[SkinnyPupp]

Swiss people trying to get their government to sanction Russia. Sanctions from them would obviously hold a lot of power

https://streamable.com/jj7jld
Here we go:

Neutral Swiss poised to freeze Russian assets - president (https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/very-probable-that-swiss-will-freeze-russian-assets-president-2022-02-27/)

Asked whether Switzerland -- a major financial centre and commodities trading hub -- would follow the EU in freezing Russian assets, he said: "It is very probable that the government will decide to do so tomorrow, but I cannot anticipate decisions not yet taken."

[El Bastardo]

Like quasi, I'm also ethnically (partially) Ukrainian so there is no question where my position is on this war. That being said; this being posted by the Ukrainian National Guard's official Twitter account is immoral.


https://twitter.com/ng_ukraine/status/1497924614865002497


The famous Azov Battalion (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azov_Battalion) is shown dipping their bullets in pork lard in anticipation of fighting Kadyrov's (likely Muslim) Chechen forces.


No matter where you stand on the side of this conflict, this is not okay.


Its not even an original idea:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/pork-laced-bullets-designed-to-send-muslims-straight-to-hell/2013/06/21/aff2247a-daaa-11e2-b418-9dfa095e125d_story.html

[Rallydrv]

Yep. Sorry but The guy shooting at me from the other side to kill me and my family makes it ok.

And most likely they are using ak rifles so I don't think rifle will mind or jam either

[SkinnyPupp]

If they're afraid of being shot by pork bullets they should go home

[Manic!]

Twitter banned Russia bots and some Canadian politicians are getting a lot less likes on twitter.

https://twitter.com/Eienkei/status/1498048006196580352

[68style]

I really hate the way the world has become information wise... I'd gladly trade not being able to google something quickly for less bullshit every day.

[The Producer]

wait...twitter can actually find and remove russian trolls/bots?

how about we go and do that - permanently. the amount of real damage these guys do to people as unbelievable.

[SkinnyPupp]

wait...twitter can actually find and remove russian trolls/bots?

how about we go and do that - permanently. the amount of real damage these guys do to people as unbelievable.
They're constantly banning Russian and Chinese bots, but new ones get made constantly - until now

[Tegra_Devil]

I really hate the way the world has become information wise... I'd gladly trade not being able to google something quickly for less bullshit every day.

As long as pornhub isn't hurt by this plan :alone:

[320icar]

wait...twitter can actually find and remove russian trolls/bots?

how about we go and do that - permanently. the amount of real damage these guys do to people as unbelievable.

That was exactly my thought!!!! If it was so fucking easy why didn’t you do it already

[Hehe]

I really hate the way the world has become information wise... I'd gladly trade not being able to google something quickly for less bullshit every day.

Well, the problem is what's defined as "bullshit"? More importantly, who gets to decide it?

Because of all the woke and cancel culture "bullshit", it's now ok for media to act as gatekeepers. They can choose what information to feed you and what to fact-check and what not to. It's so deeply embedded into our society that if it's something that "most" don't agree with, then it must be bullshit.

In an ideal world, all information should be posted as is, with rebuttal/fact-check from different sources. Then readers can make their own judgment.

This is what's causing the divisive society. Each side only want/can hear what they want to hear, with no respect to the other side whatsoever.

The moment we stop respecting or at least hearing the argument from other side, we stopped being fair and respectful to the society. Sadly... too few understand this.

I'm not saying that Russia isn't posting bullshit. It's just what's fair and what's appropriate really? So, be careful what you wish for.

[The Producer]

They're constantly banning Russian and Chinese bots, but new ones get made constantly - until now

so what's changed? if the ability to block these bad actors exists now, today - hasn't it always existed? will it exist moving forward?

let's try a world w no social media bots for a few months and see how things go.

[SkinnyPupp]

so what's changed? if the ability to block these bad actors exists now, today - hasn't it always existed? will it exist moving forward?

let's try a world w no social media bots for a few months and see how things go.
Russia has banned twitter completely and blocks all the popular VPNs... Twitter never considered blocking entire countries, though some argue it should be the case for both China and Russia

[The Producer]

russia has banned itself from maintaining it's constant disinformation feeds into western social media? they have no ability to maintain that output while simultaneously quashing it's own citizens internet access?

i haven't taken a computer course in 20 years - but that doesn't seem plausible to me. :pokerface:

silver lining i guess for us - good luck w your socials alt right provocateurs

[yray]

just bought car parts from Russia before the war

guess I won't be getting it anytime soon

[dachinesedude]

The guy is really like a villain in a movie

https://youtu.be/o9A-u8EoWcI

[Teriyaki]

just bought car parts from Russia before the war

guess I won't be getting it anytime soon

Dang didn't know you drove a Lada

[CRS]

With that kind of dressing down, I can imagine that people are just waiting for a convenient moment to rid themselves of their tormentor.

[whitev70r]

Seriously need a mutiny ... need a Brutus and Cassisus to this Julius Caesar

[AzNightmare]

Here's a good video explaining why Putin "might" invade Ukraine (as it came out about 3 weeks before it happened). It explains the situation going all the way back to the empire days.

dark0821 explained it pretty much above. They are worried about being next to a NATO country with no defense. So instead of saying "shit maybe we should make peace with those people so we can live harmoniously without actually having to worry about our border", they just invaded them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Egjeeb8lux0

Why the fails on this post? Is there an issue with what's said in the video?

[Eff-1]

RTE interviews the Russian Ambassador to Ireland and the interviewer gets a lot of praise after for telling this doofus like it is.

Russian: Will you let me explain some basic facts?
RTE: Please, try your best.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqx0m29WHIU

[SkinnyPupp]

Why the fails on this post? Is there an issue with what's said in the video?
I assume it was an accidental click for one; same thing happened to someone else just the other day that took me aback at first LUL

The nikko account fails almost every post I make, so I just ignore them

[pastarocket]

Mental health issues for Putin? :considered:

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/in-washington-questions-about-vladimir-putin-s-mental-health-something-is-off/ar-AAUq7Mh?ocid=entnewsntp

Normally regarded as coldly rational, Russian President Vladimir Putin has alarmed influential figures in Washington with his angry outbursts as the Ukraine crisis unfolded.

Canadians urged to avoid non-essential travel to Russia amid Ukraine war
Ukraine updates, Day 5: Ukraine submits request to join the European Union

Normally regarded as coldly rational, Russian President Vladimir Putin has alarmed influential figures in Washington with his angry outbursts as the Ukraine crisis unfolded.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announces he is putting nuclear deterrence forces on high alert, in this still image obtained from a video, in Moscow, Russia, February 27, 2022.© Provided by National Post Russian President Vladimir Putin announces he is putting nuclear deterrence forces on high alert, in this still image obtained from a video, in Moscow, Russia, February 27, 2022.
Florida senator Marco Rubio, who is vice-chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, was among those to question Putin’s mental health.

“I wish I could share more, but for now I can say it’s pretty obvious to many that something is off with Putin,” he tweeted.

“He has always been a killer, but his problem now is different and significant. It would be a mistake to assume this Putin would react the same way he would have five years ago.”

Rubio added that the Russian president appeared to have: “some neuro/psychological issues”.

He added: “But most telling is this is a man who has long prided himself on emotional control. His recent flashes of anger is very uncharacteristic and show an erosion in impulse control.”

[68style]

Well, the problem is what's defined as "bullshit"? More importantly, who gets to decide it?

Because of all the woke and cancel culture "bullshit", it's now ok for media to act as gatekeepers. They can choose what information to feed you and what to fact-check and what not to. It's so deeply embedded into our society that if it's something that "most" don't agree with, then it must be bullshit.



I meant all of it... people are campaigning constantly left and right on stuff that, if people just sat down and closed their eyes for a few minutes, they'd realize that precisely none of it affects their life in any way... just people getting wound up about stuff and turning the smallest issues into snowballs rolling down a mountainside.

I for one could do with a lot less opinions around me... lol... sometimes ignorance truly is bliss no?

[EvoFire]

So my wife was telling me about conspiracy theories and that some people think Ukraine and Russia are actually in on this. I told her I can come up with plenty of weird conspiracy theories but it doesn't mean it's really true.

Don't ban me @Skinny.

I told her this is the shit I came up with:
1) It might be a ploy for Putin to be the bad cop, push Russia so far to one side of the spectrum that the country rebounds to become pro west and pro democracy. If he doesn't push it far enough the people won't have enough resolve to make it happen.
2) Ukraine and Russia are in on this, invade Ukraine to the point where the West would sell them the best weapons, so Russia has unlimited access to them to reverse engineer and copy all the tech in it, and also develop countermeasures.

I reiterate to her just because someone can come up with it doesn't mean it's actually true.

[PeanutButter]

So my wife was telling me about conspiracy theories and that some people think Ukraine and Russia are actually in on this. I told her I can come up with plenty of weird conspiracy theories but it doesn't mean it's really true.

Don't ban me @Skinny.

I told her this is the shit I came up with:
1) It might be a ploy for Putin to be the bad cop, push Russia so far to one side of the spectrum that the country rebounds to become pro west and pro democracy. If he doesn't push it far enough the people won't have enough resolve to make it happen.
2) Ukraine and Russia are in on this, invade Ukraine to the point where the West would sell them the best weapons, so Russia has unlimited access to them to reverse engineer and copy all the tech in it, and also develop countermeasures.

I reiterate to her just because someone can come up with it doesn't mean it's actually true.


I'm the sort of person that doesn't like to engage with people because it just becomes a shit show, but I find it a lot more entertaining to engage with people so that's what I do. I just poke the bear to see what happens, makes life more interesting. It just blows my mind that the majority of people think they actually know what they're talking about, it's their level of confidence. The more you are confident about something, the more suspect I get.

[StylinRed]

You got it backwards I think

Ukraine is lasting as long as it is because people are willing to step up and fight in numbers Russia didn't expect. They are doing this without direct help from NATO or EU (but that may be coming who knows) Their president is still there decked out in military gear, and they're willing to stand with him and fight until they are overwhelmed or Russia gives up. This is an easy one to get people to fight for, because there is a clear right and wrong. This is literally an evil action done by an evil person.

And yes there are Russian backed separatists, but not "over half" obviously, or the invasion would have been over after a few hours.

Even if they do succeed, it will be almost impossible to occupy Ukraine. That's why Zelensky is arming citizens, not to "make civilians into targets".

Been out for the weekend there's so many more pages but dragging this back :QQ:

I wasn't stating that over half are separatist fighters

The point I was making is over half consider themselves ethnically Russian, so they don't hate Russia, and even support them by voting with an Eastern mindset instead of a Euro centric one, and Russia sees them and in fact all ukrainians as Russians, so they wouldn't want a messy war because they don't want to kill citizens

To inv4n counterpoint I meant by forcing citizens to fight by arming them (thereby causing their deaths) it would make Russia target citizens, which Russia clearly doesn't want to do, in hopes to pull the world in with actual boots on the ground

Anyway /shrug think we've moved passed that

[StylinRed]

The other day friends in Ukraine shared some clips of POC being denied boarding on trains because they were saving the spots for white ppl

Now it hit international news

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-60555650

Nigeria's government has condemned reports that its citizens, and those of other African countries, have been stopped from leaving war-torn Ukraine.

Isaac, a Nigerian man trying to get into Poland, said border staff told him they were "not tending to Africans".

"We've been chased back, we've been hit with police armed with sticks," he told the BBC.

South African foreign office official Clayson Monyela also said students had been "badly treated" at the border.

https://www.twitter.com/Damilare_arah/status/1497654141350522880

[Hondaracer]

As cool and as Top Gun as it may seem, it’s kind of fucked when you really think how absurd it is to have planes “fighting” in the sky lol

[Mikoyan]

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone

I've been following The War Zone for their coverage.

[StylinRed]

The Ukrainian troops from Snake Island weren't killed

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60554959

Ukraine's navy says the 13 soldiers believed to have been killed defending Zmiinyi (Snake) Island on the first day of the Russian invasion are alive.

The border guards were given posthumous honours by the president after they were heard in audio recordings telling a Russian warship to "go to hell".

Russia said at the time that the troops on the island surrendered.

[mikemhg]

The other day friends in Ukraine shared some clips of POC being denied boarding on trains because they were saving the spots for white ppl

Now it hit international news

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-60555650



https://www.twitter.com/Damilare_arah/status/1497654141350522880

Posted that earlier in the thread.

Eastern Europeans being Eastern Europeans, pretty much.

[mikemhg]

So my wife was telling me about conspiracy theories and that some people think Ukraine and Russia are actually in on this. I told her I can come up with plenty of weird conspiracy theories but it doesn't mean it's really true.

Don't ban me @Skinny.

I told her this is the shit I came up with:
1) It might be a ploy for Putin to be the bad cop, push Russia so far to one side of the spectrum that the country rebounds to become pro west and pro democracy. If he doesn't push it far enough the people won't have enough resolve to make it happen.
2) Ukraine and Russia are in on this, invade Ukraine to the point where the West would sell them the best weapons, so Russia has unlimited access to them to reverse engineer and copy all the tech in it, and also develop countermeasures.

I reiterate to her just because someone can come up with it doesn't mean it's actually true.

I do believe she's wrong, but the second point is a somewhat interesting concept.

I know I'm completely wrong, but from watching this "war", it really doesn't seem to be a real one. It's almost like both sides are half in it, half not. The casualty numbers just seem so low for this to be a real all out war. You bombs, tanks, and people fighting with urban centers, and yet we're hearing casualties within the dozens?

We hear reports of troops attacking Kyiv, and yet I see the president and Vitali taking selfies in fatigues, and doing daily videos on the streets? It doesn't seem like there any real sense of imminent danger.

It just all seems quite odd, as opposed to the actually wars and rampant death and destruction we've seen in the past, and most recently in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.

[westopher]

I don’t think you’d find many wars in the last 20 years where wars had more than double digit deaths on an average day, but I don’t know about that figure. I’m just going in memory.

[westopher]

Just looked. Afghanistan was averaging like 4-500 deaths a month in 2020-21 from war related conflict, suicide bombings and such, so this definitely doesn’t seem less deadly. It’s only been like a week.
352 civilian casualties so far in Ukraine. Soldier deaths are unreported, so this is definitively a very massive war crisis, I don’t see how anyone could think otherwise. It’s quite frankly catastrophic.

[Manic!]

https://twitter.com/CBCRaffy/status/1498013408297304065

It must be a confusing time for some people on the right.

[Rallydrv]

As cool and as Top Gun as it may seem, it’s kind of fucked when you really think how absurd it is to have planes “fighting” in the sky lol

lol wat. wat r u smoking dude.

any war, you need to control skies and sea (blockade) to win a war. supplies/oil/weapons

[T4RAWR]

lol wat. wat r u smoking dude.

any war, you need to control skies and sea (blockade) to win a war. supplies/oil/weapons

:suspicious:

[68style]

Posted that earlier in the thread.

Eastern Europeans being Eastern Europeans, pretty much.

Unfortunately true, sat with my Polish friend in Poland before in a bar in Warsaw and had him tell me we need to leave cuz he can’t stand the table next to us laughing and talking in Polish wondering what the skin of a black guy in the bar a few tables over feels like…

Nevermind just Eastern Europe though, two years in a row I drove around all of Europe for a month with 2 different friends... first year was with the Polish friend, second year with a elementary school friend who happens to be Chinese… totally different experiences, so many problems, stops for questioning, border issues, denials of service or straight up poor service on the second trip with the Asian friend... sometimes even in the same cities or locations… it got to the point I was just laughing at the ridiculousness of it all.

My favourite one by far had to be me walking my way into the LV store on Champs D'Elysses and having them lavish service on me bringing me carts full of stuff to look at while my friend had to show his passport to prove he's not from China and was limited to 1 item at a time hahaha he was so fucking mad the whole rest of the day after he could barely speak. Rightfully so.

Granted this was 2005... I would hope things have changed/improved... but I'm not super optimistic about that.

[Hondaracer]

https://youtu.be/PcOav_-kkx8

[Acura604]

...could be the beginning of the end here...

the size of this convoy...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4SQ_QW6Xu4

[Manic!]

https://twitter.com/CBCOlivia/status/1498398098422444032?t=Rus2IdRTOogW5jP_bIm1jg&s=19

[pastarocket]

Another announcement from Turd about providing more military hardware for Ukraine:

"Yesterday, we announced that we would be sending new shipments of military supplies, including body armour, helmets, gas masks, and night-vision goggles," said Trudeau, calling the Ukrainian fighting "heroic."

"Today, we are announcing that we will be supplying Ukraine with anti-tank weapons systems and upgraded ammunition."

Defence Minister Anita Anand said those anti-tank weapons systems will be 125 Carl-Gustaf launchers, taken from the Canadian military's inventory.

Trudeau said the Canadian Armed Forces will provided airlift support to transport supplies and aid and to participate in other NATO efforts in support of Ukraine.

[whitev70r]

Let's hope more and more will stand up and call for ceasefire and peace.


Two of Russia's billionaires call for peace in Ukraine
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/war-dividing-russian-ukrainian-brothers-billionaire-fridman-says-2022-02-27/

[AzNightmare]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nifxKIhFSuw

Feels sad when even some of the Russian soldiers don't want war but are being used as pawns.

[pastarocket]

-heartbreaking to see these pictures of a child killed during this Russian invasion.

-from CNN:

https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/28/europe/gallery/ukraine-girl-killed/index.html

[murd0c]

thank you for the warning, I do not want to see a dead child...

[Great68]

-heartbreaking to see these pictures of a child killed during this Russian invasion.

-from CNN:

https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/28/europe/gallery/ukraine-girl-killed/index.html

You know, you never seem to see this sort of article/picture when it's American bombs killing children...

[68style]

I’m sure there’s plenty…. On their local news.

[Manic!]

https://www.vice.com/en/article/3abjj8/ukraine-sailor-sink-russian-yacht

Ukrainian Sailor Tried Sinking His Russian Boss’ $7 Million Yacht and ‘Regrets Nothing’


Angered by the ongoing Russian attacks in Ukraine, a Ukrainian sailor executed his own version of justice over the weekend, by attempting to sink a Russian tycoon’s superyacht.

Identified in local reports as D. Taras O., he was the chief engineer of superyacht Lady Anastasia. He was said to have watched a video on Saturday which showed a Russian cruise missile as having struck a residential building in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.

The sailor believed that the missile he saw in the video was manufactured by a company owned by Alexander Mikheev, his boss and the owner of the Lady Anastasia super-yacht he worked on. The 55-year-old decided to take matters into his own hands at Port Adriano, a marina on the Spanish island of Mallorca that’s known for housing boats of the ultrarich.

The sailor opened a large valve in the engine room and then another in the crew members’ quarters. He also closed the fuel valves to prevent pollutive leaks and switched off the electricity. Then, he told crew members to abandon ship.

[Mr.Money]

its so funny to hear war noobs worry about russian hardware coming in like convoys.


Ukraine is smart enough to save Drones so far Just for fuel trucks.

soon as they pause and refuel there is an eye in the sky waiting on that.

[mikemhg]

They understood what Germany & Paris has gone with rampant crimes of ghetto people there.



they are extremely worried about it happening again.


nothing new to be honest.

You know I was going to ignore this post, but what do you mean exactly by that, bud?

Most of these people being denied at the border and on trains are students studying abroad, why would they flee Ukraine to create "ghettos" in Poland?

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/28/nigeria-condemns-treatment-africans-trying-to-flee-ukraine-government-poland-discrimination?fbclid=IwAR10lgofWjAH8D4-0KmWW7JmyVEJzkQ7BRJuoB6alZdypisQTa1lQRlJF4A

You do realize that Nigerians are some of the most educated immigrants from any country in the world, right?

https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2018/04/24/sub-saharan-african-immigrants-in-the-u-s-are-often-more-educated-than-those-in-top-european-destinations/

Imagine that in a time of war, you're simply in another country to continue your education -- only to be denied basic human rights simply due to the color of your skin?

Fuck that. You want us to have sympathy for these people, and yet they cannot bestow the same to their own immigrants in a time of war?

[Mr.Money]

what i mean by that?..

what it fucking sounds like.
not getting legal status being in a country.. being completely evil & lazy.

Pulling the race card in an instant shifting the blame on "White people"


Not everyone is gonna be pulling degrees out their ass. there really is some trash people out there.

[mikemhg]

what i mean by that?..

what it fucking sounds like.
not getting legal status being in a country.. being completely evil & lazy.

Pulling the race card in an instant shifting the blame on "White people"


Not everyone is gonna be pulling degrees out their ass. there really is some trash people out there.

I'm not pulling any race card, I'm merely recognizing a difference in treatment of people fleeing for their safety. They are already landed and working or studying in Ukraine, this isn't some type floatilla trying to cross into Greece or something.

So you're saying some students trying to cross the border for their safety are evil and lazy?

A big fuck you to you man.

[68style]

^^ Dude your profile says you’re Asian… that means either you or someone in your family at some point was an immigrant, you know that right? Jesus.

:inoutugh:

[Mr.Money]

I'm glad Poland is having strict entry. no passport means no data to background check.


the media can call all the racism they want but if you don't have self identifying information don't expect to cross somewhere "cause a war is going on"

human trafficker's pray on this type of thing in a perfect storm.

you really need to think ahead. it can be type of security risk to Poland

[SkinnyPupp]

I'm glad Poland is having strict entry. no passport means no data to background to check.


the media can call all the racism they want but if you don't have self identifying information don't expect to cross somewhere "cause a war is going on"

human trafficker's pray on this type of thing in a perfect storm.

you really need to think ahead. it can be type of security risk to Poland
What the fuck am I reading?

They don't have strict entry. They are letting everyone in who comes to the border.

Except for black people.

This is fucked up. I actually can't believe I am reading this on revscene, and I don't know if it belongs here...

[Great68]

I'll tell you one of the biggest mind fucks of my life, was when I went to Poland for the first time and heard black and asian people speaking fluent Polish.


Like, the Polish community in Vancouver is the only Polish people I've been exposed to, and they're all white as rice. And especially growing up in Richmond with the asian community there.

It was one of those "My mind does not compute this, you sound like the FOB Polacks I'm used to but you're not white!"

[StylinRed]

If the Mearscheimer lecture is a bit much, then watch this (would be best to watch both)

Watch it at 1.5x speed even

https://youtu.be/If61baWF4GE

[inv4zn]

Lol, Russian MREs that are being sent out with troops expired in 2015.

The abandoned tanks are being found to be derelict soviet era junk.

World's 2nd largest army is turning out to be a sham. I guess it's the result of corruption and you reap what you sow, but there are lots of reports that Putin is furious the invasion isn't as easy as he thought it would be.

[Mr.Money]

Lol, Russian MREs that are being sent out with troops expired in 2015.

The abandoned tanks are being found to be derelict soviet era junk.

World's 2nd largest army is turning out to be a sham. I guess it's the result of corruption and you reap what you sow, but there are lots of reports that Putin is furious the invasion isn't as easy as he thought it would be.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBWmkwaTQ0k
:toot:

[SkinnyPupp]

Their army sucks, but you should see how nice Putin's boats are.

[PeanutButter]

My cousin was telling me on how shitty Putin has been doing and that he's in way over his head and i've seen similar rhetoric from news media.

I was just thinking, everyone is saying Putin is crazy and is losing, but is he really? None of us even know what his actual purpose is.

I mean, he could be in over his head, but I also feel like we're not accounting for what he's really after. This could just be noise.

[inv4zn]

My cousin was telling me on how shitty Putin has been doing and that he's in way over his head and i've seen similar rhetoric from news media.

I was just thinking, everyone is saying Putin is crazy and is losing, but is he really? None of us even know what his actual purpose is.

I mean, he could be in over his head, but I also feel like we're not accounting for what he's really after. This could just be noise.

Tbis is because people forget easily, and don't remember the world didn't do shit when he invaded Georgia, Crimea, etc. He had allies back then, all of whom have demounced him now.

I think he honestly thought it would be the same, but he miscalculated how hard the Ukrainians would fight back, the tremendous international backlash, and how shitty his army is.

That said he's also insane and an egomaniac so he won't back down now. He's gonna be deposed and tried as a war criminal and go down in history with Hitler, or someone in his inner circle will off him for self-preservation.

[teggy604]

Their army sucks, but you should see how nice Putin's boats are.

Forget his boats or his house. I rather see his state of the art bunkers. They probably connect everywhere.

[AzNightmare]

I'm thinking in the aftermath of all this, what will happen to Russia.
Will the world continue to basically cut them off. If this was social media, Russia's basically been cancelled now.

[whitev70r]

Hopefully, the world cancels Putin. Not the average Russian's fault ... at least I don't think so. Heard like 6000 people arrested in Russia for protesting the war. That sounds like a significant number of people.

[SkinnyPupp]

Forget his boats or his house. I rather see his state of the art bunkers. They probably connect everywhere.
Perfect place for him to Hitler himself

[SkinnyPupp]

I'm thinking in the aftermath of all this, what will happen to Russia.
Will the world continue to basically cut them off. If this was social media, Russia's basically been cancelled now.
They're right back to where they were 50 years ago. No more Russians in the Olympics (not even the ROC lol), no Russians in the NHL, soccer, no Formula 1..

I am just old enough to remember how rare it was for Russians to really be exposed to western media.. Remember how hard it was to get Pavel Bure here? Or Sergei Fedorov in Detroit? Back then, you'd see them in the Olympics every other year and that's about it. Now they're everywhere, because they are great people like anyone else. And now they are going to go back into that shell, and their money is worth less than pennies. It's such a shame.

OR, they could have just not invaded.

I get that they want to protect their western border, but it's not like NATO is an imperialist faction set to rule the world... They just want to protect themselves from... well, Russia! Jesus.

[twitchyzero]

it's not like NATO is an imperialist faction set to rule the world... They just want to protect themselves from... well, Russia! Jesus.

not in Kremlin's eyes

your post made me wonder what would happen to the ISS

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2022/02/russia-ukraine-international-space-station/622939/

[SkinnyPupp]

not in Kremlin's eyes

your post made me wonder what would happen to the ISS

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2022/02/russia-ukraine-international-space-station/622939/
That's just the thing.. they act belligerent to all their neighbour nations and former soviet nations, who then join NATO to protect themselves.. And then they straight up invade the one country that hasn't joined. It's idiotic. They literally just proved why NATO exist, and now event more countries are going to join (Finland is talking about it now (https://www.politico.eu/article/finland-nato-membership-sanna-marin-ukraine-russia/))

[SkinnyPupp]

I do believe she's wrong, but the second point is a somewhat interesting concept.

I know I'm completely wrong, but from watching this "war", it really doesn't seem to be a real one. It's almost like both sides are half in it, half not. The casualty numbers just seem so low for this to be a real all out war. You bombs, tanks, and people fighting with urban centers, and yet we're hearing casualties within the dozens?

We hear reports of troops attacking Kyiv, and yet I see the president and Vitali taking selfies in fatigues, and doing daily videos on the streets? It doesn't seem like there any real sense of imminent danger.

It just all seems quite odd, as opposed to the actually wars and rampant death and destruction we've seen in the past, and most recently in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.
love you mike but there's SO much footage of this war out there.. You need to expose yourself to it if you're willing

They just blew up the government building:

https://twitter.com/maria_avdv/status/1498544825062375434

[Matsuda]

Read this on Reddit. A redditor tries to explain the full picture:

"There are a lot of armchair strategists trying to apply our logic to this without understanding the background. But getting wrapped up in tactics and equipment analysis misses the point - this thing has very little to do with tactics and everything to do with history, culture, and what Russians thought would happen vs. what actually happened.

Russians needed this thing done in 3 days tops. They’re behind the schedule and haven’t achieved any strategic objectives. This is because Putin can’t afford what looks like an actual war.

Russians don’t want to be killing Ukrainians. Period the end. Most Russians have relatives in Ukraine. These are not hostile nations.

He sold this thing to Russians as a limited “operation” to “help” the Ukrainians. He’s in full control of the media and so most Russians don’t yet know the full extent of what went down… but they will eventually.

This thing has already failed. It’s now a matter of how he gets out of this clusterfuck… he needs to either take Ukraine without killing a Ukrainians and Russians or find a way out where he can plausible declare some achieved objectives.

From all the interrogation videos a consistent picture is this:

Troops were told they were going to Belarus/Crimea for a training exercise (Putin needed to preserve the lie, so he lied to his own troops)

Most had their phones confiscated, officers included

Conscripts were forced to change to contract status (legal requirement in Russia to partake in hostilities).

Some were moved to the border then told to cross the border. Some tried to refuse but were threatened with prison.

Others were flown somewhere and dropped off and weren’t told for hours that they were already in Ukraine.

Some were told they were in Ukraine but they were told theyre still on a military exercise. (When one captive asked how it makes sense hat Russia would train on Ukraine territory… it was clear he never considered the absurdity of it before… he was very confused and then admitted that he got “fucked over”).

There is a recording posted earlier from a trooper describing how utterly unprepared they were and how one of his 3 battalions got obliterated immediately and another got no working tanks left.

6. Seems that only the more “elite” units were told they’re going on a “liberation” mission. They are confronted by civilians all over the place and are basically standing there embarrassed and dumbfounded.

Bottom line - Russian troops don’t want to be there. These are historically brotherly nations.

Putin was selling the same lies to his own people as he was trying to sell to the west.

And the soldiers are realizing they’ve been duped.

I saw videos of Russians walking up to civilians and offering surrender and an apology… once they realized what the fuck was happening.

It’s a blunder of epic proportions.

Russians, generally speaking, have no interest in killing Ukrainians. It’s Russia’s spiritual birthplace for real.

Putin out-KGB’d himself and now he has no idea what to do. He surrounded himself into an echo chamber of servants and no one dared to check his so-called strategy.

Now he’s shell shocked himself and running out of options."

[donk.]

I know I'm completely wrong, but from watching this "war", it really doesn't seem to be a real one.

At the start of this thread, I would agree that this "war" since 2014 was bullshit

I was born in Odessa, have photos of me sitting on the missiles, tanks, submarine at the 411th battery as a kid and teen
https://maps.app.goo.gl/7tAVgxek9ZG8swoC7

My grandparents are still in Odessa, the amount of people that have left/leaving the country, is insane.

Someone posted bald and bankrupts video above on YouTube, I've been watching the guy for years, and I have never seen him with the look of horror on his face while he was leaving Kyiv

What's really messed up to think, is that If I was still there, I would have a gun in my hands, instead of this phone. Watching some of the footage makes me sick

What else makes me sick, all the innocent people in Russia, dealing with the fallout of all of this, their economy will probably take decades to recover, if ever
You think you had a bad day when your stonks dropped 10%? Try your dollar losing 30% overnight, while every country in the world starts to slowly cut you off

[Manic!]

Hopefully, the world cancels Putin. Not the average Russian's fault ... at least I don't think so. Heard like 6000 people arrested in Russia for protesting the war. That sounds like a significant number of people.

How did Putin get into power.

[SkinnyPupp]

Ukraine has over 20K Indian students studying there. Khalsa Aid who has been there since day 1 is reporting some have had to walk over 30 KM to reach the boarder. Women have been allowed to cross into Poland but it seems some of the males are not allowed to enter.

Video of one of the rest stops set up by locals to help the people walking.

https://twitter.com/RaviSinghKA/status/1497711942445715466
Both China and India didn't believe America's warnings about impending invasion, so unlike other nations they didn't tell their people to leave the country beforehand. Tons of students have been stuck there, but China just evacuated a bunch yesterday, and the rest are instructed to go via other countries

[Manic!]

https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-jet-tracking-teen-russian-oligarch-jets-twitter-account-2022-2?utm_source=reddit.com


The teen famous for tracking Elon Musk's jet has a new target: Russian oligarchs

https://mobile.twitter.com/RUOligarchJets

[StylinRed]

My cousin was telling me on how shitty Putin has been doing and that he's in way over his head and i've seen similar rhetoric from news media.

I was just thinking, everyone is saying Putin is crazy and is losing, but is he really? None of us even know what his actual purpose is.

I mean, he could be in over his head, but I also feel like we're not accounting for what he's really after. This could just be noise.

America took 22 years fighting farmers in Afghanistan, flattened it even more, and still lost, but "Ohh Mericuh fuk ya"

Russias taking a few days so far and moving slow so they aren't flattening the country, and ppl are like "OmG tHeY SuCk aNd aRe GoNnA lOse" :lol

[68style]

USA sent in 1 commando strikeforce and remote warfare to topple the Taliban... LITTLE different than invading a neighbouring country.

Let's not forget the Soviets spent 9 years in Afghanistan too in the late 70's and early 80's and killed somewhere between 1-2 million Afghan people..................

[SkinnyPupp]

America took 22 years fighting farmers in Afghanistan, flattened it even more, and still lost, but "Ohh Mericuh fuk ya"

Russias taking a few days so far and moving slow so they aren't flattening the country, and ppl are like "OmG tHeY SuCk aNd aRe GoNnA lOse" :lol
I guess it's my fault for asking for more conversation... LUL

[AzNightmare]

If the Mearscheimer lecture is a bit much, then watch this (would be best to watch both)

Watch it at 1.5x speed even

https://youtu.be/If61baWF4GE

Wow, great watch.
I had no idea how much the physical geography was a factor in all of this. At this point, we still don't know what Putin's end goal is, but those are some interesting theories.

[AzNightmare]

They're right back to where they were 50 years ago. No more Russians in the Olympics (not even the ROC lol), no Russians in the NHL, soccer, no Formula 1..

I am just old enough to remember how rare it was for Russians to really be exposed to western media.. Remember how hard it was to get Pavel Bure here? Or Sergei Fedorov in Detroit? Back then, you'd see them in the Olympics every other year and that's about it. Now they're everywhere, because they are great people like anyone else. And now they are going to go back into that shell, and their money is worth less than pennies. It's such a shame.

OR, they could have just not invaded.

I get that they want to protect their western border, but it's not like NATO is an imperialist faction set to rule the world... They just want to protect themselves from... well, Russia! Jesus.

That's honestly kind of sad, just cause there's so many innocent Russian civilians that will end up being dragged into this.

Russia has always been a bit shady, but I guess in their perspective, NATO also can't be trusted. They're just another (group of nations forming a) potentially opposing superpower.

In theory, if every nation was invited and joined NATO, we would have world peace?
:badpokerface:

[SkinnyPupp]

Civilians out in the streets just after a rocket his their government building...

https://twitter.com/Archer83Able/status/1498613238463963136

Edit: and

https://twitter.com/the_ins_ru/status/1498658084012662789

Good luck occupying these people even if they do take the country... With what, 2 soldiers per 1000 civilians?

[Hondaracer]

I'm not going to pretend to be an expert on Russia but i do have quite an interest in the former USSR and Russian culture in general, on top of going there a couple times

I think what most north Americans don't really realize is how secular Russia as a country is, they give China a run for their money. A lot of aspects of daily life and the attitudes people carry are ass backwards compared to what western cultures would consider "normal"

On top of that, a huge portion of the older population still long for the glory days of the Soviet Union. A lot of these people lived far more comfortable lives under the former union than they did in the current "Democratic" Russia. Im sure these same people see moves like this as a step in the right direction, or at the very least, turn a blind eye to it.

Over 40% of Russia's population is 45 or older, right in that sweet spot of knowing the difference between the former USSR and the current state. IMO if this war doesn't bring an end to this constant Saber waving by Russia, it wont be for another 10-15 years that the younger, more liberal generations will finally push for total reform.

[SkinnyPupp]

Fascinating thread that partly explains why Russia is performing so poorly; their communication methods (they are using civilian radio, which btw you can hear yourself)

https://twitter.com/sbreakintl/status/1498619303717142529

Imagine if they didn't have nukes... They wouldn't be seen as a threat at all to Europe.

I bet Taiwan is sitting a bit more comfortably after this... The prospects of any action against them looks a lot less likely now, with an even stronger position as an island, and against an even weaker (but larger and more modern) military.

[Rallydrv]

Putin thought we roll in, Zelinsky will run away. problem solved. that didn't happen.

[Matsuda]

Good luck occupying these people even if they do take the country... With what, 2 soldiers per 1000 civilians?

I read its about 3.4 soldiers per 1000 civilians. I agree though, good luck

[murd0c]

Fascinating thread that partly explains why Russia is performing so poorly; their communication methods (they are using civilian radio, which btw you can hear yourself)

https://twitter.com/sbreakintl/status/1498619303717142529

Imagine if they didn't have nukes... They wouldn't be seen as a threat at all to Europe.

I bet Taiwan is sitting a bit more comfortably after this... The prospects of any action against them looks a lot less likely now, with an even stronger position as an island, and against an even weaker (but larger and more modern) military.

In this modern age you think logistics would be their number one priority but its not. It's like they put a bunch of kids in tanks and said go capture Ukraine. I've been watching videos all over tiktok (crazy how quick we get up to date accurate info because of tiktok) and tanks are running out of gas, their food rations expired 5 years ago. Russian soldiers crying and calling home telling their parents it was supposed to be a peaceful mission.

Compared to the US, Russia is an absolute shit show and I'm really surprised about that. I so thought they would be way better organized then they are.

[TOS'd]

If anyone wants to see more current ukraine/russia military videos, you can check out this site: https://funker530.com/category/ukraine/

[MarkyMark]

It makes you wonder how many countries army's are just a facade and movies have made us believe they are all much better than they actually are.

At this point Russia kind of looks like a joke, and all they have is the butthurt "I'll drop a nuke" threat to stay relevant.

[pastarocket]

College freshman Jack Sweeney of the University of Central Florida is using his computer skills and Twitter account to track the flight patterns of the private jets of Russian oligarchs. This dude claimed that he can track Elon Musk's private jet flight pattern.

https://screenshot-media.com/the-future/business/russian-billionaire-flight-tracker/

Switching out Musk for a more Eurasian flavour, Sweeney set up @RUOligarchJets in February 2022. Bloomberg, covering the story, also noted the popularity of accounts like @ElonJet with Colby Howard, the president of Paragon Intel—a corporate aviation intelligence provider—and its popular product JetTrack. In an interview with the outlet, Sweeney’s Twitter accounts were cited as the “People Magazine version” of corporate aviation intelligence, making it all the more clear why the same hype has extended to his search for Russian oligarchs.

[Hondaracer]

This is a very good video summarizing the conflict:

https://youtu.be/If61baWF4GE

[Traum]

I wish I can share you guys' optimism for how poorly the Russian military is doing so far. While the attacks so far have certainly revealed a slew of problems on the Russian side, we also know Ukraine's 2nd largest city, Kharkiv, is getting pounded. There is also the 60km+ long convoy of Russian military tanks and vehicles lining up outside Kyiv. Anyone familiar with Soviet Union WW2 tactics know they are just going back to their old playbook now -- overwhelm the opposition by throwing a disproportionately large number of soldiers to get the job done, death counts be damned.

The question that I have in mind is -- does the current Russian military still have the same mindset as the Red Army of old? Are they just going to blindly follow orders, or would they really ask themselves what they are doing in Ukraine?

[stewie]

Watching cnn and its saying their convoy could be running low on fuel and food. Made me stop and think... Where the hell are all those trucks and tanks supposed to refuel? They gonna just cruise up to the nearest gas station and drain the diesel tanks within minutes? Have tanker trucks come out and be drained in no time before they can even fuel them all up? Just looked on Google to see how much fuel each one takes and an american M1 Abrams tank holds 500gallons of fuel. So yeah.. Where are these things supposed to refuel at?

[Manic!]

Watching cnn and its saying their convoy could be running low on fuel and food. Made me stop and think... Where the hell are all those trucks and tanks supposed to refuel? They gonna just cruise up to the nearest gas station and drain the diesel tanks within minutes? Have tanker trucks come out and be drained in no time before they can even fuel them all up? Just looked on Google to see how much fuel each one takes and an american M1 Abrams tank holds 500gallons of fuel. So yeah.. Where are these things supposed to refuel at?

They bring fuel trucks with them. Ukrainian drones have been hitting the fuel trucks.

[Hondaracer]

Also the tanks don’t just drive on the road. They truck them to where they unload them. Saves a tonne of fuel im sure

[mikemhg]

At the start of this thread, I would agree that this "war" since 2014 was bullshit

I was born in Odessa, have photos of me sitting on the missiles, tanks, submarine at the 411th battery as a kid and teen
https://maps.app.goo.gl/7tAVgxek9ZG8swoC7

My grandparents are still in Odessa, the amount of people that have left/leaving the country, is insane.

Someone posted bald and bankrupts video above on YouTube, I've been watching the guy for years, and I have never seen him with the look of horror on his face while he was leaving Kyiv

What's really messed up to think, is that If I was still there, I would have a gun in my hands, instead of this phone. Watching some of the footage makes me sick

What else makes me sick, all the innocent people in Russia, dealing with the fallout of all of this, their economy will probably take decades to recover, if ever
You think you had a bad day when your stonks dropped 10%? Try your dollar losing 30% overnight, while every country in the world starts to slowly cut you off

I watched his video last night actually, pretty crazy stuff. Terrible to watch actually.

[mikemhg]

love you mike but there's SO much footage of this war out there.. You need to expose yourself to it if you're willing

They just blew up the government building:

https://twitter.com/maria_avdv/status/1498544825062375434

No you're right, I've been actually finding more and more footage on reddit World News.

I suppose that since Ukrainians use Telegraph and such, we're just not exposed to all the footage. Seeing a lot more damage and destruction now on Day 7, it appears it took time to ramp up.

A big push to the capital is happening now.

It appears I was falling for the salacious media reports in the first few days, which seem now are coming into fruition.

Not sure if it was posted, but this is the video donk is referring to:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzBxFH_hEwA

[Hondaracer]

Bald and Bankrupt makes much more engaging videos than JohnnyFD I posted a few pages back. Johnny seems really insincere and just weird where as Bald has a legitimate connection to the region. Been following him for a few years now and really love his stuff

[68style]

Bald and Bankrupt makes much more engaging videos than JohnnyFD I posted a few pages back. Johnny seems really insincere and just weird where as Bald has a legitimate connection to the region. Been following him for a few years now and really love his stuff

I noticed the other video by that Johnny guy very creepily hovering too long over females of any sort of attractiveness :suspicious:

[El Bastardo]

I guess we see what Act II looks like.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1573902/Lukashenko-belarus-attack-map-russia-ukraine-war-latest-vn/amp

[Hondaracer]

I noticed the other video by that Johnny guy very creepily hovering too long over females of any sort of attractiveness :suspicious:

Yea my wife couldn’t watch him anymore he always seems super creepy or approaches randoms on the streets when they obviously want nothing to do with him. I can’t tell if he just is oblivious or has like Asperger’s to some degree because he seems like a very poor judge of most scenarios lol

[underscore]

It's like they put a bunch of kids in tanks and said go capture Ukraine.

From the sounds of it they didn't even tell them that much.

Perfect place for him to Hitler himself

The Ukrainian Ambassador to the UN seems to agree

https://www.reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/comments/t3j0tu/ukrainian_ambassador_to_the_un_pretty_much_tells/

[Manic!]

Upwards of 2000 Indian students still stuck in Ukrainian. Some have been attacked because India sided with Russia. One has been killed in a shelling. The Indian government has failed the students.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/1/indian-student-killed-in-ukraine-amid-criticism-over-evacuation

An Indian student has been killed in shelling in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, India’s foreign ministry says, as criticism over New Delhi’s evacuation of students from the war-torn country mounts.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=674991000314754

[AzNightmare]

https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/t4hstc/results_of_kyiv_tower_missile_strike_explosions/

Graphic photo warning.

[murd0c]

all I know is it seems like Russia is not even close to the super power the rest of the world thought they were. All they have to scare people is nukes.

[bcrdukes]

Maybe this isn't Russia's final form? :accepted:

[AzNightmare]

Maybe this isn't Russia's final form? :accepted:

Final form is when they slowly start to care less and less about civilians. It'll be a quick war once they're ready to just bomb everything.

[SkinnyPupp]

This could be war propaganda, but may still be effective either way... FSB working against Putin?

https://twitter.com/michaeldweiss/status/1498808782415093766

[murd0c]

Maybe this isn't Russia's final form? :accepted:

If it is Putin seems like the type of guy that will go out by saying fuck it and just sending off nukes. That better not be the case tho.

[westopher]

Unfortunately that’s how this is all going to end. Only hope is he ends up dead before that happens.

[SkinnyPupp]

Unfortunately that’s how this is all going to end. Only hope is he ends up dead before that happens.
Or someone refuses to pull the trigger, which has happened before

It all depends on how many of his people actually legit think that NATO is run by Nazis, and how many are just going along with it for their own self interests.

[Manic!]

https://news.sky.com/story/apple-stops-all-product-sales-in-russia-as-rt-and-sputnik-removed-from-app-store-12555128

Apple stops all product sales in Russia as RT and Sputnik removed from App Store

Apple has paused all product sales in Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

The move was among a number of measures unveiled by the tech company, including limiting Apple Pay and other services in Russia, and removing state-backed news outlets RT and Sputnik from its App Store outside Russia.

Google pay has also stopped working in Russia.
IOS has about a 26% share with Android having a 73% share.

[westopher]

Or someone refuses to pull the trigger, which has happened before

It all depends on how many of his people actually legit think that NATO is run by Nazis, and how many are just going along with it for their own self interests.
Putin would just need to hire some choice troops from the trucker convoy and convince them this was going to get the mandates lifted and save them from Trudeau tyranny.

[Teriyaki]

Putin would just need to hire some choice troops from the trucker convoy and convince them this was going to get the mandates lifted and save them from Trudeau tyranny.

They'll just put the sticker on up-side down and not know how to press the actual dang button. Then complain they're being oppressed.

[mikemhg]

I noticed the other video by that Johnny guy very creepily hovering too long over females of any sort of attractiveness :suspicious:

Bald does that too :lol

He's actually more known for his sex tourism (back in the day).

[mikemhg]

People need to stop saying he's going to utilize nukes, he won't.

That same rhetoric has always been used against Iran in their endeavors to acquire the same arms, North Korea as well.

There is an entire apparatus behind the launching a nuclear missile. I highly doubt anyone around Putin, as well as himself, ever wish to see mutual assured destruction. Russia has had wars against Georgia, against Chechnya, you name it, they never resorted to nuclear arms.

People need to stop throwing that out there like it's feasible.

Some are even wondering if Russia even carries the nuclear capabilities as once thought, for that matter.

[AzNightmare]

Wax museum removes Putin figure after it's vandalized by visitors and is now considering replacing it with a model of Ukraine President Zelenskyy

https://news.sky.com/story/we-dont-want-to-fix-his-hair-every-day-museum-removes-waxwork-of-vladimir-putin-after-it-was-damaged-by-visitors-12554970

lol

[Mr.Money]

from one idiot, russia is turning into a shit hole or was it already?. :whistle:

[DavidNguyen]

CCM to stop using ovi and feloow russsians to market their products

[Hondaracer]

I’m actually quite impressed with the global response. However I think everyone, including corporations understand the gravity of the situation and the negative impact of Russia potentially absorbing Ukraine

[68style]

Bald does that too :lol

He's actually more known for his sex tourism (back in the day).

Jesus I looked into this, I can’t even watch his videos anymore… rapey fuck of a guy

[iwantaskyline]

All this talk of nuclear war is fear mongering IMO. Putin still has kids, a mistress and assets that'd make Bezos look like a chump. I highly doubt he'd be okay with mutual assured destruction.

Also no one knows how good America's missile defence system is. Apparently that's where most of their military budget goes towards.

[murd0c]

All this talk of nuclear war is fear mongering IMO. Putin still has kids, a mistress and assets that'd make Bezos look like a chump. I highly doubt he'd be okay with mutual assured destruction.

Also no one knows how good America's missile defence system is. Apparently that's where most of their military budget goes towards.

I’m 100% confident that not a single nuke would make it to the US. They have so much black project secret shit they would pull out to neutralize any threat. The TR3B being one of them which has been rumoured to be real anti-gravity craft for years.

[SkinnyPupp]

Looks like Putin is going full Scorched Earth now

https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/1498902170271301633

[AzNightmare]

CCM to stop using ovi and feloow russsians to market their products

Damn... the cancel culture is going strong now.

Not exactly sure how I feel about this. The Russian athletes literally have nothing to do with this war.

Is this more to do with CCM protecting their own business, cut ties with anything to do with Russia just so it looks good for their brand and in the future, they won't risk receiving any sort of backlash cause who knows what they'll get blamed for down the road.

[Manic!]

Damn... the cancel culture is going strong now.

Not exactly sure how I feel about this. The Russian athletes literally have nothing to do with this war.

Is this more to do with CCM protecting their own business, cut ties with anything to do with Russia just so it looks good for their brand and in the future, they won't risk receiving any sort of backlash cause who knows what they'll get blamed for down the road.

ovechkin is friends with putin. putin sent him a wedding gift.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FMzdN1VXEAAUXSw?format=jpg&name=medium

[SkinnyPupp]

Damn... the cancel culture is going strong now.

Not exactly sure how I feel about this. The Russian athletes literally have nothing to do with this war.

Is this more to do with CCM protecting their own business, cut ties with anything to do with Russia just so it looks good for their brand and in the future, they won't risk receiving any sort of backlash cause who knows what they'll get blamed for down the road.
The athletes themselves may not necessarily have done anything wrong, but they are benefiting from Russia's relationship with the western world. When they attack that part of the world, they instantly severed all ties, and everyone who benefitted will no longer be able to do so. Also any reasonably famous Russian athlete is likely going to have direct ties to Putin (whether by choice or not I can't say)

So we have minor things like athletes losing sponsorship

But also deals are cut with international companies - oil companies, Boeing, Airbus, Visa, Mastercard, are all pulling out of there.

Like I said, Putin instantly put them back 70 years. He is fucking Russia over almost as much as Ukraine.

BTW I like this, civilians taking to the streets to block the advance of tanks

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FM2gIV-XMAcAWJk.jpg

And at the same time, if Russian soldiers surrender, they are treated humanely. This guy got some tea and food, and got to facetime with his mom

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FM2QAVdXwAgoOCb.jpg

[SkinnyPupp]

Video of that incident here... The kid is clearly starving, and check out when his mom picks up the phone BibleThump

https://streamable.com/01jsd1

[Hondaracer]

Honestly with the current state of misinformation I don’t even know what to think of videos like that or any media really. That could be anything, rehearsed, from a different time, etc.

It’s also like..one soldier.. maybe he’s split off from a group out in buttfuck no where, he’s not really a “sign” of how things are going for Russia etc. it’s really bizare as I said how people and the internet cling onto stuff like this when it’s totally not representative of anything really

[westopher]

With that logic there’s really no point in trying to take in any information whatsoever. If you don’t trust any sources and are just going to come up with something, just turn your phone off and put your head in the sand. Life will be much less stressful anyways so it’s better off to just stay in your own world at that point.

[inv4zn]

Honestly with the current state of misinformation I don’t even know what to think of videos like that or any media really. That could be anything, rehearsed, from a different time, etc.

It’s also like..one soldier.. maybe he’s split off from a group out in buttfuck no where, he’s not really a “sign” of how things are going for Russia etc. it’s really bizare as I said how people and the internet cling onto stuff like this when it’s totally not representative of anything really

While philosophically, what you're saying is true, if there exist hundreds if not thousands of various reports/media, with constant updates, shouldn't you consider the chances that it's real? Yes, there's a lot of BS on the internet, but unless you're full on nut-job, it's not too difficult to figure out what's real and what isn't.

The guy that took that video isn't going to send it to CNN, he's going to upload it wheverever and it'll get circulated.

[Hondaracer]

With that logic there’s really no point in trying to take in any information whatsoever. If you don’t trust any sources and are just going to come up with something, just turn your phone off and put your head in the sand. Life will be much less stressful anyways so it’s better off to just stay in your own world at that point.

If you’re taking these meme videos about how poorly Russia is doing as fact, I’d say that’s just ignorance rather than trying to stay informed.

However poorly Russia may be doing, they have virtually unlimited resources and don’t have a problem taking casualties.

Manic can keep posting “ohhh the convoy is taking a hit by drones!!!” And Russia can just keep pumping Tanks down the road until there’s no more drones left. The war will not end because Russia runs out of equipment or resources. It will end if Ukraine is taken or the global effort to shut off Russia finally breaks the morale of your civilian Russian.

[westopher]

Honestly with the current state of misinformation I don’t even know what to think of videos like that or any media really.
Like I said, just put your phone down and take the stress out of your life if this is what you think.
Obviously the way any useful person takes information is to take in a lot of it, and to determine what information has commonality across multiple sources to come to a conclusion. I’m not gonna watch one YouTube video and go “that’s all thats happening” or “that’s all fake and rehearsed!”
Both are ignorant.

[SkinnyPupp]

Honestly with the current state of misinformation I don’t even know what to think of videos like that or any media really. That could be anything, rehearsed, from a different time, etc.

It’s also like..one soldier.. maybe he’s split off from a group out in buttfuck no where, he’s not really a “sign” of how things are going for Russia etc. it’s really bizare as I said how people and the internet cling onto stuff like this when it’s totally not representative of anything really
It's definitely being put out there for self serving reasons, and until stuff like this gets confirmed by intelligence, it shouldn't be treated as absolute fact.

However for our uses in social media, it's fine to look at and share. I believe it happened, and the Ukrainians want the invaders to know that they can safely surrender if they want. Other starving Russians in their 20's might come across this or hear about it - getting to eat and drink for the first time in days, hot tea, seeing their moms - and it might be enough to tip the scale a few times. And so on

[Hondaracer]

Fair enough, I feel like this is just Covid amplified though

With Covid at least virology was so far above most peoples heads no one would take the time to even learn the most basic shit about Covid, therefor most people never really had an opinion until much later in the pandemic when frustration made people start spouting out their uninformed opinions.

Here it’s just like, one video of an abandoned Russian tank and people (not here but in general on the internet) are like lol Russia losing! They don’t know what they’re doing!

[whitev70r]

Damn... the cancel culture is going strong now.

Not exactly sure how I feel about this. The Russian athletes literally have nothing to do with this war.

Is this more to do with CCM protecting their own business, cut ties with anything to do with Russia just so it looks good for their brand and in the future, they won't risk receiving any sort of backlash cause who knows what they'll get blamed for down the road.

In this case, I do think it is more than cancel culture or out of all incidents, if anyone is deserving of being cancelled, Putin gets the gold medal for that award.

The point of the sanctions against these oligarchs is that if you benefit from relationship with Putin, you suffer from your relationship with Putin. Put the damn squeeze on him to stop this shit. Ovi is no different, you can classify him as Russian athlete oligarch, he wouldn't be playing in the NHL (or any athlete) if Putin didn't put the stamp of approval on it. Ovi often buddies up to Putin.

So far, Ovi's comments have been quite weak ass, understandably, his family lives in Russia. But if he donated one year of his salary to help with Ukrainian relief efforts, refugee settlement, etc. I still don't think he would have done enough for all the benefits he has received from being a Putin supporter.

[Hondaracer]

It's definitely being put out there for self serving reasons, and until stuff like this gets confirmed by intelligence, it shouldn't be treated as absolute fact.

However for our uses in social media, it's fine to look at and share. I believe it happened, and the Ukrainians want the invaders to know that they can safely surrender if they want. Other starving Russians in their 20's might come across this or hear about it - getting to eat and drink for the first time in days, hot tea, seeing their moms - and it might be enough to tip the scale a few times. And so on

Yea..Bizare. And I can get on board with that message spreading it to other soldiers seeing this type of thing using it as essentially propaganda. What a weird time.

[westopher]

In regards to Russia losing this war, I mean they are half right. Both these sides are going to lose drastically in terms of this war. The only person who stands to gain anything from this is the megalomaniac that’s killing civilians for no reason other than to feel like a superpower. Russia taking over Ukraine will provide them no benefit as a country.

[SkinnyPupp]

As far as Russia doing poorly, this comes from US and UK intelligence mostly. And well open your eyes - Kyiv is still under Ukrainian control. Other key points are still under Ukrainian control, while some have fallen (for now). Importantly, air space is still contested. That 40 mile long convoy they're keeping an eye on - has barely moved since it was first spotted. Russians are having serious problems with mobility on the ground, and when they do send tanks in, it's with no troop support. This means they are essentially driving around blindly, and can be captured quite easily.

https://twitter.com/JackDetsch/status/1499070885713612802

Ukraine is showing some documents that they say were the original plans for the invasion, and it was to go from Feb 20 to March 6... That's total occupation in 2 weeks. So far it's been 1 week and they have barely made a dent (in terms of strategic capture of key points - they are making a big dent in killing civilians and children), and are now starting to bomb and shell a lot more than you'd expect for a 'special operation' meant to liberate their neighbours from nazis.

https://twitter.com/michaelh992/status/1499045445712162820

Maybe this is fake too, who knows for sure... If it helps, just don't believe anything.. Honestly that is an understandable concept.

[whitev70r]

It appears that any significant damage that Russia is doing is via air and missiles.

I'm hoping that humanity wins on the ground. And more stories are true of Ukrainians confronting Russian ground forces and appealing to their senses (maybe deceived by their commanders as to nature of mission, etc.) and their kinship in that many Ukrainians and Russians are deeply tied and connected. They really are brothers/sisters/cousins in the family tree.

[inv4zn]

Someone made a pretty good analogy wuth Russia/Putin's current state of mind.

It's like using all your food and fuel to get to the moon. Then what. You're alone, there's nothing to do, and there's no returning.

[Hondaracer]

In regards to Russia losing this war, I mean they are half right. Both these sides are going to lose drastically in terms of this war. The only person who stands to gain anything from this is the megalomaniac that’s killing civilians for no reason other than to feel like a superpower. Russia taking over Ukraine will provide them no benefit as a country.

They would gain the only port in the region that doesn’t freeze over, and untapped oil and gas resources that could be in the top 10-15 in the world.

How you’d go about actually doing anything with that when you’re occupying a country where the vast majority of its citizens don’t want you there, I’m not sure.

Also when China is your only customer, I’m not so sure how well that works. Although Russia has influence in Africa etc. if you don’t have those first world trading partners, how far does it get you

[pastarocket]

-news about Russia possibly using more lethal weapons on Ukraine.

Vacuum bombs. Yikes!

US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield called on other United Nations member states to hold Russia accountable for invading Ukraine in remarks at a UN General Assembly emergency special session on Ukraine, which she noted was the first such session in 40 years.

Thomas-Greenfield said Russian forces are destroying infrastructure vital to the Ukrainian people, and Russian President Vladimir Putin seems poised to ramp up the invasion.

"We have seen videos of Russian forces moving exceptionally lethal weaponry into Ukraine, which has no place on the battlefield. That includes cluster munitions and vacuum bombs – which are banned under the Geneva Convention. We have seen the 40-mile-long lethal convoy charging toward Kyiv. President Putin continues to escalate – putting Russia’s nuclear forces on high alert, threatening to invade Finland and Sweden. At every step of the way, Russia has betrayed the United Nations. Russia’s actions go against everything this body stands for," she said.

Some background: A Russian thermobaric multiple rockets launcher was spotted by CNN team south of Belgorod, Russia, near the Ukrainian border early Saturday afternoon. They are sometimes called “vacuum bombs” because they suck in the oxygen from the surrounding air to generate a powerful explosion and a large pressure wave that can have enormous destructive effects. There is no evidence that thermobaric weapons have been used in the conflict in Ukraine.

[El Bastardo]

Someone made a pretty good analogy wuth Russia/Putin's current state of mind.

It's like using all your food and fuel to get to the moon. Then what. You're alone, there's nothing to do, and there's no returning.


To continue with the analogy -

Ukraine IS the gas station on the moon. You can load up on snacks and fill your tanks before continuing on to Moldova.

[Hondaracer]

https://youtu.be/CJfx9yOk1qc

[pastarocket]

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cam5o4NFTw4/?utm_medium=copy_link

Russian airstrike of a building where a Russian was live streaming on IG is caught on video.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Mikoyan]

Ukraine's Defense Ministry says Russian mothers can pick up their POW's sons from Kiev. If they are physically picked up by their own mother, they are free to go. There are buses waiting for the mothers at the Polish border.

https://t.co/tKB7WJxenP
https://twitter.com/Daannnnnnnn/status/1499045749887496194?t=FJV2KS5UqXTURiFsk00atA&s=19

[Manic!]

Another video of Russians surrendering. These guys claim they are not even soldier's.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ukraine/comments/t4xnn9/a_small_russian_unit_that_fully_surrendered_to/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share

[EvoFire]

Ukraine's Defense Ministry says Russian mothers can pick up their POW's sons from Kiev. If they are physically picked up by their own mother, they are free to go. There are buses waiting for the mothers at the Polish border.

https://t.co/tKB7WJxenP
https://twitter.com/Daannnnnnnn/status/1499045749887496194?t=FJV2KS5UqXTURiFsk00atA&s=19

That's an epic propaganda machine, and appeals to the human side of things.

[Eff-1]

I noticed the other video by that Johnny guy very creepily hovering too long over females of any sort of attractiveness :suspicious:

I'm very thankful I don't have any friends who insist on filming every second of our social gatherings for the purposes of his or her vlog.

[BlackV62K2]

Some people love to live life through a lens than being present and living through their eyes. I'll never understand it.

[ilovebacon]

https://worldstarhiphop.com/videos/video-c.php?v=wshhZ5G32kW0ID0QXJ1o

holy fuck, i wouldve shit my pants

[Manic!]

That's an epic propaganda machine, and appeals to the human side of things.

They will also act as shields buying time.

[Hondaracer]

I don’t really watch this guy too often and this video is kinda borderline begging but goes over some of the ways yoir average Russian has been effected in St.Petersburg

https://youtu.be/bu6xUG9zoRg

[Tapioca]

Some interesting analysis and commentary about what this could mean for NATO going forward:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TtPJGxa3EM

[mikemhg]

I think that's the main problem with this particular "war". so much misinformation/disinformation.

I just came back from a lunch with some colleagues at Joe Fortes and had to listen to some coworkers telling me they felt the need to fly back from their vacations in Hawaii and other places in the US once they heard about Russia invading Ukraine, thinking that WW3 was going to start. That absolutely blew my mind.

Both Russia and Ukraine are some of the biggest perpetrators of propaganda and misinformation than anywhere else in the world. It's becoming evident why information from this conflict has been so difficult to decipher or take as fact or fiction. Both sides are waging a war of information and narrative on one another, this makes things EXTREMELY murky at best.

It doesn't help that you also have the US/West also pushing their own agendas and misinformation out there as well, it really just muddles everything coming out right now.

[Tegra_Devil]

I think that's the main problem with this particular "war". so much misinformation/disinformation.

I just came back from a lunch with some colleagues at Joe Fortes and had to listen to some coworkers telling me they felt the need to fly back from their vacations in Hawaii and other places in the US once they heard about Russia invading Ukraine, thinking that WW3 was going to start. That absolutely blew my mind.

Both Russia and Ukraine are some of the biggest perpetrators of propaganda and misinformation than anywhere else in the world. It's becoming evident why information from this conflict has been so difficult to decipher or take as fact or fiction. Both sides are waging a war of information and narrative on one another, this makes things EXTREMELY murky at best.

It doesn't help that you also have the US/West also pushing their own agendas and misinformation out there as well, it really just muddles everything coming out right now.

I don't find it to far fetched that this could lead to a nuclear ww3

[tarobbt]

I think that's the main problem with this particular "war". so much misinformation/disinformation.

I just came back from a lunch with some colleagues at Joe Fortes and had to listen to some coworkers telling me they felt the need to fly back from their vacations in Hawaii and other places in the US once they heard about Russia invading Ukraine, thinking that WW3 was going to start. That absolutely blew my mind.

Both Russia and Ukraine are some of the biggest perpetrators of propaganda and misinformation than anywhere else in the world. It's becoming evident why information from this conflict has been so difficult to decipher or take as fact or fiction. Both sides are waging a war of information and narrative on one another, this makes things EXTREMELY murky at best.

It doesn't help that you also have the US/West also pushing their own agendas and misinformation out there as well, it really just muddles everything coming out right now.

lesser of two evils, america isnt perfect by any means and has its own issues

[Manic!]

Anyone worried about WW3.

https://i.redd.it/tynm48rf4jk81.jpg

It won't be even close.

[Great68]

Anyone worried about WW3.


It won't be even close.

The only line that matters is the last one. If it comes to those (Which if NATO stepped one foot onto Russian soil, it would), everyone's dead.

[Tegra_Devil]

The only line that matters is the last one. If it comes to those (Which if NATO stepped one foot onto Russian soil, it would), everyone's dead.

Depends if nato can precision strike nuclear fields in Russia limiting their capability, but I'm pretty sure they say nuclear winter can start with just 10 nukes. We fucked either way

[Acura604]

these f*ckers in China....

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/02/us/politics/russia-ukraine-china.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/02/russia-economy-sanctions-china-support-ukraine/



i swear..when i think of China during this war i think of this guy...come to think of it.. China has always been that country that gives '0' fucks

https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2014-06/10/16/campaign_images/webdr05/for-everyone-who-is-attracted-to-littlefinger-2-18092-1402430456-15_dblbig.jpg

[murd0c]

China is sitting back and laughing, they will let Russia do what they want and they don't have to worry about Russia going after them and then will pick up the pieces after Russia does something stupid.

[Mr.Money]

i like how we have the public dumb as hell still on black projects to counter anything if it comes to north american.



telling me a trillion dollar empire built on war has nothing and we're "fucked".



sure.

[inv4zn]

I think that's the main problem with this particular "war". so much misinformation/disinformation.

Both Russia and Ukraine are some of the biggest perpetrators of propaganda and misinformation than anywhere else in the world. It's becoming evident why information from this conflict has been so difficult to decipher or take as fact or fiction. Both sides are waging a war of information and narrative on one another, this makes things EXTREMELY murky at best.

It doesn't help that you also have the US/West also pushing their own agendas and misinformation out there as well, it really just muddles everything coming out right now.

This is both a dangerous narrative and a slippery slope...I'll even give you the benefit of the doubt for putting "war" in quotations.

Russia is one of the biggest perpetrators of propaganda and misinformation. They've been doing it literally for decades, and only exasperated with the internet & social media. How you can write a sentence as if somehow they're equal and have been equally guilty in disseminating fake news for as long as Russia is beyond me.

Yes, during war-time, there will be propaganda. It's been that way for a century. But it doesn't make things "murky" at all. Again, how you come to that conclusion is beyond me.

One country is clearly both the victim and the underdog, and no, it's not because I've succumbed to Ukrainian propaganda. AP is on the ground, as are numerous credible news agencies, corroborating stories that we see online, and they are being reported in literally every major news agency.

Ukraine claims Russian army is shit, they've lied to their soldiers, most of whom are very young. And that Russia is attacking civilian facilities, using tactics that verge on war crimes, and still that many are surrendering. All of this has been confirmed.

Russia claims Zelensky is a nazi, and the Ukraine government is terrorizing their own citizens. Not only is this completely unconfirmed, you'd have to be an absolute moron to believe it.

Yes, you need to constantly be skeptical these days, and no, you shouldn't blindly believe everything you read online without some fact-checking, but to declare that EVERYTHING must be fake and false...well, time to dust off your red hat then.

And lastly, yes the 'west' will have their agendas. But in this instance it's literally every single nation other than Russia and the 5 countries that voted against the UN resolution (and the 30 or whatever that abstained.) No, it probably won't lead to WW3, but it's definitely a "war".

[AzNightmare]

Depends if nato can precision strike nuclear fields in Russia limiting their capability, but I'm pretty sure they say nuclear winter can start with just 10 nukes. We fucked either way

All I saw at the end was that there's 12,000 nukes...

It's going to be a fucking mess to clean up and endure, for those unlucky enough to survive.

[SkinnyPupp]

I think that's the main problem with this particular "war". so much misinformation/disinformation.

I just came back from a lunch with some colleagues at Joe Fortes and had to listen to some coworkers telling me they felt the need to fly back from their vacations in Hawaii and other places in the US once they heard about Russia invading Ukraine, thinking that WW3 was going to start. That absolutely blew my mind.

Both Russia and Ukraine are some of the biggest perpetrators of propaganda and misinformation than anywhere else in the world. It's becoming evident why information from this conflict has been so difficult to decipher or take as fact or fiction. Both sides are waging a war of information and narrative on one another, this makes things EXTREMELY murky at best.

It doesn't help that you also have the US/West also pushing their own agendas and misinformation out there as well, it really just muddles everything coming out right now.
Just use common sense.

Obviously when Ukraine says they've killed 9000 Russians, that's probably a lie. Or claims of an ace pilot who has shot down 6 or 7 aircraft.

But when a selfie video leaks from Telegram or Tick Tock with a building behind the dude being shelled, that's probably real. Or video of the TV tower (and Holocaust memorial beside it) being shelled, that's real.

When Russia says ... well anything... obviously it's not real.

BTW not sure why "war" is in quotes?

[SkinnyPupp]

Great thread

https://twitter.com/TrentTelenko/status/1499164245250002944

[Hondaracer]

If the conditions of the ground are a problem for the mobility of their forces somewhat ironic given the problems the Germans had against the soviets in WW2.. this is even worse however because they are just crossing a single border

[Manic!]

https://i.redd.it/r0n2ixb4h1l81.png

It's worth around $600 million.

[SkinnyPupp]

Russia having to invade in narrow convoys makes this news extremely important:

https://twitter.com/blakehounshell/status/1499189517152137218

That 40 mile convoy is going to be a giant sitting duck. Seems like all they need to do is take out the first and last few rows and they'll be effectively immobilized.

[SkinnyPupp]

Russian economist on what Russia is about to go through (https://twitter.com/mironov_fm/status/1499092871265361927)

TLDR: The USSR is back and worse than ever

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FM4Tt7IXMAYdWXM.jpg

[whitev70r]

Russia having to invade in narrow convoys makes this news extremely important:

That 40 mile convoy is going to be a giant sitting duck. Seems like all they need to do is take out the first and last few rows and they'll be effectively immobilized.

Why haven't they thought of this strategy already. It was the first thing I thought of when I saw that mile long convoy or military vehicles. Just blast the first few and they're dead in the water. Or blast the road if need be.

[dachinesedude]

Anyone worried about WW3.

https://i.redd.it/tynm48rf4jk81.jpg

It won't be even close.

What if China and North Korean sides with Russia?

[iwantaskyline]

What if China and North Korean sides with Russia?

China’s largest trade partner is America. Unless that changes they’re never going to war with America.

[Manic!]

What if China and North Korean sides with Russia?

Cheap housing in BC.

The sanctions would kill China's economy. They need to keep all those factories running.




https://cabinradio.ca/86775/news/plane-carrying-russians-is-grounded-in-yellowknife/

Plane carrying Russians is grounded in Yellowknife

A private aircraft transporting Russian nationals has been grounded in Yellowknife, the NWT’s infrastructure minister said on Wednesday.
A file photo of Yellowknife Airport. Sarah Pruys/Cabin Radio

Speaking in the NWT legislature, Diane Archie said the aircraft had been grounded by the federal government and was being investigated over a potential violation of Canada’s recent order that no Russian aircraft enter its airspace.

Archie said she received a call on Tuesday night to inform her a “civilian plane with Russian nationals had landed in Yellowknife” with passengers bound for Resolute, Nunavut as part of “a planned Arctic overland expedition” in a large ATV.

I wonder what they are going to do now?

[SkinnyPupp]

What if China and North Korean sides with Russia?
China is probably going to take a look at how harshly the sanctions affected Russia, and nope the fuck out of any ideas of actual invasion anywhere

Now will they decide to rely less on the world economy because of it? Russia gives them somewhat of a chance to. They can hardly afford to in order to keep things going the way they are, but it's possible.

They're at a crossroads now... Either take the opportunity to have closer than ever ties to the west, who will be more inviting than ever right now, or shut out even further away.

I think it's hard to predict, because it all comes down to what one person decides to do.

Here's a good thread on it

https://twitter.com/zhaot2005/status/1499069321179324418

[SkinnyPupp]

Thread on what may happen to Russia's aviation industry

TLDR: Dead within 3 weeks. International travel for Russians will be nearly impossible, and those that will even be allowed to leave the country will have to go by land or sea

https://twitter.com/janedvidek/status/1498723248183382020

[inv4zn]

Russia has bombed a Holocaust memorial, 5 civilians dead.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60588885

[Teriyaki]

China is probably going to take a look at how harshly the sanctions affected Russia, and nope the fuck out of any ideas of actual invasion anywhere

Now will they decide to rely less on the world economy because of it? Russia gives them somewhat of a chance to. They can hardly afford to in order to keep things going the way they are, but it's possible.

They're at a crossroads now... Either take the opportunity to have closer than ever ties to the west, who will be more inviting than ever right now, or shut out even further away.

I think it's hard to predict, because it all comes down to what one person decides to do.

Here's a good thread on it

https://twitter.com/zhaot2005/status/1499069321179324418

Agree on a lot of those points, been thinking about a lot along similar lines lately watching this play out. While China and Russia are similar in a lot of ways, China is way further prepared for success should they try to pull something like this off.

A few points that differentiate them:

On economy and dependence on the West. Russia is all bark and little to no bite so far as they're far too entrenched with the world economy to decouple as they've been forced to suddenly with all the sanctions. They do not have capacity to be self reliant.

China, on the other hand has been playing the long game and is so much more prepared for a decoupling should they be forced to. Examples are everywhere in almost every sector. Their policies set in place long ago have allowed them to "re-create" most things that the west have made. Internet and control of information? Chinese facebook, Chinese twitter, Chinese google, Chinese youtube. These all exist and sanctions and shutdowns would not affect them at all.
Control of everyday necessities and tech? Chinese phone companies, Chinese car companies, Chinese designed and produced airplanes. Chinese almost everything as their policies of requiring western companies to share their tech to gain access to the Chinese market. This is likely one of the most shrewd and significant policies enacted by the Chinese Government to propel their economy forward at a significant pace.
Access to raw materials and natural resources? China has made significant investment moves on the African continent and its quite obvious to see lending billions and billions to curry the favor of all these African nations is not simple altruistic. They are buying their way and ensuring unimpeded access both during peace-time and potential war-time to the rich resources these nations could provide.

As for the military failures and lack of moral. Putin basically blindsided the troops on the ground and possibly their own generals by announcing this intervention. As passionate as his excuses tried to tug at the heartstrings of the "One Russia" and shared heritage of the Russion and Ukrainian people... It obviously didn't work as you see the battle playing out.
China on the other hand, has been playing the information and brain-washing of their people and ultimately the decision-makers/military that Taiwan is and always part of their territory for decades. This constant propaganda is shoved down their throats from birth. Unfortunate as it may be, the soldiers that China would be sending out would be way more "patriotic" and determined in their mission to carry out as directed. The fighting and decision making from top to bottom would be vastly more swift, deadly, and without hesitation.

Furthermore, this move by Russia just further proves to China that what they've been doing for the past decade or two is correct and they'll likely double down on that approach. Building out their internal economy, steal lie and cheat however much you can from the West so that sanctions and a complete de-coupling can no longer hurt you. They're not fully there yet I don't think, but they are way closer to being ready than ever before.

Worse yet, they get to further learn from every mis-step that Russia takes during this conflict.
Can only hope that the west gets their shit together and learns from this as well to find long term solutions to counter, but it might already be too late quite honestly. If the US, EU et al think similar sanctions will prevent or de-escalate a conflict in Taiwan... well I fear for the worst.

In words RS can surely understand. Russia = Too Soon Junior. China is going to be a completely different beast entirely.

[SkinnyPupp]

Agree on a lot of those points, been thinking about a lot along similar lines lately watching this play out. While China and Russia are similar in a lot of ways, China is way further prepared for success should they try to pull something like this off.

A few points that differentiate them:

On economy and dependence on the West. Russia is all bark and little to no bite so far as they're far too entrenched with the world economy to decouple as they've been forced to suddenly with all the sanctions. They do not have capacity to be self reliant.

China, on the other hand has been playing the long game and is so much more prepared for a decoupling should they be forced to. Examples are everywhere in almost every sector. Their policies set in place long ago have allowed them to "re-create" most things that the west have made. Internet and control of information? Chinese facebook, Chinese twitter, Chinese google, Chinese youtube. These all exist and sanctions and shutdowns would not affect them at all.
Control of everyday necessities and tech? Chinese phone companies, Chinese car companies, Chinese designed and produced airplanes. Chinese almost everything as their policies of requiring western companies to share their tech to gain access to the Chinese market. This is likely one of the most shrewd and significant policies enacted by the Chinese Government to propel their economy forward at a significant pace.
Access to raw materials and natural resources? China has made significant investment moves on the African continent and its quite obvious to see lending billions and billions to curry the favor of all these African nations is not simple altruistic. They are buying their way and ensuring unimpeded access both during peace-time and potential war-time to the rich resources these nations could provide.

As for the military failures and lack of moral. Putin basically blindsided the troops on the ground and possibly their own generals by announcing this intervention. As passionate as his excuses tried to tug at the heartstrings of the "One Russia" and shared heritage of the Russion and Ukrainian people... It obviously didn't work as you see the battle playing out.
China on the other hand, has been playing the information and brain-washing of their people and ultimately the decision-makers/military that Taiwan is and always part of their territory for decades. This constant propaganda is shoved down their throats from birth. Unfortunate as it may be, the soldiers that China would be sending out would be way more "patriotic" and determined in their mission to carry out as directed. The fighting and decision making from top to bottom would be vastly more swift, deadly, and without hesitation.

Furthermore, this move by Russia just further proves to China that what they've been doing for the past decade or two is correct and they'll likely double down on that approach. Building out their internal economy, steal lie and cheat however much you can from the West so that sanctions and a complete de-coupling can no longer hurt you. They're not fully there yet I don't think, but they are way closer to being ready than ever before.

Worse yet, they get to further learn from every mis-step that Russia takes during this conflict.
Can only hope that the west gets their shit together and learns from this as well to find long term solutions to counter, but it might already be too late quite honestly. If the US, EU et al think similar sanctions will prevent or de-escalate a conflict in Taiwan... well I fear for the worst.

In words RS can surely understand. Russia = Too Soon Junior. China is going to be a completely different beast entirely.
I agree, although I don't think China has imperialist aspirations. They ultimately want to their people prosper in a peaceful world (fully in Xi's version of a good prosperous life).

All of the issues they have with other countries tend to be based on border disputes, as previous imperialists took as much of their land as they could over the years. Once the colonies became countries, they are now in dispute with China, left to deal with the mess left behind. And then of course Taiwan.

Taking Taiwan would be nearly impossible based on what I've read, and while their military is huge and modern, apparently they aren't the best trained or obedient. I don't know

If this Russia thing gets messy to the point where NATO gets involved an WW3 starts, then they might see the opportunity/excuse to strike all their border disputes. For those wondering why NATO doesn't just swoop in and take care of Russia's clearly miserable military, that's why.

[SkinnyPupp]

https://twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/1499345566253436931

Propaganda? Wait and see

[Ulic Qel-Droma]

I think the biggest mistake everyone is making is under estimating russia's ability to adapt and the numbers they have.

they can just adapt a bit, and send more.

with every new wave that enters ukraine, they'll be more prepared, and have less fog of war thanks to their comrades that entered before them.

I woulda sent a buncha newbs in first too if the cost of their lives and equipment wasn't worth much.

[Ulic Qel-Droma]

also ukraine is a very big country, and a lot of this is urban warfare, where the ukranians have the advantage of being dug in and also ambush, giving them a huge advantage.

If russia starts to secure larger areas of ukraine and stabilize their logistical lines, you'll start to see them use more of their aircraft and other more advanced/high valued weapons and machinary.

Russia can play the long game. Ukraine can only hold out for so long without allies.

[SkinnyPupp]

I woulda sent a buncha newbs in first too if the cost of their lives and equipment wasn't worth much.
Are you suggesting they intentionally let 6000 of their troops die, and a top general, giving up billions of dollars worth of equipment, in order to "do better the next go around"?

I do agree that they have the numbers to just keep throwing more and more people at the problem until they overwhelm... On paper it makes sense of course, and it's how everyone expects it to go. However if they keep smacking into a brick wall over and over again while draining their resources, it might not go the expected way. Especially when literally half of their $650 billion war chest evaporated overnight, and is being drained by the day. They have the numbers, but they might not have time to utilize them.

And if they do the expected and are able to conquer the country, then what? Good luck occupying that country, the way people are already reacting. And again, how much money and supplies will be left? Even if they can occupy, how long can they last? Meanwhile their own country will be falling apart, and their own people will be rioting.. They'll need to occupy their own people with military, let alone Ukraine!

It's crazy that it's not going as expected... Not to say the outcome will certainly be positive, but I wouldn't be so confident based on what now looks to be outdated notions.

[Tegra_Devil]

Let's just say, time is not in Russia's side

[GGnoRE]

... China is way further prepared for success should they try to pull something like this off.

A few points that differentiate them:

On economy and dependence on the West. Russia is all bark and little to no bite so far as they're far too entrenched with the world economy to decouple as they've been forced to suddenly with all the sanctions. They do not have capacity to be self reliant.

China, on the other hand has been playing the long game and is so much more prepared for a decoupling should they be forced to. Examples are everywhere in almost every sector. Their policies set in place long ago have allowed them to "re-create" most things that the west have made. Internet and control of information? Chinese facebook, Chinese twitter, Chinese google, Chinese youtube. These all exist and sanctions and shutdowns would not affect them at all.
Control of everyday necessities and tech? Chinese phone companies, Chinese car companies, Chinese designed and produced airplanes. Chinese almost everything as their policies of requiring western companies to share their tech to gain access to the Chinese market. This is likely one of the most shrewd and significant policies enacted by the Chinese Government to propel their economy forward at a significant pace.
Access to raw materials and natural resources? China has made significant investment moves on the African continent and its quite obvious to see lending billions and billions to curry the favor of all these African nations is not simple altruistic. They are buying their way and ensuring unimpeded access both during peace-time and potential war-time to the rich resources these nations could provide.


I think you are grossly overestimating China's ability to be self-reliant. One positive effect of 'globalization', which China has greatly benefitted from, is the golden handcuff that makes everyone's economy reliant on the rest of the world. China's economy is fueled with debt (only possible with access to global capital markets) and their economic growth is propped up by their housing market (~30% of China's GDP) which is also fueled with debt. Look at what is happening to their financial and real estate sector due to the Evergrande scandal and this is 100% self-inflicted without any pressure from the West. China's exports account for ~20% of their GDP. So now imagine what would happen when China loses access to global capital markets, loses foreign direct investments, loses exports due to sanctions etc... Its much easier for the rest of world to find a new solution without China through cooperation than for China to survive on their own. Their own version of facebook or google isn't going to do much when their real life economy is crumbling.

[El Bastardo]

Moscow has drawn up plans for ways to break morale in order to discourage Ukrainian from fighting back as and when cities fall under the Kremlin’s control, a European intelligence official said.

That strategy includes crackdowns on protests, detention of opponents, and potentially carrying out public executions, the official said on the condition of anonymity. So far civilians in Ukraine as well as its military have put up strong resistance, including arming themselves as volunteer forces.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-03/russia-attacks-cities-as-war-enters-second-week-ukraine-update?srnd=premium-europe

[Hondaracer]

Are you suggesting they intentionally let 6000 of their troops die, and a top general, giving up billions of dollars worth of equipment, in order to "do better the next go around"?

That’s literally Russias MO for every way they’ve been in in the last 100 years lol

[SkinnyPupp]

Not intentionally EleGiggle

Reports that Russians think they are going to declare martial law, and close the borders so no one can leave, so there's a lot of people trying to GTFO now. Those who have the means, anyway

[quasi]

Not intentionally EleGiggle

Reports that Russians think they are going to declare martial law, and close the borders so no one can leave, so there's a lot of people trying to GTFO now. Those who have the means, anyway

I have a friend that's been teaching English there the last 10 years living in Moscow and he loves it there. That said he's trying to get out and come back to BC, future is so uncertain.

[El Bastardo]

I have a friend that's been teaching English there the last 10 years living in Moscow and he loves it there. That said he's trying to get out and come back to BC, future is so uncertain.



What are his wages and cost of living considerations like?

[quasi]

What are his wages and cost of living considerations like?

Good question, we've never talked money. He has a little apartment there from the photo's I've seen it's not a dump. I know he has savings, I doubt he's making the money he was here but enough to sustain and he likes Moscow.

[320icar]

I have a friend that's been teaching English there the last 10 years living in Moscow and he loves it there. That said he's trying to get out and come back to BC, future is so uncertain.

All my Russian friends who grew up here, they always had great things to say about [modern] Russia. Friendly, beautiful etc. Would always take extended vacations and one even moved back.

What an emotional swing. I never thought in my lifetime I would see the POTUS shake hands with the North Korean leader, or the ussr come back…

[El Bastardo]

Putin gave a rambling speech about how well his "special military operation" is going in Ukraine and (apparently. idk. i don't speak vodka) referred to Russian troops as "Soviet Troops"


For the pro-Russia US Republicans who constantly talk about how Biden's brain is feeble, how do they explain why Russia's leader is talking about a country that hasn't existed for over 30 years.

[MarkyMark]

So let's say Russia pulls it off and takes Ukraine... Then what? Does the world slowly start just doing business with them again because there's money to be made, or do they just stay cut off and slowly die?

[Hondaracer]

All my Russian friends who grew up here, they always had great things to say about [modern] Russia. Friendly, beautiful etc. Would always take extended vacations and one even moved back.

What an emotional swing. I never thought in my lifetime I would see the POTUS shake hands with the North Korean leader, or the ussr come back…

St.Petersburg and Moscow are beautiful, 30 minutes outside those cities people are still using horse and buggy and living in collapsing shacks lol.. at least from what I saw

[Acura604]

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/03/russian-military-power-weakness-ukraine/623323/

The first hint that something was off with the initial Russian war effort came in the very first hours. As violent as the strikes looked on television, I knew they were nothing compared with the kinds of aerial and artillery campaigns that typically begin attacks on sovereign nations with intact armies, as is the case with Ukraine.

Then, as the days wore on, that sense that something was off hardened into a consensus. The initial Russian plan was a costly failure, in part because—incredibly enough—it minimized Russian strengths and maximized Russian weaknesses, apparently in service of a strategy that seems to have been predicated on terrible intelligence that underestimated the Ukrainian military and overestimated Ukrainian support for Russia. But don’t think Russia can’t or won’t change its approach. It has not lost this war, and its “victory” may be truly terrible to behold.

To understand Russia’s early missteps, consider where the Russian military is strong and where it’s weak. Its strength is defined by its firepower. The Russian military possesses an immense amount of long-range artillery. It has invested in rockets and missiles that grant it the ability to pound its opponents from a distance. During wars in Chechnya and Syria, it demonstrated the capacity and willingness to bury its enemies in rockets and bombs.

There’s a reason, for example, that Grozny, in Chechnya, was once called “the most destroyed city on earth.” The Russian military essentially obliterated the city to defeat Chechen rebels during the Second Chechen War. More recently, Russian forces in Syria have been ruthless, committing war crimes, according to the United Nations, in a largely successful scorched-earth campaign that has helped prop up the Syrian government.

Russian firepower helps mask Russian weaknesses in the training, discipline, and skill of its rank-and-file soldiers. It’s still a heavily conscript army, with soldiers drafted for a year of service. A soldier is barely competent after a year of training. Moreover, while elite Russian units do exist, the average Russian-army unit isn’t on par with leading Western militaries.

Yet even highly skilled and better-equipped Western militaries would do more to shape the battlefield before directly attacking an enemy force. The U.S. military, for example, does not fling its troops at relatively intact defensive formations. Americans forget that the 100-hour ground war during Desert Storm was preceded by a weeks-long aerial campaign designed to degrade Iraq’s army. The hours before the ground attack were preceded by a thunderous artillery barrage that blanketed Iraqi positions and demoralized Iraqi troops.

We also fought aerial campaigns in the Balkans that destroyed enemy ground forces so thoroughly that no follow-up NATO ground attack was necessary for victory.

Yes, Russia launched missiles and conducted air strikes to begin the war, but the opening bombardments were obviously and transparently not enough to seriously damage Ukraine’s ability to resist. The Russian military appears to have both conducted risky airborne operations deep behind enemy lines and hurled its poorly trained troops right into the teeth of Ukrainian defenses without truly trying to break them first. That’s why I thought something was off in the initial attack. Terrifying though it was, it was nothing like what it could have been.

Compounding the tactical error, Russia divided its forces, striking a very large European country from multiple directions at once, with no one single striking force possessing the ability to decisively punch through Ukrainian defenses in the opening days.

Why would Russia do this? We likely won’t know the answer for some time, but the most probable reason is the simplest—a catastrophic intelligence failure. Russia seems to have believed that Ukraine would collapse. It didn’t begin its invasion with a truly intense aerial or artillery bombardment because it didn’t think that would be necessary. Why destroy a city you intend to almost immediately control? Why risk inflaming Ukrainian (and world) opinion when you’d be presenting the international community with a fait accompli—something like the Crimean takeover, except on a national scale?

But for all of the stories of Russian failure, here is the very bad news: Russia will far more likely respond to battlefield setbacks the way it traditionally has—with overwhelming firepower—than by seeking peace. The history of warfare (including the history of Russian warfare) is replete with examples of early failures and terrible command decisions. But armies tend to be learning organisms. If the fight doesn’t go as they expect, they adjust tactics.

Indeed, as much as Ukrainian resistance has inspired the West, it’s hard to believe that a few days of fighting have chastened Russia or deterred President Vladimir Putin. Much more likely is that he believes he has no choice but to press on to victory. To preserve his power, he has to win. Prediction is a dangerous business, but the likelihood now is that Putin will step on the gas and increase the violence and intensity of his attack. The possibility that he’ll halt his forces in place—to say nothing of retreating from Ukrainian territory—is far slimmer.

Putin can still lose by winning. In other words, the cost of his likely battlefield victory could be so great that it ultimately diminishes Russian power or even destabilizes his regime, but even so, imagining a scenario where Ukraine wins outright is difficult. NATO-supplied weapons may bleed the Russian army, but they seem unlikely to turn the tide on the battlefield. One can hope that the combination of Ukrainian courage, NATO weapons, and low Russian morale can turn the tide, but the odds against Ukraine are long.

Indeed, we don’t possess a great deal of information about Ukrainian casualties and equipment losses. We don’t know how much longer it can go toe-to-toe with Russian invaders. Russia is still a much stronger nation. It still possesses immense firepower. It can choose to go “full Grozny” and turn Ukrainian cities into the most destroyed cities on Earth.

Yes, that would further galvanize world opinion against Putin, but he’s already isolated. He’s already sanctioned, and the Russian economy is already “reeling.” Moreover, it’s still early in the conflict. If the Russians ultimately break through, seize Kyiv, and kill or capture Ukrainian leaders, hope will give way to despair, the people of Ukraine will pay a terrifying price, and true independence will once again be a distant dream.

This is not a movie. There is no script that gives the underdog the victory in the end. NATO’s renewed solidarity is of limited benefit to Ukrainians under fire in Kyiv. Germany’s increased defense budget does absolutely nothing to destroy the miles-long Russian armored convoys now inching down Ukrainian roads.

The West has woken up. NATO is united. Russia has already been made to pay for its aggression. But its army is still in Ukraine, grabbing more territory every day. It may learn from its mistakes, growing more aggressive to both destroy the Ukrainian resistance and deter additional foreign interference in the fight. If Russia does ultimately break Ukraine, the first flush of hope is likely to be forgotten amid the ashes of defeat.

[westopher]

So let's say Russia pulls it off and takes Ukraine... Then what? Does the world slowly start just doing business with them again because there's money to be made, or do they just stay cut off and slowly die?
I’m no foreign policy expert, but perhaps Russia could use Ukraine as a financial connection to the west due to sympathy for the Ukrainian people affected by the imposed sanctions on Russia?
On another note though, it’s been cute watching the anti immigration anti refugee crowd suddenly care about people affected by war. Wonder if they will go back on their virtue signalling when we start seeing refugees come over in droves, or if it won’t bother them because they are white.

[Tapioca]

Articles from the Atlantic are usually high quality reads and that analysis hits the mark.

Russia will not back down (autocracies don't back down unless they're taken down from within) and we will see a pyrrhic victory. The prospects for Ukraine are ultimately grim, despite the unity among the West on nearly all fronts (except for troops on the ground in Ukraine.)

[MarkyMark]

I’m no foreign policy expert, but perhaps Russia could use Ukraine as a financial connection to the west due to sympathy for the Ukrainian people affected by the imposed sanctions on Russia?
On another note though, it’s been cute watching the anti immigration anti refugee crowd suddenly care about people affected by war. Wonder if they will go back on their virtue signalling when we start seeing refugees come over in droves, or if it won’t bother them because they are white.

I just get the feeling that regardless of the outcome the greed will creep in and all these "so and so pulls out of Russia" will slowly go away over time after it no longer makes a great headline for their company anymore.

[westopher]

I’d like to see the formula that some corporations have that determines what dent in their profit a life is worth. I’d imagine plenty are down in the triple digits.

[Hondaracer]

Aeroflot looking to nationalize their fleet to keep it afloat while the owners of their planes are recalling their leases

Spend a few billion to buy all your planes to keep your national carrier afloat while people begging to pull money out of ATMs lol nice

[Acura604]

A 'NO FLY ZONE' over Ukraine would most certainly lead to all out world war... ...





European Council President Charles Michel said on Thursday that enforcing a no-fly zone over Ukraine is a NATO decision, but that it would be “one step too far” with a “real risk of escalation and a real risk of a possible third international war.”

“The EU is not at war with Russia. The reality is that Russia has launched a savage war against Ukraine. Ukraine is not a NATO member, and that’s why we must be extremely careful and cautious. We need to do everything which is possible, but taking into account that Russia has nuclear weapons, and it is very important to avoid a third international war,” he said in an interview with CNN’s Becky Anderson.
Michel said that while this was a decision for NATO to make and not the EU, it is important for NATO members to understand that it would be “one step too far."

“That’s why we are trying to advocate in different fields at the diplomatic level. We are trying to provide more support to Ukraine in order to have a ceasefire as soon as possible, and in order to make sure that we’ll be able to negotiate as soon as possible,” he added.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been calling for NATO and Western allies to enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraine amid Russia’s ongoing invasion and aerial bombardment of its cities. So far, that request has not been met.

Michel said that although NATO is a “backbone for common security in Europe," European countries need to take on more responsibilities to be able to provide more capabilities on their own in the military field.

Zelensky has also put in an official request to join the European Union. The EU parliament has since adopted a resolution on Tuesday calling on the European Union institutions "to work towards granting" Ukraine the status of EU candidate country.

The European Council president told Anderson that Zelensky’s request was “very legitimate” and that the EU would work to asses the request as fast as possible, “in order to remain extremely united in this field," alluding to some differing views among member states.

He said in the meantime and short term, he has decided to invite Zelensky to the European Council meetings on a “regular basis” to “cooperate and coordinate politically with Ukraine”.

Michel also stressed that the West’s strength is in its unity.

“Mr. Putin has tried to divide the EU and the United States. He failed. Mr. Putin has also tried to demonstrate that we are not able to act. He failed. We were able to take extremely important decisions that target directly the economic sectors in Russia. This is extremely painful, and I feel that Mr. Putin is really surprised by our ability to act and be extremely united and firm,” he said.

In response to whether Western unity is in fact changing Putin’s calculus on the ground, Michel told Anderson that it gives the impression to Russia’s leader that this will not be a battle between Russia against NATO and the EU, because there is very broad support from the international community against Moscow’s actions.

“We are not certain it will work, but we are certain that we must try and we must use the tools we have in our possession," Michel said.

[Manic!]

Canada prepared to welcome an 'unlimited number' of Ukrainians fleeing war, minister says

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-unlimited-number-ukrainians-1.6371288

Lets see if the cons complain about this like they did with people coming from roxham road.

[sonick]

I welcome it, some of my best team members are ukranian / eastern european.

[Manic!]

Just talked to my nephew. Some of his hockey teammates are Russian. What are they going to do when the season is over? Will they be able to go back home or are they stuck in Canada.

[westopher]

I certainly hope that people behave better when it comes to the treatment of Russian people around the world who certainly don’t support this war. Sergei down the street didn’t invade Ukraine and doesn’t deserve to be treated like he did.

[CivicBlues]

https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/russian-orthodox-church-in-calgary-vandalized-with-red-paint-1.5800027

People here pouring out bottles of Stolis and losing their minds.

At least Russians over here can pretend to be Ukrainian or keep their mouths shut since they pass for white.

If China goes for Taiwan it'll be open season on all East Asians.

[westopher]

Kind of like the people attacking Catholic Churches locally after the mass graves found at residential schools across Canada. Like, they aren’t sticking it to the Catholic Church as an organization. They are just hurting the normal people that go there, and the people that work there. It’s never the people in power who fucked it all up held accountable.

[Hondaracer]

Well…a lot of times in those cases both the (some) of the congregation as well as the priests that work at any given church have probably turned a blind eye to some heinous shit. I don’t really compare that to say, Apple uses Chinese slave labour so the guy working at the Metrotown store is bad.

There are ALOT of people associated with the church that are terrible people. I think it was in Boston or somthing where like 40-50% of the priests were found to have connections or covered up molestation etc.

I’d go as far to say that almost anyone, at any Catholic Church in the upper levels of power has blood on their hands. So it’s not that far fetched to go after the church in general. Also the fact the pope, the ultimate leader has never really taken any accountability, your local church becomes a point of contention

[westopher]

I wouldn’t go that far. I’m pretty against organized religion, and totally acknowledge that TONS of heinous shit has been done by them, past, present and future but wouldn’t consider some priest at a random church in Canada as complicit in the actions of the higher ups. That’s a whole different conversation that I’d have with someone like you over a beer to avoid the people that I have no interest in upsetting, being upset about it.
Again, it just comes down to good people being collateral damage when people attack organizations, countries and governments with misguided aggression.

[inv4zn]

THIS is what a disinformation propaganda looks like.
https://www.newsweek.com/russia-invokes-trumps-stolen-election-claim-un-speech-1684280

Russia tried on Wednesday to delegitimize United Nations criticism of its invasion of Ukraine by calling into question the actions of other countries, including the United States' "overthrowing" of former President Donald Trump.

The U.N. passed a resolution Wednesday that condemned Russia's invasion and called for an immediate and complete withdrawal of all military forces from Ukraine. Russia forcefully rejected the resolution, calling claims the country was targeting civilians "fake" and saying other countries were hypocritical for supporting the resolution. Vassily Nebenzia, Russia's ambassador to the U.N., even said the United States, which supported the resolution, was "where the legitimately elected president of the country was overthrown."

This fucker can stand in front of the UN and just blatantly lie, literally gaslighting and projecting the UN. He also knows Fucker Carlson will spend 4 hours on this, and all the MAGA-shitheads will eat it up sowing further discourse in the US.

This is the "fake news" you need to worry about. And fuck Russia.

[Manic!]

https://i.redd.it/hvwxmcdz58l81.jpg

[whitev70r]

Question about Russian oil. I know that it's a self-serving thing of the Western world not to impose sanctions on Russian oil. On this topic alone, I'd be willing to pay more for gas if it in anyway may contribute to the end of the invasion of Ukraine. Such small sacrifice compared to what the Ukrainian people are facing.

The question is this ... is Canada not self-sufficient when it comes to oil? We have Alberta oil fields. And is the US not self-sufficient with all their Texas refinery and all? You mean there is that much oil underneath Russia to be able to sustain their own country's needs and export so much to the Western world? Find this hard to believe.

[SkinnyPupp]

Articles from the Atlantic are usually high quality reads and that analysis hits the mark.

Russia will not back down (autocracies don't back down unless they're taken down from within) and we will see a pyrrhic victory. The prospects for Ukraine are ultimately grim, despite the unity among the West on nearly all fronts (except for troops on the ground in Ukraine.)
It's a great article but doesn't take into account the effects of the sanctions.

Russia has a large population on their side. What they don't have is money and time (time is money, friend!). They will run out of rockets eventually - those aren't cheap. Artillery are cheaper but need to be closer to the target.

I think a possible outcome is that they take the eastern portion of Ukraine, and combine it with Crimea. It depends on whether Ukraine can put on a counter offensive... If they are supplied with enough hardware, it might be possible.

[inv4zn]

Question about Russian oil. I know that it's a self-serving thing of the Western world not to impose sanctions on Russian oil. On this topic alone, I'd be willing to pay more for gas if it in anyway may contribute to the end of the invasion of Ukraine. Such small sacrifice compared to what the Ukrainian people are facing.

The question is this ... is Canada not self-sufficient when it comes to oil? We have Alberta oil fields. And is the US not self-sufficient with all their Texas refinery and all? You mean there is that much oil underneath Russia to be able to sustain their own country's needs and export so much to the Western world? Find this hard to believe.

The sanctions do include oil, or rather, do not specifically exclude oil. Shell and BP are looking at ways of exiting Russia, and Canada pledged to not buy Russian crude, although this is largely symbolic as we hadn't bought from them in may years anyway.

What you need to know is oil is not gas. Oil is refined to gasoline, among other things, but while the price of oil does have an effect on the price of gasoline, having a large reserve of oil doesn't always mean cheap gas prices.

Your next question is then well why can't we refine our own oil? And the easiest answer to that is capitalism. Canada has refineries, but often times it's cheaper to either buy crude or straight up gas from other nations than it is to tap/refine your own. Sometimes it's cheaper to buy refined gasoline than refining your own. There are logistics, commodity prices, demand, and a slew of a lot of things, each of which is its own separate topic of debate (pipelines, wages/profits, price gouging/fixing, etc., etc.).

Hopefully that answers you.

[Tapioca]

Question about Russian oil. I know that it's a self-serving thing of the Western world not to impose sanctions on Russian oil. On this topic alone, I'd be willing to pay more for gas if it in anyway may contribute to the end of the invasion of Ukraine. Such small sacrifice compared to what the Ukrainian people are facing.

The question is this ... is Canada not self-sufficient when it comes to oil? We have Alberta oil fields. And is the US not self-sufficient with all their Texas refinery and all? You mean there is that much oil underneath Russia to be able to sustain their own country's needs and export so much to the Western world? Find this hard to believe.

I can't speak to the US, but we import very little Russian crude.

It's not about our access to crude, but what cutting off Russia does to the global supply. Global supply goes down, global prices go up and Canadian crude is sold at market prices.

[Manic!]

Nuclear power plant attacked and on fire.

https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/top-wrap-1-europes-largest-nuclear-power-plant-fire-after-russian-attack-mayor-2022-03-04/

[Hondaracer]

Nuclear power plant attacked and on fire.

https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/top-wrap-1-europes-largest-nuclear-power-plant-fire-after-russian-attack-mayor-2022-03-04/

Sweet, sweet

[Teriyaki]

Nuclear power plant attacked and on fire.

https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/top-wrap-1-europes-largest-nuclear-power-plant-fire-after-russian-attack-mayor-2022-03-04/

https://everythingisviral.com/wp-content/webp-express/webp-images/uploads/2021/05/this-is-fine-meme.jpg.webp

Attacking power plants, especially nuclear ones should be prohibited by some sort of global agreement. But I guess that doesn't even matter if someone is openly threatening nuclear warfare...

[pastarocket]

Hilarious video of a Russian economist being interviewed in Russia.

The newscaster’s look on her face is priceless. LUL

https://twitter.com/peterliakhov/status/1499341576518217730


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[SkinnyPupp]

Attacking power plants, especially nuclear ones should be prohibited by some sort of global agreement. But I guess that doesn't even matter if someone is openly threatening nuclear warfare...
Everything they're doing is against all sorts of global agreements, except with other evil people

[Traum]

Nuclear power plant attacked and on fire.

https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/top-wrap-1-europes-largest-nuclear-power-plant-fire-after-russian-attack-mayor-2022-03-04/
Seriously, what kind of madman would order his troops to attack a frickin nuclear power plant? And that goes for both Putin and the generals. FailFish

[AzNightmare]

Can anyone explain how Putin can give a nuclear threat on any NATO countries stepping in to fight directly.
But no fucks are given if NATO is supplying weapons, indirectly helping?
What's stopping Putin from giving the same nuclear threat and setting the rules that NATO can't help with resources either?

[SkinnyPupp]

Can anyone explain how Putin can give a nuclear threat on any NATO countries stepping in to fight directly.
But no fucks are given if NATO is supplying weapons, indirectly helping?
What's stopping Putin from giving the same nuclear threat and setting the rules that NATO can't help with resources either?
While not being a full member, Ukraine has relations with NATO under "MAP (https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_37356.htm#:~:text=The%20Membership%20Action %20Plan%20(MAP,and%20Herzegovina%20is%20currently% 20participating.)" which means they will assist them depending on their needs, with possible membership later (which they declined to do last year)... They want to make it very clear that they aren't influencing Ukraine in any way, and let them decide what to do on their own. This is exactly what Putin is afraid of, and what he thinks is actually happening, so it didn't matter in the end.

It was supposed to deter Russia from fucking with them, while not giving them full membership which probably would have caused this invasion - and directly WW3 - earlier. Or maybe it would have been a stronger deterrent. Who knows with Putin?

[AzNightmare]

While not being a full member, Ukraine has relations with NATO under "MAP (https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_37356.htm#:~:text=The%20Membership%20Action %20Plan%20(MAP,and%20Herzegovina%20is%20currently% 20participating.)" which means they will assist them depending on their needs, with possible membership later (which they declined to do last year)...

It was supposed to deter Russia from fucking with them, while not giving them full membership which probably would have caused this invasion - and directly WW3 - earlier. Or maybe it would have been a stronger deterrent. Who knows with Putin?

So you mean, Putin is actually following "rules" so he is ok with NATO helping with resources cause it's in writing, cause of MAP. But if NATO cheats and helps in the battlefield, then nukes will come.

lol.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wl3t-Nuxgpg

[SkinnyPupp]

So you mean, Putin is actually following "rules" so he is ok with NATO helping with resources cause it's in writing, cause of MAP. But if NATO cheats and helps in the battlefield, then nukes will come.

lol.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wl3t-Nuxgpg
Frankly there's not much he can do about it... His choices are to go home, or to escalate to world war, in that case he's truly fucked.

So one side can 'play by the rules' (in other words, go by their word of non influence and non intervention) and let the other side do what they do, since they're the ones that started this shit in the first place. Ukraine desperately wants them to do something more, but their hands are tied for now.

[inv4zn]

So you mean, Putin is actually following "rules" so he is ok with NATO helping with resources cause it's in writing, cause of MAP. But if NATO cheats and helps in the battlefield, then nukes will come.

lol.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wl3t-Nuxgpg

I mean put it this way.

10 guys throwing rocks at you, vs 9 guys giving 1 guy rocks to throw at you, is not the same thing.

[Manic!]

RT America just closed shop and fired most of its staff.

[Rallydrv]

Frankly there's not much he can do about it... His choices are to go home, or to escalate to world war, in that case he's truly fucked.
.

Unlikely option 3. He's taken out by one of his generals.

[Rallydrv]

What if China and North Korean sides with Russia?

Comparing nato vs Russia?

If this even becomes a reality, it's going to be game over for all.

U know what happens when u corner a mad man, right?

[Manic!]

List of military equipment destroyed with pictures.

https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2022/02/attack-on-europe-documenting-equipment.html?m=1

Russia - 580, of which: destroyed: 234, damaged: 8, abandoned: 137, captured: 201

[SkinnyPupp]

https://tnimage.s3.hicloud.net.tw/photos/2022/03/04/1646367111-62219187e6e65.jpg

Russia hit a college dorm (https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4461836), killing 13 students. Including 4 Chinese nationals and 1 Indian national.

[whitev70r]

I hinted at it earlier, hopefully, there is one or two sane people in Putin's inner circle and they are already plotting an assassination.

[AzNightmare]

I mean put it this way.

10 guys throwing rocks at you, vs 9 guys giving 1 guy rocks to throw at you, is not the same thing.

Yea, I just figured if Putin had that kind of pull in the first place, he would just demand to keep the playing field at only 1 guy with with rocks.

[Acura604]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/ukraine-russia-invasion-march4-nato-nofly-zone-1.6372637

"We are not part of this conflict," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told a news conference.

"We have a responsibility as NATO allies to prevent this war from escalating beyond Ukraine because that would be even more dangerous, more devastating and would cause even more human suffering."


****HOW MUCH HUMAN SUFFERING IS ENOUGH?****

[westopher]

Anything over none is enough, but you have to understand they are weighing the risks to their own nations in NATO. If other countries start getting hit, the damage to human life throughout the world goes up exponentially. Their job is first and foremost to protect nato countries. I don’t like what’s happening, but to suggest we have better ideas is completely daft. We have no clue what the consequences for the actions could be, and the people making decisions do. We are the people yelling at the TV during a hockey game thinking we could do better if we try and make suggestions of what to do.

[pastarocket]

President Zelensky has repeatedly asked NATO to declare a no fly zone over Ukraine in order to prevent Russia from further bombardment of civilians and military targets with their missiles and rockets.

That no fly zone is not gonna happen despite Zelensky's pleas.

When you involve jet fighters of countries in NATO enforcing a no fly zone over Ukraine, that tactic to protect Ukraine can trigger an escalation of this war.

We have a crazy Russian bear in Putin. Who knows how he will react to NATO defending Ukrainian air space?

It's never a good idea to poke a bear.

Having said that about Zelensky, I give this president huge props for his courageous leadership in these dark times for his country. He's putting his life on the line to defend his country and to fight for his people's freedoms.

Zelensky has balls of steel.

[Rallydrv]

this is freaking worrisome

After Talks, Macron Says 'Nothing Reassuring' From Putin, Believes 'Worst Is Yet To Come' In Ukraine

https://www.rferl.org/a/france-macron-putin-ukraine-war/31734369.html

[supafamous]

****HOW MUCH HUMAN SUFFERING IS ENOUGH?****

It didn't seem to bother Western gov'ts too much when it was happening to brown people (Yemen, Syria, Afghanistan...) so I assume we've got some ways to go.

[Manic!]

She nails it. People think more of them because they are blond haired and blue eyed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBRwmTVVKQk


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHR-speD3rk

[inv4zn]

It didn't seem to bother Western gov'ts too much when it was happening to brown people (Yemen, Syria, Afghanistan...) so I assume we've got some ways to go.

While you're completely right, "human suffering" is a bad measuring stick. Also doesn't help with Yemen/Syria/Afghanistan et al. that a lot of these conflicts are internal and contained within their own borders, although Russia meddling in Syria certainly did nothing to help.

Ukraine is being invaded, so a slightly different dynamic - not that it negates what is happening in other parts of the world.

[blkgsr]

how long does this drag on before NATO moves in?

It's either shut up and put up or just walk away.....REALLY hope it's the first one.

Is the hope that they keep providing some weapons to the Ukrainians and that they will hold off the Russian advances and bombardments long enough that Putin gives up? Certainly don't see that happening? Maybe the soldier give up themselves?

In the mean time the country is bombed to shit and put back 10 years rebuilding everything?

They could predator drone annihilate everything the russians have have be done with it.

Just wacko's finger on nuke button stopping them

[inv4zn]

^:badpokerface: NATO will not intervene unless one of their member countries is directly attacked. That's literally its job.

And Yes to all your other questions. It's frustrating and unfair, but that's how geopolitics work.

[Great68]

I do feel a bit bad for Ukraine in that they gave up their nukes after having been given security assurances in the Budapest Memorandum and now all the players in that agreement are completely fucking them over.

[sdubfid]

I hope everyone has updated their profile picture on Facebook

[The_AK]

I do feel a bit bad for Ukraine in that they gave up their nukes after having been given security assurances in the Budapest Memorandum and now all the players in that agreement are completely fucking them over.

This. Talked about cucked. I'm Ukrainian with ties back to Ukraine. Its disappointing to see no action being taken by NATO and I try to be understanding that there is a reason systems and agreements are put into place but theres also a history of f*ckall happening too as per Budapest Memorandum (which also can be debated if you consider the munitions and training provided but direct intervention is out the window). It shows that whatever diplomatic solution and agreement you try to make in the end it means absolutely nothing as people will negate on their promises.

[Traum]

Have you guys come across any quality analysis on the economic impact Russia is suffering as a result of all the sanctions? Also, are there any estimates on how long the Russian military effort can sustain itself in a war-time, active conflict environment?

What I am thinking is -- we know the SWIFT expulsion is causing a lot of grief in the everyday lives of ordinary citizens -- the have been runs on the banks, trade is dead. We've seen Russian soldiers looking hungry, been given expired rations, etc. Tanks running out of fuel and they seem to be having re-supply issues. Actively supporting a military effort in a wartime environment is a gigantic logistical undertaking, and so far, we've seen the Russian army not doing particularly well. If there are clues or well-educated guesses on how long the war effort can last before it collapses back on itself, then you can see a timeline of sorts, you can expect the Russian effort to ramp up, get more desperate, and take more risks -- including the use of nukes -- as time wears on.