Putin Doesn’t Mourn the West: He Now Has China

[Black Orchid]

I admit their healthcare system could well be improved but do you agree with free health for all? Including illegal immigrants? It's impractical and cannot be sustained.

We technically have 'free' healthcare here but it's not free for all and it's paid for by those in the workforce by way of levies etc on top of their mandatory contributions into private healthcare. Hospitals in Sydney are turning people away because immigrants are using the ER as their own personal doctor's service and clogging up the system. Put a huge burden on something and it will always break.

[Redneck]

I admit their healthcare system could well be improved but do you agree with free health for all? Including illegal immigrants? It's impractical and cannot be sustained.

We technically have 'free' healthcare here but it's not free for all and it's paid for by those in the workforce by way of levies etc on top of their mandatory contributions into private healthcare. Hospitals in Sydney are turning people away because immigrants are using the ER as their own personal doctor's service and clogging up the system. Put a huge burden on something and it will always break.

The British have had NHS for many years and it IS sustainable

Free health care should be for all people given Australian protection,

Well whats wrong with the workforce paying for free health care, thats what we have taxes for

There are no mandatory contributions into private health care that I know of, in fact private health care should be abolished and the government subsidy money put into Medicare which should be expanded to cover dental.

Well its not ideal but its better than any other one I have heard of (UK NHS perhaps excepted.)

Move to USA if you love their dog eat dog system so much !

[Black Orchid]

I don't love their health care system "so much" and I have already said it leaves a lot to be desired but the only way our taxes can pay for everything is if they rise rise rise.

The face of Australia has changed, in case you haven't noticed, and if you are happy to pay for free healthcare for all these ISIS brides etc and their swarms of children and non working family, so be it. I'm not.

[Redneck]

I don't love their health care system "so much" and I have already said it leaves a lot to be desired but the only way our taxes can pay for everything is if they rise rise rise.

The face of Australia has changed, in case you haven't noticed, and if you are happy to pay for free healthcare for all these ISIS brides etc and their swarms of children and non working family, so be it. I'm not.

Well I am not prepared to allow our health care system be turned into the dog eat dog cocksuckers system either so suck it up!

I think trying to stretch the facts based on ISIS brides and Refugees is crap as well

Maybe you should move to America as you love all things USA so much !!

[Black Orchid]

I don't love their health care system "so much" and I have already said it leaves a lot to be desired but the only way our taxes can pay for everything is if they rise rise rise.

The face of Australia has changed, in case you haven't noticed, and if you are happy to pay for free healthcare for all these ISIS brides etc and their swarms of children and non working family, so be it. I'm not.

Well I am not prepared to allow our health care system be turned into the dog eat dog cocksuckers system either so suck it up!

I think trying to stretch the facts based on ISIS brides and Refugees is crap as well

Maybe you should move to America as you love all things USA so much !!

Now now Red don't get all hissy and huffy just because I pointed out that your great link was actually a slur on the left.

[Fred]

Culture Debate
Vladimir Putin is sitting in Moscow positively beaming. When he looks at the world, he concludes that things are going his and Russia’s way. What he has lost from the breakdown of the cooperation with the West, he has quickly gained back through a closer relationship with China. The EU is no longer Russia’s most important trading partner; China is.

It is not only in regard to Syria that Russia has the strongest hand. Thanks to clever maneuvering, Putin is now on good terms with all important players in the region. Russia is well connected to the leaders of Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Israel, and therefore has every opportunity to extend its influence. No other country, particularly the U.S., can say the same.

In Africa, Russia will make its presence felt and will be competing with China. Recently, Putin met the leaders of 35 African countries at his summer residence in Sochi. China has an enormous advantage as an economic superpower, but Russia attracts attention with its high-tech weaponry.

In Europe, Putin continues in his determination to split the EU members’ positions on Russia. He is counting on the crumbling of the agreement to continue the sanctions for the occupation of Crimea. Concerning the fighting in eastern Ukraine, Putin is showing no signs of compromise in Russia’s support for the separatists. Instead, he’s hoping to wear down the politically inexperienced President Volodymyr Zelenskiy when domestic criticism in the Ukraine against Zelenskiy’s concessions increase.

People often say that Putin isn’t a strategist. Instead he’s the skillful tactician who quickly seizes an opportunity as it appears, often after an opponent makes a mistake. That’s something he learned in judo class: to take advantage of any vulnerability.

It has also been said that Putin lacks any particular form of ideology, instead selecting opportunities as long they contribute toward the goal. And that goal is always to return Russia to the superpower position it has historically held. That all may be true. However, it still seems to me that Putin’s actions in foreign affairs, which have been successful in Russia, are driven by a type of belief you could call an ideology.

Regarding the actions in Syria during 2015 on behalf of President Bashar Assad, it wasn’t only to strengthen Russia’s influence there. Putin felt that he had grasped something the West had not, namely that it is better to support a dictator and to help him remain in power than to bring the dictator down and create chaos and anarchy. In Putin’s eyes, Saddam Hussein in Iraq and Muammar Gadhafi in Libya are two examples of the West getting it wrong by bringing them down. The result then was failure and now, dysfunctional countries. It is foolish to attempt to achieve some sort of democratic rule that way, according to Putin. Instead it is better to ensure that the ”legitimate leader,” Assad in Syria, gets the military support he needs to retain power. As a leader of an authoritative regime, Putin has no ambitions whatsoever to ensure that the people of Syria have a better leader. He doesn’t care about the suffering endured by civilians during eight years of civil war. It is more important that Assad finally wins.

Putin’s ideology increasingly shows signs of contempt for our Western liberal democracies. This isn’t limited to the West’s action in the Middle East. Putin simply believes the future lies in putting national interests first. The fact that he has found a soulmate in Donald Trump makes him more assured in this belief, not less.

Putin’s world view is one of conservative nationalism, based on traditional lifestyle and old-fashioned family values, distinct from his view of the lifestyle in Western Europe. This is also why Russia supports right-wing populist parties and groups in Europe.

In an interview in the Financial Times over the summer, Putin yet again displayed his world view, stating that ”the liberal idea has become obsolete.” Now is the time for the ”illiberal society” Viktor Orban is creating in Hungary.

When Putin spoke about how democracies in Western Europe are undermining themselves, he used the examples of immigration, and claimed that migrants are “free to kill, steal and rape without punishment.” In describing the decadent lifestyles of the West, he claimed that children can try out ”five or six different gender roles.”

At the same time, Putin mentioned the ”culture, tradition and family values of the millions of people who make up the majority.” He made fun of his European colleagues who claimed they couldn’t be tougher on immigration due to the “legislative framework.” Change the laws then, was Putin’s advice. For most of the population, traditional values are more important than liberalism, which, in his opinion, is dying, the Russian president said.

It is easy to dismiss Putin’s thoughts as a parody, but the twisted and prejudiced picture of our societies is really the view he has. Western leaders are often fooled in meetings by a Putin putting up his most elegant and charming front. However, he’s a master of disguises, a chameleon. That is why we need to remember that this is what is really going on in Putin’s head. He is convinced that our Western liberal democracies have had their time. Over the next few years we need to make sure he is wrong.

http://watchingamerica.com/WA/2019/11/1 ... has-china/

I think this is some interesting perspectives. BUT I would consider them to be shallow evaluation on the subject. Russia has always held better relations with China than it has with the rest of the world.

To suggest the EU was the major influence in trading with Russia is wrong. I would suggest the Ukraine incident as being clear demonstration of Russia's relationship with the EU.

As for Trump, I do feel that Putin, whom I consider to be the smartest world leader at present, has him wrapped around his little finger.

Anyway, I make some large claims here and with your acceptance am interested in addressing the issues of my claims in future as time is limited at persent.

[Redneck]

I don't love their health care system "so much" and I have already said it leaves a lot to be desired but the only way our taxes can pay for everything is if they rise rise rise.

The face of Australia has changed, in case you haven't noticed, and if you are happy to pay for free healthcare for all these ISIS brides etc and their swarms of children and non working family, so be it. I'm not.

Well I am not prepared to allow our health care system be turned into the dog eat dog cocksuckers system either so suck it up!

I think trying to stretch the facts based on ISIS brides and Refugees is crap as well

Maybe you should move to America as you love all things USA so much !!

Now now Red don't get all hissy and huffy just because I pointed out that your great link was actually a slur on the left.

Ok I am not getting hissy but you are exaggerating

First of all the ISIS brides and kids, we havent even accepted them yet but knowing our brown nosed christian Prime Minister we will suck up to Trump and allow them to come . I would tell Donald to jam all of the murdering bastards up his clacker.

Now even if we did, how many are there five or six hundred or something in a country of 25million that accepts around 190,000 migrants each year its hardly going to sink medicare and the same goes for about the 17000 refugees, which would have an impact but not all of them are non contributors and I think our migrant intake may be adjusted down because of them.

Regarding the health care I was referring to Countries like Britain, Australia, NZ and a lot of the western european countries that have universal health care systems that largely look after all citizens not necessarily what one would call socialist at all.

I think your suggesting Venezuala was rather a nonsense as I was not thinking of using basket case corrupt countries as an example, surprised you didnt suggest Zimbabwe LOL !

Anyway end of my comments ..... have a nice day

[brian ross]

I think this is some interesting perspectives. BUT I would consider them to be shallow evaluation on the subject. Russia has always held better relations with China than it has with the rest of the world.

No it hasn't. After the 1956 denunciation of Stalin by Kruschev, relations with China plummeted. Mao took it as a personal affront and severed relations with the fUSSR. So much so that the US was able to take advantage of it in 1972 when Nixon went to Beijing and met with Mao. Since then, the relations between Moscow and Beijing have basically been frosty, at best. After the collapse of the fUSSR in 1992, their relationship improved but it still remained distant. China basically took what it wanted, paid cash for it and then copied it to it's heart to content (ie the Sukhoi Su-27 and developments spring to mind in the aeronautical/defence field, while the ex-Soviet carriers Minsk, Kiev and Varyag are evident on the shipping side, with Varyag being refitted as the Liaoning). Since then, their relationship has been basically cordial but somewhat distant.

[Slick Rhodes]

I doubt Putin has China as much as China has Putin.
Russia's economy trails Brazil's, and China is putting pressure on Russia's Eastern border, which has many Russians concerned. While the West has had difficulty dealing with China, Russia is now discovering the same thing. Russia and China are certainly not on the same side.

An insightful article for those interested.
https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolit ... -time-bomb

[Black Orchid]

I doubt Putin has China as much as China has Putin.
Russia's economy trails Brazil's, and China is putting pressure on Russia's Eastern border, which has many Russians concerned. While the West has had difficulty dealing with China, Russia is now discovering the same thing. Russia and China are certainly not on the same side.

An insightful article for those interested.
https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolit ... -time-bomb

Good article thanks Slick.