War in Ukraine

#17,401
#17,401
volgr said:
Character issues aside, Putin has improved the life of the average Russian over his tenure. Quite dramatically. Which is why he has a high approval rating and why that rating has increased since the start of this incursion.

America can hate him all they want and for a variety of reasons (some if not all may he legitimate), but until they understand and accept the fact above, their response to Russia will be misguided.
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High approval ratings, now that is a good one. It's easy to have "high approval ratings" when you control the polls, media, voting process, and opposition much like the Democrat party in the US. It's hard not to improve their standard of living when you compare it to the Soviet Union. A monkey with a crayon could do that
 
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#17,402
#17,402
DonjoVol said:
I never said CNAs were unskilled. I'm using them as an example because the work they do is vastly important in a hospital, nursing home, etc.

The amount of restaurant workers out there isn't as vast as you think. There is often a very high turnover associated with that industry. Which makes it very difficult at times if you are a restaurant owner or manager. Or even if you are a crew member.
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The amount of people that meet the requirements to be a restaurant worker are vast. If they want to replace a server, host, or busboy what are the requirements needed? Be 15 or 16 years of age? You can take someone that's never done job, has no experience or education in that field, and train them in a few hours.

Now do that with a doctor, nurse, HVAC tech, or accountant. What are the requirements to get a job in those areas? Education and certification. A skilled job.

I don't think anyone is saying that a server, the job not the person, isn't important to a restaurant. Just that the job is easier to fill because there is no required education or certification required for them to be hired to do the job.
 
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#17,404
#17,404
landscapingvol said:
High approval ratings, now that is a good one. It's easy to have "high approval ratings" when you control the polls, media, voting process, and opposition much like the Democrat party in the US. It's hard not to improve their standard of living when you compare it to the Soviet Union. A monkey with a crayon could do that
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You accept he has raised the standard of living yet you don't accept he may be popular in the polls?
 
#17,405
#17,405
landscapingvol said:
It is impressive what they are doing to a second rate military in a nation that "wants" to be liberated by the Russians. It is quite impressive
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I agree, it is impressive what they are doing considering they aren't really using their best equipment while also trying to limit civilian casualties.
 
#17,406
#17,406
hog88 said:
We are a softer more dependent people who do not deal with hardships very well. We will be begging our .gov to take more control and power to "help" us while it will be the status quo in Russia. In the end we'll come out looking more like them than they do us.
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That I can agree with. My point was that purely on an economic damage scale, Russians will be hit much harder. I have no doubt they'll handle it better emotionally than most Americans.
 
#17,407
#17,407
volgr said:
And this impacts the average Russian citizen, how?
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:rolleyes:

Not into economics, eh?

Jobs will disappear:

Lada Production Stops as Sanctions Cut Off Russian Automaker From Suppliers

The economy is predicted to have a huge recession (10%+ shrinkage).

Thinking of buying a house or car in Russia? Your mortgage rate just went from around 10% to over 20%.

No big deal, you've got lots of Rubles in the bank. Oops. They just went down 50% in value in a month.

Etc., Etc., Etc.


How will the financial sanctions affect ordinary Russian citizens?

They may be affected the most. First, their banking system has collapsed for all practical purposes. You already see long lines for withdrawal in front of the Russian banks. While the Russian government will continue to support these banks in the short run, the lack of a robust banking sector is going to be very painful for the average citizen.

Further, the ruble has been an immediate victim of the sanctions. The collapse of the ruble makes imports very expensive, raising the cost of several items that the average Russian citizen consumes.

Inflation will likely spike. Not only that, but to stabilize the ruble, the Russian central bank increased its interest rate from 9.5 percent to 20 percent per year. While this move has arrested the free fall of the ruble, it comes with a cost for the day-to-day life of an average Russian citizen.

Mortgage costs spike, consumer loans become expensive, credit dries up. At the same time, the Russian businesses will suffer because of their inability to access funding from around the world. All of this may end up pushing the country to an economic recession and job loss.
 
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#17,408
#17,408
volgr said:
You accept he has raised the standard of living yet you don't accept he may be popular in the polls?
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I accept that he has raised it from very low to slightly above that. You don't seem to grasp the concept of starting at virtually zero so of course it can only climb in a nation with relatively high natural resources. It's not that difficult to understand
 
#17,409
#17,409
landscapingvol said:
Your level of lunacy has reached new levels when it comes to Russia. You can't seriously be suggesting that Russia hasn't instigated and armed the opposition in Ukraine?
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I've "suggested" nothing. I'm fully aware that Russia has sent them arms and support over that 8 year period.

landscapingvol said:
True or false, Russia has been involved in Syria militarily as long or longer than the US?
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That is false. Russia only came once Assad made the call in 2015. The only other involvement that Russia had before that was negotiating the removal of Syria's chemical weapons in 2013.

The US, on the other hand, has been in Syria since 2011.

landscapingvol said:
True or false, Russia has conducted air strikes in Libya just like the US and Europe?
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It likely has, I know that they were supporting the Khalifa Haftar and his opposition govt at one time, but I haven't kept up with it as much since COVID outbreak. If there is any faith criticism that you want to level against Russia, you could say that there are no clear or immediately noticeable strategic reasons for Russia to be involved in Libya. This may be an overreach in their foreign policy.

landscapingvol said:
True or false, Russia has meddled in Ukraine or worse since WW1?
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I would take it a step further, Russia has had some relationship with Kiev for over a thousand years.
 
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#17,410
#17,410
Gandalf said:
You are assuming they buy a lot of American and EU things - the rich no doubt have but most stuff is made in China these days and so they are simply going to replace anything they bought off of us with things made in Asia. Meanwhile they will sell the oil to them.

Fools dont realize with oil at $70 a barrel, something like 40% of Russia's government budget is paid for. Now that oil is over $100, what do you think that means?
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Sure Russia doesn't import much from US/EU, but they still have to buy stuff. The ruble is worth 1% of what it used to. When wholesalers go to purchase goods their buying power is 1% of what it was.
 
#17,411
#17,411
volgr said:
I heard that a week ago and yet they keep taking cities, while slowly encircling key areas.
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They've also lost cities they'd once taken. I'm sure they're running around out in the farm land. They've not made any significant gains on towns. They've started shelling apartment buildings. Their desperation is growing.
 
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#17,413
#17,413
InVOLuntary said:
Sure Russia doesn't import much from US/EU, but they still have to buy stuff. The ruble is worth 1% of what it used to. When wholesalers go to purchase goods their buying power is 1% of what it was.
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I don't know how true it is or not but I seem to recall that Russia had been stockpiling other currencies over the past couple of years. If true they probably have a cushion of 12-18 months before real hardships hit.
 
#17,414
#17,414
InVOLuntary said:
They've also lost cities they'd once taken. I'm sure they're running around out in the farm land. They've not made any significant gains on towns. They've started shelling apartment buildings. Their desperation is growing.
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What's going to be the killer for Ukraine is if they miss planting season.
 
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#17,415
#17,415
hog88 said:
I don't know how true it is or not but I seem to recall that Russia had been stockpiling other currencies over the past couple of years. If true they probably have a cushion of 12-18 months before real hardships hit.
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Maybe but it will be difficult to get those in the market.
 
#17,419
#17,419
landscapingvol said:
I accept that he has raised it from very low to slightly above that. You don't seem to grasp the concept of starting at virtually zero so of course it can only climb in a nation with relatively high natural resources. It's not that difficult to understand
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Ahh, you should look into it more. You may find he has raised it more than you think.
 
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#17,420
#17,420
AM64 said:
Still say Putin intends to get the gang back together. Gather up the non NATO parts first, consolidate power, and go after the ones that defected to NATO. I can't see it working because all those other countries remember the "good ole days" - and not nearly as fondly as Putin does. Putin has one thing going for him; he played the nuke card, and we wimped, so he knows where we stand - in a big field of poo and pee.
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Putin is fully aware that maintaining an empire is expensive and can get your military into countless conflicts... he learned this by watching the US. Again, if putting the band back together as you say was his primary goal, he missed out on getting a huge fish when Kazakhstan was on it's knees and vulnerable 2 months ago.

As far as us getting ourselves after Putin played the nuke card, I consider that to be a natural human reaction... and the proper reaction. The people on our side need to be made fully aware of the consequences of their actions. These lunatics think they can push around a nuclear peer the same way we push around these 3rd World countries.
 
#17,421
#17,421
Rasputin_Vol said:
I've "suggested" nothing. I'm fully aware that Russia has sent them arms and support over that 8 year period.


That is false. Russia only came once Assad made the call in 2015. The only other involvement that Russia had before that was negotiating the removal of Syria's chemical weapons in 2013.

The US, on the other hand, has been in Syria since 2011.


It likely has, I know that they were supporting the Khalifa Haftar and his opposition govt at one time, but I haven't kept up with it as much since COVID outbreak. If there is any faith criticism that you want to level against Russia, you could say that there are no clear or immediately noticeable strategic reasons for Russia to be involved in Libya. This may be an overreach in their foreign policy.


I would take it a step further, Russia has had some relationship with Kiev for over a thousand years.
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Incorrect, US military intervention began in Syria in 2014. So Assad makes a call to Russia to save him after he uses chemical weapons on his own people? That does make sense when it comes to Russian foreign policy, you also acknowledge that Russia has meddled in politics in Ukraine far longer than the US ever dreamed of.
 
#17,423
#17,423
AM64 said:
Maybe leaving Afghanistan and no longer needing Pakistan will get us out of an unhealthy relationship. Seems like we should naturally have more in common with India than Pakistan. Anyway, you brought up a good point I hadn't considered.
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Pakistan plays into our desire to have rogue states to feed our militias whenever we need regime change. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia fit that role.
 
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