What is your opinion on Vladimir Putin?

Yeah. Like I said. Plans for the production of nuclear weapons were scrapped as it was going to take too long and they needed the war over sooner.

Imagine though, other than tanks the other thing Germany had going for her were the U-Boats. I don't have much history for the navy or too knowledgeable on it but I'm thinking under the right circumstances, let's say the production of the bomb went ahead, then the production of a submarine that could deliver the bomb would have also been considered and also a Aeroplane like you said, would probably have been designed to deliver the bomb HAD it been produced in the first place. Which it wasn't so no aircraft were needed.

With the Japs doing whatever they were doing in the Pacific theatre, Germany really only ever concentrated on Europe.

I always wanted to know why, with the two allied axis nations, why Hitler never really asked for Japanese assistance in Russia. Japan is a lot closer to Russia than Germany and if I was in command, well I'd have the Japanese bombing the Russian cities and have the German forces Blitzkrieg them afterward. But it really seems to be Germany in Russia and that was our war done and dusted come winter time.

Once they retreated back to the home nation, I don't think they were ever going to win the war. All the plants and factories were being destroyed. We had no fuel. Our tanks, though the best at the time had extremely thirsty engines whereas the Russian tanks could travel up to 3x longer on their fuel economy, German artillery was left stranded.

Other than V2 rocket, I know the Panther was out and in action, it should have replaced the Tiger II and if it went full scale mass production they say it could have turned the war, but not too many were ever seeing battle.

That's what the Germans tried to advance with in technology. My older grandad who fought on the Eastern Front said they were ingenious in taking an old chassis of a tank and putting better armor and bigger cannons on top. Of course, more weight = more fuel and that was a huge factor in the outcomes too.

 

A human being isn't exactly a robot, but through effective conditioning he or she can be transformed into a mindless machine.

The modern soldier is the epitome of such conditioning, obeying commands and executing them with precision, no matter how absurd or unfair the ideology , military doctrine or commands are.

Germany had compulsory military training for around 80 years and so before the second world war, and this probably conditioned the German masses to the point where they were vulnerable to authoritarian control and influence, devoid of independent thought.

 

It's no wonder that so many veterans end up with PTSD. Maybe Hitler himself had some form of it.

 

Well you answered the question, distance is why, they were on opposite ends and it was like they were fighting their own wars they were so far apart. People don't really think about it, but Germans did reach these shores. Lots of uboats sunk in the st. Lawrence river. There was actually an entire town set up in Nova Scotia that was takenover by Germans. Japan was suppose to attack from the west side while Germans attacked from the east side. It was about world domination. My grandfather worked the railway and he found a nazi spoon on a train. There was a pow camp just outside of Toronto and the prisons were taken out there on freight. My dad has that spoon today. There was one in Toronto too, right at high park Blvd and roncesvailles I believe it was.

Quebec mostly were nazi sympathizers as well as it is very catholic and also because of the French connection. Vichy government. Many stories come out of Quebec during ww2 of Germans soldiers buying provisions there. But I think the idea was that Germans attack from the east and Japan from the west.

Russia and Germany did have an agreement, a non aggression pact to work together in 1939 which hitler I believe reneged on when he invaded the soviet in 1941. That pact allowed for the invasion of Poland where Germans and Russians met in the middle, also the taking over of the Baltic states by russia... when hitler invaded the soviet, the soviet joined the other side ...all bets were off. This is why the Russians were never fully trusted by the Brits, Canadians, Aussies, etc... during ww2. Joseph Stalin fired Foreign Minister Maksim Litvinov, who was Jewish and an advocate of collective security, and replaced him with Vyacheslav Mikhaylovich Molotov, who negotiated with Joachim von Ribbentrop. the non aggression pact which was to last 10 years. Everything was to be arbitrated between the two. Keep in mind too that stalin and Lenin were buddies and stalin helped Lenin evaded capture as well.

Now Putin is rewriting history, their history books, Have you heard about this? How Stalin was a great man and for the people and Putin is putting out the new history book. Which is to restore Stalin's image. Apoarently many are favouring stalin today. Putin says the dictator stalin was just a man with good intentions and didn't kill or imprison anyone of his own people. Not sure how he is explaining away the gulag, but people are going along with this.

 

No thanks, the english did that and they got a lot of shit for it..

Anyway, this thread is about our opinions about Putin.

 

I'm saying nothing, I want to live longer!

 

Ummm. But you said something, and I am glad you did... but, you might want to delete your post if you believe this is going to effect the longevity of your life.

 

^and if she did delete her post, you would follow suit and delete your quote of her?

 

The Americans too bombed the place.

Back to Vladimir.

 

Is Vladimir a gangster as some say?

 

When they run a country, they're generally called 'leaders' or 'politicians' rather than 'gangsters'. Whether he behaves like a gangster is in the eye of the beholder. Obviously, the tabloid press want us to think he's a gangster, or their favourite: 'a thug'.

I can see many grounds to criticize him, but also he's probably the single most intelligent leader of a major country in the world today. Would I want to live under his rule? No thanks.

 

He's popular in Russia,I know. I think he is very shrewd,strong-willed and hard-headed. He conforms to our stereotype of the Russian male. He is certainly intelligent. Russia isn't that big of an economy,but they have nukes,a large army,natural resources in abundance and huge land mass. They also have been stockpiling gold and have little sovereign debt. They are well placed to do well this century.

I still think their foreign policy is a little disingenuous,in that they fight a bit above their weight on the World stage in relation to their actual importance,but I suppose they are a good counter-balance to American imperialism. I think the taking of Crimea was a one off and the majority of Crimeans wanted it.

The RT channel,which I often watch,is good for certain kinds of news,but certainly does contain a lot of pro-Russia propaganda which irks me sometimes. It is all too ready to expose problems in America whilst rarely showing similar problems occurring in Russia.

Also I think Putin's Government and party still operate with a somewhat dictatorial style,and opposition parties are not well tolerated. This is perhaps to be expected given Russia's recent history I suppose.

All in all I think Putin can be trusted to a degree,to act responsibly as far as that goes,but that doesn't mean the rest of the World should be taken in completely. Others may disagree here,but I am diplomatic by nature.

 

I would certainly trust Putin a lot further than some world leaders I can think of. If I could choose to have just one leader round for tea, it would have to be him. But from what I see, and obviously it's all second hand from media, he does seem a bit autocratic. But that's Russia. It's always been ruled by autocrats from the old Tzars to Stalin. Look what happened to the place under a weak leader like Yeltsin.

RT is good for some things, but as you say, there is a bias. But provided you remain aware of that - no problem. And a lot of western media has an anti-Russia and anti-Putin bias, so it works both ways.

As for Russia punching above their weight on the world stage, you have to remember that they have the second biggest stockpile of nukes on the planet, rich oil and gas reserves and a very large army.

But Putin has said he isn't seeking any kind of world dominance, but a 'multi-polar world', Like him or loathe him, he's an interesting character.

 

The question is moot, she never did and I no longer can.

Seems he is building up his people which has to be better than tearing them down. .

 

What do you mean he's building up his people? A big part of his followers are gullible idiots who think Stalin was great for the russian people as well, and the other big part of his supporters are corrupt opportunists who would drop him and his system if it wouldn't fill up their pockets anymore (but this system is still going strong in Russia, partly due to succesful opression and intimidation, so most people who thrive even a little on it don't think going against it will change anything for the better).

 

Vlad says "I'm not bothered."

 

He's a poser

 

"Seems" is the operative word.... did you read what I said above with regards to the history books, etc...??? Trudeau is worse, so I really can not point a finger elsewhere.

 

Seems is the operative word. Ok. But what do you mean with he's building his people up? How does it seems like that to you. What makes it seems like that. What do you mean with that sentence?

Lol @ the Trudeau comment. You probably put it like that because if Putin cares about any russians it is about the traditional cultural ones (like the white heterosexual christian one ) and that seems the issue you seem to care most about in regards to your country's leader. But in reality other things matter more in regards to what makes a leader worse. Like real oppression and real denying of rights. How a leader deals with its opposition, how, who and why they reward people, how they deal with neighbouring countries, etc.

 

Don't put words of try to read too much into it. Trudeau disregards a majority here, 80 percent of the population. That is a fact. He rewards some religions while tearing down other religions. You do not even know my faith of if I hav one. Not religion or gender based but English Canadian based. So I can't fault Putin , I can question his methods though. He puts Russians first. He is not ruling the world, he is ruling a country and is suppose to be a rep for that country.

Do you have a problem with pride? Do you have a problem with patriotism?