Russia Invades Ukraine. Again by captaincrunch

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Quote:
Originally posted by second:
Putin's Defence Minister suffers heart attack 'not from natural causes' amid Ukraine war

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has reportedly suffered a massive heart attack amid the war with Ukraine and foul play is being suspected.

Vladimir Putin's Defence Minister, Sergei Shoigu, who has not been spotted for a few days now, has reportedly suffered a massive heart attack 'not from natural causes'. This comes as reports also claimed that 20 generals have been arrested for Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which has not been very successful until now.

According to reports, Shoigu, who has been a close ally of Russian President Putin since 2012, has been missing in action for some weeks now.

Russian-Israeli businessman Leonid Nevzlin also made a sensational claim about a major rift between Putin and his closest advisers and military leaders.

Two days before Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, a video of President Vladimir Putin started doing the rounds on social media. In the video, Putin was seen asking Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service chief Sergey Naryshkin to "speak plainly" about his stand on recognition of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states...

And more bullshit from SECONDRATE.

And now, for reality

Quote:
Russia upgrades northern fleet as Finland debates joining Nato
Wednesday April 20 2022, 6.00pm, The Times

Russia is upgrading its northern fleet with hundreds of weapons in response to increasing tensions over the war in Ukraine, and proposals by Finland and Sweden to join Nato.

Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s defence minister, announced that “amid a dramatic deterioration of the military and political situation in Europe . . . over 500 advanced weapons systems will be delivered” to its navy in and around the Barents Sea.

Russian state media reports provided no details on what these weapons systems would be. But Shoigu’s announcement on yesterday came just a day before Finnish politicians started debating a proposal to join Nato, prompted by Russia’s invasion.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/russia-upgrades-northern-fleet-with
-hundreds-of-weapons-systems-vfvbj2pcv

SECOND eats shit for breakfast and splatters it here for lunch.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, April 20, 2022 2:22 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Quote:
SIGNYM:

Remember 2014-15 when G was hyperventilating about Russia "invading" Ukraine, and I kept saying that it wasn't an invasion, it was proxy/hybrid war???
That wasn't an invasion.
THIS is. Now, for reality...

THUGR: The Orks, also called Russian greenskins, are a savage, warlike, green-skinned species of humanoids who possess physiological features of both animals and fungi. They are bombing everything indiscriminately, killing women and children and they die at a rate of ten to 1 when fighting men.
As you can see, Signym is so proud.

WOW, you ARE in la-la land, right there with SECOND, aren't you?

What you're doing, THUGR, is dehumanizing and demonizing (name-calling), which is what people like you do when they don't have reality on their side.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, April 20, 2022 5:02 PM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

The Russian ambassador is Washington’s least popular man

Anatoly Antonov walks the halls of an increasingly empty embassy.

In an exclusive interview with POLITICO, he admits that Ukraine is a separate country from Russia, with a right to be sovereign, although he’s not sure how long that can or should last. After all, he says, Russia’s goal is much grander than reining in its neighbor. It’s about preventing the domination of the world by any one country.

“It’s a very narrow approach to say the ‘Russian invasion of Ukraine,’” Antonov said. “We are talking about changing the world order that was created by the United States, by NATO countries after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.”

When told that perhaps his current lack of popularity in Washington is due to his unwillingness to acknowledge the realities about what Russia is doing to Ukraine, Antonov refers to the adage: “Every coin has two sides.” In other words, he has his own facts he’d like Americans to consider.

“I am not trying to dissuade you. I would like you to look,” he said, at one point handing over a set of folders thick with op-eds, statements and images promoting Kremlin talking points about the Ukraine crisis. “It’s up to you to decide whether Russian ambassador is providing you with fake news.”

Moscow is not waging an unprovoked war on Ukraine, an independent country with a democratically elected government led by a Jewish man, Antonov said. Instead, he says, Russia is carrying out a “special military operation” to purge Ukraine of Nazis and other bad actors and ensure that the country is not a staging ground for NATO or other outfits that Moscow sees as a threat.

But now, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, why should the world trust Russia?

“You have to decide who we are for you,” Antonov said. “Whether we are partner for you, whether we are rival for you, whether we are opponent, or I don’t want even to use this word, ‘enemy.’”

“As for me, I’m still sure we should be partners,” he adds. “Previously, I would say that we are partners. Now we are not partners. It’s a pity.”

More at https://www.politico.com/news/2022/04/18/anatoly-antonov-russia-ambass
ador-00025744

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, April 20, 2022 10:33 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

A billion flies eat shit.

DC is full of flies.

So is this board.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, April 20, 2022 10:37 PM

--------------------------------------------------

Me: "Remember Covid?"

Useless Idiots: "What's Covid, durr? Russia, Ukraine, Putin, NATO *drool*. DURRRR!!!!"

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Friday, April 22, 2022 11:05 AM

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Friday, April 22, 2022 12:07 PM

Check it out. I watch this at times. It's a site called the Enforcer and it started its coverage when the war started. It is a live stream so if you are watching it after it occurred it will not look like it is playing. It is, so just move it along. Move it to ten minutes in.

T

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Friday, April 22, 2022 12:34 PM

https://www.zerohedge.com/military/russia-seeks-full-control-southern-
ukraine-along-donbas-general-confirms

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Meanwhile, in the real world...

Shoigu is still alive, Mariupol is under full Russian control (except the Azovstal plant, which Putin has ordered "sealed off" instead of infiltrated. I guess the holdouts will just dehydrate or starve to death, or surrender), Kherson is using the ruble and planning a separation referendum, and ...

Quote:
Russia Seeks 'Full Control' Of Southern Ukraine Along With Donbas, General Confirms

----------------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Friday, April 22, 2022 1:24 PM

CAPTAINCRUNCH

... stay crunchy...

Quote:
Originally posted by THG:
Check it out. I watch this at times. It's a site called the Enforcer and it started its coverage when the war started.

Love this videos from the field, thx.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Friday, April 22, 2022 1:32 PM

CAPTAINCRUNCH

... stay crunchy...

Quote:
Originally posted by SignyM:
Shoigu is still alive, Mariupol is under full Russian control (except the Azovstal plant, which Putin has ordered "sealed off" instead of infiltrated. I guess the holdouts will just dehydrate or starve to death, or surrender), Kherson is using the ruble and planning a separation referendum, and ...

So, just like Putin drew it up!

https://www.republicworld.com/world-news/russia-ukraine-crisis/russia-
massive-fire-at-nii-2-building-of-russian-ministry-of-defence-in-tver-watch-articleshow.html

In a breaking development, the Russian Ministry of Defence building caught fire on Thursday. In the visuals accessed by Republic Media Network, huge plumes of black smoke could be seen emerging from the burning building located in Russia's Tver. The fire was visible on the windows of the second and third floors of the building.

It's like a Monty Python skit.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Friday, April 22, 2022 3:33 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by captaincrunch:
Quote:
Originally posted by SignyM:
Shoigu is still alive, Mariupol is under full Russian control (except the Azovstal plant, which Putin has ordered "sealed off" instead of infiltrated. I guess the holdouts will just dehydrate or starve to death, or surrender), Kherson is using the ruble and planning a separation referendum, and ...

So, just like Putin drew it up!

https://www.republicworld.com/world-news/russia-ukraine-crisis/russia-
massive-fire-at-nii-2-building-of-russian-ministry-of-defence-in-tver-watch-articleshow.html

In a breaking development, the Russian Ministry of Defence building caught fire on Thursday. In the visuals accessed by Republic Media Network, huge plumes of black smoke could be seen emerging from the burning building located in Russia's Tver. The fire was visible on the windows of the second and third floors of the building.

It's like a Monty Python skit.

Love the video. Wonder how it started?

T

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Friday, April 22, 2022 3:43 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by captaincrunch:
Quote:
Originally posted by THG:

Check it out. I watch this at times. It's a site called the Enforcer and it started its coverage when the war started.

Love this videos from the field, thx.

G, you have to cut and paste the link to go to the site. Once their clink on home to see all that is there.

T

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Friday, April 22, 2022 10:51 PM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Opposition-minded Russians are seeing the carnage Putin has brought to Russian-speaking cities in Ukraine and realizing that he may exact the same in Russia if people rise against him. They get the message. When Putin says Russians and Ukrainians are one people and then — in the next breath — begins slaughtering these people en masse, he is unleashing civil war, by his own logic. For now, that is confined to a neighboring country. But some pro-Kremlin commentators, including the editor of a key history journal and a well-known writer, have recently taken to branding members of the Russian opposition “internal Ukrainians.” The implication is that anti-Putin Russians should be treated with the same cruelty as Ukrainians, because they want to destroy Russia. Sergey Naryshkin, head of Russia’s foreign intelligence service, spelled it out. Russians who didn’t support the “special operation” in Ukraine could expect the fate of Ivan Mazepa, an 18th-century Ukrainian leader who sided with the Swedes against Peter the Great, lost the war and died in exile.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/opinions-russians-are-told-they-h
ave-two-choices-win-this-war-or-be-destroyed/ar-AAWtL1N

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Saturday, April 23, 2022 12:25 AM

--------------------------------------------------

Me: "Remember Covid?"

Useless Idiots: "What's Covid, durr? Russia, Ukraine, Putin, NATO *drool*. DURRRR!!!!"

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Saturday, April 23, 2022 8:00 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Aid groups helping Ukraine face both cyber and physical threats

Employees at Insecurity Insight, a Switzerland-based nonprofit, were attacked by Russians.

Russians target charities and aid organizations working on Ukraine “in order to spread confusion and cause disruption” to the provision of medical supplies, food or clothing.

Humanitarian-related organizations responding to the Ukraine war are being attacked by Russians.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/23/politics/humanitarian-aid-ukraine-war-c
yberattacks/index.html

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Saturday, April 23, 2022 10:51 AM

Nobody cares.

--------------------------------------------------

Me: "Remember Covid?"

Useless Idiots: "What's Covid, durr? Russia, Ukraine, Putin, NATO *drool*. DURRRR!!!!"

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Tuesday, April 26, 2022 9:40 PM

Sunday, February 27th

Quote:
Originally posted by second:
Putin's getting his H-bombs ready

Putin warned last week that countries who interfere with his invasion of Ukraine will face "consequences you have never seen."

Is this going to turn into one of Ted's Tick Tock threads or a fake pandemic that drags on for two years, or are you done being scared dude?

--------------------------------------------------

Me: "Remember Covid?"

Useless Idiots: "What's Covid, durr? Russia, Ukraine, Putin, NATO *drool*. DURRRR!!!!"

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, April 28, 2022 11:04 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Russians are grinding the Ukrainian military down on the Donbass.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Friday, April 29, 2022 7:59 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Why Russia bungled its invasion of Ukraine

The stage was set by Moscow’s inaccurate and chauvinistic assumptions about Ukraine, its leaders, its military, and its people. When these assumptions were paired with a desire to keep the invasion plans secret from those tactical echelons that were ordered to execute it, we can start to understand the disastrous Russian military operations during the opening days.

In the days leading up until the invasion, the Kremlin signaled limited intentions towards Ukraine while surrounding the country with troops from three directions all the while Putin was disparaging the notion that Ukraine was a legitimate and sovereign country. When the order was finally given to proceed along multiple axes entailing an invasion of half of Europe’s largest country, Russian military staff had little time to prepare. False assumptions from the Russian political and military leadership about the ease of invading Ukraine, coupled with a desire to keep the invasion secret, denied the Russian military the ability to prepare for war in the way that it had trained for countless times before.

The fundamental mistake made at the leadership level, that carried down to the lowest ranks, was an underestimation of the lengths Ukraine’s leadership, military, and people would go to defend it. Putin’s speech about the nature of Ukraine and its current leadership, purportedly consisting of drug addicts and neo-Nazis, was apparently not just propaganda. It betrayed at least some of his real thoughts: that the Ukrainian state was little more than an aberration that could not stand up to Russian power.

The Russian leadership seems to have believed that Ukraine’s national character was little more than a house of cards that just needed a little shove. Had Putin and Sergei Shoigu, his minister of defense, believed that Ukraine would put up a hearty resistance, they might have employed the considerable power of the Russian military as it was intended, with in-depth planning for complex warfare involving phased and coordinated operations across all domains.

More at https://warontherocks.com/2022/04/start-with-the-political-explaining-
russias-bungled-invasion-of-ukraine/

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Friday, April 29, 2022 8:24 AM

Nobody cares.

--------------------------------------------------

Me: "Remember Covid?"

Useless Idiots: "What's Covid, durr? Russia, Ukraine, Putin, NATO *drool*. DURRRR!!!!"

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Friday, April 29, 2022 10:18 AM

Comrade signym is too funny. Russia isn't winning anything.

T

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Friday, April 29, 2022 11:04 AM

Russia isn't losing anything either.

--------------------------------------------------

Me: "Remember Covid?"

Useless Idiots: "What's Covid, durr? Russia, Ukraine, Putin, NATO *drool*. DURRRR!!!!"

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Friday, April 29, 2022 12:36 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Quote:
Originally posted by THG:

Comrade signym is too funny. Russia isn't winning anything.

Except half of Ukraine.

Comrade THUGR is way too concerned about Russia and Ukraine.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Friday, April 29, 2022 12:39 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by SignyM:
Quote:
Originally posted by THG:

Comrade signym is too funny. Russia isn't winning anything.
Except half of Ukraine.

That was my initial prediction early on. Nothing I've seen so far makes me rethink that.

If NATO wasn't a thing, none of these Russia/Ukraine threads in the RWED would be either.

--------------------------------------------------

Me: "Remember Covid?"

Useless Idiots: "What's Covid, durr? Russia, Ukraine, Putin, NATO *drool*. DURRRR!!!!"

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Friday, April 29, 2022 3:32 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

The "defense of Ukraine" is going so well (ahem!) that it's being shuffled out of the news stream. Watch "Ukraine" be memory-hole in a month.

What will neocons be hyperventilating about next?

My guess... sanctions against Russia aren't real successful either. Another item to be memory-holed. And of course NOBODY wants to talk about inflation! Or our porous border.

So they're either going to be mouth-breathing about shit that don't mean shit (nuclear war!!), stuff that isn't happening (Russia interfering in elections!) or China!China!China!

Whatever the next hot DNC/M$M topic is going to be, it's gonna be fake.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Friday, April 29, 2022 7:46 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN

Lord Darth Obiden is trying to pretend that he wants to pass a bill to give a small amount of funds to Ukraine - but Stretch Pelosi explained that it is only if they can grab almost the same amount for EMERGENCY COVID SPENDING. (And also allow the repeal of Title 42, so we can get that tsunami of Criminal Illegal Aliens to pour in and vote only for Democrats) Anyhow, it sounds like about 1/3 of what he gave to The Taliban.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Friday, April 29, 2022 8:25 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by SignyM:
The "defense of Ukraine" is going so well (ahem!) that it's being shuffled out of the news stream. Watch "Ukraine" be memory-hole in a month.

What will neocons be hyperventilating about next?

Quote:

My guess... sanctions against Russia aren't real successful either. Another item to be memory-holed. And of course NOBODY wants to talk about inflation! Or our porous border.

So they're either going to be mouth-breathing about shit that don't mean shit (nuclear war!!), stuff that isn't happening (Russia interfering in elections!) or China!China!China!

Whatever the next hot DNC/M$M topic is going to be, it's gonna be fake.

Yup.

--------------------------------------------------

Me: "Remember Covid?"

Useless Idiots: "What's Covid, durr? Russia, Ukraine, Putin, NATO *drool*. DURRRR!!!!"

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Friday, April 29, 2022 10:44 PM

If I could go back to the 90's and live there I would.

--------------------------------------------------

Me: "Remember Covid?"

Useless Idiots: "What's Covid, durr? Russia, Ukraine, Putin, NATO *drool*. DURRRR!!!!"

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Friday, April 29, 2022 11:58 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

To get back to the on-the-ground situation in Ukraine. I haven't been following this closely, but my impression is that there was some sort of initial fuckup by Russia around Kiev. I don't know what their initial strategy was, but whatever it was, when it clearly failed the Russian general staff appeared to have switched tacks, and rather than try to complete... whatever it was they were trying to do... they used the presence of Russian military near Kiev to pin down Ukie troops and keep them from reinforcing the Donbas divisions.

Grinding down the large part of the ukie army in SE Ukraine seems to be going rather well. In desperation, Kiev military seems willing to try and open a second front in Transnisteia and a third front near Lviv by inviting the Polish army to invade.

I guess the Russian answer to western arms deliveries, and a second and third front would be hypersonic missile strikes. I don't see any of these actions by Kiev and western powers substantially changing the outcome of the war.

I think what Russia is aiming for now is splitting off eastern and coastal Ukraine, either as independent statelets or absorbed into Russia, and beating "rump" Ukraine until it is forced to surrender on Moscow's terms, leaving reconstruction of "rump' Ukraine to the west

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Saturday, April 30, 2022 7:52 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Quote:
Originally posted by SignyM:

I don't see any of these actions by Kiev and western powers substantially changing the outcome of the war.

I think what Russia is aiming for now is splitting off eastern and coastal Ukraine, either as independent statelets or absorbed into Russia, and beating "rump" Ukraine until it is forced to surrender on Moscow's terms, leaving reconstruction of "rump' Ukraine to the west

Princeton historian Stephen Kotkin put the recent invasion in historical context. According to Kotkin, “What we have today in Russia is not some kind of surprise. It’s not some kind of deviation from a historical pattern. Way before NATO existed — in the nineteenth century — Russia looked like this: it had an autocrat. It had repression. It had militarism. It had suspicion of foreigners and the West. This is a Russia that we know, and it’s not a Russia that arrived yesterday or in the nineteen-nineties. It’s not a response to the actions of the West. There are internal processes in Russia that account for where we are today.”

And what are those 19th century parallels? To those who study Russia, the 19th century French aristocrat and writer Marquis Astolphe de Custine, is one of the best-known chroniclers of Russian political culture. A travel writer in the style of Alexis de Tocqueville who wrote Democracy in America, de Custine traveled to Russia in 1839, and penned his travelogue Empire of the Czar. De Custine visited Russia in expectation of finding material to support his criticism of France’s representative government, but instead became an advocate for constitutional government and a vocal critic of Russian despotism. He identified a number of 19th century Tsarist traits that can equally describe the Russia of Vladimir Putin, to include domestic repression, institutional incompetence and a culture of lies.

In the lead-up to the war in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin ramped up repression at home, poisoning his opponents and jailing anyone who criticized the government. In 1839, de Custine described Tsarist Russia as a prison, in which the emperor holds the key. As he commented, “under a despotism, all the laws are calculated to assist oppression; …every indiscretion of speech is equivalent to a crime of high treason [and] the only criminal is the man who goes unpunished.” De Custine concluded that, “other nations have supported oppression, the Russian nation has loved it: it loves it still.” In Russia, “despotic tyranny is permanent.”

While Putin’s use of lies can be attributed to his KGB background, there are also ample historical and cultural antecedents. In his book, de Custine claimed that the Tsarist court displayed a singular “dexterity in lying, a natural proneness to deceit, which is revolting.” He added that lying seemed to be part of a larger cultural instinct to not only hide the truth, but lead people astray. “Russian despotism not only pays little respect to ideas and sentiments, it will also deny facts; it will struggle against evidence, and triumph in the struggle!” wrote de Custine, who further noted that in Russia, “to lie is still to perform the part of a good citizen; to speak the truth, even in apparently unimportant matters, is to conspire.” And as we have seen in the 21st century, instinctual lying has a political cost. As de Custine outlined, “by continually endeavoring to hide truth from the eyes of others, people become at last unable to perceive it themselves.”

The recent invasion of Ukraine also displayed a surprising level of bureaucratic incompetence. It seems that the Russian Army suffered from a variety of problems, including poor planning, poor intelligence and an inability for mid and lower-level officers to make decisions without approval from above.

In Putin’s Russia, fealty to the Kremlin is valued far more than professionalism. Similar to Stalin in the lead-up to WWII, Putin’s intelligence chiefs reinforced his preconceived notions rather than challenging them. This behavior was also rampant in the 19th century Russian court that de Custine encountered.

According to his chronicle, the Tsarist court suffered from a total absence of independent thought brought on by fear of upsetting the Tsar. According to de Custine, “a profound flatterer in Petersburg is the same as a sublime orator in Paris.” He continued, “a Russian conceals everything,” and “a word of truth dropped in Russia is a spark that may fall on a barrel of gunpowder.”

Like the Tsars before him, Putin has survived by a willingness to use force at home and abroad, and by maintaining an image of power. Over the past two decades, many observers have used the same phrase to describe Putin’s actions on the international stage — Putin plays a weak hand well. His bullying, threats and lies have protected him from those who might threaten his power.

However, like Tsar Nicholas in WWI, with his invasion of Ukraine, Putin foolishly turned over all his cards and showed his weak hand, seemingly breaking his spell of invincibility. In doing so he has allowed his enemies to better gauge their own strength and position. While it is not clear if Putin has gravely jeopardized his control at home, he has nonetheless weakened himself and Russia, and can no longer bluff that he is playing a winning hand.

As de Custine described 19th century Russia but could well be said of Vladimir Putin’s Kremlin, “a government that lives by mystery, and whose strength lies in dissimulation, is afraid of everything.”

https://www.thecipherbrief.com/the-core-of-putins-weakness

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Saturday, April 30, 2022 8:26 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Colonizers see themselves as actors with purpose, and the colonized as instruments to realize the imperial vision. Putin took a pronounced colonial turn when returning to the Presidency a decade ago. In 2012, he described Russia as a “state-civilization,” which by its nature absorbed smaller cultures such as Ukraine’s. The next year, he claimed that Russians and Ukrainians were joined in “spiritual unity.” In a long essay on “historical unity,” published last July, he argued that Ukraine and Russia were a single country, bound by a shared origin. His vision is of a broken world that must be restored through violence. Russia becomes itself only by annihilating Ukraine.

Thus modern Russian imperialism includes memory laws that forbid serious discussion of Ukraine. When the invasion began, in February, Russian publishers were ordered to purge mentions of Ukraine from textbooks. It is illegal for Russians to apply the word “war” to the invasion of Ukraine. It is also illegal to say that Stalin began the Second World War as Hitler’s ally, and used much the same justification to attack Poland as Putin is using to attack Ukraine.
https://www.newyorker.com/news/essay/the-war-in-ukraine-is-a-colonial-
war

Article by Vladimir Putin ”On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians“
http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/66181

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Saturday, April 30, 2022 10:41 AM

The Muscovites or goats as I like to call the Russians are getting their asses kicked. This war was supposed to take 48 to 72 hrs.’ oops. Poor comrade Signym has to feign ignorance so she can say they are winning.

The goats’ goal comrade Signym was to conquer Ukraine not to lose their army trying. As I’ve said already comrade, oops.

Fri, April 29, 2022

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - FRIDAY, 29 APRIL 2022, 10:17. Since the start of the full-scale war against Ukraine, the Russian army has lost 23,000 of its soldiers in Ukraine. Source: General Staff Details: The total combat losses of Russian military from 24.02 to 28.04 are approximately: (with fresh losses indicated in brackets) personnel - about 23,000 (+200) people, tanks - 986 (+16) units, armoured combat vehicles - 2418 (+29) units, artillery systems - 435 (+4) units, multiple rocket launchers - 151 (+0) units, air defence systems - 73 (+1) units, aircraft - 189 (+2) units, helicopters - 155 (+0) units, automotive equipment - 1695 (+7) units, ships / boats - 8 (+0) units, fuel tanks - 76 (+0), operational and tactical unmanned aerial vehicles - 229 (+14). special equipment - 31 (+0). short range ballistic missile launchers - 4 (+0). In the last 24 hours the greatest losses of the Russian army were observed on the Izyum front. The data is being updated continuously.

T

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Saturday, April 30, 2022 11:23 AM

--------------------------------------------------

Me: "Remember Covid?"

Useless Idiots: "What's Covid, durr? Russia, Ukraine, Putin, NATO *drool*. DURRRR!!!!"

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Saturday, April 30, 2022 1:31 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Quote:
Originally posted by THG:
The Muscovites or goats as I like to call the Russians are getting their asses kicked. This war was supposed to take 48 to 72 hrs.’ oops. Poor comrade Signym has to feign ignorance so she can say they are winning.

How do you "know" this, comrade THUGR? Do you have a direct link to Russia's Security Council?
How very interesting!

Quote:
The goats’ goal comrade Signym was to conquer Ukraine not to lose their army trying. As I’ve said already comrade, oops.

De-militarize
De-Nazify

As I recall, (and you should, too) those were the stated goals.
HOW it gets there is according to plan, which was kept secret from the very beginning.

I think, initially, the Russian Security Council had decided to negotiate early on with the Kiev government, because they kept saying ... negotiate or Ukraine might become unrecognizable.

They also went in "soft" early on, with very few missile strikes and heavy bombardment. That much is clear.

But since Russia also kept its troop movements, active fronts, committed personnel, losses etc etc strictly secret from the very beginning, and the only "info" was from Ukrainian sources (ahem!) it was impossible to suss out what was happening on the battlefield. Murky.

The reason for sending forces to Kiev have been interpreted as

Blitz Kiev. Doubtful. Invading forces were far, far too few to take a city that size.
Scare the Kiev govt into negotiating. A more probable "Plan A" (Phase 1), but failed.
Pin troops down near Kiev, a "feint", to keep them from reinforcing Kiev troops in Donbas. This was probably "plan B" when "Plan A" failed.

Like all militaries, Russia doesn't have "a" plan, it has dozens of plans. Russia has clearly given up on negotiating with Zelensky. If there was a failure of intelligence, it was failure to gauge the strength of the USA's hold on the Zelensky regime, because the Russians still wanted to negotiate with Kiev.

Quote:
Fri, April 29, 2022

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO

Who is Valentyna Romanenko? That is a reporter for Ukryina Pravda, a Ukrainian newspaper with a slanted POV.
Virtually everything that Kiev says is an outright lie, and they've been doing that since before 2015, when they claimed over and over again that they were "winning", even as their army faced annihilation in Debaltseve and they had to sue for peace. Russia made the mistake of letting them off the hook by accepting the Minsk process, only to have Kiev refuse to implement the (signed, UN-approved, German-backed) agreement.

From the Russian POV, they should have just killed all of the fighters in the Debaltseve pocket then, and forced a surrender. In fact, the Russian mistake THIS time, some say, was to go in "soft" and attempt to negotiate with a regime that has never been "agreement capable". I think the Russian Security Council has finally learned that lesson, are committed to a military solution, no longer care what happens to certain parts of Ukraine, and are shelling and firing missiles accordingly.

Kiev brought this on itself. But whatever happens in Ukraine has nothing to do with American security. It is a faraway corrupt nation that most people STILL can't find on a map, much like Iraq, and whatever WE'RE doing there is more like pissing contest with Russia that isn't going to get us anything tangible. don't we have enough problems AT HOME to solve? Seems like doing necessary economic, border, financial, political, social, etc repairs would make us stronger than involving ourselves with Ukraine and Russia.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Saturday, April 30, 2022 2:52 PM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:

Kiev brought this on itself. But whatever happens in Ukraine has nothing to do with American security. It is a faraway corrupt nation that most people STILL can't find on a map, much like Iraq, and whatever WE'RE doing there is more like pissing contest with Russia that isn't going to get us anything tangible. don't we have enough problems AT HOME to solve? Seems like doing necessary economic, border, financial, political, social, etc repairs would make us stronger than involving ourselves with Ukraine and Russia.

After WWII, Russia killed German civilians by the millions and the UK and USA shrugged it off as nothing. Remember, this is AFTER Russia has won. Russia will kill Ukrainians by the millions AFTER the Russia-Ukrainian War. This time I don't think the UK and USA will shrug it off as nothing.

https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/Flight_and_expulsion_of_Germa
ns_(1944%E2%80%931950)#Soviet_political_considerations

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Saturday, April 30, 2022 3:25 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

SECOND posts more bullshit.

Whatever.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Saturday, April 30, 2022 3:41 PM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Quote:
Originally posted by SignyM:
SECOND posts more bullshit.

Whatever.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

Putin can give the dead Ukrainians' fertile soil to reward Russian loyalists cooperating with the new government installed on conquered Ukrainian territory. Russia has done it already.

Stalin killed Germans AFTER peace was declared. The assets left by the Germans in Poland and Czechoslovakia were successfully used to reward cooperation with the new governments, and support for the Communists was especially strong in areas that had seen significant expulsions of Germans. Settlers in these territories welcomed the opportunities presented by their fertile soils and vacated homes and enterprises, increasing their loyalty.

Signym, every Ukrainian who left, either dead or alive, from Crimea also left behind their real estate, which Russia then distributed to Russian loyalists. In the last couple months, millions of Ukrainians have left Ukraine, either dead or alive, and their real estate can be redistributed by Putin to Russian loyalists.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Saturday, April 30, 2022 5:07 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

So Putin = Stalin

More bullshit from SECOND.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Saturday, April 30, 2022 5:45 PM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Quote:
Originally posted by SignyM:
So Putin = Stalin

More bullshit from SECOND.

Putin bought loyalty in Crimea by giving real estate formerly owned by Ukrainian-speaking residents of Crimea to brand new Russian speakers who moved in when the Ukrainian speakers moved out because they were dead or forced to leave Crimea to save their own lives. Putin learned that trick from Stalin, who bought loyalty by giving to new owners the real estate formerly owned by German speakers who had been driven out (or killed) in Poland and Czechoslovakia months or years after WWII had been won.

If Putin wins real estate in Ukraine during the ongoing war, he will be giving out free land to Russian speakers who are loyal to Putin. There will be millions of acres for Putin give out as bribes/gifts because millions of Ukrainians have left the Ukraine and left their real estate behind. They won't come back for their land if Putin wins this war and Putin won't be paying the former owners for their land.

https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/Flight_and_expulsion_of_Germa
ns_(1944%E2%80%931950)#Soviet_political_considerations

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Saturday, April 30, 2022 5:53 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

You have no idea how many people emigrated from Russian Crimea, and how many Russians moved in. And neither does Ukraine, since it's last official census was in 2001.
https://www.ukrcensus.gov.ua/eng/

However, even according this pro-Ukrainian website, the vast majority of immigrants into Crimea

Quote:
As early as the end of November 2014, the FMS of the Russian Federation spread the message that there were approximately 200,000 people in Crimea who had left the Donbas as a result of hostilities.

Note that before the occupation, there were a lot of recreational housing construction projects in Crimea. Those second homes by the sea were in great demand among people in eastern Ukraine. Therefore, many residents of the Donbas escaped the war by moving to their Crimean flats.

OMG! Ukrainians moving into Crimea!

bullshit from SECOND.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Saturday, April 30, 2022 7:11 PM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Quote:
Originally posted by SignyM:

OMG! Ukrainians moving into Crimea!

A large number of ethnic Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars — some put the total at 140,000 — have left the peninsula since 2014. Crimean Tatars complain of intimidation and oppression as one reason for moving. During the same period, some 250,000 people have moved from Russia to Crimea (Crimean Tatar leaders claim the influx is much larger).

Signym, everyone leaving Crimea because they feared death left behind real estate. Every Russian who arrived moved into a piece of real estate. Changing the ownership of real estate is how Putin bribed Russian speakers to be loyal and punished non-Russians.

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2020/03/17/crimea-six-
years-after-illegal-annexation/

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Saturday, April 30, 2022 8:28 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Even pro-Ukrainian sites don't put the figure that high. At most, somewhere between 60,000-,70,000 emigrated from Crimea due to political reasons, and the Crimean population (excluding Sevastopol) has not increased since. So, no mass inflow of Russians!

They do note, however, that many people from Donbas moved to their vacation apartments in Crimea.

Sevastopol is different. It is, and has been for decades, a Russian naval base city. Immigrants both from Russia and parts of Ukraine moved there because

Quote:
The prime motive for their official permanent residence registration in Sevastopol is the opportunity to take out preferential military mortgages to buy their own dwellings.

which sounds to me like people buying up military housing.

The stats are presented in a (IMHO) purposefully confusing way, but here is a key point:

Quote:
:From the analysis of the data presented in Figure 5, it is clear that during all the years of the occupation, there has been a very significant number of people leaving Crimea, which is comparable to the number of those moving to the peninsula. The basis of this flow is Crimeans moving to the Russian Federation.

In other words, except for the initial emigration, there appears to be an exchange of people from Donbas to Crimea, retirees (especially military) from Russia to Sevastopol, and young Crimeans to Russia for educational and professional opportunities.

https://www.blackseanews.net/en/read/178035

Read it at your leisure.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Saturday, April 30, 2022 11:12 PM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Signym, if the Ukrainian Army surrenders on May 2nd, the Russians will make them regret it. The Ukrainians who are now refugees in Europe won't be allowed to come back. Russians did that to Germans living in Poland after the end of WWII, for example. Russians will move into Ukraine and start farming on all that newly empty land. On the other hand, if Russians stop fighting, they get to go home and live in peace because the Ukrainians won't be forcing Russians to flee their country, becoming refugees in Asia. The Russian Army knows that. Putin knows it, too, which means Putin must punish his own Army to keep them fighting. Zelenskyy's Army fights because it either wins or it dies.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Saturday, April 30, 2022 11:19 PM

Oh my god. Give it a rest.

Nobody cares dude.

--------------------------------------------------

Me: "Remember Covid?"

Useless Idiots: "What's Covid, durr? Russia, Ukraine, Putin, NATO *drool*. DURRRR!!!!"

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Saturday, April 30, 2022 11:19 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Punish Russia today because of.... Stalin????

Why are you hyperventilating about WWII? That's like hyperventilating about Confederate generals, for god's sake! You're just trying to drum up outrage by linking current events to past personalities, as if there was some sort of connection.

Seriously, dood. You pretend to be a realist but you're living in some other world.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Sunday, May 1, 2022 6:18 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by SignyM:
Punish Russia today because of.... Stalin????

Why are you hyperventilating about WWII? That's like hyperventilating about Confederate generals, for god's sake! You're just trying to drum up outrage by linking current events to past personalities, as if there was some sort of connection.

Seriously, dood. You pretend to be a realist but you're living in some other world.

Why not comrade? Putin is a Stalinist and is following in his footsteps. And since you are Putins’ champion here, you must be too.

It takes a lunatic piece of shit to be a lunatic piece of shit, aye comrade signym?

T

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Sunday, May 1, 2022 7:00 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:

Kiev surrounded, says the mayor.

https://california18.com/live-kiev-surrounded-follow-the-news-of-the-w
ar-in-ukraine/3558542022/

Not anymore comrade. What do you think went wrong? Too funny...

T

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Sunday, May 1, 2022 8:25 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Quote:
Originally posted by SignyM:
Punish Russia today because of.... Stalin????

Why are you hyperventilating about WWII? That's like hyperventilating about Confederate generals, for god's sake! You're just trying to drum up outrage by linking current events to past personalities, as if there was some sort of connection.

Seriously, dood. You pretend to be a realist but you're living in some other world.

The same bad old ideas keep repeating in history. By 1950, a total of at least 12 million Germans had fled or been expelled from east-central Europe by Stalin. This was AFTER WWII had ended. Those fleeing Germans were not paid for their real estate. The new owners got the land for free. About 6 million Ukrainians have fled their country. They won't be paid for their real estate. The new owners will get the land for free. But if Putin loses his war, he won't have free real estate to give away to loyal Russians.

https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/Flight_and_expulsion_of_Germa
ns_(1944%E2%80%931950)

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Sunday, May 1, 2022 8:51 AM