Stupid Shit in Kyiv

[QUOTE=Jmsuttr;2672442]What's really funny is that Putin's actions have strengthened the (US-led) NATO alliance in ways that wouldn't have happened otherwise. Which means, as I've mentioned in another post, that the presence of the US in Europe is likely to increase. I wonder how many more "vassal" states will be created as a result? [/QUOTE]Not really funny at all. Really predictable is what it is.

The Empire of Lies bid to incorporate Ukraine as another vassal is on temporary hold. We'll all have to wait and see how it goes. Wars can have uncertain outcomes.

China has involved in two main wars in the last 70 years or after they set up the new Republic of China. One is the the Korea war, back then the president Mao wants to lick the asshole of Stalin and let him trust him, so he lets his troops enter Korea and let more than 400 0000 soldiers died there although he knew clearly back then the USA will not attack China, the real enemy of USA back then is Russia. The second war is the war between China and Vietnam. Back then the President Deng has seen all countries who follow USA were getting richer, he wants to show some good signs to USA. So after USA left Vietnam, he attacked or invaded Vietnam, again, the Chinese President in fact was licking the asshole of another big power in the world. After that China and USA started their honeymoon, and only after that the economy in China is starting to develop, even to now. But more than 60 000 soldiers died during the invasion and the relation between Vietnam and China is completely broken, even now they cannot get along with each other.

Basically Chinese don't like war and, they are happy with their own land and they have some kind of 'middle' spirit in their blood, so you seldom see their troops in other countries, for example Syria, Irak or now in Ukraine. If they have a military goal, it will be to take and control Taiwan, but the current sanction to Russia almost completely destroys their hope of conquering Taiwan with troops or weapons.

[QUOTE=Golfinho;2672826]Not really funny at all. Really predictable is what it is.

The Empire of Lies bid to incorporate Ukraine as another vassal is on temporary hold. We'll all have to wait and see how it goes. Wars can have uncertain outcomes.[/QUOTE]I probably should have been more clear about what I meant by the "funny" characterization. And there's irony upon irony when one considers possible and probable knock-on effects for both Russia and China.

About the uncertainty of outcomes, you're absolutely correct. One thing that drives me crazy is the plethora of pundits and "experts" who speak with pseudo-certainty while ignoring or glossing over some of the variables that make this conflict quite a different beast.

I'm not convinced. First and only prior post was 1 year ago saying " Anyone here? What's the scene like?" and nothing more in the General Info for *Burma*. Next post he's already in trouble in Ukraine. No prior participation at all.

As I have said before, I have no reason to lie or falsify reports. What do you expect me to take pictures of? Everything here is locked down and somber. If you don't believe me there's not much I can offer. I post these reports as a distraction to myself from the situation here. Not to mention I didn't come here by myself, other members of my group would be strongly opposed to me taking any pictures AND posting those pictures online. I thank others for their support. I have never asked for a single penny from anyone, I just wrote the reports to provide help to others who may have thought of coming or are even in the country. If you're unconvinced then feel free to ignore any of my posts. I just didn't have any information of worth to post till coming here.

I suggest Voltaire's Candide, the forerunner to HulaHoops. Pray for mongers everywhere (and hookers too).

[QUOTE=Neurosynth;2673749]I'm not convinced. First and only prior post was 1 year ago saying " Anyone here? What's the scene like?" and nothing more in the General Info for *Burma*. Next post he's already in trouble in Ukraine. No prior participation at all.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=WyattEarp;2672804]First, dial down the name calling. .[/QUOTE]Why don't you tone it down? You just repeat US / NATO rubbish, with no personal in sight. People like you destroy this and similar sites.

[QUOTE=Kozerog;2672793]I'm not going to debate with a moron a.[/QUOTE]Again, I admire your posts. It is a rarity when one can think through issues. The sooner the USA fucks out of Europe, the better. No point joining in as Americans just go Putin, Puutin, Putin, like the brainwashed cretins that they are.

[QUOTE=Jmsuttr;2673574]I probably should have been more clear about what I meant by the "funny" characterization. And there's irony upon irony when one considers possible and probable knock-on effects for both Russia and China.

About the uncertainty of outcomes, you're absolutely correct. One thing that drives me crazy is the plethora of pundits and "experts" who speak with pseudo-certainty while ignoring or glossing over some of the variables that make this conflict quite a different beast.[/QUOTE]Besides the professional pundits and the armchair experts on social media (myself included) opining about who is to blame and who could have prevented this war, I don't think this conflict is good for anyone.

[QUOTE=PedroMorales;2673822]Why don't you tone it down? You just repeat US / NATO rubbish, with no personal in sight. People like you destroy this and similar sites.

Again, I admire your posts. It is a rarity when one can think through issues. The sooner the USA fucks out of Europe, the better. No point joining in as Americans just go Putin, Puutin, Putin, like the brainwashed cretins that they are.[/QUOTE]Unfortunately for Putin, his invasion of Ukraine seems to have caused a diametrically opposed effect to what he likely envisioned. No matter what attitudes existed toward Ukraine and Russia before the invasion, Putin has singlehandedly caused the vast majority of the world to view him as the villain and Ukraine as the victim. Whatever you think or want the "reality" to be, perception and public opinion has overwhelmed it. And, when it comes to the information (or propaganda) battle space, Ukraine has dominated and Russia has failed miserably.

One clear result is that pro-NATO sentiment in Europe has grown. Some examples of that effect include Germany and Denmark ramping up defense budgets to the 2% NATO target and countries like Sweden and Finland seriously considering joining the alliance. And it's highly likely that more US-NATO troops will be stationed in more countries than ever before.

[URL]https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2022/03/putin-nato-finland-sweden-support-ukraine/626965/[/URL]

I have no idea in what country you live but, if its in Europe, I suspect you're going to be subjected to more NATO rubbish for years to come. On the other side of that coin, Putin has turned Russia into a pariah state that now exists in a bubble floating somewhere between North Korea and Iran.

Country-level sanctions are just part of it. What's truly remarkable is the vast number of private companies that have completely turned their back on Russia. The damage to the Russian economy is likely to last for years and many of those companies may never return. And, if Putin is found guilty of war crimes, which seems likely to happen, then Russia's pariah status will continue for as long as he remains in power.

So that's my personal insight, which I would assert is supported by the available evidence. And I would also suggest that you keep a sharp eye out for brainwashed cretins, as they're likely to be coming out of the (European) woodwork more than ever before.

P.S. If you're looking for someone to blame, look no further than Putin, Putin, Putin.

[QUOTE=PedroMorales;2673822]Why don't you tone it down? You just repeat US / NATO rubbish, with no personal in sight. People like you destroy this and similar sites.[/QUOTE]You can read the policies about directing insults and derogatory comments towards forum members or you can quickly click on "Report Post" to see the list of infractions. If you don't like the policies, I suggest you take them up with the forum administrator. No surprise that this etiquette is fairly common for on-line forums. If people are bothered by differing opinions and / or have hyper-aggressive natures, public forums are probably not a good place for them.

Asking someone to tone it down here is actually a courtesy to avoid them receiving infractions, moderation and possibly being suspended.

[QUOTE=PedroMorales;2673822]Americans just go Putin, Puutin, Putin, like the brainwashed cretins that they are.[/QUOTE]

If having an education and the ability to access all the information there is and I am able to process that information. If this is being "brainwashed" I can think of some others who need their brains washed. Maybe it would rid them of the brain filth that seems to be causing a decay in the reasoning process.

I do not repeat what "NATO" or anyone else says. You assume too much. You assume wrong. I think for myself. I have an education and I have traveled the world. I not only have advanced formal univerisity education, I also have other educative experiences. I spent some years in the military. I spent two years in a penal institution. These experiences I consider more valuable than formal education. Try to pin me down as a nationalist of any country would be wrong. I have residency in three countries. I consider myself a citizen of the world. For the record I was very much against the USA invasion of Iraq. I am not a peace lover, I am an ex soldier. but one should only fight when there is a clear and present danger.

There are innocent women and children being killed by Putin sent missiles but please enlighten us wise one on why he does not deserve to be demonized. He was not prevoked, he was not threatened. He just decided to. Putin attacking Ukraine and saying it is a threat is like watching a full gown man kick a baby and say he was defending himself. I would love to hear your side of the story. Tell us why you choose to serve the dark lord over allowing people to breathe freely.

The fact is Russia has no freedom of speech and they just make up shit as they go along. Thats why the Ukrianians have labled the Russian soldiers as Orcs. Mutant slaves who are only capable of doing their master's bidding. Not capable of human thought.

This is a direct quote from the lady who works for a Russian "news" channel who just got detained for speaking her mind. I would think that she has some insight. She knew she would go to prison but was brave enought to say it anyway
Marina Ovsyannikova: "Unfortunately, I have been working at Channel One during recent years, working on Kremlin propaganda, Ovsyannikova said. And now I am very ashamed. I am ashamed that Ive allowed the lies to be said on the TV screens. I am ashamed that I let the Russian people be zombified."

That Putin is a horrible leader goes way beyond this war. The numbers demonstrate plainly and truthfully why Putin is a horrible leader. Russia is the number one country in the world for natural resources. Number one. Back in the 1990s we all thought the Russian economy was going to soar. Yet it falls down 85th in per capita GDP? Russian has a very functional and potential great infrastructure. Including several ports on the sea. Russian has educational institutions that also have great potential. The fact that Russia is 85th in per capita GDP is inexusable. That number is even skewed in a country with so many Oligarchs hoarding the resources. Lets compare a neighboring country. Someone called Germany a "vassal" state. Well in such a vassal state the GDP has grown 4 times its size in the time that Putin has been in charge of Russia. German citizens make up 4. 4 percent of global millionaires, while Russian makes up only. 5 percent. Average worker's salary in Germany is 43000 Euro. In Russia that number drops to 6200 Euro. one sixth! Pathetic. I do not criticize countries leaders when the country does do not have potential. Putin's entire time in office is a portrait of squandered oppurtunity. The whole GDP of Russian if he had taken every advantage and structured a free economy instead of a cronyist oligarchy? Probably could have been twice that of Germany at least one and one half the size. Somewhere betwenn 6 and 8 trillion euro.

People around the world blame Putin, not just Americans, you seem to let your hatred of America drive your thinking, but people blame Putin himself because we still love the Russian people. A rich cultural people who I pray someday can meet their potential.

Russian says that NATO is a "threat" but the whole rest of the world knows that it is not. NATO treaty is a public document that the whole world is welcome to read. It states plainly that if one country of NATO is attacked then the other countries will defend that country. If one country decides to attack another country than by no means is NATO obligated to jump in.

Russia has thousands of nuclear weapons, that is probably the only reason there are not F22 Raptors currently enforcing a no-fly zone over Ukraine right now. No one is foolish enought to balatantly attack Russia. It is certain that it is a reason that NATO or any Eastern European nation would not start a war with Russia. If Russia were attacked even the UN would not argue with the use of tactical nuclear weapons. What fool would attack a country that posseses thousands of nuclear weapons. Its a deterrence that works. Its way beyond the scope of reason that any country or bloc is a threat to a country with so many nuclear weapons.

The real threat is that when a country like Ukraine gets real freedom and enters the EU and sees real econonmic growth - and so many nomal people who visit from Russia see this and start tu understand why Russia functions so poorly = and they realize the answer is Putin. That is the real threat but it is only a threat to Putin not to Russia

These are indisputable facts and not up for debate so I will say no more

[QUOTE=PedroMorales;2673822]Why don't you tone it down? You just repeat US / NATO rubbish, with no personal in sight. People like you destroy this and similar sites.

Again, I admire your posts. It is a rarity when one can think through issues. The sooner the USA fucks out of Europe, the better. No point joining in as Americans just go Putin, Puutin, Putin, like the brainwashed cretins that they are.[/QUOTE]To all those brainwashed idiots standing with Ukraine:

[URL]https://odysee.com/@DanTheOracleFashyMusicArchive:0/No-Russian-Ever-Called-Me-White-Trash-by-Paddy-Tarleton:1[/URL]

[URL]https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1503430216554795014.html[/URL]

It's a bit long, but worth a read (IMO). The author makes a few different points, but what I found most enlightening was the description of how the power struggle between elites close to the center of government (courtiers) vs elites with their power base in the regions (barons) is at the center of the dysfunction and corruption that plagues the Russian system. The failure of the Russian military in Ukraine is merely the most currently visible manifestation of that dysfunction, but it's everywhere and goes all the way down to the bone.

He also makes the point that, if Putin falls, whoever takes his place would probably come from the ranks of either the courtiers or barons. And, since both those groups are steeped in the prevailing culture of corruption, a new leader might not result in as much change as people hope. He also points out that "opposition" figures, like Navalny, may be nothing more than courtiers who have fallen out of favor. That being the case, those who believe such "opposition" figures are a key part of any long term solution had better do their homework first.

The impression I was left with is that there are no fully satisfactory answers. The shit has truly hit the fan and we don't yet know exactly where it will fall, or how widely it will spread.

[QUOTE=Golfinho;2674447]To all those brainwashed idiots standing with Ukraine:

[URL]https://odysee.com/@DanTheOracleFashyMusicArchive:0/No-Russian-Ever-Called-Me-White-Trash-by-Paddy-Tarleton:1[/URL][/QUOTE]Can't say I like the song but odysee is where I go to get RT live. I get updates on an Indian proxy server. All thanks to US censorship. Facebook now allows direct threats against Russians and praise for Nazis in Ukraine.

Lavrov has said Russia is finished with Western Europe. Western Europe must now get rid of the USA.

As regards Yanks (advising to report or block morons, the issue is this site, like all other sites is full of them and with cretins who repeat Fox News / CNN type mantras. It is why you have all the Stupid Shit threads.

As regards the war, sorry to disappoint but Russia is winning it Russia's way. Nice strike against foreign mercenaries the other day. Unless you were one of the 200+ mercenaries who died.

Falsehood in War-time, Containing an Assortment of Lies Circulated Throughout the Nations During the Great War, was written by Arthur Ponsonby in 1928 lists and refutes pieces of propaganda used by the Allied Forces against the Central Powers. The Belgian historian Anne Morelli systematized the essential propaganda techniques of Ponsonby's classic in her book Principes élémentaires de propagande de guerre. Morelli explains how these principles not only worked during the First World War, but were also applied in wars into 2001:

We do not want war.

The opposite party alone is guilty of war.

The enemy is inherently evil and resembles the devil.

We defend a noble cause, not our own interests. (Just war theory).

The enemy commits atrocities on purpose; our mishaps are involuntary.

The enemy uses forbidden weapons.

We suffer small losses, those of the enemy are enormous.

Recognized artists and intellectuals back our cause.

Our cause is sacred.

All who doubt our propaganda are traitors.

On that latter point, here is Herman Goering at Nuremberg: "Why of course the people don't want war. Why should some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece? Naturally the common people don't want war: neither in Russia, nor in England, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But after all it is the leaders of a country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or fascist dictorship, or a parliament or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peace makers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country. "

[QUOTE=PedroMorales;2674562]Lavrov has said Russia is finished with Western Europe. Western Europe must now get rid of the USA.[/QUOTE]Since the vast majority of countries are siding with Ukraine, with the exception of China, Belarus, and a few small countries, Russia is headed for an extended period of unprecedented isolation. Western Europe is ramping up defense budgets and figuring out ways to reduce or eliminate dependence on Russian gas and oil. It'll be interesting to see who comes away with the short end of the stick from that broken relationship. I'm pretty sure it's not going to be Western Europe.

Oh, but Russia can always count on their "good friend" China, right? Except for the fact that the Chinese never do anything free or against their own interests. So Putin should get ready to bend over and grab his ankles, because China will demand the best Russian natural resources at the deepest imaginable discounts. And it wouldn't surprise me if China used their unique leverage to gain even more concessions. Anyone who thinks China won't exploit their opportunities is living in a fantasy land.

About Western Europe getting rid of the USA, that's just not going to happen, no matter what you want, for the foreseeable future. As a direct result of Putin's actions, US-led NATO will be entrenched more firmly than ever, with more troops in more countries. And the icing on the (pushed into Putin's face) cake will be if Sweden, or Finland, or both, join NATO. So prepare to "get used to disappointment" as the saying goes.

[QUOTE] As regards the war, sorry to disappoint but Russia is winning it Russia's way.[/QUOTE]I haven't seen any credible military analyst who thinks Russia can't win the war, if they're prepared to endure the costs. The informed discussion centers around how much damage the Russian military and economy will incur, and whether any "victory" will be Pyrrhic in nature. If Putin's Plan A was to mount a quick "special operation" in which he captured Kyiv, deposed the Zelensky government, and was hailed as a liberator by a large portion of Ukraine's population, that's utterly failed. If the backup plan is to bombard Ukraine into submission, or until there's nothing left but scorched earth, he can certainly do that. Then, having turned almost the entire world against him, Putin can try to hold the smoldering husk of Ukraine in his hand and hope it doesn't burst into flame. No worries, the Russians are great when it comes to occupying hostile territory, right? Just look at their track record in Afghanistan.[QUOTE]Falsehood in War-time, Containing an Assortment of Lies Circulated Throughout the Nations During the Great War, was written by Arthur Ponsonby in 1928 lists and refutes pieces of propaganda used by the Allied Forces against the Central Powers. The Belgian historian Anne Morelli systematized the essential propaganda techniques of Ponsonby's classic in her book Principes lmentaires de propagande de guerre. Morelli explains how these principles not only worked during the First World War, but were also applied in wars into 2001:[/QUOTE]Everything about which you accuse Ukraine and the West of applies equally to Russia, if not more so. Within Russia, any media outlets that aren't willing to parrot the Kremlin are either directly shut down or "voluntarily" disband or suspend operations. I wonder if the recently passed law imposing a 15 year prison sentence for disseminating "disinformation" had anything to do with that?

[URL]https://niemanreports.org/articles/putin-ukraine-russia-media/[/URL]

I'm absolutely certain that both sides are engaging in propaganda and information warfare. Unfortunately for Russia, Ukraine is kicking their ass in that arena. But intelligent observers do their best to pierce the veil of manipulation, though it's not an easy task. But you've got it all figured out, right? All you need to do is listen to RT and that'll give you the pure, unadulterated, truth. Good luck with that.