[Great68]

Also once the war is over these women and children would presumably want to return to their husbands/fathers back home? Less likelihood that they will stay here permanently

[whitev70r]

I suppose it depends on how the war ends. If Ukraine prevails then yah, they will want to return but if Putin prevails ... not sure if they want to return. Then all the men left would flee to where their families are. My guess.

[68style]

Feminists have been strangely quiet about getting a pass out of the country that the men don't get :troll:

[SkinnyPupp]

A lot of able bodied women are staying behind to fight as well. I assume a lot of them are feminists who hate Putin the ultimate incel

[Manic!]

Ukrainian female soldiers are ready to fight

https://www.reddit.com/r/UkraineWarVideoReport/comments/t8w9ci/ukrainian_female_soldiers_are_ready_to_fight/

[teggy604]

So how would it work if you are in Ukraine and you are LGBQT... do you get to flee? what happens if you identify as a women? Do you get to flee?
If it ever happens here in Canada it would be a nightmare. Males would identify as females just to flee. lol

[JDMDreams]

^^ just identify as a sovereign citizen and they can't seize your assets??? FrEedOmz :accepted:

[Manic!]

So how would it work if you are in Ukraine and you are LGBQT... do you get to flee? what happens if you identify as a women? Do you get to flee?
If it ever happens here in Canada it would be a nightmare. Males would identify as females just to flee. lol

Less than 4% of the pop in Canada claims to be part of the LGBTQ+ community. They always seem to be willing to fight for whats right. Cons on the other hand seem to run when pushed.

[MarkyMark]

I think most of us would shit our pants if we had lace up our boots and actually go to war. That is not something any of us are prepared for whether you're left, right, trans, gay...

[320icar]

I think most of us would shit our pants if we had lace up our boots and actually go to war. That is not something any of us are prepared for whether you're left, right, trans, gay...

I’d die so fast in a combat situation.

My previous comment stands.

[inv4zn]

So how would it work if you are in Ukraine and you are LGBQT... do you get to flee? what happens if you identify as a women? Do you get to flee?
If it ever happens here in Canada it would be a nightmare. Males would identify as females just to flee. lol

This is a great combination of ignorance and stupidity.

But to actually answer your question, here's an article:
https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-how-a-transgender-man-escaped-russias-invasion-2022-3

There's other articles of the opposite happening, where trans females aren't being allowed to leave because their documents say Male.

But yeah, your comment is still pretty stupid.

[pastarocket]

A good article which explains why Russia's army is so bad in terms of combat training and morale now:

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/17/politics/russia-military-ukraine-what-matters/index.html

The proof of Russia's military problems is in a video of Russian tanks, stuck in a line, being destroyed by Ukrainians -- and in reports of Russian combat deaths, which already may be anywhere from 3,000 to more than 10,000.

Soldiers with regret

CNN decided to publish interviews with captured Russian pilots. CNN had the only journalists in the room and at no time did Ukrainian Security Services, which also was in the room throughout, interject or direct CNN or the prisoners to ask or answer specific questions. The interview was conducted in Russian.

One, a pilot named Maxim, became emotional with anger and regret at what Russia has done.

"It's not just about demilitarizing Ukraine or the defeat of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but now cities of peaceful civilians are being destroyed," Maxim said. "Even, I don't know, what can justify, f**k, the tears of a child, or even worse, the deaths of innocent people, children."

There are reports of Russian soldiers who were surprised to learn they had invaded a country rather than taken part in a training exercise. Others have abandoned their post

Why did Russia's army perform so poorly?

Among the most detailed and engaging analyses cataloging Russia's foibles is an excellent conversation between retired Gen. David Petraeus, who formerly headed the CIA and commanded US forces in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and the journalist Peter Bergen. .

Petraeus praised the determination of the Ukrainians: "They are fighting for their national survival, their homeland and their way of life, and they have the home-field advantage, knowing the terrain and communities."

But he also described the Russian army's shortcomings, which begin with the fact that some portion of it -- a quarter, according to one estimate -- is made up of conscripts rather than professional soldiers.

The US, too, has a selective service for all American men in case a draft is ever needed. But while the American draft has been dormant since Vietnam, young Russian men may serve one-year rotations in the military. That's barely enough to get them out of basic training and into a unit, Petraeus said.

The Russians have had problems with intelligence, communications and vehicles getting stuck in traffic jams, stuck in the mud and breaking down

[SkinnyPupp]

So...

https://twitter.com/StuartKLau/status/1504793113222692865

[whitev70r]

Why would Russia need Chinese arms? Isn't Russia like a 'super power'? Are they running out of missiles and tanks?

[Mikoyan]

Why would Russia need Chinese arms? Isn't Russia like a 'super power'? Are they running out of missiles and tanks?

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

A detailed list of the destroyed and captured vehicles and equipment of both sides can be seen below. This list is constantly updated as additional footage becomes available.

This list only includes destroyed vehicles and equipment of which photo or videographic evidence is available. Therefore, the amount of equipment destroyed is significantly higher than recorded here. Small arms, munitions, civilian vehicles, trailers and derelict equipment (including aircraft) are not included in this list. All possible effort has gone into discerning the status of equipment between captured or abandoned. Many of the entries listed as 'abandoned' will likely end up captured or destroyed. Similarly, some of the captured equipment might be destroyed if it can't be recovered. ATGMs and MANPADS are included in the list but not included in the ultimate count. The Soviet flag is used when the equipment in question was produced prior to 1991.


Russia - 1542, of which: destroyed: 712, damaged: 27, abandoned: 223, captured: 579

[GLOW]

i thought maybe they all 'disappeared' like in nicholas cage's movie "lord of war"

[whitev70r]

Fuckin Putin using hypersonic missiles ...it can fly at 10x the speed of sound with high precision. Hope Putin gets assassinated in a slow and painful way.

[Hehe]

I think the use of hypersonic missiles was a message to NATO as it's a weapon that NATO's defence system cannot (or have a hard time) stop.

But don't expect Russia to suddenly start using HS missiles frequently as they are super expensive.

[Mikoyan]

I think the use of hypersonic missiles was a message to NATO as it's a weapon that NATO's defence system cannot (or have a hard time) stop.

But don't expect Russia to suddenly start using HS missiles frequently as they are super expensive.

But if you want to pretend to use one to blow up a farm, they're worth every ruble.

"This also calls into question, even more, why a missile of Kinzhal's nature would be used on a target close to Russian territory and on what appears to be a farm's barn or large chicken coup.

With all this in mind, it is very unlikely we are seeing a Kinzhal missile being used in the video. Whether or not one was used at all, we cannot answer that. Maybe there was another target somewhere, but this was not it. "

we-have-questions-about-russias-claimed-kinzhal-hypersonic-missile-use-in-ukraine (https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/44840/we-have-questions-about-russias-claimed-kinzhal-hypersonic-missile-use-in-ukraine)

[SkinnyPupp]

Fascinating thread on Russian logistics with their trucks. He links his first thread which you should also read. He figures that they have a hard deadline on being able to provide ammunition and food to their troops. In about 6-8 weeks it will be nearly impossible for them to do so.

https://twitter.com/TrentTelenko/status/1505370275273183239

[Hehe]

Russian logistics is failing because they strength come from railroads, which when they are in the Russian border, it's easy to mobilize huge amount of cargos in very short period of time.

Once entering Ukraine though, it's a totally different story. And the fact that they were so poorly maintained didn't help at all.

Nevertheless, credit where it's due... I think the Ukrainian army did a great job. The Russians were totally caught off guard how long this was going to drag. I think they prepped for a war finishing within a week. And their logistic is showing more and more problems because they totally underestimated the Ukranians and their plans were not prepared for a prolonged war as well as a collective sanctions of the west. Russia was clearly aiming to have it all wrapped up before the West could get anything in place.

[AzNightmare]

Putin on Sunk Cost Fallacy... gotta keep going.

[whitev70r]

We need a Nicolae Ceaușescu ending to Putin.

It's really up to the people of Russia to rise up against this POS.

[SkinnyPupp]

Was wondering when this would happen at one of those protests

https://twitter.com/Liveuamap/status/1505869404726341644

[hud 91gt]

^ That's really sad.

[Presto]

Fucking despicable war criminals


Chilling account of Radio France fixer who was kidnapped and tortured by Russian soldiers in Ukraine
(https://rsf.org/en/news/chilling-account-radio-france-fixer-who-was-kidnapped-and-tortured-russian-soldiers-ukraine)
Kidnapped by Russian troops on 5 March, Nikita (his name is changed for his safety) was held for nine days. He was beaten with an iron bar, tortured with electricity, and subjected to a mock execution. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has collected and verified his story.

A week after the facts, RSF reveals the shocking account of a 32 years old Ukrainian fixer and interpreter, who was taken prisoner by Russian soldiers on March 5 in central Ukraine. Held captive for 9 days, left in an icy cellar, he was repeatedly tortured. This man (the name was changed for security reasons) was detained alone before being joined by three other prisoners, including a former senior Ukrainian civil servant. Nikita’s account is frightening : machine-gunning of his car, torture with a knife and electricity, repeated beatings with rifle butts and steel bars in the face and body, mock execution, food deprivation for 48 hours…

Safe (for the time being) in a Ukrainian town, Nikita told RSF about his nine days of horror. Although trained as a lawyer and manager, Nikita has worked intermittently as a fixer and interpreter for foreign media since 2013. The media outlets he has worked for include France 2, BFMTV and RFI. Last month, the IT company that employs him began having problems because of the war, so he started working fulltime as a fixer, this time with Radio France. Among the foreign reporters who have employed him, those contacted by RSF are unanimous: he is very professional, serious and competent. And like any Ukrainian, he has been very worried about his family as the indiscriminate Russian bombardments have grown in intensity.

RSF began looking for Nikita after being told by Radio France on 8 March that he was missing and, after his release, finally established contact with him via the Press Freedom Centre that has been opened in Lviv. His account was taken down by senior staffs of RSF’s Advocacy and Assistance Department during several sessions on 17 and 18 March. The various parts of his account were corroborated by interviews with a member of his family, with one of his former fellow prisoners, and with two Radio France journalists. An RSF staff accompanied him during his medical examination, which confirmed the physical mistreatment to which he was subjected, in particular, the bruising and other injuries to his legs where electric shocks were inflicted. RSF was also present during his calls to his family.

RSF plans to pass his account to the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor, as a follow-up to the two complaints that it has already filed with the prosecutor on 4 and 16 March.

“Nikita has given us a chilling testimony that confirms the intensity of the war crimes perpetrated by the Russian army against journalists,” RSF secretary-general Christophe Deloire said. “Passing his testimony on to the ICC prosecutor is the least we can do for this courageous young fixer.”

Although traumatised by the ordeal he has gone through, Nikita is determined to continue working as a fixer in order to help realise the right to news and information. It is his way of contributing to his country’s freedom because he says he is no good at wielding a gun. One of his fellow detainees is hospitalised with seriously injuries. The fate of the former senior civil servant is unknown. The other prisoner, the one RSF was able to contact, said he got away without too many injuries or other consequences. When RSF asked him why he thought they were released rather than executed, he replied: “I don’t think they had the courage to dig graves.”

Oleg Baturin, a Ukrainian journalist who was released on 20 March after being held for eight days by the Russian army and being treated in a similar manner, said: “They wanted to break me, walk all over me, to show what will happen to every journalist, that you will be killed.”

A week after the facts, RSF reveals the shocking account of a 32 years old Ukrainian fixer and interpreter, who was taken prisoner by Russian soldiers on March 5 in central Ukraine. Held captive for 9 days, left in an icy cellar, he was repeatedly tortured. This man (the name was changed for security reasons) was detained alone before being joined by three other prisoners, including a former senior Ukrainian civil servant. Nikita’s account is frightening : machine-gunning of his car, torture with a knife and electricity, repeated beatings with rifle butts and steel bars in the face and body, mock execution, food deprivation for 48 hours…

NIKITA'S STORY

Safe (for the time being) in a Ukrainian town, Nikita told RSF about his nine days of horror. Although trained as a lawyer and manager, Nikita has worked intermittently as a fixer and interpreter for foreign media since 2013. The media outlets he has worked for include France 2, BFMTV and RFI. Last month, the IT company that employs him began having problems because of the war, so he started working fulltime as a fixer, this time with Radio France. Among the foreign reporters who have employed him, those contacted by RSF are unanimous: he is very professional, serious and competent. And like any Ukrainian, he has been very worried about his family as the indiscriminate Russian bombardments have grown in intensity.

RSF began looking for Nikita after being told by Radio France on 8 March that he was missing and, after his release, finally established contact with him via the Press Freedom Centre that has been opened in Lviv. His account was taken down by senior staffs of RSF’s Advocacy and Assistance Department during several sessions on 17 and 18 March. The various parts of his account were corroborated by interviews with a member of his family, with one of his former fellow prisoners, and with two Radio France journalists. An RSF staff accompanied him during his medical examination, which confirmed the physical mistreatment to which he was subjected, in particular, the bruising and other injuries to his legs where electric shocks were inflicted. RSF was also present during his calls to his family.

RSF plans to pass his account to the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor, as a follow-up to the two complaints that it has already filed with the prosecutor on 4 and 16 March.

“Nikita has given us a chilling testimony that confirms the intensity of the war crimes perpetrated by the Russian army against journalists,” RSF secretary-general Christophe Deloire said. “Passing his testimony on to the ICC prosecutor is the least we can do for this courageous young fixer.”

Although traumatised by the ordeal he has gone through, Nikita is determined to continue working as a fixer in order to help realise the right to news and information. It is his way of contributing to his country’s freedom because he says he is no good at wielding a gun. One of his fellow detainees is hospitalised with seriously injuries. The fate of the former senior civil servant is unknown. The other prisoner, the one RSF was able to contact, said he got away without too many injuries or other consequences. When RSF asked him why he thought they were released rather than executed, he replied: “I don’t think they had the courage to dig graves.”

Oleg Baturin, a Ukrainian journalist who was released on 20 March after being held for eight days by the Russian army and being treated in a similar manner, said: “They wanted to break me, walk all over me, to show what will happen to every journalist, that you will be killed.”

[pastarocket]

- An asset tracker tool to used to look at the possessions of Russian oligarchs:

https://www.occrp.org/en/investigations


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[SkinnyPupp]

https://twitter.com/RF200_NOW/status/1506208662020186116

[Acura604]

What's in it for Belarus?

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/22/europe/belarus-ukraine/index.html

Washington (CNN)The US and NATO believe that Belarus could "soon" join Russia in its war against Ukraine, US and NATO officials tell CNN, and that the country is already taking steps to do so.

It is increasingly "likely" that Belarus will enter the conflict, a NATO military official said on Monday. "(Russian President Vladimir) Putin needs support. Anything would help," the official explained.
A Belarusian opposition source said that Belarusian combat units are ready to go into Ukraine as soon as in the next few days, with thousands of forces prepared to deploy. In this source's view, this would have less of an impact militarily than it will geopolitically, given the implications of another country joining the war.
A senior NATO intelligence official said separately that the alliance assesses that the Belarusian government "is preparing the environment to justify a Belarusian offensive against Ukraine."

[pastarocket]

Russia just pissed off the Japanese government. LUL

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/21/asia/russia-halts-japan-war-peace-talks-intl-hnk/index.html

(Reuters)Japan reacted angrily on Tuesday after Russia withdrew from peace treaty talks with Japan and froze joint economic projects related to the disputed Kuril Islands because of sanctions imposed by Tokyo over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Russia and Japan have still not formally ended World War II hostilities because of the standoff over islands just off Japan's northernmost island of Hokkaido, known in Russia as the Kurils and in Japan as the Northern Territories. The islands were seized by the Soviets at the end of World War II.
"Under the current conditions Russia does not intend to continue negotiations with Japan on a peace treaty," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement, citing Japan's "openly unfriendly positions and attempts to damage the interests of our country."
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he strongly opposed Russia's decision, terming it "unfair" and "completely unacceptable."
"This entire situation has been created by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and Russia's response to push this onto Japan-Russia relations is extremely unfair and completely unacceptable," he said, adding that Japan's attitudes towards seeking a peace treaty were unchanged and it had protested the Russian move.

"Japan must resolutely continue to sanction Russia in cooperation with the rest of the world," he added.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said Japan had lodged a protest with Russia's ambassador in Tokyo.
In response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Japan last week announced plans to revoke Russia's most-favored nation trade status, expand the scope of asset freezes against Russian elites and ban imports of certain products.

When announcing the measures last week, Kishida said that Japan will also collaborate with international aid agencies to deliver food and medicine to Ukrainians. He added Japan had started accepting evacuees from Ukraine and called on the public's support.

[Presto]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/ukraine-russia-war-mariupol-first-person-1.6391816
These journalists filmed the agony in Mariupol and escaped while being hunted down by Russian forces

The Russians were hunting us down. They had a list of names, including ours, and they were closing in.

We had been documenting the siege of the Ukrainian city by Russian troops for more than two weeks and were the only international journalists left in the city. We were reporting inside the hospital when gunmen began stalking the corridors. Surgeons gave us white scrubs to wear as camouflage.

Suddenly at dawn, a dozen soldiers burst in: "Where are the journalists, for f--k's sake?"

I looked at their armbands, blue for Ukraine, and tried to calculate the odds that they were Russians in disguise. I stepped forward to identify myself. "We're here to get you out," they said.

The walls of the surgery shook from artillery and machine-gun fire outside, and it seemed safer to stay inside. But the Ukrainian soldiers were under orders to take us with them.

We ran into the street, abandoning the doctors who had sheltered us, the pregnant women who had been shelled and the people who slept in the hallways because they had nowhere else to go. I felt terrible leaving them all behind.

Nine minutes, maybe 10, an eternity through roads and bombed-out apartment buildings. As shells crashed nearby, we dropped to the ground. Time was measured from one shell to the next, our bodies tense and breath held. Shockwave after shockwave jolted my chest, and my hands went cold.

We reached an entryway, and armoured cars whisked us to a darkened basement. Only then did we learn from a policeman we knew why the Ukrainians had risked the lives of soldiers to extract us from the hospital.

"If they catch you, they will get you on camera and they will make you say that everything you filmed is a lie," he said. "All your efforts and everything you have done in Mariupol will be in vain."

The officer, who had once begged us to show the world his dying city, now pleaded with us to go. He nudged us toward the thousands of battered cars preparing to leave Mariupol.

It was March 15. We had no idea if we would make it out alive.

As a teenager growing up in Ukraine in the city of Kharkiv, just 20 miles (32 kilometres) from the Russian border, I learned how to handle a gun as part of the school curriculum. It seemed pointless. Ukraine, I reasoned, was surrounded by friends.

I have since covered wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh, trying to show the world the devastation first-hand. But when the Americans and then the Europeans evacuated their embassy staffs from the city of Kyiv this winter, and when I pored over maps of the Russian troop buildup just across from my hometown, my only thought was, "My poor country."

In the first few days of the war, the Russians bombed the enormous Freedom Square in Kharkiv, where I had hung out until my 20s.

I knew Russian forces would see the eastern port city of Mariupol as a strategic prize because of its location on the Sea of Azov. So on the evening of Feb. 23, I headed there with my longtime colleague Evgeniy Maloletka, a Ukrainian photographer for The Associated Press, in his white Volkswagen van.

On the way, we started worrying about spare tires, and found online a man nearby willing to sell to us in the middle of the night. We explained to him and to a cashier at the all-night grocery store that we were preparing for war. They looked at us like we were crazy.

We pulled into Mariupol at 3:30 a.m. The war started an hour later.

About a quarter of Mariupol's 430,000 residents left in those first days, while they still could. But few people believed a war was coming, and by the time most realized their mistake, it was too late.

One bomb at a time, the Russians cut electricity, water, food supplies and finally, crucially, the cellphone, radio and television towers. The few other journalists in the city got out before the last connections were gone and a full blockade settled in.

The absence of information in a blockade accomplishes two goals.

Chaos is the first. People don't know what's going on, and they panic. At first I couldn't understand why Mariupol fell apart so quickly. Now I know it was because of the lack of communication.

Impunity is the second goal. With no information coming out of a city, no pictures of demolished buildings and dying children, the Russian forces could do whatever they wanted. If not for us, there would be nothing.

That's why we took such risks to be able to send the world what we saw, and that's what made Russia angry enough to hunt us down.

I have never, ever felt that breaking the silence was so important.

The deaths came fast. On Feb. 27, we watched as a doctor tried to save a little girl hit by shrapnel. She died.

A second child died, then a third. Ambulances stopped picking up the wounded because people couldn't call them without a signal, and they couldn't navigate the bombed-out streets.

The doctors pleaded with us to film families bringing in their own dead and wounded, and let us use their dwindling generator power for our cameras. No one knows what's going on in our city, they said.

Shelling hit the hospital and the houses around. It shattered the windows of our van, blew a hole into its side and punctured a tire. Sometimes we would run out to film a burning house and then run back amid the explosions.

There was still one place in the city to get a steady connection, outside a looted grocery store on Budivel'nykiv Avenue. Once a day, we drove there and crouched beneath the stairs to upload photos and video to the world. The stairs wouldn't have done much to protect us, but it felt safer than being out in the open.

The signal vanished by March 3. We tried to send our video from the 7th-floor windows of the hospital. It was from there that we saw the last shreds of the solid middle-class city of Mariupol come apart.

The Port City superstore was being looted, and we headed that way through artillery and machine gunfire. Dozens of people ran and pushed shopping carts loaded with electronics, food, clothes.

A shell exploded on the roof of the store, throwing me to the ground outside. I tensed, awaiting a second hit, and cursed myself a hundred times because my camera wasn't on to record it.

And there it was, another shell hitting the apartment building next to me with a terrible whoosh. I shrank behind a corner for cover.

A teenager passed by rolling an office chair loaded with electronics, boxes tumbling off the sides. "My friends were there and the shell hit 10 metres from us," he told me. "I have no idea what happened to them."

We raced back to the hospital. Within 20 minutes, the injured came in, some of them scooped into shopping carts.

For several days, the only link we had to the outside world was through a satellite phone. And the only spot where that phone worked was out in the open, right next to a shell crater. I would sit down, make myself small and try to catch the connection.

Everybody was asking, please tell us when the war will be over. I had no answer.

Every single day, there would be a rumour that the Ukrainian army was going to come to break through the siege. But no one came.

By this time I had witnessed deaths at the hospital, corpses in the streets, dozens of bodies shoved into a mass grave. I had seen so much death that I was filming almost without taking it in.

On March 9, twin airstrikes shredded the plastic taped over our van's windows. I saw the fireball just a heartbeat before pain pierced my inner ear, my skin, my face.

We watched smoke rise from a maternity hospital. When we arrived, emergency workers were still pulling bloodied pregnant women from the ruins.

Our batteries were almost out of juice, and we had no connection to send the images. Curfew was minutes away. A police officer overheard us talking about how to get news of the hospital bombing out.

"This will change the course of the war," he said. He took us to a power source and an internet connection.

We had recorded so many dead people and dead children, an endless line. I didn't understand why he thought still more deaths could change anything.

I was wrong.

In the dark, we sent the images by lining up three mobile phones with the video file split into three parts to speed the process up. It took hours, well beyond curfew. The shelling continued, but the officers assigned to escort us through the city waited patiently.

Then our link to the world outside Mariupol was again severed.

We went back to an empty hotel basement with an aquarium now filled with dead goldfish. In our isolation, we knew nothing about a growing Russian disinformation campaign to discredit our work.

The Russian Embassy in London put out two tweets calling the AP photos fake and claiming a pregnant woman was an actress. The Russian ambassador held up copies of the photos at a UN Security Council meeting and repeated lies about the attack on the maternity hospital.

In the meantime, in Mariupol, we were inundated with people asking us for the latest news from the war. So many people came to me and said, please film me so my family outside the city will know I'm alive.

By this time, no Ukrainian radio or TV signal was working in Mariupol. The only radio you could catch broadcast twisted Russian lies — that Ukrainians were holding Mariupol hostage, shooting at buildings, developing chemical weapons. The propaganda was so strong that some people we talked to believed it despite the evidence of their own eyes.

The message was constantly repeated, in Soviet style: Mariupol is surrounded. Surrender your weapons.

On March 11, in a brief call without details, our editor asked if we could find the women who survived the maternity hospital airstrike to prove their existence. I realized the footage must have been powerful enough to provoke a response from the Russian government.

We found them at a hospital on the front line, some with babies and others in labour. We also learned that one woman had lost her baby and then her own life.

We went up to the seventh floor to send the video from the tenuous internet link. From there, I watched as tank after tank rolled up alongside the hospital compound, each marked with the letter Z that had become the Russian emblem for the war.

We were surrounded: Dozens of doctors, hundreds of patients, and us.

The Ukrainian soldiers who had been protecting the hospital had vanished. And the path to our van, with our food, water and equipment, was covered by a Russian sniper who had already struck a medic venturing outside.

Hours passed in darkness, as we listened to the explosions outside. That's when the soldiers came to get us, shouting in Ukrainian.

It didn't feel like a rescue. It felt like we were just being moved from one danger to another. By this time, nowhere in Mariupol was safe, and there was no relief. You could die at any moment.

I felt amazingly grateful to the soldiers, but also numb. And ashamed that I was leaving.

We crammed into a Hyundai with a family of three and pulled into a five-kilometre-long traffic jam out of the city. Around 30,000 people made it out of Mariupol that day — so many that Russian soldiers had no time to look closely into cars with windows covered with flapping bits of plastic.

People were nervous. They were fighting, screaming at each other. Every minute there was an airplane or airstrike. The ground shook.

We crossed 15 Russian checkpoints. At each, the mother sitting in the front of our car would pray furiously, loud enough for us to hear.

As we drove through them — the third, the 10th, the 15th, all manned with soldiers with heavy weapons — my hopes that Mariupol was going to survive were fading. I understood that just to reach the city, the Ukrainian army would have to break through so much ground. And it wasn't going to happen.

At sunset, we came to a bridge destroyed by the Ukrainians to stop the Russian advance. A Red Cross convoy of about 20 cars was stuck there already. We all turned off the road together into fields and back lanes.

The guards at checkpoint No. 15 spoke Russian in the rough accent of the Caucasus. They ordered the whole convoy to cut the headlights to conceal the arms and equipment parked on the roadside. I could barely make out the white Z painted on the vehicles.

As we pulled up to the 16th checkpoint, we heard voices. Ukrainian voices. I felt an overwhelming relief. The mother in the front of the car burst into tears. We were out.

We were the last journalists in Mariupol. Now there are none.

We are still flooded by messages from people wanting to learn the fate of loved ones we photographed and filmed. They write to us desperately and intimately, as though we are not strangers, as though we can help them.

When a Russian airstrike hit a theatre where hundreds of people had taken shelter late last week, I could pinpoint exactly where we should go to learn about survivors, to hear firsthand what it was like to be trapped for endless hours beneath piles of rubble. I know that building and the destroyed homes around it. I know people who are trapped underneath it.

And on Sunday, Ukrainian authorities said Russia had bombed an art school with about 400 people in it in Mariupol.

But we can no longer get there.

[pastarocket]

This could be an even more grim phase of the war:

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/22/europe/belarus-ukraine/index.html

The US and NATO believe that Belarus could "soon" join Russia in its war against Ukraine, US and NATO officials tell CNN, and that the country is already taking steps to do so.

It is increasingly "likely" that Belarus will enter the conflict, a NATO military official said on Monday. "(Russian President Vladimir) Putin needs support. Anything would help," the official explained.

A Belarusian opposition source said that Belarusian combat units are ready to go into Ukraine as soon as in the next few days, with thousands of forces prepared to deploy. In this source's view, this would have less of an impact militarily than it will geopolitically, given the implications of another country joining the war.
A senior NATO intelligence official said separately that the alliance assesses that the Belarusian government "is preparing the environment to justify a Belarusian offensive against Ukraine."

Russia has launched its attack on Ukraine in part from Belarus' territory, and thousands of Russian troops amassed in Belarus ahead of the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine last month, which the two countries had claimed was for training exercises. US and European sanctions in response to the war have targeted both Russian and Belarusian officials, including Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

[SkinnyPupp]

Belarus will have even lower morale than Russian soldiers. They are a puppet state to Russia, but unlike many (most?) Russians, the people don't buy into the propaganda as much.

Edit: Here's an article that supports this (https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3437326-belarus-military-refuse-to-fight-against-ukraine.html).

"The possibility of involving the armed forces of the Republic of Belarus in the war against Ukraine on the side of the Russian Federation exists. But, according to available information, a large number of personnel and some commanders refuse to participate in occupation against our state," the report says.

Also unlike with Russia, we know how capable their military is.. And I think based on that, people won't be surprised this time around by their capabilities (or lack thereof).

BTW

https://twitter.com/DAlperovitch/status/1506453063267241994

[pastarocket]

Belarus will have even lower morale than Russian soldiers. They are a puppet state to Russia, but unlike many (most?) Russians, the people don't buy into the propaganda as much.

Edit: Here's an article that supports this (https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3437326-belarus-military-refuse-to-fight-against-ukraine.html).



Also unlike with Russia, we know how capable their military is.. And I think based on that, people won't be surprised this time around by their capabilities (or lack thereof).

BTW

https://twitter.com/DAlperovitch/status/1506453063267241994


Perhaps the Belarus military would not be used in a combat role to fight the Ukrainian military?

What if the the Russians found out the secret corridors in which NATO is funnelling weapons like anti aircraft systems into Ukraine? Those corridors could be located in the northwest part of Ukraine. NATO countries like Poland could be the location of the logistics hub for moving American and other NATO countries' weapons by plane.

Putin could ask Belarus to attack the NATO convoys that are sending weapons through the secret corridors.

[murd0c]

If NATO convoys are attacked I really wonder would happen next?

[Great68]

I doubt they're sending NATO badged military trucks in. They're probably just sending arms in on civilian trucks.

[westopher]

Putin continues to move the goalposts as to what constitutes an act of aggression from nato countries. A rat backed into a corner will try and chew it’s way out. How much can he chew through nato before it attacks back? I have no idea, but this will only get worse until Putin ends up dead.

[Great68]

How much can he chew through nato before it attacks back? I have no idea, but this will only get worse until Putin ends up dead.


I think it has been pretty well established at this point that it's going to take a direct attack on NATO territory for NATO to take any military action.

[westopher]

I’m aware, but he gets closer to doing that as “retaliation” for nato “attacks.” As Putin has considered any help from nato countries aggression, how long until he launches an attack? Then there will be retaliation. It’s been made pretty clear that nato countries won’t launch the first attack but as he loses control his chances of launching an attack becomes more likely.

[teggy604]

Just waiting for Putin to start WWIII.

[quasi]

I’m aware, but he gets closer to doing that as “retaliation” for nato “attacks.” As Putin has considered any help from nato countries aggression, how long until he launches an attack? Then there will be retaliation. It’s been made pretty clear that nato countries won’t launch the first attack but as he loses control his chances of launching an attack becomes more likely.

I know he's crazy but he still has to realize if he does start it with Nato he's going to get annihilated and quick. I suppose at that point maybe he just DGAF but you would hope he'd have enough sense to realize this.

[Hondaracer]

Nukes could really throw a wrench in my Oktoberfest plans :/

[68style]

Someone always fuckin with you getting your drink on these days haha

[murd0c]

I think its going to be a direct attack or Putin using chemical weapons for NATO to get officially involved in fighting back.

[underscore]

Putin just makes up whatever he wants to about NATO when he wants to justify something. If he actually wants to launch nukes I doubt it will matter if NATO has or hasn't done something to trigger it.

[SkinnyPupp]

I saw a tweet from a someone formerly in Russian military and politics, and he said people are making a mistake attributing the 'crazy' and 'unhinged' persona to Putin. What he's doing looks crazy from the outside, but in his own mind what he's doing makes perfect sense.

So while he's making really bad decisions, they aren't "insane" decisions, like deciding to nuke a NATO country... He's not going to do that. He's going to keep fighting Ukraine until in his mind he has achieved his goals, or he is defeated.

Ukraine on their own won't be able to defeat him though, so really someone has to take him out.

[Acura604]

I saw a tweet from a someone formerly in Russian military and politics, and he said people are making a mistake attributing the 'crazy' and 'unhinged' persona to Putin. What he's doing looks crazy from the outside, but in his own mind what he's doing makes perfect sense.

So while he's making really bad decisions, they aren't "insane" decisions, like deciding to nuke a NATO country... He's not going to do that. He's going to keep fighting Ukraine until in his mind he has achieved his goals, or he is defeated.

Ukraine on their own won't be able to defeat him though, so really someone has to take him out.

with the amount of weaponry the WEST is sending, Ukraine has a chance to at least stall the Russians to the point of... F This, we're going home.

BUT - once they figure out the various supply routes and cut it off - then its over.

[SkinnyPupp]

with the amount of weaponry the WEST is sending, Ukraine has a chance to at least stall the Russians to the point of... F This, we're going home.

BUT - once they figure out the various supply routes and cut it off - then its over.
Oh they can definitely stall them, pretty much indefinitely. But Russia thinks they can keep attacking pretty much indefinitely as well. It is possible that they can be driven all the way back to the borders though - let's hope so. Maybe even kick them out of Crimea as well.

[MG1]

Poland has been a huge player in the conflict. Sure, they have to, 'cause they're going to be the country bordering on commies, but they have done so much.

Can't thank them enough.............

[whitev70r]

It's been like a month now ...how long does it take the Russian generals to plan an assassination ??!!

[Presto]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jy3JU-ORpo

Goodbye sleeping tonight. Thanks, eggheads.

[SkinnyPupp]

It's been like a month now ...how long does it take the Russian generals to plan an assassination ??!!
Probably almost everyone who had direct access to him before the invasion can't get anywhere near him. I'm sure he knows a whole lot of people want him gone. He's assassinated many people the same way, probably more than we'll ever know.

There is true evil in this world still, and this guy is the latest incarnation.

[stewie]

Goodbye sleeping tonight. Thanks, eggheads.

Watch the movie WarGames from the 80's. Movie pretty much sums up that entire scenario of what would happen if 1 nuke is launched a counter attack followed by another nuke until it's an all out nuclear war. Fun movie.

[murd0c]

Watch the movie WarGames from the 80's. Movie pretty much sums up that entire scenario of what would happen if 1 nuke is launched a counter attack followed by another nuke until it's an all out nuclear war. Fun movie.

That was such a good movie back in the day, watching it now it's the same but its still good.

[pastarocket]

A German Member of Parliament Christine Anderson calls out Turd after he spoke to the European Parliament.


https://twitter.com/AndersonAfDMdEP/status/1506905594623574020


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[whitev70r]

^ Woe looked up what she and others in Germany said ... ballzy!

Anderson accused Trudeau of openly admiring the Chinese basic dictatorship and called out the prime minister for trampling on “fundamental rights by persecuting and criminalizing his own citizens as terrorists just because they dare to stand up to his perverted concept of democracy.”

She ended her speech by telling Trudeau he is a “disgrace for any democracy. Please spare us your presence.”

Croatian MP Mislav Kolakusic also called out Trudeau for violating the civil rights of Canadians who participated in the “Freedom Convoy” protests. During his own blistering speech to fellow EU Parliamentarians, Kolakusic told Trudeau his actions in enacting the Emergencies Act was “dictatorship of the worst kind.”

Trudeau sat and listened as Kolakusic informed the prime minister that many Europeans watched as he “trampled women with horses,” and blocked “the bank accounts of single parents.”

[blkgsr]

here's that one:

https://twitter.com/mislavkolakusic/status/1506702485225938949?s=20&t=vHK6VfHQYcezWWKP_te14w

I'm not trudeau lover but picking individual incidents out and jumping to the full extent of this claims is a bit much

wonder what this guy would like to say about the magnificent USA

[murd0c]

Are they wrong calling out Trudeau like that?

[blkgsr]

I'm not informed enough to start a debate on this and I'll say that right from the start....but to stay he's a dictator and horrible leader because he cracked down on the protest is a bit much.

Did he tell the RCMP to run people over with horses? no, but we also know the RCMP isn't perfect either.

I'm sure if we looked into either of those two individuals and their countries we'd find the same type of shit.

Again, not a Trudeau lover.

[westopher]

Yeah bombing thousands of civilians, jailing anyone for a decade for offering conflicting info is super the same as a night or two in jail for the illegal occupation of a city, uttering threats, etc. all while providing 2 weeks notice to please stop.
Very the same, great comparison.

[Hondaracer]

Turd is using the whole war as a rebound from the trucker convoy, read a few different articles now besides what happened today that the EU as a whole doesn’t respect a guy trying to use a war to rebound is approval rating

Shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone outside of nut huggers like Manic that our fearless dictator isn’t respected on the global stage

When you’re getting called out like this is front of the entire EU, it isn’t just a “little thing”

https://youtu.be/kNiL5ZivqAk

[westopher]

Ok Rex Murphy.

[mikemhg]

That woman is a fucking idiot though, she's a member of an extreme rightwing party in Germany.

The "Patriotische Europäer gegen die Islamisierung des Abendlandes" aka The Kick Muslims Out of Germany Party (Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamicisation of the Occident) :lol

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pegida

That's the equivalent of some PPC wacko yelling at Trudeau in parliament, who cares.

[MG1]

Are they wrong calling out Trudeau like that?

Yes.

[T4RAWR]

I'm not informed enough to start a debate on this and I'll say that right from the start....but to stay he's a dictator and horrible leader because he cracked down on the protest is a bit much.

Did he tell the RCMP to run people over with horses? no, but we also know the RCMP isn't perfect either.

I'm sure if we looked into either of those two individuals and their countries we'd find the same type of shit.

Again, not a Trudeau lover.

It was actually Toronto police services mounted unit not RCMP that trampled people

[CivicBlues]

That woman is a fucking idiot though, she's a member of an extreme rightwing party in Germany.

The "Patriotische Europäer gegen die Islamisierung des Abendlandes" aka The Kick Muslims Out of Germany Party (Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamicisation of the Occident) :lol

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pegida

That's the equivalent of some PPC wacko yelling at Trudeau in parliament, who cares.

Frau Farbissina got elected to Parliament? Who knew?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qb1_UjIPCTE

[westopher]

here's that one:

https://twitter.com/mislavkolakusic/status/1506702485225938949?s=20&t=vHK6VfHQYcezWWKP_te14w

I'm not trudeau lover but picking individual incidents out and jumping to the full extent of this claims is a bit much

wonder what this guy would like to say about the magnificent USA
That guy gets roasted in the comments haha.

[blkgsr]

It was actually Toronto police services mounted unit not RCMP that trampled people

ah i took a guess assuming it was in Ottawa...apparently i was wrong on the city too?? lol either way you get my point

[SkinnyPupp]

I'm fairly concerned that we have people here cheering on Christine Anderson. What the fuck? :seriously:

You all are on the truckers' side now? And are on the side of a Neo Nazi in Germany? Because "Turd" got yelled at publicly?

BTW this should be in the politics thread

[underscore]

What do some loonie toons from Europe shouting at Trudeau have to do with Ukraine/Russia?

You might want to look up who those people are too.

"Your boos mean nothing, I've seen what makes you cheer"

[hud 91gt]

That woman is a fucking idiot though, she's a member of an extreme rightwing party in Germany.

The "Patriotische Europäer gegen die Islamisierung des Abendlandes" aka The Kick Muslims Out of Germany Party (Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamicisation of the Occident) :lol

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pegida

That's the equivalent of some PPC wacko yelling at Trudeau in parliament, who cares.

I don’t see any connection between that group and her? When I google I see Alternative group…??

[SkinnyPupp]

I don’t see any connection between that group and her? When I google I see Alternative group…??
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_for_Germany#Pegida

Some of her right-wing populist group are for pegida, some aren't. She is (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christine_Anderson).

[mikemhg]

I don’t see any connection between that group and her? When I google I see Alternative group…??

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christine_Anderson

In 2013 she became a member of Alternative für Deutschland. From 2016 to 2018 Anderson was the parliamentary group leader of the AfD in the Limburg-Weilburg district assembly. She was elected to the European Parliament in May 2019.[6] Der Spiegel described Anderson as an activist of the right-wing Pegida alliance. Before the election, she stated her goal was to "lead Germany out of this EU nightmare".[7] Critics said she was heavily involved in the right-wing radical scene.[8]

[mikemhg]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_for_Germany#Pegida

Some of her right-wing populist group are for pegida, some aren't. She is (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christine_Anderson).

She looks like one of the broads from the hardcore German porn I watch that involves shitting and pissing.

[Bouncing Bettys]

https://c.tenor.com/FfHozmky4I0AAAAd/simpsons-leaving.gif

[pastarocket]

Biden is in Poland now. The Americans are providing more than $1 billion US in humanitarian assistance to Ukrainians.

https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/ukraine-russia-putin-news-03-25-22/index.html

Humanitarian response is of "enormous consequence" to those affected by war in Ukraine, Biden says
US President Joe Biden thanked humanitarian organizations in Poland for sending aid to Ukraine and assisting refugees while he is set to receive a briefing on the situation.

"I'm here in Poland to see firsthand the humanitarian crisis and, quite frankly, part of my disappointment is that I can't see it firsthand like I have in other places. They will not let me," he said. "Understandably, I'm guessing, cross the border and take a look at what's going on in Ukraine, but I'm eager to hear from you in the humanitarian community about what you see, what you're doing and where you think we go from here."
The humanitarian response is of "enormous consequence," Biden said, adding that Ukrainians immediately need vital goods like food, blankets, cash and medicine.

The Biden administration yesterday announced the US is committing more than $1 billion in humanitarian assistance to Ukrainians affected by the war.

[320icar]

Out of curiosity I checked. Sounds like a big number, it is. But that’s 0.13% of the annual military budget. Insane lol

[Acura604]

Not sure if the commie bastards are trolling...

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/25/europe/russian-general-calls-encirclement-of-ukrainian-cities-a-deliberate-plan/index.html

Lviv, Ukraine (CNN)A top Russian general gave some of the most detailed public remarks to date on Russia's military strategy in Ukraine, claiming on Friday that the "first stage" of Russia's military plan is now complete, with their primary focus now centered on eastern Ukraine.

"In general, the main tasks of the first stage of the operation have been completed," Colonel General Sergei Rudskoy, first deputy chief of Russia's General Staff, said in a Friday briefing. "The combat potential of the armed forces of Ukraine has been significantly reduced, allowing us, I emphasize again, to focus the main efforts on achieving the main goal - the liberation of Donbas."
Rudskoy's remarks come as Russia's advances appear to have stalled around major Ukrainian cities such as Kyiv and Kharkiv. Russia has also failed to achieve air superiority in Ukraine and has suffered heavy losses of personnel since the start of the invasion.
"The public and individual experts are wondering what we are doing in the area of ​​the blockaded Ukrainian cities," Rudskoy said. "These actions are carried out with the aim of causing such damage to military infrastructure, equipment, personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the results of which allow us not only to tie down their forces and prevent them from strengthening their grouping in the Donbas, but also will not allow them to do this until the Russian army completely liberates the territories of the DPR and LNR."

[SkinnyPupp]

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/33/81/51/338151444d4420d59ac29191a010a221--pee-wee-herman-work-humor.jpg

[SkinnyPupp]

More good news!

https://twitter.com/POLITICOEurope/status/1507409702879215621

[mikemhg]

^A lot of these types of reports are coming from Ukrainian sources, I think one needs to hold some pause to some of them for their validity.

I have no doubt though that soldiers are starting to feel discontent for their superiors here, once that begins to happen, the war is effectively over. Vietnam was a perfect example of that (soldiers fragging their sergeants in protest, going MIA, refusing to fight).

[EvoFire]

More good news!

https://twitter.com/POLITICOEurope/status/1507409702879215621

I was watching something that a superior was ran over by his subordinates, but he didn't die and he's gonna get a medal for injury on the battlefield. Also going to get paid due to injury. Possibly the same story.

[SkinnyPupp]

^A lot of these types of reports are coming from Ukrainian sources, I think one needs to hold some pause to some of them for their validity.

I have no doubt though that soldiers are starting to feel discontent for their superiors here, once that begins to happen, the war is effectively over. Vietnam was a perfect example of that (soldiers fragging their sergeants in protest, going MIA, refusing to fight).
Yup, we only have 2 sources for this kind of thing - the west, or Russia. I guess you can choose not to believe anything either side says. For me, I just hope that any good news is true, because I have the luxury that it doesn't affect me one way or the other if it's not.

[Manic!]

Khalsa Aid Canada has created a six-member team. Which will provide its service in Ukraine. Including servants from Winnipeg, Victoria and Toronto, who will depart from Toronto today Friday to Poland and provide service to Ukrainian refugees.

Khalsa Aid has been on the ground before the war even started.

https://www.khalsaaid.org/news/khalsa-aid-international-response-to-the-ukraine-crisis-2022


Khalsa Aid International's Response to the Ukraine Crisis

KAI began our response to the Ukraine crisis the week before the war started, in preparation of this eventuality. As a result, Khalsa Aid International was able to respond rapidly to the Ukraine crisis by establishing teams on the borders of the five bordering countries. Within 24 hours we had a team in Poland and within 48 hours in Slovakia, Romania, Hungary and Moldova.

Ukraine

Initially, we had a lot of calls from Indian students who were stuck in Ukraine and trying to flee to the borders. We were also inundated with calls from the students’ parents in India asking for assistance with helping their children flee Ukraine, taking over 1500 calls in the first week alone.

We established contact with restaurant owners, volunteers, and transport companies to see what we could do to assist. Through a local volunteer, we helped provide hot food to the students as they fled.

Summary of Operations

Poland – Medyka/Budomeirz

As KAI was one of the first NGOs to arrive at the Medyka border, our initial operations revolved around arranging transport for the refugees crossing the border. We expanded our operations to include medical aid, shelter and food provision. Within two days we had set up a 24-hour langar provision, serving hot food (curry and rice, chips) to the refugees as they crossed the border. To the exhausted and hungry refugees, the hot food was a blessing and very much appreciated.

The situation in Ukraine proceeded to deteriorate as the attacks on Ukraine became more intensified. This resulted in an increase in the number of Ukrainian citizens fleeing to the borders to escape Ukraine into the neighbouring countries. With the majority of people crossing into Poland, this resulted in a long wait for the refugees at the border point.

Khalsa Aid International was approached by Caritas to cross the border into Ukraine to provide hot food for the refugees waiting to cross into Poland. Food provision has been further extended to feed the refugees set up in shelters and to feed the other NGO volunteers.

This food provision has continued and we are looking to further expand our aid relief in Poland. We are currently looking to secure a warehouse that will be used as a central European hub to collect aid supplies for distribution in Ukraine

Hungary (Zahony/Lushanka/Vylok)/Slovakia (Vysne Nemecke)/Romania (Siret)

Teams were sent to the borders of these three countries to monitor the need for aid provision. Local authorities are well organised in coping with the influx of Ukrainian refugees and international students. Khalsa aid international liaised with local NGOs to assist with the delivery of food aid, shelter provision and medical first aid assistance at the borders.

In Hungary, we moved our operations and provided assistance in Budapest as there was an influx into the city and the waiting times increased for the refugees wishing to fly out to their countries.

Moldova (Tiraspol/Palanka/Chisinau)

Our initial operation was based at the border of Tiraspol assisting the refugees with food provision, transport and medical assistance. We assisted a family with a 20-day old baby who had escaped from Ukraine return back to their home country.

As this border closed, we moved our operations to Palanca where we continue to provide food aid and transport with the liaison of local NGOs. We have now doubled our provision of food aid at this border. We are further expanding our operations in Moldova by setting up another base in Chisinau to assist with the increasing number of refugees leaving Ukraine as Russia continues to attack in the South.

Summary

We continue to monitor the situation on an ongoing basis and have currently decided to expand our Poland and Moldova operations. This is where we feel the greatest refugee need will arise, as the war continues to rage through Ukraine.

[Mr.Money]

https://www.youtube.com/c/StarskyUA/videos

imagine going to a warzone and documenting every single day like its normal entertainment...






fucking crazy.

[GLOW]

like the 1 dude in the most recent netflix zombie movie

[danned]

https://i.imgur.com/eEqyv8R.jpg]

[pastarocket]

-feeling disgusted after reading this article. Humanitarian aid in terms of evacuation buses to take Ukrainians out of Mariupol are being blocked by Russian military.

https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/ukraine-russia-putin-news-03-31-22/h_69f62c66e565595d465e387cebd2cbda

[tarobbt]

Anyone remember Edward Snowden?

I would love to hear what his thoughts are about Ukraine, granted he lives in Russia now so he can't voice his opinion anymore

[inv4zn]

Russian troops have been digging trenches around Chernobyl, and there are reports that they're being taken to hospitals with signs of acute radiation poisoning.

https://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/russian-soldiers-in-chernobyl-fall-sick-with-radiation-poisoning-reports-claim/

[blkgsr]

i wonder what their plan was to get entrenched around the site? like what are you planning to do there? fight? seems really odd

[inv4zn]

i wonder what their plan was to get entrenched around the site? like what are you planning to do there? fight? seems really odd

They've given Chernobyl back to Ukraine now apparently:
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/31/russians-hand-control-of-chernobyl-nuclear-plant-back-to-ukraine-iaea-says.html

There's a theory that Chernobyl was during the Soviet era, and is not taught in Russian schools because it makes them look bad. So the 20 year olds in Chernobyl had no idea where they were, they just thought it was another power plant.

[whitev70r]

Badass Ukraine is now on the offensive!

B]Kremlin accuses Ukraine of attacking fuel depot in Russia[/B]
https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-europe-60949706

[stewie]

Badass Ukraine is now on the offensive!

B]Kremlin accuses Ukraine of attacking fuel depot in Russia[/B]
https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-europe-60949706

If it's true that the Russians are shooting their own planes out of the sky, killing their superiors, and have a low morale, I wouldn't be surprised if they did this to themselves to fuel the fire and get more people involved and use it as an excuse to ramp up his attacks as revenge.

[SkinnyPupp]

They had an armory explode in the same area, and claimed it was an accident as well

It almost looks like they're pulling back, and really will focus in trying to take the eastern region instead

I think if those people really want to be a part of Russia, they should just go... They have plenty of space, and have some recently lost population to make up for

[MG1]

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

Love the comments.............


Another piece from Modest Mussorgsky's "Pictures from an Exhibition," Is the Hut of the Baba Yaga. Is that the Kremlin? The Oligarchs are the witches/bitches. BTW, Baba Yaga are witch sisters, not John Wick's Boogeyman thing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baba_Yaga. That would be Putin (The Boogeyman was a cruel, sadistic, evil monster).

I've been going to Ukrainian Restaurants lately. A lot of them have donation boxes for war relief. I was at Kozak Ukrainian Eatery in New West, yesterday. Good stuff.

[westopher]

Yeah I went to Kozak in gastown. Great experience and great food. They also had a photo of putins face on the bottom of the urinal.

[MG1]

Did not know they had a location in Gastown. Gotta go........................... just to take a piss.

[EvoFire]

Did not know they had a location in Gastown. Gotta go........................... just to take a piss.

They have one on Victoria Drive as well, next to Hoang Yen. I've been going and buying some chocolate bread everytime I get take out from Hoang Yen. I'll get a proper mean from them one of these days.

[Manic!]

https://news.yahoo.com/russian-governor-says-ukraine-attacked-132300458.html

U.S. official says Ukrainian helicopters attacked oil depot in Russia

A U.S. official confirmed to CBS News senior national security correspondent David Martin that Ukrainian helicopters did carry out the strike, and anther one a couple days earlier against an ammunition depot in the same area. The official told Martin there was concern in Washington about how Russia might react to the strikes.

Ukrainian officials did not claim

[Gumby]

Why do they wonder how Russia would react to the strikes? You invaded their territory, destroyed their cities and you’re angry they blew something up on your soil?

[EvoFire]

Russia might use it to escalate war effort or stop peace talks. Tit for tat is not the problem but they do want to stop the fight asap. This isn't going to help de-escalate and Ukrainian forces doesn't have the ability to do so much damage that would make Russia capitulate.

[pastarocket]

Zelensky's speech to the UN Security Council.

-quite a graphic description of what the Ukrainian president saw in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha.

Putin is definitely a war criminal for ordering his military for the senseless killing and torture of civilians. It's bloody genocide!

https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/ukraine-russia-putin-news-04-05-22/h_7da1c4d74e1b1675b096b9f06e5dc047

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky opened his remarks to the UN Security Council by addressing what he witnessed in Bucha, saying of the Russians who attacked the Kyiv suburb, "there is not a single crime they would not commit there."

Speaking through a translator, Zelensky said:

"The Russian military surge and purposefully killed anyone who served our country. They shot and killed women outside their houses when they just tried to call someone who is alive. They killed entire families, adults and children, and they tried to burn the bodies. I am addressing you on behalf of the people who honor the memory of the deceased every single day and the memory of the civilians who died, they were shot and killed in the back of their head after being tortured. Some of them were shot on the streets."
He said that the Russians killed civilians in Bucha "just for their pleasure."

"They cut off limbs, slashed their throats, women raped and killed in front of their children. Their tongues were pulled out only because the aggressor did not hear what they wanted to hear from them," Zelensky added.

He said these actions are no different than "other terrorists."

[westopher]

If you’ve got the nukes, you can act with absolute impunity. Things never should have gotten to this point, and now there’s no going back.

[320icar]

If you’ve got the nukes, you can act with absolute impunity. Things never should have gotten to this point, and now there’s no going back.

There’s only one direction to go now

https://c.tenor.com/ShzdJcrguswAAAAC/burn-elmo.gif

[SkinnyPupp]

Not sure if anyone here still cares, but this has still been going on all summer, and it looks like it's about to escalate. Russia plans on having a referrendum in the areas of Ukraine that they control. Once the obvious result comes out, they plan on using that to declare annexation which will result in full on war.

There are rumors now that they are talking about full mobilization, which would mean conscription and a full invasion. Up until now, they have considered this a "special military operation". The rumors are due to new laws being introduced that are much stricter on desertion and non compliance. Officially they say they won't mobilize, but will introduce Martial Law in various places.

Here's the area that they control

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FdJYEoDX0AARM5O.jpg

Edit: Here's a thread on the new laws that were passed, and why they say it looks like they intend to mobilize

https://twitter.com/baunov/status/1572225020210089985

[Badhobz]

this is seriously fucked.

somebody needs to take Putin out and put a stop to all this nonsense. if he takes over the whole of Ukraine, then Russia's borders are THAT MUCH CLOSER to NATO. buffer state my ass.

[JDMDreams]

Does anyone think this is part of the US plan to stir shit up to fuck up Europe, sell weapons and keep their global reserve currency status? Since they are now trying to stir shit up with Taiwan. Maybe a distraction from how shit the US is, mid term elections :suspicious:

[SkinnyPupp]

no

Edit: I mean, I guess some people think that. So, yes?

[SkinnyPupp]

Russia’s Putin announces partial military mobilization (https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/21/russia-ukraine-war-putin-announces-partial-military-mobilization.html)

A partial mobilization is a hazy concept but it puts Russia on a firmer war footing (it has not yet declared war on Ukraine, despite appearances, and calls its invasion a “special military operation”) but partial mobilization could mean that Russian businesses and citizens have to contribute more to the war effort.

[whitev70r]

F*cking idiot is going all in ... heard recent rumours of failed assassination attempts, overthrow, and pressure to end war. But I guess this is his way of exerting his power. Damn, someone on the insider has got to have a clear shot to take him out.

[westopher]

The only real hope there is here, is that the Russian people refuse to accept this and it backfires when they are expected to go to war. It’s hard to tell what’s really going on when it comes to the general support of the invasion from Russian people, but one can hope the citizens are not going to accept being pushed off to war over a giant baby’s ego.

[JDMDreams]

^^ :lawl: you mean when they say make X great again, pretty easy to start a trade war, keep jobs in the country.

[westopher]

No.

[quasi]

We had our friend over last month who had been living in Russia the last 10 years. He lived in Moscow, I asked him generally speaking what was the opinion of the people there about the war. He said everyone he knows does not support it, that said when confronted with punishment for not abiding with conscripts I'm not sure people in general would stand up.

He's been trying to get his wife into Canada for the last 6 months, a Visa process that normally takes 2-3 weeks is obviously slowed, he's frustrated. He's an English teacher and he's still working remotely but all his money is stuck in Russia, he can't get it out. We joked how his wife is living high with all his money that he had saved, continues to earn but can't get out of the Country due to the military action in Ukraine.

[sonick]

The only real hope there is here, is that the Russian people refuse to accept this and it backfires when they are expected to go to war. It’s hard to tell what’s really going on when it comes to the general support of the invasion from Russian people, but one can hope the citizens are not going to accept being pushed off to war over a giant baby’s ego.

Hope so. Been reading reports prior to Putin's announcement of men fleeing the country to avoid conscription.

[unit]

the cost of this war to russia and the russian people is just insane, and for what? and old mans ego and grudge, that's all.

[Great68]

and old mans ego and grudge, that's all.

Isn't that what the whole second Iraq war was all about?

[68style]

Need to get rid of all the super old men lol

[whitev70r]

Like King Charles III?

[68style]

He’s not making decisions but okay haha

[JDMDreams]

^^ isn't trump and biden older:troll::joy:, and how many wars has the US started in the last 100 years:accepted:

[Badhobz]

This is likely unpopular, but i think NATO and to a large extent, the US, pushed Russia into this wacko ass position.

Remember cuban missile crisis? they were only attempting to put ICBMS in Cuba and the US flipped their shit. How many ICBMs are in turkey and directly pointed at Moscow? i get that everyone needs breathing room, but Putin's batshit crazy antics are the result of this western push thats constantly eating away russia's sphere of influence. Ukraine pivoting towards the west was probably the final straw that broke his ego.

If anyone puts ICBMs in latin america and pointed them towards the US you dont think there will be an outright war? i guarantee the US wont stand for it.

Putin doesnt really have a choice here. defend his outdated world views of the USSR resurgence, or let everything fall into western hands.

Although this Chinese/Indian/Pakistan/Russian alliance bs they are trying to make happen has all the markings of a Orwellian apocalypse. Good thing they all hate each other or else this might blow the fuck up even more.

[whitev70r]

Sweden, Finland (with lit PM) says hello. It's gonna happen regardless. What you going to do? Invade them as well?

What the hell is the difference between nukes aimed at Russia from Ukraine or Turkey ... about 30 seconds of flying time?

[Badhobz]

^exactly. I dont think old man putin has thought this out. He's just trying to deal with the situation (that he created) at hand and then see what happens afterwards.

[JDMDreams]

Who else has more military bases around the world than US? Imagine if China built a military base in Vancouver what do you think US would do. Like I said earlier I think this is the ploy to try to keep US influence dominance. Why else are they poking Taiwan. They are trying to cause instability in Asia.

[inv4zn]

Who else has more military bases around the world than US? Imagine if China built a military base in Vancouver what do you think US would do. Like I said earlier I think this is the ploy to try to keep US influence dominance. Why else are they poking Taiwan. They are trying to cause instability in Asia.

Shut the fuck up, Jesus. We're not discussing the US here, and contrary to what you're trying to project, the world doesn't revolve around the US.

This is what happens when you get your world history from YouTube.

[Great68]

Baltic countries: "Can we join NATO? we're really scared of Russia"
Russia: "If you try to join NATO we will invade you"

Fears confirmed!

[Traum]

Who else has more military bases around the world than US? Imagine if China built a military base in Vancouver what do you think US would do. Like I said earlier I think this is the ploy to try to keep US influence dominance. Why else are they poking Taiwan. They are trying to cause instability in Asia.
For the record, it isn't the US poking Taiwan or trying to stir up instability in Asia. It is Pooh Bear that has this delusional grand dream of unifying China, through military means if necessary, and the US is just responding to that.

[JD¹³]

This is likely unpopular, but i think NATO and to a large extent, the US, pushed Russia into this wacko ass position.
Couldn't disagree with this more. Read up on the history of NATO, the fall of the USSR, and the rise of Putin and their concurrent timelines.

NATO was formed post WWII as a result of the fuckwit Soviet Communists not relinquishing the territory it 'liberated' from the Nazi's. When the USSR and Warsaw Pact fell in '91 NATO drew down forces in Europe dramatically closing many many bases and sending hundreds of thousands of foreign troops home, Canadians included. I was born on a Cold War Canadian posting in Germany.

A LCol with the KGB in East Germany, Putin went on to head the FSB under Yeltzin and was then appointed PM when he stepped down. Putin has effectively been the head of state of Russia since '99 and in that time he has crushed and murdered political dissenters and rivals, prevented free elections, prevented free press, and prevented an open society and economy. His reign has been rife with corruption and human rights abuses so that he can enrich himself, he doesn't care about the Russian people. His continued build up of arms and bullshit rhetoric is what started bringing NATO forces back up, the organization exists solely to counter his aggression. His illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014 is what prompted NATO to start training and supplying the Ukrainian military.

Putin is a senile egomaniac of failing health that's living in the past and he's taking his whole country down with him in the name of that ego. Russia has an ageing population and a negative birthrate, and Putin has already gotten almost 50,000 young Russian men killed in a matter of months. Now he's calling up reserves and more conscripts to throw in to the meat grinder. Many of the Russian training battalions were already sent to the front and destroyed. This has the potential to be another Stalingrad where untrained, barely equipped, and barely supplied men are ordered forward or face prison and/or execution by their own country. Except the Russian role is reversed this time and tens of thousands more young men will be killed for a politicians ego.

Honestly this could end Russia as we know it. The social consequences are one thing but the economic are another. If full blown war is declared Europe will suffer greatly with energy issues but it will survive, Russia however will lose it's primary economic driver and crash entirely. '91 all over again. Fuck Vladimir Putin, this is 100% on him.

[Spoon]

For the record, it isn't the US poking Taiwan or trying to stir up instability in Asia. It is Pooh Bear that has this delusional grand dream of unifying China, through military means if necessary, and the US is just responding to that.

Americans are pretty much throwing everything including the kitchen sink to deny China access to advanced chips in order to keep its lead in tech. This is why they're banning Nvidia and AMD flagship AI chips to China. You think they're there to prevent China's dominance in the pineapple cake market? As long as TSMC exists, there's always a reason for them to stick around.

[SkinnyPupp]

We had our friend over last month who had been living in Russia the last 10 years. He lived in Moscow, I asked him generally speaking what was the opinion of the people there about the war. He said everyone he knows does not support it, that said when confronted with punishment for not abiding with conscripts I'm not sure people in general would stand up.

He's been trying to get his wife into Canada for the last 6 months, a Visa process that normally takes 2-3 weeks is obviously slowed, he's frustrated. He's an English teacher and he's still working remotely but all his money is stuck in Russia, he can't get it out. We joked how his wife is living high with all his money that he had saved, continues to earn but can't get out of the Country due to the military action in Ukraine.
She'll probably need to cross a land border and fly from another country now, since there's a mass exodus and airlines are all booked. He's lucky he's not with her now, because he wouldn't be allowed to leave as of yesterday, and wouldn't be able to buy a flight if there was one available

Good luck to them and every normal person in Russia

[SkinnyPupp]

This is likely unpopular, but i think NATO and to a large extent, the US, pushed Russia into this wacko ass position.

Remember cuban missile crisis? they were only attempting to put ICBMS in Cuba and the US flipped their shit. How many ICBMs are in turkey and directly pointed at Moscow? i get that everyone needs breathing room, but Putin's batshit crazy antics are the result of this western push thats constantly eating away russia's sphere of influence. Ukraine pivoting towards the west was probably the final straw that broke his ego.

If anyone puts ICBMs in latin america and pointed them towards the US you dont think there will be an outright war? i guarantee the US wont stand for it.

Putin doesnt really have a choice here. defend his outdated world views of the USSR resurgence, or let everything fall into western hands.

Although this Chinese/Indian/Pakistan/Russian alliance bs they are trying to make happen has all the markings of a Orwellian apocalypse. Good thing they all hate each other or else this might blow the fuck up even more.
NATO is not expansionist, they are defensive. Putin is literally justifying their existence with his actions. He's already taken a part of Ukraine and got away with it, and now he wants the whole thing. It's not like NATO was trying to take over Russia.

Now he's about to annex Ukraine in order to make that claim. Do you believe him?

[donk.]

As much as I don't like Putler

I would believe Putler over anything the USA has to say

[Badhobz]

NATO is not expansionist, they are defensive. Putin is literally justifying their existence with his actions. He's already taken a part of Ukraine and got away with it, and now he wants the whole thing. It's not like NATO was trying to take over Russia.

Now he's about to annex Ukraine in order to make that claim. Do you believe him?

it is and it isnt. there's always 2 sides to each conflict and I believe that if NATO didnt expand (not purposely, but ex soviet countries requesting to join and they in turn letting them in) then putin wouldnt have the rhetoric he needs to fuel this bullshit. Although im pretty sure he's just trying to restore the USSR and that starts with regaining Ukraine.

I agree this is 100% on him, hes the nutjob here. But in many respects the west wasnt exactly helping the situation by letting all the ex soviet bloc countries into NATO and moving the boundaries almost to his door step.

[CivicBlues]

NATO is not expansionist, they are defensive. Putin is literally justifying their existence with his actions. He's already taken a part of Ukraine and got away with it, and now he wants the whole thing. It's not like NATO was trying to take over Russia.

Now he's about to annex Ukraine in order to make that claim. Do you believe him?

Well, it kinda is...in the same way the UN was "expansionist". But rightly or wrongly, from Putin's point of view an organization that was created to contain the Soviet Union is something he must fight against.

https://geoawesomeness.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/NATO-Russia-Warsaw-Pact-122815.png

[westopher]

Yeah but NATO is something countries voluntarily join, they aren't invading these countries being like HEY FUCKO JOIN NATO OR YOUR FUCKED.
There's no correlation between what skinny means by expansionist in the context of Putin and the context of NATO.

[68style]

This is true, but there’s a passive aggressive element to it… no question Putin needs to fuck off but if your perspective is Russian one might understand how they feel that the rest of Europe / the world is “ganging up on them” especially with all their controlled media.

[westopher]

One person that should know thats not the case however, is the person in charge of the "special operation" since they are the one deciding on the media narrative, not being influenced by it.

[SkinnyPupp]

Well, it kinda is...in the same way the UN was "expansionist". But rightly or wrongly, from Putin's point of view an organization that was created to contain the Soviet Union is something he must fight against.

https://geoawesomeness.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/NATO-Russia-Warsaw-Pact-122815.png
This chart tells you what you need to know about the former Soviet Union, and it's not saying that "NATO is expansionist" when these countries voluntarily join them. Especially now that Putin has proven them to be right in making that choice.

If they hadn't joined, this exact thing we're seeing today would have happened 20 years ago. In fact it did happen with Crimea

[JD¹³]

Kind of victim blaming though. These small nations, some recently free of communist rule in the 90's, are in no place to defend themselves against an aggressor the size of Russia. Putin creates the problems with policy, threats, and intimidation (military incursions in to ADIZ and maritime borders for example) so they ask for outside help. NATO says sure, Putin blames the West and says Europe is ganging up on Russia :blueguy: Then he goes and demonstrates exactly why NATO needed to exist when he annexes Crimea and fuels insurgency in Eastern Ukraine thus repeating Stalin type tactics from the 40's and 50's. Don't forget Stalin heavily supported the Chinese and North Koreans in their attempt to retake the Korean Peninsula.

Russia had the opportunity to be a wealthy modern nation with its oil industry and opening up its economy post Iron Curtain. Putin was at the helm and he's ruined that opportunity for all Russian people so he could enrich himself and feed his own ego. He never let go of the Cold War.

[Great68]

Yeah, I'm not really sure what's being implied here? That we should have told Poland, Latvia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania etc. "Sorry guys, Russia will be too upset if you join us, you're on your own".

One could argue that "warsaw pact" was imposed on countries against their will by the USSR, while their decision to join NATO was wholly democratic in nature. Katyn Massacre anyone?

[underscore]

putin wouldnt have the rhetoric he needs to fuel this bullshit.

He'd just make up something else instead. He knows as well as we do that it's complete bs.

[Badhobz]

Yeah, I'm not really sure what's being implied here? That we should have told Poland, Latvia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania etc. "Sorry guys, Russia will be too upset if you join us, you're on your own".

One could argue that "warsaw pact" was imposed on countries against their will by the USSR, while their decision to join NATO was wholly democratic in nature. Katyn Massacre anyone?

I guess that’s what I’m saying. Although I’m conflicted in saying that. Sounds easy in our western ivory tower. But letting these nations in to join the mutual defence treaty against their old boss is going to destabilize the region sooner or later. When has mutual defence alliances do anything but cause global issues (ie WW1)

[68style]

News comes on showing the top stories

Trump and his lies and NY charges against him blah blah blah....

Putin and his crazy...

Seriously why can't they both just die. I never ever wish that on anyone but... good lord I'd make an exception in these 2 cases... life would be so much better never having to hear about them again.

[SkinnyPupp]

News comes on showing the top stories

Trump and his lies and NY charges against him blah blah blah....

Putin and his crazy...

Seriously why can't they both just die. I never ever wish that on anyone but... good lord I'd make an exception in these 2 cases... life would be so much better never having to hear about them again.
They literally make the world a worse place, specifically (and very intentionally) the US. They can both kick rocks as far as I'm concerned

[GS8]

When you hold ALT and press F4 on your keyboard, the world becomes a better place

[SkinnyPupp]

When you hold ALT and press F4 on your keyboard, the world becomes a better place
That's suggesting that ignoring a problem means it no longer exists

[Traum]

Americans are pretty much throwing everything including the kitchen sink to deny China access to advanced chips in order to keep its lead in tech. This is why they're banning Nvidia and AMD flagship AI chips to China. You think they're there to prevent China's dominance in the pineapple cake market? As long as TSMC exists, there's always a reason for them to stick around.
You don't need to remind me the slow chokehold that the US is applying on China. I am quite familiar with them, all the way through from how Blinken started the "rule-based order" to the Trump days when the 45th started slapping tarrifs on China.

But lemme ask you this -- why would supporting Taiwan be equivalent to stirring up instability in Asia? If Pooh Bear has no ambition to do a hostile takeover of Taiwan, none of the US military support (for TW) nor the semiconductor bans would have taken place.

The US is providing a lot of technological and military support for Ukraine against Russia too. Would you also call that a US example of how it is trying to exercise / expand its influence or dominance in Europe?

The circumstances between Ukraine and Taiwan share quite a bit of similarities, and what the World is doing with China right now is -- they are applying their painfully learned lessons in Ukraine in the hopes that the same violent, bloody, and tragic stories that are happening in Ukraine wouldn't happen again to Taiwan in the future. It isn't a show for the US to demonstrate its reach, influence, or dominance.

[Badhobz]

You can add Pooh bear and yray North Korean style to that list of idiots
Who need to go as well.

I don’t know why he sees it as his mission to reunify China. Fuck that shit. There are much much more important matters of state to deal with than bringing tawian to heel. Like How about lowering corruption, improving the faltering economy, environmental concerns and improving the public image of Chinese people globally.

Just as our people is stepping back onto the global Stage and we finally aren’t a poor back water nation , fuck bear here is trying to make us look like a petty bunch of warmongers

[MG1]

Shit's hitting the fan. Russian citizens are taking action. Typical, I guess. No action until it starts affecting them directly.

Putin might have pushed it a little too far this time.

[murd0c]

I think the writing is now on the wall, Putin isn't going to be around much longer.

[GS8]

That's suggesting that ignoring a problem means it no longer exists

I knew someone would reply with this but that isn't what I meant.

You can read news articles to understand issues and conflicts around the world but it's a disingenuous way to live your life.

Shutting down your digital connection to the world is more productive towards making the world better. You fix what you can, where you can.We can't fix Ukraine or South Sudan, but we can help address areas local to us because those areas impact us directly.

Going down internet rabbit holes isn't conducive to mental health wellness. That's especially why I hate platforms like Twitter.

[SkinnyPupp]

I knew someone would reply with this but that isn't what I meant.

You can read news articles to understand issues and conflicts around the world but it's a disingenuous way to live your life.

Shutting down your digital connection to the world is more productive towards making the world better. You fix what you can, where you can.We can't fix Ukraine or South Sudan, but we can help address areas local to us because those areas impact us directly.

Going down internet rabbit holes isn't conducive to mental health wellness. That's especially why I hate platforms like Twitter.
OK so if you're an American and your government is trying to take rights away from women, LGBTQ, and everyone who isn't white, the solution is... shut down your internet?

It sounds nice, and it's probably better for mental health not to think about bad things.. but these things are happening, and it's up to people to try to stop it. I agree twitter is full of shit.

[JDMDreams]

Anyone think Putin will go full crazy? :pokerface: cuz I mean all democratic leaders will have to watch votes, mid terms etc. But I mean he can just use nukes if you push him into a wall and don't give him face.

[underscore]

OK so if you're an American and your government is trying to take rights away from women, LGBTQ, and everyone who isn't white, the solution is... shut down your internet?

It sounds nice, and it's probably better for mental health not to think about bad things.. but these things are happening, and it's up to people to try to stop it. I agree twitter is full of shit.

"All that is required for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing"

[inv4zn]

https://twitter.com/FintanOToolbox/status/1572711468101140480

If anyone knows how to embed tweets, lmk lol

[Traum]

Anyone think Putin will go full crazy? :pokerface: cuz I mean all democratic leaders will have to watch votes, mid terms etc. But I mean he can just use nukes if you push him into a wall and don't give him face.
Is that pretty much the original question that started this thread?

Given how he had already gone crazy and started this war, I would not at all be surprised to see him make good of his word on using a tactical nuke on Ukraine.

And then what happens afterwards is... just gonna be crazy... FailFish

p.s. Would someone from his inner circle just assasinate him already?

[SkinnyPupp]

Is that pretty much the original question that started this thread?

Given how he had already gone crazy and started this war, I would not at all be surprised to see him make good of his word on using a tactical nuke on Ukraine.

And then what happens afterwards is... just gonna be crazy... FailFish

p.s. Would someone from his inner circle just assasinate him already?
He's been killing off parts of his inner circle for weeks now. Every day there's a new report of some Russian oligarch or military or otherwise influential person in Russia who "fell out of his window" or "commited suicide after killing his family" and whatnot. If you're not 100% in his corner, you're as good as dead. And it's happening all over the world.

https://thedebrief.org/why-do-influential-russians-keep-mysteriously-dying/

[GS8]

OK so if you're an American and your government is trying to take rights away from women, LGBTQ, and everyone who isn't white, the solution is... shut down your internet?

It sounds nice, and it's probably better for mental health not to think about bad things.. but these things are happening, and it's up to people to try to stop it. I agree twitter is full of shit.

Not sure why American-isms always need to be the leading question, especially pertaining to extreme hypotheticals. When the broad sweeping strokes get pointed with that 'gotcha' (written interlinea), it does make for a pretty quick ALT+F4 result because this frame of discussion ultimately leads nowhere. Your statement would have to be parsed and dissected to form a foundation to which our platforms for discussion can even have a launching point.

It's not about rejecting the reality about bad things happening. It's about acknowledging what's happening far but also near and exercising your right to help address what's near because it's much more accessible, let alone personable. If everyone fixed what's near, we'd have a pretty wide coverage of socially terraforming the earth. But ultimately, it's all one giant bystander effect (re: someone else will do it). Not to mention, human nature is simply too diverse to achieve worldwide social cohesion.

[SkinnyPupp]

Not sure why American-isms always need to be the leading question, especially pertaining to extreme hypotheticals. When the broad sweeping strokes get pointed with that 'gotcha' (written interlinea), it does make for a pretty quick ALT+F4 result because this frame of discussion ultimately leads nowhere. Your statement would have to be parsed and dissected to form a foundation to which our platforms for discussion can even have a launching point.

It's not about rejecting the reality about bad things happening. It's about acknowledging what's happening far but also near and exercising your right to help address what's near because it's much more accessible, let alone personable. If everyone fixed what's near, we'd have a pretty wide coverage of socially terraforming the earth. But ultimately, it's all one giant bystander effect (re: someone else will do it). Not to mention, human nature is simply too diverse to achieve worldwide social cohesion.
Nobody is trying to hit you with a 'gotcha' we're just chatting here about stuff. At least I am. Not sure what all this about parsing and dissecting and forming platforms to which whatever launching point etc is all about, but anyway.. Just chatting on a chat board here, feel free to reply or ignore

America is used as an example because they're an example of a country that is in turmoil, but is set up so people can actually change how things are going if they want. Compared to what happened in HK or what's going on in Iran right now, Americans still have a lot of say in how their country is run. We already saw it with Kansas.

Canada is kind of seeing a minor effect from what's going on in America, but to a much lesser extent. There are Canadian seditionist truckers, but really they are more annoying than anything. But if they really did start to have some sort of effect on Canadian lives, yo can bet people would be trying to put a stop to it. Not just ignore it and hope it goes away.

[Mr.Money]

Putin know's this happened once before and it'll happen to him if he's not careful enough why people around him are dying off.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YppIQUiE9Y

[blkgsr]

you think after putin is killing these people he's confiscating their bank accounts/properties etc to 1) held fund his stupid war and 2) garner more wealth for himself?

[68style]

Some of these guys were probably begging for the sweet release of death. How can someone work at the same place for 45 fucking years???

[Badhobz]

hey man thats the whole reason why i buy toyotas. My ratrolla is built by takumi wackos who pretty much all worked there 30+ years.

They also can make a paper cat with their off hand in under 60 seconds (WEIRD)

[BaoTurbo]

https://twitter.com/FintanOToolbox/status/1572711468101140480

If anyone knows how to embed tweets, lmk lol

Ahahaha the guy in the blue dress shirt is like "shoulda kept ur mouths shut, see you later buds"

[whitev70r]

I don't get that video of 2 young pro-war drafting ... why were they taken away by police afterwards? Straight to the army? But I thought the captions said they were willing to go.

[Great68]

I think the assumption is that they were full of BS talking about how they were going to sign up the next day.

Their body language when the cops grabbed them made it seem like they weren't actually too thrilled to be going.

[SkinnyPupp]

https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/1573337663561777155

[underscore]

Jesus fucking Christ.

Excuse me while I go hug my 4 year old.

[MG1]

Just when you start to believe in humanity again............... man, we are all in a dark, dark place. I agree with what another member posted. Putin needs to be put down like a wounded animal.

My heart goes out to the Ukrainian people.



==========================================

On a lighter note, were any jewels or artifacts taken?

[SkinnyPupp]

Putin has escaped to a secret palace in a forest amid anti-draft protests in Russian cities, report says (https://www.businessinsider.com/photos-putin-escapes-secret-palace-amid-anti-draft-protests-report-2022-9)

[GLOW]

re-skinny's post - how does it play out, can they actually ID the soldiers involved and put them on trial, or would it be more so putting their superiors on trial at some world tribunal, or does russia just say fake news and nothing happens?

how does accountability happen on the world stage if at all?

[Hondaracer]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=q02QJ6NBhu0

[SkinnyPupp]

No idea how valid this is but it looks like Russians aren't fans of being used as cannon fodder

https://twitter.com/Andrew__Roth/status/1574272320071426049

[blkgsr]

jesus...run boys run

that type of shit is only going to increase.

russia is all levels of fucked

[donk.]

My friend that moved to Canada, about 9 years ago, has moved back to Russia about 3 years ago.

I think he is regretting his decision, with the retardation happening there.

Imagine leaving Canada, because you miss home, and a few years later you have a Nazi commander sending his troops to grab you from the streets, or send you to 10 years in prison for protesting....

[Hehe]

My friend that moved to Canada, about 9 years ago, has moved back to Russia about 3 years ago.

I think he is regretting his decision, with the retardation happening there.

Imagine leaving Canada, because you miss home, and a few years later you have a Nazi commander sending his troops to grab you from the streets, or send you to 10 years in prison for protesting....

To be frank, I think all guys that can be drafted in Russia should just go protest on the street.

You protest, 10years in the prison with possibilities of parole when someone else takes power.

You don't protest, you get sent to front line where chances of being killed is way higher than being in prison. And all for what? a pointless war to satisfy someone's ego instead of defending your country's freedom.

[Badhobz]

Prison or the Ukrainian front. Not exactly good choices.

No wonder so many are fleeing to neighbouring countries.

What if there is WW3 and we get drafted to go fight Russians. Would you guys go ?

[Great68]

Why does this sound so familiar to certain events that occurred in 1969...

An unpopular draft, to fight an unpopular war. Talks of draft dodging...

[Manic!]

Prison or the Ukrainian front. Not exactly good choices.

No wonder so many are fleeing to neighbouring countries.

What if there is WW3 and we get drafted to go fight Russians. Would you guys go ?

It will never get that far. NATO was never designed to fight insurgents/terrorists. It was designed to fight countries like Russia. They will just bomb the shit out of Russia until they give up.

My Family worked way to hard for all the stuff we have to let some Russians take it. If I was drafted I would go. But I'm guessing most of us are to old to be drafted.

[Mikoyan]

To be frank, I think all guys that can be drafted in Russia should just go protest on the street.

You protest, 10years in the prison with possibilities of parole when someone else takes power.

You don't protest, you get sent to front line where chances of being killed is way higher than being in prison. And all for what? a pointless war to satisfy someone's ego instead of defending your country's freedom.

There are reports that they're handing protesters draft papers. No jail. Off to the front for you.

Latest news is that the conscription boards are going through and drafting eligible citizens that 18km traffic jam of people trying to flee to Georgia.

[westopher]

Prison or the Ukrainian front. Not exactly good choices.

No wonder so many are fleeing to neighbouring countries.

What if there is WW3 and we get drafted to go fight Russians. Would you guys go ?
Lol fuck no. I’m willing to give a lot for people I don’t know to have a better life, but not my own life. I’ll disappear into the mountains with like minded people for as long as I possibly can before they find me, or blow up the planet and solve all my problems.

[Badhobz]

I know it won’t get that far but hypothetically if it ever did. I’m running for the hills. I ain’t gonna go fight a war until somebody invades this place.

[68style]

I dunno what I would really do if it came down to brass tacks with it... I'd definitely defend here if I had to... but when this whole thing started I actually very seriously considered/plotted out/contacted people in Ukraine that I know about going over there voluntarily.

But then maybe I've always felt like I lacked feeling like I was a part of something? Not sure... but I did feel extremely compelled even at that stage.

[quasi]

I'm over 45, no worries about getting drafted.

[68style]

Is that the can't fight age? Shit... almost there!

[Badhobz]

i recall the vietnam draft in the states was 18-26 right? i guess most of us are aged out so we good to keep the economy running while these young whipper snappers go off to fight.

[underscore]

There's lots of variables involved in making that call, especially for those with dependents like kids. But I think things would have to get pretty bad before they'd want to send someone like me out there anyways.

[blkgsr]

i recall the vietnam draft in the states was 18-26 right? i guess most of us are aged out so we good to keep the economy running while these young whipper snappers go off to fight.

too bad most of the guys in that age group these days are intagram and tiktok useless dipshits.

we'd be fucked if that's who we're relying on.

[whitev70r]

^ but they've played a lot of video games ... put them behind a monitor and let them fire missiles from drones & they'll be OK.

[Badhobz]

they’ll just end up spawn camping the Russians and crouching to do digital tea bagging.

Useless dipshits is right.

[SkinnyPupp]

Kids these days, am I right?

[Badhobz]

I sound so fucking old saying that. I’m sure when I was that age, everyone 30-50 said the same thing about us elder millennials.

[hud 91gt]

They are gonna be really confused when they aren’t getting over time, a CERB cheque, or better yet, breaks. Lol

[murd0c]

As bad as it sounds the kids these days could use a draft to finally find out what life is and to hopefully grow up.

[quasi]

Is that the can't fight age? Shit... almost there!

Unless they move the line they've used in the past year, probably only advantage to be closer to death than birth.

[SkinnyPupp]

As bad as it sounds the kids these days could use a draft to finally find out what life is and to hopefully grow up.
So they can go through the same hardships as you?

[westopher]

We need a generation of alcoholic wifebeaters with PTSD like what Nam did. There’s a fuckin good idea.

[underscore]

Well if the goal is growing up they'd have to be different ones.

[JDMDreams]

No one is talking about this? They annexed, wars over? Stonks to the moon?:lawl:

[Bouncing Bettys]

Compared to my anti-war stances on Iraq twenty years ago, I have mostly stayed out of this one. Don't like Putin and his invasion, don't like the war mongering establishment in the West, and people with Ukrainian flags on the social media seem to have monumentally bad takes on any subject.

https://twitter.com/stillgray/status/1575961030739447810

This interview was an interesting listen. He poses a fair question. For all the fear of Trump having the nuclear codes and starting WW3, why are we so gung-ho to risk a nuclear war under Biden?

[whitev70r]

NATO is fast tracking Ukraine's application to NATO. Russia annexed Ukraine region and will defend it with nukes. Ukraine is part of NATO ... kaboom.

It was nice knowing all of you ... see you on the other side.

[Hondaracer]

Not to downplay what’s going on but I’ve been in Europe for 2 weeks now, Germany, and now Ireland, and I’ve watched the news in the mornings and when bored

There isn’t nearly the amount of fear mongering here then there is by the North American media. They talk about the pipelines etc. but there’s zero talk of this back and forth Nuke threat etc.

[Traum]

I wouldn't say the N.American media is fear mongering -- it's just that Europe has these daily living / daily operational type of issues happening with the oil & gas shortage, and the associate massive hikes in energy bills and such, that their natural attention would fall more on those issues first.

NATO is fast tracking Ukraine's application to NATO. Russia annexed Ukraine region and will defend it with nukes. Ukraine is part of NATO ... kaboom.

IMO, even if Ukraine hasn't been officially accepted into NATO yet, if Russia were to use some sort of nuke on Ukraine, NATO is still going to act -- Biden / Blinken have basically said as much. It's hardly fear mongering because it is what any generally reasonable person would expect if they have some familiarity of what is happening.

[Manic!]

Compared to my anti-war stances on Iraq twenty years ago, I have mostly stayed out of this one. Don't like Putin and his invasion, don't like the war mongering establishment in the West, and people with Ukrainian flags on the social media seem to have monumentally bad takes on any subject.

https://twitter.com/stillgray/status/1575961030739447810

This interview was an interesting listen. He poses a fair question. For all the fear of Trump having the nuclear codes and starting WW3, why are we so gung-ho to risk a nuclear war under Biden?

For those who don't know who Dave Smith is.

Dave Smith is a New York based stand-up comedian and libertarian political commentator. He has frequently appeared on Fox News Channel's Kennedy and The Greg Gutfeld Show. Additionally he was a recurring panelist on CNN's S.E. Cupp: Unfiltered.

I don't think anyone in Russia is dumb enough to use nukes. They would rather kill Putin then see the end of Russia.

[murd0c]

I think Putin is being Putin trying to flex his strength he's always flexed. He's not going to use nukes, the only thing he has is trying to scare the world with them but say what you want he's a smart man and knows exactly what would happen if he did use them. I could honestly see him get assassinated before he has a chance to push the button.

[Badhobz]

yes this dude gotta go. last thing we need is for him to go batshit crazy start using tactical nukes, and for biden to play world police and retaliate.

Those days are long gone and american military reach isnt what it used to be.

[Traum]

I don't think anyone in Russia is dumb enough to use nukes. They would rather kill Putin then see the end of Russia.
We only need 1 person in Russia to be dumb enough for the nuke to happen, and given how the war is playing out, I have every reason to believe that Putin is either selectively taking in only the information he wants to hear, or he is being fed a stream of misinformation and half-truths that causes him to come to the wrong conclusions.

I think Putin is being Putin trying to flex his strength he's always flexed. He's not going to use nukes, the only thing he has is trying to scare the world with them but say what you want he's a smart man and knows exactly what would happen if he did use them. I could honestly see him get assassinated before he has a chance to push the button.
Assuming that Putin is only trying to flex -- but where will that get him? US and NATO have repeatedly indicated that use of nuclear weapons will not be tolerated. If US/NATO doesn't make good on its words, the next thing you know is -- China is gonna issue a nuclear threat to take over Taiwan; Fat Boy Kim is gonna issue a nuclear threat to take over Seoul; Iran is gonna issue a nuclear threat to have US lift its sanctions. US and the Western World absolutely cannot allow that to happen, so the only choice US/NATO has is to make good on its word with Russia.

As Ukrainian forces continue to drive back Russia troops, the only card left in Russia/Putin's pocket is the nuclear option. He needs a win of some sort before he can declare an end to the military operation. Otherwise, I don't even know how a man with his ego can look straight into the mirror and be OK with it, let alone the backlash he faces from within Russia.

In theory, the fighting should die down a lot, if not completely stop, during the winter months. Potentially, I can see how US/NATO might use that opportunity to press Ukraine into accepting a ceasefire, while tossing a bone to Russia with some sort of easing sanction type of deal (that would still severely cripple Russia's economy). It is far from ideal for everyone involved, and I'd say Ukraine is at US/NATO's mercy since the only reason Ukraine is winning the war now is because of the amount of support they have received from NATO.

[Hondaracer]

Nukes are all the flex you need. Americas time as this global police force is over.

If China wants to take Taiwan they will. Eventually Russia will take what they want want Ukraine based only on wearing them down.

No one is going to push buttons from adversaries. The second one tactical nuke drops its like you thought 9/11 changed the world? We’re gonna be a completely different place the second that Nuke lands, and no one wants to be the reason for that happening

[blkgsr]

is there any remotely accurate count of the numbers russia still has in these regions? how much longer can they last, winter or not. what are these poor fuckers even eating these days?

[Badhobz]

im truly terrified for the younger kids.

Old men playing at war games, social media fucking up people's brains, one after another environmental/climate disasters, food modified with shit that causes cancer... the list goes on and on.

fuck it all! go live your lives. live for today, dont hold back. who the hell knows whats going to happen

[Great68]

In theory, the fighting should die down a lot, if not completely stop, during the winter months. Potentially, I can see how US/NATO might use that opportunity to press Ukraine into accepting a ceasefire, while tossing a bone to Russia with some sort of easing sanction type of deal (that would still severely cripple Russia's economy). It is far from ideal for everyone involved, and I'd say Ukraine is at US/NATO's mercy since the only reason Ukraine is winning the war now is because of the amount of support they have received from NATO.

Allowing Russia to keep illegally annexed land wouldn't be enough of "tossing them a bone" as it is, you want to ease sanctions as well? That'd be like giving a bully at school a reward for punching the small kid.

Fuck that, sanctions should be kept until territory is returned, otherwise they should stay indefinitely. Let the price they pay for taking that land be them going back into the economic stone age.

[JDMDreams]

Yes sanction them if they don't follow your countries views. Are they gonna sanction Canada because of the natives? Is the us gonna sanction themselves for taking away women's abortion rights? Sanction Iran cuz of women's rights? :ahwow: o wait you can't they're already sanctioned.

Let's see how badly Europe freezes over the winter. Easy talk if it doesn't affect you.

[Great68]

Nice reply, does that come with some coherency?

[westopher]

You should know his replies absolutely never will.

[Manic!]

We only need 1 person in Russia to be dumb enough for the nuke to happen,


Launching a nuke takes more then one person pressing a red button. You would think one person in the chain of command would be smart enough to think launching a nuke is not a good idea.


Nukes are all the flex you need. Americas time as this global police force is over.

If China wants to take Taiwan they will. Eventually Russia will take what they want want Ukraine based only on wearing them down.

No one is going to push buttons from adversaries. The second one tactical nuke drops its like you thought 9/11 changed the world? We’re gonna be a completely different place the second that Nuke lands, and no one wants to be the reason for that happening

The US is still by far the most powerful military in the world. China will never take Taiwan. Sooner or later the people of Russia will get fed up with the war and turn on Putin.

[SkinnyPupp]

China will talk very strongly about Taiwan, but they know the only way to claim it is peacefully. That is WHY they talk about it so strongly. What do people expect them to do, nuke what they consider their own land? An island invasion with the support of the US Navy would be practically impossible, even if every military in the world worked together to attempt it.

[Traum]

If China wants to take Taiwan they will. Eventually Russia will take what they want want Ukraine based only on wearing them down.
In the foreseeable future at least until the semiconductor manufacturing world changes dramatically, US along with the rest of the Western World have a strong interest in ensuring that Taiwan doesn't fall into Chinese hands. Not only is Taiwan a critical part of the First Island Chain, it is also the manufacturing juggernaut for advanced semiconductor manufacturing. I recently read that Taiwan accounts for ~60% of the world's semiconductor manufacturing, but in addition to that figure, it also manufacturers ~90% of all the advanced semiconductors (below 7nm). This IP along with the economic impact it carries mean the West is not going to let China claim the Island nation without a fight, be it figuratively or literally.

Allowing Russia to keep illegally annexed land wouldn't be enough of "tossing them a bone" as it is, you want to ease sanctions as well? That'd be like giving a bully at school a reward for punching the small kid.

Fuck that, sanctions should be kept until territory is returned, otherwise they should stay indefinitely. Let the price they pay for taking that land be them going back into the economic stone age.
It is less of a matter of rewarding the bully for punching a small kid. Instead, it has more to do with the West being concerned for themselves on energy costs, economy, internal stability, etc. Also, it may or may not allow Russia to keep the illegally annexed land under a ceasefire proposal.

On a personal level, I am of course all for having / forcing Russia return all the illegal annexed land back to Ukraine. At a practical level on the world stage, however, world leaders may or may not be interested in that. Crimea was illegally annexed in 2014 as well, and the West slapped a bunch of sanctions on Russia too. But did they stop trading with Russia? Much of Europe continued to buy energy products from Russia to provide it with the financial resources that it had prior to the Ukraine war.

World politics is a dirty business. The ceasefire scenario I described is merely something that I see as a potential possibility. And even if it were to go through, the West is still gonna want to lay on those sanctions to keep weakening and crippling Russia. It'll be kind of like how US sanctions have dramatically crippled Iran.

[Badhobz]

Exactly. Military means against your own people is idiotic. Even if they were to unify through force then what. You would have leveled that place to the ground all advantages in incorporating another province would have been lost. Not to mention the international consequences.

Stupid Pooh bear is just like Putin. All ego. Fuck Taiwan, leave that shit alone. Hes got so many internal issues I don’t know why he even bothers with this rhetoric. But fuck you USA for stirring this dumb fuck bear up unnecessarily. If your policy is that of one China, then stop fanning the flames of strife.

[unit]

Launching a nuke takes more then one person pressing a red button. You would think one person in the chain of command would be smart enough to think launching a nuke is not a good idea.



when trump took power and he started flexing his nuke power, i heard an interview on the radio that stuck with me. they were interviewing a former high up military guy from the US and asking them about checks and balances when it comes to launching a nuke. the guy said the system is not designed for checks and balances, it's designed for expediency. pretty scary stuff.

[blkgsr]

im truly terrified for the younger kids.

Old men playing at war games, social media fucking up people's brains, one after another environmental/climate disasters, food modified with shit that causes cancer... the list goes on and on.

fuck it all! go live your lives. live for today, dont hold back. who the hell knows whats going to happen

this world is going to shit and we're all just along for the ride.

my wife wants kids but why put them through the pain and suffering that's coming?

pretty bleak outlook i know but can you argue that fact?

[Traum]

this world is going to shit and we're all just along for the ride.

my wife wants kids but why put them through the pain and suffering that's coming?

pretty bleak outlook i know but can you argue that fact?
The flip side of the argument is, of course, since we are all just along for the ride, you and your wife might as well just carry on in the manner that you would have been doing anyway (to act on your family plans), and deal with whatever comes your way when it comes.

[Spoon]

my wife wants kids but why put them through the pain and suffering that's coming?

pretty bleak outlook i know but can you argue that fact?

Nobody gives a shit.

[MG1]

this world is going to shit and we're all just along for the ride.

my wife wants kids but why put them through the pain and suffering that's coming?

pretty bleak outlook i know but can you argue that fact?

Have kids and a family. They might turn out to be people who make a huge difference in this world. We can't give up and let the bad people take over. I'm assuming you and your wife are good people. We need more good people.

/sermon

[donk.]

Imagine being born, against your will, into a world where you suck the days dick, just to pay rent and be able to afford basic groceries.
Blaming the older generation aka your parents for the excessive real estate market, grocery prices, and gas prices.
Then watch some shitty tv series for a few hours, followed by US garbage news outlets.
Lastly you log into revscene forums, and see people ballin with LFAs and 1.8mil houses.

Today we have lawsuits against transgender issues, tomorrow we will have lawsuits from kids opening a court case against their parents for being born into this world



https://thumbs.gfycat.com/AbsoluteLiveHarvestmen-size_restricted.gif

[MG1]

Interesting......... right handed people stir clockwise. Being left handed, I stir counter-clockwise. Once in a while, I stir clockwise. Witches stir the pot with both hands. Left hand on top or bottom? Stop to change directions........ not a good idea, depending on speed of fluid flow............. yeah. What direction does the universe spin? We all know why water drains in one direction, but how about at the poles and equator?

Bored today, I am.

[SkinnyPupp]

A lot of the land that Putin has been holding and is planning to annex is being taken back by Ukraine. They've reclaimed the most land since the invasion began.

https://twitter.com/TheStudyofWar/status/1577494986781868033

The mobilization is fucking them over, as it basically finally admitted to the Russian people that yes, we are invading Ukraine. Obviously a lot of normal people are going to be very against that. That is to be expected, but it hasn't really helped them any, making it not worthwhile.

There's been reports of more Russian soldiers surrendering en masse, including many who haven't even been drafted yet, contacting them about the possibility of immediate surrender.

[whitev70r]

Hope Putin rots in hell with his buddy Hitler.

[SkinnyPupp]

Nice footage of an actual surrender taking place

https://twitter.com/TpyxaNews/status/1577704673334636551

Russian soldiers have been posting on Telegram, saying they are no longer even being fed, and have to buy their own food somehow. Most don't have guns or armor, and when they do have guns they aren't accounted for, they're just handed over.

Some are saying it's not long before a full retreat, some even think it's happening now (https://www.19fortyfive.com/2022/10/the-russian-military-seems-to-be-in-full-retreat-in-ukraine/).

I don't know, but if they're not being fed that's pretty much retreat mode already

[SkinnyPupp]

And here's what it looked like to participate in the referrendum

https://twitter.com/FCDOGovUK/status/1577932837671604224

[Badhobz]

logistics and supplies wins wars. shocking how badly the russians are mangling this.

[whitev70r]

I hope Putin is hated forever in the long term Russian history for this.

[westopher]

It will be much like the other horrible leaders in history. He will be revered by the bottom feeders, just like Hitler, Kim Jong Il, Saddam, etc.
It’s even easier now for the trash to find popularity because it’s easier for people to find others with their stupid, shitty, fucked up views.

[Badhobz]

I’m surprised people don’t add trump to this list. He’s just as bad. Kinda set the stage for a lot of this insanity. Same with ex Boris Johnson and his brexit bullshit.

[whitev70r]

He's bad but at least he didn't invade Mexico and displaced millions of people ... and the damage he did was already somewhat lessened by the people around him who had some intelligence and conscience.

[SkinnyPupp]

If Trump had been re-elected, Ukraine would be fucked. Or at least not as in whatever good shape they're in right now. If anything he might have put sanctions on countries trying to help them, or fuck, maybe even help Russia with the invasion.

He really does belong there with Hitler and Putin. Just that, as much as nobody wants to admit, USA is a decent enough country that he was never able to reach their levels of depravity.

[westopher]

Trump was definitely held back by his country in terms of damage he was allowed to do. It does say something about the checks and balances in place in a well developed modern democracy.
The truth is though, for him it was never about pure malice. It was about disregard for anyone for financial gain. With people like Hitler, putin, etc. it’s about unbridled hatred for humans.

[N.V.M.]

We all know why water drains in one direction, but how about at the poles and equator?

Bored today, I am.


https://youtu.be/4IIVfoDuVIw

[murd0c]

There is also the possibility that if Trump was re-elected that Putin wouldn't of been stupid enough to start a war with Ukraine as well. There are always what ifs when it comes to situations like this.

Ukraine's Commander in Chief of the army just started a Twitter account today

https://twitter.com/CinC_AFU/status/1578062398879141896?s=20&t=f4XNqykDRbUdh3XyTH1r_A


frick don't know how to imbed tweets anymore lol

[whitev70r]

Copy the link to embed and then delete everything after (and including) the question mark


https://twitter.com/CinC_AFU/status/1578062398879141896

[Great68]

There is also the possibility that if Trump was re-elected that Putin wouldn't of been stupid enough to start a war with Ukraine as well. There are always what ifs when it comes to situations like this.

Wat? Explain, because that comment defies even the slightest bit of common sense.

Trump was literally talking about removing the US from NATO... And may have actually accomplished that had he been elected for a second term.

Word going around is that Putin would have invaded sooner, but COVID got in the way and delayed his plans.

[Badhobz]

Putin's dream of Ukraine is the same as pooh bear's dream of Taiwan. NATO or no NATO, US or no US, both these fuckers cant be persuaded to leave shit well enough alone. They have that manifest destiny mentality.

[MG1]

https://youtu.be/4IIVfoDuVIw

Finally, someone more bored than me.

I'm so bored, I'm binge watching Stargate SG-1 on Space Channel. I cannot believe I'm doing it, but recognizing landmarks in and around Vancouver/BC is actually interesting. Not.

So many storylines and dialogue stolen/borrowed from Star Trek. Some are downright mocking Star Trek. Gamekeeper, for example. "I am the keeper of what is now and what was and what...........". A few episodes before that, they actually had a mirror that looked a lot like the portal that McCoy goes through.

[SkinnyPupp]

Either through panic or sheer incompetence (or both), Russia has been simultaneously losing their tanks, while feeding Ukraine with a fleet. OVER HALF of Ukraine's fleet is captured Russian tanks LUL

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

[GLOW]

need lessons from Lord of War, you don't give it away, you sell it!:pokerface:

[pastarocket]

Either through panic or sheer incompetence (or both), Russia has been simultaneously losing their tanks, while feeding Ukraine with a fleet. OVER HALF of Ukraine's fleet is captured Russian tanks LUL

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


This report from British intelligence is just another example of how poorly trained the Russian soldiers are in this war.

You would think that the Russian army trains its soldiers on destroying military hardware before the enemy get its hands on their gear. :facepalm:

[punkwax]

https://y.yarn.co/c1f29f61-7b6f-428d-8875-91410bf48b1d_text.gif

https://y.yarn.co/d175cde3-8fd5-4ebd-a302-543119fb0b03_text.gif

[MG1]

Wow, Russia just lost respect from every military power on the planet. It's not even due to poor strategy. If you are going to invade, you better be damn prepared to succeed. Now they look like a bunch of fools. If it weren't for the fact they have nuclear weapons, they would be the laughing stock amongst first world nations.

[Badhobz]

all their dudes lack experience. the last major conflict that their ground forces took part in was Chechnya and the time before that was Afghanistan. Given how all their soldiers are of the instagram generation, these dudes are more interested in staying alive so they can take selfies instead of shooting Ukrainians.