Economics Is Destiny

Semi-pro thorn-in-the-foot Michael is so busy crowing about his own gains at speculation in penny currencies, he forgot the bigger picture. He also missed that the point wasn't whether or not he could make money, but rather "If Russia is winning so hard, why are they taking it in the ass economically?" 

I mean, geez, I made shit-tons of money off of Batman and Robin, but Warner Bros. walked away in a barrel, with no shirt or pants, and it killed the franchise until Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale got the thing off of life support.

So Michael's comment is like the guys wearing shirts in the movie biz in 1996 that said "Waterworld: I made money." Which was funny to them. To Universal, not so much. Pretty much like everyone who didn't short the ruble feels about how Russia's economy is performing now, and for the interminable future.

The value of the Russian ruble has dropped 40% in a year. Despite Putin pretend-backing it with gold. And it's also the only currency Vlad will accept for Russia's one and only valuable commodity: energy, in the form of oil and natural gas.

So Russia, by destroying the ruble's value, has just cut the price it's getting paid for oil and gas by 40%. Financial genius, right there.

On top of losing 60% of its energy export market overnight since February of last year, for which perpetual loss China and India haven't come close to making up. But they're getting their energy for bargain basement rates.

So the army isn't the only thing in Russia bleeding out its ass.

Moar Winning!!

Russian ruble collapses - again; now worth less than US$0.01.

Spin it, Usual Suspects. The internet needs your comedy relief. Tell us why it's lost nearly 50% of its real value against the dollar - in a Biden economy - in a year.

Any answer that ignores the why of Russia's currency problem, given all their imaginary winning, and/or tries to drive off the road and drag in 57 other non-sequitir excuses having nothing to do with the topic, will be ruthlessly flagged for Arguing Like A Bitch, and consigned to the ether unseen. ZFG.

I'm open to rational financial explanations, on topic. Naked bullshitting or sophomoronic invective from lack of other options disappears like it never happened.

Color inside the lines, or stay home. Crickets chirping will drive the point home just as well.

Persistence

"VICTORY! Maybe Someday..." "in a pig's ass!"

 

Natzsofast, Guido

 

h/t WRSA

"...will not accept defeat, no matter the cost."

 

Oh really, Professor?

I didn't realize we were posting comedy as explanation these days.

Conference call for you: Tokyo 1905 on Line 1, and Kabul 1989 on Line 2.

Beware of analysis where the "anal" part means "pulled out of somebody's @$$."

[Pro Tip: When your pronouncement crashes and burns on the rocks of actual history, it isn't history that got it wrong.] 

And the Samson Option? Samson committed suicide, for those who went to Common Core Sunday school. That means the end of the existence of the Russian nation and people, pretty much forever.

Russia has accepted military defeat over and over in its history. It's nothing remarkable, and nothing new for them. And unless Russia's drunken buffoons pull their heads out of their back ends soon, Kiev is liable to be phoning in on Line 3.

When and if that happens, in the words of Bill Engvall,

So maybe instead of wishcasting, it would be more helpful to wait and see how things turn out.

Vlad Wisdom

 

Vlad Wisdom

 

I leave town for a couple of days far from anything higher-tech than a wristwatch, and the Putinophile Usual Suspects wet themselves with glee when he rockets multiple cities far from the front lines. Exactly like he's been doing to Ukrainians since February. >yawn<

1) Cities don't move very fast, so this wasn't a particularly impressive technical feat.

2) People who you've been shelling for seven months aren't liable to lose heart when you do it yet again.

3) Interested third parties aren't inclined to take you more seriously when you bomb cities instead of armies.

4) Both of them have, in fact, tripled down on their resolve, and their aid guarantees, and the phrase "war crimes" moves from whispers to bullhorns.

5) When your armies, plural, are getting their asses handed to them on a platter for over a month straight, you might want to think about shelling those military formations that vex you. If you could find them and target them correctly. Everybody also notices when you can't do that: their army, your own army, and the armies of friendly and unfriendly nations now know you can't hit Jack or Shit, unless Jack's a third-grader on the swings in the playground.

6) When all you have is a tack hammer, even your problems that really are nails give you trouble.

7) Vlad has now announced it's open season in return on actual Russians in actual Russia. That rarely ends well. Ask Zombie Herman Goering.

All Vlad has accomplished is to look like a bigger and more murderous @$$hole, with a weaker and less-competent military than before. The only things helping him now are that his supply lines are 100 miles closer to Russian territory than they were in August, and he's got 60,000 less troops to supply than he started out with in February.

And with time, as things develop, he may not have to worry about supplying his forces in Crimea any more at all. As the king said in The Princess Bride, "Won't that be nice?"

Well-played. It's like Christmas in October.

Vlad Wisdom

Vlad Wisdom

 

Vlad Wisdom

 

Every day, Vlad's troops are moving 10-20 miles. Back towards Russia.

And he's using the suckers in Eastern Ukraine who took his side, and the fat, old slobs press-ganged into his war as cannon fodder tampons to plug the holes long enough for his shattered professional troops to retreat without getting cut off or wiped out to a man.

And The Usual Suspects at P-Anon keep telling you the same thing:

Vlad Wisdom

 

More Vlad Wisdom

And he's proving it every day, while all Czarlet's fact-spinners and gainsayers can't undo that reality.

The Art Of Fail