They came close to it, but didn’t have to as Russia backed down and took their missiles home.
I’m surprised that this thread hasn’t been pulled as it keeps going off topic 
The US military didn’t overrun Cuba, because it was a Soviet client state. The US used a “third party” instead.
Putin is trying to overrun Ukraine, before it becomes a member of NATO.
Lack of alignment makes you vulnerable. That’s why Sweden and Finland are now members of NATO.
Steve
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There are a lot of false equivalencies in this conversation.
Putin’s designs are not just against Ukraine. Putin in reality is not Russia which is going to become Putin’s undoing.
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When writing is an effort to transmit ideas from one brain to another the writer and reader have a shared responsibility to achieve understanding. Or perhaps you write solely for yourself and don’t care about communication - some writers do and that’s OK too.
As a reader, I would better understand what’s inside your brain if you wrote about the continuum of socialism/capitalism that Europe explores.
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I was in Russia a few years ago and people I spoke to were concerned about the westward expansion of both Nato and the EU, both of which made no secret about their plans for The Ukraine. They felt that The West had lied to Gorbachev:
U.S. Secretary of State James Baker’s famous “not one inch eastward” assurance about NATO expansion in his meeting with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev on February 9, 1990, was part of a cascade of assurances about Soviet security given by Western leaders to Gorbachev and other Soviet officials throughout the process of German unification in 1990 and on into 1991, according to declassified U.S., Soviet, German, British and French documents posted today by the National Security Archive at George Washington University
I wasn’t surprised when Russia invaded. The Ukraine was one country too many for Russia.
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I’ve found an article that outlines the ‘unintended consequences’ of seizing Russia’s money:
If we can steal their stuff, then why can’t they steal ours?
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I am trying to understand your political leanings. Are you a socialist, libertarian, communist? It just seems you are coming from a very polarized point of view.
Andy
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He is watching YouTube Russian propaganda and very suggestible.
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First of all, it’s Ukraine. Not The Ukraine.
Ask those same Russians if they can freely move about their own country. Freely travel outside their own country. Criticize their government without fear of jail or execution. Have more than one political party. Have any reasonable say in their own life and future.
Then tell me how we are the same. Stop listening to Russian propaganda. Stop falling for false equivalences. We’ve done bad things, yes. We are far from the same however.
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I don’t think people realize what the world is going through right now and how dangerous this really is. We all should be standing up for democracy and not quibbling over our slight differences. CaptainCCS post with Bill Crystal summarized it very well. Fascism is a real problem now and one that some of my past friends are caught up in.
Andy
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To answer your question literally, because they lack the means to do so.
We have already frozen their assets (I strongly recommend you to read your own link as it really address this question). $300 billion is already locked up - and will likely be lost regardless (again, as your linked article details).
They have no means by which to freeze or otherwise seize ours - they don’t control the levers of banking as we do. Your linked article lists 10 reasons why it may not be a good idea to seize their assets - Russia trying to seize US assets is not one of the reasons listed.
On a tangent, is it “ours?” I thought you were not a citizen or is it just that you live in a foreign country?
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I agree. I’ve also lost close friends, and even some family, over this. Unfortunately some people actually WANT democracy to end. Witness the “we are a republic, not a democracy” crowd here in the USA. Witness the claim of “we will end democracy if re-elected” crowd here, actively trying to get TFG back in office. Witness “I’ll be a dictator, for a day”. Witness the TFG praising dictators and authoritarians as strong people, as great leaders.
Part of this process is the whole “both sides are the same” arguments, arguments that hold no water when you look at them closely. But if you are gullible those arguments ring with you. It’s like in Dune Part II when Lady Jessica claims she needs to win over the population to side with her son, and you start with the weak and the gullible.
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You are passing judgment on a man who has saluted an NK general.
Not everyone is perfect.
Post pulled as expected
Lesson - do not criticise the USA
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You bring up a most interesting subject that I much care about. There was a time in my life where my livelihood depended on it. One of the greatest compliments I received was about a business proposal. The client said, “This proposal is very short… but it says all that’s needed.”
There are many styes of writing. When I was writing about sports a helpful editor taught me the journalistic style, “Tell them what you are going to say. Tell them… Tell them what you said. And include human interest.” Another journalist told me the secret of getting published, “photos of cute girls in bikinis” (human interest extraordinaire!). I also learned how not to get published, “A big ad used up the space.”
In literature class I was taught that a text belongs to the author until it is published. Then it belongs to the reader. People like William Shakespeare and Walt Disney were principally entertainers who managed to simultaneously write for mixed audiences, kings and paupers, adults and kids, intellectuals and laborers.
Writing is just one form of communication. Even backdrops communicate. For Jesus Christ Superstar I created a backdrop that elicited an audience reaction and it was quite accidental. The play had a wonderful director who told you what he wanted and left the rest up to you. He wanted something special for entrance of king Herod Antipas and his entourage, something exciting, glittery. I went to buy rolls of metallized foil which we were going to cut into fine strips. At the store when I explained my mission I was told of a much better and cheaper alternative. When the rolls are made the edges of the sheet are trimmed and sold as waste. That saved a lot of money and work. We built the glittery backdrop but it created another problem, it fluttered when dropped so we tried to lower it slowly but that ruined the rhythm of the scene. We though about attaching weights to the bottom but that didn’t work out either. In total frustration I told the stage crew, “Just drop the damn thing!” No one expected the magnificent audience reaction the fluttering backdrop entrance elicited.
The shared responsibility you mention, while real, is not just one thing immutable thing, an author has the right to irritate some of his readers. He is not obliged to provide the currently most coveted “Safe Spaces.” Forums have the peculiarity of disclosing readers more starkly than any other form of writing which, naturally influences the writer. Complex Systems rear their heads once again.
I believe I just anwered that.
I might someday.
In another tread I was asked
Would you mind briefly describing what his point was?
In contrast to Spanish and Russian, English style prefers brevity. One technique is to edit the drafts replacing long winded text. For example,
Would you mind posting a synopsis?
eliminates one third of the words.
The Captain
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Post a synopsis?
Eliminates half of yours. Your move.
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Depends
It is not a responsibility.
We males go on and on about our fantasies. I am not here to take responsibility for someone else’s imagination no matter how it is dressed up.
The idea in the quote is a search for consensus. People are going to be disappointed in each other looking for consensus. Just think about what you like and discuss it.
Far from being the Great Satan, I would say that we are the Great Protector. We have sent men and women from the armed forces of the United States to other parts of the world throughout the past century to put down oppression. We defeated Fascism. We defeated Communism. We saved Europe in World War I and World War II. We were willing to do it, glad to do it. We went to Korea. We went to Vietnam. All in the interest of preserving the rights of people.
And when all those conflicts were over, what did we do? Did we stay and conquer? Did we say, “Okay, we defeated Germany. Now Germany belongs to us? We defeated Japan, so Japan belongs to us”? No. What did we do? We built them up. We gave them democratic systems which they have embraced totally to their soul. And did we ask for any land? No, the only land we ever asked for was enough land to bury our dead. And that is the kind of nation we are.
Another point of view from Colin Powell.
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They can and they have.
Sure, these are company assets, maybe not an apples to apples comparison. But Russia isn’t playing by the rules. When you invade a country, commit a slew of war crimes, kill political opponents around the world, and consistently practice general assholery, you get your assets confiscated.
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“Yawn” can’t you come up with something that isn’t so trite. A little original thought would be much more appreciated. You communists are so predictable and were almost the down fall of Great Britain during world war 2.
Andy
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