Random Rant Thread

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No, you are not naive, and you are right. It's the gun, and it needs to be controlled. Any argument that tries to tapdance around that is just an attempt to obfuscate it. Like I said, the anti-gun-control position is pretty much an encyclopedia of sophist arguments and fallacies. Ancient Greeks would be fascinated.

And yes, it would lead to a civil war, but that's because of the hopelessly entrenched tribalism that jumps on ANY issue to manifest itself. The reality, though, is that a clear majority of Americans are *for* gun control in 2022. This is one of the many clear cases of minority rule in the US. Any society whose structure allows for minority rule so persistently in so many different political/economic/social institutions usually doesn't have a bright future. I am seriously worried about America for that reason.

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What's been going on in the Donbas is some of the fiercest artillery battles that you've ever seen.

The towns that Russia has been taking lately are largely ruins. Do you think Russia is going to rebuild them, assuming that they can keep them at all?

Of course not. They haven't got the money, or resources. So what exactly are they "winning" over there?

That's a good question. The answer is that they aren't winning anything meaningful, and it continues to be a disaster, for everyone.

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As I warned you in the beginning of the war:

Arms sent to Ukraine will end up in criminal hands, says Interpol chief
Jürgen Stock urges members to cooperate on arms tracing as weapons will flood hidden economy when war ends
www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/02/ukraine-weapons-end-up-criminal-hands-says-interpol-chief-jurgen-stock?CMP=share_btn_tw

“Criminal groups try to exploit these chaotic situations and the availability of weapons, even those used by the military and including heavy weapons. These will be available on the criminal market and will create a challenge. No country or region can deal with it in isolation because these groups operate at a global level.”

He added: “We can expect an influx of weapons in Europe and beyond. We should be alarmed and we have to expect these weapons to be trafficked not only to neighbouring countries but to other continents.”

And to add salt into the wound, Ukraine is a home of some of those "criminal groups" to begin with.

It's too late. They are practically untraceable. I can guarantee you that this will substantially affect many future events in Europe and beyond, in a highly negative way of course.

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Ukraine certainly exaggerated the Russian casualties. I'd say it's probably half of them in reality, which would put them somewhere close to 15k.

I mean, I've just said that like an accountant telling your tax return, but it's been only 100 days since the war started. That's a lot of lives. The US lost 58k men (and some women) in Vietnam, but over 10 years.

And Russia hasn't even flinched. At least not visibly. That's pretty remarkable if you think about it.

Dumb post, I know, but I was in the bathroom and like, man. That's a lot of lives lost already.

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It's a real head-scratcher that many, many people, otherwise intelligent people, don't seem to understand this. The sanctions are screwing up the Russian economy big time. The current account surplus is practically irrelevant.

I've been asking this question rhetorically over and over again in this thread, and I know you are sick of it, but what the fuck will Russia buy with the surplus money? They can't buy shit, and their GDP will go down with that fact. Russia stopped publishing the import figures recently, and that's all you need to know in order to understand what's going on.

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Yes, economy is complicated, especially when FX is involved in the calculations. It's largely beyond our capabilities to truly comprehend it. But some stuff is simple enough for you to talk definitively about, and stuff like this re: Russia is incredibly basic.

I'm flabbergasted that even someone who writes frequently for the FT makes this stupid mistake. I mean, Jesus fucking Christ, trade surpluses do NOT increase the GDP, not even as a side effect in this case.

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There is just no scenario left for Russia to "win" anything at this point. That chance was gone in the first few days of the war. They will have to find a way to lose as little as possible and paint it as a win. I haven't seen anything to make me change that position that I've been holding since Day 2 of the war.

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OK, who ratted us out?

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Things like this really matter. It boosts morale for real. I just cannot imagine Poroshenko doing this. Even if he did, he couldn't do it nearly as well. Ze has risen to the occasion big time.

I'm not talking about "courage" and stuff like that. It's not about that. It's about understanding the gaze and responding well to it.

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If you asked me what kind of people are the dumbest, I would tell you that it's the ones who actually think that they made an awesome point by saying childish shit like this.

There are many, many, many of them, typically at college campuses, typically male.

This tweet has been pretty ratio'd BTW, and that's a very good sign for the society. 

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The fact that Twitter has the Drafts folder seems unknown to many. That knowledge would've saved tons of people, including a lot of celebs.

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And if you asked me what kind of Americans are the dumbest, I would tell you that it's, for instance, those defense industry types who are now openly making fun of (Western) Europe for being "pathetically disorganized against the Russian threat" and "weak, and practically useless without the American leadership".

Only the dumbest motherfuckers with no sense of history would think that Russia would rule Europe if the "American leadership" were gone now. That's the kind of stuff even the ardent Russian ultra-right would have second thoughts about, but those Americans believe that crap fr.

You don't want to *actually* fuck with the likes of Germany and France, but that is somehow not obvious to some people.

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My idiot Russia Expert Michael McFaul used to insist that this man, Medvedev, be the best Russian hope who could "oust Putin and bring Russia into the West".

The way that simpleton fool sees the world... everything must look like a Mickey Mouse on meth to him.


Dmitry Medvedev "I'm often asked why my Telegram posts are so harsh. I'll tell you why - I hate them. They are bastards and degenerates. They want us and Russia dead. As long as I live, I will do everything to make them disappear."

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Just back from Inoue vs. Donaire 2, and maaaaaaaaan. Electric.

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I stole this from a boxing forum.

Watching Inoue = your favorite porn star in IMAX

Watching Haney = grainy flip phone footage of a toothless meth addict fellating another meth addict