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steinrokkan posted:Well, what I said pretty much means that Stalin wasn't interested in opposing Germany, he was interested in using it as part of his geopolitical scheming? I didn't mean to imply he was an unfairly wronged guy forced to defend himself by attacking Poland, he was trying to nudge Europe towards a war more beneficial for his goals than would happen otherwise. He gave up on trying to form an alliance that would actually proactively oppose Germany around '36. Which is why his offers to Czechoslovakia in 1938 rang hollow, he knew the exact same plans had been rejected several years prior, and was just covering his rear end. Yeah, that's fair enough.
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Sep 18, 2017 02:12
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fishmech posted:As to the British Army of the time, we've seen how lovely they ended up being with the whole Phony War period to build themselves up actively once the war started, what would they have achieved several years before? Precisely, the whole "peace in our time" bollocks which has damned Chamberlain in the popular memory was an attempt to stall the Germans while Britain desperately tried to prepare for what they could see coming.
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Sep 18, 2017 03:41
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Sinteres posted:Doing anything that weakens his perceived power would work against his interest in maintaining an aura of invincibility heading into retirement. He certainly doesn't want anyone getting any ideas about investigating his behavior as president, and I think his paranoia alone will keep him in the game in some form or another for quite a while. Unless something happens, the guy still has at least a couple more terms in him, imo.
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Sep 18, 2017 11:58
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woodenchicken posted:This. Also, protecting his "legacy", which president Medvedev almost took a poo poo on. Medvedev is Putins right hand man. What are you referring to?
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Sep 18, 2017 12:03
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Lightning Lord posted:I wonder if Putin would purposely lose to cement his handpicked successor as having power and being worthy of respect? He probably has too much ego for that. Dwesa fucked around with this message at 12:13 on Sep 18, 2017 |
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Sep 18, 2017 12:11
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Volkerball posted:Medvedev is Putins right hand man. What are you referring to? Didn't know Putin was left-handed.
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Sep 18, 2017 12:32
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Volkerball posted:Medvedev is Putins right hand man. What are you referring to?
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Sep 18, 2017 12:34
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woodenchicken posted:Abandoning Libya, which Putin publicly freaked out over; signing a bunch of liberal laws that were later reverted one by one once he was out of the office. Didn't the anti-corruption protests months ago have more to do with Medvedev and the laws he passed, than with Putin?
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Sep 18, 2017 15:33
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Pajser posted:Didn't the anti-corruption protests months ago have more to do with Medvedev and the laws he passed, than with Putin?
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Sep 18, 2017 15:50
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There are many helpful breakdowns detailing what initiatives of Medvedev's were immediately rolled back when he gave up the reins. Unfortunately they're all in Russian, so long story short: allowed easier registration for NGOs, lowered maximum age for govt. employees, vetoed the proposal for harsher punishments for protesters, tried to make criminal law more humane in general, etc. etc. Among other deadly sins: support for Iran sanctions, being "too easy" on Georgia, and, of course, getting Libya bombed, which, according to many rumours, is what ultimately cost him the 2nd term. http://www.the-village.ru/village/city/situation/159893-chto-ostalos-posle-medvedeva http://www.mk.ru/politics/2014/10/29/reformy-medvedeva-i-kontrreformy-putina-chto-ostalos-ot-novovvedeniy-dama.html http://www.mn.ru/politics/president/84079
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Sep 18, 2017 19:50
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With the recent protests though it was basically two things, pent up frustration from economic woes of post-Maidan Russia combined with his policies affecting economical well-being of lower-middle class Russians (Remember that teacher's complaints on low wages that were met with him saying "become and entrepreneur instead"?), and poor public outlook. The latter is more complicated beast - you get Libya and the Kremlin drama influence, him generally being a chubby awkward gnome, inability to talk, or really even behave, in public (Remember how well it worked out to tell pensioners that there's not money for pensions but it'll all be good?), and, of course, every flashy event featuring his mug. All of this created the perfect storm, amplified in part by Navalny's efforts on anti-corruption initiative.
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Sep 18, 2017 20:20
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That training exercise seems to be going well.  https://twitter.com/_shamanska/status/910048624599584768
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Sep 19, 2017 09:29
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Volkerball posted:That training exercise seems to be going well. What the hell.
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Sep 19, 2017 10:08
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The video's been removed. What's happened?
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Sep 19, 2017 10:23
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Paladinus posted:The video's been removed. What's happened? Bunch of dudes next to cars filming a field, two helicopters approach them from the horizon on a very low altitude, one of them fires what appears to be an autocannon round into the ground some 10-20 meters in front of the camera perspective, if not closer. Cameraman dives into the ground, video cuts.
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Sep 19, 2017 10:28
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Paladinus posted:The video's been removed. What's happened? Seems that video has been reposted: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9ZYX9MYqr4 Rewatching it - I don't think it was the autocannon, looked like small rockets of some sort. Am no expert though.
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Sep 19, 2017 11:25
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Local media say it was actually a rocket. Two people seriously wounded, two cars destroyed.
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Sep 19, 2017 11:28
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An article about it with video https://themoscowtimes.com/news/heicopter-might-have-accidentally-fired-at-audience-during-zapad-drills-58986
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Sep 19, 2017 12:20
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Karmalis posted:Seems that video has been reposted: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9ZYX9MYqr4 Just to be clear, I'm far form helicopter expert, watched it on phone, and didn't look at the news. I would have assumed the rocked would've hosed up more.
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Sep 19, 2017 12:34
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It was a rocket launch pretty obviously lined up on those journalists or the vehicles they were next to. It didn't uncontrollably empty the rocket pods as some of the claims indicate (due to a "short") and the aim was dead on, so this wasn't just random bad luck. The only question is whether it was incompetence and carelessness during a mock rocket attack or just a spectacular way to do away with some journalists in Russia.
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Sep 19, 2017 12:39
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Warbadger posted:It was a rocket launch pretty obviously lined up on those journalists or the vehicles they were next to. Right now the official line is that there has been an unrelated accidental rocket launch, but under different circumstances and no one's been harmed. No solid explanation of the video yet. E: okay, now they say the video is older and shows another accidental launch that has only destroyed an empty lorry. https://lenta.ru/news/2017/09/19/zalp/ Paladinus fucked around with this message at 13:13 on Sep 19, 2017 |
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Sep 19, 2017 13:10
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I am amazed at their ability to "change the past" and then believe it for themselves.
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Sep 19, 2017 13:16
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Paladinus posted:Right now the official line is that there has been an unrelated accidental rocket launch, but under different circumstances and no one's been harmed. No solid explanation of the video yet. Yeah, I am sure nothing serious happened, same as in Chernobyl.
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Sep 19, 2017 13:30
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Paladinus posted:Right now the official line is that there has been an unrelated accidental rocket launch, but under different circumstances and no one's been harmed. No solid explanation of the video yet. It's Russia. They're going to say a lot of different, contradictory things.
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Sep 19, 2017 13:53
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woodenchicken posted:http://www.the-village.ru/village/city/situation/159893-chto-ostalos-posle-medvedeva This is pretty good: 
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Sep 19, 2017 14:05
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vyelkin posted:This is pretty good: Hahaha goddamn. Anyway, look at these special buddies! Aren't they cute together? 
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Sep 20, 2017 15:04
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Special is right. I do prefer this version, though:
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Sep 20, 2017 17:10
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Who is the left ghoul?
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Sep 20, 2017 17:11
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Zeman, the Czech alcoholic-in-chief. Thing about this photo is that he has been trying to get an audience with Trump ever since Trump was elected and he (falsely) claimed multiple times to have been invited to the White House.
anilEhilated fucked around with this message at 17:14 on Sep 20, 2017 |
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Sep 20, 2017 17:11
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anilEhilated posted:Zeman, the Czech alcoholic-in-chief. Ah, how fitting. He seems to have noticeably deteriorated since I last saw his mug.
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Sep 20, 2017 17:12
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cinci zoo sniper posted:Ah, how fitting. He seems to have noticeably deteriorated since I last saw his mug. Seems in peak condition to me? 
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Sep 20, 2017 17:36
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steinrokkan posted:Seems in peak condition to me? Is that guy on the left a politician or just a bodyguard? Because daaaaaaamn
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Sep 21, 2017 04:37
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anilEhilated posted:Zeman, the Czech alcoholic-in-chief. Thing about this photo is that he has been trying to get an audience with Trump ever since Trump was elected and he (falsely) claimed multiple times to have been invited to the White House. Zdenek Zeman remains the most important Czech. Anyone besmirching his good name should be purged.
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Sep 21, 2017 10:58
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vyelkin posted:This is pretty good: This made me laugh, but the article is sad in that everything Dima did Putin has rolled back or eliminated.
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Sep 21, 2017 11:15
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It misses the ring 
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Sep 23, 2017 11:57
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cinci zoo sniper posted:They're already dead, I think. Update: Their leader got arrested on September 20 on grounds of arsony.
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Sep 27, 2017 12:32
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Got an alert today about a military ammunition depot located in Kalynivka (25 kilometers north from Vinnytsia city on the highway to Kyiv) caught on fire and led to some big explosions apparently.
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Sep 27, 2017 13:33
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Shes Not Impressed posted:Got an alert today about a military ammunition depot located in Kalynivka (25 kilometers north from Vinnytsia city on the highway to Kyiv) caught on fire and led to some big explosions apparently. Yup, http://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-europe-41411977/ukraine-military-arms-dump-explodes Wonder if it was another thermite drone.
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Sep 27, 2017 13:44
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So Poroshenko signed a language law according to which all students in Ukraine will, starting from 2020, only study in Ukrainian from the fifth grade onward. They will still be able to study their potential native languages that are different than Ukrainian on the side, but that is the main gist of the law. Other EE states didn't take it very well. The Romanian president cancelled his trip to Ukraine as well as Poroshenko's trip to Romania, and yesterday Hungary's FM said that his country will in retaliation be blocking "all" Ukrainian attempts to get closer to the EU in the future. I'm sure Poland was also pissed in some way or another. http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/ukraines-president-signs-controversial-education-law-50096090 Now I can see the point on both sides of this, and maybe it's easy for me to say as a person not from any of these countries, but seems to me like now would be the time to just accept the law as it is. I'm not sure it should have been signed, but it was. Helping Ukraine consolidate its national identity should probably be more important right now than bickering over national minorities numbering in the hundreds of thousands. But seeing as it is EE, it's all probably about to all go to hell. The language used and the tantrum thrown by the Hungarians is embarrassing, as there are like 150 000 Hungarians living in Ukraine.
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Sep 27, 2017 13:54
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Fabulous Knight posted:So Poroshenko signed a language law according to which all students in Ukraine will, starting from 2020, only study in Ukrainian from the fifth grade onward. They will still be able to study their potential native languages that are different than Ukrainian on the side, but that is the main gist of the law. Other EE states didn't take it very well. The Romanian president cancelled his trip to Ukraine as well as Poroshenko's trip to Romania, and yesterday Hungary's FM said that his country will in retaliation be blocking "all" Ukrainian attempts to get closer to the EU in the future. I'm sure Poland was also pissed in some way or another.
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Sep 27, 2017 14:01
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