Pryor on Fire posted:

this is what the russiagate people are talking about nowadays
https://twitter.com/emptywheel/status/1485733207274369031

genericnick posted:

Wasn't emptywheel saneish something like 15 years ago? Or am I imagining things?

frajaq posted:

Lostconfused posted:

Where's the HoI mod for the american century of humiliation? Kaiserreich doesn't count.

Pener Kropoopkin posted:

Does anyone even know what started this invasion scare, or did everybody just get marching orders at the same time and this sprang seemingly spontaneously?

Pener Kropoopkin posted:

Does anyone even know what started this invasion scare, or did everybody just get marching orders at the same time and this sprang seemingly spontaneously?

Lostconfused posted:

It was some source within the intelligence community.

quote:

President Joe Biden dispatched CIA Director Bill Burns to Moscow earlier this week to warn the Kremlin that the US is watching its buildup of troops near Ukraine's border closely, and to attempt to determine what is motivating Russia's actions.

The rare trip by Burns to Russia, where he held talks with senior Kremlin security officials directly involved in the military activity, came as the US has grown increasingly concerned by Russia's irregular movement of troops and equipment near Ukraine's northern border, according to multiple US and Ukrainian sources briefed on the meeting.

The flurry of high-level diplomacy underscores how seriously the Biden administration is taking the latest Russian troop movements, even after an earlier buildup in the spring ultimately did not lead to a renewed invasion. Tensions between Ukraine and Russia have also been exacerbated in recent weeks by a deepening Ukrainian energy crisis that Kiev believes Moscow has purposefully provoked.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said on Friday that the "scale" and "the size of the units that we're seeing" from Russia is "unusual."

Assessments on Russia's motives differ widely within the administration, with some sources telling CNN they believe Russia could be preparing for an invasion, while others suggest they are conducting an exercise, or simply trying to intimidate Ukraine.

And publicly, Ukraine has downplayed the idea that Russia is building up its military presence near the border beyond normal levels. Russia has "established a practice of "transferring and accumulating military units for the purpose of maintaining tension in the region and political pressure on neighboring countries," Ukraine's Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.

F Stop Fitzgerald posted:

we saw some very disturbing images, from space

quote:

Satellite images taken by Maxar Technologies on Monday demonstrate the kind of irregular Russian troop and equipment movements that US officials are worried about.

frajaq posted:

Lostconfused posted:

Where's the HoI mod for the american century of humiliation? Kaiserreich doesn't count.

Man Musk posted:

CCP so weak they cannot hold themselves to the same free elections they enshrined into law in 1949.

AnimeIsTrash posted:

https://twitter.com/Kodernikus/status/1485589086912266241

Lol

AnimeIsTrash posted:

https://twitter.com/Kodernikus/status/1485589086912266241

Lol

Subvisual Haze posted:

The only real sign I've seen of Russia applying pressure is Gazprom pumping minimum amounts of natural gas into Europe (meeting prior obligations but no more) causing Europe's NG storage to run low and prices to spike. Hardly a sign of imminent war, but something.

Margarita M. Balmaceda posted:

If revenue-wise a 50% decline in contracted transit volumes may mean a 50% decline in transit fee income, in terms of the actual functioning of the pipeline (not only as an export pipeline but for domestic supplies), a 50% decrease in volumes means much more than a 50% decline in functioning quality. As I discuss at length in my new book, Russian Energy Chains, the reason for this goes back to the shape of Ukraine’s gas pipeline system (which simultaneously handles transit functions as well as domestic supply loads) and natural gas’s material characteristics. Natural gas, being lighter than air, will not move at all in the pipeline without pressure. If the volume of natural gas in Ukraine’s trunk pipeline system goes below a certain percentage of its capacity, it becomes harder not only for the natural gas to move forward in the pipeline, but also for the country’s domestic natural gas supply system to work properly.

AnimeIsTrash posted:

https://twitter.com/Kodernikus/status/1485589086912266241

Lol

quote:

In the fall of 1961, Manzarek briefly enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law. Unable to acclimatize to the curriculum, he transferred to the Department of Motion Pictures, Television and Radio as a graduate student before dropping out altogether after breaking up with a girlfriend.[10][page needed] Although he attempted to enlist in the Army Signal Corps as a camera operator, he was instead assigned to the highly selective Army Security Agency as a prospective intelligence analyst.[11]

quote:

Raymond “Ray” Daniel Manzarek Jr. (1939 – 2013) was an American musician, singer, producer, film director, and author, best known as a member of The Doors from 1965 to 1973, which he co-founded with singer and lyricist Jim Morrison. Manzarek was notable for performing on a keyboard bass during many live shows and some recordings, taking on a role usually filled by a bass guitar player.

In 2018 Medic sent an FOIA request to the National Archives and Records Administration requesting all releasable military records of Ray Manzarek. NARA replied with Manzarek’s military branch and dates of service and stated no other records were available without Manzarek’s written consent.

When Medic informed NARA by phone that Ray Manzarek died in 2013, a NARA rep stated that until the veterans records were made public, next of kin consent was required to release additional files.

According to Britt Leach, after dropping out of college, and following a difficult break up, while drunk in Times Square Manzarek enlisted in the Army Signal Corps to study film. He was eventually stationed on Okinawa at Torii Station, an Army Security Agency outpost, which intercepted and analyzed radio communication, where he befriended Leach.

Leach states that Manzarek (of Polish descent) would not sign a security clearance-required to analyze the intercepted radio traffic-as it would disqualify him from visiting Poland, at the time considered a communist country.

Leach states that the Army retaliated by assigning Manzarek to Torii Station’s casual or “holding” unit-where soldiers performed menial duties while awaiting reassignment or discharge-and frequently encouraged him to sign the clearance papers. Instead Manzarek grew long hair long and a full mustache.

The Army rejoined by sending Manzarek to Laos from where he wrote Leach “unhappy letters, about how the army was really working on him and how he still wouldn’t sign.” After nearly a year of resistance, PFC Manzarek was discharged and returned home.

While in Laos, Manzarek smoked and grew marijuana, returning stateside with a duffel bag packed with varieties of cannabis, which may have been used to fund his subsequent graduate education.

AnimeIsTrash posted:

https://twitter.com/Kodernikus/status/1485589086912266241

Lol

Son of Thunderbeast posted:

We briefly interrupt the Russia-Ukraine discussion for this guy still holding a torch for one of the stupidest recent nontroversies

https://twitter.com/PhilosophyNook/status/1485515463241375748

Red and Black posted:

lol, if not for the whole nuclear war thing I'd almost like to see the US try this

Pushing an army through the entire length of Siberia to get at Moscow? In the middle of winter? What could go wrong?

gradenko_2000 posted:

this is a lot less funny if you remember that the US literally invaded Russia in 1918 by landing an "expeditionary force" in Vladivostok on the side of the Whites

AnimeIsTrash posted:

https://twitter.com/Kodernikus/status/1485589086912266241

Lol

Justin Tyme posted:

She's chilling leave her alone

Subvisual Haze posted:

The only real sign I've seen of Russia applying pressure is Gazprom pumping minimum amounts of natural gas into Europe (meeting prior obligations but no more) causing Europe's NG storage to run low and prices to spike. Hardly a sign of imminent war, but something.