World News

Instead, in 2024

Russia in panic as US sanctions SLAAAAAAMS ruble

That gave me a heartfelt pang of yearning for the good timeline.

You won't believe what happened to the ruble!

Ruble in rubble

On the other hand, Putin doesn't seem to care much about the suffering of his own people, which is what's happening here. It's the people, many of which are innocent, who suffer. Putin and his people are safe and warm with plenty of Euros and Dollars to spend.

The picture clarifies a bit more when you realize Russia's economy was already going down because of sanctions from the 2014 Crimean invasion. Which they did in direct response to the people of Ukraine rejecting Russia. They wanted to control Ukraine in the first place (like Belarus) because they believe two things. They have a right to a sphere of influence in their "near abroad" and controlling those countries is critical to their self defense. It would be like the US deciding Mexico and Canada must be puppets in order to defend themselves.

So with their economy circling the drain because of their pre-existing beliefs the invasion of Ukraine became an economic imperative. They actually thought it would be like Crimea again. The first wave of troops actually had parade uniforms packed. So the plan was very obviously to use Ukraine's rising economy to bolster their own and achieve another buffer state.

Now the goal has necessarily changed. It's survival for Putin and his group. When they failed that embarrassingly they couldn't back down. They've propagandized this as an existential fight for people in Eastern Ukraine who want to be or already are Russian. So they cannot easily give up. This is why Putin keeps saying they control the districts of Donetsk and Luhansk even though they don't control the entirety of the districts. He's been messaging for about a year now that he's willing to end this if they let him keep what he has and don't object too loudly when he tells his people he got the entirety of both districts.

So basically, Putin realized it was a mistake on the day they had to retreat from Kyiv. Ever since then he's been furiously looking for an exit that doesn't involve him being deposed by the oligarchs.

I don't know why you're speaking in the past-tense. Putin and the oligarchs can still stop the damage to the Russian economy, the lives being pointlessly spent, as well as the senseless damage to Ukraine... It all could end the very moment you read this. All they have to do is GTFO, return all prisoners/property/children they stole, and pay Ukraine reparations for the war crimes they committed. Definitely still cheaper in the long run...

Or Russia will collapse before he can save them, Putin gets executed, then Trump takes the credit.

I don't think it will matter. I might be wrong but once hyper inflation sets in I think you are fucked and it's years to dig out even to stability.

No, just most. War is the continuation of politics by different means, and political desires are quite often, but definitely not always, economical. Rome razed Carthage because of the economics of empires in the Mediterranean, yes, but Charlemagne didn't genocide Old Saxony for its economic output, but religious fervour and autocratic arrogance (the whole one god one pope one king thing).

At least most. Storage Wars is another good example of this. Not sure about Star Wars, though.

In the beginning, too. Russia originally invaded because they want to control Crimea and more Black Sea coast and ports. And all that farmland in Ukraine too

Thank you. This headline sounds exactly like the way the other side would be criticised for wording it, very propoganda-like.

Saying +10% in about four months is technically correct, but very misleading

That's true in almost call cases and is precisely the intent of doublespeak

I've almost doubled my salary in 5 years, I'm worse off financially due to the raise in everything else.

Seems like I won’t get Steam Deck anytime soon

You can save a lot by buying a lower model and swapping the SSD later; it will end up cheaper in total as well as immediately, which makes it almost a no-brainer. It's not as simple as a PC but it's still easy enough that if you've ever done it for a PC you will likely manage it. If you happen to live around the Ottawa/Gatineau area in Canada, I'll do the swap for you if you're not comfortable with it, you just need to supply the SSD (and I can give suggestions on that).

I don't know if any of that helps you at all but this is a realm I know well and I try to help where I can.