What John Mearsheimer said is fact and on the dot (note: he was also in the US Armed Forces and West Point Graduate I would give him more credence than some others on this forum trying to project another angle). The media is doing a legit half *** job not giving a broader picture of the causes that led to this conflict. But I’m not surprised majority of common western folks are born idiots just look at one of the comments in the comment section of that twitter post after being presented with proofs he comes out saying, Putin had no reason, non sense.
@Meengla
Explanation being simple, Russia being Russia, and wanting their land, as it did over centuries?
Russia been in the state of a mafia state for the last 20 years. If it isn't 20 years of mafia state influencing the national decision making, then what else really can?
To me it looks very obvious: Putin & Co. look at Ukraine and see a very weak state with
- Huge wheat, and other grain exports
- Military equipment exports
- Machinery
- Metallurgy
- Gateway for drug shipment to Europe
- 40 million people to tax
- Rail access
- Conscripts (slaves)
You can continue. Ukraine was basically an ideal victim.
He is not Genghis Khan, or Alexander. To me he reminds of a petty corporate takeover artist — types you see in abundance in the West, except they don't have armies, and nukes, and of course they flee the moment things stop going according to the plain.
I remember a cadre called Loudon Owen, who tried to seize Hanfeng Evergreen, and whom I had misfortune to cross in Canada.
He was a small time racketeer lawyer doing corporate shakedowns for activist investors.
And in one of his racketeering attacks, he bit more than he can chew.
Naive Chinese businessmen who were too lazy to Google his name, and read basics of Canadian corporate law appointed him as a silent chairman of Hanfeng Evergreen. Few years later it was found that he likely gave kickbacks to people who recommended, and voted him.
He dug up few minor accounting, and corporate governance inconsistencies, and went to Chinese owners threatening to "nuke them, and make them a second Enron" if they don't give him more stock. So, they gave him it. With few percents of the company, he had now a legal right, and more clout with other investors to go after the business.
He broke his promise, and disclosed these inconsistencies, and made a big drama about them. Then he positioned himself as a protector of small investors against "scary Chinese mafia," and took moneys of a number of naive investors to mount legal assault on the company... They never seen their investments, nor legal fund money again.
Chinese owners panicked, and fled to China, further legitimising Owen's claim that there is something fishy happening. At that time, it it was really nothing serious by Canadian legal standards.
The company was not able to pay its tiny debts simply because there been nobody to sign on their cheques, as the board was defunct. It was then when Chinese banks started investigating what was going on, and Owen happened to be in China at the moment, trying to arrest, and seize the fertilizes factory for
himself. ICBC quickly figured out what was his trick, and turned the tables by successfully proving in court that the guy who is preventing the debt repayment is Owen himself.
I don't know what has happened next, but I read that guy returned to Canada, and been completely broke for few years, running from Hanfeng minority investors himself.
He didn't get a single dollar from a company, but out of spite, he went and f**ked up all other investors. He sued the shell of the company in Canada, of which he himself was a chairman, and naturally he got a default judgement, making the shell defunct, eliminating any chance for other minority investors to recover their money. It was a complete "If I can't have it, you can't either" move.
Just now I googled him, and it appears he spins himself as a "Crypto Venture Capitalist," trying to scam somebody again.
