Russia - worrying?

[lookout]

As predicted,sanctions aren't affecting Russia, with their enormous shopping mall in Moscow doing a roaring trade last Sunday. This mall looks like any other shopping area except that it's a lot bigger in space with parking areas underneath the building instead of cluttering up roads etc.
As for buildings and highways, the Russians have got us beaten hands down-----because they work hard at what they do and also have pride in their towns and cities, no litter/graffiti/vandalism/disorder !

The few companies that have pulled out of Russia are of no detriment such as Starbucks for one, where Russia has formed its own coffee areas naming them just Stars. There are plenty of large McDonalds in various areas in and around Moscow and also St.Petersburg. These again are spotlessly clean places with automatic requests for meals all put in a machine,a table number given out then waiter/waitress service----all to save long queues.

Everything is so orderly, thus avoiding any clashes within the various public arenas.
A lot has opened my eyes toward their lifestyles and way of living, a far cry from a lot that we imagined it to be. People of different ethnicities live side by side and follow their own religions quietly with beautifully built churches,places of prayer adding grace and structure to the architecture surrounding them.

The reason that many Russians were/are hostile towards Gorbachev were his Western opinions which Russia didn't want creeping into their country.The old USSR was slowly fizzling out and it was seen as weak to allow Western values etc. after the years of suppression under previous leaders. Having Gorbachev as leader back then was akin to having Thatcher sell off council houses which left part of that legacy to this day, and in Russia under Gorbachev, people also lost jobs etc and were left with hardships.

You can have too much of a good thing, but also too much of a bad thing too. It's finding that happy medium. Prosperity without the greed and a fairness to all citizens.

[nugnug]

https://youtu.be/d2Eu52ZRwoY

[gringo]

     Remember the Admiral Kuznetzov and how it was a source of great hilarity as it sailed through the English Channel billowing smoke on its way to the Med and Syria. The decrepit state of the ship, we were told, a metaphor for the state of the entire Russian Armed Forces.
     In light of the debacle of the HMS Prince of Wales, we should perhaps wonder, if this is also a metaphor for the state and capability of the entire UK/NATO armed forces.
     To be fair to the Admiral Kuznetzov, despite its appearance, it did in fact sail from the Barents Sea to the Med and completed its mission. That being so, a more reasonable description would be that it looks old and inefficient but is resilient, more efficient than appearances suggest and does everything asked of it.
     Now let's do the HMS Prince of Wales
     Our 2 years old £3 billion + Aircraft carrier that has spent only 87 days at sea in 2 years, has no aircraft yet and broke down without making it out of the Solent on its "landmark mission" to "shape the future of stealth jet and drone operations", is now limping back to port and will likely have to go to Amsterdam for repairs, as we lack the dry dock facilities to repair our £3 billion + aircraft carrier.
     The equivalent of me leaving my house in Hull, on my way to London, failing to make it beyond the top of my street driving a Ferrari whilst taking the piss out of my neighbours Skoda which goes to London and back problem free regularly.
     And now I have to send my Ferrari to Italy for repair.
     The state of the HMS Prince of Wales is a fitting metaphor for the UK and entire NATO armed forces. Over-priced, over-extended and over-rated.
     
     

[David1819]

     Remember the Admiral Kuznetzov and how it was a source of great hilarity as it sailed through the English Channel billowing smoke on its way to the Med and Syria. The decrepit state of the ship, we were told, a metaphor for the state of the entire Russian Armed Forces.
     In light of the debacle of the HMS Prince of Wales, we should perhaps wonder, if this is also a metaphor for the state and capability of the entire UK/NATO armed forces.
     To be fair to the Admiral Kuznetzov, despite its appearance, it did in fact sail from the Barents Sea to the Med and completed its mission. That being so, a more reasonable description would be that it looks old and inefficient but is resilient, more efficient than appearances suggest and does everything asked of it.
     Now let's do the HMS Prince of Wales
     Our 2 years old £3 billion + Aircraft carrier that has spent only 87 days at sea in 2 years, has no aircraft yet and broke down without making it out of the Solent on its "landmark mission" to "shape the future of stealth jet and drone operations", is now limping back to port and will likely have to go to Amsterdam for repairs, as we lack the dry dock facilities to repair our £3 billion + aircraft carrier.
     The equivalent of me leaving my house in Hull, on my way to London, failing to make it beyond the top of my street driving a Ferrari whilst taking the piss out of my neighbours Skoda which goes to London and back problem free regularly.
     And now I have to send my Ferrari to Italy for repair.
     The state of the HMS Prince of Wales is a fitting metaphor for the UK and entire NATO armed forces. Over-priced, over-extended and over-rated.
     
     

https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/russian-aircraft-carrier-towed-home-after-break-down/

https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/navy-ships/a18141/towing-admiral-kuznetsov-video-tugboat/

Oh dear. 

[David1819]

https://www.amnesty.org.uk/press-releases/ukraine-russian-soldiers-castration-video-must-face-justice

[gringo]

As predicted,sanctions aren't affecting Russia, with their enormous shopping mall in Moscow doing a roaring trade last Sunday. This mall looks like any other shopping area except that it's a lot bigger in space with parking areas underneath the building instead of cluttering up roads etc.
As for buildings and highways, the Russians have got us beaten hands down-----because they work hard at what they do and also have pride in their towns and cities, no litter/graffiti/vandalism/disorder !

The few companies that have pulled out of Russia are of no detriment such as Starbucks for one, where Russia has formed its own coffee areas naming them just Stars. There are plenty of large McDonalds in various areas in and around Moscow and also St.Petersburg. These again are spotlessly clean places with automatic requests for meals all put in a machine,a table number given out then waiter/waitress service----all to save long queues.

Everything is so orderly, thus avoiding any clashes within the various public arenas.
A lot has opened my eyes toward their lifestyles and way of living, a far cry from a lot that we imagined it to be. People of different ethnicities live side by side and follow their own religions quietly with beautifully built churches,places of prayer adding grace and structure to the architecture surrounding them.

The reason that many Russians were/are hostile towards Gorbachev were his Western opinions which Russia didn't want creeping into their country.The old USSR was slowly fizzling out and it was seen as weak to allow Western values etc. after the years of suppression under previous leaders. Having Gorbachev as leader back then was akin to having Thatcher sell off council houses which left part of that legacy to this day, and in Russia under Gorbachev, people also lost jobs etc and were left with hardships.

You can have too much of a good thing, but also too much of a bad thing too. It's finding that happy medium. Prosperity without the greed and a fairness to all citizens.

  Well said, Lookout. I think too many people see through the bullshit now. It ends when western populations remove the criminals from office. Huge protests all over Europe, barely covered in MSM, happening now. Blaming Russia and Putin for all of our ills is wearing thin and getting thinner.

[nugnug]

https://unlimitedhangout.com/2022/07/investigative-reports/resetting-without-schwab-russia-the-fourth-industrial-revolution/

[Steve_uk]

https://unlimitedhangout.com/2022/07/investigative-reports/resetting-without-schwab-russia-the-fourth-industrial-revolution/

Russia won't be leading the Fourth Industrial Revolution anytime soon..https://youtu.be/5XMrGlP6FcI

[gringo]

Russia won't be leading the Fourth Industrial Revolution anytime soon..https://youtu.be/5XMrGlP6FcI

   Who do you imagine will lead the "Fourth Industrial Revolution"?
     Any advantages the West had were exported away in the name of greed and profit. It is clear that the "Fourth industrial revolution" will be technology and science driven. This is a non controversial statement.
     Any idea on which countries produce the most STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) graduates? China, India, Russia, US and Iran. Most US Stem are foreign students. The combined west is nowhere on this.
    Iran produce more STEM graduates than the UK does. We almost certainly outnumber them on Gender Studies graduates so we will have a more diverse Fourth Industrial Revolution, but the revolution will be driven from the East.
     

[Steve_uk]

   Who do you imagine will lead the "Fourth Industrial Revolution"?
     Any advantages the West had were exported away in the name of greed and profit. It is clear that the "Fourth industrial revolution" will be technology and science driven. This is a non controversial statement.
     Any idea on which countries produce the most STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) graduates? China, India, Russia, US and Iran. Most US Stem are foreign students. The combined west is nowhere on this.
    Iran produce more STEM graduates than the UK does. We almost certainly outnumber them on Gender Studies graduates so we will have a more diverse Fourth Industrial Revolution, but the revolution will be driven from the East.
   

It depends on where these technology graduates want to work and live. I suggest to you that the West has a more attractive environment and pays higher salaries.

[gringo]

It depends on where these technology graduates want to work and live. I suggest to you that the West has a more attractive environment and pays higher salaries.

   That was true once, but is becoming less so. By exporting our manufacturing over the last few decades the whole Collective West has committed suicide. All of those countries mentioned (Iran, China, Russia) have a thriving industrial base around new technologies.
     Any industrial base requires abundant, reliable and cheap energy to be competitive and successful. The West is cutting its own throat with its energy sanctions and New Green shit. The new world that is forming will not allow western domination by banking and finance and will be based on commodities, resources.
     The Collective West has exported away any advantages it once had. We have grown rich exploiting the resources and labour of other poorer countries. Countries that have now been offered something better than Western exploitation that allows for their own development.
     Our enemy is not Russia or China or Iran, it is the shady cabals that are the puppet-masters of our blackmailed, bribed, coerced and corrupt political and media class. Russia, China, Iran et al are also fully aware of who the real enemy is. The rest of the world has already taken sides, ignoring illegal western sanctions, and trading with Russia.
     That is the real war, the economic war currently raging to wrest control of the global economy from the Western banking and corporate interests and guide the world into a truly multipolar future. Multiple huge deals between, India-Russia, Russia-Iran, China-Iran, all by passing the dollar and using their own currencies. The BRICS and ASEAN, SCO expanding and ever more trade bypassing the corrupted western systems. With nothing much to back them, western currencies will devalue to a level more in line with their real value. This will be determined by what it is backed by resource, commodity wise.
     
       
     

[David1819]

Over the last 5 days. Ukraine has broken through Russian lines and liberated over 800 square kilometers of territory near Karkhiv. And have retaken Izyum.

[David1819]

Ukraine’s lightning advance near Kharkiv leaves Russian forces in disarray

https://www.ft.com/content/2a26a9d9-9866-4479-b2c5-aeee791e6e0e

[gringo]

      Suicidal, desperate attacks that will end as badly as the "Kherson counter offensive". The NATO planners behind this war are getting increasingly desperate in their attempts for a casus belli to more openly intervene. The advances by Ukraine will achieve no strategic objective, will inevitably be rolled back as they lack any air cover and will soon be caught in a cauldron when the salient is closed.
      Russia is using minimal of its forces and as Putin said weeks ago, "We haven't started anything yet". They are using 10 to 15%(by most reasonable, fact based estimates) of their forces, have not mobilised for war but are decimating the NATO armed and trained proxy force of Ukraine.
      Demilitarising and de-nazifying, as the Russians put it, is what it is. It is about decimating Ukraine militarily as a threat. Lines moving to and fro mean nothing. Ukraine are suffering horrendous losses or being demilitarised. If they come out and attack, as they have, it just means they are more likely to end up in the cauldrons that they specialise getting trapped in.
      The Kherson counter offensive was celebrated in exactly the same way that this is now just over a week ago. That turned into a Turkey shoot with the trapped Ukrainian forces.
      Shelling nuclear power plants and ill advised offensives are not the usual moves of a winning side. It reeks of desperation.
      Things are about to escalate, in my opinion. NATO involvement is becoming more and more open and the threats and posturing towards Russia from NATO (particularly US and UK) countries is in danger of looking like an open declaration of war.
      NATO seem desperate for escalation. Nothing like a war to blame the unavoidable economic collapse of the West on. 
     
     

     

[David1819]

Kharkiv region is fully liberated