Danny and Derek report on the Nord Stream leaks (0:53), Russians’ reaction to the recent mobilization (7:26), referendums in eastern Ukraine and an update on the conflict (9:19), the Italian general election (14:59), economic troubles in the UK (16:33), protests in Iran (18:45), MBS becoming prime minister of Saudi Arabia (22:28), the upcoming Brazilian election (25:35), and a ceasefire in Colombia.
Helsinki is crawling with wealthy Russians fleeing the war. Only way to get a visa was owning property in Finland. I went to a consumer electronics shop last weekend and it was crowded with Russians buying Apple products and plasma TVs.
We are having the same experience in Serbia, but we are the cheap seats - not the Apple/Plasma TV crowd so much. We had a hell of a time this week finding reasonable and acceptable hotel/hostel accommodation for students traveling long distances from Beograd who needed to sit for SAT exams. Hoteliers told us that their rooms were booked (not paid, but reserved) by many Russian men because before they can enter the country, apparently they need to show some proof of accommodation.
It seems like they are much quicker on the uptake of "Rich men's wars and Poor boy's fights" than Westerners - could be that economic shock therapy and what not...
Don't get me wrong, I'm glad less Russians are fighting in a pointless war. But as you say it's a poor man's job to fight it. Many of the less affluent parts of Finland host a more sympathetic demographic of Russians fleeing the war and even some mutual aide in terms of housing among the Russian expat community. Historically, sympathies for Russians here are quite low. I feel like the perception of Just Rich Assholes is not going to help.
I completely understood your comment, and did not even consider it that way. When I used the phrase "...they are much quicker on the uptake...", I was referring to the Russians of military age in general. I share your worry about the dehumanization of the Russian people, as well as the eagerness to shut down borders which will also obstruct those fleeing receipt of the military license to kill.
A cynical person might say banning Russian travellers is part of a wider plan to destabilise Russian society. Hard to tell if the ethnic scapegoating is the primary objective and the social unrest is a side effect or if the anti-Russian racism is the primary tool to gain popular support for a policy whose main goal is civil discontent within the Russian Federation
It could be both. Never underestimate the ability of TPTB to walk and chew gum at the same time when it comes to this stuff.
You have raised an interesting point, I always relate the sanctions and collective punishment as creating a seige mentality as it did during the Jugoslav Wars in the 90's. It was crazy difficult for civil discontent in Serbia to get traction, although everyone I met was pretty much wildly pissed off.
However, when dealing with a big country, this may very well be a different story. I did not bake this theory on my own, but rather had a highly educated friend once open a discussion with me about different feelings in general, based on whether one was from a big country or a small country in terms of threat perceptions - but this only pertained to Europe/Eurasia and the historical experiences in that region.
Biden gave a pretty explicit threat to 'end' the pipeline a little while back at a press conference.
It all reminds me of the child's game "Who stole the cookies from the cookie jar"...
Helsinki is crawling with wealthy Russians fleeing the war. Only way to get a visa was owning property in Finland. I went to a consumer electronics shop last weekend and it was crowded with Russians buying Apple products and plasma TVs.
We are having the same experience in Serbia, but we are the cheap seats - not the Apple/Plasma TV crowd so much. We had a hell of a time this week finding reasonable and acceptable hotel/hostel accommodation for students traveling long distances from Beograd who needed to sit for SAT exams. Hoteliers told us that their rooms were booked (not paid, but reserved) by many Russian men because before they can enter the country, apparently they need to show some proof of accommodation.
It seems like they are much quicker on the uptake of "Rich men's wars and Poor boy's fights" than Westerners - could be that economic shock therapy and what not...
Don't get me wrong, I'm glad less Russians are fighting in a pointless war. But as you say it's a poor man's job to fight it. Many of the less affluent parts of Finland host a more sympathetic demographic of Russians fleeing the war and even some mutual aide in terms of housing among the Russian expat community. Historically, sympathies for Russians here are quite low. I feel like the perception of Just Rich Assholes is not going to help.
I completely understood your comment, and did not even consider it that way. When I used the phrase "...they are much quicker on the uptake...", I was referring to the Russians of military age in general. I share your worry about the dehumanization of the Russian people, as well as the eagerness to shut down borders which will also obstruct those fleeing receipt of the military license to kill.
A cynical person might say banning Russian travellers is part of a wider plan to destabilise Russian society. Hard to tell if the ethnic scapegoating is the primary objective and the social unrest is a side effect or if the anti-Russian racism is the primary tool to gain popular support for a policy whose main goal is civil discontent within the Russian Federation
It could be both. Never underestimate the ability of TPTB to walk and chew gum at the same time when it comes to this stuff.
You have raised an interesting point, I always relate the sanctions and collective punishment as creating a seige mentality as it did during the Jugoslav Wars in the 90's. It was crazy difficult for civil discontent in Serbia to get traction, although everyone I met was pretty much wildly pissed off.
However, when dealing with a big country, this may very well be a different story. I did not bake this theory on my own, but rather had a highly educated friend once open a discussion with me about different feelings in general, based on whether one was from a big country or a small country in terms of threat perceptions - but this only pertained to Europe/Eurasia and the historical experiences in that region.
Did I mishear the comparison of the four provinces in eastern Ukraine to Crimea as one to Kashmir or was that a comparison which wasn't expanded upon?
They said it was like Kashmir in that any official annexation won't be recognised internationally