To: Tenchusatsu who wrote (1339703 ) 1/24/2022 2:11:32 PM From: Wharf Rat Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 1570746 "We SHOULDN'T give a Brandon about Ukraine" We prolly shouldn't give a fuck about South Korea, either, but we do. We should prolly care about all people, even if it's just to send thoughts and prayers instead of food. . How US sanctions are fueling Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis Isolating the Taliban is pushing millions of Afghans into poverty and starvation. . 1 day ago - == Talks with Taliban begin in Norway as humanitarian crisis worsens in Afghanistan A Taliban delegation started three days of talks with Western government officials in Norway, amid a deteriorating humanitarian situation in... . 1 day ago -- " All this talk about economic sanctions and sending military hardware, etc., is real cheap" Bloodless for us, too. -- "Sending military hardware just feeds a proxy war" If Russia was interested in a proxy war, it wouldn't be using its own troops. == " (Economic sanctions) have never succeeded in instituting "regime change" or the liberation of a nation" The Iran nuclear agreement happened because of sanctions, but, you're right. Sanctions won't end the Putin regime, and they won't liberate Russia. However, if Putin becomes only the 2nd leader since WW2 to try and expand his map thru use of force, they might persuade him over time to return to his own borders. == "Brenda in particular is promising "serious and severe costs," but I don't think even you, the biggest Brenda fan on this thread, believe her" Of course I believe her, but that's prolly cuz I think of "costs" differently than you do. There will be some body bags coming home, but the real cost will be to the Russian economy. OPTION POTENTIAL IMPACT More restrictions on Russia’s ability to refinance its sovereign debt Russian debt market disruptedLimits on interbank operations of major Russian banks possibly including currency conversionBank operations, cross-border financing, trade impeded More sanctions on companies in energy and defense sectors Transactions, possibly exports and financing limited Ban Russia from key international transaction networks like SWIFTGlobal markets for oil, gas, other commodities, as well as Russian markets, disruptedbloomberg.com == "proxy wars are a dime a dozen in today's post-Cold War era" While you were looking elsewhere, CW2 began. Some Russians even think it's CW3. Second Cold Warhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Cold_War Russia's Third Cold War We cannot separate what is happening now from the previous “cold wars” or the obvious lessons to be learned from them. While discussions abound on the internet concerning the results of the recent talks between President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Joe Biden — and with most suggesting that the Kremlin once again “outmaneuvered” his opponent by forcing the White House to assure the world of its adherence to the so-called Minsk Agreements and agree to freeze military aid to Ukraine — I would like to note that Russia has already effectively entered into a new Cold War with the West: a conflict that resembles not only the major Cold War of 1947-1986, but also the minor one of 1830-1856.themoscowtimes.com