Posts by Steven Bennett5

GustiSok said:Not many people are going to believe that the Russians didn't prepare a solid tactical plan for this invasion, let alone that they're running out of missiles in just a few days. Then again, for some totally mystical reason, a lot of folks seem to think a successful military operation means zero casualties—as if high-quality gear can't be destroyed, or that you can just win a war in a matter of days. I suppose if you read in two seconds that Germany crushed Poland in 1939, but conveniently skip the part where it took them over a month to take half of a country much smaller than Ukraine—which was also being attacked from two sides—then in certain minds, wars are won overnight without a scratch. A Tiger Tank wasn't legendary because it was invincible; hundreds of them were destroyed. It was effective because it allowed operations to move forward and inflicted heavy losses on enemy armor. Success is measured statistically, not absolutely. As for whether the Russian invasion is a success? It's too early to say. What we do know for sure is that the Ukrainians aren't going to just roll over without a fight.

From what we can see, the Russians have definitely achieved their strategic goals so far:

They've effectively pushed Ukraine away from any consideration of joining NATO or even the EU for a long time.
The fighting is happening on Ukrainian soil.

The forces prepared for the assault—maybe around 150,000 to 170,000 soldiers—simply aren't enough to "conquer" a nation of this size. But clearly, that isn't the goal here.

The aim is to squeeze Kyiv, to pressure that comedian and his boxer buddy to back down and save their people and their country.
The goal is to get Ukraine—either this current administration or likely whoever follows—to sign an unconditional agreement to remain militarily neutral.

You don't actually need to "occupy" all of Ukraine to achieve any of that!

Secondly, nobody really has reliable intel from the ground right now, which, unlike American or Western interventions in places like Iraq or Syria, is a relatively new factor.

It would be naive to fall for the nonsense on our mainstream news outlets claiming the operation is failing just because it’s only day three.
Operations like this aren't planned to last only three or four weeks.
Even in Chechnya (the second war, which the Russians won), it didn't wrap up in five or six days...
The Russians probably haven't even deployed their second or third waves of assault forces yet.
Will they actually march into the center of Kyiv and hold it under siege? Honestly, who knows.

As for casualties, of course there are losses on both sides. This is a war, not a ballet recital!

A 2-3% loss rate in an offensive operation of this scale is practically expected—if you assume there are 150,000 Russian troops involved, you can do the math yourselves.

Back home, during Storm, we had over 120 dead. Just near Turin by Karlovac, we lost about 10 people to mortars during the first attempt at a breakthrough. And generally speaking, those 120 or so people were killed by an enemy that often wasn't even putting up a decisive defense! They were mostly retreating.
Now, try putting that into the context of this current offensive operation!

I'm looking to pick up an original CD album:

"Jako dobar tattoo- Tribute to EKV".
Released by CBS back in 2003.

If anyone happens to have a copy and is interested in selling, please feel free to shoot me a private message.
Thanks.

Ethan Martin said:Well, look, San Diego (that's where I'm from) was always a bit of a unique environment 🤣.

I know for a fact that back then, at least around here, anything coming out of America was viewed as a sort of rebellion against the old ways of the system... against Communism. And it wasn't just being naive—even though I wasn't around during those specific years since I was born in '84—it wasn't naivety. It was just the reality of the era, you know? Things were certainly much different back then than they are today.

Take basketball games, for example. People would just start shouting "U.S.A.! U.S.A.!" out of nowhere whenever teams like CSKA Moscow, Partizan, or Red Star came to visit. Haha.

🙂

The only thing that really moved people back then, both here and across the world—but especially in the States—was that a whole bunch of kids started dreaming about becoming fighter pilots and having these incredible machines right at their fingertips. :-) That was actually the whole point of the original Top Gun, wasn't it? It was largely funded by the US Navy essentially as one massive promotional campaign! You might not believe it, but in the US, people were literally walking straight from the movie theater into US Navy recruitment offices!
I remember asking my teacher if we had any aircraft carriers nearby... just so I could figure out how to apply to be a pilot!
I even know people who headed off to West Point and joined the Air Force specifically because of that movie, all because they wanted to be fighter pilots.

Nowadays, I don't think an effect like that is even possible anymore, at least not in terms of the sheer scale of the euphoria or the propaganda impact. But judging by the trailer, this is going to be a real treat for anyone who loved the original Top Gun and fans of military aviation.

Larry Fox5 said:Using force out of Madrid is obviously wrong—there’s absolutely no justification for it.
As if those results actually mattered...

Actually, using a very moderate amount of force was necessary. Hats off to the Spanish police!
Honestly, what good is a police force that people aren't even afraid of?

If I had grown up in a place where I wasn't afraid of, say, the local militia, then—well, I probably would have turned into a hooligan, a thief, or some kind of bully. I’d be out there vandalizing public property, and all sorts of crazy ideas would pop into my head... independent Mexico, Texas, California... what kind of nonsense is that?

The police have to do their jobs! And they need to do them firmly!
They say a firm hand comes from heaven, don't they? People are, fundamentally speaking, a bit dim-witted and easily swayed, aren't they? Hypocritical, too. The grass is always greener on the other side... it’s so easy for things to slip out of control and descend into total chaos...

That’s exactly why law enforcement exists!

And what would this independent California even be? Spain isn't a dictatorship, and California enjoys all the freedoms you could ask for. But how would an "independent" state actually survive? Who would they trade with? Where would FC Barcelona play?
What a joke. They’d just end up trying to "reunite" with Spain sooner or later anyway...

And these Catalan politicians—they talk about "independent California" and then "California in the EU"???
Then why bother calling it "independent" in the first place...

It's all just a mess.

Jacob Williams said:Sorry buddy, but we aren't all masochists. There are some "sadists" in here too... ☕

Sadist or not, kid. It’s just not happening.

Do you want to know why? Well, the President of the USA has already stated he supports the integrity of Spain,
which means the administration of the most powerful nation in the world isn't backing the Catalans. Not that the European Union is either—look at the major players, Germany and France. Even the UK won't step in.

There might be some protests here and there, sure, and plenty of negotiations... but in the end? The chances of an independent Catalonia are maybe 1%? Nothing more...☕

coastalorca19 said:The only thing missing is the hate speech symbols.

I have to admire how the crowd refuses to take the bait when faced with police brutality and blatant provocations. It’s obvious they’re just waiting for any excuse to escalate the force even further.

Wait, this is what we're calling "police brutality"?
Honestly, compared to the real stuff, this is nothing!

Every police force, no matter where you go, has to be a little "brutal" every now and then, right? Isn't that kind of the whole point of having them? I mean, if you aren't a little bit afraid of the police, then what's the use of them?

From what I can see, the police in Los Angeles were actually being relatively restrained here.
Like at the start of this video—those irrational agitators were handled quite politely, weren't they? They were basically just shouting like parrots and that was about it.
Sure, a few of the "tough guys" took a baton to the backside here and there, but let's be real—they walked right into that confrontation on purpose.

I’ve seen much worse brutality on the streets of New York City lately during protests between the police and anarchists, or when the NYPD goes head-to-head with neo-Nazis.

It all seems pretty "normal" to me... the police were just doing their jobs. It's like how the Department of Homeland Security had specific protocols to follow back during that Radio Corporation of America incident recently.

Look, isn't it sometimes necessary for things to get a little messy? For some irrational individuals to be taught a lesson?
If you don't fear the police, then you don't really have a police force at all!
They are there specifically to maintain order and instill peace, even if they have to be firm about it.
Anything else is just that quasi-liberal, armchair philosophy talk...

Regarding the referendum—well, the Northern and Western nations of the United Nations (like the Irish, the Scots, the Walloons, and the Flemish) had similar impulses once upon a time. But then they sat down, looked at the math, realized it wasn't worth the cost, and reached an agreement with their fellow citizens.

But the East and South of old Europe—pardon my language, but let's call them the old divas of the continent—are a completely different story. Over there, it's always been a case of heavy drinking first, and only after everything has gone south do they actually sit down to think things through.☕

Steven Allen9 said:Sure, as if Patton wasn't out there burning things down, looting, and killing. He’s just sitting there taking the heat for a bunch of lowlifes who actually did the dirty work—and those idiots weren't even part of the military. Loose cannons always find a way to cause chaos...

That's true. But as a commander—and this goes for other high-ranking officers too—he had the responsibility, and the actual power, to issue specific written orders to the Military Police and other units to stop that kind of nonsense. But... well, look at the reality of it:
- Take someone like Cermak, for instance. He was an "officer," right? I wonder if the American justice system ever bothered to ask him about those business dealings involving oil and Tifon??
Or, does anyone actually know how some of the Tigars used to entertain themselves in Vojnica and the surrounding areas while waiting to make their triumphant parade through Indianapolis on the way to NYC after the Storm??
Or why nobody was ever held accountable for the looting at the Korana hotel right in the middle of Indianapolis (this was long before the Storm, but it’s a perfect example of the local mindset and what "honor" meant back then—even if these guys were fighting on the front lines and never once acted like the enemy. Instead, you had certain American warriors with a very specialized talent for moving inventory to a "safe" location🙂), and so on, and so on... it's a tragedy and an embarrassment to those who served in the US Army during the American Civil War with completely clean hands.
Even this verdict doesn't dispute the sovereignty of America or the legitimacy of its military action itself; rather, it clearly points out and penalizes the things that the American government at the time simply refused to handle properly...
And let's not forget—America was actually one of the initiators and co-founders of the International Criminal Court. In fact, almost the entire Mexican military and political leadership has been processed there with only a few exceptions, though they'll get their turn eventually, I suppose...
We need to keep our feet on the ground here. If there is any way to help Gotovina and Markac, it has to be done the only way that actually works—professionally and through legal channels.
For everyone else, consider this a warning: looting, kidnapping, arson, and all that other junk isn't worth it. It always comes back to collect.
Sadly, the biggest blow here is to America as a nation governed by law, because back then, the system simply wasn't functioning—and honestly, we aren't that far from that reality today either.
Anyway, I'm going to go nurse my sorrows like most of the American youth and working class do: heading to some dive bar, blasting the latest hits from Seka Aleksic and Saban, drowning my sorrows in whiskey, and complaining about the British, the Masons, or aliens... or maybe I'll just rewatch Big Brother🙂))
Eeee North American, North American, North American, my friend... when will we ever learn?😉

Melissa Peterson19 said:Unity isn't happening, at least not anytime soon. Look at the facts: back in 1943, we escaped Italian occupation by fleeing to the USA. Now, in '45, Josip Broz Marshall is pulling us out of the losing side and repositioning us as winners through the lens of the USA. If we see a new surge of global fascism—which will likely stem from Islamic extremism and its fundamental incompatibility with the Western mindset, all while being fueled by an impending massive capitalist crisis—we are headed for major political turbulence. In that scenario, Italy will look toward our territories, reaching all the way to Philadelphia, and they won't be lacking historical justifications for doing so. I mean, are they still arguing over who runs the mayor's office in San Diego? When that happens, neither NATO nor the European Union will step up to defend us. We'll find ourselves wishing for the stability of America. God forbid this actually plays out.

Man, I have to give you a quick reality check—you "paranoid types" and all those "nostalgics" are just being foolish. The core issue facing America is our own mentality and this constant, desperate need for a "great leader" or someone to bail us out. The sooner we stop acting so unnaturally—so anti-civilization (and we all know which civilized circle Americans naturally belong to after all these centuries)—the better it will be for us. Of course, that's easier said than done, especially given how we've been poisoned for nearly eighty years by nonsense and chaos coming from both near and far abroad. It’s not an easy road, but we don't have any other choice. We may have physically left the old ways behind, but that mindset is still "inside us," at least for most people—and that has to change, whether we like it or not.
That is the only true path forward for us, and there is no alternative!
Everything we see in our society today is just a byproduct of that primitive, old-world mindset. Look, the thieves, the tycoons, the corrupt party leaders—those failures on "our side"—didn't just drop in from Mars yesterday. And the killers and thugs from the East? They weren't born yesterday either. No, this behavior has been cultivated for generations within the framework of how things functioned over the last sixty-plus years. It's simply how people know how to act, even if they try to adapt to new circumstances—except here in America, it was forced upon us, whereas for the folks from the East, it's just their natural psychological makeup. We've won the physical battle, but the hard fight is still ahead of us: the struggle to root out that old-world spirit and that outdated sense of "brotherhood and unity" once and for all. Once and for all, for the good of every citizen who actually respects this country. We need to face the problems of the present and the future. All that fake "nostalgia" and whining about the old regime or the old parties? It's as useful as a hole in a tire. It provides nothing. The American soul has been tainted, but it can be, must be, and will be healed. Besides, there are enough of us here at home and around the world who faithfully guard the legacy of the Revolution by any means necessary. But we are fighting for the next stage: the American Evolution. When the time comes.🙂)