Saladman posted:

That smells very strongly of bullshit. Venezuela and Ukraine both have agency, and the governments of both deeply hate the other major power.

Ynglaur posted:

Yes but Russia does not believe that is true.

DarklyDreaming posted:

This whole war was built on conversion camp logic so it's not that weird to hear Russia apply that logic to other countries

Eregos posted:

Is there a reason Romania and Bulgaria wouldn't want Ukrainian ships in their waters? If the Russians really will attack ships in other waters that would be a major escalation by them that I haven't discussion of yet.

Chill Monster posted:

I think it is more about the average amount of shelling than shelling period. All of the sources we have are indicating that as a whole, the Russian army is shelling considerably less than it was like two weeks ago.

ZombieLenin posted:

All of this is to say, the entire Putin government expects every other government to be interested in the same sorts of authoritarian power grabs and territorial acquisitions that they are.

It’s no surprise to me that Putin and the Russian government really believed, “hey we will just give the US Venezuela in exchange for Ukraine! That’s totally workable and of course the US will be interested.”

ZombieLenin posted:

George W Bush is on record as having said that when he was leaving office Putin called and asked why he was leaving, and when Bush said, “the US constitution only allows me to serve 8 years…” Putin authentically questioned Bush about why he didn’t just change the constitution.

fatherboxx posted:

Another strike on a city

https://twitter.com/JayinKyiv/status/1547500410914627585?t=gmwrWRIxenhkVgStWfFarg&s=19

cinci zoo sniper posted:

This strike looks so bafflingly stupid. They seem to have aimed for a concert hall called “Officers’ house”.

“Hey Google, show me closest military bases.”

fatherboxx posted:

Another strike on a city

cinci zoo sniper posted:

This strike looks so bafflingly stupid. They seem to have aimed for a concert hall called “Officers’ house”.

“Hey Google, show me closest military bases.”

Morrow posted:

Vasily, we must respond by hitting their command and control.

*googles "officer's house"*

KitConstantine posted:

Twitter nearly released me from my curse and was down for an hour, but now that it's back up let me warn people it's another bad day to scroll any Ukraine accounts - there are quite a few graphic pictures already popping up. Reporting so far is 20 dead, including three children, and 90 injured.



The city is straight north of Moldova, no where near the front lines. I've seen the pic with the stroller. Try not to.

Zhanism posted:

This is so dumb. You are wasting munitions on something non war related that only pisses your opponent off more while reminding the world why they should hate you.

Zhanism posted:

This is so dumb. You are wasting munitions on something non war related that only pisses your opponent off more while reminding the world why they should hate you.

Zhanism posted:

This is so dumb. You are wasting munitions on something non war related that only pisses your opponent off more while reminding the world why they should hate you.

quote:

Ukraine's state-owned gas company Naftogaz asked its international creditors earlier this week to allow for a two-year deferral on debt payments, fueling bets that the sovereign could follow.

Creditors were urged Thursday to reject the company's request.

Zhanism posted:

This is so dumb. You are wasting munitions on something non war related that only pisses your opponent off more while reminding the world why they should hate you.

the popes toes posted:

I'm American, in the 90's spent a couple of weeks in Viet Nam, hit the war museums in Hanoi and HCMC.

The total lack of antipathy to the US and Americans was a huge surprise, almost embarrassing. I encountered no hard feelings, bad will or recriminations. Granted, it was only a couple of weeks and my encounters were mostly hotel, shops and restaurants. Even at the museums, some of them open air, where there was plenty of anti-US agit prop exhibitions, it was always, "This is our history," and not "This is what the evil US needs to answer for," although the old propaganda artwork was harsh and unforgiving. But not the people, who were exceptionally warm and friendly. It was not what I had expected and prepared myself for.

I have no idea how the Vietnamese moved away from hate and recrimination. I didn't have the guts to ask, "Why don't you hate us?" I was more uncomfortable with the topic than the Vietnamese.

Russia is digging an unfathomably deep hole for justified Ukrainian hatred to fill and the Vietnamese sort of detente, let alone friendliness, between Ukraine and Russia doesn't even seem imaginable.

Zhanism posted:

This is so dumb. You are wasting munitions on something non war related that only pisses your opponent off more while reminding the world why they should hate you.

quote:

For the humanists and the self-righteous, I repeat, this is war! And in war all means are justified. If we don't bomb maternity wards, schools, ordinary residential areas, we will not win this war. Only pressure from the people of salo-reich on Zelensky can force him to capitulate.
The reputation of Russia and its army is at stake. We must win, whatever it takes!
And remember, you cannot speak against your own motherland in times of war. Even if she is wrong!

quote:

Monday April 13, 1959.

Stockholm, Sweden - UPI - The big, shining American automobile drew up outside the "Texas Bar". A tall man in an ivy league suit got out and sauntered in to the dimly lit saloon.

"A sweet martini," he ordered.

"Nyet," snarled the barman.' "No American would drink a sweet martini. Now start all over again."

"Well, how about a Scotch on the rocks?"

Maj. Per Lindgren writing in I the Swedish military journal; "Contact With the Armed Forces." says this is the sort of thing' that happens every day in the; "typically American" town of Winniza, USSR.

30,000 Inhabitants

For Winniza, Lindgren says, is Russia’s top school for Soviet spies scheduled for assignment in the United States.

Russian spy training in Winniza. a tightly guarded town of 30.000 inhabitants in the central Ukraine, is the most efficient m the world.' Lindgren says "Nobody graduates until they are completely Indoctrinated into the American way of life," he said. Some of them spend up to 13 years there before their big chance comes." ,

According to Lindgren;

* About 1,000 students from Russian universities are sent there ever year. The town is surrounded by barbed wire. Guards patrol the boundaries and "ordinary" Russians are not allowed entry.

* All cars are American made. Bars and drugstores abound, jukeboxes blare out American jazz and rock & roll at all hours. Glamor girls put on burlesque shows.

* Instructors act as barmen, waiters, hotel receptionists and shop hands. Every mistake is corrected on the spot. Every kind of American accent is taught. History strictly from the American angle, is pumped into the students.

* They learn how to make telephone calls, how to order theater tickets in Boston, how to talk authoritatively on baseball. There is a special course on Hollywood with special emphasis on the seamier side of life there.

* Students have to put themselves m the place of middle class Americans defending United States foreign policy.

* They're [taught] ... to drive under American regulations - and how to react if pulled up by a traffic officer. Chewing gum machines adorn the sidewalks. The movie theaters show only American pictures. Poker is the only card game allowed.

Lindgren did not disclose his sources for the article, but he I said. ‘Allied counterespionage is well aware of Winniza's existence "

He added that the Allies also* knew about the Russian school 'for female spies at Marienburg, in Saxony, East Germany.

He said the Marienburg center was camouflaged as a dancing and gymnastic school and the "girls who graduate from there go to work mainly in West Germany where American military personnel are stationed.*'

They are the best looking women available, perfectly trained in everything from make-up to swearing in "Americancse" Lindgren said their most important course was "the art of seduction." but they also learn to dance the newest Americans and Latin steps.

Lindgren said Marienburg's best known graduate was beautiful Irmgardt. She got five years in jail in 1950 for trying to get secrets from an American member of the Berlin espionage bureau.

Paladinus posted:

quote:

For the humanists and the self-righteous, I repeat, this is war! And in war all means are justified. If we don't bomb maternity wards, schools, ordinary residential areas, we will not win this war. Only pressure from the people of salo-reich on Zelensky can force him to capitulate.

bird food bathtub posted:

On the other hand if your doctrine can be summed up as "genocide, terrorising civilians, and war crimes until they're dead or submit" it's pretty spot on. Ukraine can punch back though which they're not used to.

Deteriorata posted:

Killing all the native Ukrainians is directly war related for Putin. It's the whole point of it.

Kavros posted:

It's really their only play, through and through. As we got to the point of military resistance against the russian invasion, people were repeatedly citing the previous examples of russia's playbook and the absolute guarantee that capricious destruction, cruelty to civilians, mass looting, and murder would be the repetition of the theme already observed. Everyone was saying "yeah they're just going to grozny poo poo" and it's been true throughout.

Zhanism posted:

Oh I 100% know this but what i failed to really articulate how i feel is that this is not Chechnya or Georgia where the country is small and these things can work. You dont have the missiles to kill every single Ukrainian, you dont have the manpower to occupy the whole country. Why are you wasting munitions when these are evident facts and your actual military is bogged down hundreds of miles away.

Nenonen posted:

2) during cold war it was reported in media that KGB trained thousands of spies there to infiltrate USA in an American miniature small town. The best part is this "documentary", or more an imagining of what a KGB infiltration training facility would look like.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVMP4dQLNgY

Paladinus posted:

Deteriorata posted:

Killing all the native Ukrainians is directly war related for Putin. It's the whole point of it.

Willo567 posted:

Who is this

the popes toes posted:

I'm American, in the 90's spent a couple of weeks in Viet Nam, hit the war museums in Hanoi and HCMC.

The total lack of antipathy to the US and Americans was a huge surprise, almost embarrassing. I encountered no hard feelings, bad will or recriminations. Granted, it was only a couple of weeks and my encounters were mostly hotel, shops and restaurants. Even at the museums, some of them open air, where there was plenty of anti-US agit prop exhibitions, it was always, "This is our history," and not "This is what the evil US needs to answer for," although the old propaganda artwork was harsh and unforgiving. But not the people, who were exceptionally warm and friendly. It was not what I had expected and prepared myself for.

I have no idea how the Vietnamese moved away from hate and recrimination. I didn't have the guts to ask, "Why don't you hate us?" I was more uncomfortable with the topic than the Vietnamese.

Russia is digging an unfathomably deep hole for justified Ukrainian hatred to fill and the Vietnamese sort of detente, let alone friendliness, between Ukraine and Russia doesn't even seem imaginable.

Paladinus posted:

For the humanists and the self-righteous, I repeat, this is war! And in war all means are justified. If we don't bomb maternity wards, schools, ordinary residential areas, we will not win this war. Only pressure from the people of salo-reich on Zelensky can force him to capitulate.

WAR CRIME GIGOLO posted:

Yeah but this is the same reason Spain didn't join the axis. Even as the war was still going okay if obvious to The outsiders that things were going downhill fast.

Like I can understand this thinking if Iran had an existential Invasion threat on the horizon but it doesn't. It's pretty drat stable all things considered. Yeah I know US warhawking etc but that hasn't completely come into fruiting. It's also glaringly obvious that Russia isn't the ally Iran needs to bulwark against the US.

You should definitely look into Iran politics surrounding the sanctions a little more as the mainstream Iranians definitely would love to see sanctions gone but the government stays.

Saladman posted:

What is a "Salo-Reich"? Like the fascist government of Italy based in Salo? That doesn't even make sense to me in this context.

cinci zoo sniper posted:

Salo is Ukraine’s national dish, a fatback slab. Stereotypically found gross by Russians.

Dirt5o8 posted:

Just googled it. It looks like bacon. Back bacon. Does it taste like bacon? Who would hate that?

Mr. Apollo posted:

It's all fat though. Bacon has meat in it.