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PaperclipPerfector  11mo ago (text post)   29677 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of December 18, 2023

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That's precisely the threat of Ukraine after the 2014 revolution, it may join America's umbrella and then it can never be touched.

Correct. When the rules say, "every option to influence other countries is allowed except the only one you're good at", your unspoken assumption is that your vis-a-vis will hold back and not just exploit their advantage in every other category, but they proceed to do exactly that, there's an overwhelming desire to just say, "fuck your rules, I'd rather die as a rabid wolf than live as a domesticated version of myself".

Which also kinda explains why Ukraine won't just fold like @jeroboam wants it to.

When the rules say, "every option to influence other countries is allowed except the only one you're good at", your unspoken assumption is that your vis-a-vis will hold back and not just exploit their advantage in every other category, but they proceed to do exactly that,

Well, Russia has problems to win with one of poorest (maybe the poorest) country in Europe that has meager supply from NATO.

Turns out that Russia is fairly bad also at this.

When the rules say, "every option to influence other countries is allowed except the only one you're good at"

Those other options are literally all of soft power. I understand the distaste for letting charisma and popularity dictate all things, but if Russian soft influence can't compete, that's hardly anyone else's fault. Get good, as they say.

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