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It's entirely in our interest to keep Russia entangled in Ukraine
Not entangle Russia in Ukraine, bankrupt/defeat Russia in Ukraine. When I think of entangle I think of "tie up". But I see no evidence that Russia's global influence has waned since the beginning of the Ukraine War. Quite the contrary. Both Russian and Chinese influence are growing everywhere, while America/Europe is on the retreat.
I really don't understand America's strategy in Ukraine because whatever we're doing doesn't seem to be working.
Quote:
Originally Posted by G in MP
Russia military expenditures have increased 600% and now are slated to take a 1/3 chunk of their annual spending.
2) Prior to the war, Russia spent 4% of its GDP on the military. Which means Russia is probably spending around 8% of its GDP on the military now. Which is fairly high, but not the highest in the world. In comparison, Ukraine was spending 34% of its GDP on the military even prior to the war.
All the video says is that people in the Far East where population density is often extremely low outside of a handful of cities, lack infrastructure(because it is impractical). It mentions how Tuva and Khakassia don't have natural gas pipelines. Alright, but they have electricity. They aren't freezing, and there are only 300k people living in Tuva, very spread out. Here's a gas pipeline map of the United States. There are huge swaths where there is no natural gas. What does it mean? Nothing.
It says that in Irkutsk (Oblast) only 1% is connected to a natural gas pipeline. I assume that the 1% is the built up areas along the Trans-Siberian railroad. For some comparison, Irkutsk has a population of 600k while being 10% larger than Texas. Or to put it another way, Irkutsk has about 1/3rd the population density of Wyoming. What percentage of Alaska is covered with gas pipelines? My guess is not much. What does it mean? Nothing.
It says Yakutsk is the richest region in oil, gold, and diamonds. Diamonds, yes. Gold and oil, no.
The basic idea is that the money Russia is spending on a war could be spent in Russia instead. Which is true, but the same argument could be made for all the money America is sending to Ukraine. I don't know how many times I've heard we could end homelessness in America for less than we sent to Ukraine. Probably medicare for all as well, student-debt relief, etc.
I consider Tucker Carlson to be a primary source, which is why I posted the video of him quoting the congressman. Since he is the most viewed news anchor on air today, that makes him a primary source, doesn’t it? That is, unless you actually think that a man of his prominence and stature would open himself and the network up to legal action by falsely fabricating such a statement by a U.S. Congressmen, and then be stupid enough to broadcast that on air, I consider it a good source.
If you do believe he’s just lying or restating unsubstantiated rumors, you really aren’t very bright, are you? And you certainly don’t know how news copy is carefully vetted before making such extraordinary claims on air. It’s a very provocative statement, and unless you have some evidence of it being false, then you’re just doing what you typically do … which is spew nonsense.
Networks and news anchors can offer all sorts of opinions, and can even lie, (see CNN) but when it comes to citing direct quotes, and particularly from a U.S. congressman, they are extremely careful in verifying accuracy. Otherwise, Carlson would be sued right down to his boxer shorts.
I think you know what a primary source is.
Tucker is entertainment, not news. He makes no assertion that his words are a direct quote.
You Literally Can't Believe The Facts Tucker Carlson Tells You. So Say Fox's Lawyers
… Now comes the claim that you can't expect to literally believe the words that come out of Carlson's mouth. And that assertion is not coming from Carlson's critics. It's being made by a federal judge in the Southern District of New York and by Fox News's own lawyers in defending Carlson against accusations of slander. It worked, by the way.
Just read U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil's opinion, leaning heavily on the arguments of Fox's lawyers: The "'general tenor' of the show should then inform a viewer that [Carlson] is not 'stating actual facts' about the topics he discusses and is instead engaging in 'exaggeration' and 'non-literal commentary.' "
She wrote: "Fox persuasively argues, that given Mr. Carlson's reputation, any reasonable viewer 'arrive[s] with an appropriate amount of skepticism' about the statement he makes."
In case you want to check the primary source for this article:
Your links were leading me on a goose chase, so it was easier to look for confirmation/disprove elsewhere.
So even if Russian propaganda made Raskin's words look more drastic, their sense still remained the same, talking about Moscow ( i.e. Russian government.)
"In a blog post published on October 25, 2022, the Maryland Congressman stated that "Moscow right now is a hub of corrupt tyranny, censorship, authoritarian repression, police violence, propaganda, government lies, and disinformation, and planning for war crimes. "It is a world center of antifeminist, antigay, anti-trans hatred, as well as the homeland of replacement theory for export. "In supporting Ukraine, we are opposing these fascist views, and supporting the urgent principles of democratic pluralism."
And this explains in many ways why American politicians headed to Istanbul, to break apart the Russian Orthodox Church, its Ukrainian and Russian branches, in order to weaken the historic cultural ties between Russia and Ukraine.
Some money is going straight to Ukraine to pay for things.
But you're right. This war has been a huge success for the industrial military complex. Blackrock will also swoop in after the war as planned. Money given to Ukrainian pensions funneled to Wall Street.
This war must happen and continue because it is too profitable.
Why did the US push Ukraine to launch the spring offensive it knew would almost certainly fail? Stalemates aren't as profitable? It's just 45,000 dead Ukrainians in this offensive, a small price for the US to pay.
Anyone who questions anything is a Putin bot, yet this war is supposedly about democracy, democracy that encourages free thoughts and speech. And all while the US helps remove a democratically elected Pakistani prime minister for being neutral on this war. Democracy.
Meh... Babble-babble-babble.
Let's ignore the fact that the US offered Z a ride and Z turned it down. That way we can pretend the US orchestrated this war and the war is all about US corporations making money.
There have been profits made in all wars. That doesn't mean the companies and people profiting started those wars.
I never heard this war was about democracy. Wouldn't care even if I heard it. To me, this war is about stomping flat Russia, a country who feels free to invade Georgia and then a part of Ukraine, and now Ukraine. So far, so good. Russia is on the ropes; hopefully they will be kept there.
Just because Ukrainian crooks became "pro-American," they didn't stop being crooks.
"Burisma" saga, when corrupt business hired Biden Junior to look "more legitimate" in international circles is a fine example of it.
"By whose account?" you ask.
I'm prepared to answer that question, but I don't want to play the game where no matter who I give as my source, I get told they're not reliable.
Tell me who you consider to be an acceptable source for ranking countries by their relative corruption, and we can go from there.
People on this thread keep referring to Ukraine as being one of the most corrupt countries.
They got it from somewhere, so what was their source?
"The AP story on Feb. 25 made a key point — that Zelensky uttered this remark as he rejected a U.S. offer of an immediate evacuation.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was asked to evacuate Kyiv at the behest of the U.S. government but turned down the offer. Zelensky said in response: “The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride,” according to a senior American intelligence official with direct knowledge of the conversation, who described Zelensky as upbeat.
The attribution was a single source, but on the surface it appears to be a good one — a senior U.S. official “with direct knowledge of the conversation.” That suggests a person with access to a transcript or who had even listened in on the call.
Still, it’s just one source. Administration officials expressed confusion about the claim to The Fact Checker — they deny Zelensky was asked to leave Kyiv by the U.S. government — and said they do not know what call the AP is citing."
Basically, it was completely made up and the US government says it never happened. How many times have you and others been corrected on this bull**** in this thread? Yet you keep repeating it like no one knows you're an obvious, blatant, and ridiculously biased shill. And the worst part, you're not even being paid to shill. You do it for free.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Listener2307
1) I never heard this war was about democracy.
2) To me, this war is about stomping flat Russia, a country who feels free to invade Georgia and then a part of Ukraine, and now Ukraine.
3) So far, so good. Russia is on the ropes.
1) Technically it is about western hegemony, but western hegemony is democracy. There can be no democracy without America. If Russia/China "win", democracy will cease to exist.
2) Which part did they invade? What caused them to invade? And please be honest for once in your life.
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