Русский корабль - иди нахуй

[956 Worldwide 34695]

State of play: Separatist leaders announced a carb bomb in downtown Donetsk near a government building and waved plans they say show a Ukrainian invasion.

Now pucker your asshole: The separate, Grom exercise going on now is being overseen by Putin.  It is an exercise, declared, of their strategic posture. Translation: They have cover to put nuclear forces on high alert.

But this didn’t happen on Wednesday, so—egg on America’s face. 

[Shady Ray 1633]

21 minutes ago, retread said:

Could you explain what that would look like. The full blown version that the Germans would like to have.

I mean, in a world with no internal EU pressure to keep EU gas transit states like Poland in the mix, a German wet dream would be the replacement of the entirety of the Ukrainian gas delivery system with a direct Vyborg, Russia to Greifswald, DE pipeline network that was maintained by Germans and Austrians, therefore ensuring that the maximum capacity could be acheived and would actually be maintained in a halfway decent manner, which doesn't happen at all in Ukraine.

 

They would also drop every sanction under the sun and would dump a fuuuuuuuckton of direct investment into Russia. Germany already invests a lot, but not nearly as much as it wants to. Without US pressure, the amount of Foreign Direct Investment would skyrocket. I mean, hell, two weeks ago, in the middle of this whole ordeal, a bunch of German CEOs from Siemens, BMW, etc. took a direct meeting with Putin to discuss new projects. Italian CEOs did the same. I work for a big German company and our execs get hard at the mention of Russian deals. They drive a hard bargain, but comparatively speaking to many other EU countries, they are very, very easy to work with. Shit gets signed, and then shit gets done. Germans and Russians just know how to do business together. 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-27/german-ceos-look-past-ukraine-tensions-to-take-putin-meeting

 

Germany's former Chancellor, Gerhard Schröder is basically in charge of Nord Stream AG and is Chairman of the Board of Rosneft, Russia's largest oil producer. Gerhardt got Germany some great long-term contracts - of course, driven by Russia's own self-interests - and Germany would absolutely do more if left free to its own devices. 

Edited February 18, 2022 by Shady Ray

[bolverk 29646]

Germany suggests the Nord Stream 2 pipeline won’t go ahead if Russia attacks Ukraine.

As concerns grew in Europe over an imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine, Germany’s foreign minister suggested for the first time on Friday that military action by Moscow could mean the end of Nord Stream 2, a natural-gas pipeline running from Russia to Germany.

“We in Germany are prepared to pay a high price economically. That’s why everything is on the table — also Nord Stream 2,” the minister, Annalena Baerbock, told the Munich Security Conference, the high-profile annual trans-Atlantic security gathering that is taking place from Friday to Sunday.

Ms. Baerbock’s comments departed from the German government’s public comments so far during the Ukraine crisis, which had refrained from explicitly mentioning the pipeline as part of a package of sanctions that Western countries would impose against Russia if it invades Ukraine. That has irked Germany’s allies, prompting some to question the resolve of Europe’s largest democracy to bear the cost of sanctions.

Nord Stream 2, which is not yet completed, is owned by Russia’s state-backed energy giant, Gazprom, and is a sign of Europe’s energy dependence on Russia.

It is one of the largest infrastructure projects underway in Europe today, a 746-mile pipeline stretching under the Baltic Sea from the Russian coast near St. Petersburg to Germany. The project has gone ahead in the face of opposition from the United States and most European countries.

Russia has decided not to send an official delegation to the Munich Security Conference for the first time in 20 years, which some consider a worrisome sign.

The embattled Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, is expected to arrive on Saturday to seek support and solidarity, even after President Biden said on Thursday that he thought the Russians might invade Ukraine in the next few days.

Russia denies any intention of invading Ukraine, and a conference devoted to diplomacy will no doubt chew over any possibility that, in Churchill’s phrase, “Jaw-jaw might forestall war-war,” at least for now.

The American delegation to the conference, led by Vice President Kamala Harris, will include Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken. Mr. Blinken arrived overnight and said that he expected to meet his Russian counterpart, Sergey V. Lavrov, sometime late next week, as long as Russia did not attack Ukraine.

[956 Worldwide 34695]

The head of the Donetsk security services says it was his car. Thank God he wasn’t in it to get hurt! 

[bolverk 29646]

 

[956 Worldwide 34695]

Off topic, I know they are easy to laugh at but— Poland is a top 7 trading partner with Germany in both exports and imports and Russia is not. It’s not even particularly close and there’d be a lot to do beyond just lifting sanctions. 
 

In all seriousness, completely unwinding Germany from Russia would be easier and less painless long term than completely unwinding Germany with Poland. Don’t the the emotions and the prejudices get in the way of what EU integration has actually meant. Gas is tricky because of transit but it’s still easier to find alternate raw resources than it is to untangle the supply and logistical chains that came with bringing the East into the bloc, cohesion funds and all. 

[smuggs 9350]

4 minutes ago, 956 Worldwide said:

The head of the Donetsk security services says it was his car. Thank God he wasn’t in it to get hurt! 

"I just paid-off that Bogdan last week! I kill you fucking car!"

 

[Shady Ray 1633]

3 minutes ago, bolverk said:

Germany suggests the Nord Stream 2 pipeline won’t go ahead if Russia attacks Ukraine.

As concerns grew in Europe over an imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine, Germany’s foreign minister suggested for the first time on Friday that military action by Moscow could mean the end of Nord Stream 2, a natural-gas pipeline running from Russia to Germany.

“We in Germany are prepared to pay a high price economically. That’s why everything is on the table — also Nord Stream 2,” the minister, Annalena Baerbock, told the Munich Security Conference, the high-profile annual trans-Atlantic security gathering that is taking place from Friday to Sunday.

Ms. Baerbock’s comments departed from the German government’s public comments so far during the Ukraine crisis, which had refrained from explicitly mentioning the pipeline as part of a package of sanctions that Western countries would impose against Russia if it invades Ukraine. That has irked Germany’s allies, prompting some to question the resolve of Europe’s largest democracy to bear the cost of sanctions.

Nord Stream 2, which is not yet completed, is owned by Russia’s state-backed energy giant, Gazprom, and is a sign of Europe’s energy dependence on Russia.

It is one of the largest infrastructure projects underway in Europe today, a 746-mile pipeline stretching under the Baltic Sea from the Russian coast near St. Petersburg to Germany. The project has gone ahead in the face of opposition from the United States and most European countries.

Russia has decided not to send an official delegation to the Munich Security Conference for the first time in 20 years, which some consider a worrisome sign.

The embattled Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, is expected to arrive on Saturday to seek support and solidarity, even after President Biden said on Thursday that he thought the Russians might invade Ukraine in the next few days.

Russia denies any intention of invading Ukraine, and a conference devoted to diplomacy will no doubt chew over any possibility that, in Churchill’s phrase, “Jaw-jaw might forestall war-war,” at least for now.

The American delegation to the conference, led by Vice President Kamala Harris, will include Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken. Mr. Blinken arrived overnight and said that he expected to meet his Russian counterpart, Sergey V. Lavrov, sometime late next week, as long as Russia did not attack Ukraine.

This is the same thing Annalena and Olaf have said for months, but for some reason the US media keeps saying every utterance of NS2 out of her mouth as though this is new. The Germans have said for weeks that "everything is on the table".

 

I am not saying that it isn't going to be cancelled. It certainly could...but a lot of it depends on exactly what goes on in Ukraine. But if this was some type of increase in rhetoric, it would be all over the news here, and her statement re NS2 was in the eight paragraph of the coverage in Die Welt on her speech at the Munich SC. The headline here was that she said Russian aggression was unacceptable, which isn't exactly groundbreaking.

 

[bolverk 29646]

8 minutes ago, 956 Worldwide said:

The head of the Donetsk security services says it was his car. Thank God he wasn’t in it to get hurt! 

At least it wasn't an entire apartment building this time as opposed to 1999.

[956 Worldwide 34695]

45 minutes ago, 'stache said:

Poland: The Alabama of Europe.

Here’s an interesting stat I learned way back when I was working Poland stuff in the early 10’s.  Look at Poland on a map. Look at Russia on a map. Poland has more miles of paved roads than Russia. That is fucking nuts. 

People underestimate the basket case Russia is internally.  You see this market of 150 million people but actually integrating in a meaningful way? Logistics, supply chains, factories, labor.  Yeah. 

[Shady Ray 1633]

15 minutes ago, 956 Worldwide said:

Off topic, I know they are easy to laugh at but— Poland is a top 7 trading partner with Germany in both exports and imports and Russia is not. It’s not even particularly close and there’d be a lot to do beyond just lifting sanctions. 
 

In all seriousness, completely unwinding Germany from Russia would be easier and less painless long term than completely unwinding Germany with Poland. Don’t the the emotions and the prejudices get in the way of what EU integration has actually meant. Gas is tricky because of transit but it’s still easier to find alternate raw resources than it is to untangle the supply and logistical chains that came with bringing the East into the bloc, cohesion funds and all. 

Exactly, and that's why Poland isn't going to be able to pursue their own independent military block where they take on Russia with the UK and the US. They are too dependent on German largesse to risk it. They'd collapse economically if Germany turned the screws. 

 

And absolutely. EU integration has been great. And Germany recognizes that apparently much more than Poland does...that's is why there is no such thing as a DeutschExit movement. Germany's populist anti-EU party gets 10%. The Poles literally put theirs in power.

 

Re Russia, sure. But there are obviously structural reasons in place that prevent the German-Russian trade relationship from expanding to the degree that it naturally would without obstacles in its way like sanctions, EU policy, etc. There are literally foreign policy doctrines of years gone by in western capitals designed to prevent that exact Berlin-Moscow scenario...it is that significant to Trans-Atlantic cohesion. The point I was making is in a hypothetical world where Germany was free from those sanctions and obligations, the speed at which the German and Russian economies would intertwine would make heads spin. 

Edited February 18, 2022 by Shady Ray

[Skipper 6127]

11 minutes ago, Shady Ray said:

I am not saying that it isn't going to be cancelled. It certainly could...but a lot of it depends on exactly what goes on in Ukraine. But if this was some type of increase in rhetoric, it would be all over the news here, and her statement re NS2 was in the eight paragraph of the coverage in Die Welt on her speech at the Munich SC. The headline here was that she said Russian aggression was unacceptable, which isn't exactly groundbreaking.

 

I may be certainly putting words in your mouth but I think you made the point that at least a meaningful portion of the average German citizenry was open to Russia propoganda that it is really the US is escalating all the tensions with talks of false flag operations or potential planned invasions (with Iraq as the backdrop).  If Russia follows through with some incredibly uncreative false flag operation (like potential car bombing today or similar) as the justification for an attack (i.e., exactly what the US intelligence has been leaking) do you think that changes the sentiment?  In other words, I guess I'm curious if you think US calling out the Russia playbook in advance is going to be detrimental to Putin's attempted misinformation among those that might be more prone to believe it.

[Hefeweizen 5308]

So tonight is the night?  Xi going to be pissed it’s before the end of the Olympics, but maybe not since they sucked donkey balls anyway.

 

It has been impressive seeing the NATO intelligence releasing a preview of everything the Russkies are doing.  
 

The economist had a great podcast special this morning on Putin completely strategically misplaying this.  Ukraine is being pushed westward so hard it is irreversible.

[InkaUtexas 25855]

Hate to derail this thread about Germany and Poland, but lots of reports coming from the separatist areas about bad shit going down. 

 

[Shady Ray 1633]

3 minutes ago, Skipper said:

I may be certainly putting words in your mouth but I think you made the point that at least a meaningful portion of the average German citizenry was open to Russia propoganda that it is really the US is escalating all the tensions with talks of false flag operations or potential planned invasions (with Iraq as the backdrop).  If Russia follows through with some incredibly uncreative false flag operation (like potential car bombing today or similar) as the justification for an attack (i.e., exactly what the US intelligence has been leaking) do you think that changes the sentiment?  In other words, I guess I'm curious if you think US calling out the Russia playbook in advance is going to be detrimental to Putin's attempted misinformation among those that might be more prone to believe it.

Yes, there is a significant portion of the people here who view the US as having a vested interest in fomenting tensions in Ukraine, but I would not say an overwhelming majority. But it isn't small, either. And when you add the people who think the US might play a role in escalating/encouraging this PLUS the percentage of people who literally don't give a fuck about what happens in Donbass and just want it to "stay over there", and you would probably get to a majority. The "I don't give a fuck" sentiment is a real, real strong one.

 

And that's because the Germans view each side as basically regarded.

 

But the Germans also know quite a bit about the actual units on the front lines of the Donbass, and their political extremes, which we discussed before in this thread. And wayyyyy back in one of my longcat posts, of which I know have been many, I made the statement that you would get an idea of which way the German winds might be blowing in Berlin as we neared the conflict by whether certain publications begain publishing stories about Neo-Nazis in the Ukrainian military. I am a cynic in that regard due to the requirement of "access journalism model" to get scoops in this current media climate, so I tend to view most mainline media as telling a story fed by someone in power, as opposed to seeing them as some type of gumshoe reporters. A large part of the media industry (but not all) are simply too dependent on keeping and cultivating access to those in power not to do that.

 

Welp, it had been months - maybe even a year - since I saw one discussing the unfortunate (and relatively small) Neo-Nazi elements of Ukrainian forces, and even that was in terms of Neo-Nazis in Ukraine's collusion and coordination with Neo-Nazis in Germany. Welp, over the past two days there have been three "top stories" about how Neo-Nazi the front line units of Azov are. And one of those was in the Berliner Morgenpost, which is closely associated with the Chancellery, and one was in Focus which is the second biggest outlet in Germany. The reason I mention this is because IMO, this is a way to keep it in the German people's minds that anything could happen over there, and that they should not put it out of the realm of possibility that Ukrainian could act provocatively. So in that light, I don't know how effective calling out the playbook would be, as there are at least elements of the establishment who are trying to prep for "flexibility". 

[Shady Ray 1633]

1 minute ago, InkaUtexas said:

Hate to derail this thread about Germany and Poland, but lots of reports coming from the separatist areas about bad shit going down. 

 

I mean, how does that type of evacuation even get done...and how long does that take. I am a logistics moron of the highest order.

[Brisketexan 105045]

2 minutes ago, Shady Ray said:

I mean, how does that type of evacuation even get done...and how long does that take. I am a logistics moron of the highest order.

Well, because it's not actually going to happen.  They'll show some images of caravans of people "fleeing" to create their pretext, and then the shit flies.

Utterly made up bullshit to justify a bullshit war. I gotta be honest....I hope that the Russians find out soon that they should have brought more body bags.

[InkaUtexas 25855]

1 minute ago, Shady Ray said:

I mean, how does that type of evacuation even get done...and how long does that take. I am a logistics moron of the highest order.

Can be done pretty quickly. three other things I have seen. A ton of buses were brought in and no men are being allowed out, and residents were told what crossing to use based on their license plate. 

Shit, move em to the the camps the military is leaving empty.

[Shady Ray 1633]

And on a slightly unrelated note, the three helicopters hovering over my neighborhood right now indicate that Kamala Harris must be leaving the Munich Security Conference. The security when she came in last night was insane. Sat out in the yard with the dog for a while watching the one tracking with her along the road leading in from the airport. /CSB

[Auto Driller 2504]

I’m sure these civilians are thrilled about their “evacuation”, AKA the seizure of their property and forced relocation to refugee camps.

I guess I understand why we aren’t going to send troops into Ukraine to prevent it but it’s pretty frustrating to see Europe kicking off another world war. Germany, France, etc. not taking the lead here is pretty weak.

[InkaUtexas 25855]

8 minutes ago, Shady Ray said:

And on a slightly unrelated note, the three helicopters hovering over my neighborhood right now indicate that Kamala Harris must be leaving the Munich Security Conference. The security when she came in last night was insane. Sat out in the yard with the dog for a while watching the one tracking with her along the road leading in from the airport. /CSB

If she is leaving that fast that is interesting. Hell, I thought tomorrow was the big day. 

[Shady Ray 1633]

5 minutes ago, InkaUtexas said:

If she is leaving that fast that is interesting. Hell, I thought tomorrow was the big day. 

She came in last night but maybe you are right and its something else...but there is something going on out there. I just figured it was her leaving, as its just like it was last night. Dog doesn't know what the fuck is going on...all he knows is that he doesn't like it.

Edited February 18, 2022 by Shady Ray

[956 Worldwide 34695]

Zelenskyy has floated canceling his Munich Security Conference trip and the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that a genocide is being committed by Kyiv in Donbas.

[MNLonghornFUKM 8817]

 

Bratislava!


Miami vice…best new show on tv


Stop! Hammer time!

[Auto Driller 2504]

4 minutes ago, 956 Worldwide said:

Zelenskyy has floated canceling his Munich Security Conference trip and the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that a genocide is being committed by Kyiv in Donbas.

shockedpikachu.jpg

[956 Worldwide 34695]

Here’s one of the evacuation announcements that went out in the East. Something to note— they make sure to mention that Ukraine has Javelins and Stingers (western arms) “aimed at us and our children.”  This is an important part of the disinformation narrative (and of course— anti-armor or anti-air systems are  precious and not ever to be wasted by shooting at civilians). 
 

 

 

[Auto Driller 2504]

Honestly, why does Putin even waste time with these weak ass propaganda efforts? 

[Homercles 10205]

They work on weak ass people?

[Bevo 13559]

1 hour ago, Shady Ray said:

Exactly, and that's why Poland isn't going to be able to pursue their own independent military block where they take on Russia with the UK and the US. They are too dependent on German largesse to risk it. They'd collapse economically if Germany turned the screws. 

It seems like the relationship between the two is pretty good. But, about 40% of Germans think their relationship with Poland is bad and Poles poll about the same. It is kind of interesting because as an outsider, the two countries seem pretty similar as far as the demeanor of people and other cultural stuff.

[utee94 15797]

8 minutes ago, Auto Driller said:

Honestly, why does Putin even waste time with these weak ass propaganda efforts? 

Because dummies believe them and there are an alarming number of dummies in the world.

[InkaUtexas 25855]

This was just posted. This is the translation of the original tweet. Intel Crab is a good one to follow. 

The Public Relations Service of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine is authorized to state that Ukraine's military intelligence has information that Russian special services have mined a number of social infrastructure facilities in Donetsk in order to further undermine them. 1/3

 

[956 Worldwide 34695]

14 minutes ago, Homercles said:

They work on weak ass people?

Yes, it works remarkably well- on certain Americans, Germans, French, etc….and it constrains, even a little bit, how we can respond.

[956 Worldwide 34695]

These evacuation announcement videos? They were filmed on February 16.

 

 

[InkaUtexas 25855]

The day we saw forces moving West and a few groups leave their camps to locations unknown. Some pretty good 4D chess going on. 

[Captainant 27620]

20 minutes ago, Auto Driller said:

Honestly, why does Putin even waste time with these weak ass propaganda efforts? 

Because muddying the waters and instilling a zeitgeist of "well you just can't believe anything the media says" is Russia's modus operandi. Chaos and uncertainty is what lets authoritarians do their thing

[leaf 684]

This isn’t the thread for your CR crap 

[SimonBolivar 10957]

33 minutes ago, 956 Worldwide said:

they make sure to mention that Ukraine has Javelins and Stingers (western arms) “aimed at us and our children.”  
 

 

Lol at using Javelins and Stingers to target kids that's a great use of precious resources.

[kevwun 15758]

When your target options are an attack helicopter or a child, it's just makes sense to take out the kid.

[Skipper 6127]

So it only took the internet a couple of hours to essentially prove everything that happened today was staged. Love it

[Hefeweizen 5308]

7 minutes ago, Skipper said:

So it only took the internet a couple of hours to essentially prove everything that happened today was staged. Love it

This day and age you just have to be willing to lie through the cognitive dissonance.  The Russians will continue this story regardless of any debunking that happens.

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

2 hours ago, Shady Ray said:

 

 

So...lemme get this straight...you net 12 billion dollars annually of someone else's straight cash (homie) to pay for your roads, bridges, railways, and agriculture development, but over 40% of you want a re-vote on EU membership because Poland can do it better on their own, because the gheys suck (they implemented "LGBTQ-Free Zones" all throughout SE Poland before the EU withheld just a little bit of their EU funds, after which those same municipal leaders became suddenly not quite so Catholic and reversed course), and because you want to go your own way on Ukraine? Okayyyy.

 

The idea of PolExit makes Brexit seem absolutely rational.

Stop me if you've heard this one.....2 Pollacks walk into a EU exit meeting

[Trey3216 15343]

53 minutes ago, kevwun said:

When your target options are an attack helicopter or a child, it's just makes sense to take out the kid.

Nothing weakens the resolve of your enemy like shooting a missile through a child rather than a helicopter.  

[Ghost of LL 15531]

1 hour ago, Auto Driller said:

I’m sure these civilians are thrilled about their “evacuation”, AKA the seizure of their property and forced relocation to refugee camps.

I guess I understand why we aren’t going to send troops into Ukraine to prevent it but it’s pretty frustrating to see Europe kicking off another world war. Germany, France, etc. not taking the lead here is pretty weak.

I don't think you're giving Germany its due credit for the role it has played here.

It's like Britain at the beginning of World War I.  Britain didn't have a formal alliance with France, but it did have an Entente Cordial.  So if Germany declared war on France, would Britain declare war on Germany?  Who knows?  Britain certainly didn't do anything to make its intentions clear (either to the French or to the Germans).

I think it is pretty clear now that had Britain declared unequivocally that it would declare war in support of France, World War I would've remained purely an Eastern European affair.  So Britain didn't start the war.  But Britain, perhaps more than any of the other players, had the ability to prevent it.  And it didn't.

That's where I think Germany is today.  Germany didn't start this.  But Germany probably has more ability than anyone else to prevent it.

But throughout this entire sad episode, Germany has once again decided not to play a constructive role.  Germany's position on the consequences of Russian aggression has been ambiguous--and I'm probably being charitable in that description.  The result is that the Russian decisionmakers likely believe that Germany will not scuttle NS2, will not enforce any meaningful sanctions, and will not countenance any meaningful Nato response.

And maybe they're right.  I don't know.  But if the Germans had made clear that they're wrong on all fronts, I strongly suspect that Russia would not today be about to invade Ukraine.

And that's a real failure of statescraft, because Germany is going to reap a lot of the ill consequences of Russia's aggression.  They're going to have to scuttle NS2, because bottom-line their relationship with the United States is more important than they're relationship with Russia.  They're going to have to implement sanctions, which are going to be harmful to their economy.  Worse, the sanctions that they're going to have to implement are now so unexpected in Russia that there is the very real possibility that Russia will retaliate by cutting off gas supplies, damaging the economy further.  And, on top of it all, Germany will get to deal with a refugee crisis when a million screaming Ukrainians stream through Poland heading for those sweet, sweet jobs in Sachsen and Thüringen.

So, really nice fucking job, Germany--in thinking only of preserving your own prosperity, you've only ensured misery.

1 hour ago, Auto Driller said:

Honestly, why does Putin even waste time with these weak ass propaganda efforts? 

It's the same reason the Nazis set up a false-flag operation at Gleiwitz.  It's not to convince the British and French that they were somehow justified for invading Poland.  It was entirely to convince the German populace that the invasion wasn't just a naked act of aggression.

People need to think "we're the good guys."  And at the same time, they're pretty easy to convince that they're the good guys.  So an aggressor has to go through the step of creating some sort of pretext for an invasion.  But it's not a particularly hard task.

[Auto Driller 2504]

Russian citizens are not cut off from outside information sources though, right? Do they actually believe Kremlin propaganda or are they just conditioned to accept it, lest they end up in a gulag?

[Shady Ray 1633]

3 minutes ago, Ghost of LL said:

And that's a real failure of statescraft, because Germany is going to reap a lot of the ill consequences of Russia's aggression.  They're going to have to scuttle NS2, because bottom-line their relationship with the United States is more important than they're relationship with Russia.  They're going to have to implement sanctions, which are going to be harmful to their economy.  Worse, the sanctions that they're going to have to implement are now so unexpected in Russia that there is the very real possibility that Russia will retaliate by cutting off gas supplies, damaging the economy further.  And, on top of it all, Germany will get to deal with a refugee crisis when a million screaming Ukrainians stream through Poland heading for those sweet, sweet jobs in Sachsen and Thüringen.

 

And the refugee topic is hot and heavy on the news tonight. Germany is preparing its anus. 

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4974]

1 hour ago, kevwun said:

When your target options are an attack helicopter or a child, it's just makes sense to take out the kid.

Just make sure you don't lead them as much.

[elfenix 34221]

2 hours ago, InkaUtexas said:

Intel Crab is a good one to follow. 

can't be worse than the scholiastofsquid

Edited February 18, 2022 by elfenix

[Shady Ray 1633]

I cannot recommend the below podcast enough for anyone iterested in high-level, detailed discussions on what is going on in Europe at a geopolitical level.

 

https://www.eurointelligence.com/podcasts

 

It is a roundtable with three very highly capable academics and analysts, including Wolfgang Münchau, who was a Financial Times columnist and editor-in-chief of Financial Times Deutschland. He is syndicated weekly in El Pais, Corriere della Sera in Milan and Handelsblatt (the "German" WSJ). He's really fucking informed. One of the other hosts is a PhD from University of Bonn, who has been a fellow at a few of the academic think tanks over here, who is equally informed, particularly in France and the med. They typically cover European Politics and if you want to know what's going on in the French Elections, or the EU Parliament issues, or in Hungarian Elections, or whatever...they are a great place to just keep up with it at a level that is higher than just what you'd get from just following in the US. They are pro-atlanticist, pro-EU, but very analytical and they make a serious effort to discuss things objectively and deeply. They'll talk about economics, as well. Comes out once a week, last 30-45 minutes, and it is always reasonable and high-level. They also run one of Münchau's articles every week on the site. Good shit.

 

Anyway, at the 17:40 mark of this weeks episode they have a really interesting discussion on the tension within Europe at the moment, and how there is a tension going on certain parts of Europe being pulled to the east with its growing dependency on the Chinese markets. It is a macro view, but it talks about 10-15 years down the road and they come to some really interesting positions on how we are approaching geopolitical crossroads that could go a variety of directions. Stronger towards atlanticism, stronger towards China due to economics. It's a great segment if you are interested in that stuff.

Edited February 18, 2022 by Shady Ray

[bernorange 8359]

5 minutes ago, Shady Ray said:

I cannot recommend the below podcast enough for anyone iterested in high-level, detailed discussions on what is going on in Europe at a geopolitical level.  ... It is a roundtable with three very highly capable academics and analysts, including Wolfgang Münchau, who was a Financial Times columnist and editor-in-chief of Financial Times Deutschland. He is syndicated weekly in El Pais, Corriere della Sera in Milan and Handelsblatt (the "German" WSJ). He's really fucking informed. ...

The link I posted earlier today was to one of Münchau's posts.

[FartingMonk 3606]

4 minutes ago, Shady Ray said:

I cannot recommend the below podcast enough for anyone iterested in high-level, detailed discussions on what is going on in Europe at a geopolitical level.

 

https://www.eurointelligence.com/podcasts

 

It is a roundtable with three very highly capable academics and analysts, including Wolfgang Münchau, who was a Financial Times columnist and editor-in-chief of Financial Times Deutschland. He is syndicated weekly in El Pais, Corriere della Sera in Milan and Handelsblatt (the "German" WSJ). He's really fucking informed. One of the other hosts is a PhD from University of Bonn, who has been a fellow at a few of the academic think tanks over here, who is equally informed, particularly in France and the med. They typically cover European Politics and if you want to know what's going on in the French Elections, or the EU Parliament issues, or in Hungarian Elections, or whatever...they are a great place to just keep up with it at a level that is higher than just what you'd get from just following in the US. They are pro-atlanticist, pro-EU, but very analytical and they make a serious effort to discuss things objectively and deeply. They'll talk about economics, as well. Comes out once a week, last 30-45 minutes, and it is always reasonable and high-level. They also run one of Münchau's articles every week on the site. Good shit.

 

Anyway, at the 17:40 mark of this weeks episode they have a really interesting discussion on the tension within Europe at the moment, and how there is a tension going on certain parts of Europe being pulled to the east with its growing dependency on the Chinese markets. It is a macro view, but it talks about 10-15 years down the road and they come to some really interesting positions on how we are approaching geopolitical crossroads that could go a variety of directions. Stronger towards atlanticism, stronger towards China due to economics. It's a great segment if you are interested in that stuff.

China's long game is beginning to show up.  They have a pretty similar strategy to Amazon.  Jump into a market and undercut while taking losses until the competitor is forced out of the market.  Once that happens you raise prices to take profit.  The manufacturers can't do anything about it.  That's part of the reason the United States let's defense contractors rape us on prices.  Once that industry doesn't exist in your country anymore it is nearly impossible to start it back up.  The Europeans with their pride of going green depend a lot on China to bolster that image.  They have all the dirty grimy shit made in China so on paper it shows they have nothing to do with the carbon emissions.  China doesn't care or just makes up fake numbers