BlueOak

China's usual provocation is barely worth a mention but its a potential flashpoint as Japan has ordered their troops to be ready, and Taiwan is entering a greater state of readiness for 2026, which is when the invasion is predicted to be. If it happens so is WW3. 2026 - 2027 (Though you might suggest we are already in a world war state) China's stoking of nationalism on the small, everyday level I guess if China is grabbing Taiwan and the south China Sea, Russia Ukraine and the Baltics, Israel, Iran, America and Turkey Syria, Then Greenland is just another target in the US's mind: The thing is Europe needs the US against Russia and China, so this might be the price: to accept American land grabs. Until it gets its act together more and forms an EU military. Map Source for the Syria Flashpoints: It's worth keeping an eye on: https://syria.liveuamap.com/

Japan moves missiles on their islands to cover Taiwan, and their own islands in the area. After rising tensions, ongoing threats from China against Japanese islands, and Japan stating they'd intervene in any threat against Taiwan. One of many Chinese: China South Sea expansion plans, moving their vessels into other countries' waters and pushing us closer to a larger war.

I guess I hit pretty close to the mark with that outburst. As a reminder. My point was people hate the democrats. Which you've failed to address in that entire response. Other than to say we don't need them and then proceed to insult people who don't vote for your party. Wild oddly claiming they are the ones acting entitled (nice projection again) Then add 500 things I never said to respond to. Even the slightest change in messaging, which would take barely any effort, you are resistant to. Talk about stuck in your ways.

Okay. Its almost unbelievable you are unable to see this, but i'll assume you can't. And because you can't i'll apologize for my earlier assumption. America hates your political parties. People have lost faith in your political parties Yes the democrats are winning, that's the point! They are doing it while people hate them! Nobody is saying the republicans are winning. The economy is tanking yes, for the entire world as we splinter up into warring parties. Some countries are crashing harder than others, Iran and Russia for example. People hate the Democrats; they are just less hated because during an economic crisis they are not in charge. Its got absolute nothing to do with the democratic leadership or their brand. They have failed to modernise, fail to appeal to any popular vote, and rode the status quo out till it suited their interests. (While people still hate the status quo) It would take but one change of strategy to have vastly more appeal to the voters. To appear like the change party. *I fully stand by my statement; if your opponents had the ability to adapt and were not too old to change their angle, some degree of intelligence, and even if an actual dictator was running, you'd all be cooked.

Ah I see you are trolling. Carry on. Here let me try: America is in great political shape, best in years. One decently competent dictator and you are all cooked.

Projection? How is posting a poll coping? Yes. That's how fragile democracy is. That this is the winning number.

Sadly India already covered this in its own news: https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/russia-india-military-logistics-pact-relos-signed-glbs-2836418-2025-12-15 India is allying itself with Russia, it is not a neutral party. @Ajay0 Its no different to any other larger power; its picked a side. The one thing I respect about Russia/China more than India is that it's not pretending to do one thing while doing another.

Yes. They've grown a spine, its good to see. Putin's threatened war for the 100th time today because other countries want to control their own borders with Kaliningrad. Russia just doesn't get it. They don't get to tell others what they can do with their own borders or where those borders are. They have to learn, it might take a war with China (because Russia is on the ropes) to teach them it, or they might gain some sense and not waste a generation to learn it.

@zazen High rightwing and Russian bias there. I got 10 mins in and had enough. People confuse ideologies all the time but the vast majority of people I speak to don't confuse nationalism with nazism. That's just nonesensical. That's why there is such a backlash against councils taking down flags in the UK. Breaking Russia up into smaller states carries considerably less risk than having a giant aggressive nuclear power fighting a war against us. Yes millions of lives suffering, because PUTIN is invading UKRAINE. We are doing anything to prevent war, we are trying to keep it in Ukraine, Putin knows this so he's started to try to provoke the EU. Ukraine is achieving a victory, Russia is falling apart slowly. Manpower alone does not win a war. Ukraine has chosen its own security guarantees; it has chosen its economic alignment. It will not get to choose its borders, they already know this though and have conceded it. The front line has been very slow, done to bleed Russia dry. Everyone did not say Ukraine would win, nobody expected them to last a month. He's just lying straight up here to create a narrative. Russia is performing better LOL that had me howling. They send waves of people on bikes and donkeys into drone fire. They creep forward so slowly that a snail would have got into Poland by now, and they are still in Donbas fighting over cities they were a year ago. To be honest this guy is so far off he's a Russian plant. Nobody in the EU wanted a war. Nobody thought this war would happen. Russia is provoking them, its the aggressor, it won't concede a thing, and frankly i'm fed up with Russian apologists who lie lie all day for Russia. I watch the movement on the ground daily, and these guys live in a paid for Kremlin fantasy. If a greater war comes from this, it'll be China's choice. They will have started this round of violence.

How would invading the country next to you, make your own government less likely to be overthrown by an external power? It would seem to just create more enemies and chaos, making it easier to be overthrown.

Sorry for killing idealism a bit. It gets easier, if you can avoid hitting the nihilism many do. Life still matters, people (and animals) are about the only thing that does. (Hence why war is abhorrent and needs to end).

Oh totally. They were getting the resources a good price anyway. But again very different scale to your other regime, and the US hasn't managed to do it in venezula either. Over throwing a regime takes a lot of luck, and a lot of people willing to be in the new regime, instability etc, I just don't see that in Russia. Plus Russia's internal security services are second to none, and their propaganda even better. But invading Ukraine wouldn't change that, and it would probably make it easier, do you know how many Ukranians would love to see that happen now? And they have a similar culture, can blend in etc.

Yep. You've phrased it better than me.

BUT Russia might have westernised I agree. Or it might have evolved past a police state. And that, to Putin, is almost as bad. This way it remains a police state, stuck in a perpetual conflict with its neighbors, and the aging fossils running it can hang on a few more decades to power.

The logistics involved in invading a country like Russia across the globe are so far removed its not even vaguely comparable. Even the Germans who bordered them and were far technologically advanced of Russia couldn't do it, so many empires have tried. Its harsh terrain and unforgiving to invade. Russia is gigantic. Plus Russia has nukes, and they will use them if their land is invaded, or their country threatened.

We are 100% of the same mind.

NATO Is a defensive alliance. Ukraine was westernising. They wanted to move beyond where Russia is. Their population were of sufficient consciousness to protest against a stage blue oppression, and when they did, Putin had them executed on mass or beaten in the streets. This started a war. Mostly because the Russian government is horribly incompetent at managing any kind of dynamic population or social pressure. The US has been AGAINST involement in Ukraine. Trump repeatedly wants to pull back, and given Russia what it wants. Biden was softly softly, whereas Eastern Europe, used to centuries of Russian invasion and meddling in their countries saw the pattern early and called for aid. Without it, there would already have been a wider war, with those countries involved in a fight that directly effects their own people. There is no hypocrisy. Countries take what they can. The more that openly do it, the easier it is for others to justify it. This is how a world war comes about. Be sick but don't start thinking Russia isn't just as bad as any power doing it. No war is justified. End of.

@Daniel Balan Its not complicated. Narratives are all BS for the masses. To keep you thinking good and bad exists. When its just about power, and what people can do. Venezula wants to give China control over one of the most valuable resources on the planet. Oil. They have openly mocked the US for a long time publicly. The US won't have that in its backyard. Because large countries throw their weight around. Russia vs Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, Chechnya, etc., Like China in the south China sea, tibet, East Turkestan, Taiwan etc. Without a unipolar world, the larger countries are doing whatever they want. Previously the US could, now they all do. Regional powers are doing it to, look at Syria, again, its everyone's land to carve up now apparently: Turkey, Israel, Isis, Iran, the Kurds, Russia, America.

I am no fan of the US. I think they are close to being an aggressive autocracy, which I loathe. Better or worse don't come into war much in my thoughts. War is hell. But when you come with language like Russia is good, after all i've seen them do, I'll certainly push back every time. I've been trying to convince people that world has shifted right for about 25 years mate. And this is the end result of it, a world war. All of these leaders are imbalanced. Democrat and republican alike. The 'left' even in the UK is barely centrist these days.

The US would never have had the political leverage or capital to do this to venezula without Russia and BRICS killing Ukranians for several years. The entirity of Europe would have condemned it like the world did Israel. World tension is high. People can more easily justify wars on the opposing parties. Besides which invading Russia is suicidal. Invading Venezuela is like picking on a tiny kid at school, a bit like China picking on Taiwan.

You know what I think. Bombing nurseries, sexually assaulting women in captured territories, torture, assassination, pardoning criminals, firing tanks at old men walking down the road and hundreds of years of Russian aggression, meddling in politics and every horror I can possibly name don't make anyone good. Oh but its alright they got back about 5 of the tens of thousands of Ukranian kids Putin abducted. GD now you've got me doing it. This bad. This good. Just let's get past it to what comes next. And build a world that isn't on fire.

There is a cold war on. Which gets hotter by the month. Venzula is aligned with BRICS. Europe and America's opponents. See every conflict with that lens as its base and its easy to understand. Of course those involved have their own reasons also that shouldn't be ignored. As do the regions, but that is a factor in most currrent and coming world conflicts 2026 - 2027 and however long it takes for people to realise this is incredibly stupid. The ones doing so will not be quoting X country is bad, X country is better, and instead looking for or offering a solution - when enough of these people exist things will calm down, until then ww3 is on the cards.

Peace possible. I'd say unlikely but possible. Still I wanted to offer the hope. NATO like guarantee's was the primary thing holding it back, now they have them. Meaning Russia can't just go for round 3. Its still more likely we'll have a larger war, as EU leaders keep warning. Them losing another 500 million dollar sub had to sting. Now they've boxed in their black sea navy by sinking some ships to stop the underwater drones, but it makes them a clustered missile target. About 15 mins in for the port situation.

Security costs. That's the basics of it Zazen. To be secure from Russia's influence and energy leverage, the prices will be higher. And any country stupid enough, this decade, to become overreliant on Russian energy as the primary or even singular source of their own energy are quite frankly cutting off their own toes in geo strategic terms. There has been no real reform in Russia, this will happen again when the opportunity arises, as that's how the Russians do business. Not to say Russia can't make a percentage of people's energy long term, as it should be, but even 30% is stupid, if a country can shut down 30% of your energy supplies that really hurts. BUT and I want to say this for the 50th time so everyone hears it. Europe increasing its GDP into defense won't sit idle on it. It will be used in some theater. That's a blunder long term that BRICS has made, not just Russia, by pushing the EU that far. Its also a reason there will be more war, as that's a huge right wing shift in the EU with obvious geopolitical opponents. It was a soft easy target, and rather than China taking the opportunity to make it their soft easy friend while America implodes, they made it their opponent via Russia. Utterly stupid long term but hey ho.

No its not simple. You underestimate that we are all 6 degrees separated from each other. So while we can drop an idea that does create a ripple, its one of several million creating that person's reality. The simple answer, has been and ALWAYS will be, no billionaires. But there are people so rich, that they don't appear on any rich list. Money is meaningless to them: https://jamiefreeman.news/hidden-wealth-why-the-worlds-richest-families-are-absent-from-forbes-list/ So until THESE families reform, the world will be as it is. You'd be 1 million times better off trying to reach them than the average man. However people do that. - Heads of states, royalty etc don't appear on any rich list, all of them hold the structure of the world in its current state, a pyramid that is not at all optimal for how people are supposed to function. Leadership should not mean power. Money should not dictate influence or ability. That's why humanity fails. Trouble is even Leo is stuck on that last one, because the entire reality is structured toward it, people actively reinforce it, so its a complete waste of time talking to the masses on this, because the reality will just be restructured in a slightly different way maintaining the same dynamic.