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  17. 1. Charm offensive in hopes of reversing the steep drop-off in Western investment capital. China's ailing economy is really feeling it.
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  18. @ajlynch123 I am Vladimir Putin and I endorse this comment 1,000%. This guy gets it!
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  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.
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  20. Monitoring algo: "This Gerdes guy sure likes to talk about tea. Nice fella. Nothing to see here."
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  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 (!).😂
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  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.
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  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.
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  24. Loose = opposite of tight Lose = opposite of win
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  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.
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  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.
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  27. Poland is a trusted and valuable ally.
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  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.
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  29. Nielsen is unbeatable for clear and logical fact-based analysis. Brilliant guy.
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  30. He said "fierce" as I recall.
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  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!👍
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  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?
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  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.
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  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.)
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  35. .... [cut to clip of Germany's UN delegation laughing as Trump says same thing]
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  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.
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  37. Justin Trudeau: "If they're what I think they are, MANPADS sound like the greatest invention ever!"
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  38. Is he ever wrong?🤣
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  39.  @nicktecky55  Excellent point.
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  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! 🇺🇦🇺🇸
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  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
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  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.
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  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.
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  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.
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  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.)
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  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.
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  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.
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  48. Hear! Hear!
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  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.
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  50.  @paperandmedals8316  Bravo. And there are other reasons the approach has been the right one.
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