[EnergyUnlimited]

Safety and environmental rules are making it impossible to scale up munitions production efficiently.

Yes, a friend of mine is a chemist in the regulatory branch of Health Canada so I've certainly heard stories about illogical environmental/health concerns.

I am chemist too, though I gave up working for industry 20 years ago - and one of reasons was introduction of too much crippling and completely cretinic rules and regulations.
There was more time needed to fill nonsensical, repetitive documentation before starting actual job than job itself.
You know, when I read current safety warnings on chemical labels I realize that according to official narration by now I should have 60-90 different cancers and all my internal organs should fail.
The same hold true with my wife and friends.
But our health is very good and my friend who works for insurance company says that lawyers and medical doctors have higher risk of premature death than organic chemists who smell and pour over themselves all those awful chemicals!

[theluckycountry]

The ukrainian victories are a little hollow compared to the retaliation they bring. Any other rational nation would have sued for peace long ago. So they lost the Crimea, well they didn't possess it until khrushchev gave it to them one drunken night. That whole region is in flux and always was.

Prior to being incorporated into the Russian Empire, the Crimean Peninsula was independent under the Crimean Khanate. The Muslim Turkic Crimean Tatars were under the influence of the Ottoman Empire,

I wonder who will inhabit the ukraine in the years to come, perhaps they can re-populate it with islamic immigrants?

Trypillia thermal power plant utterly destroyed in Russian attack https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/tr ... 61bba&ei=4

MOSCOW, April 12. /TASS/. Russian troops delivered 48 precision strikes at Ukrainian energy and military-industrial sites, army and mercenaries’ deployment areas over the past week in the special military operation in Ukraine, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Friday.

"On April 6-12, the Russian Armed Forces delivered one massive and 47 combined strikes by air-launched, seaborne and ground-based precision weapons and unmanned aerial vehicles against Ukrainian fuel and energy and military-industrial sites in retaliation to the Kiev regime’s attempts to inflict damage on Russia’s oil and gas industry and energy installations. "All the designated targets were destroyed," it stressed.

https://tass.com/politics/1774539

[EnergyUnlimited]

I wonder who will inhabit the ukraine in the years to come, perhaps they can re-populate it with islamic immigrants?

That's easy.
Jews will.
In the past, about 1000-1500 years ago place now known as Ukraine was called Kingdom of Khazaria also known as Khazar Khaganate.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khazars
They were practicing Judaism and it was one of more prominent Jewish centers in Europe (another one was around Rhine river in current Germany).
Khazar kingdom was dismantled by Slavic prince, Sviatoslav I around 960 and job was finished by Vladimir I (one who introduced orthodox Christianity there around 1000).
So as now America is weakening Jews are likely to be thrown out of Israel in coming several decades (that is about the only thing what Arabs, Turks and Iranians can agree about - throw away Jews from Israel and reclaim this land for Muslims).
At some point they will in all probabilities succeed.
These Jews will have to go somewhere and no, nukes won't help them - without American support they cannot survive, nukes or no nukes.
Ukraine devoid of Ukrainians seems to be a good new location, particularly that there is some historic precedence about Jewish state being there in the past.
So they will go to parts of emptied Ukraine not taken by Russians - and who knows, maybe that is an actual plan!

[Newfie]

EU,

TO some extent I agree that the longer term trends are easier to predict. Climate change and resource extraction for example. But even there the shale revolution has changed the peak timeline if not the eventual exhaustion.

The leadership issue and political issues are both much more volital and happen on shorter time lines AND are heavily influenced by social and social matters.

And, I personally believe that there are some trends just below the American awareness that are barely perceptible but also very powerful . I have only indirect evidence and could easily be wrong. My SENSE is there is something powerful afoot the very few suspect. In large part that is why I have become more quiet, I am spending more time listening.

At this point I am very uncomfortable with any predictions which involve humans.

[yellowcanoe]

I've been digitizing our two photo collections to free up space and have been working through material from when my wife lived with her first husband in Norway. He was a Canadian military officer and was posted to Norway as part of Canada's contribution to NATO. Given our current relationship with Russia it is surreal to see photos of officers from various NATO countries and Russian officers attending joint meetings in Saint Petersburg, Russia! I sure hope that Russia eventually wake up and realize that they should be allied with Europe and not with China and Iran.

[EnergyUnlimited]

The leadership issue and political issues are both much more volital and happen on shorter time lines AND are heavily influenced by social and social matters.

And, I personally believe that there are some trends just below the American awareness that are barely perceptible but also very powerful . I have only indirect evidence and could easily be wrong. My SENSE is there is something powerful afoot the very few suspect. In large part that is why I have become more quiet, I am spending more time listening.

At this point I am very uncomfortable with any predictions which involve humans.

I can hear your argument.
I am also noticing growing encouraging trends which have not yet reached mainstream (lets say rabid feminism is increasingly mocked or some members of Gen Z are increasingly speaking against social handouts etc) but I don't think that it is relevant to mid term future of West.
There is a feature known as system inertia which will bring West to its knees before remedial actions to current malaise are efficient - assuming they have been taken in the first place.
For example:
1. About 80% of existing adult Western public are hopeless cretins which must die out before fortunes can be turned for the better.
2. Stupidity entrenched in your education system need eradication and these are strongholds of ultra-leftism which will not surrender without BIG fight.
3. Women need to come back to their box and then 5-10% of most intelligent might be licensed somehow to take part in public life like it was done in the past. Now they are major force of chaos and decay.
4. Industry need rebuilding and retooling - a project for many decades. On the top of it you will need to contend with Chinese who IMO already have overtaken West technologically and scientifically.
This will be an uphill struggle with no prospect of short to middle term success.
5. Issues related to immigrants and thirdworldization of West are IMO intractable because certain no return points of population dynamic have been crossed.
6. Banking and corporate cancer need eradicating without killing a patient (entire economy).

And so on...

These vast system inertia issues are intractable in short to medium term and I am quite confident that Western societies will fail in coming decades and it may take centuries to rebound, if ever.

[EnergyUnlimited]

I sure hope that Russia eventually wake up and realize that they should be allied with Europe and not with China and Iran.

West has nothing to offer for Russia - unless Finland, Baltic states, Poland, Czechs etc are handed down.
Otherwise Russians are happy with their own ways of life - as they always was in the past regardless how retarded it might look.
But *if* states mentioned above *are* handed down then you might hope for Russian neutrality in respect to your dispute with Chinese.

[AgentR11]

I sure hope that Russia eventually wake up and realize that they should be allied with Europe and not with China and Iran.

In the last hundred years, how many Russians have been killed by Europeans, and how many Russians have been killed by Chinese?

rest my case...

[careinke]

I sure hope that Russia eventually wake up and realize that they should be allied with Europe and not with China and Iran.

In the last hundred years, how many Russians have been killed by Europeans, and how many Russians have been killed by Chinese?

rest my case...

+1

Peace

[theluckycountry]

I sure hope that Russia eventually wake up and realize that they should be allied with Europe and not with China and Iran.

Did you say that, did you actually say that? That's the sort of thing I 'd expect to hear coming from klaus Swab

[theluckycountry]

Americans Panic-Search "World War III" And "Can I Be Drafted" As Iran Bombs Israel
Meanwhile, a surge in Americans, likely younger millennials and Gen-Zers, have been asking Google search about the military draft age

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/ameri ... mbs-israel

[ralfy]

The U.S. tried to pull that stunt once.

https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/n ... join-nato/

[theluckycountry]

The Obama administration is not ruling out the possibility of Russian membership in NATO.

Beyond stupid. The whole purpose of NATO is to defend the West against the Evil East. If Russia joined there would be no need for a NATO at all, outside of channeling funds into the accounts of the US military industrial complex. Which was why it wasn't abandoned after the collapse of the USSR.

The Arrival Of Russian Troops In Niger Will Reshape America's Regional Calculations https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/ ... lculations
Retreating on all fronts it seems. Really does remind me of the collapse of the British Empire back post-WWII. I know many dismiss the idea that America formed a similar Empire but the did, the bases prove it. Instead of using military might though they used economic means to control these nations as well as training many of their elite military and police units. These became indoctrinated with U.S. goals and ideals and were loyal to their masters. Now that the coffers are running dry though they can't pay for the Empire. Iran, the axis of evil? The U.S. took it's thread seriously and is staying out of the conflict it's starting with Israel. Incredible! Never would have happened even just 10 years ago

https://twitter.com/JebraFaushay/status ... 0847626277

[EnergyUnlimited]

Beyond stupid. The whole purpose of NATO is to defend the West against the Evil East. If Russia joined there would be no need for a NATO at all, outside of channeling funds into the accounts of the US military industrial complex. Which was why it wasn't abandoned after the collapse of the USSR.

Nothing what is not sufficiently stupid can be done on the West.
To get a slightest chance that western politicians will uptake your idea first you must prove that it is stupid.

[theluckycountry]

Nothing what is not sufficiently stupid can be done on the West.
To get a slightest chance that western politicians will uptake your idea first you must prove that it is stupid.

But those pulling the strings are anything but stupid I fear. Deranged, misguided, but not stupid. They are executing age old plans that every Empire has before, to enrich themselves and protect their wealth. In hindsight I see it was wise for the Russian leaders to abandon the USSR after the megalomaniac died. They didn't need those satellite nations and they were no doubt a drag on resources. The pretend job they did worked well for a while and kept the West confused, thinking they could perhaps loot the nation easily. That delusion passed though and they would like nothing more than to get their greedy hands on all the natural resources now.

That's all empires do, go out into the world and Loot. Now we're in the end game so to speak, where the chances of an all-out war to control the last of the planets fossil fuels and valuable minerals is afoot. I'm just relieved I live in Australia, my biggest concern here is having enough popcorn.

[EnergyUnlimited]

Nothing what is not sufficiently stupid can be done on the West.
To get a slightest chance that western politicians will uptake your idea first you must prove that it is stupid.

But those pulling the strings are anything but stupid I fear. Deranged, misguided, but not stupid. They are executing age old plans that every Empire has before, to enrich themselves and protect their wealth.

Their decisions are now making relatively small short term gains but enormous mid and long term losses.
Definition of stupid.
To pick their pennies now they are sacrificing their imperial prospects.
Power shift to Asia is real and they control next to nothing there.

In hindsight I see it was wise for the Russian leaders to abandon the USSR after the megalomaniac died. They didn't need those satellite nations and they were no doubt a drag on resources. The pretend job they did worked well for a while and kept the West confused, thinking they could perhaps loot the nation easily. That delusion passed though and they would like nothing more than to get their greedy hands on all the natural resources now.

Russians had a genuine issue once communism have broken down and losses were not voluntary.
European satellite states had higher per capita value than Russian average.
There was also derelict leadership issue out there - drunken Yeltsin etc.

That's all empires do, go out into the world and Loot. Now we're in the end game so to speak, where the chances of an all-out war to control the last of the planets fossil fuels and valuable minerals is afoot. I'm just relieved I live in Australia, my biggest concern here is having enough popcorn.

But you will be devoid of opportunity to see yourself how modern physics works.
In Poland there will be a beautiful fireworks display for sure.
Once in lifetime experience!
Once a dust have settled Chinese may pay attention to you and even if only 1 in 10 survived (and fore sure much more will) there will be enough of them to incorporate Australia into their structures.
And they might be quite hungry and take your popcorn (and entire wheat production) away.

[theluckycountry]

I don't take the threat of China as seriously as some, the Chinese empire has had many resurgences and never in any of them did they go world conquering like the Western Empires did. Sure they are interested in the islands near them, that's only natural, and they have some military bases in resource rich third world nations, Africa mainly, but attack Australia, hardly. They get all they want from us as it is.

The Australia in danger myth is propagated by the US to justify it's bases here and it's bases here are not to defend against China anyway. The only real danger comes when you deny resources like the US oil embargo against Japan over it's invasion of Manchuria. That got them WWII and a huge loss of face for the Japanese. The Chinese aren't that arrogant, the Chinese care about one thing, Profits, Money, it's their culture. They will bleed the west dry from their offices in Beijing just as they are doing now. You have to parse out the US fear mongering in any analysis of world affairs. It is they who are on the backfoot, the BRICS are swallowing their empire. Who knows, one day we might join the BRICS, it would be a good choice I believe. The US may exert strong influence over Australia but at the end of the day we are still basically a colony of England. We have a governor general who answers to the Crown, and who can, and Has, sacked Australian governments.

As unpalatable as it sounds to many I see a large body of evidence that America itself is controlled by the Crown of England, the money center, where even the Queen bowed as she entered the gates. Alan Greenspan was Knighted! That was a huge hint to all. But how can you expect a people who couldn't figure out 9/11 to understand such banking machinations. When England want's military action it whistles and the US comes running.

[Newfie]

I sure hope that Russia eventually wake up and realize that they should be allied with Europe and not with China and Iran.

In the last hundred years, how many Russians have been killed by Europeans, and how many Russians have been killed by Chinese?

rest my case...

How many Soviet citizens were killed by Soviet leadership?

How many Chinese were killed by the Chinese Communist Party?

How many European citizens of any NATO country were killed by their own government?

Not that either argument is really germane to todays situation. But since you brought it up….

[Newfie]

I sure hope that Russia eventually wake up and realize that they should be allied with Europe and not with China and Iran.

Did you say that, did you actually say that? That's the sort of thing I 'd expect to hear coming from klaus Swab

Well Prussia is todays Germany.

Catherine the Great was of German/Prussian birth.

Moscow and St Petersburg society spoke French and followed French fashions.

The military was formed along Prussian/German principals.

The core of Russian economy and thought is in Moscow and St Peterburg, highly westernized cities.

The Oligarchs have homes in Lindon, educate their children in Europe, and keep their yachts in Western resort locations.

Their principal media mouthpiece has 2 sons, both living in Lindon.

[EnergyUnlimited]

Well Prussia is todays Germany.

Disagree.
As a result of WW II Prussia was disassembled and divided by Poland and Russia.
So "P" now stands for Poland and "russia" for Russia - with Kaliningrad as a major Russian center there (district capital).
Existing Germany do not contain Prussia.

Catherine the Great was of German/Prussian birth.

Yes - born in Stettin (now Poland, about 140 miles from where I live).

Moscow and St Petersburg society spoke French and followed French fashions.

French was fashionable language between European aristocracy.

The core of Russian economy and thought is in Moscow and St Peterburg, highly westernized cities.

I would not call it "westernized". Only commercial districts might resemble something western.
They are also photographed often, unlike other parts of these cities.

The Oligarchs have homes in Lindon, educate their children in Europe, and keep their yachts in Western resort locations.

Yes but Putin is now demanding repatriation of this wealth - and being Russian oligarch who want to live a bit longer and enjoy I would listen.