Give A Man An F16, He Fights For A Day. Teach A Man To Build An F16…
By Mitch Berg
As I noted the other day, I support an independent Ukraine.
But there’s an elephant in the proverbial room that is the European continent – and it makes sense, historically, that it falls to a Pole to point it out:
Not only does Western Europe outnumber Russia by almost the same margin by which Russia outnumbers Ukraine – but the combined NATO/EU economies are roughly eight times the size of Russia’s.
That is literally every single factor that they need in place to deter Russia back behind its borders and learning some manners…
…if they decide to muster any of that economic power and, more importantly, social will do do it.
Which, outside of Poland, the Baltics, Czechia and (socially) Hungary, I just don’t see, barring some AfD/UKIP revolution in coming years.
March 4th, 2025 at 10:44 am
In the meantime, EU is spending more money on gas from Russia than they do supporting Ukes. What muster? Who’s got whose balls? Nuclear power plants in EU? How long will that take, even if they started building today? Oh wait, cannot do it in the dark and without power since Vlad controls Bartertown. In the meantime, Kermit will get his wish – Ukraine will fight to the last Ukranian. Oh, wait, only the last Ukranians who did not leave Ukraine by the thousands so they do not have to fight. Kermit is so over his head (not hard given his stature) he WILL cause WWIII as his want. Kermit is completely divorced from reality along with his libturd droogz.
I am also for free and independent Ukraine, but I also live in a real world and want people to stop dying. And before you call me a Vlad stooge, I hate both the same.
March 4th, 2025 at 10:53 am
I’m also in favor of a free and independent Ukraine. I wish them a safe and prosperous future. Not just them, all of Europe, and the Middle East, and Southeast Asia – best of luck to all of you.
You’re on your own.
March 4th, 2025 at 2:27 pm
What’s funny is that during Trump’s first term, he told Europe, specifically Germany, that they would be sacrificing their countries by purchasing oil from Russia. They laughed at him.
Who’s laughing now?
European countries have purchased about $22 billion dollars worth of it, which gives Putin the cash he needs to wage war.
March 4th, 2025 at 3:31 pm
Boss, while I’ve been against Soviet/Russian oil exports to western Europe since the 1980s, when Reagan made effectively the same warning as did Trump much later, I must point out that the estimated (USDOD) costs to Russia of its war of aggression in Ukraine are about ten times higher than the $22 billion in oil and gas imports from western Europe in 2024. The dependence upon Russia is not helpful, but it by no means pays most of those bills for its invasion, especially when one considers that in 2021, oil and gas imports have plunged. So the net-net in terms of oil for Russia is a huge hit.
This is even more critical when we consider that, at $44/barrel, Russian extraction costs are pretty high, and that means that the Russian profit for oil extraction are about a third of the overall sales.
March 4th, 2025 at 5:57 pm
One other note regarding the notion of Western Europe providing the means for Ukraine to defend itself is that there is an issue of infrastructure needed to create modern weapons systems. There is a reason most of NATO, for example, is purchasing the F-35 instead of the Gripen or Mirage, and the state of the art air defense is the Patroit missile. While Rheinmetall is doing a great job getting Ukraine going on making armor and ammunition, it may be a stretch for western Europe to adequately assist Ukraine this way in the near future. Hopefully that will change.
Regarding the situation there, I’m more and more persuaded that the big reason that Putin doesn’t like Ukraine is the same reason he didn’t like West Berlin when Putin was helping the Stasi (Gestapo with hammer and sickle, really) as a KGB colonel in Dresden in the 1980s. It’s a place that his citizens could see that shows Putin’s Russia to be the excrement show that it is.
March 5th, 2025 at 7:11 am
I did not watch the speech. Did you? What did you think?
March 5th, 2025 at 7:28 am
I watched most of it. I watched the DemoCommies score another “first”. Idiot grifting buffoon Al Green, was the first black congressman to be escorted out of the chamber by the Sergeant at Arms for disrupting the speech. Of course, the rest of the corrupt cabal, played their typical childish actions.
Overall, I thought it was pretty good.
March 5th, 2025 at 10:33 am
As BB points out, much of the problem is that the US and Russian War Departments are unified. Europe isn’t, and that makes for waste and inefficiency. If they could overcome this point, they’d stand of chance of matching Russia, maybe.
But the EU ever being able to match Russia is a pipe dream. Despite all the protestations from the EU leaders, the will to create a self defense force just isn’t there. The EU spending required to make a creditable war making capacity just can’t be achieved without cutting social spending, and no EU polity will accept that (recently liberated Eastern European countries excepted).
March 5th, 2025 at 5:39 pm
“Oil Exports in Russia increased to 32794 USD Million in the fourth quarter of 2023 from 30245 USD Million in the third quarter of 2022. “
“The Russian ruble traded near 90 per USD, holding most of this year’s rally that topped at a six-month high of 86.6 on February 25th.”
“Retail sales in Russia rose by 5.4% from a year earlier in January 2025, following a 5.2% increase in the prior month and topping market forecasts of a 4.1% growth. Sales increased faster for food products, including beverages, and tobacco products (5.6% vs 4.1%) but slowed down for non-food products (5.1% vs 6.1%).“
If you hate Putin, the best thing you could do would be to stop the war. He is more popular than ever, and getting more powerful every minute.
March 7th, 2025 at 4:00 pm
Ah, you can always count on Kremlin Tom to use out of date and misleading statistics. Actual data from last month indicate a 20% drop in oil revenues and a mean price of $58/barrel, which is problematic because Russia’s production costs are around $44/barrel.
My thought, given the atrocities committed by Putin’s Russia, is that we end the war AND keep sanctions going until Russia leaves Ukraine. And then hopefully put Putin and his generals at their rightful place, at the end of a rope.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/economy/russia-loses-nearly-20-of-its-oil-and-gas-revenue-amid-strengthening-of-us-sanctions/ar-AA1AluID?ocid=BingNewsSerp