Poll of the Day > So Russia, China, and potentially Iran are finished.

(+) Yeah! (+)

It's funny. I was honestly expecting a new Cold War that would have been just as tough or tougher than the one against the Soviet Union, only this time it would-between the West, and China, Iran, and Russia all banding together in an alliance to overthrow the current American World Order. But surprise, surprise, I was wrong!

For those that are unaware as to what's happening. Russia is getting it's ass kicked by Ukraine and it looks like there days are numbered as a country. Their status as a "world power" is gone due to their inability to wage war against a nation that was believe to be a weaker military power compared to them.

China is on the brink of a massive population collapse, a real estate crisis on par with 2008-2009 financial crisis , and they just lost access to American and any other nation's microprocessors, which are important for super computers and AI. All the hogwash about China invading Taiwan is just posturing, an attempt to "look strong" in the face of defeat. But it's all a farce, they're even more fucked than Russia.

Iran is facing massive protest thanks to that woman that got killed for not wearing a hijab, but I wouldn't count Iran out just yet. But they can't overturn the the New World Order without China or Russia on their side. It's just not possible.

most countries seem to exist on the brink of collapse these days though

acesxhigh posted...

most countries seem to exist on the brink of collapse these days though

Most?

I think the world is finished.

Don't forget the US. That's in pretty bad shape as well. I'm actually quite worried about all these countries facing problems because it might lead them to take more drastic action out of desperation.

SKARDAVNELNATE posted...

Don't forget the US. That's in pretty bad shape as well. I'm actually quite worried about all these countries facing problems because it might lead them to take more drastic action out of desperation.

The United State is fine, as long as Republicabums ditch Trump(which they might do for DeSantis) and stop denying Climate Change.

Otherwise, America is in good shape. I vastly underestimated America, as did China, Russia, Iran, and most of the Americans as well.

The United States might possibly be unstoppable. The only country that can be a potential rival is India, and they are two decades away from that.

Finished? No. That said they arent as opposing as they would have had you believe, Russia in particular. They will be strategic foes of the West for the foreseeable future, however.

From the million-foot view, I think the question might actually be: is that a good thing? Do we need them as foes? We might. When things were going well you can see how badly things started falling apart as we just found new foes within our own country. Without a shared religion or anything else holding us together theres little to stop us from fighting amongst ourselves. Many people simply seem to require enemies in order to function or feel good about themselves. With an external threat we would have some reason to band together.

And, of course, that is exactly the reason China and (especially) Russia are picking fights with us: they need external enemies to distract their public from the negative things their governments are doing.

Its all very stupid and 1984esce, but its possible that humans need to feel some sort of threat in order to rise above their base needs and honor good behavior/something greater.

All roads lead to Rome

Rome collapsed when they stopping maintaining their roads

KingDavid posted...

Iran is facing massive protest thanks to that woman that got killed for not wearing a hijab, but I wouldn't count Iran out just yet. But they can't overturn the the New World Order without China or Russia on their side. It's just not possible.

Fucking YIKES. What a hot take. You WANT Iran to have an evil regressive government that murders its citizens????

Lokarin posted...

All roads lead to Rome

Rome collapsed when they stopping maintaining their roads

Actually fun fact, it was a volcano in Alaska that erupted is what caused the collapse of Rome, due to crop failures and all.

So it wasn't a road, or lack thereof, but a volcano and the Climate Change that was induced by it.

^It was decadence. They conquered everything they cared to conquer, became a large heterogenous empire who's citizens had relatively little in common with each other, lost their fire, and their slow dissolution was inevitable. Crop failures, road maintenance costs, etc are all solvable problems for a motivated country & population. Unmotivated countries squabble and stop solving collective problems.

Iran isn't finished, they'll continue to be the same shit country they've always been

I know it's rumored that the CCP is a cesspit of in-fighting and that Jinping is the only glue holding it together but that might just be anti-Chinese propaganda

Zareth posted...

Iran isn't finished, they'll continue to be the same shit country they've always been

I know it's rumored that the CCP is a cesspit of in-fighting and that Jinping is the only glue holding it together but that might just be anti-Chinese propaganda

Nah Xi Jinping is the main man in charge. The thing about governments that are Democratic or Monarch. The thing that both the Soviet Union, Russia, and China had in common was that there was a little bit of infighting behind closed doors, and a lot of the time there was only a single man in charge because he won and arrested, executed, and "disappear" people with Stalin, Putin, ans Xi Jinping coming out on top. Compare it to the Sith from Star Wars, where a bunch of Sith would fight amongst each other for the title of Dark Lord of the Sith, and the winner would take control of the Sith Order/Empire.

It's a lot like that for Autocracies. Stalin, Putin, and Xi all did this, and that's how they became in charge.

No one in the government's has enough influence to get them voted out of office, because they silenced them/arrested them.

If there is infighting, there would be glimpses of is within the intelligence community, which would be leaked or released to the public.

But in Xi's office, there is no talking at all. There is complete silence. Because everyone is afraid to Xi Jinping. They won't tell him anything because I'd they do, they'll get disappeared, like with Stalin when he was in charge.

KingDavid posted...

Russia is getting it's ass kicked by Ukraine and it looks like there days are numbered as a country.

Lmao. You're being conned. Russia is slow playing it to bleed NATO allies dry.

magx posted...

Lmao. You're being conned. Russia is slow playing it to bleed NATO allies dry.

Russia is getting beaned cuz they keep TikToking the location of their own weapons and generals

Uh, I more worried if Russia is losing.

magx posted...

Lmao. You're being conned. Russia is slow playing it to bleed NATO allies dry.

Lol.

magx posted...

Lmao. You're being conned. Russia is slow playing it to bleed NATO allies dry.

Huh, didn't expect a tankie to be around.
Having fun with presidential pardons to prisoners for more meat for the meatgrinder?

People have been saying that China will collapse any minute now for literally my entire life, and it hasn't happened.

Meanwhile America can't decide on which bathroom to use, and has a Whitehouse that cares more about a persons color/gender/sexual orientation than actual qualifications, massive wealth inequality, racial tensions, riots, an attempted "coup", police brutality, a squandered strategic oil reserve, a national debt that's spiraling out of control, a crumbling infrastructure, massive inflation...

lolwut?

KingDavid posted...

For those that are unaware as to what's happening. Russia is getting it's ass kicked by Ukraine and it looks like there days are numbered as a country. Their status as a "world power" is gone due to their inability to wage war against a nation that was believe to be a weaker military power compared to them.

Except Russia isn't "getting its ass kicked by Ukraine" right now, which is literally why Zelensky is still begging for tanks from the West. On top of that, Russia has been pulling its punches from the beginning so as to not to directly provoke Western nations to engage in direct military conflict.

And even with isolating Russia, it's still a threat. However, the real threat -- which you seem completely ignorant about -- is Russia linking up with China and other hostile nations to create a block that could compete with the West (which so far hasn't happened because of China's economic ties with the US, but that could change)

The idea that Ukraine has smooth sailing ahead is so wrong that it doesn't even qualify as propaganda, because even Ukraine is admitting that it needs more help -- and of course it does, Ukraine is against a world power and has never had the kind of military spending as any of the world's greatest powers. As Ukraine's PRESIDENT will be the first one to say, Ukraine is in dire need of Western weapons to push back Russia and will fall without that assistance.

And we've effectively been in a Cold War for a while now. The West is fighting proxy wars with Russia across multiple nations while trying to economically isolate them.

KingDavid posted...

China is on the brink of a massive population collapse, a real estate crisis on par with 2008-2009 financial crisis , and they just lost access to American and any other nation's microprocessors, which are important for super computers and AI. All the hogwash about China invading Taiwan is just posturing, an attempt to "look strong" in the face of defeat. But it's all a farce, they're even more fucked than Russia.

China could invade Taiwan anytime it wants and there isn't a lot anybody could do to stop them. However, China isn't likely to do that.

And although China has pretty significant issues, it's unlikely to remove them as a major player.

Honestly, though, MOST of China's problems probably aren't too worse than the problems faced in the rest of the world. Most developed and developing nations have some kind of a population crisis and a housing crisis.

KingDavid posted...

Iran is facing massive protest thanks to that woman that got killed for not wearing a hijab, but I wouldn't count Iran out just yet. But they can't overturn the the New World Order without China or Russia on their side. It's just not possible.

The US has faced massive protests over law enforcement killing people for years now -- including widescale anarchy and lawlessness in cities, on top of large sections of cities literally burning -- yet it's still okay. The fact that there are large-scale protests isn't particularly meaningful.

acesxhigh posted...

most countries seem to exist on the brink of collapse these days though

Pretty much. Undeveloped nations are always on the cusp, developing nations are near the cusp, and developed nations have had major issue after major issue.

And the problem with developed nations is that if one of the big ones goes offline, the entire world is impacted. Most global recessions start in the US, for example.

Apparently Siberia is holding independence referendums. Wont pass but still interesting.

Sweet another "Two more weeks until Russia/China collapse" topic.

Miroku_of_Nite1 posted...

Sweet another "Two more weeks until Russia/China collapse" topic.

I know, right? It's been about two weeks since the last one.

papercup posted...

Apparently Siberia is holding independence referendums. Wont pass but still interesting.

How would Siberia survive on its own?

Revelation34 posted...

How would Siberia survive on its own?

independence doesn't mean isolation, it meands they would be able to negotiate their own trade instead of it being controlled by russia

Miroku_of_Nite1 posted...

Sweet another "Two more weeks until Russia/China collapse" topic.

I'm not saying they're gonna collapse at all.

I'm just saying their statuses as powers is about to come to an end. Their attempts at overthrowing America as top dog fizzled before it even began due to their own internal problems.

KingDavid posted...

I'm not saying they're gonna collapse at all.

I'm just saying their statuses as powers is about to come to an end. Their attempts at overthrowing America as top dog fizzled before it even began due to their own internal problems.

lolwut? Russia wasn't in the running to overtake America and China may still overcome America because, as much as China is tanking itself, the US is tanking itself harder.

Count_Drachma posted...

lolwut? Russia wasn't in the running to overtake America and China may still overcome America because, as much as China is tanking itself, the US is tanking itself harder.

No. It's. Not.

Did you not read my OP?

They are on the brink of a financial and housing crisis on par with the Great Recession.

They are on the brink of a massive population collapse.

They just lost access to microprocessors, cutting off its ability to have AI and supercomputers.

They just recently started having massive protest by millions of citizens.

They lifted the lockdowns and risk losing millions to covid due to the lack of a good vaccine.

Is America going through any of these things? If so, could you cite your sources please? Thanks.

KingDavid posted...

The United State is fine, as long as Republicabums ditch Trump(which they might do for DeSantis) and stop denying Climate Change.

Rent free

KingDavid posted...

No. It's. Not.

Did you not read my OP?

They are on the brink of a financial and housing crisis on par with the Great Recession.

They are on the brink of a massive population collapse.

They just lost access to microprocessors, cutting off its ability to have AI and supercomputers.

They just recently started having massive protest by millions of citizens.

They lifted the lockdowns and risk losing millions to covid due to the lack of a good vaccine.

Is America going through any of these things? If so, could you cite your sources please? Thanks.

This spacing gave me cancer

KingDavid posted...

They are on the brink of a financial and housing crisis on par with the Great Recession.

So is the us? Saw some estimates suggesting late 2020's early 2030's for a large economic crisis.

KingDavid posted...

The United State is fine, as long as Republicabums ditch Trump(which they might do for DeSantis) and stop denying Climate Change.

Otherwise, America is in good shape. I vastly underestimated America, as did China, Russia, Iran, and most of the Americans as well.

The United States might possibly be unstoppable. The only country that can be a potential rival is India, and they are two decades away from that.

Doesn't China have a level of hypersonic missile tech which the U.S. army said they didn't know how they achieved that? So on some level of tech they could even be ahead of us.

Zedonra posted...

Doesn't China have a level of hypersonic missile tech which the U.S. army said they didn't know how they achieved that? So on some level of tech they could even be ahead of us.

Probably. China operates on IP theft, so they've probably stolen everything that can be and have an army of engineers working on what they stole.

KingDavid posted...

Russia is getting it's ass kicked by Ukraine and it looks like there days are numbered as a country.

I don't know where you're getting your information, but I'd highly recommend looking elsewhere. The last I read on the KIA numbers, Ukraine was losing soldiers at a roughly 8:1 rate to the Russians.

Ozmose posted...

I don't know where you're getting your information, but I'd highly recommend looking elsewhere. The last I read on the KIA numbers, Ukraine was losing soldiers at a roughly 8:1 rate to the Russians.

Sounds made up. About 200k Russians have been killed or injured in the war. The Ukrainian military is about 500k strong. 8 times 200k is 1.6 million. And the only source I can find with Ukrainian casualties is about 63k and thats from Russia itself.

Ozmose posted...

I don't know where you're getting your information, but I'd highly recommend looking elsewhere. The last I read on the KIA numbers, Ukraine was losing soldiers at a roughly 8:1 rate to the Russians.

The numbers are hard to determine. But Russia can take the casualties. Ukraine ultimately cannot. Russia might be incompetent, and decades of corruption weakening their military the one thing they do have is manpower.

Ozmose posted...

I don't know where you're getting your information, but I'd highly recommend looking elsewhere. The last I read on the KIA numbers, Ukraine was losing soldiers at a roughly 8:1 rate to the Russians.

Don't use Russian "news" websites.

Aww poor Ozzy is still scared of me

Revelation34 posted...

Don't use Russian "news" websites.

I read it in an interview of a retired US Colonel, but you go ahead and make whatever assumptions you like. The news barks off propaganda and people just eat it up. They had people believing Russia was running out of weapons, lol! Yeah sure, the second largest arms exporter on earth has depleted it's stockpiles fighting conscripts. The fact of the matter is, the only way Ukraine has a chance in hell of beating Russia, is if NATO gets involved directly, boots on the ground, and the second that happens it's WWIII.

Ozmose posted...

I read it in an interview of a retired US Colonel, but you go ahead and make whatever assumptions you like. The news barks off propaganda and people just eat it up. They had people believing Russia was running out of weapons, lol! Yeah sure, the second largest arms exporter on earth has depleted it's stockpiles fighting conscripts. The fact of the matter is, the only way Ukraine has a chance in hell of beating Russia, is if NATO gets involved directly, boots on the ground, and the second that happens it's WWIII.

A retired colonel isn't a current colonel.

Ozmose posted...

I read it in an interview of a retired US Colonel

An active US general is on record as saying Russia is losing the war "strategically, operationally, and tactically."

https://www.businessinsider.com/top-us-general-says-russia-has-lost-the-ukraine-war-2023-2

If you're going to use vague sources to substantiate your argument without providing links to your claims, then turn around and accuse others of succumbing to propaganda, you may want to take a good look in the mirror.

Most official western accounts of losses in the Ukraine-Russia conflict are quick to stress that their intelligence figures are estimates.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/russias-casualties-in-ukraine-near-200-000-11675509981

Even then, they tend to corroborate one another. UK and US intelligence for example you can put in the same ballpark. None of the more dependable ones that I've read are estimating 8:1 losses favoring Russia. Unless they're counting civilian deaths among those figures I fail to see how they'd reach such numbers. I'd like to see your source for this if you care to provide one.

To be clear, counting civilian deaths as military losses would be a clear example of this supposed propaganda you're claiming others are eating up. Might want to check what's on your own plate before lobbing accusations.

Ozmose posted...

retired US Colonel

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/4/3/AAQwHjAAENE_.jpg

Feel free to rub it in my face when the Ukrainians crush Russia. Ill gladly say I was wrong. How many of you are willing to eat crow when it goes the other way? Ill take note.

Ozmose posted...

Feel free to rub it in my face when the Ukrainians crush Russia. Ill gladly say I was wrong. How many of you are willing to eat crow when it goes the other way? Ill take note.

I'm not claiming victory one way or the other. Nothing final can be written in history books until the war is ended.

Note the quote from Gen. Milley as stating Russia has "lost" in the context that they're military limitations have been exposed and that they've become a global pariah. He isn't saying the war itself is wholly lost. He's on record as commenting on the "significant" casualties being absorbed by both countries. I'd hardly consider that a "win" for Ukraine.

https://www.businessinsider.com/milley-russia-has-significantly-well-over-100000-casualties-in-ukraine-2023-1

You've provided a non-answer, by the way. You appear to be avoiding divulging a reputable source for the commentary you've alluded to from some mystery retired Colonel.

This thread is a great source of misinformation.

The big picture is that Russia and Ukraine are locked into a war of attrition. Ukraine has a great backbone and won't back down. Russia is unexpectedly incompetent but Putin only has one page in his playbook: double down and pretend to be an 1800sesce great power. It would be different if the Russian population wasn't willing to be a bunch of powerless peasants, but they have been trained to hate the West, are heavily repressed on political subjects, and show few signs of life.

Russia is definitely taking heavier losses militarily (civilian is a different story) but if Putin cared about human life he wouldn't have attacked in the first place.

How will it end? No, Russia will not be conquered. No, Ukraine will not be conquered. It's most likely that this will end with a dirty negotiated solution where Russia keeps Crimea and their 'land bridge' to Crimea unless Ukraine can force them out. That's possible (and I'm rooting for it) but there's a limit to how long Ukraine can fight over destroyed territory as well no matter how many weapons the West gives them. Putin has bet everything on 'Ukraine will get exhausted', and if I had to guess I'd unfortunately say he's probably right.

...although we shouldn't give him too much credit. He thought Ukrainians would be overwhelmed by the initial assault and he'd be welcomed into Kiev by all of the true Russians in the country. He believes his 'Ukraine doesn't exist' nonsense.

On the plus side what's left of Ukraine will join NATO as soon as the war is over and the final border will remain the final border.

Ozmose posted...

Feel free to rub it in my face when the Ukrainians crush Russia. Ill gladly say I was wrong. How many of you are willing to eat crow when it goes the other way? Ill take note.

"When"

This thread has extreme negative energy am I am very sad for everyone who fed TC.

What's double funny is that the 'nazis' they initially invaded Ukraine for... all left for Russia

Grendel_Prime posted...

You've provided a non-answer, by the way. You appear to be avoiding divulging a reputable source for the commentary you've alluded to from some mystery retired Colonel.

I didn't post a link because I can't remember where I read it. You can post whatever you want. My point is you're dumb to trust it. I'm guessing you're too young to remember when every "reputable source" out there was saying Iraq was full of WMDs. I'll trust retired military any day over active when it comes to media. They still have connections to intelligence but they aren't bound to following orders. BTW the entire first deployment from Russia was less than 130,000 troops the vast majority of which were not engaged in front line combat. Even less in the current wave, mostly rocket and artillery units are being used. So yeah, 100,000+ Russian casualties. Totally believable. Do you really not think you're being fed propaganda? The government has used the media as it's own personal arm for every conflict in modern history, but somehow this time is different?