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370
Ukraine/Russian Conflict - General Discussion
This entire war proves that everything is bigger in Russia. -
370
Ukraine/Russian Conflict - General Discussion
Some interesting points you make. On the rise of Lenin: Well, the jury is still out on whether Lenin actually benefitted from the funding that was offered to him by Alexander Parvus, or 'Helphand'as he was known in revolutionary circles. Parvus was a German agent close to German ambassador Hans Freiherr von Wangenheim, who was keen to look for ways of destabilising Russia, an enemy of Germany in the First World War. Lenin, as you say, did not make any such relationship public, and may as you sat have rejected funding publicly himself, but its no secret that the Bolsheviks were supported by Germany, against their foe Russia, and there were various financial structures established in an apparent attempt to support them. Given the success of the Bolsheviks in gaining control, it's entirely conceivable that they were well funded. I very much disagree with Professior Mearsheimer's assertion here that Germany is losing its influence in Europe it had influence then, and it has it now. The EU is a German empire by another name. On the formation of the USSR: I don't doubt that there was much poverty at the time the USSR was established, being that it was at the close of WW1. At that time, the local people's councils - the Soviets - were no doubt concerned for the fate of their people, and the Bolsheviks obviously made a very compelling argument that revolution, socialism and communism would free them from the shackles of their impoverished existence. The USSR, or Soviet Union, was formed by the Bosheviks under Lenin as a result. Would the people of the USSR have been better off otherwise? Who can tell? On the tyranny of the USSR: In the early part of its existence, under Lenin, and much more so under Stalin, the USSR continued its revolution, which included (as socialist revolutions do) purges of those who were seen as dissenters. The purges included the Red Terror, show trials, summary execution and the like. The Cheka, which was the forerunner to the KGB, were particularly cruel and brutal in the way they carried out their work. Included here was the purges by Stalin of people in his own party, right up to his most senior lieutenants - including the the likes of Nikolai Yezhov (the bloody dwarf), who had been Stalin's executioner in chief in rooting out and accusing all and sundry of treacherty. Noteworthy here is the 1932-33 Holomodor famine, where Stalin starved to death between 3 to 5 million people in Ukraine for wanting more autonomy from the USSR. Stalin raised their grain export quotas, so not a morsel of food was available to eat and people were resorting to eating the corpses of the dead. Under Nikita Khrushchev, who succeeded Stain, the brutality was dialled down, but the USSR nevertheless remained a police state, where criticising the government was off limits. This is the difficulty that I have with socialist revolutionaries - they come to power on promises to help the poor, but then they resort to murder on an enormous scale - sometimes though mismanagement of resources and sometimes through terror. Chairman Mao's Great Leap Forward. Chairman Mao's Cultural Revolution. Pol Pot's Year Zero. Stalin's Purges. The communist quest for their impossible Utopia is always approached through rivers of blood, and I often wonder why the Hammer and Sickle is not reviled in the way that the Swastika is. George Orwell's book 1984 comes to mind - communiusm is totalitarian by nature. Nobody can think or say anything that isn't in the party rule book, and if they do they're sent to the Gulag, tortured for confessions, and killed. Leaving the USSR was not possible for most people - exit visas being expensive and hard to come by. The few people who did get to leave, were never allowed back and were stripped ofr their citizenship. On the successes of the USSR: The USSR, through its focus on education and (almost contrary to the idea of communism) promoted academic excellence, and certainly made great advances in the sciences - to this day this is an area where Russians excel. The USSR also excelled in sport of extreme precision, such as gymnastics, frequently surpassing other nations in the area. People were guaranteed a job, and housing, so you can say that life was better for those people that the unemployed and homeless in the west. Ultimately though, the USSR simply ran out of resources. Producers were told they could only sell at a certain price, so they didn't produce, meaning that there were shortages of everything - we've all seen the pictures of queuing. Corruption was rampant (it always is for any government that's bene in power for too long) and bribes had to be paid for almost any public service. -
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News Forum - Thai government plans Foreigner dual pricing for hotel rooms | GMT
Govt plans to charge foreigners more than Thais for hotel rooms. Thailand’s tourism sector is asking for an additional 1 billion baht budget. Phuket will have a tsunami drill on July 20 following multiple small tremors offshore. A Thai officer caught on camera riding carelessly won’t be fined. PM Prayut drives an electric car with the Swiss ambassador. Bangkok authorities remove transformers belonging to a lot that caused a fire. All this and more on today’s Good Morning Thailand. The story Thai government plans Foreigner dual pricing for hotel rooms | GMT as seen on Thaiger News. Read the full story -
370
Ukraine/Russian Conflict - General Discussion
True, but then he is a politician and not a soldier. The issue in question is about politics as much as readiness. It was Zelenskyy’s call and they should have consulted him if nothing else. He was right to be upset, even if the generals made the right call. The Ukrainian army isn’t the only one with moral issues: Ukrainian intelligence said the military leadership of the Russian Federation was attempting to fight rampant alcohol abuse among its military, which leads to "numerous violations of discipline." Cases of soldiers going absent without official leave during the service have become more frequent,” said Ukrainian intelligence. “Soldiers are at their firing positions in a state of intoxication. They violate gun use rules. There are car accidents involving servicemen in a state of intoxication.” https://news.yahoo.com/invaders-assign-santa-claus-fight-133700063.html -
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News Forum - Thai officer caught on camera riding carelessly won’t be fined
I’ve worked many many times through the night on call and trust me driving with extreme tiredness is way more dangerous than being drunk imo.
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