Comments by "LancesArmorStriking" (@LancesArmorStriking) on "'Extraordinary humiliation': Ex-CIA director speaks about key moment for Putin" video.

  1.  @captlazer5509  That takes time and a lack of corruption, whereas preventing Western spread was on a right timetable, so abroad goals took priority over domestic Also, look at history, Russian Empire was an early player in the invention of the car but WW1 and then the Revolution happened just as its economy was starting to take off. Basically it got a massive gut punch and Russian society was never able to recover
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  2.  @holmavik6756  Because land is the ultimate zero-sum. You can raise new cows, you cant create more land
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  3. Location, location, location Russia is flat and impossible to defend, that's why every war they fought involved retreating thousands of miles and scratching enemy supplies to breaking. No other option, no mountians to anchor in or forests to ambush from Ukraine's western edge has a border with the Carpathians and the Dnieper is a defensible stopgap Not to mention the European Plain narrows significantly and border security would cost much, much less
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  4.  @captlazer5509  It only means personal freedom when that's your only option. Ever stop to think why you were so excited when you got your first car, why it meant freedom to you? Because a teenager in the US has no other options. None. Greyhounds only go city-to-city and Pace buses don't cover all neighborhoods, so if you wanted to go somewhere like your friend's house or a party... you're basically trapped at home like a 1950's housewife. In Europe, on the other hand, teenagers don't have that kind of reaction, because (thanks to clean, efficient, bus and subway services) they don't have to wait. While American teenagers are sulking at home or begging mommy to be driven to their playdate, Europeans can just go right away. They had the freedom all along. Tell me, who's got it better? To your other point: You do realize that Germany didn't start over from square 1, right? They invented the car, "Motorwagen" in the 1860s, and the Volkswagen was founded during WWII. You act like, postwar, they suddenly had no automakers or accumulated know-how, and just through "grit and a can-do attitude!", they made a car industry. Not true at all, Know your history.
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  5.  @captlazer5509  Haha, you're trying so hard to spin having a larger transportation system as being worse😂 It's not just how expansive the system is, it's the quality. I have been to both New York and Chicago, and both their transit systems make me want to jump on the tracks. You Americans are uniquely awful at building anything public. Skip if you want, but this is what I thought of both: New York's was extremely dirty and small, clearly built with no future plans in mind, It was always crowded (why haven't they built out the most popular stations?) full of awful smells (rats, piss). It was also disorganized, why are there 3 separate levels each disconnected and requiring different payment types? Why are the tickets machines so old and slow? The entry passages, too. No automatic door, just a turnstyle. Very old. Chicagos was better, but still horrible by any European country standards. Cleaner than New York, but still garbage was everywhere, many stations are placed in the middle of a highway. The "L" cars were small and cramped, and poorly designed. The buses don't announce their next stop (broken speakers?) and you need to pull a string for the bus to even stop. No dedicated bus lanes for most stops in either city. The inter-state transit was even worse. Both Metra (Chicago) and Amtrak were slow and ticket prices were very high for such a slow train. Every time either one turned slightly on a track, it squeals like a pig. And all 3 modes of transport were very, very loud. Should I go on? Moscow's by comparison is a marvel. Now maybe you, obviously with firsthand experience with both, could tell me what you think?? You are right- Spain has more. But you are holding a poor standard, since Spain has the most in the whole world, behind only China. It is like saying I am a bad basketball player because I am not Michael Jordan! Russia has at least some high-speed rail, reaching beyond 200km/hr. You have none. To experience something amazing like that, you have to travel outside your wonderful country, since your homeland simply cannot provide it.
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  6.  @user-chemistpharmacist  Less than 1M inhabitants, clustered around a few cities... don't tempt fate, I dont think you realize how feasible it really is to reverse course
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  7.  @HyzersGR  No, it was. Perestroika was primarily concerned with press freedom, and private enterprise was minimal. Dont try and downplay the suffering of average Russian people. I would hope, even as an American, that you would have some level of decency
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  8.  @captlazer5509  "in the New York City area" That's a tiny fraction of the country, you're still ignoring all the suburbs and rural places. And no, Russia isn't the same. The mass transit system is much better, such that even farmers can take the bus into town, or go between towns Also, most older countries (unlike the US) don't do homesteads, there's usually a town at the center of the farmland plot. Problem solved. Or rather, Americans found a solution...to the problem they created. Shoulda done it our way, now you're stuck with mounting road maintenance costs
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  9.  @captlazer5509  And I am not the one with ADHD. I explained to you why Russian car industry is behind, you started talking about Germany and WWII, and your personal feelings about getting a car. Learn to focus. Reply to original point. Russia had Russo-Balt and Lessner companies, but the Revolution slowed progress a lot
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  10.  @darthwiizius  Uh... you realize that would still work in Russia's favor? Okay, let's unite Russia and Sweden! The country is now called Sweden... but it would be dominated by Russian interests Same reason Mongolia will never get Inner Mongolia back... if they ever retake it, it would change the entire demographics of Mongolia, and make it a majority Chinese country Also Ukraine isn't older, the first recorded use of it is "borderland of Rus" which is where Russia feels it has justification, modern Ukrainian nation formed only after Rus was separated and the western part was Polonized
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  11.  @garygraham8373  Same comment as to the other guy: If Mongolia ever tries to absorb Siberia, its demographics would be permanently changed, it's like asking Monaco to administer India. Logistically impossible China is another story, but that won't be happening anytime soon. Bigger Yanks to fry
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