North Korea

[Niall Ferguson]

Haha

[Yuri]

In fact, comments like "The old Russia is politics, the new Russia is business" are ridiculously funny.

Why? It's true...

[Niall Ferguson]

In fact, comments like "The old Russia is politics, the new Russia is business" are ridiculously funny.

Why? It's true...

Both are true. If you think Russia aren't still playing politics then you clearly don't understand Geopolitics.

 

As if the fact there are numerous wealthy oligarchs is somehow divergent from the fact the country still has ambitions to be a major hegemony (and actually believes it is).

[Yuri]

In fact, comments like "The old Russia is politics, the new Russia is business" are ridiculously funny.

Why? It's true...

Both are true. If you think Russia aren't still playing politics then you clearly don't understand Geopolitics.

As if the fact there are numerous wealthy oligarchs is somehow divergent from the fact the country still has ambitions to be a major hegemony (and actually believes it is).

The oligarchs/crime groups aren't relevant, they make dough cos Putin lets them.

Well a lot of Russians have an empire mentality and believe Russia should control the whole region (Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan etc) which it basically already does. So in that sense it is a major power, cos Putin controls everything east of Poland. I don't think he has real ambitions to control the Middle East though

[Elementalism]

 

In fact, comments like "The old Russia is politics, the new Russia is business" are ridiculously funny.

Why? It's true...

Both are true. If you think Russia aren't still playing politics then you clearly don't understand Geopolitics.

 

As if the fact there are numerous wealthy oligarchs is somehow divergent from the fact the country still has ambitions to be a major hegemony (and actually believes it is).

 

No mate, you clearly don't understand geopolitics. There is also no such thing a 'major hegemony', you cannot substitute the word superpower for hegemony. They may possess desires to be a hegemon, that what you meant?

Old Russia was business and politics under the same roof, extremely inefficient. There was no business class, the business class were bureaucrats driving Ladas. Yes I am aware that politics and business are related, but communism fuses the two in an inorganic way. Russia has seen the light, and that's why they're driving down the average age of European billionaires.

 

The fact there are numerous oligarchs is EXACTLY why the country now has those hegemonic ambitions you so badly wrote of. Look into how the US gained its hegemony after WWII - through culture, Hollywood, the music business, sport, fashion, etc. 

 

It is no surprise that the Russian oligarchs are investing in sports teams, record labels and films, they are modelling themselves on the American 'soft power' model. Why are the Qataris so keen to stage a football league of their own? Gain cultural hegemony first, exercise soft power, then follow up with the hard power later.

 

It is no surprise that Kim Jong-un invited this guy to see him instead of John Kerry.

 

 

Now, please feel free to nitpick some more if you wish but I'm not chatting sh*t. I don't know much about Putin except that he is clearly a keen businessman, who will go to lengths to protect the reputation of Russia that an ex-Soviet general would be proud of. He is the best of both worlds.

 

Hence why he had no time for greedy capitalists like Boris Berezovsky. He wasn't doing Russian credibility the kind of service that Roman Abramovich was doing while he was in London, he was shitting on the brand. The irony is, Roman and Boris were cut from similar cloth, they both got fat and rich off the corpse of the Soviet state, but Roman remained a little truer to the former ideals. 

Like I said, old Russia was politics, new Russia is business. 

[Yuri]

No offends brah but that's some dumb analysis

Come like when u read poems in GCSE and the teacher would be adding mad interpretations that the poet never intended

[Niall Ferguson]

I don't know much about Putin 

[Niall Ferguson]

No offends brah but that's some dumb analysis

Come like when u read poems in GCSE and the teacher would be adding mad interpretations that the poet never intended

He's one of them dudes that you CANNOT successfully argue with on the internet. 

 

Forget about it bro. He cannot make the distinction between assertion and fact.

[Elementalism]

No offends brah but that's some dumb analysis

Come like when u read poems in GCSE and the teacher would be adding mad interpretations that the poet never intended

 

Feel free to fill me in. Where am I wrong?

[Esquilax]

u man have turned the most dangerously exciting and frightening global current event into some dry d*ck swinging contest about planes

 

bravo

[Mr. Martinez]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ar-IaAx7s8kp

[Kurtis]

how can that already be deleted in the 6 mins you posted it?

[stacksbranning]

how can that already be deleted in the 6 mins you posted it?

 

Di deamondz

[The Somalian]

Carlos what was it

[Sole]

u man have turned the most dangerously exciting and frightening global current event into some dry d*ck swinging contest about planes

bravo

The fuck where u expecting?

Just be happy it's still vaguely relevant and not descended into foot porn and trapping.

[Esquilax]

ur right i should count my blessings

[The Somalian]

It's nothing to worry about its the army just flexing muscles

What's more pressing is what china have been doing to Japan for a few years now putting them in a stranglehold as revenge for the occupation and all the innocent people the Japanese empire killed

[Da Luv Doc]

 

Justin found a topic that isn't about wrestling or cream pies he knows a lot about and went nuts.

+ man drew for the turquoise font 

 

 

trademark, man went supersaiyan

 

 

It's Cyan mate.

 

/

 

This police constable still posting?  Please retire rude girl! Man's making me type in the original again.

[Niall Ferguson]

No mate, you clearly don't understand geopolitics.

Assertion.

There is also no such thing a 'major hegemony', you cannot substitute the word superpower for hegemony. 

Semantics.

They may possess desires to be a hegemon, that what you meant?

Failed pseudointellectualism/semantics. You understood the meaning, which means what I said was enough.

Old Russia was business and politics under the same roof, extremely inefficient.There was no business class, the business class were bureaucrats driving Ladas. Yes I am aware that politics and business are related, but communism fuses the two in an inorganic way. Russia has seen the light, and that's why they're driving down the average age of European billionaires.

Broadly agree re first part in bold. Re the second part, I would say that this is a corollary of capitalism and the oligarchs are just capitalising indeed, rather than Russia "seeing the light". I'm not sure Putin is entirely happy with the numerous gazilionnaires yet still "developing economy"(according to the IMF).

 

 

 

 

The fact there are numerous oligarchs is EXACTLY why the country now has those hegemonic ambitions you so badly wrote of

I would disagree. I would say those ambitions never went away, and persist due to Russia's grand history. I think the billionaires are just giving them the impression that it's possible again.

 

Now, please feel free to nitpick some more if you wish but I'm not chatting sh*t. I don't know much about Putin except that he is clearly a keen businessman, who will go to lengths to protect the reputation of Russia that an ex-Soviet general would be proud of. He is the best of both worlds.

I'm not saying you are, your arguments just aren't convincing.

[Mr. Martinez]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ar-IaAx7s8kp

[The Somalian]

Was watching that trailer earlier on sky currently number 1 in the states

[Da Luv Doc]

Looks like a stupid film.

[Mr. Martinez]

Man like Justin thinks he's a foreign policy don now

this forum >>

wham for di greek bishes though

[Da Luv Doc]

You still in 2005 bro?