SWIFT ban begins

terr said:
The point is to isolate Russia financially, diplomatically and culturally. I was born in Russia and I speak Russian like a native. I know how Russians think and what happens there. No matter the huffing and puffing, Russia considers itself much more part of the West and has a lot of disdain about the East.

Being cut off from the West - trade, travel, being able to educate its kids there or work there, is going to be hugely detrimental to Russian psyche. Bolshoi tours are being canceled. Russian philharmonic orchestra tours are being canceled. Russian musicians who support Putin are being fired from their Western jobs. Russia was just kicked out of Eurovision. Russian soccer teams are not welcome in Western championships anymore. Wait till the sanctions hit the rich Russians' families whom they love sending to the West to live, study, or shop. Wait till all those Russian software companies won't be able to work on Western projects.

Yes, Russians will be able to vacation in China or India. Wooptee do. Those are the "low-brow" spots. Good-bye NYC, Hollywood, South Florida, French Riviera, London and Paris. Or even Turkey, Greece and Cyprus for the lower-class people. Russia will be dragged back to the hoary Soviet isolation it so richly deserves. Crimean excruciating pebble beaches for everybody!
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It is just wrong to mix politics and military affairs with human life and culture exchanges. What Ukraine thing has to do with soccer matches and music concerts? All this only make the world to more extremes.

Look back at the 1990 Tiananman. And 2014 Crimea. None of those sanctions really work out. Nothing was achieved. And Europeans still happily buy Russian energy.

All this will only speed up the de-coupling.
 
Nobert said:
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And it's not russia and china. Simple Russian & Chinese folks, have nothing to do with it.

It's the regime & regime.

Meanwhile, in the west, the people of free democratic nations, supporting the brave people of Ukraine.
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It does not matter until, China invades Taiwan. They will grab the semiconductor factories of Taiwan and dominate the South China Seas. US has focused all its attention on Russia, while our politicians all sellout US technology to China, allow Chinese spies to steal military secrets on top of that. China has clones of the top US fighter jets plus hypersonic missiles they developed. I doubt the US will defend Taiwan and risk war with China.
 
RedSun said:
It is just wrong to mix politics and military affairs with human life and culture exchanges. What Ukraine thing has to do with soccer matches and music concerts? All this only make the world to more extremes.

Look back at the 1990 Tiananman. And 2014 Crimea. None of those sanctions really work out. Nothing was achieved. And Europeans still happily buy Russian energy.

All this will only speed up the de-coupling.
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The difference now is that Putin is losing his fucking mind by claiming that by invading Ukraine, he is saving the country from Neo-Nazis. Seems to me he has inhaled too much horse-paste vapor to cure his constant Covid infection.
 
RedSun said:
It is just wrong to mix politics and military affairs with human life and culture exchanges. What Ukraine thing has to do with soccer matches and music concerts? All this only make the world to more extremes.
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In regular times, yes. In "cold war", yes it is wrong. This is not "cold war". This is naked military aggression, an unprovoked invasion of a neighboring country, and yes, isolating Russia completely, financially, diplomatically and, very importantly, culturally, is very much called for.
 
RedSun said:
It is just wrong to mix politics and military affairs with human life and culture exchanges. What Ukraine thing has to do with soccer matches and music concerts? All this only make the world to more extremes.

Look back at the 1990 Tiananman. And 2014 Crimea. None of those sanctions really work out. Nothing was achieved. And Europeans still happily buy Russian energy.

All this will only speed up the de-coupling.
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Had Ukraine not insisted on NATO membership and remained neutral, it would have saved a lot of lives, avoided the huge destruction it is now experiencing. Russia will make sure they are out of NATO now.
 
smallfil said:
Russia is in better financial shape than the US. Talk about sheer irony. They also, have $600 billion in reserves. US has $630 billion in reserves but, owes how much? Over $30 trillion now?
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The problem is that all politicians mis-calculate. Russia clearly considers Ukraine joining NATO as its existential threat. Just like Hitler taking Poland and stationed army on its border. So the Empire struck. So NATO and Ukraine just gave Russia the reason to invade. Clearly nukes are always the threat with any existential threat. West knew that so well. This is why West does not want to fight Russians for Ukraine. It is the thread of WW III and the nuke weapons.
 
VicBee said:
Yes it will, and maybe Russians will get angry enough to topple the oligarchy and call for a total reform of the political economy.
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I talked to a few of the people I still keep in touch with in Russia. They are depressed, baffled, bewildered and completely dispirited by the, for them, inexplicable insane stupidity and naked aggression of their leadership. They insist that this is the feeling of the majority. I don't know if it is. But if it is, they only have one way of digging the way out of the hole that Putin put Russia in. Topple Putin, withdraw the military, apologize profusely and pay reparations. Russia and Russians will hopefully not be welcome in the civilized world otherwise.
 
Overnight said:
The difference now is that Putin is losing his fucking mind by claiming that by invading Ukraine, he is saving the country from Neo-Nazis. Seems to me he has inhaled too much horse-paste vapor to cure his constant Covid infection.
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If you look at the damn map, you'll know. It is unthinkable for Ukraine to join NATO and have NATO missiles deep near the heart of Russia. It is the existential threat.

This is something James Baker swore that US would never do it.
 
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