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Read my initial comment and please show me the data that the breakaway was the will of the people and not a strong armed coup heavily supported by Russian forces. You could make more of that argument for Crimea but not the east.Quote:
Originally Posted by FreelancePoliceman
I used to think @FreelancePoliceman knew everything about everything and everyone, real big brained and omniscient. But this thread has me eating crow.Quote:
Originally Posted by ouronis
Obviously. What else? Initiate attacks against Russian forces? I don't think it very surprising Zelensky announced that he doesn't want to kill himself. The crisis is in regards to the potential of Russian forces initiating attacks against Ukrainian forces, not the other way around.Quote:
Originally Posted by FreelancePoliceman
One of the very best things about this forum is that you can get to know people on several levels, and they can surprise you at any time. Although there are a limited number of patterns that anyone might follow.Quote:
Originally Posted by ContractedCriminalboy
I first encountered this when Trump was up for election and most people thought that he was what he was, which is a lazy, narcissistic, self-interested, vindictive asshole. A truly small man. The remarkable thing to me was that there was a very smart guy on the forum named Hitta who, when pressed, would admit that Trump was a bad human being but still wanted to see him elected. This made no sense to me. In my view, Hitta was not going to materially benefit in the slightest from Trump's election. Hitta's student grants might even be hurt by Trump's election, since Trump is an anti-intellectual.
Hitta doesn't vote, incidentally. He merely complains.
I absolutely could not understand why Hitta, with something like four advanced degrees, wanted to see Trump elected, until I realized this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGhJ5FuxUZU
To be clear, I don't think that @FreelancePoliceman wants to watch the world burn, but Hitta did. I don't agree with FP's views on America or the Ukraine, but I think it's important to hear what he says. Lots of times, things that are painful to hear, or which seem to be patently ridiculous viewpoints, deserve our attention and consideration, if only because they help us to see the errors in our own thinking.
I *strongly* doubt that hitta has four advanced degrees, and I'd be shocked if he even has one. I personally trust nothing that hitta claims about his personal life or accomplishments. Nothing.Quote:
Originally Posted by Adam Strange
@xerx, you might have better insight into his character than I do, but I tend to take what people say at face value, unless there is evidence to the contrary.Quote:
Originally Posted by xerx
I will say that I once read a paper that he wrote, and it was full of what I thought was bad science and spelling errors and was poorly written, in my opinion.
On the other hand, he has some of the highest scores on the arcade games on this site.
Life is full of contradictions. :)
Putin seems to be displaying a pattern of exposing the foolishness and psychopathic nature of Kissinger style foreign policy.
Perhaps to cause cognitive dissonance in the perception of both the US and Russia while carving out a place for himself in the future.
He once threatened to kill me.Quote:
Originally Posted by Adam Strange
I know who he is, and I know enough about his personal life such that four advanced degrees sounds like a real stretch. I won't say anymore, though, because I don't want to doxx him.
An interesting article about the mood in Estonia: https://www2.politicalbetting.com/in...soviet-states/
If so, they are under no delusion that it is possible to find compromise with Putin. They expect war.
I found his True Name on the paper he wrote, but I immediately forgot it, because...........who cares?Quote:
Originally Posted by xerx
And the "four advanced degrees" might not have been his claim, it might have been my inference from a discussion he had in chat about getting yet another degree.
Will economic sanctions + shutting down Nord Stream 2 deter Putin at all?
Russia has lost a lot due to sanctions, and it stands to lose more. European, especially German, automakers have factories there; Russia is a major export/import market to/from the European Union; and Russia is a major energy exporter to Europe. Only Europe supplies the sophisticated electronics that the Russian defense industry needs (China isn't yet technologically advanced enough).
https://apnews.com/article/russia-uk...8cd9399a1d3b7c
I find it hard to believe that Putin would throw all of that away over some small breakaway regions.
It's clear that the man has deeply-embedded revanchist yearnings, that he resents the fall of the Soviet Union, and that he's willing to use force for geopolitical gain. His critics have correctly articulated the ease with which he's willing to break international law. But I do believe that there's something more going on, something that the West is doing to force his hand.
Biden already has what he wanted (EU's energy market) the "decrepit old man" as they call him won. Putin fell directly into the US plan, yesterday's Biden speech demonstrates that my prediction about the US's intentions were true, look at my past post here and LOOK AT THE CURRENT SITUATION, I got it almost perfectly. Petrodollar will not go obsolete for far more time.
A little downside is Germans freezing, energy and basic utilites skyrocketing in prices thus bankrupting european businesses and making families unable to sustain their lifestyle, while a financial crisis approaches us. Most migrants barely can sustain themselves without the help of the goverment, and are not integrated among the general population, I hope I don't have to say anything else for you to catch what I mean. These conditions can end up in the US losing Europe from it's sphere of influence. If that doesn't go awry the WEF will have it's way even before 2030, as this means property will be far more unequally distributed (than it already is).
Nope, it will force them to strengthen their relations with China while not being subjected to a trade relationship with Europe (meaning they don't need cordialities now, and they can act as agressively as they see fit with us, including subversion and espionage as well as financing terrorist organizations).Quote:
Originally Posted by Poptart
All of this has the intent of replacing Russia with other OPEC countries oil in the EU energy market, OPEC's oil is exchanged for USD which gives the US geopolitical strength it wouldn't have otherwise while allowing the fed to print as USD as wanted and distribute them as they want (constant demand for USD in international markets) I have a deeper post on this very thread explaining. The thing is China is competing with USD and trying to establish Yuan as a reserve currency, while developed economies no longer need oil exclusively to keep functioning, growing and innovating (Microchips, Tungsten, Coltan... rare earth in general are as much as needed and the major producer, refiner and exporter of these goods is China) which alongside oil exporters having better relations with China (Russia itself, but now they're cut off from the west) are making Petrodollar obsolete.
So, Biden directly menaced Russia's security by trying to get Ukraine into NATO so the russians invaded, in order to be able to make Germany close Nordstream 2 and sanction Russia until expelling them from the EU's energy market, making sure Europe has to buy american-allied OPEC oil (like that of the saudis) thus making sure Petrodollar doesn't go obsolete and securing their own financial system. And Germany folded like a bitch because Europe is the US's backyard, american client states.
A certain southern European country from which I am, already fuels itself on Saudi oil and has refined oil as one of it's main exports, meaning this country is gonna make huge bank on this. Sadly, that country's goverment isn't very competent when it comes to economic policy (and I think its on purpose) hope they aren't stupid enough to let this opportunity go awry.
In last time USA & its band (the ones who controls those nations) by soldiers from different nations + the ones pushed by the force and lie to its army from occupied since 2014 by USA Russian borderland territory called as "украина" does regular intensive attacks by diversions and artillery fire to territory of Russian interests (and in core sense to part of Russia, kills Russians) and also sometimes does attacks to official territory of Russian Federation. It's done against military and also mainly civil objects (as power and water sources), including wide artillery fire to towns territories of the borderland - what can be named as terrorism.
The aim is to provoke Russia to protect own interests and people by open military force. Also USA recently has made threats to do terroristic attacks in deep Russian Federation territory. 2nd aim is to push civil people living on attacked borderland territory (which effectively opposed to USA occupation still) to leave it - what can be named as a form of genocide.
In medias USA & its band does massive lieing, including show falsifications about what happens, as same did before in Syria and other places.
Attacks on Russian borderland territory by USA & band are happening since 2014, when USA did illegal military overturn there to place own people to formal power. Attacks were _partly_ reduced by Minsk agreements of late 2014 and recently were openly rejected by USA, what factually is seen by starting of intensive deversions and artillery attacks on military and civil objects of borderland and people there.
An example of news line about the situation on historical Russian borderland, which was illegally and against people wish in referendum(!) of 1991 departed from Russia in December of 1991 and large part of which is occupied by USA-hithlerists since 2014.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucEs0nBuowE
Man was so terrified that he accidentally gives away Russia's plan lol
China ain't said shit about this, lol.
In other words, by taking Ukraine, Putin is preparing for war.Quote:
Originally Posted by xerx
Zelensky addressed the people of Russia in a speech he made earlier today. Translation below:
"I have initiated a call today with the president of the Russian Federation. The result - silence. Although silence should be in Donbass.
That is why today, I want to come with an appeal to all citizens of Russia. Not as President. I am appealing to the people of Russia as a citizen of Ukraine. We share more than two thousand kilometres of border. Around it, today, is your army: almost 200,000 soldiers; thousands of military units. Your leadership has approved their movement towards us. Towards the territory of another country. This step can become the start of a big war on the European continent. The whole world is talking about what can happen any day now. A reason can appear at any moment. Any provocation. Any spark. A spark that has the potential of burning everything down.
You are told that this flame will bring freedom to the people of Ukraine. But the people of Ukraine are free. They remember their past, and are building their own future. They are building it, not destroying it, as you are told everyday on TV. Ukraine in your news and Ukraine in reality are two completely different countries. The most important difference is that ours is real.
You are being told that we are nazis. But how can a nation be called nazist after sacrificing more than 8 million lives to eradicate it. How can I be a nazi, when my grandfather has survived the whole war as part of the Soviet infantry, and has died a colonel in an independent Ukraine. You are told that we hate Russian culture. But how can a culture be hated? Any culture. Neighbours are always enriching each other culturally. Yet, that does not make them one entity, and does not separate people into “us” and “them”. We are different, but that is not a reason to be enemies. We want to build our own history. Peacefully, calmly, and truthfully.
You are told that I am ordering to attack the Donbass. To shoot. To bomb without questions. Although there are questions: To shoot at whom? To bomb what?
Donetsk? To which I have been dozens of times. I have seen their faces and eyes.
Artema street? On which I have been on many walks with my friends in the past.
Donbass arena? Where I have been rooting with the locals for our boys during the Euros.
Shcherbakova Park? In which we were drinking together after our team has lost
Lugansk? The home of my best friend’s mom. The place where my best friend’s father is buried.
Note that I am now speaking in Russian, yet no one in Russia understands what these names, streets, and events mean. This is all foreign to you. Unknown. This is our land. This is our history. What are you going to fight for? And against whom?
Many of you have visited Ukraine in the past. Many of you have relatives here. Some of you studied in our universities. Befriended Ukrainian people. You’re familiar with our character, with our people, our principles. You know what we cherish the most. Look inside you, listen to the voice of reason, of common sense. Hear our voices. The people of Ukraine want peace. Ukrainian authorities want peace. We want it, and we make it. We do everything in our powers. We are not alone. It’s true, Ukraine is supported by many countries. Why? Because we are not talking about peace at any cost. We are talking about peace, and about principles, justice. About everyone’s right to define their own future, of safety, and everyone’s right to live without threat. All this is important to us. All this is important for peace. I know for sure that this is also important for you. We know for sure that we don’t want war. Neither cold, hot, or hybrid.
But, if we are threatened; If someone is trying to take away our country, our freedom, our lives. The lives of our children. We are going to defend ourselves. Not attack. Defend. By attacking us, you are going to see our faces. Not backs. Our faces.
War is a big distress, and it has a big price - in all meanings of this word. People lose their money, reputation, quality of life, freedom, and most importantly, people lose their loved ones. Lose themselves. A lot of things are always lacking in war. But what is in abundance is pain, dirt, blood, and death. Thousands. Tens of thousands of deaths. You are told that Ukraine is a threat to Russia. This was not true before, not now, and won’t be in the future. You are demanding security assurances from NATO. We are also demanding assurances of our security. The security of Ukraine from you. From Russia. And from other signatories of the Budapest memorandum. Today, we are not part of random security alliances. The security of Ukraine is tied to the security of our neighbours. That is why we are now talking about the security of all Europe. But our main goal is peace in Ukraine, and the safety of our citizens. Of Ukranians. We are determined to let everyone know about this, including you.
War is going to deprive everyone of any assurances. No one will have assurances of security.
Who is going to suffer from this the most? The people.
Who does not want this more than anyone? The people.
Who can prevent all this from happening? The people.
If these people are among you. I am sure they are. Public figures, journalists, musicians, actors, athletes, scientists, doctors, bloggers, stand-up comics, tiktokers, and others. Ordinary people. Ordinary, simple people. Men, women, old, young, fathers, and most importantly - mothers. Just as much as the people in Ukraine, no matter how much they try to convince you of the opposite.
I know that my announcement will not be aired on Russian television. But the citizens of Russia have to see it. They need to know the truth. And the truth is, that this needs to stop, before it’s too late. And if the authorities of Russia don’t want to talk to us, for the sake of peace, maybe they will talk to you.
Do the people of Russia want war? I would’ve very much liked to be able to answer this, but the answer depends only on you - citizens of the Russian Federation."
This made me a little weepy. My schizophrenia manifests itself as dead soldiers talking to me and telling/showing me their stories like a movie most of the time. They're visions and some make me cry. They're soldiers from all over the world.Quote:
Originally Posted by Poptart
I really hope there's no war.
Thanks for sharing this.
Russians already view Ukraine as a part of Russia. As long as a cultural precedent exists for conflict, conflict will exist; and it's a strong cultural precedent. In Russia, history is still felt about how Ukraine helped defeat the Nazis...Quote:
Originally Posted by xerx
Lots of real-time footage is uploaded to Twitter and minor websites by obscure accounts. For anyone interested in obscure war footage, Pakistan Defence Forum threads have a goldmine of links. The users are also sometimes kind enough to translate it into English (the forum has an international user base).
A word of warning: Forums like this have their share of militant ultra-nationalists, so don't spend too long if you have faith in world peace and don't want to lose it.
EDIT: do keep in mind that a lot of such "gonzo journalism" is unsubstantiated.
Damn, you're on a roll Adam, but as you already know I think you don't go far enough. Fox News Delenda Est? Certainly. Entirety of the MSM and the Cabal that controls them all regardless of their supposed political alignments? That's the real shit. If you're not willing to kill Fox News if it costs you CNN and all the other "news" networks you're not really committed. Level the entire field. Start it all over from scratch. Then there may be a true sign of hope.Quote:
Originally Posted by Adam Strange
I also agree. I actually don't think we need to fuck Russia over for any reason but if we must than the non-military route is the answer. They can get practically anything they currently get from us from China but, well, anyone who pays any attention to China knows what "Tofu-Dreg" means and yeah, China gives you the Tofu-Dreg version of X. Say what you will about the West, at least we still have some semblance of a standard remaining. Said standard of "bricks" for instance are hard to break apart with your bare hands if you ain't a bodybuilder or something. China? Yeah, you get totally awesome better than Pig Dog Capitalist American bricks!Quote:
Originally Posted by Adam Strange
Bricks you can easily break apart with unprotected bare hands along with "steel" rebar reinforcement a terminal cancer patient can bend and break with but moderate effort. West Taiwan is a paper tiger that is just as much an enemy of ours as are our own elite. If only more people on "my" side would understand that and act accordingly things might get better faster.
Also the greatest counter-argument to woke fuckers in regards to Western Civilization. If the West and it's civilization is so horrible a place for anyone who is not straight, white, Christian, and male than why the ever living fuck is literally everyone who is none of those things trying so desperately to immigrate to such places? Methinks the wokies aren't exactly synchronized with reality. Well, they are in a sense, but not a reality intended to maximize freedom and minimize suffering. Yes I'm about to get theological again if you ask for specifics but hey, food for thought.Quote:
Originally Posted by Adam Strange
Also, red state resident here. I'm seeing a lot of New York and California License Plates recently. I wouldn't mind this fact were it not for what the other data suggests. They vote to convert the places they fled into carbon copies of them with all that implies. I'd welcome refugees from commie hellholes with open arms... if only they didn't do all they could to convert my locality into yet another commie hellhole. I respect bees, ladybugs, mantises, etc. Locusts, however...
Air raid sirens in Lviv and Kyiv. https://liveuamap.com/
It's happening.
God save them
Well there has always been one fantasy of mine and all who shared my "libertarian" ideology. Imagine a time where everyone declared a war... and nobody showed up.Quote:
Originally Posted by Baqer
Bombs and explosions are easy, boots on the ground are not. A few dudes with resources can make any number of explosions happen, yet to take and hold territory against the will of the local populace requires warm bodies willing and able to shoot guns at innocent civilians.
I dream of the day that military's all the world over face that most pertinent of problems they've never had to face before. What do ya do if over half the grunts tell ya to go fuck yourself MP's included? Not enough bullets and cells to force their compliance so what then?
I think we're about to find out and I pray it's glorious. Would love to see the PTB get hoisted by their own petards as it were :).
Gold is near $2k/oz and the stock market is down almost 15%. I'm going to wait a day or two for it to go lower, then I'll buy stocks and sell gold.
What the Ukraine needs is 200,000 of these guys:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qaXgADVEuM
These guys are expensive, but:
https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-th...o5HzH872l.jpeg
Jay Bazzinotti
, Try:https://www.amazon.com/s?k=jay+bazzi...ref=nb_sb_noss
Updated Apr 26, 2017
During the Iraq War started by George W. Bush the average cost for killing an insurgent was about 135 million dollars per insurgent.
Operation Desert Storm in 1991 cost an average of about 800,000 dollars per casualty.
The Vietnam War cost the US about 1 million dollar per casualty in 2017 dollars.
The cost of an average enemy casualty in World War 2 to the US (German and Japanese) was about 20 million dollars per casualty in 2017 dollars.
Putin warning other countries to not interfere with his invasion:Quote:
Originally Posted by Baqer
“Now for a few words to anyone thinking of intervening from the outside - if you create a threat to our country, you will face consequences greater than any you have faced in history”
This is exactly why Authoritarian rulers are a menace to the human race. They will happily blow up the world to get what they want.Quote:
Originally Posted by Poptart
I attended a workshop sunday and the speaker mentioned she lives next to a river where many dead slaves had their bodies dumped. During the BLM protests, she said many whose souls had not crossed over appeared to her because the events had agitated them and were seeking peace. Sounds similar to what you are experiencing. My wife used to deal with the same thing with deceased entities appearing seeking her help. Just food for thought.Quote:
Originally Posted by chriscorey
As of this writing, I don't think the full scope of the Russian attack is known. All I've read about is missile fire. I don't know whether there has been casualties as a result (although the destruction of vital infrastructure is almost, if not equally, as bad). I haven't seen any news about a ground invasion.
But even if the entire war only involves sporadic missile fire as a show of intimidation, Russia does need to be held very, very accountable.
I still think that allowing NATO to cozy up to Ukraine was a mistake. It should have been kept neutral, but with a strong guarantee of independence from the Western powers. Russia almost certainly should have been more integrated into the European economy, not driven into the arms of China.
German news livestream:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9KZGs1MtP4
I think NATO’s mistake was in their wishy-washiness. Following Putin’s invasion of Georgia back in 2008, NATO made a half-hearted promise that Ukraine would join “someday” without issuing Ukraine any invitation or real protection. NATO was considering allowing Ukraine in back then, but there was concern over how Putin would react, and so NATO took a middle ground—which might not have been the best path looking back now. Maybe Russia would not be invading Ukraine now if NATO had never made that promise. Maybe NATO could have let Ukraine in back in 2008 without Russia attacking.Quote:
Originally Posted by xerx
Told @FreelancePoliceman yesterday that invasion was very likely, and this very same night the invasion has begun. Sometimes its amazing how right and accurate I am in my predictions lol.
All of Ukraine is getting bombed by Russia and Belarus. I would say this is the start of a new cold war, at least it would be if the U.S. wasn't led by spineless cowards, more focused on spreading gay shit than keeping nations free
Spreading gay shit = US cultural colonialism and homogeneization of cultures (Although I would like to ask americans if that is the original US culture...)Quote:
Originally Posted by ContractedCriminalboy
A second cold war as you say, I agree.
I doubt the war will remain "cold".
I'm not sure exactly where the situation will go.
But I do think this conflict will draw in NATO at some point. I would love to be wrong about this. But Putin has shown that he'll stop at nothing when it comes to using violence, if he deems it necessary. And he does deem it necessary, as war usually works out pretty well for him, whereas peace talks, negociations, and diplomacy has always ended in him being on the losing end of things, usually because NATO countries end up imposing economic sanctions on him.
Putin knows that any peace talks at this point will only cause him to lose more influence and beat further into retreat, whereas if he goes to war, he will be able to gain influence over Eastern European countries which would level up his power. His invading Ukraine is win-win, because if NATO does nothing, he extends his influence, including over the rest of Europe. And if NATO countries intervene militarily, that's also a win because if US, French, British, Canadian, etc soldiers lose thier loves, it will escalate into a conflict with NATO. This is much riskier for Putin than the first option, because the US outdoes Russia militarily and there is no telling who may use what. But Russia has a very strong cyber warfare capacity and won't necessarily lose everything even if they lose the war, disinformation may turn parts of Europeans against their own leaders and this will allow Putin to extend his influence in Europe through funding pro-Russian candidates in many European countries. I do think that while NATO not intervening is clearly better for Putin, he is willing to take the risk of either scenario happening at this point simply because he has nothing to lose.
Marxism and all its variants originate in Europe. Just fifteen years ago, Americans would be constantly criticized by Europeans for their "backwards" and "puritanical" views on sexuality. As the song goes, we didn't start the fire. Don't forget it was Russia spreading Marxist bullshit world wide while we were fighting against it. All this gay shit is relatively recent in its national acceptance.Quote:
Originally Posted by RBRS
ikr. To think I could not get legally married to my wife ten years ago.Quote:
Originally Posted by ContractedCriminalboy
Know who isn't pandering to gay shit? Russia. I'd put Marxist China on the list too since they are trying to make men being effeminate unacceptable.
The U.S. doesn't have business going around "freeing" other nations if it can't get its own basic human rights in order, especially a nation we are not contractually obligated to help with boots on the ground.
They just need to push back Russia in Ukraine and then kill Putin with a spy or turncoat or something. The setup of all this seems eerily close to WWII and I'm worried this may be the defining conflict of our century. If NATO gets involved and China attacks Taiwan..
Yeah, your legally approved play pretend marriage with your play pretend gender issues. The U.S. was much better off with "don't ask, don't tell" stance on gay shit. Russia isn't pandering, but neither is Ukraine, Poland, Hungary, Japan, South Korea, etc. What's your point?Quote:
Originally Posted by aixelsyd
The original human rights proclamation, which supported the nuclear family unit and had nothing to do with globohomo, absolutely. Leftist idea of "human right", which is literally each and every single policy point of the left, just announced as a "human right" in order to give it legitimacy and silence opposition to it, absolutely not. The current weakness of the U.S. is exactly why people are dying in Ukraine right now.
China attacking Taiwan would almost certainly either trigger WWIII or the official collapse of the U.S. as a world power. If China invades within this current administration, the latter will be the result.Quote:
Originally Posted by ouronis
Well, it should end the european world war coast to coast trifecta but maybe next century spain and india will be the ones to start the war since asia still has a spare power that hasn't started a world war yet.Quote:
Originally Posted by ContractedCriminalboy
I think even if China gets involved in the war, NATO will wreck their shit, but it'll be hairy and drawn out.
Another funny thing is that the conversation around appeasement has already started. That is something we can't tolerate.
China grows most of its food in a very small area.Quote:
Originally Posted by ouronis
The Apaches single-handedly stopped the Spanish invasion of North America for a hundred years, but the Apaches lived off the buffalo and the American immigrants spreading west killed all the buffalo. Just shot mountains of them. In less than a generation, no Apache.
Hello,
I was wrong.
...Well, I'm glad to be living far from any likely target of nuclear bombing.
Dumb question, but what’s going to happen to Zelensky? I have a feeling he won’t flee Ukraine.
Unless you are 100 miles from all towns bigger than 10,000 people, AND from any military base or industrial site or nuclear reactor, you aren't.Quote:
Originally Posted by FreelancePoliceman
Wrong about what? Putin not invading because he's such a nice guy and Authoritarians can be reasoned with?
Who cares if you were wrong. The most important thing to determine is why you concluded what you did, because it means that either your facts or your model of the process are incorrect.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Poptart
Zelinsky looks SLE to me. He'll stay and fight. Putin will put him on display in a cage, because that's what LSIs do. Then, off to the Gulag and eventual death by poisoning.
So you're saying we should nuke their farmland?Quote:
Originally Posted by Adam Strange
Quote:
Originally Posted by ouronis
No, but we could, if push came to shove.
Chinese leaders are terrified of running out of food.
Imagine if the US government told all the US citizens that they could have one child and no more, and if they do have more, the kid will be forcibly aborted by local government officials.
Imagine that.
Mao put that rule in place in China and enforced it because he saw that China's population would soon outgrow the food that China can produce, and he certainly was not going to import food from the Capitalists.
That's what food security means to the Chinese government.
Got any links on that spot of farmland? In times of war, China would probably be pretty good at mobilizing a workforce to spread the food production out.Quote:
Originally Posted by Adam Strange
Trump news – live: Ex-president’s own national security adviser turns on him over Putin ‘genius’ comment
Quote:
As Vladimir Putin attacks Ukraine with ground forces and airstrikes, a State Department spokesperson said he had “no words” in response to praise for the Russian autocrat from Donald Trump.
Twice in two days, the former president has hailed Mr Putin as “smart” and blamed Joe Biden for what is happening.
“He [Mr Putin] was going to be satisfied with a piece and now he sees the weakness and the incompetence and the stupidity of this administration,” Mr Trump said while speaking with Fox News presenter Laura Ingraham. “As an American I am angry about it and I am saddened by it. And it all happened because of a rigged election.”
In another video clip from Wednesday night that was circulated on social media, Mr Trump can be heard saying: “Trump said Putin is smart. He’s taken over a country for $2 worth of sanctions. I’d say that’s pretty smart.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Mr Trump hailed Mr Putin as “savvy” and called his move on Ukraine “genius”.
@ouronis, Here's an overview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRUc4gTO-PEQuote:
Originally Posted by ouronis
Here's a map: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/...fig4_259538116
Yeah, if Ukraine was going to join NATO anyway, it really should have in 2008 (or even in 2004, at the same at time as the Baltic states), while Russia was much weaker. But I think that Ukrainian internal politics may have prevented that, since it has always been divided into pro-Russian vs. pro-European factions.Quote:
Originally Posted by Poptart
But even if could join NATO, that still may not have been the wisest move. I remember reading an influential strategist (Zbigniew Brzezinski) who supported Ukraine's economic integration with Western Europe, but who didn't want it to join NATO. He wanted to end Western-Russian antagonism knowing that it forced Russia to turn to China.
If Russia is forced into an unsustainable arms race with the West, the fear is that Russia could fracture. The central Asian 'stans' would automatically turn to China; eastern Siberia (and its vast mineral wealth) would become a Chinese protectorate. There are worse things than a strong Russia.
The Yangtze watershed is not exactly a small area, but I guess you could poison the land around its source with radioactivity and that'd do the job too.Quote:
Originally Posted by Adam Strange
edit: yellow not yangtze. it's more clumped up but same sq mi
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJz7zdSKazc
Officials say that the last point of tolerancy was the intention to allow that "borderland" region (which is under USA control since 2014) to use nuclear weapon. As that territory has regular antirussian hithlerists style propaganda since 2014 and is situated close to RF, to remove its illegal terroristic occupation USA-hithlerists rule was decided as obligate in near time.
As USA provoked Russians by different ways on military actions (including even by nuclear weapon threat), I'm not sure the situation is going to better. USA may steal contracts for energy shipments to EU, as example (today RF unlike USSR produces not much products and has much lesser ways of material incomes, so it's significant loss). Or to do other shit.
8 years Russia allowed USA to kill civil Russians living in borderland near RF until recently it started to do many provocations from different sides and on higher levels. Now we should see the aim what USA wanted to get as the result.
Borderland itself means a few to USA and EU, the aim is the harm to Russians and China.
Apparently Russian soldiers are dropping into the edge of Kyiv. Godspeed Zelensky. Slava Ukraini.Quote:
Originally Posted by Adam Strange
Time to invest into companies which manufacture weapons. Massive stonks
Real or not, Ghost of Kyiv is a legend :cool:Quote:
Originally Posted by Baqer
(also TIL the meaning of “flying ace”)
I wonder whether NATO special forces have been secretly deployed to Ukraine. :thinking:
Some brave people:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...raine-invasion
Quote:
Thousands join anti-war protests in Russia after Ukraine invasion
Considering how little support there is for this war domestically, internationally, and within their own army, I'd reckon that this won't be going on for very long. I do not think that there are realistic realities out there which would've put Russia at more of a disadvantage than now.Quote:
Originally Posted by xerx
Feel like making a bet, assuming no invading of NATO countries and nuclear war, this'll be over before April. I hope.
It seems Russia is on the verge of a swift takeover of Kiev. A well-planned action and quite possibly successful in the short term as its strategies in the upcoming years depend on it. Biden and local analysts where I live have hinted at it: Russia will most likely continue expansion and try to recreate the URSS (edit: or USSR if you prefer...) in some form as NATO would allow it.
It remains to be seen what form the invasion will take. A change of regime and departure from Kiev is a bit dangerous; Putin must've gone in really sure about the results he would get, the people he will install in power. That means once Ukr is humiliated (demilitarization) Putin will leave a puppet regime in his wake and they will deal harshly with dissenters.
Protracted occupation is another option as the region can be used as a base for further incursions into the continent and places like Moscow are far away, allowing the invader's spreading of misery without feeling any domestic heat to stop the aggression. It is a horrible thing to say, but the invader can keep this up indefinitely unless the invaded population gravely affects its assets and that means embassies blowing up, buses going up in the air in central Moscow.
In the end, it depends on the Ukrainian's sense of self love and memory and what they want. Will they go silently about their life as their college classmates, relatives are imprisoned and vanished for “anti-Russian” activities; will they plead lacrimously as they are killed while muscovites live in idiot land with no consequences?
Don't kid yourself. Glory is reserved for the 18-60 year old men who stayed in Kiev and other regions to resist. Even if reunification isn't a reality in the next 10 years, the heart-felt monuments will go to them. Your fallen ‘soldiers’ will be scurried back into Russia in the cheapest wooden box they can find and ignominy will cover their dead-ass sack of bones, long before serious revisionism even sets in.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sol
Well, wars, like any complicated maneuver, tend to be highly unpredictable. Sometimes this is even by design, because acting unpredictably is needed in order to gain the element of surprise. Nobody made exactly correct predictions about how this war has turned out so far, or the scale of the invasion, or whether there would be invasion at all (how do you even define "invasion" --- do missile strikes and border clashes count, or does Putin have to siege a few Ukrainian cities?). Because he keeps his cards close to his chest, many mutually contradictory assessments of Putin's motivations were about equally credible. Everyone got it a little bit right, a little bit wrong.Quote:
Originally Posted by Baqer
I hope that you're right, though.Quote:
Originally Posted by Baqer
Ok, I was wrong, US involvement in Iraq, Afghanistan and Yemen has clouded my perception. Western governments are terrified, and they're likely terrified for a good reason.Quote:
Originally Posted by leckysupport
Russian tank very deliberately targets and flattens civilian car (yes, with someone inside).
https://mobile.twitter.com/golub/sta...11332571107332
Kind of hoping that Putin somehow gets thrown out of office as a result of this, as a silver lining to this mess.
Quote:
Originally Posted by xerx
Sure. That always happens with guys who are simultaneously in charge of the secret police, the army, the navy, the air force, the government, and the press.
Maybe not. But if his invasion is foiled, for how long would the police and army let him stay in charge?Quote:
Originally Posted by Adam Strange
Quote:
Originally Posted by xerx
If Stalin is any example, indefinitely.
xerx, with all due respect, I don't think you understand how dictatorships work.
Or how power in society works, to be honest.
The only person or group that can displace another in any society is one which has more power or wealth than the person or group being replaced. The only exceptions to this are when someone is displaced by a foreign power, which is not really even an exception, because the foreign power is more powerful than the person being replaced.
Saddam was not voted out after he spectacularly lost the first Gulf War. Instead, he was overthrown by superior force and violence.
Leopold II was the absolute owner of the Bengian Congo and he killed 10 million people for personal profit because he had no restraints on his actions, but at home in Belgium, he was a constitutional monarch who built public works and supported women's rights, because he had people who were powerful enough to restrict his power.
Honestly, it's all about power.
Adam, I'm not actually expecting him to be overthrown. It's just the kind of thing you say when hoping for a salutary outcome.Quote:
Originally Posted by Adam Strange
But it isn't an impossible scenario either. Russia is composed of different elites with different levels of power and wealth (including secessionist regional elites), some of which no doubt feel that they have a historical destiny to rule.
There are also many patriots inside the Russian bureaucracy who want to live in a corruption-free country, want Russia to comply with international norms, and resent the fact that it's led by a violent kleptocrat. And now that he's invaded a sovereign country and turned Russia into an international pariah, even his main selling point, of being a crafty mastermind, seems to have been overly charitable — even if the West was forcing his hand by expanding NATO (which I still believe, and which we should be ashamed of), there were still more rational and intelligent, let alone ethical, ways to counter that threat.
A draft would be more popular if more people saw this.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rusal
Former Pres. Poroshenko on the streets with a rifle, ready to defend Kyiv alongside the territorial defense battalion -
https://twitter.com/CNN/status/14971...9bQiRn6CaeYsaQ
i have a very insightful take. putin and the rest of his sociopaths were born unable to be moral. putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kysputin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys putin kys tho
rip
https://www.reddit.com/r/ThatsInsane...wn_killing_14/
It is weird how Trump was a puppet of Putin who supposedly let him do whatever he liked, yet he chose now when Biden was president to invade Ukraine. Maybe Putin didn't know about Biden's plan to Build Back Better™ and is mistaken about the fact that we are weaker with him as our president. :thinking:
U.S. Officials Repeatedly Urged China to Help Avert War in Ukraine
Americans presented Chinese officials with intelligence on Russia’s troop buildup in hopes that President Xi Jinping would step in, but were repeatedly rebuffed.
https://static01.nyt.com/images/2022...isable=upscale
Quote:
Each time, the Chinese officials, including the foreign minister and the ambassador to the United States, rebuffed the Americans, saying they did not think an invasion was in the works. After one diplomatic exchange in December, U.S. officials got intelligence showing Beijing had shared the information with Moscow, telling the Russians that the United States was trying to sow discord — and that China would not try to impede Russian plans and actions, the officials said.
"Savvy"...Quote:
Originally Posted by VewyScawwyNawcissist
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxCCPET4iv8
* The Ukrainians have resisted better than expected; Russia has experienced setbacks. But Russia hasn't deployed its entire forces yet (only one third to one half of the amassed forces have been deployed).
* The United States is definitely helping Ukraine defend itself (this doesn't include ground forces or a 'no fly zone' for the moment).
Some strange Ukrainian shit-talking.
https://twitter.com/peedutuisk/statu...10882069581824
https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1497328665209757699
Russian invasion progress.
BeautifulQuote:
Originally Posted by xerx
Russian sources claim that half of Kiev is under Russian control. The Ukrainians counter-claim that half of Kyiv is actually under Ukrainian control. Truth really is the first casualty in war.
USA-hithlerists occupation soldiers use terroristic tactics against people of own "nation". Practically they use them as hostages.
They place artillery close to living houses (hundreds may live in single such house). They do same even in Kiev. So RF has lesser wish to attack it (by rockets, shells) and may do not attack, to avoid death of many civil people and civil structures destruction. While to use infantry in towns leads to redundant death, so it's not good option and needs longer preparation.
Hungarian man with good takes' assessment of the situation, since I don't want to try to explain things now.
"Ukraine situation update - 22:30 CET
The offensive is slowly becoming a disaster show for the Russians.
According to local sources, Russian soldiers are knocking on locals' doors in villages in the Northeast, wanting to buy food, fuel and booze "for whatever money". There are reports of tankers going around with empty fuel canisters asking for fuel, also there is looting of local stores by Russian soldiers.
https://www.unian.ua/war/ne-diyshli-d...
Also in other places, things are looking increasingly grim for the Russians. As I've said before, they indended this to be a blitzkrieg, which obviously didn't happen. At the start of the offensive, their primary objectives were the following:
1. take out Ukrainian comms and break the chain of command via a series of preemptive missile strikes
2. break through the Donbass line of demarcation and press westward, link up with troops crossing the border north of the line
3. encircle Kharkiv and pacify the local defenses and/or force a quick surrender
4. break out of Crimea and press westward towards Odessa and eastward towards Mariupol, the latter group was to link up with the troops breaking through the demarcation line, encircle Mariupol and establish a land passage between Russia and Crimea
5. quickly take over the northern cities of Chernihiv and Sumy, then proceed towards Kyiv
6. take Hostomel airport next to Kyiv and use it to land elite paratroopers, then as a staging ground for the siege of Kyiv
7. link up approaching forces and encircle Kyiv, then force a surrender
These were the Russian plans, roughly speaking. Out of these 7 goals, ZERO were achieved.
1. Ukrainians got intel in time about the incoming missile strikes, and shuffled everything around. Consequently, Russian missile strikes only had limited effect, the Ukrainian chain of command and much of their hardware remained operational.
2. The Donbass demarcation line holds still, Russians couldn't break through anywhere. Moreover, the Russians breaking through above the line were PUSHED BACK by Ukrainians, who launched a counterattack, with Russian forces fleeing back towards Russia.
3. The Kharkiv encirclement failed, Russians got bogged down, that's where they suffered their first significant losses. Kharkiv is on Ukrainian hands even now.
4. While the southern breakout from Crimea was inutially successful, Russians were once again held up at Kherson and Melitopol, thus couldn't advance much or link up with any other groups. Consequently the Crimea land bridge project failed.
5. Russians got bogged down both around Sumy and Chernihiv. In the end they decided to bypass the two cities altogether, and move towards Kyiv instead.
6. Russians first took Hostomel airport with a huge helicopter deployment, which was considered reckless at best by military experts. Later Russian paratroopers were dropped in, who are considered their elite forces. Ukrainians managed to defeat them and kick them out of the airport, which is a huge loss of face for the Russian army.
7. Troops from the Northeast and Northwest are trying to link up for an assault on Kyiv while bypassing cities, but in the process are taking losses due to Ukrainian harassment. As of the writing of this, Russians are still not ready for encirclement, let alone siege. Currently the indiscriminate shelling of Kyiv is underway instead.
We can draw the following conclusions:
> Russians greviously underestimated the Ukrainian defense forces.
> The Russian army was given very unrealistic objectives they couldn't complete, suggesting strong political pressure instead of rational planning.
> Russian missile strikes and air forces are very poorly organized, therefore ineffective. With such overwhelming air superiority they should have already decimated Ukrainian defenses. This did not happen so far.
> Russian logistics are very poorly organized, as illustrated by the info in the beginning. Soldiers' morale is low, and lack essential supplies such as food or fuel.
> Putin is slowly realizing the extent of the problem. As a sign of this, he called on the Ukrainian Army to rise up against their government, and told Kyiv he's ready for negotiations. As a rule of thumb, you don't do this when your victory is certain.
> The more time passes, the more desperate Russians get, and the more brutish methods they'll resort to, such as the aforementioned indiscriminate bombing of cities. This in turn causes massive discontent both at home and among the troops. Even according to Russian propaganda, their troops are there to liberate Ukrainians from the "evil nazi junta", not to murder their Ukrainian brethren. This is where the myriad cross-border familial and cultural connections seriously backfire for Putin.
Both China and India abstained from voting on the American-drafted UNSC resolution to condemn Russia.............. interesting.
https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/...52921063194624Quote:
Originally Posted by Adam Strange
Balls of steel SLE