REAL WORLD EVENT DISCUSSIONS

Russia Invades Ukraine. Again

POSTED BY: CAPTAINCRUNCH
UPDATED: Saturday, April 27, 2024 19:51
SHORT URL:
VIEWED: 96653
PAGE 78 of 127

Saturday, May 20, 2023 1:10 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Quote:

NATO To Draw Up Russia War Plans For First Time Since Cold War

Saturday, May 20, 2023 - 05:10 AM
Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

NATO is drawing up plans on how to fight a war with Russia for the first time since the Cold War.

According to Reuters, at the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius this July, alliance leaders will approve thousands of pages of secret military plans that will detail how to respond to a Russian attack.



Wait.
What?
I thought the whole point of NATO was defending against Russia.

You mean it's been a money-sucking bureaucracy for decades?

-----------
"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal." - Henry Kissinger


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

Saturday, May 20, 2023 1:33 PM

SECOND

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:

Wait.
What?
I thought the whole point of NATO was defending against Russia.

You mean it's been a money-sucking bureaucracy for decades?

The new plans are based on the many things Russia proved it cannot do. The old NATO plans were based on what Russia falsely claimed it could do. Huge difference between what little Russia actually accomplished in Ukraine and what Russia's blowhards claim it can do.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

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

Saturday, May 20, 2023 2:09 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Oh, hey SECOND, let me repeat this for you. You seem to have "missed" an important phrase

Quote:

NATO To Draw Up Russia War Plans For First Time Since Cold War

Saturday, May 20, 2023 - 05:10 AM
Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

NATO is drawing up plans on how to fight a war with Russia for the first time since the Cold War.

According to Reuters, at the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius this July, alliance leaders will approve thousands of pages of secret military plans that will detail how to respond to a Russian attack.



Wait.
What?
I thought the whole point of NATO was defending against Russia.

You mean it's been a money-sucking bureaucracy for decades?



-----------
"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal." - Henry Kissinger


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

Saturday, May 20, 2023 2:25 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


BTW, capturing Bakhmut was apparently not in Russian General Staff's plans. According to a number of people, they think the General Staff had planned on maintaining a static, defensive front and simply chewing up whatever Kiev threw at it, tying up a lot of Ukie forces, and diverting them from Kiev's great fall, winter , spring ... summer?? ... offensive.

But Progozhin, they say, wanted a feather in Wagner's cap and made capturing Bakhmut a priority, which would make the source of the apparent munitions dispute between him and the MoD clearer: There was enough to maintain a defensive posture, not enough committed to take the city.

With the capture of Bakhmut, I imagine a great number of plans have been changed, bc Kiev will now be free to commit their remaining forces to a battle of their own choosing along a 1000-mile front. This could be the reason why Russia accelerated their missile/bomb/drone strikes on weapons/munitions/fuel/air defenses all across Ukraine, bc now Kiev can pivot to wherever they choose.

There is one interesting piece of info I heard on Sonar21: There are very few transportation routes into southern Ukraine that can take the weight of multiple tanks, etc. One important one is a bridge from Romania into southern Ukraine. Well, Russia just bombed it a few days ago, making western resupply from that direction (towards Odessa) difficult if not impossible. Does that mean Russia intends to advance towards Odessa? There have been a lot of missile srikes in that area, as well as in Kiev, lately.

Oh, one more comment that I heard that I haven't taken the time to verify. what someone said about tha infamous video that Progozhin made with dead soldiers behind him?

"Those people weren't dead".

Dead soldiers are usually missing important parts... legs, arms, faces, chests... Sometimes there isn't left enough to fill a shopping bag, let alone a body bag. The comment was that they looked remarkably whole and un-wounded. I haven't seen the video myself, but if someone else has, let me know what you think.



-----------
"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal." - Henry Kissinger


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

Saturday, May 20, 2023 7:23 PM

SECOND

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Oh, hey SECOND, let me repeat this for you. You seem to have "missed" an important phrase

Quote:

NATO To Draw Up Russia War Plans For First Time Since Cold War

Saturday, May 20, 2023 - 05:10 AM
Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

NATO is drawing up plans on how to fight a war with Russia for the first time since the Cold War.

According to Reuters, at the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius this July, alliance leaders will approve thousands of pages of secret military plans that will detail how to respond to a Russian attack.



Wait.
What?
I thought the whole point of NATO was defending against Russia.

You mean it's been a money-sucking bureaucracy for decades?

When did Russia withdraw from Afghanistan in failure? May 15, 1988.
(December 26, 1991 Soviet Union collapses.)

When did Russia invade Ukraine? February 24, 2022. Russia has provided new data in Ukraine on how well the Russian Army fights and Russia is weaker than in 1988.

Did Russia invade any other countries in an attempt to steal their land between 1988 and 2022? No. And that is why NATO had been using the same old plan since 1988 to defend against Russia invading Europe. I don't expect Russia to admit it failed in Ukraine until the fighting has gone on for as many years as in Afghanistan.

The Soviet Union collapsed because the Afghanistan invasion failed. Expect the same to happen if Russia fails to conquer Ukraine.

The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 was one of the biggest historic events of the 20th century. Much like the Roman Empire, the USSR breakdown was due to an aggregate of factors, some internal, and some foreign. Unlike the Roman Empire, the Soviet Empire collapsed suddenly. Among the reasons for the fall of the Union, the invasion of Afghanistan was one of the poorest decisions that were made by the Soviet government.

Why the Soviet Union Invaded Afghanistan
https://www.history.com/news/1979-soviet-invasion-afghanistan

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

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

Saturday, May 20, 2023 8:06 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Quote:

Originally posted by second:
Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Oh, hey SECOND, let me repeat this for you. You seem to have "missed" an important phrase

Quote:

NATO To Draw Up Russia War Plans For First Time Since Cold War

Saturday, May 20, 2023 - 05:10 AM
Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

NATO is drawing up plans on how to fight a war with Russia for the first time since the Cold War.

According to Reuters, at the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius this July, alliance leaders will approve thousands of pages of secret military plans that will detail how to respond to a Russian attack.



Wait.
What?
I thought the whole point of NATO was defending against Russia.

You mean it's been a money-sucking bureaucracy for decades?

When did Russia withdraw from Afghanistan in failure? May 15, 1988.
(December 26, 1991 Soviet Union collapses.)

When did Russia invade Ukraine? February 24, 2022. Russia has provided new data in Ukraine on how well the Russian Army fights and Russia is weaker than in 1988.

Did Russia invade any other countries in an attempt to steal their land between 1988 and 2022? No.



Oh, so now you contradict your previous narrative of "Russia the ravening imperialist"?

Hahaha!
Sooner or later, you make my arguments for me.

You've got scrambled eggs in there, SECOND!
And everything you post is shit.

-----------
"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal." - Henry Kissinger


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

Saturday, May 20, 2023 8:49 PM

SECOND

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:

Oh, so now you contradict your previous narrative of "Russia the ravening imperialist"?

Hahaha!
Sooner or later, you make my arguments for me.

You've got scrambled eggs in there, SECOND!
And everything you post is shit.

North Korea is always raging that South Korea and the US are oppressing it but at least North Korea is not so stupid as to invade South Korea. Russia does the same old act as North Korea but Russia proved itself much stupider by actually invading the country to the south of it.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

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

Sunday, May 21, 2023 1:45 AM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


More scrambled brains from SECOND!

Hey SECOND, how in god's name do you imagine that anything you post makes a bit of sense to ... anyone?

-----------
"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal." - Henry Kissinger


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

Sunday, May 21, 2023 7:09 AM

SECOND

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly


Yaroslav Trofimov @yarotrof

The news today is not that Prigozhin claims to control 100% of Bakhmut, up from 98% a week ago. The news is that a depleted Wagner will decamp in a few days, leaving the regular Russian army to deal with a Ukrainian counteroffensive on the flanks and possibly inside the city.

9:16 AM · May 20, 2023
https://twitter.com/yarotrof/status/1659925947007549441

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

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

Sunday, May 21, 2023 7:24 AM

SECOND

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
More scrambled brains from SECOND!

Hey SECOND, how in god's name do you imagine that anything you post makes a bit of sense to ... anyone?

Signym, short answers you misunderstand. Long answers you don't read. As soon as you read the 3 words "Russia's imperial delusions" you will stop because -- let me make up an explanation Russians actually use -- Russia has no Imperial Ambitions. Russia is only protecting itself from the machinations of NATO and the Ukrainian Jewish Nazi Zelenskyy. This is how Russia can go on and on imagining it is the sad victim persecuted by evil next-door neighbors rather than Russia is the evil next door to Western Europe.

Fiona Hill: "The world is feeding Russia's imperial delusions"

by Rieke Havertz, Martin Klingst, Jacobia Dahm
https://www.zeit.de/politik/ausland/2023-05/fiona-hill-ukraine-war-rus
sia-europe


Crimea is no longer a bargaining chip, says Russia expert Fiona Hill. A conversation about Putin's transfiguration of history, Europe's mistakes and new world orders.

Fiona Hill is a Russia expert at the Brookings Institution in Washington. She served as security advisor under U.S. Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump. She's currently a Fellow of the Robert Bosch Academy. We met her in Berlin.

ZEIT ONLINE: In his recent speech, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia feels encircled by NATO and the West. During your time as an adviser to President George W. Bush, he argued in favor of NATO membership for Ukraine in 2008, and you were against it. Do you now have any second thoughts about that position?

Fiona Hill: No, because in the context of 2008, nobody had been thinking through the implications of offering Ukraine a NATO Membership Action Plan. This plan has no immediate effects. It doesn’t involve equipping a military to be able to fend off an attack the next day. And it was always obvious that NATO’s enlargement to Ukraine and to Georgia was a provocation for Putin­. So we should have been doing something to address this security dilemma all along – in 2008, but also earlier, especially after 2004 and the big enlargement to Eastern European countries and the Baltic states of both NATO and the European Union. When this happened, we immediately left all the other neighboring countries, including Ukraine, in a strategic gray zone. The debates that we're having now in NATO about how to defend Ukraine and countries like Moldova and how to create security guarantees for them - we should have been having them on the very day after this massive enlargement of NATO.

ZEIT ONLINE: What could such security guarantees have looked like?

Hill: After its Winter War with the Soviet Union in 1939, Finland was always battle ready and well equipped to defend itself, not even seeking NATO membership until recently. In terms of second thoughts today, I would have sent the Finns around Europe to give advice to all other non-NATO European militaries about how they needed to posture themselves for a full-on defense and for any kind of eventuality. The biggest mistake we made was just thinking about NATO itself as the fortress and that everybody outside was left to their own devices. The whole idea that NATO’s Membership Action Plan, or even actual membership, would be an instant magic defensive shield was false. It was based on a whole set of erroneous assumptions, because it was obvious to anyone looking at the European security structures in this time frame that Putin was already moving in a revanchist direction and putting all kinds of pressure on neighboring countries.

The heart of all this was the persistence of imperial thinking from the tsarist and Soviet eras, wanting to exert political, economic and security influence over Europe. I still believe that NATO was not the proximate cause of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But what NATO did for countries was create other options and ways to avoid or deal with this pressure. And Putin didn't want countries that he saw in his sphere of influence to have other options.

ZEIT ONLINE: Where does this now leave Ukraine with regard to NATO membership? Everybody is saying it’s going to happen at some point, but it is also quite clear that it’s not going to happen within the foreseeable future.

Hill: It's the same issue we had in 2008: How are you going to defend Ukraine? NATO membership is meaningless unless there is some ironclad guarantee that you're going to be involved in a genuine collective defense. And as a matter of fact, we are defending Ukraine right now except for boots on the ground. I would argue we also would have done the same for non-NATO-countries like Sweden, Finland, Ireland or Iceland had they been attacked.

ZEIT ONLINE: We are now well into the second year of the war in Ukraine. The U.S. administration says Ukraine must win the war. The German government says Ukraine cannot be allowed to lose the war. There's a difference between winning and not losing. Where do we go from here?

Hill: Playing around with terminology isn't super helpful. Nobody's winning anything right now. How can you define the carnage that we're seeing, the absolute devastation of Ukraine, as anything that looks like a win in the end? Russia has lost enormously, not just manpower, but in terms of its standing, and the repressive apparatus of the Kremlin now clamping down on the Russian people. In Europe, there's been a loss of a sense of stability and a loss of the hope for the future that we had. Not just when it comes to European security, but also how we were going to deal with our domestic priorities and with our collective larger priorities like climate change. We are being bombarded with so many crises now. We are in a war economy. Governments are setting aside billions to make sure Ukraine is not overrun, and this does have an impact on Europe’s and the United States’ ability to do all kinds of other things. At this point, it is not about winning and losing on this battlefield. It's about how we manage our way out of this terrible situation.

ZEIT ONLINE: Is there a way to do that with Putin still in power in Russia?

Hill: We are trying to deny Vladimir Putin the ability to completely control in perpetuity the territories that he sees as his own, as being part of Russia’s empire. And that does include Crimea at this point. As a result of Putin’s devastating, brutal war and all the atrocities, previous discussions about the management of Crimea can't be on the table anymore. That is a real dilemma, because people say we would then be in perpetual conflict forever. Not necessarily. We need a big diplomatic surge.

ZEIT ONLINE: What does that mean? What could negotiations look like?

Hill: Whenever I say diplomatic surge, people talk about negotiations. A negotiation comes at the very end of a diplomatic effort. One of the most successful diplomatic efforts of all time was the Portsmouth Peace Conference in 1905. It was U.S. President Teddy Roosevelt who helped end the Russo-Japanese War, when the two sides had kind of exhausted themselves. Importantly, the United States was neutral in that conflict. This was in the early 1900s, before the United States had launched itself onto the world stage through World War I. With regard to Ukraine, we need to look for a similar forum in which you can bring every player together, because in this conflict, there are no longer just two sides.

ZEIT ONLINE: It’s not just the West standing up to Putin’s imperialism?

Hill: This war in Ukraine is having an enormous number of knock-on effects. I've called it a world war in the past, which people have found a little shocking. But what I mean is the way that it changes the structure and the dynamic of not just European affairs, but global affairs because of sanctions and the disruptions in trade patterns – grain, fertilizer, fuel. The path forward is to try to find a much larger diplomatic effort that pulls together a larger number of countries that have a vested interest in ending this. It's very hard to say what a negotiation would look like, because it really depends on the context.

Putin wants negotiations right now on his terms. He wants Crimea recognized as being Russian. He wants the Donbas recognized as being Russian. He wants the Sea of Azov declared a Russian sea. He wants whatever he can hold on to. All of that would be a loss for Ukraine. That’s what we must prevent. None of us have any interest whatsoever in going back to a Cold War with a divided Europe. We need everyone else in the mix, because if it's just the United States and Europe, it looks like World War II again. And that's what Putin wants.

ZEIT ONLINE: Who could lead this diplomatic effort? And wouldn’t the most likely outcome just be a cease-fire?

Hill: There are many conflicts around the world that ended in a cease-fire, and conflicts over contested territories that have never had a permanent settlement. Just look at Nagorno-Karabakh, the Himalayas, Cyprus or Korea. We have to think of this as a staged process, because it's very hard to have any success with a diplomatic effort until you get a cease-fire. But it also must be made clear that a cease-fire itself is not sufficient. Every country that is involved in an international conflict is going to have to be consulted in this diplomatic effort because it will set a precedent for them—just look at all the conflicts in the Asia-Pacific region, for example.

A diplomatic effort would probably have to be framed within a UN General Assembly context, where all countries have a seat, and not in the much smaller UN Security Council, where the five permanent members also have veto power. UN Secretary General António Guterres intervened in the Ukraine war on the question of global grain and fertilizer deliveries. We have Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, who has intervened on the Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia, where an accident could be worse than the one in Chernobyl in 1986. Diplomatic efforts to end this war have to build on some of these interventions.

ZEIT ONLINE: How important is the U.S. role?

Hill: The United States will have to play a role in this, but in this instance, the U.S. should not necessarily take the lead. Putin wants to portray his war against Ukraine as a proxy war between the United States and Russia, and convince everyone that it is not an attempt to retake a former colony. But this is an imperial war of conquest. Russia believes that Ukraine and many other countries, which have been totally independent for the last 30 years, still belong to it. Asking the United States to resolve the war single-handedly would go right back to the old patterns that nobody wants to see anymore.

ZEIT ONLINE: Could this diplomatic effort pressure Putin to take part in negotiations that don't look like he wants them to look?

Hill: That would be the idea. You constrain the options because you have other countries on board who have a stake in this. What Putin wants is something more like the old 18th century formats, when things worked out in Russia's favor. He wants the concept of just a handful of states making decisions. Putin’s idea is that it is a territorial dispute. But it is not a territorial dispute.

And European leaders have to step up, because what happens in Ukraine is incredibly consequential for the future of the European Union. Every European country has some kind of territorial dispute or some contentious legacy from the past. Countries are artificial constructs. If we start to pick apart the post-World War II territorial configuration, where do we stop? The narrative that Putin is spinning is that history only begins when he says it does, and he is demanding the recognition of his historical narrative. This is a real challenge for Europe, because the agreement that we had in creating the European Union and trying to expand the post-1945 rules of international law was that we were going to stick with the territorial disposition that we had and move on from there. And Putin is reversing all of this.

ZEIT ONLINE: Do you have understanding for countries like South Africa, India and Brazil, which say: Okay, you are talking about Russia conquering Ukraine and violating international law, but look at the West, its colonial past. Look at the wars in Vietnam and Iraq - the West is applying a double standard?

Hill: I don't accept that. If I kill someone, does that give you license to kill someone? No. You would want me to be prosecuted for that. Abuse doesn't give everybody else the right to do the same. This is why it can't be the United States and Europe alone resolving the Ukraine war, because if we do, then that's exactly what it looks like: We, the West, don't like certain conflicts and we're going to resolve them, and others we're just going to leave alone.

Yes, the United States violated international law with the invasion of Iraq in 2003, and we can talk about all kinds of other violations. But does that really give Russia the right to demand that every other country must cede their own sovereignty to a larger power? Good luck, then, in dealing with every one of your larger neighbors.

The United States and European countries should have done more in Yemen, should have done more in dealing with Syria. We should be trying to calm the situation down in Sudan. But Ukraine should not be overrun because of our sins. If Britain invaded Ireland tomorrow, that wouldn't be justified because England was the old colonial power going back centuries and centuries.

ZEIT ONLINE: Can Russia be considered a colonial power?

Hill: We talk all the time about people speaking Russian in Ukraine and other regions. Well, this was at the root of the Anschluss of Austria back in World War II. And I think most Germans have fully accepted now that German-speaking Austrians are not part of Germany. Everybody is looking at this world through the prism of how they feel about the United States or how they feel about Europe. When South Africa looks at this, they think about their colonial struggle and about the Soviet Union opposing apartheid. And they think of Russia as the Soviet Union, as the liberator in World War II. But Ukraine was part of that Soviet Union as well, and was also the liberator in that case.

We made a mistake by recognizing Russia as the sole continuing state of the Soviet Union. We did it because of debt. We did it because of nuclear weapons. The rest of the world is feeding Russia's, Putin’s imperial delusions.

ZEIT ONLINE: Why are we giving Russia a pass?

Hill: Because we can't think about it in an appropriate way. We have to stop and push back. Germany must take a role here. Germany's whole post-1945 ethos is to slough off the imperial fever dreams of the past that led to so much carnage and destruction. Many countries have not come to terms with their own colonial past and imperial role. Britain was the old colonial power going back centuries, long before Russia appeared on the map. The UK is still playing out imperial games. We've just had the coronation of King Charles III that shows this very clearly. The United States has been an empire, but just can't admit it to itself. It bought territories like the Louisiana Purchase and Alaska, but it also conquered territory in the case of California and Hawaii. And the U.S. has engaged in lots of imperial wars. I can't stress enough the number of emails I get from people looking at the war in Ukraine only through the lens of the U.S. and Russia and about a double standard being applied to Russia because Russia is not allowed to get away with things that the United States gets away with. Well, guess what? The United States shouldn't get away with it either.

ZEIT ONLINE: Some argue that it’s a proxy war for the U.S. because in standing up to Russia, the United States wants to show China where the limits are.

Hill: Many Republicans in the U.S. and others are saying, look, our struggle is systemic with China, not with Russia. We shouldn't be getting engaged in this war. Others are saying: No, we need to engage in this because China's watching. The one thing that Republicans and Democrats in the United States can agree on is that China is a systemic threat. I would suggest that Germany and other Europeans shouldn’t indulge in this debate and instead think about what is important: restoring international law, the prohibition of war and the use of force and safeguarding the international legal regime. If Russia gets away with this internationally, it sets a much larger precedent.

ZEIT ONLINE: Because of what it could mean for a potential conflict over Taiwan, for example?

Hill: It’s complicated with Taiwan, even though Russia has been telling the Chinese: Hey, Taiwan is the same to you as Ukraine is to us. The point that I and others have been making is that we have to be very careful how this war is resolved, because we must make it very clear that we're not going to stand for military intervention. It's not just Taiwan, it's all the other areas where China thinks it has the right to control disputed territory or have a sphere of influence. We're opening a global Pandora's box of basic questions about sovereignty and territorial integrity.

ZEIT ONLINE: In other words, you would argue in favor of Europe "stepping up" as it is often framed in the U.S., but for its own sake?

Hill: Absolutely. Europe is a continent that is ruled by law. In Germany, a great deal of attention is paid to law and the rule of law – not rule by whatever law someone wants to apply, which is really what's going on in this case with Russia. Again, we need a big international effort.

ZEIT ONLINE: Can there be a future of Russia under Putin?

Hill: There is going to be a future of Russia under Putin if he stays in place, whether we like it or not. If we are talking about a Russia that starts to play some kind of positive role on the world stage: no, that's unlikely. Russia will continue to set itself apart from Europe and switch its geopolitical outlook to the Middle East and other places. We already see Iran supplying Russia with drones and contemplating even more weapons. Other countries are cashing in on Russian oil and gas. Russia is becoming increasingly dependent politically as well as economically on China. There is a future for Russia. It's just a very different one, I think, than most Russians thought it would be.

ZEIT ONLINE: The United States is still the biggest supporter of Ukraine, both financially and militarily. The next presidential election is in November 2024. If Donald Trump wins, could Europe stand alone?

Hill: If this war is just going to be fought on the battlefield, then that does become an issue. Diplomatically, it’s another reason for a big surge so that Europe won't stand alone. You have Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, and there's Canada and other countries in the Americas. Just waiting for the United States to sort out its domestic politics is not a solution. Also, you have to think about the kind of role that Europe itself wants to play in the alliances and the ties that it has. China keeps thinking that it can pull Europe away from the United States on this issue, and it is also Europe's fault for making it look like this war is all about the United States. Here in Germany, I keep hearing: Well, if the U.S. doesn't do this, if the U.S. doesn't do that. Well, what about European countries? Any kind of order moving forward is going to have to be based on international law, not on yet another version of Pax Americana.

ZEIT ONLINE: How do you believe the future world order will look? Will it be bipolar or multilateral?

Hill: It’s going to be multilateral, rooted more in some version of the UN General Assembly. Climate change is the existential threat to the planet, and if we're really truly saying that we need to tackle that, then it’s not going to be tackled by focusing on the Donbas and Crimea and the question of who speaks Russian and what their identity is. We must rethink how nation states – and non-state actors and civil society – are going to pull together to resolve crises, because we are not going to survive on this planet without a different approach. And we can see that although it's weak, the United Nations has mechanisms that we can use. We absolutely can do this. We just have to be creative and step up to the occasion.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

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

Sunday, May 21, 2023 8:22 AM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


A big Fat Neocon Liar (SECOND) quotes a Big Fat Neocon Liar (Fiona Hill)

What more do I need to read to know that it's not worth reading?

You're a big time-saver, SECOND!



-----------
"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal." - Henry Kissinger


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

Sunday, May 21, 2023 12:32 PM

THG


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Quote:

Originally posted by second:
Biden says US will help Ukraine with F-16s:

President Biden has told G-7 leaders during his trip to Japan that the U.S. will back an allied effort to train Ukrainian pilots on some aircraft, including F-16s, according to a CNN first report Friday morning.

The months-long training probably won’t happen in the U.S. — instead taking place in Europe. But U.S. personnel may take part in the effort, according to CNN’s sources.

It was already reported overnight that the Biden administration had signaled to European allies that the F-16 fighter jets would be sent to Ukraine.

https://thehill.com/newsletters/1230-report/4012353-the-hills-1230-rep
ort-more-developments-in-the-us-involvement-in-ukraine
/

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

Of course. Every wunderwaffe that NATO has provided... javelins, HIMARS, Patriot missiles, leopard tanks, APCs, Storm Shadow missiles etc has pretty much turned out to be a dud. Bc really, if any of these had turned the tide, if Ukraine was WINNING!, would we be supplying YET ANOTHER weapons system?

How long will it take us, do you think, before we finally reach into our back pocket and pull out a nuke?

-----------
"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal." - Henry Kissinger




Putin to US companies in Russia: What's yours is mine.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/putin-to-us-companies-in-russi
a-what-s-yours-is-mine/ar-AA1aoBLy?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=d3ce40ff0e99428e8a385159ef049b6e&ei=22




This is signyms' world. Do you have enough to eat over there comrade? Do you even have toilet paper to clean your ass?

That's right, you guys have a community outhouse in the middle of town don't you. Because you've always lived like this you probably don't notice any change. Too funny...


T


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

Sunday, May 21, 2023 1:17 PM

SECOND

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
A big Fat Neocon Liar (SECOND) quotes a Big Fat Neocon Liar (Fiona Hill)

What more do I need to read to know that it's not worth reading?

You're a big time-saver, SECOND!

Signym, tell me that Russia doesn't want to win too quickly because Ukraine is Russia's training ground for learning the skills to efficiently kill millions of Nazis from Western Europe. The longer the war goes on, the more millions of Nazis will die, repeating the purifying and holy experience of The Great Patriotic War (June 22, 1941 - May 9, 1945).

Military expert says Ukrainian anti-aircraft gunners ‘rescued the reputation’ of Patriot system

May 21, 2023, 05:13 AM

Ukrainian anti-aircraft gunners have rescued the reputation of the U.S. Patriot air defense system by repelling attacks by Russian Kinzhal missiles, Defense Express expert Ivan Kyrychevskyi said during an interview with Radio NV on May 18.

He noted that before receiving the Patriot, it was expected that the system would be able to shoot down Iskander and Kh-22 missiles, but there was no mention of its ability to down more sophisticated missiles such as the Kinzhal and S-400.

Kyrychevskyi said that Saudi Arabia has 200 Patriot launchers, the appropriate infrastructure, and U.S. instructors to help them.

"The story is that about once every two to three months, the Yemeni Houthis fire on Saudi Arabia with combined strikes using Shahed 136, rather primitive ballistic missiles, and very primitive copies of the Kh-55," he said.

“But Saudi Arabia, with its anti-aircraft gunners trained by American instructors, sometimes even failed to repel such attacks.”

According to Kyrychevskyi, this had caused the Patriot's reputation to plummet around the world. Russia even tried to sell the Abakan system to Saudi Arabia, claiming it could shoot down ballistic targets.

"It was literally Allah who saved Saudi Arabia from doing such a stupid thing and buying these missile systems from the Russians, and not completely ruining the reputation of the American Patriot," the expert said.

“The Americans thought for a long time, and they were in two minds: to give us the Patriot or not. It turns out that our anti-aircraft gunners, with a short training course, squeezed out of the Patriot literally something that the Americans themselves did not even realize.”

In the early hours of May 16, the Air Defense Forces shot down six Kinzhal missiles fired from six MiG-31K aircraft.

On May 6, Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk confirmed that Ukraine had shot down a Russian Kinzhal airborne ballistic missile for the first time near Kyiv in the early hours of May 4.

On May 13, AFU Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said that the Patriot was operating in autonomous mode when it shot down the Russian Kinzhal missile.

https://english.nv.ua/nation/us-presents-new-aid-package-to-ukraine-af
ter-zelenskyy-s-meeting-with-biden-at-g7-summit-50326050.html


The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

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

Sunday, May 21, 2023 3:52 PM

SECOND

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly


Experts say Russia's claim to capture frontline city Bakhmut may not be much of a win

KYIV (UKRAINE) - Whether Bakhmut has fallen or not, Moscow is being pulled deeper into an ever more costly fight for the frontline city as Kyiv readies a major offensive, experts said.

Russia's claim to have conquered the destroyed city, which Ukraine rejected Sunday, does not mean significant new terrain from which to launch attacks nor harden defences.

But Moscow has made the eastern city's capture a key aim and has fought the war's longest battle, as well as one of its deadliest, to try to win what it would like to bill as a significant success.

US President Joe Biden, speaking from the G7 summit in Japan, noted Russian casualties in Bakhmut alone numbered over 100,000, including both dead and injured.

Rattled by the possibility of not winning Bakhmut after Ukraine this month retook kilometres of ground to the north and south of the city, Russia brought in significant numbers of additional troops.

"The redeployment represents a notable commitment," the UK Ministry of Defence said on Saturday, noting the reinforcements could number in the thousands.

The US-based Institute for the Study of War reported that Ukraine's attacks on Bakhmut's flanks "forced Russian troops to allocate scarce military resources... as Ukrainian command likely intended."

Ukraine has tamped down speculation that the advances are its long-awaited offensive but drawing growing numbers of Russian troops into the deadly fight in Bakhmut carries significant advantages for Kyiv's fightback.

- 'Buy time' -

"What they (Ukrainians) needed to do was to, one, weaken the Russians as much as possible before they do that counteroffensive, and secondly, buy time to get that force ready," said Phillips O'Brien, professor of strategic studies at St. Andrews University in Scotland.

"They calculated -- I believe it was the right choice -- that in fighting for Bakhmut, they could do both," he told US media outlet NPR in an interview aired Saturday.

The timing and focus of Ukraine's offensive have been the subject of months of speculation, while Kyiv has said almost nothing except that it needs more weapons from its backers.

At the same time, Russia has been reinforcing hundreds of kilometres of front line with tank barriers, trenches and troops.

Given that the battles would come after a significant influx of Western armaments, success or failure could undermine future support or increase pressure on Kyiv to negotiate.

It's hard to know the degree to which the troops reinforcing Bakhmut have left gaps in Russia's defences, but O'Brien said the Ukrainians could be waiting to attack "where they think the Russians are weakest".

The speculation regarding timing has cycled through several issues, including the particularly wet spring that left parts of the nation sopping.

Viscous Ukrainian mud is not an ideal surface for fast moving tanks or troops, but the weather has been mostly dry for weeks.

It is also difficult to imagine the nation launching a major offensive while Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky is out of the country.

- 'All just waiting' -

He has been on a rapid succession of major foreign trips in recent weeks, pushing his case for more and bigger weapons.

He won a pledge of more missiles from Britain and a multi-billion-euro package from Germany, as Europe intensifies its backing.

Zelensky also made a high-impact trip to Hiroshima to press his case in-person to G7 leaders, whose support is essential to Kyiv.

The G7 summit ends Sunday, which would mean Zelensky could soon be back home.

In Kyiv on Sunday soldiers received the news about Bakhmut with shrugs and scepticism.

They have heard claims before of the city's capture and they have other things on their minds.

"Everyone is trying to figure out when the offensive will start already. We know we have the equipment already and the machinery," said staff sergeant Volodymyr, who spoke on the condition that his family name not be used.

"We're all just waiting for the decision from command," he said while rifle shots cracked in the background at a Kyiv-area shooting range.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/2575335/russias-claimed-bakhmut-win-
is-anything-but-experts


The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

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

Sunday, May 21, 2023 5:09 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


"Institute for the Study of War": The neocon Kagan-Nuland family disinfo project.

A known neocon liar (SECOND) quotes known neocons liars (ISW).

= more shitcan food!



-----------
"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal." - Henry Kissinger


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

Sunday, May 21, 2023 5:33 PM

SECOND

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
"Institute for the Study of War": The neocon Kagan-Nuland family disinfo project.

A known neocon liar (SECOND) quotes known neocons liars (ISW).

= more shitcan food!

"Institute for the Study of War" says Russia is winning, so with Signym's upside-down thinking, Russia must be losing.
https://www.understandingwar.org/

From the "Institute for the Study of War":
Wagner Group financier Yevgeny Prigozhin declared victory in Bakhmut City on May 20 and announced his intent to withdraw from the city on May 25.[1] Prigozhin claimed that Wagner Group forces completely captured Bakhmut City on May 20, seizing the last multi-story apartment building in southwestern Bakhmut near the MiG-17 monument. Prigozhin announced that Wagner forces will establish defensive positions before transferring responsibility for the city to Russian conventional forces on May 25. Prigozhin effectively stated that Wagner forces will conduct an operational pause by resting and restoring combat power at field training camps in unspecified areas, presumably far from the frontline. ISW has not observed geolocated footage confirming Prigozhin’s claims as of this publication. Ukrainian officials reported that Ukrainian forces are still fighting in a small section of southwest Bakhmut as of May 20. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar stated that Ukrainian forces continue to hold positions near the MiG-17 monument as of May 20.[2] The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) has not commented on Prigozhin’s claims as of this publication.

https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campai
gn-assessment-may-20-2023


The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

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

Sunday, May 21, 2023 5:35 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.



Quote:

SITREP 5/20/23: Bakhmut Falls, Artemovsk Rises. What's Next?
Simplicius The Thinker
May 20, 2023


Well, the chef has delivered his finest cuisine yet...

... Bakhmut today has fallen on the exact one year anniversary of the fall of Mariupol on May 20th, 2022. And not surprisingly, the posture adopted by the UA supporters is the same exact energy as before: cringe, cope, excuse-making. “Bakhmut’s mission is accomplished,” they say, swallowing sobs.

Here’s the vast, incalculable list of units which were broken over the Wagnerian rock:

Why is Bakhmut called a Meat Grinder?
Who was decimated in Bakhmut:

Ukrainian Brigades
45th Brigade
43rd Brigade
26th Brigade
28th Brigade
62nd Brigade
63rd Brigade
53rd Brigade
60th Brigade
24th Brigade
57th Brigade
30th Brigade
Advance Rubizh Brigade
Advance Azov Brigade
Advance Uragan Brigade
Advance Spartan Brigade
109th Brigade
116th Brigade
119th Brigade
241st Brigade
93rd Brigade
77th Brigade
46th Brigade
4th Brigade
17th Brigade
61st Brigade of Jaegers

Special Forces and Spetsnaz Regiments:
5th Assault Regiment
8th Regiment of Special Forces

Kraken Battalions:
122nd Battalion
68th Battalion
214th OPFOR Battalion
49th Rifle Battalion
15th Mountain Assault Battalion

Omega
Border Guard Donetsk
8th Regiment of the UDAR UAVs:
Shershen
Adam
Karlsen
Terra
Skala
Madyar
Khartia
Kep
Seneka

WASP Legions:
Dudaev Battalion
Georgian Legion
Mansur Battalion
Shamil Battalion
Gonor
Normandy Legion

Most of these battalions have suffered more than 70% casualties just against PMC Wagner.


https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/sitrep-52023-bakhmut-falls-artemov
sk


-----------
"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal." - Henry Kissinger


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

Sunday, May 21, 2023 5:59 PM

SECOND

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
SITREP 5/20/23: Bakhmut Falls, Artemovsk Rises. What's Next?
Simplicius The Thinker
May 20, 2023

Indeed What's Next? Eight more years of war, judging by the Afghan–Soviet War.
Dec 24, 1979 – Feb 15, 1989

"What is it they really hope to gain with all this if it’s clear to anyone with even the remotest military knowledge that there’s simply no way possible for Ukraine to win?" - Simplicius The Thinker

Simplicius The Thinker is destined to have a rude awakening.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

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

Sunday, May 21, 2023 11:18 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.



Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
"Institute for the Study of War": The neocon Kagan-Nuland family disinfo project.

A known neocon liar (SECOND) quotes known neocons liars (ISW).

= more shitcan food!

SECOND: "Institute for the Study of War" says Russia is winning, so with Signym's upside-down thinking, Russia must be losing.


Dood, I don't give ISW enough credit to bother reading it, much less go into opposite-land over what they publish. It's shit-can material. Do YOU rummage in shitcans looking for edible tidbits? Apparently so!



-----------
"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal." - Henry Kissinger


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

Sunday, May 21, 2023 11:21 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Quote:

Originally posted by second:
Simplicius The Thinker is destined to have a rude awakening.


Simplicius can be awakened by facts. SECOND OTOH is so mentally moribund he may as well be in a coma. A self-induced one.


-----------
"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal." - Henry Kissinger


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

Sunday, May 21, 2023 11:33 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


So indeed, what next?
NATO airstrikes into Russian-occupied Ukraine?

As far as I can tell, that would suit Russia just fine. All of this escalation by Ukraine and NATO has allowed Russia to demilitarize Kiev and, to a certain extent, NATO. The more money and weapons and volunteers that NATO commits to the fight, the more NATO will be drained.

I'm sure Russian spox will shake their fists and act outraged but I imagine secretly they would be thinking 'Come into my parlor' said the spider to the fly.



-----------
"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal." - Henry Kissinger


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

Monday, May 22, 2023 6:58 AM

SECOND

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
So indeed, what next?

A Russian state TV guest insisted the country needed at least 4 million more soldiers in order to win its war in Ukraine.

Aleksey Zhuravlyov, chairman of the ultranationalist Rodina party that supports President Vladimir Putin, made the comments during a discussion on the state-approved Russia 1 channel.

He continued: "It is impossible to go with 400-500k people where 3-4 million are needed. You can say whatever you want, but it's true.”

The Russian military is rather inept. It is largely reliant on sheer numbers to try and overwhelm an opponent.

https://www.newsweek.com/russian-state-tv-guest-says-country-needs-4-m
illion-more-soldiers-1801654


The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

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

Monday, May 22, 2023 7:11 AM

SECOND

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
So indeed, what next?
NATO airstrikes into Russian-occupied Ukraine?

As far as I can tell, that would suit Russia just fine. All of this escalation by Ukraine and NATO has allowed Russia to demilitarize Kiev and, to a certain extent, NATO. The more money and weapons and volunteers that NATO commits to the fight, the more NATO will be drained.

I'm sure Russian spox will shake their fists and act outraged but I imagine secretly they would be thinking 'Come into my parlor' said the spider to the fly.

How about knocking down the Kerch Strait Bridge? How about airstrikes on Russia, not Ukraine?

Like all dictatorships, Russia is more concerned with image over substance. After all, a legitimately powerful military can cause big problems for a dictator. A strong and effective military is a source of potential threats to the regime. If the military, especially its command structure, is efficient and disciplined and well-trained enough to operate as a single cohesive unit, then there's nothing the dictator can do to stop it if it decides to overthrow him.

A powerful military is expensive. All that money spent on tanks and planes and ships and rockets that work is money that the dictator and his cronies can't steal.

However, you don't need to be powerful to keep other countries out of your internal affairs, you just have to appear powerful. Unfortunately for Putin in Ukraine, he fell into a very common trap for dictators: he bought into his own hype.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly





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


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

Monday, May 22, 2023 7:15 AM

SECOND

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly


Russian reactions to the claimed capture of Bakhmut illustrate an increasingly growing divide between the Kremlin’s domestic presentation of the war and the ultranationalist milblogger community’s coverage of Russian operations in Ukraine. Russian state television portrayed the alleged capture of Bakhmut as a seminal historic event and claimed that the city’s capture would facilitate Russian operations to capture Slovyansk (41km northwest of Bakhmut) and Kramatorsk (35km northwest of Bakhmut) and even Dnipro City (roughly 215km west of Bakhmut).[25] The Kremlin likely attempted to oversell the significance of the capture of Bakhmut as a historical victory due to the continued lack of tactical success in Ukraine, with one Russian state media outlet outrageously commenting that Wagner personnel in Bakhmut must feel like “their grandfathers in Berlin.”[26]

Russian ultranationalist milbloggers celebrated the alleged capture of Bakhmut but emphasized that “Bakhmut is not Berlin” and that the capture of the city would be simply another step in ongoing difficult operations to achieve Russian objectives in Ukraine.[27] Russian milbloggers responded to the alleged capture of Bakhmut by discussing more immediate possible Russian operations to capture Khromove (immediately west of Bakhmut), Ivanivske (6km west of Bakhmut), and Chasiv Yar (12km west of Bakhmut).[28] Other prominent Russian milbloggers responded to the capture of Bakhmut by focusing on possible imminent Ukrainian counteroffensive operations instead of possible future Russian offensive operations.[29] Russian milbloggers shifted to more conservative expectations of Russian operations as the attritional offensive to capture Bakhmut continued from winter into spring of 2023, and they have largely abandoned their previous high expectations that the capture of Bakhmut would lead to a collapse of Ukrainian lines in the area and Russian advances up to Slovyansk and Kramatorsk.[30] Russian milbloggers’ more realistic views about both Russian capabilities in Ukraine and the relevance of the Bakhmut offensive highlight the divergence between two very different segments of the pro-war Russian information space: the more optimistic presentation of the war offered by the Kremlin and the more informed presentation of the war offered by milbloggers. These growing differences will likely continue to undermine the Kremlin’s ability to shape the Russian information space.

https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campai
gn-assessment-may-21-2023


The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

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

Monday, May 22, 2023 12:37 PM

THG


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:

"Institute for the Study of War": The neocon Kagan-Nuland family disinfo project.

A known neocon liar (SECOND) quotes known neocons liars (ISW).

= more shitcan food!








Poor comrade signym. It must be tough being a victim all your life. Not being capable of differentiating fact tellers from liars.

T


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

Monday, May 22, 2023 12:45 PM

THG


Quote:

Originally posted by second:

Russian reactions to the claimed capture of Bakhmut illustrate an increasingly growing divide between the Kremlin’s domestic presentation of the war and the ultranationalist milblogger community’s coverage of Russian operations in Ukraine. Russian state television portrayed the alleged capture of Bakhmut as a seminal historic event and claimed that the city’s capture would facilitate Russian operations to capture Slovyansk (41km northwest of Bakhmut) and Kramatorsk (35km northwest of Bakhmut) and even Dnipro City (roughly 215km west of Bakhmut).[25] The Kremlin likely attempted to oversell the significance of the capture of Bakhmut as a historical victory due to the continued lack of tactical success in Ukraine, with one Russian state media outlet outrageously commenting that Wagner personnel in Bakhmut must feel like “their grandfathers in Berlin.”[26]






The only thing Bakhmut was strategically, was for the Ukrainians. It was a location they used to funnel Russian troops into a killing zone. It also keeps Russia from opening fronts elsewhere as they prepare to do just that.

T


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

Monday, May 22, 2023 1:03 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.



Not for your sake, SECOND, bc I know you'll never learn, butfor anyone else who may be reading you, I'm going to briefly address your last posts

Quote:

A Russian state TV guest insisted the country needed at least 4 million more soldiers in order to win its war in Ukraine.

So, some random guy on Russian TV makes a statement, and bc it's on Russian TV we're supposed to believe it? So far, nothing in Russia's progress in this war indicates that's necessary. Russia took Mariupol with fewer numbers than defenders. Wagner, a PMC defeated the best army in Europe (with Russian artillery and air support) with fewer numbers than defenders. If Russia continues to rely on standoff weapons to attrit Kiev/NATO forces and control the pace of war, then Russia can continue to slowly munch its way thru Ukraine with far fewer losses than Kiev.


Quote:

How about knocking down the Kerch Strait Bridge?
One unfortunate result of this war is that I've learned more about warfare than I ever wanted to. SECOND, of course, has learned nothing. It takes a LOT of explosives to knock down a bridge (like the Nordstream pipelines, it took an estimated 1000 pounds of C4 to blow it open) That is beyond the capacity of any drone and most missiles, which have to give up their internal space to fuel and engine compartments. You're either talking a salvo of VERY large missiles or very large bombs dropped by bombers. Can you say "duck hunting"? Sure you can

Quote:

How about airstrikes on Russia, not Ukraine?
How about airstrikes on Ploand, Britain, NATO HQ, etc? With the failure of the Patriot missiles to protect .... themselves... the NATO countries are virtually undefended from air warfare. One hypesonic missile can do a lot of damage.

Quote:

Like all dictatorships, Russia is more concerned with image over substance.
I'd say this is more true of Kiev and the USA. The Russian MoD has a plan. They dont TELL us what the plan is don't constantly lie about their successes, or blab on and on about their coming offenses or brag how they'regoing to destroy and partition the enemy. When necessay, Russian MoD withdraws from difficult-to-defend positions despite taking a lot of flak and creating talking points for the enemy. They wont be rushed or angered into taking precipitous action. Kiev, NATO, the EU, and USA (and SECOND) are CONSTANTLY blathering nonsense and creating meaningless buzz about how they're winning, or going to win, or how to enemy is so incompetent/criminal etc.

-----------
"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal." - Henry Kissinger


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

Monday, May 22, 2023 2:27 PM

SECOND

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:

Not for your sake, SECOND, bc I know you'll never learn, butfor anyone else who may be reading you, I'm going to briefly address your last posts

Quote:

A Russian state TV guest insisted the country needed at least 4 million more soldiers in order to win its war in Ukraine.

So, some random guy on Russian TV makes a statement, and bc it's on Russian TV we're supposed to believe it? So far, nothing in Russia's progress in this war indicates that's necessary. Russia took Mariupol with fewer numbers than defenders. Wagner, a PMC defeated the best army in Europe (with Russian artillery and air support) with fewer numbers than defenders. If Russia continues to rely on standoff weapons to attrit Kiev/NATO forces and control the pace of war, then Russia can continue to slowly munch its way thru Ukraine with far fewer losses than Kiev.

How big was the Red Army at its peak? The Soviet Army numbered 12.5 million soldiers. And the enemy was only half of Germany. (The other half of Germany, the western front, was being handled by the US) Today, the enemy is all of Europe, plus the US, plus Canada, if you believe the Russians. So 4 million soldiers to take on NATO does NOT seem like enough. Signym, you don't know anything, you goddamn ding dong. But if Russia, despite its claim to be taking on NATO, is only fighting Ukraine, maybe 500,000 Russian soldiers is enough.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

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

Monday, May 22, 2023 2:35 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Bullshit. Once again, you expose your ignorance SECOND. The German army was NOT divided 50/50. The Russian front was roughly 1000 miles. The western front appx 300. 80pct of German casualties were on the Russian front, and it was Russia that advanced into Berlin, not the USA. Your posts are shitcan material.

-----------
"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal." - Henry Kissinger


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

Monday, May 22, 2023 3:23 PM

SECOND

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Bullshit. Once again, you expose your ignorance SECOND. The German army was NOT divided 50/50. The Russian front was roughly 1000 miles. The western front appx 300. 80pct of German casualties were on the Russian front, and it was Russia that advanced into Berlin, not the USA. Your posts are shitcan material.

Look at map, Signym. Berlin is on the Eastern edge of Germany, close to Russia. It is kind of like Washington D.C. is on the East Coast. That is THE reason Russia got there before the US.

Germany only attacked Russia because Russia got defeated twice by Finland in the Winter War followed by Continuation War. Hitler correctly saw that Russia was weak. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_War

Hitler's Operation Barbarossa turned into a fiasco because Hitler, the silly poseur, sent the German Army and 600,000 horses with carts for moving freight into Russia over the objections of his generals, proving that German fighting spirit could not overcome a shortage of motorized vehicles.

Stalin was an even bigger poseur because, in the midst of all this carnage, he was still killing Russians by the millions. The Eastern Front was fought by idiots at the top making stupid decisions.

Signym, the contradiction is between the story Russians tell themselves in 2023 and the truth about Russians in WWII:

How many died under these wartime conditions in the camps? Tolstoy says that one “former prisoner, who with his comrades conducted a rough-and-ready estimate, reckoned that seven million gulag inmates were slaughtered in the first year of the war.”39 Although Tolstoy believes that this need not be an exaggeration, a more prudent estimate of the total murdered in transit to or in the camps during the whole war period is 8,518,000 Soviet citizens (see appendix 7.1).

What irony, indeed. The democracies fought alongside the Soviet Union to eradicate the horror of fascism from the world. And afterwards, the democracies shook their collective head over the documented mass, inhuman murder of Jews and heaved a sigh of relief and thankfulness that this abominable Nazi system was utterly defeated. Yet, the democracies’ major ally and a victor sitting in judgment with them at the Nuremberg trials was, during that very war, murdering more innocent people just in their labor camps than the Nazis were machine gunning in the gullies and gassing in their concentration camps.

From the book Lethal Politics: Soviet Genocide and Mass Murder since 1917 by R. J. Rummel
Download the free book from https://libgen.unblockit.asia/search.php?req=R.+J.+Rummel
https://www.amazon.com/Lethal-Politics-Soviet-Genocide-Murder-ebook/dp
/B073RQ94KF
/

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

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

Monday, May 22, 2023 3:28 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Quote:

Originally posted by THG:
The only thing Bakhmut was strategically, was for the Ukrainians. It was a location they used to funnel Russian troops into a killing zone. It also keeps Russia from opening fronts elsewhere as they prepare to do just that.


You didn't know how to digest the news that Kiev lost Bakhmut until the M$M told you what to think?
That's sad, THUGR.

Russian casualty figures via the M$M are fiction.
But hey, stay in your delusional world!



-----------
"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal." - Henry Kissinger


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

Monday, May 22, 2023 3:30 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


And even MORE shitcan material from SHITCA , er.... I mean, SECOND.

-----------
"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal." - Henry Kissinger


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

Monday, May 22, 2023 3:32 PM

SECOND

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
And even MORE shitcan material from SHITCA , er.... I mean, SECOND.

You wrote this: "it was Russia that advanced into Berlin, not the USA. Your posts are shitcan material."

Look at a map, Signym. Berlin is on the Eastern edge of Germany, close to Russia. It is kind of like Washington D.C. is on the East Coast. That is THE reason Russia got there before the US.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

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

Monday, May 22, 2023 6:32 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Quote:

Originally posted by second:
Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
And even MORE shitcan material from SHITCA , er.... I mean, SECOND.

You wrote this: "it was Russia that advanced into Berlin, not the USA. Your posts are shitcan material."

Look at a map, Signym. Berlin is on the Eastern edge of Germany, close to Russia. It is kind of like Washington D.C. is on the East Coast. That is THE reason Russia got there before the US.


What is the distance from Stalingrad to Berlin, son? (Against, say, Normandy to Berlin.)

If I wanted to waste a lot of time, I could make an EPIC list of your fails. But I prefer to shitcan them instead



-----------
"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal." - Henry Kissinger


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

Monday, May 22, 2023 8:47 PM

SECOND

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
What is the distance from Stalingrad to Berlin, son? (Against, say, Normandy to Berlin.)

If I wanted to waste a lot of time, I could make an EPIC list of your fails. But I prefer to shitcan them instead

More evidence you cannot read a map, Signym.

Putin would never acknowledge this happened for pride and personal reasons:

Totaling $11.3 billion, or $180 billion in today's currency, the Lend-Lease Act of the United States supplied needed goods to the Soviet Union from 1941 to 1945 in support of what Stalin described to Roosevelt as the "enormous and difficult fight against the common enemy - bloodthirsty Hitlerism.”

• 400,000 jeeps & trucks
• 14,000 airplanes
• 8,000 tractors
• 13,000 tanks
• 1.5 million blankets
• 15 million pairs of army boots
• 107,000 tons of cotton
• 2.7 million tons of petrol products
• 4.5 million tons of food

https://ru.usembassy.gov/world-war-ii-allies-u-s-lend-lease-to-the-sov
iet-union-1941-1945
/

Roosevelt didn't send troops to Russia because he was using them elsewhere, places where Stalin didn't care what happened. Places like the entire Pacific, the North Atlantic, or all of Europe, including the Western Front.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

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

Monday, May 22, 2023 9:14 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


What does map-reading have to do with Lend Lease?
Only that SECOND got his ass handed to him and is trying to change the topic

What was the most-produced tank of WW II?
The T-34 medium (Soviet) tank. https://www.hotcars.com/most-produced-tanks-of-ww2-ranked/
What was the most-produced warplane of WW II?
The Ilyushin II-2. https://aerocorner.com/blog/most-produced-aircraft-in-ww2/
The largest army of WW II?
The Soviet Army, of course.
https://erenow.net/ww/the-history-buffs-guide-to-world-war-ii/9.php
The front with the greatest number of German casualties?
The eastern (Soviet) front, of course by a factor of 10 over KIAs on the 'western" front
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_casualties_in_World_War_II

Who won the war against the Nazis?
Why, the Soviet Union, of course.

Instead of mouth-breathing bias, SECOND, why don't you look up some facts?

-----------
"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal." - Henry Kissinger


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

Tuesday, May 23, 2023 6:25 AM

SECOND

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:

Who won the war against the Nazis?
Why, the Soviet Union, of course.

Instead of mouth-breathing bias, SECOND, why don't you look up some facts?

And the Russians intend to win the war against Nazis, again!

A Russian-state TV analyst called for terrorist attacks against the West over its support for Ukraine amid its war with Russia. The latest threat came from analyst Igor Shishkin, director of the CIS Countries Institute, who said during an appearance on Russian-state TV that "blood should be flowing" in the West over its support for Ukraine.

"Power and fear are the only things that work. They won't stop until they feel fear. Therefore, there are two options," he said. "Either a victorious completion of the special military operation. But if that isn't doable right now for some reason, then they have to start suffering losses right now."

He continued: "If France delivers weapons that kill Russian people, blood should be flowing on the streets of France. If Germany sends tanks that kill Russian soldiers, blood should be flowing in the streets of Germany."

He received pushback from only one other analyst, Dmitry Lekuh, who instead suggested Russia should conduct nuclear strikes against the West as an alternative form of retribution.

https://www.newsweek.com/putin-propagandist-floats-terrorist-attacks-a
gainst-west-over-ukraine-aid-1801963


The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

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

Tuesday, May 23, 2023 6:52 AM

SECOND

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
What does map-reading have to do with Lend Lease?
Only that SECOND got his ass handed to him and is trying to change the topic

What was the most-produced tank of WW II?
The T-34 medium (Soviet) tank.

Who slaughtered the most Russians? Joseph Stalin! Breaking the slaughter into chapters:

3 2,200,000 Victims: The NEP Period 1923-1928

4 11,440,000 Victims: The Collectivization Period, 1929-1935

5 4,345,000 Victims: The Great Terror Period 1936-1938

6 5,104,000 Victims: Pre-World War II Period 1939-June 1941

7 13,053,000 Victims: World War II Period, June 1941-1945

8 15,613,000 Victims: Postwar and Stalin’s Twilight Period, 1945-1953

From the book Lethal Politics: Soviet Genocide and Mass Murder since 1917 by R. J. Rummel
Download the free book from https://libgen.unblockit.click/search.php?req=R.+J.+Rummel
https://www.amazon.com/Lethal-Politics-Soviet-Genocide-Murder-ebook/dp
/B073RQ94KF
/

It is a popular belief in Russia that Hitler slaughtered the most Russians, but the actual top-scoring slaughterer is Stalin. Another popular belief in Russia is that Russia won WWII all by itself, but Ukraine is showing that Russia can't even win in Ukraine (it is day 454 of this war or day 3,377 from 22 February 2014) so there is some growing doubt inside Russia that Russia beat Germany without US and UK help.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

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

Tuesday, May 23, 2023 6:54 AM

SECOND

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly




The Russian information space responded with panic, factionalism, and incoherency as it tends to display when it experiences significant informational shocks. Some milbloggers fixated on the fact that the RDK and LSR are comprised of mostly Russians and labeled them traitors to Russia, baselessly accusing them of working under the GUR.[15] Several milbloggers additionally speculated that the attack was a purposeful information operation intended to distract from the recent Russian capture of Bakhmut and to instill panic in the Russian information space in advance of a potential Ukrainian counteroffensive.[16] Former Russian officer and ardent nationalist milblogger Igor Girkin remarked that he has long warned that such cross-border raids may be part of a wider Ukrainian counteroffensive strategy.[17] Wagner Group financier Yevgeny Prigozhin took advantage of the incident to accuse the Russian government and its bureaucratic inertia of contributing to the attack and criticized the Russian MoD for being unable to strengthen Russian borders and defend Russia.[18] The first observed line of Russian defensive fortifications notably runs 2km in from of Gora Podol, and the suggestion that RDK forces managed to penetrate the defensive line emphasizes the weakness of such fortifications at least when not fully manned by well-prepared and well-equipped soldiers. While the majority of milbloggers responded with relatively varied concern, anxiety, and anger, the information space did not coalesce around one coherent response, which indicates first and foremost that the attack took Russian commentators by surprise.

https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campai
gn-assessment-may-22-2023


The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

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

Tuesday, May 23, 2023 9:12 AM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


More shitcan material from SECOND.
He sure wastes a lot of time posting it.
It's a good thing I don't waste my time reading it

-----------
"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal." - Henry Kissinger


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

Tuesday, May 23, 2023 11:28 AM

SECOND

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
More shitcan material from SECOND.
He sure wastes a lot of time posting it.
It's a good thing I don't waste my time reading it

Signym, when your comments on this page are strung together I realize that your favorite word is “shit”. And your favor stance is a Superiority Complex, an attitude of superiority concealing actual feelings of inferiority and failure, which is very Russian when you realize Russia has an economy smaller than Canada, a country that does NOT insist it will nuke the US. But then Canada didn’t get beaten by Finland, twice during WWII, while Russia got crushed into bloody slush. Russia has not yet recovered from what Finland did to it. Eighty years from now Russia won't have psychologically recovered from what Ukraine is doing to it.

Signym wrote:

Instead of mouth-breathing bias, SECOND, why don't you look up some facts?

If I wanted to waste a lot of time, I could make an EPIC list of your fails. But I prefer to shitcan them instead

And even MORE shitcan material from SHITCA , er.... I mean, SECOND.

You didn't know how to digest the news that Kiev lost Bakhmut until the M$M told you what to think?
That's sad, THUGR.

Russian casualty figures via the M$M are fiction.
But hey, stay in your delusional world!

Bullshit. Once again, you expose your ignorance SECOND.

One unfortunate result of this war is that I've learned more about warfare than I ever wanted to. SECOND, of course, has learned nothing.

So indeed, what next?
NATO airstrikes into Russian-occupied Ukraine?

As far as I can tell, that would suit Russia just fine. All of this escalation by Ukraine and NATO has allowed Russia to demilitarize Kiev and, to a certain extent, NATO. The more money and weapons and volunteers that NATO commits to the fight, the more NATO will be drained.

I'm sure Russian spox will shake their fists and act outraged but I imagine secretly they would be thinking 'Come into my parlor' said the spider to the fly.

SECOND OTOH is so mentally moribund he may as well be in a coma. A self-induced one.

Dood, I don't give ISW enough credit to bother reading it, much less go into opposite-land over what they publish. It's shit-can material. Do YOU rummage in shitcans looking for edible tidbits? Apparently so!

"Institute for the Study of War": The neocon Kagan-Nuland family disinfo project.

A known neocon liar (SECOND) quotes known neocons liars (ISW).

= more shitcan food!

A big Fat Neocon Liar (SECOND) quotes a Big Fat Neocon Liar (Fiona Hill)

What more do I need to read to know that it's not worth reading?

You're a big time-saver, SECOND!

More scrambled brains from SECOND!

Hey SECOND, how in god's name do you imagine that anything you post makes a bit of sense to ... anyone?

You've got scrambled eggs in there, SECOND!
And everything you post is shit.

Oh, one more comment that I heard that I haven't taken the time to verify. what someone said about tha infamous video that Progozhin made with dead soldiers behind him?

"Those people weren't dead".

Dead soldiers are usually missing important parts... legs, arms, faces, chests... Sometimes there isn't left enough to fill a shopping bag, let alone a body bag. The comment was that they looked remarkably whole and un-wounded. I haven't seen the video myself, but if someone else has, let me know what you think.

Wait.
What?
I thought the whole point of NATO was defending against Russia.

You mean it's been a money-sucking bureaucracy for decades?

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

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

Tuesday, May 23, 2023 12:05 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.



Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
More shitcan material from SECOND.
He sure wastes a lot of time posting it.
It's a good thing I don't waste my time reading it

SECOND: Signym, when your comments on this page are strung together I realize that your favorite word is “shit”. And your favor stance is a Superiority Complex


My favorite word on this page is "shit" bc that best describes your posts. I rarely use it elsewhere.

And I don't feel superior to everyone (like you do) but it's hard not to feel superior to you bc you're a hate-filled liar and malicious troll.

Capisce?


-----------
"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal." - Henry Kissinger


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

Tuesday, May 23, 2023 1:00 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Here are some sources of info that, while not 100% reliable (no source ever is!) provide at least more realism on Ukraine, Russia, and miltary matters in general

The Duran
Hosted by Alexander Mercouris, Greek-born but educated and living in London and
Alex Christoforou, Cypriot-born American-raised and educated currently living in Cyprus


The Duran references western media, official readouts and reports from Britain, the USA, Russia, Ukraine, and China, private emails from across the globe (Sweden, India etc) Telegram channels from Ukraine and Russia ect for a broad-based view of events in Ukraine, the collective west, Russia and elsewhere.

The New Atlas
Hosted by Brian Berletic, a former Marine "Electro-Optical Ordnance Repairman" currently living in Thailand and working as an industrial design engineer


Berletic is particularly knowledgable about weapons capabilities, training,and logistics requirements and regularly comments on western weaponry supplied to Ukraine and their potential impact on the direction of the war

Military Summary Channel
Hosted by "Dima", a pro-Ukrainian Belarusian


Dima tracks the day-to-day ebb and flow of the front line in Ukraine. His maps are particularly valuable, especially his "short summary" format

I would have recommended Gonzalo Lira, a Chilean-born American citizen living in Karkhov, not bc he did a lot of reporting on Ukraine and the war but bc he hosted a "round table" discussion with (usually) interesting guests, but he was arrested by Ukrainian SBU https://news.yahoo.com/pro-russian-blogger-gonzalo-lira-172900103.html

Simplicius The Thinker
https://simplicius76.substack.com/archive
Occasional but often insightful military analysis

Also
Sonar21, Larry Johnson former CIA and security specialist
https://sonar21.com/

Dances wih Bears, John Helmer
https://johnhelmer.org/

Moon of Alabama, "B", former German military
https://www.moonofalabama.org/

Again, I would have recommended The Saker, Swiss expat of Russian descent, former NATO military analyst, but he shut down his blog bc of the security threat to his family

Seymour Hersch, publishes the ugly naked truth

Colonel Douglas MacGregor, a strongly conservative pro-American retired Colonel, in interviews on various programs

Pepe Escobar, a Brazilian reporter who specialized in Central Asia but who travels the world

Andrei Martyanov, a Russian expat living on the USA who was trained as a USSR commander. If you can get past his accent and obvious and repeated disdain for the USA military he has interesting things to say about strategy and logistics

Anway, there are lots of sources of better info than CNN/MSNBC/NYT/WaPo etc






-----------
"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal." - Henry Kissinger


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

Tuesday, May 23, 2023 2:22 PM

SECOND

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:

Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
More shitcan material from SECOND.
He sure wastes a lot of time posting it.
It's a good thing I don't waste my time reading it

SECOND: Signym, when your comments on this page are strung together I realize that your favorite word is “shit”. And your favor stance is a Superiority Complex


My favorite word on this page is "shit" bc that best describes your posts. I rarely use it elsewhere.

And I don't feel superior to everyone (like you do) but it's hard not to feel superior to you bc you're a hate-filled liar and malicious troll.

Capisce?

Signym, you are being childish. Why not go all the way and write: "I'm rubber, you're glue, whatever you say bounces off of me and sticks to you"? The old Ruskies did that so often toward the US that it was assigned a new word in the dictionary: whataboutism. But it was just full-grown Ruskies acting like emotionally traumatized children. It made the Ruskies feel better, but the rest of the world knew that the Ruskies never even halfway recovered from the psychological damage caused by Lenin/Stalin murdering 62 million Ruskies followed by Hitler killing more millions, but nowhere near as many as Stalin killed. My advice to Ruskies: give up alcohol and grow up. It is way past time. And while the Ruskies are suffering growing pains from their new maturity, without alcohol to ease the pain, they should go back home, leaving Ukraine and the rest of the world in peace.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

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

Tuesday, May 23, 2023 3:23 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.




Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
More shitcan material from SECOND.
He sure wastes a lot of time posting it.
It's a good thing I don't waste my time reading it

SECOND: Signym, when your comments on this page are strung together I realize that your favorite word is “shit”. And your favor stance is a Superiority Complex

SIGNY: My favorite word on this page is "shit" bc that best describes your posts. I rarely use it elsewhere.
And I don't feel superior to everyone (like you do) but it's hard not to feel superior to you bc you're a hate-filled liar and malicious troll.
Capisce?

SECOND: Signym, you are being childish... The old Ruskies...


Why not just call me "Russian troll" and "Trumptard", troll? You seem.to specialize in libel and insinuation (bc you're too chickenshit to libel directly, anymore. You must have consulted a lawyer) You OTOH have amply demonstrated your lying, hate-filled, malicious nature. You've even bragged about it.

You're droll, troll.

****

BTW, your "figures" on the # of people who died under Stalin aren't supported by any other historian. Your claim would have had Stalin literally wiping out most of Russia's population... a claim not supported by demography . Your source is tainted,like you are.

https://u.osu.edu/mclc/2018/02/08/who-killed-more-hitler-stalin-or-mao/

*****

Now, with all of those sources of info available to you, there's no excuse for posting shit.

-----------
"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal." - Henry Kissinger


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

Tuesday, May 23, 2023 3:51 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


From Moon of Alabama

THE F-16 v THE MIG-29, comparison of takeoff airfield requirements

Quote:

The Ukrainian Air Force, to my knowledge, has had to use guerilla airfield tactics to keep the Russians guessing as to where they are operating from. This is to prevent Moscow from targeting the aircraft/impromptu airfield from drone attacks and air strikes, destroying stationary aircraft or the rendering the “runway” unusable. Soviet-built aircraft are sublimely suited to this.

For ex, the MiG-29 “Fulcrum” uses automatic Foreign Object Debris (FOD) covers that close for initial start up (vid). Meanwhile louvres located at the top of the wing-root open to provide alternate air intake to the jet engines. Upon take off, once the weight on wheels (WoW) switch in the nose gear detects it is off the ground, the louvers cycle closed and the FOD covers on the primary intake retract, allowing max airflow to the engines once the danger of FOD damage has passed. This ingenious design allows the Fulcrum to operate, not only from unimproved runways or even highways, but even from grass fields. The wing itself and the distance to the ground preventing small stones and debris from getting sucked into the delicate engines.

I cannot stress how dangerous and debilitating FOD is to aircraft. A single rock, bolt, nut, or minor road debris can have a cataclysmic effect on a modern high-performance jet engine. It may not even happen immediately, the damage could happen on take off, then progressively get worse during flight as the blades, now potentially bent or unbalanced begin to self-destruct the engine internals. Even if a MiG-29 happens to shell out an engine because of the careless placement of a bolt or tool by a mechanic or the ingestion of a bird during flight or take off, the MiG HAS TWO ENGINES which are isolated in separate bays, preventing the destruction of one engine from FOD-ing out the second.

The F-16, by contrast, is definitely not suited for this style of airfield. The bottom of the intake lip sits approximately 30” from the ground with no provision of alternate intake. In addition, all the suction flow of that air comes from the sides, fore, and ground since no air can be ingested from above the engine (that’s where the fuselage is). With no provision for FOD protection or alternate, high-mounted intakes during the entire time spent on the ground, this calls for rigid and inflexible FOD control measures from the location of engine start, to taxiing routes to the runway.

In the USAF, this meant hundreds of maintainers walking at arms-length intervals two to three times a day with eyes on the ground looking for any and every piece of debris that could be ingested by the multi-million dollar vacuum cleaner with only ONE engine we were charged with maintaining. In addition, an almost constant procession of street-cleaners rumbled up and down the flightline, taxiways and runway. Everything had to be spotless lest we risk the aircraft, or worse, the pilots.

Imagine the preparation it would take to complete this process on a 10,000 foot long straight highway, in the dark, while trying to be as inconspicuous as possible so as not to draw the attention of collaborators or Russian spies. You couldn’t hop from highway to highway or run from unimproved airfields like the Ukrainian Air Force can do with MiG-29s, you’d be handcuffed or at the very least less mobile. Imagine a disused Soviet airfield that suddenly had all its weeds plucked from the cracks in the concrete, concrete patched, the runway spotless. What signal does that send? “F-16s could, will, or are operating from here.”



https://www.moonofalabama.org/2023/05/f-16s-to-ukraine.html#more

There's a lot more in that article, but I thought this section was particularly funny.

-----------
"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal." - Henry Kissinger


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

Tuesday, May 23, 2023 6:00 PM

SECOND

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
From Moon of Alabama

THE F-16 v THE MIG-29, comparison of takeoff airfield requirements

https://www.moonofalabama.org/2023/05/f-16s-to-ukraine.html#more

There's a lot more in that article, but I thought this section was particularly funny.

Russia said you are full of baloney about the F-16. If the F-16 is as bad as you claim, Russia would be encouraging the US to send as many as possible in order to humiliate the US. Or, maybe, Russia is using reverse psychology to trick the US into doing who knows what. There is no way to tell other than send the F-16 and see how well or badly these weapons perform when flown by Ukrainians on suicide missions against the Kerch Strait Bridge. Banzai!

Russia has warned Western countries that supplying Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets would carry “colossal risks”, after US President Joe Biden announced the US would support the delivery of warplanes.

As G7 leaders met for the second day of the summit in Japan, Russian deputy foreign minister Alexander Grushko accused Western countries of “still adhering to the escalation scenario”.

“It involves colossal risks for themselves,” he added. “In any case, this will be taken into account in all our plans, and we have all the necessary means to achieve the goals we have set.”

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-colossal-risks-
f16-ukraine-b2342646.html


The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

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

Tuesday, May 23, 2023 6:23 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Fuck Ukraine.

#Rootin4Putin.

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

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

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

Tuesday, May 23, 2023 6:32 PM

SECOND

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly


Quote:

Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Fuck Ukraine.

#Rootin4Putin.

Only the Russians support Trump. I see why. Criminals stick together in gangs because crime is more entertaining than honestly working as individuals for a living. Firefly proved that.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

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

Tuesday, May 23, 2023 6:44 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Get fucked, retard.

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

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

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

YOUR OPTIONS

NEW POSTS TODAY

USERPOST DATE
THG 04.27 19:51

OTHER TOPICS

DISCUSSIONS
Russia Invades Ukraine. Again
Sat, April 27, 2024 19:51 - 6307 posts
I'm surprised there's not an inflation thread yet
Sat, April 27, 2024 19:36 - 744 posts
Russian losses in Ukraine
Sat, April 27, 2024 19:28 - 1015 posts
Russian War Crimes In Ukraine
Sat, April 27, 2024 19:27 - 15 posts
"Feminism" really means more Femtacular than you at EVERYTHING.
Sat, April 27, 2024 19:25 - 66 posts
Cry Baby Trump
Sat, April 27, 2024 19:21 - 79 posts
Welcome Back
Sat, April 27, 2024 19:20 - 2 posts
Putin the boot in ass
Sat, April 27, 2024 18:53 - 85 posts
Another Putin Disaster
Sat, April 27, 2024 18:34 - 1513 posts
In the garden, and RAIN!!! (2)
Sat, April 27, 2024 18:28 - 3571 posts
Elections; 2024
Sat, April 27, 2024 18:10 - 2312 posts
Punishing Russia With Sanctions
Sat, April 27, 2024 18:09 - 505 posts

FFF.NET SOCIAL