Do you think it's a mistake for Finland to join NATO

@SusanInFlorida And in WW2 the Finns made the Russians pay dearly for doing so, as the Ukrainians are now..😷

@whowasthatmaskedman the league of nations expelled the USSR from their organization over that atrocity. Do we expect the United Nations to take action against Putin?

@SusanInFlorida Of course not. Not because of Russia. But China has been quietly buying up small nation votes in the UN through aid/trade programs contained in the "One Belt, One Road " policy, agreeing to defer or forgive debt for build projects for everything from African Railroads to Pacific Island nation ports and airports built and defaulted on. Much like the Russian bank loans still outstanding to Trump.. "See things my way and we can forget about the payment."
So China now has the leverage to protect Russia in the UN..😷

@whowasthatmaskedman todays tidbit on "belt and road" - 22 nations with Chinese development grants were given extensions, or bailed out entirely by china because of waste, fraud, abuse, and incompetence in those project.

one can only hope that western democracies have the good sense to stand back and do nothing while China further entangles itself in this sort of debacle.

@SusanInFlorida The Chinese were counting on precisely that.. Under the deal, they suppied the labor and materials for the projects and often staffed them with technical experts of their own, offering little or no upskilling of locals. And once a default occurs they retain the right to use the infrastructure themselves, So they in effect have military spec airports and Naval facilities on foreign soil that the owner has agreed to allow them to use. A lot cheaper and quicker that starting a war over it all. Interesting side note. China has a long term lease over the Port of Darwin under a different program. But makes ya think, doesnt it?😷