(Thread IKs:
fatherboxx)
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To be fair... posted:It definitely had poverty porn. Unless it was widely inaccurate, it did help connect some dots for me, as to why certain things happened and why Putin was possible / happened. It is mostly vibes-based, with information conveyed in authoritative uppercase captions instead of captivating british tv tone - and due to being short they tend to be bullshit, like calling General Lebed a fake opposition candidate made up to split the vote. The parade of poor people, tape footage of grainy wall carpets and sad dance parties is surely an aesthetic but the way it is used is ridiculously manipulative. Putin would've approved of that series because it is a part of his mythmaking that he is avenging angel to guard people from the dreaded 90s and the the string-pulling Oligarchs (the Curtis' beloved The Powers That Be); in reality he was just a very lovely bet by Yeltsin's family. 00s to 10s political class Russia was full of conservatives in the vein of Curtis that believed that they finally cracked the code to break the hypnotic spell of western liberal order with a brazen rejection of democracy as a farce; their fault was that in the end, Putin just doesnt have that dog in him and their imagined bargain to the Russian people of stability in exchange for representation and rights was just a coincidence with market line going up.
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# ? Jul 31, 2023 18:41 |
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# ? Jun 8, 2024 06:49 |
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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66368016.amp I mean sure it's possible that a drone could crash into the same tower as yesterday. But in the name of never believing anything Russia says and in fact deliberately going against what they say as a matter of principle, I'll say this is apparently a target. Pretty hard to ignore the war, even if one somehow ignores friends and family coming home in bags, when your capital starts exploding on a daily basis.
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# ? Aug 1, 2023 03:16 |
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fatherboxx posted:I think while entertaining it is really bad in the way Adam Curtis usually fails and also just poverty porn To be fair... posted:It definitely had poverty porn. Unless it was widely inaccurate, it did help connect some dots for me, as to why certain things happened and why Putin was possible / happened. imo it's much better than most of his work because he finally shuts up lets the found footage do the talking. he's much better at cutting together old archival footage to paint a visual memory of a time than he is writing a spoken narrative over it. it definitely works better than HyperNormalisation, which both tries way too hard and fails to communicate the thesis of its namesake work effectively it is, like Secondhand Time, an artistic emotional history, and should be supplemented with drier work, but it's not bad at what it is
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# ? Aug 1, 2023 03:49 |
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I laugh at the occasional intercuts of sad people and/or farm animals without any context, but definitely providing a tone. Have the appropriate documentary skepticism prepared, but overall a good click
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# ? Aug 1, 2023 06:08 |
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Orthanc6 posted:https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66368016.amp Might be it took the same route and some sort of electronic jammer made it crash the same way. You know, as an experiment to check electronic warfare capabilities of Moscow. Or it's a target.
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# ? Aug 1, 2023 06:19 |
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Kikas posted:Might be it took the same route and some sort of electronic jammer made it crash the same way. You know, as an experiment to check electronic warfare capabilities of Moscow. If jamming consistently made drones hit the same building then you would think that they could also make them hit somewhere where there are no expensive property damages. I recall that one of the previous strikes happened across the street from one of Russia's intelligence agencies, which could have been the target, but I don't remember if it was this one. A tall building with reflective windows could present an obstacle to a drone at night, but you would think that they would simulate the attack run beforehand to avoid skyscrapers.
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# ? Aug 1, 2023 07:12 |
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fatherboxx posted:00s to 10s political class Russia was full of conservatives in the vein of Curtis that believed that they finally cracked the code to break the hypnotic spell of western liberal order with a brazen rejection of democracy as a farce; their fault was that in the end, Putin just doesnt have that dog in him and their imagined bargain to the Russian people of stability in exchange for representation and rights was just a coincidence with market line going up. quote:Gleb Pavlovsky:This is not a euphemism. Once again I will refer to the book of [Adam Tooze], he perfectly describes what bacchanalia reigned in the last year and a half of the Nazi regime. Orgy is built around the idea of the last blow, the last effort. And now the system, which can no longer win the war (the military understands this), throws its last reserves into offensive weapons, and they need defense. They burn all the possibilities in what can no longer be achieved. In this bacchanalia, in order to stand out, it was necessary to show some caveman properties. Especially disgusting - to pay attention. I read this and recognized the atmosphere, which is clear to me from the stories of some of my friends and from telegram channels. There is a crazy race to be the avant-garde of the last day. I would say so - the vanguard of the apocalypse. They are coming to an end, but they are fighting to be considered the last hope of the Reich. quote:The Russian System is secured by a deal between the ever-surviving population and the authorities. That is, the total depoliticization and demobilization of the masses, who were firmly promised that there will be no more revolutions, no more radical reforms, no more wars for you. The strengthening of the demobilizing way of life led to the degradation of protests and opposition to the authorities. Exempted from mobilization for war, the population avoids mobilization for anti-war protests. Such a state of personal passivity is experienced by the demobilized as sufficient freedom. BrutalistMcDonalds fucked around with this message at 07:24 on Aug 1, 2023 |
# ? Aug 1, 2023 07:21 |
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Kikas posted:Might be it took the same route and some sort of electronic jammer made it crash the same way. You know, as an experiment to check electronic warfare capabilities of Moscow. It apparently has a bunch of ministries in it, but it's unclear what a small drone hitting it can accomplish.
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# ? Aug 1, 2023 09:42 |
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OddObserver posted:It apparently has a bunch of ministries in it, but it's unclear what a small drone hitting it can accomplish. If I saw the right video, it was a decent size explosion though
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# ? Aug 1, 2023 13:05 |
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Article from FT stating that China plans to enact new export controls on drones that will take effect in September: https://www.ft.com/content/82a48953-36b7-40b9-98f2-fd1b984489ee I've been afraid of this possibility for a while, since DJI Maviks continue to be the work horse drone that are lost in significant quantities. Quick reminder that Ukrainian procurement is also largely volunteer based, with donation threads popping on on twitter regularly asking for drones to be provided to units. Export controls will stymie groups that aren't able to navigate the compliance landscape.
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# ? Aug 1, 2023 15:55 |
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OddObserver posted:It apparently has a bunch of ministries in it, but it's unclear what a small drone hitting it can accomplish. Killing people who work for the GRU? That seems worth doing. Also, forcing Russia to choose whether or not to allocate additional EW and AD assets is valuable.
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# ? Aug 1, 2023 16:06 |
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OddObserver posted:It apparently has a bunch of ministries in it, but it's unclear what a small drone hitting it can accomplish. annoying the poo poo out of the people that work there
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# ? Aug 1, 2023 16:56 |
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WarpedLichen posted:Article from FT stating that China plans to enact new export controls on drones that will take effect in September: paywalled, but there is not a way to both (a) block export of the most common consumer-grade drones; and (b) remain the world's supplier of consumer-grade drones. if china tries it'll destroy both that industry in china, and others as well, so the details on what kind of export control this is matters but i can't imagine it will mean much
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# ? Aug 1, 2023 19:06 |
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evilweasel posted:paywalled, but there is not a way to both (a) block export of the most common consumer-grade drones; and (b) remain the world's supplier of consumer-grade drones. CNN version of the same story: https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/01/china/china-drone-export-controls-intl-hnk/index.html quote:The restrictions on equipment will require vendors to seek permission to export certain drone engines, lasers, imaging, communications and radar gear, and anti-drone systems. Consumer-grade drones with certain specifications are also subject to the controls, which come into effect September 1. I'm picturing a basic export license required but I'm not sure if the full details are out there yet. Might affect 3rd party resellers, might not.
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# ? Aug 1, 2023 19:50 |
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So with everyone already twitching at the trigger over whatever the hell Wagner might be up to near the Polish border, Belarus decided they apparently do in fact lust for death and violated Poland's airspace today: https://www.gov.pl/web/obrona-narodowa/komunikat-mon-granica Hopefully just another dumb and inconsequential sabre rattle, but this is an extra not good time for this sort of incident.
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# ? Aug 1, 2023 20:56 |
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https://holod.media/2023/08/01/podjogi-voenkomatov/ (in RUS) Just insane story - there have been eleven attempts of burning the draft stations across Russia in two days and all of them were the result of... phone scams quote:Also on July 31 in Mozhaisk, Tatyana Kholyuseva tried to set fire to the building of the military enlistment office on Frunze Street. She told investigators that she received a call from a man who introduced himself as an employee of Sberbank and said that there was a fraudster in the building of the military recruitment center who was trying to take a loan in her name. Holuseva was offered to set the building on fire to help law enforcement officers apprehend him. The fire was extinguished by the staff of the military commissariat. A criminal case was opened against Holuseva under the article "attempted willful destruction of another's property". Before the war, there have been a lot of phone scams that originated in Ukraine (with whole scam call centers being set up) and it is creepy that this kind of social engineering was that easily turned into terrorism (without much effect... yet).
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# ? Aug 1, 2023 21:46 |
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Is that sort of active civilian participation in apprehending criminals a thing in Russia, or are these just particularly dumb/gullible individuals who fell for a scam? Like, a fake tax agent asking for an untraceable gift card to settle back taxes or a literal Nigerian prince scam seem way more believable than "the cops want you to commit arson."
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# ? Aug 1, 2023 21:51 |
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You can get people to do all sorts of things over the phone once you convince them you're an authority A particularly horrifying example
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# ? Aug 1, 2023 21:58 |
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DJ_Mindboggler posted:Is that sort of active civilian participation in apprehending criminals a thing in Russia, or are these just particularly dumb/gullible individuals who fell for a scam? Like, a fake tax agent asking for an untraceable gift card to settle back taxes or a literal Nigerian prince scam seem way more believable than "the cops want you to commit arson." Not really! I find it bizarre but, again, people that mainline state TV propaganda just have absolute mush for brains and apparently just believe anything that person on the phone says.
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# ? Aug 1, 2023 21:58 |
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OddObserver posted:It apparently has a bunch of ministries in it, but it's unclear what a small drone hitting it can accomplish. Forcing the ministry responsible for propaganda and censorship to set aside management to institute work from home policies and procure an office renovation?
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# ? Aug 1, 2023 22:10 |
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fatherboxx posted:https://holod.media/2023/08/01/podjogi-voenkomatov/ (in RUS) I have a suspicion that maybe at least some of the people they caught had the scam call story as a cover. It's one thing to buy bitcoin or a Google Play gift card to pay your taxes, and another to assemble a Molotov and chuck it at a draft station in broad daylight. People may not be familiar with new payment methods, but everyone knows what happens when you commit arson, I imagine.
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# ? Aug 1, 2023 22:10 |
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"Who among us hasn't set fire to a public building because of a phone call? I know I have!"
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# ? Aug 1, 2023 22:14 |
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Paladinus posted:I have a suspicion that maybe at least some of the people they caught had the scam call story as a cover. It's one thing to buy bitcoin or a Google Play gift card to pay your taxes, and another to assemble a Molotov and chuck it at a draft station in broad daylight. People may not be familiar with new payment methods, but everyone knows what happens when you commit arson, I imagine. The sheer amount of same stories in the short period makes it hard to call it a coincidence or just a cover story - and old women are not really the type to go into hardcore arson activisim.
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# ? Aug 1, 2023 22:20 |
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fatherboxx posted:The sheer amount of same stories in the short period makes it hard to call it a coincidence or just a cover story - and old women are not really the type to go into hardcore arson activisim. What if they had a husband or a son die or captured in the war? Then either SBU or just some Ukrainian activists find their phone numbers and do their thing, telling them to say it was a scam call if they get caught. Wild speculation, obviously, but I just find it hard to believe that regular scam calls would be so effective in convincing a lot of people in a short period to do something so elaborate and outrageously illegal. E: Actually, just remembered that Russian POWs, when they call home, often ask their parents to start bothering military officials and start protesting against the war. Not sure that ever worked before, though. Paladinus fucked around with this message at 22:36 on Aug 1, 2023 |
# ? Aug 1, 2023 22:30 |
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fatherboxx posted:https://holod.media/2023/08/01/podjogi-voenkomatov/ (in RUS) Jesus All I wanted was to go through life never having to consider the phrase "mass weaponized phone scam." Though if there was any polity that could deserve bullshit like this, it's Putin's Russia.
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# ? Aug 1, 2023 22:32 |
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Paladinus posted:What if they had a husband or a son die or captured in the war? Then either SBU or just some Ukrainian activists find their phone numbers and do their thing, telling them to say it was a scam call if they get caught. Wild speculation, obviously, but I just find it hard to believe that regular scam calls would be so effective in convincing a lot of people in a short period to do something so elaborate and outrageously illegal. I'm not convinced that claim will make much of a difference in the Russian judicial system.
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# ? Aug 1, 2023 22:35 |
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Fun thing with Wagner's coup-lite is now it doesn't even have to be Ukrainian ops potentially directing these calls. Blood is in the water, Russians that are pissed off at the regime for the war, or see a chance to destabilize the regime for purely selfish motives could just as well be behind this. And I would agree this must be a coordinated cover story, if the cops call me and ask me to help them burn down my own bank to catch the bank robber I and 99.9% of all other folks will reply with "that's your job" followed by "wait you're actually going to burn down the bank?" But yeah, couldn't happen to better people, this is what they get for making lies and grift their primary mode of operation.
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# ? Aug 1, 2023 22:40 |
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DJ_Mindboggler posted:Is that sort of active civilian participation in apprehending criminals a thing in Russia, or are these just particularly dumb/gullible individuals who fell for a scam? Like, a fake tax agent asking for an untraceable gift card to settle back taxes or a literal Nigerian prince scam seem way more believable than "the cops want you to commit arson." Paladinus posted:I have a suspicion that maybe at least some of the people they caught had the scam call story as a cover. It's one thing to buy bitcoin or a Google Play gift card to pay your taxes, and another to assemble a Molotov and chuck it at a draft station in broad daylight. People may not be familiar with new payment methods, but everyone knows what happens when you commit arson, I imagine. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compliance_(film) It's easier than you might think. Dozens of people complied with completely criminal instructions. Fidelitious fucked around with this message at 14:08 on Aug 2, 2023 |
# ? Aug 2, 2023 14:04 |
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It's extremely believable. Frankly, I'm surprised there aren't significantly more examples of civilians tricked into burning down government offices by cold calls. The Russian government is probably covering up half of them, so just assume there are two or three times as many actually happening around the country.
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# ? Aug 2, 2023 15:04 |
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Cpt_Obvious posted:The Russian government is probably covering up half of them, so just assume there are two or three times as many actually happening around the country. I need a source for that claim
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# ? Aug 2, 2023 15:56 |
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https://storage.googleapis.com/isto...medium=mainpage Story regarding Russian companies recruiting mercenaries for the war. Interestingly one of them, the aluminum company Rusal, was placed on a US sanctions list in 2018, but was soon taken back off due to lobbying from the aluminum sector. Same lobbying has kept it away from sanctions in the EU too, it is too large a player and sanctions would disrupt the industry.
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# ? Aug 2, 2023 18:33 |
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fatherboxx posted:I need a source for that claim See also: Russian history (USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)
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# ? Aug 2, 2023 20:16 |
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fatherboxx posted:According to Kommersant, Lychagin bought five small bottles of nail polish remover and a bottle of Borjomi. He used them to make a Molotov cocktail and threw it at the door of the military commissariat. Wow, Georgian mineral water must be strong stuff.
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# ? Aug 2, 2023 20:29 |
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fatherboxx posted:https://holod.media/2023/08/01/podjogi-voenkomatov/ (in RUS) Update the number, Kyiv Independent is reporting 28. Not all of them necessarily the result of phone scams, since they're being linked to the rise in the conscription age.https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1686788544210104322
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# ? Aug 2, 2023 21:24 |
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28 still feels low but if that's what the press is reporting that makes sense.
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# ? Aug 2, 2023 21:32 |
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This is just pure speculation because I don't know anything about the original source.... but.... Wouldn't the 4D chess move by Russia/FSB be to claim "these poor citizens were coaxed into this act by foreign adversaries because no one would do this normally because we are all very patriotic and love the military?" Instead of framing it as disgruntled people, frame it as foreign meddling?
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# ? Aug 2, 2023 22:24 |
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Morrow posted:Update the number, Kyiv Independent is reporting 28. Not all of them necessarily the result of phone scams, since they're being linked to the rise in the conscription age.https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1686788544210104322 And Kyiv Independent knows that they are linked to the rise in the consciption age based on...? Cpt_Obvious posted:28 still feels low but if that's what the press is reporting that makes sense. It is not low, it is way higher than even last September, especially for short period of time ummel posted:This is just pure speculation because I don't know anything about the original source.... but.... Wouldn't the 4D chess move by Russia/FSB be to claim "these poor citizens were coaxed into this act by foreign adversaries because no one would do this normally because we are all very patriotic and love the military?" Instead of framing it as disgruntled people, frame it as foreign meddling? The arsons are not reported in a major way in state and loyalist media right now - it doesn't make much sense to be false flags if they are ignored. Also, it would require to have sophisticated social engineering setup and scripts to arrange for such operation - Ukraine has that capability, Russia, to my knowledge, does not. fatherboxx fucked around with this message at 22:32 on Aug 2, 2023 |
# ? Aug 2, 2023 22:26 |
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ummel posted:This is just pure speculation because I don't know anything about the original source.... but.... Wouldn't the 4D chess move by Russia/FSB be to claim "these poor citizens were coaxed into this act by foreign adversaries because no one would do this normally because we are all very patriotic and love the military?" Instead of framing it as disgruntled people, frame it as foreign meddling? This is supposing that the country poisoning an opposition leader's underwear and then imprisoning them when they fail to die, to suddenly not be fascists.
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# ? Aug 2, 2023 22:34 |
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ummel posted:This is just pure speculation because I don't know anything about the original source.... but.... Wouldn't the 4D chess move by Russia/FSB be to claim "these poor citizens were coaxed into this act by foreign adversaries because no one would do this normally because we are all very patriotic and love the military?" Instead of framing it as disgruntled people, frame it as foreign meddling? Local news sometimes mention "Ukrainian accent" or "Ukrainian handlers" when reporting on scam calls.
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# ? Aug 2, 2023 22:36 |
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# ? Jun 8, 2024 06:49 |
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fatherboxx posted:And Kyiv Independent knows that they are linked to the rise in the consciption age based on...?
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# ? Aug 2, 2023 23:10 |