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> Russia could certainly cause severe economic damage and kill many people, sure. But find me one credible expert who, given what we know now, supports your "hu

by mopsi 3y ago

> Russia could certainly cause severe economic damage and kill many people, sure. But find me one credible expert who, given what we know now, supports your "hundreds of millions" claim. Since mid-2023, everyone from think-tanks like the German Council on Foreign Relations to chiefs of defense of Europe have been ringing an alarm bell over Putin's ambitions beyond Ukraine. The population of Germany and Poland alone pushes the number of people directly at risk of Russian aggression over 100 million. > Which is why the EU has been making increasingly strident criticisms of the way the Baltic states treat their Russian minorities They haven't. The sob story about Russians being mistreated everywhere was a smear campaign to sabotage the entry of Eastern European countries into the EU. Its heyday was around the end of accession negotiations in early 2000s. As of 2024, nobody takes that seriously anymore. Russians too have recognized ineffectiveness of that narrative and have stopped pushing it. > Depends whose "global" rankings they are. Indeed. Only a severely brainwashed person would put Russia anywhere near Finland or Sweden when it comes to human rights. You can reply with shallow rhetorical arguments, but there's as much to discuss here as with the Flat Earth crowd. It's not a good faith discussion beyond this point.

kridsdale1 3y ago
(Boxing announcer voice) And the winner, by unanimous decision….. MOOOOOOOOOP SIIIIIIIII
lmm 3y ago
> The population of Germany and Poland alone pushes the number of people directly at risk of Russian aggression over 100 million. You think there's a serious risk of a Russian tank column making it to Frankfurt? Lol. Lmao even. > As of 2024, nobody takes that seriously anymore. Russians too have recognized ineffectiveness of that narrative and have stopped pushing it. If no-one takes it seriously that's because no-one expects western countries to be principled any more. The language laws are real. > Indeed. Only a severely brainwashed person would put Russia anywhere near Finland or Sweden when it comes to human rights. Sure. Finland and Sweden have much better human rights records than Russia, agreed. But they're not the countries that rely on the US nuclear umbrella for defence (joining NATO is not the same thing as being dependent on it); the countries that do have rather murkier records.
- mopsi 3y ago
  > You think there's a serious risk of a Russian tank column making it to Frankfurt? Lol. Lmao even. Tank column? I don't know. But Russia may very well attack the Suwalki gap and hit German cities with long-range missiles to terrorize Germans into dropping support for Poland and Lithuania, while threatening that any German response will unleash nuclear armageddon, as they are currently trying to break the morale in Ukraine. The distance from Suwalki gap to Frankfurt is roughly the same as the distance between active frontline in Ukraine and Lviv (~1000 km), the city that had to enter 2024 under Russian missile attacks. As someone put it succinctly, Russia is shooting missiles at cities 10 Belgiums away from the frontline - with no intention of stopping anytime soon. > If no-one takes it seriously that's because no-one expects western countries to be principled any more. The human rights situation in Russia has deteriorated so much in the past few years that their complaints towards the EU can only be taken as a joke. Russian diplomats risk getting laughed out of the room (like Lavrov already experienced) if they raise the issue. Russia has left the European Convention on Human Rights, not to mention "lesser" things like decriminalizing wifebeating, destroying the last remnants of freedom of speech and free expression, turning blind eye to anti-gay pogroms taking place in southern part of the country, systematically persecuting Russian human rights activists, and carrying out ethnic cleansing by conscripting and sending ethnic minorities to die as cannon fodder in pointless "meat attacks" in Ukraine. Russia is approaching North Korea at a fast pace. Ironically, in the entire world, Russia is one of the worst places to be in as a Russian - which is why all the top dogs in Russia have their children, wives and mistresses living in safety of the "degenerate" west.
  - lmm 3y ago
    > Russia may very well attack the Suwalki gap and hit German cities with long-range missiles to terrorize Germans into dropping support for Poland and Lithuania, while threatening that any German response will unleash nuclear armageddon, as they are currently trying to break the morale in Ukraine. Russia could certainly drop a handful of missiles on Frankfurt if they were feeling particularly stupid. They could not "reduce it to total rubble" or kill thousands, much less millions, except by using nuclear weapons (if their nuclear weapons even work). > Russia has left the European Convention on Human Rights, not to mention "lesser" things like decriminalizing wifebeating, destroying the last remnants of freedom of speech and free expression, turning blind eye to anti-gay pogroms taking place in southern part of the country, systematically persecuting Russian human rights activists, and carrying out ethnic cleansing by conscripting and sending ethnic minorities to die as cannon fodder in pointless "meat attacks" in Ukraine. That changes nothing about whether Russians in other countries are permitted to "speak their language and practice their culture". > Ironically, in the entire world, Russia is one of the worst places to be in as a Russian - which is why all the top dogs in Russia have their children, wives and mistresses living in safety of the "degenerate" west. They live in self-reliant countries with strong human rights protection including for Russians - again, not those countries that are dependent on the US nuclear umbrella.

by mopsi 3y ago

kridsdale1 3y ago

(Boxing announcer voice) And the winner, by unanimous decision….. MOOOOOOOOOP SIIIIIIIII

lmm 3y ago

> The population of Germany and Poland alone pushes the number of people directly at risk of Russian aggression over 100 million. You think there's a serious risk of a Russian tank column making it to Frankfurt? Lol. Lmao even. > As of 2024, nobody takes that seriously anymore. Russians too have recognized ineffectiveness of that narrative and have stopped pushing it. If no-one takes it seriously that's because no-one expects western countries to be principled any more. The language laws are real. > Indeed. Only a severely brainwashed person would put Russia anywhere near Finland or Sweden when it comes to human rights. Sure. Finland and Sweden have much better human rights records than Russia, agreed. But they're not the countries that rely on the US nuclear umbrella for defence (joining NATO is not the same thing as being dependent on it); the countries that do have rather murkier records.

mopsi 3y ago
> You think there's a serious risk of a Russian tank column making it to Frankfurt? Lol. Lmao even. Tank column? I don't know. But Russia may very well attack the Suwalki gap and hit German cities with long-range missiles to terrorize Germans into dropping support for Poland and Lithuania, while threatening that any German response will unleash nuclear armageddon, as they are currently trying to break the morale in Ukraine. The distance from Suwalki gap to Frankfurt is roughly the same as the distance between active frontline in Ukraine and Lviv (~1000 km), the city that had to enter 2024 under Russian missile attacks. As someone put it succinctly, Russia is shooting missiles at cities 10 Belgiums away from the frontline - with no intention of stopping anytime soon. > If no-one takes it seriously that's because no-one expects western countries to be principled any more. The human rights situation in Russia has deteriorated so much in the past few years that their complaints towards the EU can only be taken as a joke. Russian diplomats risk getting laughed out of the room (like Lavrov already experienced) if they raise the issue. Russia has left the European Convention on Human Rights, not to mention "lesser" things like decriminalizing wifebeating, destroying the last remnants of freedom of speech and free expression, turning blind eye to anti-gay pogroms taking place in southern part of the country, systematically persecuting Russian human rights activists, and carrying out ethnic cleansing by conscripting and sending ethnic minorities to die as cannon fodder in pointless "meat attacks" in Ukraine. Russia is approaching North Korea at a fast pace. Ironically, in the entire world, Russia is one of the worst places to be in as a Russian - which is why all the top dogs in Russia have their children, wives and mistresses living in safety of the "degenerate" west.
- lmm 3y ago
  > Russia may very well attack the Suwalki gap and hit German cities with long-range missiles to terrorize Germans into dropping support for Poland and Lithuania, while threatening that any German response will unleash nuclear armageddon, as they are currently trying to break the morale in Ukraine. Russia could certainly drop a handful of missiles on Frankfurt if they were feeling particularly stupid. They could not "reduce it to total rubble" or kill thousands, much less millions, except by using nuclear weapons (if their nuclear weapons even work). > Russia has left the European Convention on Human Rights, not to mention "lesser" things like decriminalizing wifebeating, destroying the last remnants of freedom of speech and free expression, turning blind eye to anti-gay pogroms taking place in southern part of the country, systematically persecuting Russian human rights activists, and carrying out ethnic cleansing by conscripting and sending ethnic minorities to die as cannon fodder in pointless "meat attacks" in Ukraine. That changes nothing about whether Russians in other countries are permitted to "speak their language and practice their culture". > Ironically, in the entire world, Russia is one of the worst places to be in as a Russian - which is why all the top dogs in Russia have their children, wives and mistresses living in safety of the "degenerate" west. They live in self-reliant countries with strong human rights protection including for Russians - again, not those countries that are dependent on the US nuclear umbrella.