[Maark Abbott]

Cause, on 09 March 2022 - 11:17 PM, said:

I thought we outgrew the crusades. These men of god can be so inspiring sometimes.

It's kind of sad how as soon as someone (i.e. Bannon) says "I hate woke" you can safely assess them as being a thunderous fruitloop. Doubly unsurprising that a bunch of skydaddy boomers are trying to justify the invasion with "but muh gays" as well.

Depressing how history seems stuck on this loop of terminal idiocy, ain't it?

[Macros]

Uh oh Roman, looks like (finally) you can't enjoy your rotten I'll gotten gains in the UK anymore

Chelsea FC seized by the government

[Gorefest]

Oof. Should be interesting to see where that leads. Apparently Chelsea is allowed to continue in the league for now, but they cannot sell any more tickets, any merchandising, or buy or sell players. That is pretty dire.

The arch nemesis of my Dutch football team is a club that is also owned by a Russian oligarch with direct links to Abramovitch. Here's hoping that the Dutch government will take similar measures and take those wankers down.

[champ]

Gorefest, on 10 March 2022 - 11:57 AM, said:

Oof. Should be interesting to see where that leads. Apparently Chelsea is allowed to continue in the league for now, but they cannot sell any more tickets, any merchandising, or buy or sell players. That is pretty dire.

The arch nemesis of my Dutch football team is a club that is also owned by a Russian oligarch with direct links to Abramovitch. Here's hoping that the Dutch government will take similar measures and take those wankers down.

Apparently they also cannot conduct contract renewals and they've got 3 or 4 players off contract in July, massive hit to them.

[Macros]

The foreign minister spouting Russia has not attacked Ukraine, the hospital bombing was Ukrainian radicals, etc etc.

Does he really think anyone believed this empty rhetoric? Does he still think the Iron curtain is up? Does he actually believe this shit himself? Is he THAT deluded?
Is he that scared of Putin that he carries on with the bullshit.

Or is he just a fruitloop?

[Gorefest]

To them it only matters what the Russian people believe and they won't get any other info than the official doctrine. As long as the Russian people and Fox News swallow it, their job is done.

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Cause, on 10 March 2022 - 03:18 AM, said:

Hypersonic missiles are to avoid the missile shields. Russia I don't believe has one, nor does China? They needed them to balance the fact that America does.

At the end of the day with thousands of nukes each, no one will have a problem killing anyone. Maybe I'm crazy optimistic but I also feel like a lot of generals would balk at starting Armageddon for something so petty.

According to Putin, the hypersonic missiles will also allow them to kill people before they have time to 'repent', therefore they won't be able to go to Heaven. He seems to mean there won't be enough time between learning the missiles are on their way and death to give confession and be absolved. (It's like those Shakespeare plays where someone gets murdered without giving confession first so they go to hell---Hamlet, etc. If that's basically Putin's reasoning, then it would be logical for him to try to take (most of) Russia to Heaven while making the US go to hell. Of course Putin's religiosity may all be a ruse to gain himself more power---and make it at least seem more likely he (and his devout henchpeople) might actually be willing to destroy the world.)

(If Putin would consider ending the world a sin, he could give the order but ask them to give him time to confess, then go into a deep underground tunnel with no communication to the surface so he couldn't call it off in time. Then there would be no active contradiction between 'repenting' and not calling it off....)

'If Putin does decide to go nuclear, could anyone in Russia stop him? Few believe his officials would stand up to the president[...]

"My only hope is the military will take over and kill him," [...] "But I don't know whether there is any likelihood of that."'

How likely is Putin to trigger his nukes? | Fortune

'A small briefcase, known as the Cheget, is kept close to [Putin] at all times, linking him to the command and control network of Russia's strategic nuclear forces. The Cheget does not contain a nuclear launch button but rather transmits launch orders to the central military command - the General Staff.'


The Russian General Staff has access to the launch codes and has two methods of launching nuclear warheads. It can send authorisation codes to individual weapons commanders, who would then execute the launch procedures. There is also a back-up system, known as Perimetr, which allows the General Staff to directly initiate the launch of land-based missiles'

Factbox: The chain of command for potential Russian nuclear strikes | Reuters


... has Putin installed religious fanatics eager for martyrdom in the General Staff?... It might not be hard for him to do. But perhaps some people would pretend to be would-be martyrs or fanatical loyalists in order to stop the apocalypse?...

Perhaps we could bring back something like Star Wars? Space-based quantum sensors apparently have major advantages---could possibly locate Russian submarines? OTOH Russia could (though it's unlikely) take out known land-based US nuclear arsenals, but location of US nuclear submarines is kept top secret and constantly changing, so unlikely for Russian intelligence to suss out---very unlikely that Russia would be able to develop quantum (or other) sensors for tracking them without Chinese aid (funding at least, probably information sharing too), and I doubt the Chinese would help Russia destroy the world (except perhaps to sabotage his plans... which Putin would almost certainly anticipate).

Russia would have a hard time keeping up in a new high-tech arms race. Autonomous weapon systems and missile defense systems (including defense against hypersonic missiles) could be deployed---either in Ukraine assuming the war continues and the tech is able to reach regions where it would be relevant, or in other countries like Moldova that Putin is most likely to start attacking next...

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 10 March 2022 - 05:53 PM

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Macros, on 10 March 2022 - 01:02 PM, said:

The foreign minister spouting Russia has not attacked Ukraine, the hospital bombing was Ukrainian radicals, etc etc.

Does he really think anyone believed this empty rhetoric? Does he still think the Iron curtain is up? Does he actually believe this shit himself? Is he THAT deluded?
Is he that scared of Putin that he carries on with the bullshit.

Or is he just a fruitloop?

They've been putting the Iron Curtain back up. Strictly censoring the internet, trying to close it off. Same goes for TV.

A new iron curtain is descending across Russia’s Internet - The Washington Post

BBC resorting to Telegram, Tor, and short-wave radio to reach Russians....

[Primateus]

Macros, on 10 March 2022 - 01:02 PM, said:

The foreign minister spouting Russia has not attacked Ukraine, the hospital bombing was Ukrainian radicals, etc etc.

Does he really think anyone believed this empty rhetoric? Does he still think the Iron curtain is up? Does he actually believe this shit himself? Is he THAT deluded?
Is he that scared of Putin that he carries on with the bullshit.

Or is he just a fruitloop?

It's just like Comical Ali from the invasion of Iraq. It doesn't matter what we know, all that matters is that the Russian population is fed a lie enough that they will believe it.

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

'[Congressman] Madison Cawthorn[...]: "Incredibly Evil" Ukraine Is Too "Woke"

[...] calling President [...] Zelensky "a thug" and the country "incredibly evil" in a bizarre rant caught on camera.

[...] said it was filmed at a town hall in Asheville last Saturday. At the start of the clip, Cawthorn mentions sending Stinger missiles to Ukraine for self-defense, providing further evidence that the clip was filmed after Russia's invasion began.

Meanwhile, Cawthorn is battling three court cases for driving offenses [including driving with a revoked license] and is in the process of divorcing a woman he says he met at a fake CrossFit competition staged by a man he met at a casino in Russia, where casinos are banned.'

Madison Cawthorn Goes on Bizarre War Rant: 'Incredibly Evil' Ukraine Is Too 'Woke' (thedailybeast.com)

Video:

US Rep. Madison Cawthorn calls Ukrainian president a 'thug' :: WRAL.com


'Even [Some Experts on] Russian State TV [Are] Pleading With Putin to Stop the War [on their way to prison (or worse)?...]
"GOING TO HELL"

State propagandists called for Putin to end the "special military operation" before "frightening" sanctions destabilize his regime and risk civil war in Russia.

[...]


The host frowned at the apparent departure from the officially approved line of thinking and deferred to [Putin]. However, the next expert agreed with Shakhnazarov. [... and] grimly said: "We didn't even feel the impact of the sanctions just yet... We need to be ready for total isolation. I'm not panicking, just calling things by their proper name."

Soloviev angrily sniped: "Gotcha. We should just lay down and die."

[...]


Prior to the invasion of Ukraine, state TV experts predicted that Russia could overtake it in a matter of minutes or a few days. Stunned by the fierce resistance on the part of Ukrainians, Soloviev described them as "the army that is second in Europe, after ours, and which has been prepared for eight years and armed with everything you can imagine."

Soloviev added: "This is a frightening war that is being waged against us by America."

To lighten the mood in the studio, the host resorted to one of the favorite pastimes of many Kremlin propagandists: playing yet another Fox News clip of Tucker Carlson and his frequent guest Ret. Col. Doug Macgregor. In the translated video, Macgregor predicted Russia's easy military victories over Ukraine and its total invincibility to Western sanctions. Soloviev sighed and smiled: "He's a lot more optimistic than my previous experts in the studio."'

Even Russian State TV Is Pleading With Putin to Stop the War (thedailybeast.com)

[Mezla PigDog]

I have noticed Ment and Puck haven't been posting. I guess you guys are exhausted dealing with things closer to reality than the rest of us. I can't say anything useful other than I hope you and yours and everyone else is doing as well as possible in the circumstances.

People are so awful and wonderful at the same time. It's such a head fuck. I'm feeling so grateful for my privileged safe place in humanity but so horrible that it's all based on such a fluke. Best thing to come out of this war is that it has reminded Europe of it's obligations to refugees. I just hope long term the same goodwill extends to the ones who aren't white. Fingers slightly crossed for a big boom in renewable energy too - it's well beyond time. None of that helps people on the ground in Ukraine though. I hate how the world/national politics makes us feel so impotent.

[Garak]

I'm just glad to hear my countrymen are welcoming the refugees at the border, though I wonder how long that will last. Some people here are already panicking at the idea that the war might spread and us young people will be sent into the meat grinder (because the goverment is checking the bomb shelters and preparing to check how many people they can call to arms). My aunt said Zelensky is an idiot for getting people killed and should just give Putin whatever he wants, this isn't our war for us to get killed. I wanted to point out that Europe has already seen what happens when you give in to a bully thus it IS our war as well but I knew it was pointless - she was letting her fear take over any sense of judgment.

I don't get what the Russian plan is now. The stated goal was that they didn't a NATO nation at their border. But even if they topple to government and put a poppet in place, they need to park their army in the country or that puppet will fall in 5 minutes. And at that point it's "Congrats, you now have a border with NATO via an occupied country. Also you scared Finland into joining so .....". What are they honestly thinking now?

[Grief]

Garak, on 10 March 2022 - 07:54 PM, said:

I'm just glad to hear my countrymen are welcoming the refugees at the border, though I wonder how long that will last.

It's an interesting political switch amongst many. I have some optimism that it will last (if not that it will spread to other groups).

EU politics on several major topics have shifted practically overnight: from the climate transition to security to refugees. I suspect it practically guarantees Macron's re-election too. But harder to say for the likes of Orban.

[Mentalist]

Cause, on 09 March 2022 - 06:06 PM, said:

Does anyone have any good links to video of the bombing damage or fighting. Maybe I’m watching the wrong thing but I find it surprising it’s not being shown more directly. That’s what people need to see to understand what’s really going on.

The sanctions seem to be hitting hard but Putins a billionaire. Does he care. I’m really wondering if the only way out is for someone else’s in the government to launch a coup essentially. Frame himself as an autocrat but a better option.

Propaganda is out In full force too, seems more Russian citizens are on board than I’d have believed.

Ukrainian forces gave a blanket recommendation not to film/share immediate aftermath of shelling, bombing. Because Russians can use this info to correct their coordinates.

Ukrainians were also asked not to share movements of their own troop/armor movements to maintain operation secrecy.

That's why majority of footage we see are aftermath of successful battles.

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

From social media:

'Some friends are skeptical about these numbers. The second "strongest" army and such losses. How is that possible?

Here's the story for you.

A tank company was driving in the Sumy region. 4 tanks pulled ahead and drove into the village. Tankers stopped and got out to look for food. Our (Ukrainian) villagers put the Ukrainian flags on their tanks. The rest of the company arrived in time and began to shoot at their tanks, heroically destroying them. The stunning tankers abandoned the looted food and began to shoot back. After some time, they realized that they were shooting at their own. Of the three remaining tanks, one tried to cross the bridge. The bridge collapsed and the tank sank along with the crew. The second tried to go through the swamp, got stuck. The crew had to leave the immobilized tank. The third tank surrendered to the Ukrainian tank group that arrived in time. We didn't make a single shot. 5 tanks were destroyed and two were captured.'

https://www.facebook...328603840487082

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 11 March 2022 - 03:57 PM

[Garak]

That sounds like something out of a Sven Hassel novel.

[Cause]

That story is hard to believe.

However the Russian army appears to be surprisingly inept or Ukraine is doing a great job. Russia has lost 3 generals and I believe 2 were confirmed by Russia itself. That strikes me as incredible.

America didn’t lose one general to my knowledge in the whole Afghanistan/ Iraq war

[Mentalist]

Cause, on 12 March 2022 - 04:48 AM, said:

That story is hard to believe.

However the Russian army appears to be surprisingly inept or Ukraine is doing a great job. Russia has lost 3 generals and I believe 2 were confirmed by Russia itself. That strikes me as incredible.

America didn’t lose one general to my knowledge in the whole Afghanistan/ Iraq war

3 generals, a bunch of colonels. Also hit another command vehicle late last night, gonna have to wait for more obituaries.

[Primateus]

https://www.msnbc.co...d_3wOqYLi2CwHvM

I guess it does not surprise me that Cawthorn is a Putinite. If anyone in the GOP were going to be one, it's absolutely not surprising, at all, that it's him.

This, along with Trump's recent rant about windmills, makes me once again wonder what the hell is going on inside their heads.

[Gwynn ap Nudd]

I would have laughed if the lawsuit attempting to ban Crawthon from holding public office had succeeded. Hopefully they can win on appeal (to my layperson's eye, the ruling looked questionable). A well confirmed POS who shouldn't be anywhere near any levers of power.

On the Ukraine note, the intelligence conclusions on Russia planning to use chemical/biological weapons better be as incorrect as the assumptions that Ukraine would fall in a few days. If it's just propaganda, it is not helping. If Putin does, something other than sanctions and resupplying Ukraine needs to happen too, but I haven't figured out what that can be without making matters worse. Full on NATO Russia conflict sounds bad. China had best fuck off on support of Putin then. Which, who knows, they just might, as continued support would likely mean full remilitarization of Japan and South Korea going all in on petitioning for US nukes to come back or starting their own program (polling in SK is in favour of both options).