pigginz

I find it interesting that every time NATO wants to send another wonder weapon to Ukraine, they announce it months in advance. Hell, it seems like Ukraine's military itself doesn't do much without it being public knowledge weeks to months in advance. Seems like a terrible way to conduct a war. Does it just simply not matter because Russia has drone-powered eyes on the entire battlefield such that any attempt at surprise is wasted anyway? Is NATO just smart enough to self-sabotage a bit and warn Russia about what it's doing to try to minimize the risk of things boiler over into a nuclear exchange? Is it because nobody actually wants to risk doing anything that could bring an end to a highly profitable war?

Thus, by a continuous shifting of rhetorical focus, the enemies are at the same time too strong and too weak.

Whichever party you don't like, because China bad.

I'm not sure what level of university you're in exactly, but the number one skill you learn in most schooling is bullshitting. Whatever the teachers say, nobody involved in this actually wants some kind of deep intellectual discussion. Liberal education isn't about that. Like the overwhelming majority of your education, this is a test of your bullshitting skills. Ask the obvious questions, give the uncontroversial and expected answers, write your 10 page essay about how brave these people are and how much you learned and grew as a person by talking to them, collect your grade, and move on.

Source: I graduated with honors. The secret is understanding that nobody actually gives a shit about you or what you have to say, they just want you to follow the guidelines and complete your tasks.

I have to disagree with you on this, honestly. Because most people who start "saying bullshit" aren't looking for an argument and aren't in a state of mind receptive to new ideas. In the case of a cultural exchange with Ukrainian people, I'm guessing most of them are going to be ranging somewhere on a spectrum between "pissed off" and "completely exhausted", and when the subject of the war comes up, whatever they have to say is likely going to be more about venting their anger and/or just saying whatever gets to the end of the call the fastest than it is about looking for a rational political dialogue.

The people you’ll be talking to are, in all likelihood, also proletarians. I mean I guess this could be a propaganda op on some level but whatever. They’re victims of the USA, NATO, Russia, and the bourgeois Ukrainian state. Their lives are being destroyed by the squabbles of the bourgeoisie. Complaining to them about the failures of their government right now accomplishes as much as telling some poor bastard in Alabama to vote blue and is probably equally insulting.

Since this is nominally a cultural exchange program, not an international political debate group, you should try to talk about that. What their holiday celebrations are like, what their favorite foods are, what they do for fun. Learn about their culture and try to connect with them as fellow human beings.

When the subject of the war and politics inevitably comes up, just shut up and nod along, and understand that there is a time and place to offer political critique and education, and this ain't it.

Prep for the rug pull, maybe. "We gave them all the weapons they needed but they just didn't want to win."

Maybe intentional self-sabotage for the purposes of manufacturing consent? Or perhaps just simply pandering to their racist countrymen and colleagues. If you're not constantly saying "China bad" you might get mistaken for an evil CCP shill, so its best to set the record straight before you leave.

Sarcastic or no, man definitely has a flag fetish.

I think he went to this article on Wikipedia, saw the year 1975 in the opening paragraph, and stopped there.

UNITED STATES OF SIBERIA

Wait wait wait, are you trying to tell me that events in the past affect the present? That doesn't even make sense. How can something that already happened in any way change what's happening right now? Utterly insane.