Socialism

[Smitty-48]

Stalin knew how the Czar brought himself down too.

This is why he was so ruthless.

He knew they would revolt against him some point.

Stalinism is the path of avoiding insurrection by sheer terror.

That's not realistic for Czar Putin.

Czarism is an illiberal democracy. Keep your base happy so they don't vote with their feet.

Did the world ever figure out what happened to Putin when he vanished for a few weeks?

He was probably just goofing off with his mistress, but they are on hair trigger alert for what happens in the wake of the Czar, so any signs that he might be ill or whatever causes the rumor mill to go thermonuclear.

[Smitty-48]

In broad strokes, there are basically two nightmare scenarios.

One is an insurrection against Putin wherein he incites a war to rally the guards around him.

The other is Putin croaks, with no line of succession resulting in a civil war between competing factions.

[Smitty-48]

My Russian neighbors tell me that Putin being in control is an illusion.

Really it's all just lawless chaos and Putin simply has the tiger by the tail.

[Smitty-48]

My Russian neighbors are actually really doomsday about it.

They say that no matter how it comes it part, it all leads to a civil war wherein both sides have nuclear weapons.

[DBTrek]

My Russian neighbors tell me that Putin being in control is an illusion.

Really it's all just lawless chaos and Putin simply has the tiger by the tail.

Which is why I suspect his ten day disappearance wasn’t fun fling time.

[Smitty-48]

My Russian neighbors tell me that Putin being in control is an illusion.

Really it's all just lawless chaos and Putin simply has the tiger by the tail.

Which is why I suspect his ten day disappearance wasn’t fun fling time.

They are Russians. I've never met a Russian who said everything was gonna turn out fine.

Doomsday is a regular occurrence in Russian history, so they ain't exactly optimists.

On the other hand, a Pro v. Anti Western Ukraine style civil war with Soviet nuclear weapons is certainly plausible.

[Speaker to Animals]

Maybe if your nation has to import two-thirds of its food each year, you have a problem that should have been handled years ago rather than when the free Venezuelan oil runs out and the foreign food exporters cut you off.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/cuba-food ... kKBPxyCtvI

[SuburbanFarmer]

Maybe if your nation has to import two-thirds of its food each year, you have a problem that should have been handled years ago rather than when the free Venezuelan oil runs out and the foreign food exporters cut you off.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/cuba-food ... kKBPxyCtvI

Hey, remember that time wen some idiot predicted food shortages based on US Afro output? And that small farmers across the globe have been run out of business by our agri subsidies?

Man... I member...

[Speaker to Animals]

There exist no small farmers in Cuba, dumbass. It runs on communes.

[The Conservative]

There exist no small farmers in Cuba, dumbass. It runs on communes.

There are plenty of small farmers. Just not small farms.