IMO opinion, Russia needs to be finished off and disarmed permanently as all they did was spread misery.
And yes, Angela, in 1986 I visited some family members in then Communist East Germany.
The East Germans were beyond evil.
Many snitches.
BUT...
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IMO opinion, Russia needs to be finished off and disarmed permanently as all they did was spread misery.
And yes, Angela, in 1986 I visited some family members in then Communist East Germany.
The East Germans were beyond evil.
Many snitches.
BUT...
I don't know what is truly happening in Ukraine, but I hope Tomenable is right, and it's not beyond the realm of possibility. Russia has always shown signs of being a paper tiger. Remember how shocked the west was to discover that so many of their missiles couldn't operate properly? Heck, they couldn't even build a decent car.
It's also possible that Putin and his military leaders were so arrogant that they didn't entertain the possibility that Ukraine would really resist and so they never set up proper re-supply lines. They may have thought that they could re-supply in Ukraine. Or, it's just the incompetence that is rife in western totalitarian regimes.
For the record, one of the most important moral imperatives is the right of a people to be free to choose their own leaders. Most actual Ukrainians do not want to be forced back into union with Russia. Whether it's because they actually don't consider themselves Russian, or that they don't want to be under authoritarian rule or both, that's a fact.
Pontificating from the safety and freedom of western Europe or the U.S. about how logical it is for Russia to want to keep Ukraine, and how it would be GOOD for western Europe if it became closer to Russia while Ukrainians are dying so their children don't have to live in a dictatorship shows a lack of a moral compass which is breathtaking and heartbreaking at the same time.
Listen to the people of Ukraine. Listen to the people of Eastern Europe who know what being forced back into union with Russia would be like. They're not expendable.
Throw all the Marxist apologia spewed out in our colleges and universities into the trash can.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sg7zwnYbysQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L17Bi7zBJHI
The following contains an analysis by a reporter stationed in Russia for years. Very enlightening. Ignore the inane comments of the "host". :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2My6MyObvg
Brilliant idea from Latvian government - every Russian soldier who surrenders to Ukrainians should get asylum in the "West":
https://twitter.com/Pabriks/status/1497575078669668360
Reward the humans. I agree.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tomenable
It is not totally gone, but it is heading that way. Neo Liberal Democrats and Neo Con Republicans and their system and order that they put in place after the fall of the Soviet Union in my view is over. China and COVID-19 and its impact on supply chains, Russia and the Ukraine invasion and Europe's reliance on Russian Oil and Gas all show that you can't have your country reliant on rogue states for the vital supplies you need.Quote:
Originally Posted by Northener
Wan't Biden seen on camera signing things while stating "I don't know what I am signing..."?Quote:
Originally Posted by aalexa
I thought it was a brilliant strategy to lure the Russians to the cities where gorilla warfare is much more effective. Since Ukraine has no tank force to speak off they let the Russians have the farmland. Ask the Americans how bad it got with IEDs and rocket propelled grenades in Baghdad or Kandahar.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tomenable
Russia is now officially a terrorist nation.
I think Ukrainian soldier in this video is equippped with NLAW (Next generation Light Anti-tank Weapon):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7W_aVSQv4Io - we can also see burning Russian tanks in this video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7W_aVSQv4Io
^^^
Sweden has just promised to send 2000 more of such weapons to Ukraine (they are produced by Saab):
https://www.saab.com/about
https://i.imgur.com/NMEOLgr.png
This is the most important piece of news from yesterday ---> https://www.reuters.com/world/india/...ow-2022-02-25/
Again, cut off Russia from SWIFT, and dollar collapse (petrodollar collapse) is just around the corner
Do US policymakers think this far ahead? Are they really this incompetent? Or is it actual malfeasance?
I would be extremely skeptical about any and all GNP numbers, both we regard to the GNP of the US (far overstates the real size & dynamism of the economy) and with regard to Russia (if nothing else, they get a lot more bang for their military-spending buck than other countries)Quote:
Originally Posted by Northener
A serious energy for Europe is a nuclear one. Europeans (and Americans) need to get over their oh-so-virtuous green energy clap trap and take real steps to promote energy independence, to the extent possible. Europe will never be energy self-sufficient, but if they had nuclear capacity, they would be in much better shape today.Quote:
Originally Posted by Northener
But the fundamental fact, after the crisis has passed, is that the best source of oil & gas for Germany is Russia.
As the East Mediterranean comes on line, the oil fields near Cyprus, this might prove a very good source for the Mediterranean countries. However, all of this is to assume that Russia won't compete against the USA in the East Mediterranean. Certainly the Russians have forged a nice relationship with Syria.
Looks like India will also be buying plenty of Russian gas and potash. Trade conducted in rupee's. See link I just posted above.Quote:
Originally Posted by Northener
I do not mean this as an insult. My loyalty is to true Europeans and true Americans. However, when the dust settles, it will be clear to all that this entire debacle was cynically motivated by the US foreign policy elite to (1) push Russia out of Europe and (2) keep Germany down. The same grand objectives that US has had since 1945, but now much more clumsily and ineptly executed than ever before.Quote:
Originally Posted by Northener
Right now, through sheer emotion, and the "soft power" of the Western media apparatus, which paints Russia as the perpetual bogeyman, the US has succeeded in separating Europe from Russia. But this separation will not last for long. The cynical policy of the US in the Ukraine will backfire.
Wonderful. Anybody who questions the wisdom of our leaders' actions is a traitor and fifth columnist. And yet I'm the authoritarian!! Maybe you should go pose for a photo with your idol Trudeau.Quote:
Originally Posted by Northener
Yes I agree.Quote:
Originally Posted by bigsnake49
But IMO they will eventually be able to drive out Russian tanks even from the farmland.
The era of tanks has ended - the 2020 Armenian-Azeri War showed this. Putin failed to take notes.
Armenian tanks were massacred by Azeri drones (supplied to Azerbaijan by Turkey).
Ukrainians apparently also have Turkish drones, and they have NLAW from Sweden.
NLAW is a simple in use, cheap to produce weapon, which can destroy a modern tank with one hit.
Not sure if true or fake news:Quote:
Originally Posted by Malaparte
https://www-tvp-info.translate.goog/...en&_x_tr_hl=pl
"- There is no point in helping you, because Ukraine has only hours left - this was the answer the Ukrainian ambassador heard from German politicians."
^^^ If only it didn't take them a month to deliver 5000 helmets: :embarassed:
https://sports.yahoo.com/5-000-helme...175355794.html
I feel bad for the Ukrainian people, that they need to be in this war. But I think it is clear that NATO/USA is not going to help them in a meaningful way, before Russia takes over the rest of the country. Frankly, I think the President of Ukraine should concede defeat, at this point, to prevent anymore fatalities. They are now sending civilians to their deaths, to fight the Russians. Nobody is going to come to help them.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world...apons-molotov/
^^^
I've read that Germans apologized for taking a whole month to deliver the helmets & explained that it took so long because, quote:
"We didn't know the exact address where they should be delivered."
^^^
I thought that Ukrainian president is a professional comedian, not German chancellor. :laughing:
Can you show any evidence of such a defeat?Quote:
Originally Posted by Jovialis
Because Ukrainians keep uploading many videos showing that Russians are taking a beating:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F125-c_rpd4
Why are Russians not uploading similar videos, showing Ukrainian prisoners of war, etc. ???
Where is the evidence of Ukrainian defeat? Where is the evidence of heavy Ukrainian losses?
If they actually suffer a defeat, I'm sure they will concede it.
But it would be absurd to concede a non-existent defeat.
Maybe let the Ukrainians judge when they are defeated.
These are volunteers, nobody is forcing them. There were more volunteers than available weapons.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jovialis
They equipped 18,000 civilians with AK-74 rifles, but the number of volunteers was actually higher.
When your freedom is at stake, death is not the worst outcome.
You think Ukrainians do not know what being a subject to Russia means? The holodmor was a thing, so was the Soviet union.
I am surprised by Jovialis post, thought as one of the free from the home of the brave he might relate.
My only worry right now is that p is not a rational actor anymore. Nuclear war is a very real possibility when rationality is not involved. Been following the Russian media with a focus on the opposition media, mainly the public discourse, and it seems neither the mothers of the Russian conscripts with less than 3 months of training being sent to invade a foreign nation, neither the general public that will bear the shame and repercussions of it are very happy. If p's power starts to slip under his feet, he might not just off himself in a bunker, he might take everyone with him. Why I understand that despite their willingness NATO/US can not help with troops on the ground.
The US led the Ukrainians down the primrose path. But why? This is the question that any thoughtful person must ask himself.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jovialis
Does nothing in this episode remind you of the UK encouraging Polish intransigence in 1939?Quote:
Originally Posted by Tomenable
Well Germany just approved a significant "Lethal aide" package to Ukraine. At least 1,000 anti Tank weapons and also anti-aircraft weapons as well. I would think these weapons will be brought to the border of Ukraine and then the Ukrainian resistance will have to get them to the destinations where they are needed. USA has approved something similar, as Belgium, Netherlands, etc, etc. There may be others that I have missed. Poland I know already has been doing that.
Why are they reduced to sending ordinary citizens into battle? Sounds like Berlin 1945.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tomenable
Russia didn't fare very well in Afghanistan either. Nobody ever learns anything.Quote:
Originally Posted by bigsnake49
The majority of Americans don't even want to get involved.Quote:
Originally Posted by Archetype0ne
Majority in U.S. oppose major role in Russia-Ukraine conflict, says AP-NORC poll
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politic...s-ap-norc-poll