We can't all have a female former DJ for a leader.
Our lady leader was better than the three fuckwitts that followed.
WWIII thread
- Thread starter Fool
- Start date
Our lady leader was better than the three fuckwitts that followed.
considering most of the fight is volunteer men of the country more like 1:1,000, I bet they will be used to lead small groups and train other how to use the incoming gear.
A Team Of American And British Special Forces Veterans Are Preparing To Join Ukraine’s Fight Against Russia
The 10 NATO-trained war veterans are taking up President Volodymyr Zelensky’s offer for people to join a new unit of foreign fighters for Ukraine.www.buzzfeednews.com
Looks like the recently retired professionals are coming out to play. @gonefirefightin what do you think the 1:# ratio of recently retired special ops/boots down combat troops are vs. the Russian troops is? 1:5? 1:10?
Fedex & UPS have ceased flights and deliveries into Russia
….
Just like "microaggression" and need for "safe places".
Russia facing sports isolation over invasion of Ukraine
GENEVA (AP) — International sports bodies moved to further isolate Russia on Monday for its invasion of Ukraine and pushed Moscow closer to becoming a pariah on the playing field. The International Olympic Committee urged sports bodies to exclude Russian athletes and officials from international...
apnews.com
Oh, jeez
apparently fake:
www.independent.co.uk
www.rollingstone.com
Joe Rogan mocked for sharing fake report about Steven Seagal joining Russian forces
‘Act like a leader and stop posting irrelevant stuff making it all look like a joke,’ wrote one person
www.independent.co.uk
Joe Rogan Posts -- and Deletes -- Fake Report About Steven Seagal Joining Russian Special Forces
Joe Rogan shared a fake CNN report stating that actor Steven Seagal has joined Russian special forces stationed near Kyiv, Ukraine
www.rollingstone.com
That's some serious intellectual perspective.apparently fake:
Joe Rogan mocked for sharing fake report about Steven Seagal joining Russian forces
‘Act like a leader and stop posting irrelevant stuff making it all look like a joke,’ wrote one person
Joe Rogan Posts -- and Deletes -- Fake Report About Steven Seagal Joining Russian Special Forces
Joe Rogan shared a fake CNN report stating that actor Steven Seagal has joined Russian special forces stationed near Kyiv, Ukraine
Russia's victorious commentary, released prematurely on Saturday The Offensive of Russia and the New World - RIA Novosti, 26.02.2022 (archive.org)
“Great success for glory of Russia!!”
I would also like to see a graph of Putin’s estimated wealth with this same timeline (but apparently it’s quite opaque)
Best guesses put him around 70 billion, his yacht alone is 97 million
It sounds ludicrous to most western ears, but reading through this and Putin‘s article from last year, I find the myths, grievances and revanchism used to justify this invasion fairly disturbing. If Putin cannot be gotten rid off soon, we’ll be in for a lot more death and destruction.
Translation of the RIA piece:
A new world is being born before our eyes. Russia’s military operation in Ukraine has ushered in a new era - and in three dimensions at once. And of course, in the fourth, internal Russian. Here begins a new period both in ideology and in the very model of our socio-economic system - but this is worth talking about separately a little later.
Russia is restoring its unity - the tragedy of 1991, this terrible catastrophe in our history, its unnatural dislocation, has been overcome. Yes, at a great cost, yes, through the tragic events of a virtual civil war, because now brothers, separated by belonging to the Russian and Ukrainian armies, are still shooting at each other, but there will be no more Ukraine as anti-Russia. Russia is restoring its historical fullness, gathering the Russian world, the Russian people together - in its entirety of Great Russians, Belarusians and Little Russians. If we had abandoned this, if we had allowed the temporary division to take hold for centuries, then we would not only betray the memory of our ancestors, but would also be cursed by our descendants for allowing the disintegration of the Russian land.
Vladimir Putin has assumed, without a drop of exaggeration, a historic responsibility by deciding not to leave the solution of the Ukrainian question to future generations. After all, the need to solve it would always remain the main problem for Russia - for two key reasons. And the issue of national security, that is, the creation of anti-Russia from Ukraine and an outpost for the West to put pressure on us, is only the second most important among them.
The first would always be the complex of a divided people, the complex of national humiliation - when the Russian house first lost part of its foundation (Kiev), and then was forced to come to terms with the existence of two states, not one, but two peoples. That is, either to abandon their history, agreeing with the insane versions that “only Ukraine is the real Russia,” or to gnash one’s teeth helplessly, remembering the times when “we lost Ukraine.” Returning Ukraine, that is, turning it back to Russia, would be more and more difficult with every decade - recoding, de-Russification of Russians and inciting Ukrainian Little Russians against Russians would gain momentum.
Now this problem is gone - Ukraine has returned to Russia. This does not mean that its statehood will be liquidated, but it will be reorganized, re-established and returned to its natural state of part of the Russian world. In what borders, in what form will the alliance with Russia be fixed (through the CSTO and the Eurasian Union or the Union State of Russia and Belarus )? This will be decided after the end is put in the history of Ukraine as anti-Russia. In any case, the period of the split of the Russian people is coming to an end.
And here begins the second dimension of the coming new era - it concerns Russia’s relations with the West. Not even Russia, but the Russian world, that is, three states, Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, acting in geopolitical terms as a single whole. These relations have entered a new stage - the West sees the return of Russia to its historical borders in Europe . And he is loudly indignant at this, although in the depths of his soul he must admit to himself that it could not be otherwise.
Did someone in the old European capitals, in Paris and Berlin , seriously believe that Moscow would give up Kiev ? That the Russians will forever be a divided people? And at the same time when Europe is uniting, when the German and French elites are trying to seize control of European integration from the Anglo-Saxons and assemble a united Europe? Forgetting that the unification of Europe became possible only thanks to the unification of Germany, which happened according to the good Russian (albeit not very smart) will. To swipe after that also on Russian lands is not even the height of ingratitude, but of geopolitical stupidity. The West as a whole, and even more so Europe in particular, did not have the strength to keep Ukraine in its sphere of influence, and even more so to take Ukraine for itself. In order not to understand this, one had to be just geopolitical fools.
More precisely, there was only one option: to bet on the further collapse of Russia, that is, the Russian Federation. But the fact that it did not work should have been clear twenty years ago. And already fifteen years ago, after Putin’s Munich speech, even the deaf could hear - Russia is returning.
Now the West is trying to punish Russia for the fact that it returned, for not justifying its plans to profit at its expense, for not allowing the expansion of the western space to the east. Seeking to punish us, the West thinks that relations with it are of vital importance to us. But this has not been the case for a long time - the world has changed, and this is well understood not only by Europeans, but also by the Anglo-Saxons who rule the West. No amount of Western pressure on Russia will lead to anything. There will be losses from the sublimation of confrontation on both sides, but Russia is ready for them morally and geopolitically. But for the West itself, an increase in the degree of confrontation incurs huge costs - and the main ones are not at all economic.
Europe, as part of the West, wanted autonomy - the German project of European integration does not make strategic sense while maintaining the Anglo-Saxon ideological, military and geopolitical control over the Old World. Yes, and it cannot be successful, because the Anglo-Saxons need a controlled Europe. But Europe needs autonomy for another reason as well — in case the States go into self-isolation (as a result of growing internal conflicts and contradictions) or focus on the Pacific region, where the geopolitical center of gravity is moving.
But the confrontation with Russia, into which the Anglo-Saxons are dragging Europe, deprives the Europeans of even the chance of independence - not to mention the fact that in the same way Europe is trying to impose a break with China . If now the Atlanticists are happy that the “Russian threat” will unite the Western bloc, then in Berlin and Paris they cannot fail to understand that, having lost hope for autonomy, the European project will simply collapse in the medium term. That is why independent-minded Europeans are now completely uninterested in building a new iron curtain on their eastern borders - realizing that it will turn into a corral for Europe. Whose century (more precisely, half a millennium) of global leadership is over in any case - but various options for its future are still possible.
Because the construction of a new world order - and this is the third dimension of current events - is accelerating, and its contours are more and more clearly visible through the spreading cover of Anglo-Saxon globalization. A multipolar world has finally become a reality - the operation in Ukraine is not capable of rallying anyone but the West against Russia. Because the rest of the world sees and understands perfectly well - this is a conflict between Russia and the West, this is a response to the geopolitical expansion of the Atlanticists, this is Russia’s return of its historical space and its place in the world.
China and India , Latin America and Africa , the Islamic world and Southeast Asia - no one believes that the West leads the world order, much less sets the rules of the game. Russia has not only challenged the West, it has shown that the era of Western global domination can be considered completely and finally over. The new world will be built by all civilizations and centers of power, naturally, together with the West (united or not) - but not on its terms and not according to its rules.
Russia is restoring its unity - the tragedy of 1991, this terrible catastrophe in our history, its unnatural dislocation, has been overcome. Yes, at a great cost, yes, through the tragic events of a virtual civil war, because now brothers, separated by belonging to the Russian and Ukrainian armies, are still shooting at each other, but there will be no more Ukraine as anti-Russia. Russia is restoring its historical fullness, gathering the Russian world, the Russian people together - in its entirety of Great Russians, Belarusians and Little Russians. If we had abandoned this, if we had allowed the temporary division to take hold for centuries, then we would not only betray the memory of our ancestors, but would also be cursed by our descendants for allowing the disintegration of the Russian land.
Vladimir Putin has assumed, without a drop of exaggeration, a historic responsibility by deciding not to leave the solution of the Ukrainian question to future generations. After all, the need to solve it would always remain the main problem for Russia - for two key reasons. And the issue of national security, that is, the creation of anti-Russia from Ukraine and an outpost for the West to put pressure on us, is only the second most important among them.
The first would always be the complex of a divided people, the complex of national humiliation - when the Russian house first lost part of its foundation (Kiev), and then was forced to come to terms with the existence of two states, not one, but two peoples. That is, either to abandon their history, agreeing with the insane versions that “only Ukraine is the real Russia,” or to gnash one’s teeth helplessly, remembering the times when “we lost Ukraine.” Returning Ukraine, that is, turning it back to Russia, would be more and more difficult with every decade - recoding, de-Russification of Russians and inciting Ukrainian Little Russians against Russians would gain momentum.
Now this problem is gone - Ukraine has returned to Russia. This does not mean that its statehood will be liquidated, but it will be reorganized, re-established and returned to its natural state of part of the Russian world. In what borders, in what form will the alliance with Russia be fixed (through the CSTO and the Eurasian Union or the Union State of Russia and Belarus )? This will be decided after the end is put in the history of Ukraine as anti-Russia. In any case, the period of the split of the Russian people is coming to an end.
And here begins the second dimension of the coming new era - it concerns Russia’s relations with the West. Not even Russia, but the Russian world, that is, three states, Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, acting in geopolitical terms as a single whole. These relations have entered a new stage - the West sees the return of Russia to its historical borders in Europe . And he is loudly indignant at this, although in the depths of his soul he must admit to himself that it could not be otherwise.
Did someone in the old European capitals, in Paris and Berlin , seriously believe that Moscow would give up Kiev ? That the Russians will forever be a divided people? And at the same time when Europe is uniting, when the German and French elites are trying to seize control of European integration from the Anglo-Saxons and assemble a united Europe? Forgetting that the unification of Europe became possible only thanks to the unification of Germany, which happened according to the good Russian (albeit not very smart) will. To swipe after that also on Russian lands is not even the height of ingratitude, but of geopolitical stupidity. The West as a whole, and even more so Europe in particular, did not have the strength to keep Ukraine in its sphere of influence, and even more so to take Ukraine for itself. In order not to understand this, one had to be just geopolitical fools.
More precisely, there was only one option: to bet on the further collapse of Russia, that is, the Russian Federation. But the fact that it did not work should have been clear twenty years ago. And already fifteen years ago, after Putin’s Munich speech, even the deaf could hear - Russia is returning.
Now the West is trying to punish Russia for the fact that it returned, for not justifying its plans to profit at its expense, for not allowing the expansion of the western space to the east. Seeking to punish us, the West thinks that relations with it are of vital importance to us. But this has not been the case for a long time - the world has changed, and this is well understood not only by Europeans, but also by the Anglo-Saxons who rule the West. No amount of Western pressure on Russia will lead to anything. There will be losses from the sublimation of confrontation on both sides, but Russia is ready for them morally and geopolitically. But for the West itself, an increase in the degree of confrontation incurs huge costs - and the main ones are not at all economic.
Europe, as part of the West, wanted autonomy - the German project of European integration does not make strategic sense while maintaining the Anglo-Saxon ideological, military and geopolitical control over the Old World. Yes, and it cannot be successful, because the Anglo-Saxons need a controlled Europe. But Europe needs autonomy for another reason as well — in case the States go into self-isolation (as a result of growing internal conflicts and contradictions) or focus on the Pacific region, where the geopolitical center of gravity is moving.
But the confrontation with Russia, into which the Anglo-Saxons are dragging Europe, deprives the Europeans of even the chance of independence - not to mention the fact that in the same way Europe is trying to impose a break with China . If now the Atlanticists are happy that the “Russian threat” will unite the Western bloc, then in Berlin and Paris they cannot fail to understand that, having lost hope for autonomy, the European project will simply collapse in the medium term. That is why independent-minded Europeans are now completely uninterested in building a new iron curtain on their eastern borders - realizing that it will turn into a corral for Europe. Whose century (more precisely, half a millennium) of global leadership is over in any case - but various options for its future are still possible.
Because the construction of a new world order - and this is the third dimension of current events - is accelerating, and its contours are more and more clearly visible through the spreading cover of Anglo-Saxon globalization. A multipolar world has finally become a reality - the operation in Ukraine is not capable of rallying anyone but the West against Russia. Because the rest of the world sees and understands perfectly well - this is a conflict between Russia and the West, this is a response to the geopolitical expansion of the Atlanticists, this is Russia’s return of its historical space and its place in the world.
China and India , Latin America and Africa , the Islamic world and Southeast Asia - no one believes that the West leads the world order, much less sets the rules of the game. Russia has not only challenged the West, it has shown that the era of Western global domination can be considered completely and finally over. The new world will be built by all civilizations and centers of power, naturally, together with the West (united or not) - but not on its terms and not according to its rules.
Shorter analysis
Last edited:
It would be such a shame if something happened to it.
And those guestimates are before this invasion.
I have a sneaky suspicion the only way this will all come to an end is with many russian ministry defections and a few surgical drone strikes.
Not sure how long the lunatic can hold out before his own country takes control, the sanctions that keep piling up have to be killing him. The list of sanctions out of the white house are staggering enough, let alone the global sanctions piling up by the hour.
- SWIFT move
- Nord Stream 2
- OFAC sanctions
- Russia’s tech supply stopped
- UK financial restrictions
- Airspace bans
- Russia’s Central Bank freeze
- EU sanctions and froze personal assets of Vladimir Putin, Sergei Lavrov
- Canadas sanctions
- UK sanctions
- Japans sanctions
- New Zealands sanctions
- Australia sanctions
- Taiwan sanctions
- Turkey sanctions
- Poland sanctions
- South Korea sanctions
- Czech sanctions
- Maritime sanctions
- International trade shipping commerce sanctions
- Russian banks cut off from US Dollar
- Champions League, Formula 1,Olympics
- Anonymous attacks
From a Facebook analyst who has lived in Europe and Africa and seems to know the ropes:
icmtmcSg86ic15h1s0968ed ·
Michael Kofman, who's been good at predicting the course of the Ukraine war so far, says "Outside of the fighting NW of Kyiv we have a lot of smaller detachments, tanks, IFVs, often recon or VDV units pressing down roads & into cities. Often small formations outrunning logistics, without support, or letting support getting ambushed - its a mess."
Clearly, sending armor into hostile territory without support makes no sense now, especially against a force that has the best armed drones available. Every recent war has shown that armor is vulnerable to drone strikes. Sending thin-skinned APCs like the BTR series into unknown towns when you know the people have ATGMs and drone support is the kind of move you can only explain as inertia. Soviet forces specialized in APCs; the Bradley was part of the US's 1970s drive to reverse-engineer dreaded soviet weapons. It didn't work very well, but neither did those weapons, as ATGMs got cheaper and more portable. Maybe the notion of armored advance at speed, pushing into enemy territory before they can regroup, is too deep in the Russian military tradition to be stopped until a lot of losses have registered. Drones dominated in Nagorno-Karabakh 2, in Tigray/Ethiopia (especially the recent fighting.)
Comparing drones to APCs as recon/attack vehicles, there's a very basic difference. Fighting by drone is as natural to contemporary kids as fighting from horseback to a Mongol. The best part is, when you-the-player die, you come back to life, get a Coke, start another game. When you-the-player are driving an APC, you die and you're dead. And foolishly dead too, driving half-blind down streets you don't know when it all just goes black. This has to be a demoralizing war for the crews.
It doesn't make sense, has the feel of one of those wars meant to send a gesture. They never go well.
Putin fucked around, and is finding out.
Russia‘s initial plan might not have worked as they had hoped for, but we’re unfortunately likely about to find out that they still have large parts of their troops not in the fight, and can conduct this war in a different manner, which is far more destructive for civilians and infrastructure.
Here’s an assessment of the situation from the guy quoted at the beginning of the analysis Toshi posted above:
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1498381975022940167.html
Fairly extensive interview that also sheds some light on the lead up from the Russian perspective:
And at the end of they day, it still may not be enough. The russians were born to suffer for the grandeur of their tzars.
between the protests and the troops surrendering in UKR i'm not quite sure this is very popular there either
Hey, I’m a hockey dad, my kid is a goalie for the B team. We have to find enthusiasm where we can, or just quit.
Also, to ponder:
threadreaderapp.com
Thread by @kamilkazani on Thread Reader App
@kamilkazani: Why Russia will lose this war? Much of the "realist" discourse is about accepting Putin's victory, cuz it's *guaranteed*. But how do we know it is? I'll argue that analysts 1) overrate Russian army 2)...…
threadreaderapp.com
