Shangobango
Well-known member
Aw hell that hurt… scotch meet nose…The Toyota is alright I guess as long as it's not mixed with either of the other two.
Ukraine / Russia
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Pucky Freak
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D
Deleted member 28227
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I listened to a fascinating podcast this morning. The suggestion was that the US has been escalating since the end of the cold war and have backed Putin into a corner.
My very basic summary of the situation is that at the dissolution of the soviet union, we agreed to not advance NATO alliances east into former soviet states. We did not follow that from the start and have been steadily gaining ground in former soviet nations. In 2014 a democratically elected Ukrainian government that was sympathetic with russia was overthrown by a US sponsored Coup, partnering with some shady characters (actual neo-nazis) to do some of the dirty work.
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While it's easy to agree that Putin's treatment of his own people and Ukrainians is not a-ok, there appears to be a whole lot of info pointing to US as the aggressor forcing Putin into a corner. How would you expect to US to react to a Russian sponsored Coup overthrowing the canadian or mexican government?
What's the impetuous for invasion? Was Ukraine going to invade Russia? Did Ukraine have nukes? OH SHIT AN INDEPENDENT COUNTRY ON OUR BOARDER, send in the tanks...
Like what is worst case scenario all of Europe joins NATO and then.... what? A preemptive attack on Russia? Seriously?
I hate all of the conspiracy theory BS that never leads to an actual conclusion.
Nick87
Well-known member
U.S. farm groups urge sowing on protected land as war cuts off Ukraine supply
Farm groups are urging the U.S. Agriculture Department to allow farmers the ability to plant on acres set aside for conservation, to help fill the absence of Ukrainian corn, wheat and sunflower oil amid Russia's invasion of the country.
2022 to the last two years- hold my beer.
VikingsGuy
Well-known member
Every major nation/ethnic group has a meaningful percentage of its population who believe strongly a narrative that holds them in a special and superior place in the world order and that "others" inside and outside of their nation/group are holding them back from their full destiny. Within that group, there are some who view war as an appropriate measure to fix their "unjust" current status. Always has, always will. In 2022, the biggest threats likely to follow this narrative in the foreseeable future are Russia, China, and Iran. Should be "fun".
VikingsGuy
Well-known member
Same theme as ramping up O&G - as Rahm Emmanuel always reminds us - never let a good crisis go to "waste"U.S. farm groups urge sowing on protected land as war cuts off Ukraine supply
Farm groups are urging the U.S. Agriculture Department to allow farmers the ability to plant on acres set aside for conservation, to help fill the absence of Ukrainian corn, wheat and sunflower oil amid Russia's invasion of the country.www.reuters.com
2022 to the last two years- hold my beer.
Nick87
Well-known member
Toilet paper shortage..whatever
Food shortage....not good
Pucky Freak
Well-known member
Viewing strictly through a lens of hegemony, nearly all powerful state players try to exercise it over weaker states for their own economic prosperity and stability. The US accomplishes this through extensive diplomatic relations across the globe, prevalence of the English language as the lingua franca of statesmanship, dominance of the US dollar as the reserve currency of choice, strategic military bases around the globe, etc.What's the impetuous for invasion? Was Ukraine going to invade Russia? Did Ukraine have nukes? OH SHIT AN INDEPENDENT COUNTRY ON OUR BOARDER, send in the tanks...
Like what is worst case scenario all of Europe joins NATO and then.... what? A preemptive attack on Russia? Seriously?
I hate all of the conspiracy theory BS that never leads to an actual conclusion.
Russia has their own set of hegemonic tools, including oil and gas reserves, weak or sympathetic neighbors, cyber attacks, propaganda targeting the US, a divided West, etc. Some of these strategies are less palatable to westerners than others.
A Ukraine sympathetic to Russia or destabilized by Russia serves Russia's economic interests well, whereas a Europe-aligned and West-aligned Ukraine weakens Russia's power. Russia wields levers of economic pain as well as threats of violence to cow it's neighbors and internal non-Russian ethnic communities within its borders.
Ukraine was going to be Putin's show of what he would do to other neighboring states flirting with western alliances and support. He would quickly invade, install a puppet regime, annex the Donbas. The Soviet union is never coming back, but a Russian state transitioning from a regional power to a world power in the 21st century would be Putin's crowning achievement and legacy.
I'd love to see every Russia-threatened country who wants to to join a mutual protection alliance with Western countries, for no other reason than to prevent another senseless murder of innocent civilians as we are seeing in Ukraine now.
I don't reference all this as a whataboutism, but rather as the "actual pretext" behind Putin's stated false reasons for the invasion.
SAJ-99
Well-known member
Just eliminate ethanol mandates. Food problem solved. We use 5B bushels in Ethanol, Ukraine grows a little more than 1B bushels. World would be swimming in corn.
Nick87
Well-known member
Ukraine doesn't get there crops in I'm would be a saving grace. They do and we plant the crp ground what a mess that'll be.
elkduds
Well-known member
I'm not fond of my mercenary perspective, but part of me sees benefit to the USA from Russia exhausting military, financial and social resources in Ukraine. Reminds me of their adventure in Afghanistan. Remember, that was the last Russian international action before the termination of the Soviet Union. Sic semper tyrannis.
Nick87
Well-known member
What kind of impact would that have on the local economy? Even though it is government subsidized. I feel like a lot of jobs are dependant on that to just pull the plug on it?
D
Deleted member 28227
Guest
100% agree
Did Putin have reasons
Americans who trying to justify his invasion as some how moral
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Pucky Freak
Well-known member
In an attempt to understand Ukraine's pre-invasion government better, I created this chart to consider multiple interacting factors that influence government. The idea here is a reference point if someone wants to take a stab at adding Ukraine using the same metric.
Each country is scored 0-100 in the categories. The score is relative to all other countries rather than a theoretical ideal. So a 0 in corruption corresponds to the least corrupt country in the world. They are also not rankings. The vast majority of countries would have a “monarchy” rating below 10, whereas Saudi Arabia and other actual monarchies would have a score of 90 or higher.
The -ocracy suffix means “governed by”, but in this context they refer to the degree of influence by the entity referenced. So a 60 in corporatocracy refers to the influence of corporations in the life of citizens as a function of government relative to that same influence in other countries.
Each country is scored 0-100 in the categories. The score is relative to all other countries rather than a theoretical ideal. So a 0 in corruption corresponds to the least corrupt country in the world. They are also not rankings. The vast majority of countries would have a “monarchy” rating below 10, whereas Saudi Arabia and other actual monarchies would have a score of 90 or higher.
The -ocracy suffix means “governed by”, but in this context they refer to the degree of influence by the entity referenced. So a 60 in corporatocracy refers to the influence of corporations in the life of citizens as a function of government relative to that same influence in other countries.
VikingsGuy
Well-known member
I agree, not good. But for folks who may worried about their own pantries, nearly zero percent of Western Hemisphere staple foods comes from Ukraine/Russia. So while we will see a bit of inflation, the folks that will live this mess will be in Northern Africa, Middle East and Southern Asia.
SAJ-99
Well-known member
Everything is a trade off. You want higher fuel prices and more corn for global distribution or countries to be short of food? Food shortages typically lead to destabilized governments.
Nick87
Well-known member
Agree we will be aeting well just be paying a lot more for it more than likely.
Nick87
Well-known member
I totally agree, I was just what iffing there.
VikingsGuy
Well-known member
Crop prices are a very small percentage grocery store food. Any inflation of food at the store will be largely driven by energy costs, labor costs, “price taking” by CPGs after years of low inflation, labor shortages/disruption, and financial costs (interest paid on working capital). A doubling of the price of wheat would add 2-3 cents to a loaf of bread.
Nick87
Well-known member
Indirect consequences
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