The Entrepreneur Forum | Financial Freedom | Starting a Business | Motivation | Money | Success

Welcome to the only entrepreneur forum dedicated to building life-changing wealth.

Build a Fastlane business. Earn real financial freedom. Join free.

Join over 80,000 entrepreneurs who have rejected the paradigm of mediocrity and said "NO!" to underpaid jobs, ascetic frugality, and suffocating savings rituals— learn how to build a Fastlane business that pays both freedom and lifestyle affluence.

Free registration at the forum removes this block.

The Ukraine War, implications, outcome?

Status
Not open for further replies.

Antifragile

Progress not perfection
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
453%
Mar 15, 2018
3,709
16,817
I think you are brain washed to the point of no return. You are a propaganda machine on this thread with one post after another telling us what you think we think. Lay off the CNN and Fox. Lay off me and stop telling me what you think I think.

Get your head out of your own behind and start thinking for a second.

No one. I repeat, no one here thinks Putin is a nice guy. He is a tyrant. He’s a sociopath. He’s smarter than Biden and you!

But if you can’t even consider the other side’s position and accept that the world has always been shades of grey (vs your black and white propaganda), you’ll be able to engage with people here better.

This had to be said. Hoping for a 1% chance this gets to you.


Yea, CNN and FOX must be really flooding the airwaves in Romania.

SMH.

Doesn't this explain a lot?

Romania.

Sitting behind a computer and willing to sacrifice everyone in Ukraine for the benefit of safety for Romania from Putin. I think I get the picture well now, it's come full circle.

What would this self proclaimed "hero" and "tough guy negotiator" really do if Putin moved past Ukraine and into Romania? Fly out to the nearest safe country to continue to spew off more of his propaganda?

I should have added him to my ignore list a lot sooner. It took the "I'll let someone kill my kid for $100k just to teach them a lesson" to crack open this nut.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

DayIFly

Bronze Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
178%
Jul 16, 2012
135
240
It is not emotional, it is purely rational. If a terrorist captured one of your kids and asked for a $100,000 reward in exchange for their life, I’d say no. I’d say that if they wish they are free to kill him, but I will NOT, under any circumstances agree to pay them any amount.
It would have been less sociopathic, if you said that in case ***you*** were abducted and tortured that you would vehemently oppose that your family pays for your ransom.
 

Trevor Kuntz

Professional Dog Owner
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
274%
Feb 5, 2012
655
1,794
Arizona
Yes, indeed. Putin has proven that he has no place at the table of discussions. I’m not arguing for Russia becoming Western, I don’t think that’s what will happen. The Russians would continue under a dictatorial system with a different leader who adopts a different, more modern perspective.
You are assuming Russia would end us with a less dictatorial leader. That isn't always the case.

Germany had a dictatorial leader (Kaiser Wilhelm) who fell, replaced by a weak "modern" government that eventually got subsumed by Hitler.

Russia had Yeltsin's weak "modern" government that got subsumed by Putin.

So, it isn't guaranteed that a collapse of Russia would be good long term.
 

GPM

Legendary Contributor
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
376%
Oct 25, 2012
2,067
7,775
Canada
But if you do that, what message are you sending to the terrorists? “Hey, kidnap my family, I’m happy to pay” no? How is that actually defending them? Sure, you may defend this one child or family member, but you put everyone else in grave danger by setting a bad example.
If you got 100% of the people on board then yea this works. Until you manage to get literally everyone on board with "don't pay", all they do is kill your family member and then move on to the next. That is literally what happens.

Oh, and I have had family kidnapped for ransom under threat of death. Horrible things happened to her, but she survived and we have her back. Everyone is a tough guy who knows exactly what they will do, until it actually happens to them and they have to face reality.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

nothingness

I make great coffee
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
203%
Mar 3, 2021
147
298
UK
I do care about the message. I also protect my family, and the way I do it is by refusing to negotiate with terrorists. Which sends the message of “don’t waste your time trying to kidnap my family and blackmail me because it doesn’t work, and moreover, you will attract my wrath upon you”
You do realize this is exactly what Russia and Putin think about the West, right?

Russia has watched America invade multiple countries in the name of oil and Russia is likely next. Russia is watching the US put bases on the Russian border of Ukraine and 2+2 = 4 and so they decide not to negotiate with terrorists but do something about it because they can. And here we are.

The difference is if a crime family hypothetically kidnapped my hypothetical child, it would be little ole me vs a crime family. I'm not John Wick. So yeah I would pay. Then I would pay professionals to look after my kid so it doesn't happen again. The fact it happens so little leads me to believe there's probably some organization out there that swaps protection for wealth, and probably murders any kidnappers sending a strong message to any would be kidnappers.

Even super billionaire Rockefeller paid out in the end. Yet we are supposed to believe that you wouldn't? Give me a break.
 

ShamanKing

Silver Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
140%
Aug 30, 2018
382
534
California
I’m surprised not alot of ppl here are saying they are ready for war. Its not a matter of will it happen, it’s when. Peace is maintained not given.

Hard times create strong men, Strong men create good times, Good times create weak men, Weak men create hard times, Hard times create Strong men.

I rest my case.
 

MattR82

Gold Contributor
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
178%
Oct 4, 2015
1,394
2,480
41
Brisbane
It's a shame she had to preface the video by saying just because she is debunking fake news that is pro Ukraine that it does not mean she is pro Russia and against Ukraine, but that most of what is being circulated to us is of this nature.

 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Guyfieri5

Bronze Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
159%
Jul 13, 2019
241
382
28
Raleigh, North Carolina
Yeah, that's what I'm worried and wondering about as well - how desperate Putin might get.

Desperate enough to use nukes as a final "Well, my plans didn't work, so f*ck everyone and f*ck the world."?

We know that the U.S. President needs approval from the secretary of defense and (at least?) one general before launching a nuclear weapon. However, from what I've gathered, Putin can make that decision all by himself.
There's pushback Putin would have to face from his generals. Also, something else to consider, someone else is pushing that button, not Putin. If he were to bark such an order I am sure there would be a firestorm from his own cabinet. The notion the Russian media put out that no world at all is better than a world without Russia did not bode well with the Russian people, I can tell you that.
 

Guyfieri5

Bronze Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
159%
Jul 13, 2019
241
382
28
Raleigh, North Carolina
This commenter "Mahesh Kumar" in the Twitter comments nailed it perfectly. Russia wants security guarantees, and ultimately, the US is the one that can give them this, not Ukraine. So if US really wants to stop this war, loves peace and save Ukraine, they need to negotiate with Russia directly. NATO is definitely not some defensive organisation as marketed, because "defensive" organisations don't expand eastward yearly.




1) US wants to make Russia collapse. Then they'll move in. And from this point, there's two fantasies they can finally fulfill :

a) Once Putin is disposed and they've full control of Russia, they'll build military bases in South-East Russia, from which they can fire missiles into China. Aha! There is lesser need for Taiwan now! Media rhetoric on Taiwan will greatly be reduced in western media.

b) US will declare that, due to "Russian terrorists and insurgency fighting" in Ukraine, they'll send in "peacekeeping troops" into Ukraine. And what they going to do? Well, bombers will fly across Ukraine 24/7 just like Iraq (remember the "Shock and Awe" strategy George War Bush used to boast about?), bomb the entire country to flat land, then they'll take control of Ukraine's oil and resources.

I'm not sure about the outcome of this Ukraine-Russia crisis. China has a no-interference policy with regards to countries, but will they idly sit by if Russia is on the brink of taken over by the US assuming if Russia loses in this war?
Because let's be honest : after the US is done with Russia, they'll advance on China next.

And what's after China? Maybe Iran and North Korea? And what's after that? Maybe South East Asia? Color revolutions to overthrow the governments here, sow discord between nations over a period of two decades, let them fight it out, media blasts one side as the demon 24/7, they play the good guy and "steps in to help", you know, the tried and tested US war playbook script.
This is an interesting perspective. Looking more into this. Ukraine being under NATO control does pose a huge threat to Russia's interest and no doubt we would install missiles or "counter-forces" in the event of "Russian aggression" toward NATO.
 

MattR82

Gold Contributor
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
178%
Oct 4, 2015
1,394
2,480
41
Brisbane
It seems to me that a lot of people on the forums oppose Ukraine and its Western allies because they are skeptical of Western media. This makes Russians seem more credible or at least not as discredited as they should be.

I’m also highly skeptical of Western media, the whole covid fiasco, how they’ve been manipulating us, the anti-Trump rhethoric and obvious bias, etc etc. But, despite all this, I’m aware that Russia under Putin is a bigger enemy to what we all cherish, namely freedom, than our own infighting, corruption, and biases.

I think this is the reason why so many of you are skeptical of the Western narrative on Russia now and looking for alternative explanations. But, I actually think the Western media, for the most part, actually has this right, despite how rotten they are in many other regards.
Huh? This is exactly the type of crap I'm talking about, you think people here OPPOSE Ukraine because we are skeptical of the lies being told in the media? Your words.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

BizyDad

Keep going. Keep growing.
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
416%
Oct 7, 2019
2,885
11,990
Phoenix AZ
Yes, I’ve actually thought about such scenarios in the past. I would oppose. As I said my principle is no negotiation with terrorists no matter the cost to oneself or others. In my mind though, losing your child is a bigger cost than losing yourself. Which is why I chose that example.

Whether you believe this to be rational or not, your position is not supported by evidence. Therefore this is an unfounded opinion.

First off, I also had a family member kidnapped by terrorists. Speaking from experience, of course you negotiate with terrorists. I was surprised how little it took to free him, but I have an American sense of money. My uncle came back to us a changed man, but he came back to us.

And no other family member was kidnapped. Those who did not pay never saw their family member again.

Suggesting that not negotiating with the terrorists would keep your family safe is self-evidently false. A dead child is not safe. A child sold into slavery is not safe. You are rationalizing an irrational act.

Your position is like saying to yourself the moment your kid was kidnapped he was already dead. The minute your kid is kidnapped you stopped fighting for your kid. Your money is more important than your kid. That you call that rational tells me you don't have enough of either.

Your thought experiment is every bit as terrible as Xeon suggesting Ukraine should bend the knee to their Russian overlords. Does every invader deserve Pagani level respect?

Secondly, terrorists movements are not ended by force. To end a terrorist movement one must convince the terrorists into giving up their aims, and this is done via negotiation. This is often done away from the spot light, via back channel conversations, but occasionally it is done in light of the whole world, like here, here, and here.

Reagan was famous for proclaiming to the world "We do not negotiate with terrorists".

Reagan was less well known for actually negotiating with terrorists. Even colluding with terrorists.

Reagan understood Hollywood. And Reagan understood the real world. @Black_Dragon43 you're talking like they are the same thing.

in the words of Chris Voss I would not split the difference

Are you trying to quote a book about how to negotiate in hostage situations to support an argument about not negotiating with in hostage situations?

The doublethink is strong...
 

MattR82

Gold Contributor
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
178%
Oct 4, 2015
1,394
2,480
41
Brisbane
I just don’t think that most of the stuff you’re told in the media is lies in this case. There ARE lies in there, the Serpent Island issue for example turned out to be a lie.

But the big stuff - Putin being an autocratic dictator and seeking to impose himself by force, Ukrainians defending their freedom, Zelensky being a hero who is standing up for his people, Putin having interests to recreate the old Soviet Empire, Putin thinking that Ukraine doesn’t even have the right to be an independent country and so on, I don’t think that that’s lies.

Sure, in terms of how the war is reported, there are lies. Russia hasn’t so far targetted the civilian population - at least not in any major way. But in my opinion those are small, insignificant lies compared to the global picture.
You didn't respond to the other part, where you basically accused anyone having a problem with and bringing attention to the fake news being circulated as opposing Ukraine. Hopefully you have softened your stance on that at least.
 

Jon L

Platinum Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
272%
Aug 22, 2015
1,649
4,489
Bellevue, WA
I came into this thread hoping for a business owner's perspective on what's going on in Ukraine. Instead, I got an argument about whether or not you should pay ransom for my kids. I agree with Kak about robbing a bank so my kids could live. Its not even a debate. I'll let the next person worry about those further-enriched kidnappers.

But ... does anyone have actual, useful thoughts on the war in Ukraine?
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Black_Dragon43

Legendary Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
337%
Apr 28, 2017
2,071
6,973
‍☠️ Eastern Europe
Are you trying to quote a book about how to negotiate in hostage situations to support an argument about not negotiating with in hostage situations?
As I clarified in follow up posts, I would try to get my kid back, just not by paying and giving in to their demands.

With regards to this, do you remember the example Chris Voss gave of negotiating with Harvard students and taking all their money? That’s what never split the difference means - you take EVERYTHING - you don’t COMPROMISE. It’s the same thing I mean here. Not that I don’t negotiate (if by that you mean talk with them), but rather that I don’t give in to their demands, I don’t compromise. Those are two very different things. When I say no negotiation with terrorists, it really means no compromise with them. Make sure you get everything and don’t give them a single inch. As Chris Voss says - a bad deal (you pay the money and they let you kid go and kidnap another family member or they get the money and kill the kid) is worse than no deal.

The West has been negotiating (in the bad sense of compromising) with Putin for too long. It’s time to draw some boundaries and never back down from them, so that Putin learns what the limits are. If you ask me, we should never have negotiated (in the bad sense again) with Putin from the beginning. The moment he sent troops to Crimea for example there should have been massive retaliation. The moment he poisoned Litvinenko in the UK, massive retaliation. And so on.
 
Last edited:

MattR82

Gold Contributor
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
178%
Oct 4, 2015
1,394
2,480
41
Brisbane
Does anyone know if there is a good existing thread already out there discussing fake news in general? I don't have much to contribute other than discussions around that so maybe it should have its own thread.

I feel like I'm just surrounded by it now. I started a part time gig a few weeks back doing really basic monitoring of social media, and basically data entry kind of stuff so that the company can get an idea of the sentiment behind their social media posts, and am witnessing some crazy stuff. Small Eastern European news outlets falsely claiming things about the company (in regards to their response to the conflict) that go viral. It's bonkers.
 

ekateriv

Contributor
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
129%
Jan 2, 2022
42
54
I have friends in Ukraine and I'm in touch with them. The situation is terrible. Those beautiful cities have been bombed, civil citizens (including children) have been killed, though Russia said its soldiers won't touch the civil population. I wonder how it can be if they send bombs? Here is an article about what is going on there The Truth About Ukraine Should Be Known It's true. And it should be stopped!
I agree with this. Watching the pictures/videos coming out of Ukraine specifically with kids and sick kids is difficult to watch. Once you have kids, it all becomes very personal. War is awful like that - you see the statistics, but few in the moment realize that behind every statistic there is a human life. Somebody loved them and waited for them to come home. Regardless of what media reports or whose fault it is etc. etc. the horrors should have stopped a week ago.
What I am worried about is that I don't see any straightforward solutions to deescalate and nobody seems to be talking about how to get out of this mess. Both sides have done nothing but escalate further. If I extrapolate the trend I see a long drawn-out conflict and a slow bleed... With lots of civilian blood and worsening personal freedoms in Russia. Unless they take Putin out, which would essentially make the situation unpredictable. There are no winners among the participants of war.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

MJ DeMarco

I followed the science; all I found was money.
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
445%
Jul 23, 2007
38,083
169,524
Utah
If anyone wonders why The Fastlane Forum has prohibited political discussions on this forum for over 10+ years, this thread is a prime example.

What has come of this thread? Certainly not solutions, clarity, or resolution -- just a bunch of people who have elected to use the ignore function, hence tuning out each other.
 

gabteron

New Contributor
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
83%
Aug 7, 2020
6
5
Europe
Just the fact that in an era where people brag about how civilized we are this war just proves, we are just some monkeys with machine guns. When the universe is F*cking full of resources we squabble and kill each other for some patch of dirt, or some more black goop that is bound to run out in the near future. We let maniacs and psychopaths in positions where they could decide fate of millions and now with our wonderful new toys, the shiny nukes they can literally decide the fate of the entire mud ball.

Yes the probability for this is very small but these couple of days just went up from what was basically 0 to small but pozitive.
And I don't know about you guys but for me this is just extremely stupid and infuriating. The simple fact that earth has guys like him in such positions to affect people proves just how idiotic is our current civilization.

Until we stop acting like monkeys and stop catering for primitive emotions and impulses like fear, greed, laziness, and so on we just won't be truly evolved and shit shows like this are bound to happen.

The sad truth is that with this war we are losing our humanity and those higher moral principles even more, I mean we are watching live how F*cking kids, families with their pets are murdered and are afraid to intervene because we fear for our lives and with this we are basically encouraging even more violence. This should have never happened in the first place. Very short memory people have , it seems like every generation needs to have this sort of shit happen otherwise our monkey brain just can't be happy.


You how how they say that the average guy in the modern world(cough cough) now lives better than kings a couple of decades back? Instead of focusing on raising everybody, it's like people back in the day saying: nooo you have more sheep than me, I'll kill you and have more sheep but still living in a mud hut, shit in a pit, sleep on straws and so on, but I'll have more sheep yeey.

I think if we could go back and realy realy live in those conditions and witness what people ware fighting for back then would laugh ourselves until blue in the face. It's like 2 dogs fighting for a piece of meat in front of the butcher shop , because they don't know/ can't open the door, it doesn't even occur to them what is on the other side or that there even is a "other side of the door"

So yea this is humanity, I for one am sick of it and was for many many years, if there was the option to stop the planet so I can get off I would've taken it in a heart bit. Maybe Musk will have the chance to finish his rocket, at least then we will have more options.

Hopefully this war will end soon in a somewhat decent manner, realistically since russia seems so stubborn and ucrainian people don't really have that much of a choice but to fight or die trying to defend their way of life... it's possible we will see some messed up shit in the near future and won't end too soon...
 
Last edited:

Kevin88660

Platinum Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
118%
Feb 8, 2019
3,459
4,082
Singapore
Most people are not living at the epicenter of the crisis but still can observe what are the lessons that you could learn as an individual.

1) Preping for doomstay with some food, water and ammo(if the law allows) is not stupid.

2) The world is still a jungle where laws of the jungle prevails. Your passport is worth as much as your country’s ability to protect you. Having Multiple passports will be better than single passport. A passport of a nuclear power is much better than a non-nuclear power.

3) The world can sanction a government and a government can sanction an individual. Your stocks and cash in bank are only worth as much as your ability to access them. Keep some cash, precious metal bars, and learn how to use cryptocurrency. There are foreigner trapped in Ukraine and because of banks closure they cannot even get cash to buy food.
 

nothingness

I make great coffee
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
203%
Mar 3, 2021
147
298
UK
If anyone wonders why The Fastlane Forum has prohibited political discussions on this forum for over 10+ years, this thread is a prime example.

What has come of this thread? Certainly not solutions, clarity, or resolution -- just a bunch of people who have elected to use the ignore function, hence tuning out each other.
Agreed and I wish you would ban political discussions like this one too, no one is making friends in this thread.
 

Cyberthal

Bronze Contributor
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
123%
Apr 14, 2020
171
210
Shenzhen
First off, I also had a family member kidnapped by terrorists. Speaking from experience, of course you negotiate with terrorists. I was surprised how little it took to free him, but I have an American sense of money. My uncle came back to us a changed man, but he came back to us.

And no other family member was kidnapped. Those who did not pay never saw their family member again.

Suggesting that not negotiating with the terrorists would keep your family safe is self-evidently false. A dead child is not safe. A child sold into slavery is not safe. You are rationalizing an irrational act.
Yeah it depends where you are and the cohesion of your group. If you're a foreigner and the kidnaping is essentially barbaric taxation, then the fee is likely reasonable and you should just pay it to complete the transaction with a businessman motivated to keep customers happy.

However if you're part of a group capable of fighting back, then the correct response is tit for tat: kidnap one of theirs and set an equal ransom.

The ugly scenario is when it's an evil chaotic group demanding an unreasonable ransom that will perpetuate their activities. Like some psycho torture cult. In that case you write off the kidnapee and go vigilante until they're all dead.

Putin is a long-reigning, successful and very popular leader of a powerful country. Therefore the correct answer is "Negotiate." There is no room for tit for tat because what would the USA do, liberate part of Cuba? Go for it I guess.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Marigold

Bronze Contributor
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
206%
Nov 15, 2018
231
475
Glasgow & Malaga
It is not emotional, it is purely rational. If a terrorist captured one of your kids and asked for a $100,000 reward in exchange for their life, I’d say no. I’d say that if they wish they are free to kill him, but I will NOT, under any circumstances agree to pay them any amount.
Tell me you're not a parent without telling me you're not a parent.

Jesus H Cornsalad
 

Marigold

Bronze Contributor
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
206%
Nov 15, 2018
231
475
Glasgow & Malaga
Well, frankly I think I’d be better able to protect my family than many people in the West as things are nowadays. The West has been run over by the 60s generation and the boomers, most of whom are pampered and soft and not able to deal with the harsh realities of the world. The talk of the day in many Western countries are transgender rights, or special bathrooms, while countries like Russia and China are getting ready for war. It’s actually worrying if you ask me. But then what do I know, right?
Yeah. You said it. Have some kids, man.

And my Dad's a boomer. He lived through post war poverty and rationing. I think you mean Gen Z don't stand much of a chance and I'd agree with you on that 100%.
 

Marigold

Bronze Contributor
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
206%
Nov 15, 2018
231
475
Glasgow & Malaga
I do think it starts with the Boomers though… they lacked resources in their childhood, so they worked hard to produce. And then they pampered their children so they wouldn’t feel the same lack as they felt, and look where that left us.
An overly-simplistic view, I fear.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Kevin88660

Platinum Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
118%
Feb 8, 2019
3,459
4,082
Singapore
I came into this thread hoping for a business owner's perspective on what's going on in Ukraine. Instead, I got an argument about whether or not you should pay ransom for my kids. I agree with Kak about robbing a bank so my kids could live. Its not even a debate. I'll let the next person worry about those further-enriched kidnappers.

But ... does anyone have actual, useful thoughts on the war in Ukraine?
1) Own ammo (if the law allows), cash, bullion and crypto. Banks can close down. Government could freeze your assets under emergency conditions. The U.S. is talking about seizing rich Russian's assets there without any proof of the connection of their domestic political influence. If you are a westerner having assets oversea, be aware of future foreign retaliation measure.

2) Covid not going away anytime soon, looking at how Ukrainians are hiding in crowded underground tunnels. Europe is having a refugee crisis soon. Somewhat good news if you are a contractor servicing the refugee industry backed by Tax payers money in Europe.

3) Multiple passport is better than one passport. Nuclear weapon owning nations have passport that have high utility in some aspect than non-nuclear powers.

4) Rent vs Buy debate on house? Probably Rent since assets that cannot move are not ideal in turbulent time.

5) Permissionless finance on blockchain, energy industry, military industry tied stocks/business could boom.
 

Andreas Thiel

Silver Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
112%
Aug 27, 2018
626
702
43
Karlsruhe, Germany
b) US will declare that, due to "Russian terrorists and insurgency fighting" in Ukraine, they'll send in "peacekeeping troops" into Ukraine. And what they going to do? Well, bombers will fly across Ukraine 24/7 just like Iraq (remember the "Shock and Awe" strategy George War Bush used to boast about?), bomb the entire country to flat land, then they'll take control of Ukraine's oil and resources.
Sounds like they would love to do that ... bomb everything and then allow the Ukraine to finance the reconstruction through the IMF ... which can then be repaid through really cheap resources.
But what would they use as an excuse for that kind of destruction? There are no terrorist strongholds.
This would have to be a scenario where Russia has been allowed to succeed with their military operation, taken control of the Ukraine for a while and fortified the entire Ukraine with stationary defense systems. Doesn't seem likely at this point.

Even if Russia somehow collapsed, occupying it or even "taming" a population as nationalistic as Russians seems pretty impossible. We make a lot of comments about Russia's shrinking population but it is still the largest population in Europe with a large diaspora spread over a vast area. The amount of manpower required to occupy a non-acquiescing population of that size would be enormous.

Factor in that there is no way China would allow American occupation or vassalization of Russia for some of the exact reasons you have stated. As much as Turkey doesn't like Russia historically, I think even they would fight American occupation of the country.

Most likely, I think the Pentagon and CIA would be happy with returning to the status quo, which is already favorable to US and disfavorable to Russia and leave Putin to fester for another decade or two while his economy and population shrinks.
There are probably a lot of people who would welcome support from the west in Russia after a lost war, especially because Russia cares mostly about the oligarchs. Promises of prosperity for everybody could work if there is a power vacuum. Maybe they could go for civil war dynamics.

Think tanks have already informed the US government that China will soon have too much of a military lead if nothing is done about it (the trajectory is not favorable to US), so I would not completely dismiss that the US is going for that kind of tension. That is highly speculative, though.
 

ZF Lee

Legendary Contributor
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
180%
Jul 27, 2016
2,842
5,113
25
Malaysia
I came into this thread hoping for a business owner's perspective on what's going on in Ukraine. Instead, I got an argument about whether or not you should pay ransom for my kids. I agree with Kak about robbing a bank so my kids could live. Its not even a debate. I'll let the next person worry about those further-enriched kidnappers.

But ... does anyone have actual, useful thoughts on the war in Ukraine?
Let's say that boring commodities like oil, metals, rare earths and even plantation oils have been blowing up from the Ukraine shakedown.

I'd love to have a business that sells these...but that takes Carnegie kind of work and years to set up the initial stuffs.

So all I could do was just buy shares in related companies. Went into tin metal...blew up 25%+ in a matter of days.
And the company I bought in wasn't even in Europe or USA...but in Malaysia. But the commodities have been firing up long before this conflict though. I'd just call this a continuation of the inflationary theme.

The thing is that I looked at the subreddits...r/investing, r/stocks, r/WSB...and I found very little mention of folks opening positions in the energy and commodities sectors. I guess folks think they are 'boomer stocks'...but when the transition goes from growth stocks to value...gotta follow if you wanna make the money's worth.

That aside...

I was rather concerned by the use of SWIFT bans as financial warfare against Russia. And the populations were supporting it. I was thinking, 'Who will they use the SWIFT ban on next?'

That being said, it has already led to Russia throwing its lot with China's own payment system. So Russia can continue trading energy with China.


Since Upwork is kicking out the Russians as well...I've got to rethink how to not rely so much on its payment and client systems. Who knows if my country is next to get dropped? Another reason to get independent payment systems and email lists up...
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

MTF

Never give up
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
455%
May 1, 2011
7,560
34,430
If anyone wonders why The Fastlane Forum has prohibited political discussions on this forum for over 10+ years, this thread is a prime example.

What has come of this thread? Certainly not solutions, clarity, or resolution -- just a bunch of people who have elected to use the ignore function, hence tuning out each other.

The way I see it, just a few people in this thread make it embarrassing. Ban them from this thread and the problem is solved. The rest of the forum shouldn't suffer and not be able to discuss this important topic because of a few people.

I'm trying to add value with every post I publish here and am frustrated that they get buried among these low-value discussions.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Post New Topic

Please SEARCH before posting.
Please select the BEST category.

Post new topic

Guest post submissions offered HERE.

Latest Posts

New Topics

Fastlane Insiders

View the forum AD FREE.
Private, unindexed content
Detailed process/execution threads
Ideas needing execution, more!

Join Fastlane Insiders.

Top