06/21/2024 9:56:20 PM PDT
· 52 of 81 jdege
to central_va
If Russia hadn’t invaded Moldova, Georgia, Chechnia, etc., perhaps NATO would have disbanded. But Russia has made a practice of invading its neighbors.
06/21/2024 7:53:16 PM PDT
· 7 of 81 jdege
to RandFan
The West didn’t pressure the ex-Warsaw Pact nations into joining NATO. They begged to join. And NATO imposed some serious obligations on them before they were allowed to.
NATO expanded to the east because of Russia’s actions, not because of NATO. If Russia hadn’t kept invading it’s neighbors, they’d not have felt the need to join defensive alliances.
06/14/2024 8:38:26 AM PDT
· 30 of 33 jdege
to spirited irish
There is no doubt that Ukraine has a history of corruption.
And no doubt that it’s effort to clean up was one of the primary motivators for the war.
If Ukraine were to become a true democracy, with respect for the Rule of Law, to do what would be required of it to join NATO or the EU, it would pose no threat to Russia, but it would be an existential threat to the kleptocrats who currently run Russia.
06/04/2024 9:20:33 PM PDT
· 33 of 127 jdege
to yesthatjallen
Of course NATO is planning to use US troops for the initial rapid deployment. There aren’t many nations with significant troops, and most of them aren’t deployable in a hurry.
The British Army, for example, has a total manpower of 80,000. They might be able to put 20,000 in Ukraine, but they’d have a hard time getting more than 3-5000 in a hurry.
The French Army numbers around 118,000. The German around 63,000.
The US Army has 450,000 active duty personnel. And the US, and only the US, has the logistic capacity to move any significant number and support them once they arrive.
06/04/2024 5:41:52 AM PDT
· 65 of 74 jdege
to Cold_Red_Steel
Remember, this is NYC, where there’s an entire industry built around Filing Processors (”expeditors”),
Even the smallest project, in NYC, requires a multitude of permits, from multiple agencies. The expeditor knows which permits are needed, and who must be bribed, in order to even begin a project.
06/01/2024 12:32:02 PM PDT
· 36 of 153 jdege
to janetjanet998
You mean like when he instructed the jury that they need not agree upon which crimes he committed, that it was enough that they each thought he was guilty of something?
05/30/2024 12:52:51 AM PDT
· 5 of 53 jdege
to Cronos
$100 placed at 7% interest compounded quarterly for 200 years will increase to more than $100,000,000 -- by which time it will be worth nothing. -- Robert Heinlein