Russia wants an open Eurasian bloc stretching from Lisbon to Vladivistok

[Economy 52,854]

1 hour ago, PartySick said:

Is a semi-unified currency a bad thing?

The US is one of the biggest economies on the planet. Something like a quarter of global GDP is the US alone and we're the largest importer and exporter of goods. It would make sense that American money is used most commonly, especially if the US is actively involved in whatever transaction is happening, wouldn't it?

I don't see the hostility in the US' economic influence is what I mean. Not trying to argue against your point, more so wanting you to expand on it to let my monkey brain grasp it 

This also seems like something that's up @Economy's lane

And it's technically on topic since it has to do with NATO which would definitely have something to say about Russia's...choices 

Having a trusted reserve currency is helpful and it makes sense to be one with a very large economy

 

Although I believe the economies that use the Europe combined are now larger than the US alone which means the Euro economy surpassing it arguably should be the reserve currency purely based on size. I think the US remaining the main reserve currency at this point is more because it's established and expected and it continues to go forward and for now that works just fine

 

However China which is a larger economy than the US in real economic activity and the Euro which has surpassed USA are examples of how the USD remaining the biggest and main reserve currency globaly is not something that's as much of a certainty or to be taken for granted as it once was

 

[PartySick 172,539]

1 minute ago, Economy said:

Having a trusted reserve currency is helpful and it makes sense to be one with a very large economy

 

Although I believe the economies that use the Europe combined are now larger than the US alone which means the Euro economy surpassing it arguably should be the reserve currency purely based on size. I think the US remaining the main reserve currency at this point is more because it's established and expected and it continues to go forward and for now that works just fine

 

However China which is a larger economy than the US in real economic activity and the Euro which has surpassed USA are examples of how the USD remaining the biggest and main reserve currency globaly is not something that's as much of a certainty or to be taken for granted as it once was

 

Interesting

When you say "Europe" are you referring to the whole continent or just the EU? I'm assuming the latter since you said Euro but...square brain, you know  also a quick google search says the US economy still makes up a larger part of the global GDP than the EU.

[Guest]

33 minutes ago, Magui said:

I saw the word Lisbon in that sentence and literally felt fear. Anyone associated with Putin and his regime just leave Lisbon out of your dangerous, inhumane and criminal mouth please.  I'm at the point of despising everything coming from any Russian politician. Russia as country deserved a lot better, unfortunately end up ruled by a despicable man and his regime. 

Apparently most russians are happy about this war

[Economy 52,854]

21 minutes ago, PartySick said:

Interesting

When you say "Europe" are you referring to the whole continent or just the EU? I'm assuming the latter since you said Euro but...square brain, you know  also a quick google search says the US economy still makes up a larger part of the global GDP than the EU.

I'm referring to the economies that use the Euro currency only. For the purposes of talking about the Euro as a contender for reserve currency that's what matters.

 

If a country is in Europe but does not use the Euro such as the British who use pounds or Switzerland that still uses the Franc etc then from the perspective of currency demand that can be used as a justification for making it a reserve currency they do not count

 

But the Euro still behaves like a lesser reserve currency regardless. Many contracts are accepted in Euros too (for example the Russian gas that had to be payed in Either Dollars or Euros that Russia is complaining about that it wants to pay in Rubles). It is seen as a safe heaven still also (hence why its value held after the Ukraine crisis despite Europe's economy being under pressure)

 

Canada for example has a currency that tends to rise with either commodity booms (like Oil metals or gas which are all up because we export so much) as well as if our own economy is strong which it is

 

Of the major developed economies Canada is arguably in the best position right now, having very little trade with Russia directly and not being dependant on their resources either like the EU meanwhile stuff we export a lot of is way up in prices and our trade surpluses are at 15 year highs while economic growth is surging

 

Our currency should be surging right now, it normally would be. But it is not a reserve currency and the uncertainty of the war created investor safety seeking to the USD and yes the Euro as well. As such the relative value of the Canadian Dollar has not surged but rather only went up slightly. 

 

Ppl do not seek regular currencies in these times... but the point is the Euro is major enough to kind of behave like a reserve currency even tho at least for now it is not on the level of the US Dollar

[Magui 2,654]

15 minutes ago, AnnaNicoleSmith said:

Apparently most russians are happy about this war

I try to think that they don't know better. When you see a country that literally arrest people just because protesting...when you don't see anyone in the opposition, that has the liberty of think differently and point other ways and critics Putin ( the ones that do it are in prison or end up dead)...i just think that they don't know any better although there's times i just don't know what to think anymore. It's just i stupidly never thought that Russia would ever do such a thing...my idiot mind erase that Putin was capable of it, in fact he did it many times before but for some reason, i was caught by surprise. Plus for some reason ( curiosity mainly) i had some kind of sympathy about the people and the country, now i just don't know what i feel about it, i still try to give the people the benefit of not knowing, but sometimes yeah it's hard to separate things.

[gothicdream 39,657]

I will never pretend I am an expert in world history - but I feel like every day I see more parallels of World War II in Ukraine. And now this discussion of Russia aiming to go further... I understand the West is hesitant to get involved militarily, it is not lost on me that it would inevitably amount to WWIII, and that is not something to take lightly. But also - what is the alternative? If Russia decides it wants more and more, do we just keep watching it happen?

[thatarizonasky 293]

16 minutes ago, Healed My Heart said:

I will never pretend I am an expert in world history - but I feel like every day I see more parallels of World War II in Ukraine. And now this discussion of Russia aiming to go further... I understand the West is hesitant to get involved militarily, it is not lost on me that it would inevitably amount to WWIII, and that is not something to take lightly. But also - what is the alternative? If Russia decides it wants more and more, do we just keep watching it happen?

I feel this. I’m a history teacher and I still have so much to learn. You’re absolutely right about WWIII. What is the alternative? The only way this ends is if Putin decides to stop. It doesn’t look like he will anytime soon. The second he steps into NATO territory, it’s over.

[nATAH 56,994]

all these paragraphs about NANA or whatever and what it could/will mean and i'm sat here reading it without even knowing how to cook a pancake

[LilyLark 10,213]

4 hours ago, Gov Hooka said:

Great so please admit your Eurocentrism. NATO is an absolute nightmare to the Global South and only seeks to maintain Euro-American economic and political hegemony over colonized people worldwide. https://archives.nato.int/uploads/r/null/3/6/3644/AC_119-WP_58_58_ENG.pdf
This is why most nations (74% of UN member states representing nearly 70% of the global population) are holding back on sanctioning Russia and (rightfully) not getting involved with the warmongering tactics of the West. They’ve seen firsthand what NATO has done to their countries that all those nations now seem to be aghast towards Russia for doing. Double standards are real. 

 

That's unkind of you. OP is in an Eastern European country, of course she's worried about Russia. That doesn't make her a Euro-centric if she's worried about politics in her own backyard.

And you are misrepresenting the situation. Yes, the Global South is largely holding back, but that isn't some anti-Nato or even pro-Russia stance in regards to Ukraine (even from countries that dislike NATO). Most are abstaining-instead of voting for Russian stances-which is their own way of not backing Russia completely. And this is because many countries are heavily reliant on Russian wheat (especially the Maghreb and Africa) and so they don't want to risk supply issues and possibly starvation. And various leaders-from Boric in Chile to several African leaders (including a representative from Ghana) to even the president of Kazakhstan-have criticized Putin and Russia's actions.

I'm critical of NATO in some aspects, but it's continued existence is vital for many countries or else Russia would try and reconquer them like they've done with Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, Syria, etc. And NATO is not to blame for Russia invading Ukraine, especially when you read the insane missives put out in Russian state media, listen to Putin's speeches, or even think about it clearly (if they manage to occupy Ukraine, Russia will then have...even more borders with NATO).

*And also, while I strongly disagreed with NATO interfering with Libya I'm baffled by this continuous whitewashing of Qaddafi. Libya was not some peaceful paradise NATO swept in to ruin and there was arguably more justification than Afghanistan or Iraq (which were completely unjustified). I still disagree with going into Libya, though. Anyway, he was in the middle of committing mass murder on a large scale against people who rebelled against him during the Arab Spring. Not to mention he committed mass murder in earlier years in addition to oppressing various minority groups and being rapey asf.  Fidel CASTRO thought he was insane, Sadat thought he was insane, and so did Brezhnev. I even embedded a tweet, because I read an interesting book about it a while ago based off this tweet about how insane and violent other world leaders thought Qaddafi was...

 

 

 

[PartySick 172,539]

24 minutes ago, NATAH said:

all these paragraphs about NANA or whatever and what it could/will mean and i'm sat here reading it without even knowing how to cook a pancake

I can make pancakes for you

[LilyLark 10,213]

3 hours ago, FfFfFfFF said:

Who is you?  I only see you excusing the country that killed thousands and left their bodies to rot on the streets, while the rest acknowledge NATO also did bad things. Everybody knowsn only Middle Eastern deaths matter and only they are allowed to suffer.

Completely agree. It's really hard and frustrating for me when people do the "what about." Like no sh*t, we all know Western powers have done awful, terrible things and war crimes. That doesn't mean Russia is in the right just because the West is backing Ukraine. The world is complicated, and yes sometimes the Western powers (and NATO) can be on the right side as it is in this case.

It's such a simplistic way of thinking (and also victim blaming) that "West is sympathetic to Ukraine, therefore Ukraine must have brought upon a war or is partially responsible for Russia's imperialism". I saw a good tweet about it that was something like "guess what, Russia can also be a violent, genocidal, imperialist nation and they have committed multiple genocides in the past...just because they don't like NATO/US/UK doesn't mean they are good."

[LilyLark 10,213]

God he sounds completely deranged. I find it fascinating, though, that President Tokayev of Kazakhstan denounced the invasion and said he recognized Ukraine's territorial integrity when he asked for Russia's help after protests around 3 months ago...Kazakhstan is arguably pretty pro-Russian so for the government to take that stance...I wonder if they're worried a) Russia might invade or b) simply think Russia is too weak to invade so feel free to speak out. 

Interestingly, Azerbaijan has also been sending a lot of aid...to Ukraine...despite being kind of pro-Russian in the past. I suspect Russia backing Armenia in the recent war might be part of the reason, but still.

[nATAH 56,994]

30 minutes ago, PartySick said:

I can make pancakes for you

suddenly i'm no longer hungry 

[Roseblud Kisses 685]

Daddy what is you doing?

[insight 2,479]

Another day, another fart put out there by Dmitri, the obidient minion