Official Russia vs Ukraine War Thread

So, you can't tell the difference between "has quantum mechanics all figured out" and "has absolutely humiliated carmine9 in epic fashion", eh?

No worries. You just claimed to be an idiot in your recent post so your stupidity is understood and forgiven.

So the invasion of Ukraine is the fault of all those countries that decided to become NATO members? Genius logic. Remind us, what % of its border does Russia share with NATO members? Has NATO ever threatened to invade Russia or any of it's bordering nations? LOLz Has NATO ever sent green little men into Russian territory? LOLz

I don't forgive him. He clogs up what could be enjoyable threads with his delusional wisdom.

Bingo. So many things are complicated. Much of this isn't terribly so. Like, "Don't scare the sh** out of your neighbors and they won't band together to protect themselves from you."

You use the term expand as if it means invading. Those countries are free to decide if they want to be members, plain and simple. That you and Putin are butthurt about those countries with little to no military becoming members of a defense alliance shows you are just stupid. And now your hero Putin is proving exactly why NATO is critical to security in Europe.

It's not just from Russia.. it's from any nation with a reckless dictator

Either way, it's club that sovereign states wanted to join. Some with the memory of the USSR (and uncertainty about the future)....and then some with the specific specter of Putin (turns out they were 100% correct). Look like pretty damn rational decisions.

Definitely because the guy currently in charge who kills all of his opponents/rival definitely would have honored an agreement he never liked or approved of.

Block him... nothing gives me more pleasure on LRC than to open a page and see half of the page of posts blocked.

Well, for NATO, it's been what, 99+% because of the USSR, and then Russia?

Putin did more to bolster NATO than any other nation or event could have. Thanks Putin!

That's a strange way of saying "when the USSR failed and collapsed."

Fair

Let me explain to the Russian posters how business works in the US and the reason why your household earnings are only a fraction of ours. It will blow your minds and you will want to defect.

Then, after this, believe it or not I have to get back to work.

I own a small company. We are not publicly traded but I can and have sold company shares of stock for a percent of ownership for investors.

When I wanted to expand I used the sale of stock for capital and also leverage for bank loans. Yes, using other people’s money I didn’t earn! Since then I paid the bank loan off, and bought back out most of my investors with interest. They made money and are happy. They are also more than likely willing to go into the next deal with me if there is one because they are ok with making more money.

Then, I took my best employees and I was able to give them promotions and pay them a lot more money then I was able to before. My employees have better lives on behalf of my investors. Imagine that

You guys believe that my investors made money that they did not earn. You will have to explain that to me?

I’m going to use arbitrary numbers to explain the next part.

If I hire someone for 50k they are going to cost me around 75k after payroll taxes and benefits.

I have employees that directly make money in the field and I also have support staff that makes it possible for the company to function.

That employee in the field should be making the company 100k minimum for them to be worth hiring. I need money for the support staff, overhead, and yes my pay as well.

As that employee gets more skilled I better pay them more money to keep them motivated and also so they don’t move on to another company. Their worth increases in value with experience. Maybe next year they are making the company 110k. I should increase their pay by around 3k-5k to retain them. If I don’t, they walk out with that experience and make 53-55k somewhere else working for a competitor. So, I lose if I don’t pay them more.

This environment does not exist In a place lien Russia. We are a lot more free than you think. We have our problems also, but, making money is not one of them.

And at least in my case, when I make more money, my employees make more money, and my investors make more money.

Enjoy your dictators and oligarchs.

LOLz, yes, and there are consequences to losing

Unfortunately, in capitalism it is so. In socially just society, it would not be. It does not change the fact that stock market trading is one form of financial speculation. To the point, trading goods and services for money is OK. Trading money is not. Trading cryptocurencies must be the most immoral of them all.

I am who I am, not that "Adult .. " person. Even if I were you, it would not change the fact that you are happy to exploit people, as long as it provides the money to sustain your "way of life".

You and others who think that I am Russian (is "Adult ..." Russian) and that there are no capitalism, investments and stock market outside "Western world", all base their thinking on premises of expansion and earning more. My premise is that earning and especially expansion should not exist in truly just society. We look at issues from completely different viewpoints. You are fighting for your right to kill, or be killed. I am arguing for peace.