Romans sometimes did use subterfuges, but I think that they kind of saw themselves as a military superpower, without any particularly high reason to invade others - the moral concepts of the time were not about peace or understanding - rather the opposite - so they were absolutely fine with waging aggression. To be honest, most of the times either they invaded others or other would invade - it was a very different world in some ways, states and countries were not as established.

As for the Nazi Germany, the narrative at the time, uncensored by the winners, was effectively conquering the lebensraum on the basis of being a superior race. I think they had a clear idea of what they were doing.


I would not worry too much, they really suck at propaganda. That stuff probably works back at home where other views cannot be given and the obvious fakes and misinformation go unchallenged, but here... Please, do not report them, I actually think they are doing a favour to the other side.


Some of it has to be unique and made (up) by you certainly. The old Russian propaganda machine cannot have fallen so low as to be producing such a low quality stuff.

The story about the Rothchild and the Napoleonic wars is not an historic fact at all - even if some books mentioned it as such, "blood in the streets" is a phrase that started to be used much later in Wall Street (I seem to recall that it was the Magellan Fund director, Peter Lynch, the one that made it popular) and it is originally unrelated to war or crime when speaking about business.

If your point is that there will be fund managers making money with the war, with COVID and in any other situation by taking advantage of the market, I agree. Buying and selling stocks and other assets is different from retailing and making business that contribute to finance directly the war. For me, there is a significant difference.

Regarding you (oversized) memes and comments on "this bad this not", they are certainly not applicable to me. I do have a clear view on the type of world I want to live in, an rarely make moral judgements.

Of course, companies are not there to promote ethical behaviours right? They are there to make a profit for the shareholders and if they have to cover their noses and go over a few dead children it does not matter. Is that what you are saying?

Well, that is perfectly OK, I do not expect the owners or shareholders or CEOs to be honest, but what I am certainly going to do is to hold them responsible to their doings. If they do not take sides, I am certainly going to take sides with their products, because, after all, the ones that has zero obligation to buy from them is us.

In other words, we can make sure that whoever wants to operate in Putin's Russia understands that there is a clear risk of alienating their customers elsewhere and there is a price to pay for it.


Blood in that context of investing means massive low prices, not people's blood. I guess you are making some short of a joke?


I partially agree with you. There are many Russians that have little to do with this war, however they could and should let their government know that aggression is not acceptable and, unfortunately, attacking the economy is a way of making the official propaganda much less credible.

Every business open in Putin's Russia as of now is contributing to finance the killing.

I think that the first thing you need to stay competitive is having a country. If you are feeding a bear, he will bite you, so competitiveness at the cost of an existential threat is out of anyone's table. Before this war, I was already quite surprised of how close Germany was getting to Russia, but I thought they had really good reasons or leverage that I just was not in the know. Apparently, they did not.

Commodities and resources markets are usually quite "perfect" in the theoretical sense - products from Russia are no cheaper, they are just market price and easy to transport and, mid to long term, replaceable. A question we should be asking ourselves is why Putin is willing to sell to "unfriendly" countries as well. Seems that he cannot do without either? I am not sure that EU will accept paying in rubles. It may be the case of a pissing contest coming.

Just to put in context: Germany pays for the gas and funds Putin's war and then Putin send the gas to feed the industry that eventually produces the weapons that will kill the Russian young soldiers. Seems like everyone wins. Well, almost.

On regards to Germany "helping" the South Europe... Germany only helps Germany. Anything from them comes with strong strings attached.

Long term countries and markets adjust to newer circumstances and, as said, while Putin remains in power Russia is an unreliable partner, does not abide by any international law and cannot be assumed to honour commercial contracts.


I am afraid there are many historical examples in which countries clearly understood they were the attackers. Germans will recognise that Hitler attacked Poland. I am not going to dig into Vikings, Mongols, Huns, Romans and others that were perfectly conscious of being on the offensive.

Translation: Putin's aggression has weakened the ruble to a ridiculous point. He is in need of reserves, the problem is that "unfriend countries" pay in USD or Euro that immediately get blocked, thus do not help paying for the war massive expenses.

Putin is happy to receive any payment that he can actually use. Yuan - no problem, gold - perfect!, bitcoin -perfect, can be exchanged fluidly, ...

For the "unfriendly", you have to buy rubles with your USD and then give us the rubles. This way, the USD cannot be retained nor blocked.

Putin, not Russia IMHO.

Ok, seems like I have some work here:

a) The commission created is actually to NOT buy gas from Russia, but to find reasonable alternative suppliers without competing.
b) To put things in context, Germany uses around 40% of Russian gas. That is no more than  10% of the total energy consumption of Germany.
c) The liquefaction facilities take a couple of years to build - less if you are really in a hurry, just as I said.
d) An alliance with China an India... sure, go for it and good luck. Putin has shown to be a great partner, who would not want him covering ones back? (It is ironic just in case).
e) Russia has prepared well for sanctions, until Putin got a large chunk of his reserves retained. Did he "prepare" that? What do you think that happens to a country that takes a 10% hit on its GDP after already loosing 10% to COVID? We are talking people looking in thrash cans a the young selling their bodies to save for a ticket out. Even the military may not get paid.

But you biggest piece here: "Force Majeure"

The definition of Force Majeure is certainly not that you currency is devaluating - not even a war unless it damages the infrastructure or makes it impossible to meet the supply - seriously, who told you that Putin supporting the Ruble is even remotely close to the legal definition of force majeure anywhere? Did you make that up yourself or is it the official propaganda?

Not even COVID has been considered as such for many business across several jurisdictions and even in that case you cannot change the payment or rents or other elements of contracts, at most you could not supply if, for example, a super-earthquake breaks the pipes (they are actually designed so that they don't break, but just as example).

Hi all, these are some brands that are happy to conduct their merry and profitable operations in Putin's Russia. "Do not ever let some carnage get in the way of profits" - said an executive when questioned about it (FAKE, or maybe not?). I am not saying you should boycott them or anything...

Decathlon  https://www.theretailbulletin.com/sports-and-leisure/decathlon-owner-accused-of-profiting-from-russian-invasion-of-ukraine-21-03-2022/
Leroy Merlin https://www.moviesonline.ca/leroy-merlin-does-not-remain-only-in-russia-the-company-cut-off-ukrainian-workers-from-the-communication-system/

And from a list here

Societe Generale
Xiaomi
Emirates Airline
Lenovo
Acer
AliBaba
Cloudflare
Credit Suisse
Wex Inc.
...

Many others are just suspending new investments and new contracts. I am particularly angry at Decathlon, as they were, until now, my favourite for leisure wear - You broke my heart Fredo.

Any other comes to mind?

It is not true. What it is true is that some have asked for Abramovich to be excluded from sanctions and be a mediator before Putin. He is an oligarch and my take is that he is mostly about business, and this war is really bad for business. There is no winner, not even if Putin could achieve a massive defeat of Ukraine, still even he would be worse off than at the beginning.

False. A referendum requires effective peace, international observers, and agreed right to participation, and public discussion. There has not been any vote or referendum with the minimum guarantees of democracy and fairness, just a faked putsch that not even the most ignorant would accept. From your own reference article:


I know you cannot understand any of this because you are drunk of Putin's propaganda but a referendum of independence cannot be held while there is state (Putin) sponsored militias using violence, the area is taken by tanks and there is no chance of the people giving their views with free press and freedom of speech.

If the people in the Donbas wish to be "ruled" by Putin after a honest and clear process, or, most likely would like to be independent, it would be perfectly fair. My take is that under such a circumstances, they would understand that Putin would immediately violate that independence and take them as yet another vassal to be scalped for profit.


I hope that whoever the new "s..hole" results is better at filmaking.

When Switzerland is somehow reluctant to take your money it is definitely time to worry.

Until Putin needs to import anything from outside his Tzardom, in which case all the sudden money is, in the end, USD, Euros or Yuans as the ruble has zero use abroad.

Germany - not all Europe - needs a supply of gas that needs to pay in USD, as per the contracts signed for that supply. Putin has broken the international laws of commerce (not that he cares) and will pay dearly for it, as reputation cannot be brought back even paying for it. If you have any doubt about it, just consider if you would ever buy from someone that decides to change the signed terms unilaterally.

As of now, I have not seen Putin cutting the supply either, yet I have seen Germany stating a strategy to diversify the supply in 2 years. Please, kindly as Putin if he thinks China will pay full price for his gas, as they will be their one and only client in 2 years. Ask the 200.000 Russian people that have left their country how they feel about this victory and, to those that remain, ask them how they feel about having the GPD limping and their jobs disappearing.

Putin's Russia has also de-facto defaulted the payment of debt. Would you lend money to Putin again? If you are unsure about the answer, just wait and see.

None of these minerals are strategic in the sense that they cannot be obtained from other locations, albeit perhaps there will be a cost of doing so. None of these elements are going to deter the West or force them into trading with Putin. The only exception is Crude Oil, and that may also be eventually sourced somehow else.

RE aluminium, that is quite funny that you mention: Putin would need to import the mineral from Australia to keep the production. Guess what Australia did recently about it? That's right, banned the export to Putin's Russia.


Again posting over and over the same image in every thread. The right to rule does not come from the right of contest, who ruled before or any "god given reason" but only from the will of the people that live there. We do not live in the middle ages or else Putin would have to give half of Russia to Mongolia.

Answered over and over, Putin has been supporting the paramilitary pro-annexation. Putin has tried to make the case for a genocide in international institutions and failed to provide any evidence. Putin would not go to war on the ground of anyone being killed except himself, he is one of the major murderers of the XXI centuries and cares only about himself and his business.

Launching over and over links with propaganda and inundating a thread with images will not prevent a more productive discussion for those who wish to have one. It may work in Putin's Tzardom where people cannot have access to different views, but it does not work here. Whoever is paying you is wasting the money they need to dig graves for the soldiers.



Seriously? Do you think this is a Indiana Jones movie??

On the topic, the rate of dead generals is not excessive... if you compare it with the full massive scale war situation during the Second World war.

jokes apart, the rate of dead generals is around 1 every 5 days, extremely high for most armies, but not for Putins army, which has more than 2000 generals. The reason they are killed at this rate is the poor coordination in the army - they are even using unencrypted comms - that makes it necessary to have generals in the frontline.

NATO wants to help Ukraine without creating the risk of starting a multinational conflict that could end up with the use of WDM. That would not be an outcome adequate for Ukraine or for anyone else. This is much more of a brain surgery than a case of who throws a 10 kg stone harder at the other guy's face.


It sound like making sure Putin understands that there is nothing to win by waging war. He has been killing around in Georgia, Osetia then annexed Crimea, instated a puppet in Belorussia... is time to do something about it, as WWIII could actually be a result of letting this guy think that war is profitable.

They have a limited say, but an attack on any member is an attack on all. If that is not honoured, NATO would cease to exist. US and other members would take a"proportional response" as it is the standard in diplomacy and war. The choice of means and targets could vary - but certainly the nuclear response is not the first choice to respond to a non-nuclear aggression.



Biden has already enough trouble with his popularity and chances of re-election to do that. He needs something he can sell as a successful peace and there is no way he can do so giving away Ukraine. Also, that would be a huge strategic error for the future and US analysts know that it would leave a less safe - thus more expensive - world behind.


I think that it is very clear which side I am on: best case for Europe and Ukraine. US & China are only getting stronger with this and Putin's Tzardom, insofar as most of their population seem to be quite apathic about how they are governed, is not of my concern other than their ability to cause problems to others.

Certainly, not a war with WMD would fit a desirable solution to any party, which is the point of my post.

Again, I think that my position on this is very clear, but if I have to make it even more clear: a solution that causes a low number of civilian casualties, something the parties can live with given the damage inflicted to both sides, something that can be politically accepted for the relevant stakeholders, and, above all, a solution that does not encourage or that makes economically unfeasible any further conflict in the future.

On regards to your comments on EU, of course, ideally Europe wants this gone ASAP. While short term Germany chose to interlink with Russia, I think their leaders have gotten the message quite clear and the strategic exposure to Russia, while unchangeable short term, can and will be changed during the next five years. You cannot feed the bear no mater how nice he looks when asleep.

On your comment on Ukraine, people all over the world want to progress and "live better" in the ample sense. They know that this is not happening if they are part of the Tzardom. Also, people tend to like feeling free, even if freedom is never perfect something that, again, does not happen under a despotic foreign power's direct control.


As said many times, if you go back in time enough you would have to give it all to the Mongols. Whatever historically happened to a territory is not the base of who and how should hold the legitimate right to govern - that is simply medieval philosophy and justifying ruling and submission "by the grace of God" or on "historical rights of conquest".

In the world today, that right belongs only to the people who actually live in there.

I understand that you being a Kremlin Troll cannot grasp the concept of people choosing their own leaders and governments.

I do not think I can make it more clear. Nato intervenes means clearly acts of war against Russia yes - what is the hypocrisy here? The wording?. I could not care less about how each would decide to call it, the scenario is the same. BTW, I do not complain about propaganda, I just tend to say it is propaganda.

As for the rest of your message, I am not sure I get your point - what is you realistic and feasible best case solution?

On the lateral topics you are talking, like Cuba, ... I do not think the embargo to Cuba has ever brought anyone any closer to a peaceful solution of any kind, if that is the question, nor I consider it particularly ethical.

I just can't believe that you just tried to white-wash the killing of children.

As it is "unfortunate" that many young Russian soldiers have to die in vain for the delusions of a septuagenarian. As it is "unfortunate" that so many Russians - many not supporting Putin - will have hardship and poverty when no decent company would want to be in Russia nor touch their exports.

But most of all, I encourage you, so supportive of the war, to go there yourself. I am sure that you will be a fierce combatant in the name of Putin and will not care about the "unfortunate risks" that you may encounter along the way. You see, it is quite different from throwing shit-talk behind a keyboard where the only risk is to twist your fingers or, worst case, starting to really believe your own bullshit.


It is starting to look quite pathetic. It must be difficult to be in the propaganda directorate under Putin... perhaps we should ask a few people around this thread how things are going in the company.

In my view, it is about time for US and Europe to start providing Ukraine with the right equipment and support for their army to be able to push back Putin's army back into Russian borders. Let's make sure that this war is the last one he dares to wage and we will all, including Russians, be safer and, one day, more prosperous.

Now is time to stop "resisting" and start the ass-kicking.