Posts by wearyheron5

So, I’m scrolling through the comments under an article on RIA Novosti regarding the lifting of the Turkish veto on Finland and Sweden joining NATO. Let's just say the commenters aren't exactly celebrating this news.

Here are some of the most intense ones (translated via Google):

• Yes, here the prophecy of all predictors comes true. As they predicted There : Evil will ris against Russia , There will be a cruel War in which Russia will win and The World will Change , and World will Come , and Russians will Rul The World and prosperity will flourish All over The World.

• Turkey is the enemy! Those Who spend their vacation in Turkey pay for The murder of Russian soldiers.

• Not a problem. WE have enough Iskanders and Sarmatians for everyone.

• Knock-knock, nuclear war is already knocking on your door... a little later you will see it and don't say you weren't warned.

• There should never be June 22 again in Russia ( dan žalost !!!! Only a preemptive strike!!! Let their mothers cry better than ours ☝️ glory to Russia

• Well, okay. Russia will Plant missiles on the border with Finland and Sweden and aim them AT Helsinki and Stockholm. At the same time, economic relations with these hostile countries will cool down and there will be purely business-capitalist relations. >, Russian Air, naval and armored forces will be brought up to the borders of Finland.

• The American bandit virus has captured the entire corrupt world, except for Great Russia!.

• We are waiting for Russia's response that will bury Erdogan!

• Turkey must be punished! Severely punished! For NATO! For bayraktars! Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev, include Turkey in the list of countries enemies of Russia!

...and a gold star goes to this comment (my own bolded pick):

• NATO is now even stronger. But unlike Russia, we do not use our power to subdue others. We use it to protect ourselves.

It isn't easy being a hothead in Russia today: NATO is the enemy, Ukrainians are Nazis, Turks are traitors, the USA is the embodiment of evil, Swedes and Finns have no idea what's coming for them, and Poles are stupid. Who's next?

Mind you, you can still find the occasional person thinking outside the box among the comments (though unfortunately, they are rare):

• Another strategic triumph for the smart Mr. Putin.

• I can imagine how the propagandists are now furious. A complete failure of Putin's geopolitics. Thanks to Turkey for humiliating him.

Jessica Peterson2 said:The Russian Ministry of Aggression just dropped their latest press release: they claim they hit military targets in Kremenchuk, and supposedly struck a cache of Western (lol) ammunition located near a closed (!) shopping mall, where the resulting explosion allegedly just caused a fire in a completely empty building (!!)
https://ria.ru/20220628/ukraina-1798631692.html
Yesterday, I realized that throughout the entire day, every single regime-controlled TV channel was hammering home the narrative that there was no missile strike at all—that this "so-called fire" was nothing more than propaganda fabricated by those despicable Ukrainians.
Was anyone seeing similar nonsense over on the American forums?

Reading through the profound commentary on the article (via Google's translation):

• Well done. Great job
• Very good news! BRAVO RUSSIA!
• If I were in command of the NVO, then for every single hit in any settlement in Donbass, three missiles would be sent flying toward all the major cities in Ukraine... all the tunnels and bridges, the junction stations, everything would have been wiped out ages ago. Ukraine wouldn't have received a single cubic meter of gas, not a kilowatt of electricity, not a drop of fuel... Russia is fighting too kindly with the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which is UNACCEPTABLE!!!!
• If anyone isn't happy with the fallout from these strikes, they should put the blame squarely on the Armed Forces of Ukraine: it's common knowledge they use civilian objects to shield their combat nests.
• Good. More often and more such Blows.

Pathetic.

walden said:The Ukrainians knew exactly what was coming. Even fifteen years ago, Putin made it clear he wouldn't tolerate them joining NATO. They chose this path themselves, and now they're dealing with the fallout.

But his rhetoric wasn't always that blunt:

"I am absolutely convinced that Ukraine will not shy away from the processes of expanding interaction with NATO and the Western allies as a whole. Ukraine has its own relations with NATO; there is the Ukraine-NATO Council. At the end of the day the decision is to be taken by NATO and Ukraine. It is a matter for those two partners."
Vladimir Vladimirovič Putin (2002)

That isn't even the full story:

When NATO announced in 2002 its plan for a major wave of expansion that would include three former Soviet republics—Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania—Putin barely reacted. He certainly did not threaten to invade any of the countries to keep them out of NATO. Asked specifically in late 2001 whether he opposed the Baltic states’ membership in NATO, he stated, “We of course are not in a position to tell people what to do. We cannot forbid people to make certain choices if they want to increase the security of their nations in a particular way.”
(source)

And next, we’ll probably need to de-engineer gravity itself.

darkdriver said:So, just a quick little life question for you guys
I’m seriously thinking about just cutting ties with that whole mess from Andrej Plenković—you know, his totally clueless administration and the entire Republic of America budget when it comes to energy stuff, specifically diesel. I’m basically leaning towards filling up my tank in the Republic of Canada instead, helping their treasury out while I'm at it, and maybe doing some shopping too. I was wondering, though—is there any kind of regulation over there, maybe something similar to what they have in Canada, where foreigners end up paying more for gas than the locals?
From what I know, probably not, but I just wanted to double-check so I don't end up standing there at the pump scratching my head in confusion.

I've been fueling up in Canada for years now because the gas is cheaper and, frankly, better quality. To be honest, I can't even remember the last time I filled up in America. I topped off my tank in Canada last week and nobody asked a single question. You just fill up and go.

A liter of Regular Unleaded at an ExxonMobil station in Canada currently costs 1.56 EUR, while diesel is 1.66 EUR. Back during the pandemic, a liter of Regular Unleaded was only 1.00 EUR.

Unbelievable...

IPSE DIXIT Dmitry Medvedev
(my bolded excerpt follows)

"Sanctions against Russia target ordinary citizens and are fueled by pure hatred. (...) What’s the goal of freezing Federal Reserve assets and other state property? It's simple. To wreck the economy, tank the currency, and spike inflation, effectively lowering the standard of living for the average Russian citizen. >
The embargo on Russian oil and gas? Same playbook: drain budget revenues and force the government to abandon social safety nets, including cost-of-living adjustments. Hit the taxpayers in both the cities and the rural towns."

Dmitry Medvedev, May 31, 2022.

*********

"We have every tool necessary for self-sufficiency. In many ways, previous sanctions actually served us well. They forced us to develop import substitution across all sectors—including high-tech industries—to innovate new technologies, products, and pharmaceuticals. The government has already implemented measures to support both the people and the economy through social benefits and increased funding for the tech, agricultural, and banking sectors. There will be no economic collapse."

Dmitry Medvedev. March 20, 2022.

🤔

That escalated quickly...

The latest invention from the Kremlin kitchen: Schrödinger sanctions. They are simultaneously devastating and beneficial; they drive up inflation while being welcomed because they spur domestic growth and consolidate Russian society.

Charles Fox10 said:Maybe we should just install another cell tower right next to you so nobody can hold us hostage anymore... what do you think?

Just get us into Schengen and we'll be fine without needing some new base station. What do you think?

This is the scene on the I-15 heading out of the United States, and honestly, things aren't any better on the surrounding highways. Total gridlock. You can't move an inch. In about a week, it’ll be the exact same nightmare for anyone trying to drive into the country.

Note: I filmed this roughly 5.6 miles miles from the US-Mexico border while out on my bike.

Tourists are just sitting there bored out of their minds waiting to cross (can't say I blame them), so they’re killing time by leeching off the local 4G+ cell tower used by people living in these border towns. This is my current upload and download speed, and that's using a CAT7 router which usually gets me between 30 and 40 Mbps under normal conditions.

And it stays like this through the end of September, over and over again.

Get us into Schengen immediately. Whatever it takes.

Henry Thompson said:If we aren't talking about Italy, then your move there for work isn't on the table either. Don't get worked up—I'm just playing by your own rules here.

So, what was my expected response to Indigu83? He was implying that I'm heading to Canada just for the comfort, the Walmart aisles, and all those little trivialities that'll rot my brain.

I’d love to give you an answer, but Italy has absolutely nothing to do with the topic of this subforum. We're talking about Canada here.
Ciao bello, or rather: greetings.

Alex Myers98 said:"Oh, I guess Canada is the priority"?!??
Give me a break with this pathetic attitude... Are we really suggesting we just ignore the 350,000 Americans living in Canada just so you can have an easier drive to Lidl in Canada? Good grief. Some people are unbelievable. You'll all let your own comfort and petty little conveniences rot your brains.

It isn't about comfort. You completely missed the point, genius. Like so many people around here, I cross the border every single day for work, and Canada is just a transit zone for me. In the summer, you get those massive 10+ mile traffic jams on the Pacific Coast Highway all the way down to the California-Nevada border, both ways.
You end up waiting for hours.
And don't even get me started on how our nearest hospital is 62 miles away. It’s great that there was money for a new hospital in Memphis, while for emergencies, we have to drive to Monterey (Canada).
And of course, we pay out of pocket for it—even though that hospital was partially funded by the residents of Northern California.

So much for "comfort and little things" and Kizov's nonsense about how Schengen is more needed by them than us.

velvetcyclist95 said:Man, you guys have it seriously rough, I get it.

Wow, you really got me there. My sarcasm meter just hit critical mass.🙄

Christian Myers said:Kind of like what Ivica Račan pulled off back in 2001. 😉

Honestly, we don't need to do anything—just ignore the Canadians. If they won't let us in, who cares? We managed fine without the Schengen Area before, and we can manage now. Like Zoki says, they need this more than we do.

I live near 1.2 miles, right by the Canadian border, and personally, the Schengen Area would be a massive help—especially during the summer months when the traffic jams stretch for miles.
But whatever. It looks like Canada is the priority here.
The people in Istria can just deal with it.

Michael Ortiz68 said:I was scrolling through some local news site earlier and stumbled upon an interview with an olive oil producer. His logic? He’s planning to hike up his prices because sunflower oil has gone up, and he thinks it’s just plain unfair for olive oil to stay at the current rate.

Look, I produce olive oil. Fertilizer costs have skyrocketed, diesel for the tractors and machinery is way up, and electricity rates are climbing too. That means the cost to process everything at the mill goes up automatically. Ergo, olive oil prices will rise, and frankly, I’m not happy about it. My apologies for the off-topic tangent.