Here's some related information in Smithsonian magazine.

Post #441,109 by a6l6e6x 3/8/22 11:07:15 PM 3/8/22 11:07:15 PM Reply	Here's some related information in Smithsonian magazine. Smithsonian magazine: The 20th-Century History Behind Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Alex "There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge." -- Isaac Asimov
Post #441,110 by Another Scott 3/9/22 12:05:19 PM 3/9/22 12:05:19 PM Reply	A kinda related thread, on Russia's economy. https://twitter.com/kamilkazani/status/1501360272442896388 Kamil Galeev @kamilkazani Let's discuss Russian economy. Many underestimate its dependency upon technological import. Russia's so deeply integrated into Western technological chains that severing these ties will lead to its collapse. Sanctions are already effective and can be made even more efficient🧵 Basically, the mobsters control the "easy" stuff (oil, gas, mining), while the engineers and nerds run the complex stuff (manufacturing) but have no power and are undercut by the mobsters above them. So they're highly vulnerable to boycotts from the outside. It's pretty long (be sure to expand the "more comments"), but very thought provoking. Cheers, Scott.
Post #441,113 by a6l6e6x 3/9/22 10:36:59 PM 3/9/22 10:36:59 PM Reply	Interesting! Makes sanctions more powerful to bring Russia down. Alex "There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge." -- Isaac Asimov
Post #441,112 by scoenye 3/9/22 10:31:56 PM 3/9/22 10:31:56 PM Reply	Good read. Thank you. Europe will be dealing with the shadow of that conflict for a long time to come. West-Germany dealt with the past, but the rest never did. I do see parallels with what happened internally in Belgium, another one of those places that had always been part of one glorious empire or another, and the antics of part of Flanders'* populace leading up to and during WW II. The basics came down to the economic elites speaking French and the peasants Flemish. Queue some choice fake news about Flemish boys dying in the WW I trenches because their French speaking officers were unable to give them proper orders, and by the time the Germans came around again, there were several legions who saw them as saviors from oppression, and who were more than eager to do their bidding. * For completeness, there was collaboration on the French speaking side as well, but the connection between das Deutsche volk and le people Wallonne was nowhere near as strong as the one to het Vlaamse volk.

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