I think that’s exactly what it is. The Olympics has traditionally been used as a way to promote western superiority. Now that the west isn’t dominating, we see a lot of animosity as a result.

I haven’t payed too much attention to Olympics either, but I can’t recall last time there was this much drama. I get the impression that the west is incredibly sour that China is doing well.

If China pulls critical things off the market then that could trigger a war as the west panics, or it can actually spur the west to start building out their own infrastructure out of necessity. The smart play for China would be to start quietly winding down exports of stuff that’s critical for the military industry in the west in a way that doesn’t raise immediate alarm.

Exactly, if the whole human nature argument was true, then capitalism would be akin to taking an alcoholic to a bar. Any sustainable social system has to encourage socially positive behaviors while inhibiting socially negative ones. In other worse, the primary goal should be to create alignment between people’s individual and collective interests. Capitalism very obviously does the opposite, hence why the whole thing is now coming apart.

I think it already is, and the stuff we’re seeing happening in US this week shows just how fragile US economy is right now.

such sour losers

I believe the expression is cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face.

This also highlights the problem of having to fight the war for the media. Russia is able to do things like strategic retreats, such as when they abandoned a bunch of territory in 2022, and take their time to plan their offensives precisely because Russia isn’t focusing on the media angle. On the other hand, Ukraine is entirely dependent on the west being a proxy, so they’re forced to constantly show visible results to their sponsors severely limiting their tactics and strategy.

I’m surprised this angle hasn’t been discussed more, as it’s a really important aspect of the war. On top of Russia enjoying a general advantage in material terms, it also enjoys a significant advantage in having the freedom to fight on their own terms.

These stunts happen like clockwork when Ukraine is about to have a catastrophic loss on the fronts. I’m guessing Russia is on the verge of making a serious breakthrough.

That doesn’t sound too bad at all. Just being able to live comfortably in your old age is already than more than most people in US or Canada can hope for.

Indeed, people living in the west have to draw a line somewhere, and if genocide is not it then what is.

very much agree

A war with Iran seems to be all but inevitable at this point.

It’s frankly weird that random people in the internet can understand these things while the intelligence experts in the west are seemingly unable to.

It’s definitely possible. I saw that Hasina refused to allow a US military base in Bay of Bengal, so that is a possible trigger if this is US backed.

Exactly, the political decisions the new government takes will be the best indication of what forces were behind this.

I haven’t really been following what’s been happening there either, would be curious to know more about the underlying reasons and who’s backing the unrest.

yeah, it’s kind of refreshing to see such an open admission in more or less mainstream western media

The part with the market not really affecting regular people is key. I imagine a big part of it is also the fact that people have guaranteed services like healthcare and retirement isn’t tied to the stock market. If the market crash only ends up affecting the rich then it might have a positive effect forcing them to continue breaking with US policy.

My favorite part about those tunnels is that they’re not wide enough to even open the doors in case of an emergency. If there’s ever a fire in that tunnel, it’s gonna be a collective viking funeral for single digit millionaires. 😂