Quote (Ironfister @ 20 May 2023 17:47)
That is one interesting lecture.
First of all Russia says there that Ukraine nato membership isnt necessary for security because the cold war is over and there is no military risk from Russia.
What a bullshit that was. Nato is needed just as much as during the cold war, in fact we are back in cold war.
Russia also says that Ukraine joining nato could potentially create unrest in Ukraine, with possible split the country.
Such a caring neighbour Russia is, they wanted the best for Ukraine, they didnt want any unrest in Ukraine but apparently launching a full invasion on the country is all right.
So in short, Russia fooled nato, fooled the Western people and Ukrainians. They said Ukraine doesnt need nato membership for their security, that nato is a cold war relict, and requested not to let Ukraine join so to maintain friendly relations, but it turns out they did it so they could attack Ukraine in the future.
Im not surprised, I know how Russia does diplomacy. They ask for something, then in some years they ask for something else, something more. So if you want to be friendly with Russia, you need to keep giving them things. And one day you wake up and realize you have given them already too much/everything.
It’s an American Ambassador to Russia - Burns - saying these things internally over a diplomatic cable to Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, you simpleton. He is reporting back to base how things are going and his best understanding how things are going to work out if US continues what they are doing. Given that the guy is head of CIA now - I think he is smarter and more connected than all of us on this forum combined.
I know you hate Russia, but please - read things if you want to reply.
Quote (fender @ 20 May 2023 17:07)
i mean... you could just look it up and educate yourself before posting demonstrably wrong claims...
bulgaria, montenegro, and russia are the leaders in terms of income inequality in europe. lithuania and italy also rank higher than the UK.
the UK certainly has its issues, and brexit didn't help, quite the opposite, but it's still a decent place to live - especially if you compare it with much of eastern europe, let alone russia...
https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.GINIUK is not doing so well. It’s slightly above Russia, but way worse in inequality than most of Eastern Europe. Inequality is usually lower in poor countries as people are generally poor and you don’t really have crazy multibillionaires living jetsetting life. Belarus is actually one of the most equal countries in the world according to inequality indices. Data is slightly dated. I wonder how countries fared after 2020 (corona, Russia/Ukraine). I would assume inequality in Europe/UK would increase while inequality in US/Russia would decrease.
This post was edited by Malopox on May 20 2023 10:13am