Political Posts

[Xerxes]

Just imagine how off Russian intelligence was about Ukraine, and how off their perceived view of Russia’ national security could be … that completely deranged view, amplified by sanctions, and the need to not back down would be the deciding factor to go the tactical-nuke or not 

[no_free_lunch]

33 minutes ago, Xerxes said:

i don’t think anyone here has said they should lay down their arms or anyone here disrespected them. I think people in this thread need to stop thinking in binary terms. 
 

Right now both sides (Russian & Ukrainian) are just gathering as much bargaining chip as they can even as they exhaust themselves on the battlefield, so that they got the most bargaining chips when the talk restart. But at some points both sides need to give in. What they will give or not is up to them. For instance if Zelenski says no formal recognition of Crimea, well guess what war continues, even if Russia is depleted it will just not end. If there is no mechanism to safeguard Ukraine’ safety against the wolves than that won’t work for Ukraine either. I.e de-militarization is non-starter.  
 

as far as Afghanistan is concerned, we empowered ISI, funnelled into it Saudi money (along with Bin Laden) to wage their jihad along Stingers (which came down some years later). But I don’t recall U.S Air Force flying sorties against Soviet positions. 
 

if what you are saying is that World War 3 is worth having for Ukraine. Then the answer is no. I am sorry but it is not. Everything short of that vortex that will push our insane leaders to do insane things. I ll remind everyone that the Soviet almost went nuclear early 1980s because they mistook a NATO exercise for the real thing. Just because they themselves had simulated a real pre-emptive nuclear strike during an excerise. 

 

Nothing to do with Ukraine. Just like World War One was not worth having because Austria-Hungry decided to punish Serbia by an invasion. and of course WW2 is just a by-product of the first war. 
 

frankly this current war is doing more damage to Russia than the Soviet-Afghan did in 10 years. At least that was amortized. 

I am definitely NOT suggesting direct NATO involvement.  E.g. bombing runs or no fly.  I am suggesting we can give them all sorts of weapons and it will be up to them beyond that.  The only NATO involvement I would like is to close the pipeline.

 

In general your allusion to NATO mil intervention is a strawman and one I see often, not just you. It's used as a method to stifle and distract the argument for supporting Ukraine.  

 

Have I ever been in a country that was invaded?  No.  However the people in Ukraine certainly have and they are telling you what they want. 

Edited March 24, 2022 by no_free_lunch

[Xerxes]

Reading your first paragraph I am not sure where the disagreement is. Except that natural gas is a question for Western government to solve and not NATO. 
 

As for your second paragraph, let’s be clear on definitions. “military intervention” for me means just that:  no-fly-zone, bombing Russian positions etc, which you said you are also against, which is where I am standing too. I got no problem with re-painted Mig-29 being sent under the radar to Ukraine. But that is not called a NATO military intervention. So again don’t see any disagreement, except for definitions. 
 

on third paragraph, I am glad

[Spekulatius]

18 hours ago, Xerxes said:

Are we really surprised about the kangaroo tribunal being set up, given that Biden had said Putin is war criminal. There is always tit for tat, and this is not a theory. 

Calling Putin a war criminal is not about Putin. It is strategically about the people who help him, enable him to make them they think twice, enabling his war crimes. At some point this will be over and on a long enough timeframe, there could be a reckoning for those people. It’s probably not going to do much, but it is worth trying.

[Spekulatius]

I never donated for armed forces before, but here we go:

https://bank.gov.ua/en/news/all/natsionalniy-bank-vidkriv-spetsrahunok-dlya-zboru-koshtiv-na-potrebi-armiyi

 

[Xerxes]

Well done Spek !!

[no_free_lunch]

1 hour ago, Spekulatius said:

I never donated for armed forces before, but here we go:

https://bank.gov.ua/en/news/all/natsionalniy-bank-vidkriv-spetsrahunok-dlya-zboru-koshtiv-na-potrebi-armiyi

 

.

Challenge accepted. I will do the same. 

Edited March 25, 2022 by no_free_lunch

[Spekulatius]

16 hours ago, no_free_lunch said:

.

Challenge accepted. I will do the same. 

The above was actually recommended from an Ukraine poster on FB and Nextdoor and it's on Klitschko's (Myor of Kyiv) list as well. in the meant time, these guys are doing the real work:

 

There should also be Ukraine organizations in your area. They know what to do I assume. I donated to #Mightycause (UCCA  -Ukrainian Congress Committee of America) as well. Hope they put the money to good use.

 

[Xerxes]

War is over !!

waste of a beautiful tiger 

 

Edited March 25, 2022 by Xerxes

[TwoCitiesCapital]

2 hours ago, Xerxes said:

War is over !!

waste of a beautiful tiger 

 

 

'heroic emergency efforts' is a funny way to spell 'invaded Ukraine'. Must be Russian propoganda

[Xerxes]

1 hour ago, TwoCitiesCapital said:

 

'heroic emergency efforts' is a funny way to spell 'invaded Ukraine'. Must be Russian propoganda

Message from Kim. I am here too

 

 

on a different note Shoigu (Russian defense minister) had disappeared for more than 15 days, only to re-appear briefly yesterday, and then today the word is that he had an heart attack.  
 

I would too if my armies (my raison d’être) was melting around me 

Edited March 26, 2022 by Xerxes

[Spekulatius]

22 minutes ago, Xerxes said:

Message from Kim. I am here too

 

 

on a different note Shoigu (Russian defense minister) had disappeared for more than 15 days, only to re-appear briefly yesterday, and then today the word is that he had an heart attack.  
 

I would too if my armies (my raison d’être) was melting around me 

Great trailer. Can’t wait for the movie to come out.

[Gregmal]

That is indeed awesome. Kim is a huge closet Amerifan. Supposedly has like a 5,000 dvd collection of American movies, signed sports and movie memorabilia, and all sorts of designer clothing 

[changegonnacome]

19 hours ago, Xerxes said:

Message from Kim. I am here too

 

 

on a different note Shoigu (Russian defense minister) had disappeared for more than 15 days, only to re-appear briefly yesterday, and then today the word is that he had an heart attack.  
 

I would too if my armies (my raison d’être) was melting around me 

 

All i could think of during that trailer, was that their North Korean produced wristwatches must have been giving them trouble they were looking at them so much

 

On a more serious note - North Korea has got the memo a long time ago.......get inter-continental nuclear capability & you go from the little leagues to the top table in one jump. Ukraine has taught any nation, with an existing nuclear capability, don't get taken in by nuclear non-proliferation peaceniks coming knocking on your door promising you security guarantees in exchange for disarmament.......tell them to go do one.........dont be a moron, dont give up your nukes

 

Edited March 26, 2022 by changegonnacome

[SharperDingaan]

It would seem that Putin now has a price on his head, and that global economic policy is indeed 'Putin in a box'.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/russia-ukraine-march26-2022-1.6398710

 

Have to think there is now a new card deck. Putin as the 'Ace of Spades', and worth a lot more than a mere 25M!

Thing is .. if you're one of the other 51 in the deck - Russian Roulette now has a whole new meaning.

https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-14666182

 

The obvious competitive solution is to do a deal.

Hands off for X years, and an extended crackdown on your competitors .....  if the czar is dead?

Verified by multiple and independent DNA testing, paid in BTC, and no questions asked?

 

Capitalism is such a bastard!

 

SD

 

 

[no_free_lunch]

20 hours ago, Xerxes said:

Message from Kim. I am here too

 

 

on a different note Shoigu (Russian defense minister) had disappeared for more than 15 days, only to re-appear briefly yesterday, and then today the word is that he had an heart attack.  
 

I would too if my armies (my raison d’être) was melting around me 

 

I preferred his original Gangnam Style video.  It was a lot more catchy and upbeat. This one was boring and not much dance moves.   His career is done if he doesn't step up his game. 

[Spekulatius]

Zelensky interview in the Economist:
https://www.economist.com/europe/volodymyr-zelensky-on-why-ukraine-must-defeat-putin/21808448

[shru]

On 3/25/2022 at 6:50 AM, Spekulatius said:

The Russian production will not be lost but the Ukrainian will be partly (but not completely lost). So I don't think the food shortage will be as bad as it's made out.

I reckon - India has grain surplus and India will easily be able to supply and meet the deficit.

[mcliu]

Azov commander & hero of Ukraine has made it on CNN!

Btw, he's also a neo-nazi, but who cares as long as he's killing Russians right?

https://multipolarista.com/2022/03/21/cnn-nazi-ukraine-azov/

[mcliu]

This conflict is a highlight of western hypocrisy

 

War crime: Russia bombing Mariupol

 

Not a war crime: US flattening Mosul

 

Not a war crime: NATO forces bombing Chinese embassy

 

 

Afghanistan withdrawal:

https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/u-s-says-2-isis-k-planners-killed-in-drone-strike-in-afghanistan-1.5563494

Oh shit, turns out it was 10 civilians, including 7 children. Not a war crime. No punishment.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/13/us/politics/afghanistan-drone-strike.html

No U.S. Troops Will Be Punished for Deadly Kabul Strike, Pentagon Chief Decides

The military initially defended the strike, which killed 10 civilians including seven children, but ultimately called it a tragic mistake.

[Gregmal]

What I found hilarious is the medias role in attempting to manipulate people and how blatant it is. For instance, the other day I saw a headline about "Russia weaponizing energy" with all sorts of negative and condescending narrative attached...and thought, gee the adjective makes all the difference. Russia's energy prowess is like the US/EU banking prowess. Except when we weaponize the banking system its called "sanctions" and deemed an act of solidarity with peace! LOL so dumb. 

[Spekulatius]

@mcliu Mosul was indeed a mistake (imo), but you realize that many civilians died not because of the bombing, but because of secondary explosions from ammunition cache stored in civilian housing as well as from a bomb truck that happened to blow up as well.

 

In a war and with enough fire power, you are going to hit targets that you don't want to hit. That's different than deliberately targeting civilians like the Russians are doing.

 

Also China was aligning themselves with the genocidal Serbians at that time, same than the Russians. Doesn't justify the bombing, but again you have to ask yourself what business they had in this and there was debate whether they supported the Serbians with Weapons as the Russians did.

Edited March 28, 2022 by Spekulatius

[cubsfan]

^^^ Civilian casualties are a huge tragedy. Of course, the Russians are targeting them, time & time again - 

not by mistake - but for the sake of it. So understand your outrage, but it certainly doesn't measure up

at all - when the West makes a tragic mistake. It's war - and there will always be terrible tragedies.

 

 

[mcliu]

Russians believe in Russian propaganda.

Americans believe in American propaganda.

[Gregmal]

Yup. The only thing of certainty right now is that there's conflict and that unfortunately civilians are being harmed because of things they likely have nothing to do with. If you're believing or buying into all the shit on Twitter or MSM there is a high likelihood you are being duped.