The United States(!) of A
Yeah hard to know what to believe but you have to really hand it to the Ukrainian people for fighting for their country, i thought they were just going to get slaughtered, but seems they are putting up a pretty good fight.
Imagine if Australia got attacked, id like to think id do the same but in all honesty I'm not sure i would, and look at how selfish, undisciplined and weak most people are in any Western countries these days, we would be screwed.
Hat's off to the Ukrainians, lot of respect has been learnt from the rest of the world.
They are fighting well all right but it’s a fight that never should have happened in the first place….Biden’s a scheming war pig, Putin’s a bait taking boofhead and zelensky is a fool.
Update on the damaged Slava class guided missle cruiser (real Jack Ryan stuff: this guy is good)
When designed these packed a serious punch, far more than NATO navies.
Sky reporting that RIA has said it has sunk, wow. Anecdotal in comments of linked vid is Neptune missile may have hit it.
If you at least listen to the first 25 minutes of Scott Ritter (links above) you will see the origins of the Ukranian "nationalists" controlling the government (not to be confused with the general population) being supported by the west and the origins and origins of the conflict.
Hint - you will be deeply disturbed.
Listen further to understand the likely outcomes - again not what we are being told.
No good guys to cheer on or admire in this war. Just a dangerous mess and a group think media and political wave that dwarfs the recent covid wave.
Cheers frog for finding this.
Have read a few of Scott’s books especially around the gulf wars.
Will watch later.
yeah thanks frog. Just watched part 1. Very insightful. The old CIA hey...
Irony!
This is the Russian Flagship #Moskva before she sank. It's impossible to fully assess the situation aboard based on one picture but marine salvage masters must make assumptions based on little information. As a ship captain and ship fire author here's what appears to be likely🧵 pic.twitter.com/pUjqo4j3Bs
— John Ʌ Konrad V (@johnkonrad) April 17, 2022
OK we now have footage of the Moskva before she sank. Ammunition detonation likely forward among the missile tubes. Poor sailors on board.
This is apparently the largest surface warship sunk since the Second World War (pips General Belgrano in 1982 for size I think?) 40 years to the month after Falklands.
On land in this war, we are seeing asymmetrical warfare getting the better of armour (hand held guided rockets) and aircraft - but at sea, the ship would have had long range air to air missile systems, medium range systems, and close in fast firing guns to knock the missiles out. Did they get through all 3 layers?
A deeply intelligent and articulate geopolitical perspective on the current great power conflicts.
Long listen but worth it to contrast his well considered framework with the superficial MSM wall of thinly thought through commentary / propaganda we face.
Sadly, it highlights that we are not in safe hands - leadership wise.
Bunch of comments deleted. If yours isn't here then it's one of those that's been erased. Shouldn't need to explain why.
stunet wrote:Bunch of comments deleted. If yours isn't here then it's one of those that's been erased. Shouldn't need to explain why.
I think you should explain why, ban blowin, or both.
Missed the circus at play but see one clowns comments are still here and can imagine the other comment's, Blowin mate please bite your tongue and don't let him get under your skin, surely by now you know his only aim here is to get under others skin and cause havoc if you get permanently banned he will be as happy as larry, if you really want to piss Facto off, best thing you can do is totally ignore him.
@ID,
Some comments survived cos they didn't make reference to other people.
If I've missed some, happy to have you point them out to me.
Yeah i understand no issues, I missed it all, but not hard to imagine the back and forth exchange.
@VJ, I think you posted a little while ago a link to a sighting of a Russian nuclear powered battleship in the Black Sea(?).
Nuclear power would have its benefits for long periods at sea but imagine the implications if it gets taken down by one of those ship killing missiles.
Distracted wrote:@VJ, I think you posted a little while ago a link to a sighting of a Russian nuclear powered battleship in the Black Sea(?).
Nuclear power would have its benefits for long periods at sea but imagine the implications if it gets taken down by one of those ship killing missiles.
Hi Distracted, yep that was a Kirov class nuclear powered battlecruiser. The "battlecruiser" bit is because of it's speed (faster than battleships) and it's size - as big as the WW2 battleships. One would think if hit by a missile there might not be time to shut the reactor down... so down it goes. Any hit on a nuclear sub, of which there are many, has the same result.
A couple of Ukraine pieces from Michael Kofman (director of Russia Studies CNA, senior adjunct fellow CNAS): first his recent view on the situation, with reasonably up to date battle map:
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1517856532976881664.html
Before, an article where he predicts what would happen, back in January. Also, a description of NATO's expansion; Russia's demands and their increasing frustration before the invasion; and their optimism that they may have been welcomed:
https://warontherocks.com/2022/01/putins-wager-in-russias-standoff-with-...
Biden funding the war in Ukraine a further 46 billion $ if he can get it through congress , surprised he doesn’t ask for another 46 to out bid musk for Twitter.
Supafreak would you preferred USA supported Russia
evosurfer wrote:Supafreak would you preferred USA supported Russia
Definitely not , I would prefer that they spend the 46 billion on their homeless vets and health system.
I have a couple of articles that are well worth perusing regarding how geopolitics is developing (decades worth in weeks) and that 46Bn is a drop in the bucket as to the shifts that are coming
https://blogs.tslombard.com/get-ready-for-us-china-decoupling
From TSLombard analysts, it notes legislation in the pipeline to significantly shift the Western economies away from China. It suggests an acceleration in the process and ponders extra actions that may occur. I see an acceleration of the Trump admin's policy - turbocharged, even! Get ready for separate economic supply chains, imo.
"Nearly two months into the Russia-Ukraine war, US policymakers – troubled by Beijing’s pro-Kremlin rhetoric – are forging ahead with robust plans to accelerate US-China decoupling. Of the five major decoupling pathways being explored today, two – the likely acceleration of the start of the process to delist nearly 250 Chinese firms on US capital markets by one year to 2023 and a first-of-kind US outbound investment screening regime – are currently included in different versions of the top-priority, bipartisan China competition bill that has favourable odds of being passed by mid-year."
Also they note potential of:
"The potential inclusion of a US outbound investment screening regime in the China competition bill (or a similar bill). "
and
"“NATO for trade”. Since 2020, there has been talk in Washington policy circles about the benefits of creating a new trade body for free market democracies that would lie outside the WTO framework and could support countries that have been targets of China’s wrath in trade (e.g., Australia, Lithuania)."
Further, UK Foreign Secretary has just delivered a very determined speech:
https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/foreign-secretarys-mansion-house-...
Wow.
"My vision is a world where free nations are assertive and in the ascendant. Where freedom and democracy are strengthened through a network of economic and security partnerships. Where aggressors are contained and forced to take a better path."
"During the Cold War western allies fuelled each other’s prosperity, and we restricted flows of trade, investment and technology to the USSR. In the 1990s these constraints were removed but it didn’t lead to the expected gains in economic openness and democracy. We took progress for granted instead of applying the necessary carrots and sticks.
And leaders like Putin spurned the opportunity to change because they feared losing control. Instead they took the money from oil and gas and used it to consolidate power and gain leverage abroad. ‘Wandel durch handel’ – the assumption that economic integration drives political change – didn’t work.
We now need a new approach, one that melds hard security and economic security, one that builds stronger global alliances and where free nations are more assertive and self-confident, one that recognises geopolitics is back."
"Our new approach is based on 3 areas: military strength, economic security and deeper global alliances."
"We need a global NATO. By that I don’t mean extending the membership to those from other regions. I mean that NATO must have a global outlook, ready to tackle global threats."
"We need to pre-empt threats in the Indo-Pacific, working with our allies like Japan and Australia to ensure the Pacific is protected. And we must ensure that democracies like Taiwan are able to defend themselves.
All of this will require resources. We are correcting a generation of underinvestment.
That’s why the Prime Minister has announced the biggest investment in our Armed Forces since the Cold War. We recognised Russia as the most acute threat in our Integrated Review, adopting the same vigilance as NATO’s Eastern Allies.
Others are now also stepping up as well. But we all need to go further. Spending 2% on defence must be a floor, not a ceiling. There is no substitute for hard military power, backed by intelligence and diplomacy."
Wow, this is old school, great power competition. Very different from the global, open everything of the last 2 decades. Major shift.
"We recognise that growth from cheap gas and money syphoned from kleptocracies is growth built on sand. It’s not the same as real, sustained growth from higher productivity and greater innovation.
Free trade and free markets are the most powerful engine of human progress. We will always champion economic freedom.
But free trade must be fair – and that means playing by the rules. For too long many have been naïve about the geopolitical power of economics. Aggressors treat it as a tool of foreign policy – using patronage, investment and debt as a means to exert control and coerce. They are ruthless in their approach. Our response won’t mirror their malign tactics, but we will match them in our resolve.
It’s time to wise up. Access to the global economy must depend on playing by the rules.
There can be no more free passes. We are showing this with the Russia-Ukraine conflict – Russia’s pass has been rescinded."
Again, wow. I keep thinking of Joseph Chamberlain's "Imperial Preference" of 1905, only this is more immediate as a war is already being waged.
"We are showing that economic access is no longer a given. It has to be earned.
Countries must play by the rules. And that includes China.
Beijing has not condemned Russian aggression or its war crimes. Russian exports to China rose by almost a third in the first quarter of this year. They have sought to coerce Lithuania. They are commenting on who should or shouldn’t be a member of NATO. And they are rapidly building a military capable of projecting power deep into areas of European strategic interest.
But China is not impervious. By talking about the rise of China as inevitable we are doing China’s work for it. In fact, their rise isn’t inevitable. They will not continue to rise if they don’t play by the rules."
"That brings onto the final point, which is that our prosperity and security must be built on a network of strong partnerships.
This is what I have described as the Network of Liberty.
The fundamental principle is that no matter the challenges, we should not turn inward and pursue autarky. We should reach out and embrace new partnerships, what the Dutch and others have called ‘open autonomy’.
In a world where malign actors are trying to undermine multilateral institutions, we know that bilateral and plurilateral groups will play a greater role. Partnerships like NATO, the G7 and the Commonwealth are vital."
Anyway, I've quoted enough. It's a significant speech. Major solidifying of Western policy inbound.
Yep…
Clever Pseudonym23 hr ago·edited 23 hr ago
“I'm starting to think that the Trump ascendancy is the most fascinating and consequential event of my lifetime (and I'm Matt's age). I'm not exactly an expert historian, but I really can't find any previous historical episode where an entire ruling class (also comprising a culture and intellectual class) had such a sustained and complete nervous breakdown, to the point where they repudiated every prior principle and belief and replaced it with a permanent nonstop juvenile tantrum. (I guess living in the age of Twitter makes a big difference.)
Ever since that man came down that escalator, what used to be a liberal ruling class that supported free thought and free expression etc. has turned into a vindictive, authoritarian Red Guard (if the Red Guards were all emotionally brittle and psychologically unstable toddlers) that uses guilt, shame and bigotry accusations instead of bullets.
The Left in America has locked itself inside an ideological hall of mirrors where no matter the idea or action (even sex ed for kindergarteners!) they are automatically the good, wise and benevolent custodians of a utopian future, and anyone who even slightly dissents becomes ipso facto the opposite, dangerous bigoted reactionaries who need to be gagged and cancelled.
They have talked each other into a psychosis-level derangement and there just seems to be no penetrating their bubble of dogmatic certitude, ideological fanaticism, pious moralism, and self-flattering sanctimony.
But sadly and unfortunately they still control the media, academia, publishing, Hollywood, more or less all of our art and culture. I don't see how this ends well...”
Cultural warrior certitude showing there SSDS.
Ain’t that the truth, from all disciples involved.
Continues from excellent review by velocityjohnno NATO Pacific...
2022 NATO NAC+4 - "Suppressing The Dragon"
Back 2 The Future (Think we've been down this belted road before)
1954 NATO SEATO - "To Cage the Red Dragon"
https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/T/bo25993362.html
( US Zoo for Paper Tigers ) or ( Fig Leaf for Nakedness of American Policy )
8th Sept 1954 - 30th June 1977 ( SEATO ) South East Asia Treaty Organization. (Members by $ % )
24% US / 16% UK-Hong Kong, North Borneo, Sarahawk / 13.5% France-Indo China / 13.5% Australia-PNG / 8% NZ / 8% Pakistan-Bangladesh / 8% Philippines / 8% Thailand
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southeast_Asia_Treaty_Organization#:~:text....
How serious was SEATO...
Logo made it onto on a 4c Stamp 1st day Issue set...looks pretty serious!
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51KwF5sqR0L._AC_.jpg
Bumper industrious Liftout + Posters all look real serious!
https://nara.getarchive.net/media/seato-poster-a69556?zoom=true
Shiny Hi-Rise Headquarters with Corp Logo + Flag.
https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/exterior-photograph-of-the-4story-s...
NZ became a World Super Power...for a day! (Wish that was Oz! So jealous!)
https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/seato-conference-wellington-1959
[SEATO] brought our Neighbours closer together
https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/3rd-april-1958-indonesian-students-...
https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/awm-media/collection/ARTV03111/s...
Russia blows away SEATO vice...all gone...bye bye!
https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/soviet-propaganda-poster-the-earth-...
1998 Oz re-partners NATO > 1999 Oz fighting Wars under NATO flag.
14th April Oz NATO Timeline....thanx to US (!) of A
https://www.swellnet.com/comment/819239
2012 Research Paper dates NAC+4 Pacific alliance to 2001.
https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/141292/rp_75.pdf
2020 US defence history & overview on Asian NATO.
https://www.belfercenter.org/publication/asia-whole-and-free-assessing-v...
2021 (Mac's World) Random Vid explores realistic shape & size of future Asia NATO.
Sounds a bit informative but it's well worth a look...this guy gives a bloody good Asian Tour.
Doesn't muck around...just calls it how it is...nails our Political region better than us! Just go with it!
June 2021 [ NAC + 4 ] Japan / S. Korea / Oz / NZ + 2030 Agenda
https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_183254.htm
Aug 2021 NATO Paper > NAC-4 + Singapore + Hypersonics
https://www.nusghani.org.uk/sites/www.nusghani.org.uk/files/2021-10/023%...
Jan 2022 NATO vs China
https://www.frstrategie.org/en/publications/nato-briefs-series/alliance-...
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202204/1258771.shtml
AUKUS > OZ Nuke Subs + Hypersonic Missiles reflecting NATO Europe
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202204/1259214.shtml
7th April 2022 China accuse Oz of NATO Expansion into Pacific.
https://www.afr.com/world/asia/china-says-australia-building-a-nato-repl...
Back to the Future NATO Pacific Cold War it is...salute our Leaders for that!
Dutto: Stop cowering & curling into a ball, just Nuke the fuck outta them Nazi Commies.
Crew have some good reads going on here...
Nazi NATO
https://www.historynet.com/these-nato-generals-had-unusual-backgrounds-t...
NATO not one inch expansion (Promise) became a continental country mile. ( What Putin refers to...)
https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/russia-programs/2017-12-12/nato-...
Nazi Annexation of Russian Territories is near complete.
https://www.askqotd.com/the-iron-curtain/
Nato : Not one Inch Map
https://www.mappr.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/image-292.jpeg
Each annexed state becomes a new "Nato US Exercise Arms Depot" New Frontline Commie Invasion.
1955 East Austria (Inching mob era) 1990 East Germany 1992 Azerbaijan, Armenia 1996 Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan 1999 Czech, Hungry, Poland 2004 Slovenia, Slovakia, Romania + Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania 2006 Belarus 2009 Albania, Croatia 2019 Montenegro 2020 North Macedonia 2022 Bosnia Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, Serbia, Ukraine
+ ( More Neighbouring Neutral Nazi States are muscling up!)
NATO's not one inch upskirting of Tattered Curtain is complete...(Russia warned they'll defend!)
Believe it or Not...Nato +28 / Russia -28 (MSM claim Russia is invading Europe by defending last corner.)
So who is bankrolling Russia's last ditch defence of rusted out Iron Curtain...(Russian Ukraine Invasion)
2014 Sanctions rule out supplying Russia...(However) NATO still armed Russia
Iron Curtain Arms suppliers to their Enemy...
France $230m /Germany $182m /Italy $35m /Austria $25m /Bulgaria $16.5m /Czech $14.5 /UK $ 2.5m
2017-21 Ukraine exported 20% of Arms to Russia (3rd best Customer!)
2021-22 Sanctioned Traders
US (Russia - Preferred Partner Putin was rewarded 25% extra trade) While US armed Borders?
Australia Russia 100% Extra (Record Trade) Bugger their 2014 sanctions...
https://tradingeconomics.com/australia/exports-to-russia
Click [5/10/25 yr] 2x Exports > Oz exports by category
Click [ Show more ] $5m Arms / Ammo + $3m Explosives/mth > (Feb 2022)
Late Jan : Oz signed up Russian Vax...to score more Students for Uni Dean's Votes! (Nice!) Like We care!
History: Key NATO members & Partners queued to break sanctions to bankroll current Ukraine Killings.
NATO / US fund their Nazis (vs) Commie War equally! How much does that add up to.
NATO gave $5b each to knock each other out! $10b to restart Covid Arms Economy...drop in the Ocean.
Take a closer look at War Maps...
Russians are invading highest Russian populated Regions (Ukrainians reside in central West Regions)
https://external-preview.redd.it/WZCNj-kAqH1xpmT3EnDeRno1E8EmniM8BSLwqYl...
Ukraine language mandate $300 fines + No services, utilities, pensions in Russian Language.
(EU / English languages Exempt) > 43-46% speak equal languages
Russian Annexed Cities were outcast by Ukraine Language Laws. ( No water / Power / Transit etc...)
Crimea 97% Donesk 93% Luhansk 89% Odessa 85% Kharkiv 74% Dnipro' 72% Mykolaiv 66%
Russian language is also dominant in Kyiv.
Russian Language > 87% Books / 83% Journals / 81% www / 60% Newspapers / 60% Radio
Ukrainian Language > Sad Reality = www 9.5% (Rank 8th) / Radio 3.4%
Human Rights keep warning Ukraine Nazis to Stop persecuting Russians
Govt 100% bans on Russian Culture
2014-14 TV Networks / 2015 -160 movies- series / 2016 (60%)Books / 2017 Internet / 2018 Language
Govt Language Mandates 1996 Govt / 2017 Schools +Uni +Trades / Broadcasts 75% +50% local
2022 - 100% Print ($300 Fines) Every Russian Script must be translated equally in Ukrainian!
Nazis control all check points...depriving Russian speaking seniors to access basic pension / services.
https://www.crisisgroup.org/europe-central-asia/eastern-europe/ukraine/2...
Early 2021 NATO / US / Zelensky vowed to reclaim unplugged 100% Russian speaking Crimea!
Russia simply checked every NATO Troop deployment...(We read only Russian Defence Exercises)
Dec 2021 UN Voted on denouncing Nazism...Only 2 Nations Voted Against (Ukraine & US )
49 Nazi NATO & Pacific wannabes abstained... 130 had no trouble voting down NAZIS.
https://kawsachunnews.com/ukraine-and-u-s-back-nazism-at-the-un-resolution
Sure! Putin has zero in his Fan Club but Ukrainians are #1 Nazis ... UN / HR will vouch for that!
World was aghast at Ukrainians smashing & beating Africans & banning them from trying to flee!
Crew might recall Ukraine Nazis Missile taking down Jews onboard Russian Civic Flight...All 78 dead!
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/oct/12/russia.israel
Amnesty : 2021 Not pretty reading.
https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/europe-and-central-asia/ukraine/repo...
Current President #1 Corrupt Pollie that never paid $1 Tax but helped rip off $7.75b from Ukraine.
https://www.occrp.org/en/the-pandora-papers/pandora-papers-reveal-offsho...
War Maps (North / East secured)
https://liveuamap.com/
#1 grade Gas reserves / Valuable Iron Ore / #1 Lithium / Aluminium deposits.
We know this as Russian Troops still guard their new found acquisitions.
https://www.pngwing.com/en/free-png-nzvfu
Now at the business end from Southern Ports up to Centre...
Ukraine mount massive resistance to guard their Honey Pot. "The Yellow River"
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Major-potential-sources-of-radionucl...
#1 Iron / Gold / Uranium / Titanium / Cobalt / Vanadium / Germanium
25% of World's Manganese deposits are up centre towards Poltava...
Poltava is also 13% Corn Hub or the final prize...Russia is too cold to grow corn!
China / Asia pay primo bucks for Corn...( Needed to feed Pigs for Pork / Corn Dishes)
The idea being to transit these prizes to newly acquired Ports.
One could argue more disintegration leaves less obstacles to access a wealth of opportunity.
Very few Townsfolk will block the new $billion mine in the centre of their new City.
Russia can now redesign New City centres around the Resourceful Mines...massive cost saving.
Yes! At first, all see destruction but this is a fast track windfall for Developers of new #1 Mining Cities!
All the rubble gets recycled as free road base for Heavy Trucks to new Mines for massive Job growth.
Stop short of sayin' Putin is a Subbie for those who secured local ports & drool over their Prizes.
Crew know that premium resource is worth the World & more to those desperate to show off power.
50% Ukraine Neon Gas supplies 63% of World's TSMC Silicone Chips.
China has own deposits so 5G benefits hugely from Ukraine's halt in ultra rare high end commodity
China's Chip industry is worth $100b / yr this impost on competitors earns China $2b/wk (Not Bad!)
No trade sanctions nothing...just a bit of bad luck...hey!
Given all that TBB, invading was a guaranteed way to make the people there hate you (you are killing them) and make NATO's position even stronger. It's like 5D chess from a chimpanzee.
velocityjohnno wrote:Given all that TBB, invading was a guaranteed way to make the people there hate you (you are killing them) and make NATO's position even stronger. It's like 5D chess from a chimpanzee.
That would go for the Ukrainian people plus also the Russian people that have settled there and have now had their houses/lives destroyed by Putins invasion.
Seriously, stop with the Nazi crap TBB. It makes you sound like a Putin stooge.
Ukrainians. Live in Ukraine. Some speak Russian. That doesn’t make them Russian. Or do you subscribe to the ‘not a real country’ crap as well?
Russian Tennis Pros book connecting flight to Corp Box & blow Strawberry Kisses or raspberries! Boo!
Unvaxed Wimbledon Russian is far less a crime than being a fully vaxed Russian Tennis Pro in Victoria.
Dutto hunted, strip searched, interrogated & deported fully vaxed Russian Players before War started!
re: Aussie Unvaxed Pros can't ride the Flying Kangaroo out to Wimbledon...So who's at War with Who?
As usual...Our Pollies dropped the ball & lost the Plot! Yer messin' with the wrong guys!
Reads only Unvaxed Russians & Serbs allowed to boo from Wimbledon Corp box this year. OMG!
Like! Just in case...[L] Open won over the VIPs + 99.99% Voters rate it as Daggy Dad's finest Hour.
Not havin' a go at Ukraine...just the daft weird arse Western Leaders shooting their own feet off.
Salute to Ukrainian men 18-60 banned from leaving Ukraine under Martial Law.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/24/martial-law-in-ukraine-what-you...
They must also report for Duty at a Military Recruitment Office
It's still every inch a Man's World...Them be fightin' words > Get yer head blown off.
Relax! tbb is demonstrating how just one word outta place will get ya shot by either Army.
Given Dutto's call to arms...this is the current Ukrainian Men's Exemptions!
Single Fathers / Father's of 3 kids or more / Father's of Disabled kids
Medical Certificate (Disability!)
International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights
Freedom of Conscience & religion or belief conflicts with obligation to use Lethal force!
Sorry! This was excluded under Public Emergency! (Go ask Dan...then run like hell!)
Crew can see LGBTQI+ wouldn't live long enough in Ukrainian Army to worry 'bout such!
Like! They be Outta Here! Cheaper to pay the $10,000 & more to Mexico thru Joe's Turnstyle.
Prisoners with Military experience were released...Ukraine Marshall Law extends to EU Courts. (Wow!)
Dutch released 2 People Smugglers to serve on Frontline, coz they were insistent to kill people.
(Must avoid committing offences...Killing people is fine!)
https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/short_news/dutch-court-release...
Many Flooded the Borders early ( Feeling Guilty some help in Reffo Centres)
Plead to Border Guards. (Recall the rush was on...Lucky Day Punk!)
Early Bribes at Polish Border > Ended with Ukraine Guards slowing to single Entry.
Illegal smuggling Routes (Jewish Groups paid $10,000 for off-road exit tours)
It seems as though $10,000 was the Guards asking price at all borders as most fell short!
Un-patrolled borders were well clear of Frontline
Moldova was often flooded with only young men crossing their wider Border + Bribes a plenty!
Those who leave, leave everything & wear the shame
Unusual : Men entering neighbouring Countries never applied for Asylum? ( Strange ) Passing Thru!
2nd April Ukraine Parliament approved Payment Plans for Russian Soldiers.
Bribe List (Nothin' Suss...we reward Top Brass Russians with a pay rise!)
$1.4m = Warship surrender
$1.4m = Jet surrender
$140,000 = Tank surrender
$14,000 = Trucks / Arms surrender
$14,000 = Surrender...extended offer!
https://time.com/6165422/russians-in-ukraine/
Russia
$14,000 mth Syrian Mercenaries
Withholding 134,000 conscripts & recalling 60,000 reservists
WWII Nazis are still killing 1m Russians / year...2016 starts biggest echo on Putin's reign.
Essential Vid of Russian Population decline explains this.
80% of all Russian boys born in 1923 would be dead by WWII 1946...
Russia is entering it's 3rd WWII pop echo > now losing 1m yr+ more for many years ahead.
110m (77%) huddling in 23% warm corner > now overshadowed by Nazi's end game! (Game Over!)
Lends insight into Putin's desperate claw back of Climate / Resources / Ports / Jobs to save population.
Russia are fighting to survive before NATO bulldoze over them.
Look again! Putin's 7 year itch into Russia's greatest decline in History...All or Nothing.
Russian Army starts to half with the Echo...add that 50% of youth wanted out before the War!
Now offers Dual citizenship & pays Chix monthly to nurture pregnancy as a career.
EU have already checked Immigration by denying Visas / Insurance / Flights.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d7/RUS_SbA1y_2020...
Given that you (and others) have effectively propagated an argument that Ukraine should just bend over and take what Russia wants, I think it might be useful for you to read a little more on what the ‘sustainable’ future for “Russia” might actually be. This might be a reasonable academic exercise if you’re still repeating the line that Ukraine is somehow historically or culturally invalid (basically parroting RU media lines)
The current Russian Federation is potentially headed for a break up, along regional and ethnic lines. These military actions in Ukraine are a reflection not of ‘security concerns’ but of a broader imperialist mindset in the Russian (generally Muscovite) elite. This is a model that they apply to any rogue states within the Federation, except that Ukraine isn’t part of it and doesn’t want to be.
Of course it’s about resources, but it’s deeper than that. Of course there’s a little bit of ‘Security’ policy in there but it’s deeper than that too.
Finally, on NATO. Putin’s actions have done more to unite NATO, validate its existence and now to increase its size with Finland and Sweden potentially joining. What an own goal…
I’ll try and find some articles out there with this background but you might as well search yourself. Look up Kamil Galeev for some useful start points on ‘modern Russia’ which you seem to be enamoured of.
One reason why Ukraine might not want to be part of Russia, told to me by my neighbour son of a Ukrainian who hated Russians and my neighbour recons his father would still be hating Russians from his grave.
Holodomor
"Terror-Famine[6][7][8] or the Great Famine,[9] was a famine in Soviet Ukraine from 1932 to 1933 that killed millions of Ukrainians. The Holodomor famine was part of the wider Soviet famine of 1932–1933 which affected the major grain-producing areas of the country"
Spot on IF.
A key issue that I have with the ‘evil NATO / US global empire’ angle that’s been repeated ad nauseam by people is that it completely denies agency and action to Eastern Europeans, most of whom have lived under Russian rule within living memory.
There’s no desire in most of these places to live as a satellite state of Moscow, second class citizens in a third rate empire. That’s why they’re fighting so hard.
Btw, waiting for those bio lab exposes anytime now…
Yeah Nah CBG, if you’re going to make it a binary choice (which it isn’t), then Russia ain’t getting a look in.
Ukrainian narratives seem to reinforce that they themselves as European.
There’s so much more to this than Russia vs the US. Or can’t you see that?
I didn’t make this about Moscow vs Washington.
You did.
TBB you are drawing a long bow to suggest that demographic decline was caused by the Wehrmacht. Do I have to link 'Hellstorm' to show you what happened to German civvies when the Red Army conquered them?
tbb already signed Petition to end War in Ukraine
This was was a Pacifist Petition that stood out in a sea of 1million Hate / Kill / Ban petitions...
This one asks all Evil parties to lay down their Arms...not picking sides...Hate all injustice!
Sure! tbb will get sued for being a sissy...for believing every life is equally precious.
https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/no-war-in-ukraine
Also signed Petition to Stop Australia's endless supply line of weapons fuelling our larger nearer War!
Australia's weapons have killed 85,000 children. Other NATO nations withdrew Weapons but not Oz.
24 million need humanitarian assistance & Oz has not given $1.00, just more Weapons to kill more.
tbb also signed to end our own Oz War (petition).
https://www.savethechildren.org.au/petitions/stop-war-on-children
2021 Australia defies UN pleas to stop exporting weapons that fuel record Human Rights violations.
https://michaelwest.com.au/revealed-australia-defies-un-pleas-over-atroc...
7th Dec 2021- Why is Australia #1 weapons supplier to World's biggest War.
https://johnmenadue.com/why-does-australia-still-sell-weapons-to-human-r...
March 2022 - 7 years 17m suffering & Oz alone keeps funding endless War crimes for years onward!
https://www.savethechildren.org.au/media/media-releases/funding-for-life...
Yemen War has killed at least 377,000 > 40% from Weapons (re: #1 Oz) + 60% hunger & disease.
War deaths could reach 1.3 million by 2030 unless we can stop Evil Oz bastards weapons supply line!
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/11/23/un-yemen-recovery-possible-in-...
https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/trend-lines/30464/on-ending-war-yeme...
Oz future Fund invested $90m for Raytheon Airstrike on Detention Centre > 91 civilians killed 200 injured.
World's largest fastest Arms Dealer Australia is ready to kill all your people next.
2018 $2.87b
2019 $485m (#2 World Arms Smuggler)
2020 $2.67b (#4 World Arms Smuggler) (5th Hottest Arms funneller)
2021 $8.66b (#4 World Arms Smuggler) (3rd Hottest Arms funneller)
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-30/australia-worlds-second-biggest-w...
Oz Lockheed Martin War Memorial
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/apr/21/australian-war-me...
Salute First Nation, being first to take (Weapons Mob) SAAB to OECD for (Due Diligence!)
Failing to remove unexploded weapons on Sacred Sites that also breach Human Violations > Killings!
https://arena.org.au/unexplained-ordnance-a-lost-missiles-on-aboriginal-...
Help stop Australia's Killing machine slaughtering many more nearer to our shore!
No! It's not on Breaky TV nor in Election ... but that doesn't make the Human Suffering any less real.
We could go on Pretending that we have no blood on our hands...tbb can't do that! Please end all Wars!
Just reading asubscriber-only article from a respected source suggesting the US is preparing to go to War with Russia (some would say they already are). Given the US democrats are in a pile of shit at the moment it would not surprise me in the least.
Wouldn't be surprised either. Couldn't find a timely article, but found this
https://www.wsj.com/articles/russia-recasts-fight-in-ukraine-as-war-with...
May 9 anniversary coming.
As stated before, war with Russia is historically madness, as they withdraw into the interior, then come back and smash you when the weather makes further advancement impossible. Shoutout to tbb - better if no war, better if this one (and Yemen! and others) stop.
Ah the innocent days of the 'Trump and the risk of war' thread...
And to show the other perspective, article written for a Chinese audience in February from the Monthly Review, an independent Socialist magazine:
https://mronline.org/2022/02/27/the-u-s-is-preparing-war-with-china-and-...
monkeyboy wrote:Just reading asubscriber-only article from a respected source suggesting the US is preparing to go to War with Russia (some would say they already are). Given the US democrats are in a pile of shit at the moment it would not surprise me in the least.
What’s the source?
Send a link if you’ve got it.
I’d say that the US is *prepared* to go to war with Russia. That’s what the military is there for. Or do you mean ‘preparing’ from a political perspective?
Russia has been at war with itself since 1991, and with the west since Yugoslavia.
Btw, monkeyBoy. Would you say that Russia has already gone to war with Ukraine, or do you subscribe to the SMO narrative?
I didnt have it when I posted as it was an email but he has published it publicly now: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2022-05-06/two-signs-us-may-be-gearing-war
I'm not buying into any narrative. The first casualty of war (and elections) is truth.
Rand Paul on government disinformation
— Chris "Adequate Citations" Martenson, PhD (@chrismartenson) May 6, 2022
I read this a while back when it was first posted (2014 !) and more recently when Russia did its thing - dug it up again in case anyone wants a potted history of things: https://acting-man.com/?p=28941#more-28941
Monkeyboy, that’s an interesting summary. Unfortunately the people in the east look like they have been used as pawns by Putin. Even if they did not want to be part of Ukraine, the invasion has probably destroyed their communities/lives.
Distracted wrote:Monkeyboy, that’s an interesting summary. Unfortunately the people in the east look like they have been used as pawns by Putin. Even if they did not want to be part of Ukraine, the invasion has probably destroyed their communities/lives.
Totally ! I dont condone it I was just looking for history and context. Europe is full of factions and tribalism. Even the UK where I grew up still behaves like something from the middle ages at times.
War is sad no matter what justification is given, unfortunately it is no longer the last resort.
Constance B Gibson wrote:Another US view:
Yep !
This sums up the Us and EU positions; tl;dr - the US seem hell bent on provocation and the EU are just completely stuck and have very few options given the dependency on Russian Gas (and the shitshow the EU is at agreeing to do anything).
https://mishtalk.com/economics/war-escalations-military-aid-forced-defau...
I wonder if Putin under estimated just how much deadly weaponry the US was going to give Ukraine.
Inbox --> The Pentagon just distributed this rundown of U.S. military assistance provided to Ukraine: pic.twitter.com/qvKRA9ql2p
— Andrew deGrandpré (@adegrandpre) May 11, 2022
I reckon he did. Screw him, so glad US is showing such a strong support. I never believed much in Biden but he proved himself on this occasion.
Septic Tanks are going to Septic Tank