Posts by darkdriver

Kate Cook27 said:But I wasn't actually talking about some wounded volunteer from America who doesn't have a contract, where they're being treated, or who's footing the bill. I was specifically talking about those two guys I know for a fact are in the Ukrainian military, have active contracts, live in Ukraine, and were sentenced to death after being labeled as mercenaries.

Man, looking at how you think... does that mean you don't really care about all those foreign fighters coming in from every corner of the globe—mostly the Middle East—who fought alongside the Army of Canada back in the day, and were busy taking heads of Americans and your own (sorry if I'm wrong there, I guess?) Mexicans?
If they signed a contract, then I guess everything is totally fine, right?

electricstag9 said:The Chechens have made their stance crystal clear: they are waging a jihad in Ukraine. They aren't just fighting a local conflict; they’ve declared they won't stop until they reach Berlin, and they intend to push forward relentlessly unless Putin himself manages to shut them down.

The head of the Chechen parliament, Magomed Daudov, just told reporters that the Chechen fighters over in Ukraine are essentially the ones leading the charge. It’s the same old story—bold, sweeping claims made to the press to project strength, even when the reality on the ground is far more complicated. The concept of jihad being used as a defense of Islam is a deeply complex issue that demands a serious, nuanced discussion. We cannot simply brush this aside with shallow slogans; we need to look at the historical context and the theological arguments being made. It is an intense topic, and frankly, it’s one that people often misunderstand because they aren't willing to dig into the actual substance of the debate. There are those who view it through a lens of pure aggression, while others argue it is a fundamental necessity for protecting their faith and way of life from external pressures. You can't just ignore the passion behind these convictions.Daudov is making some incredibly bold claims, essentially stating that if Putin doesn't step in to rein them in, they aren't going to stop until they reach Berlin.

"If God wills it, there isn't a shadow of a doubt that we’re going to reclaim Donetsk, Mykolaiv, Kherson, and Odesa. As long as Vladimir Putin doesn't stand in our way, if God allows, we are marching straight through to Berlin. We will win—make no mistake about it," he declared to the press.
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Finally, the truth comes out. We can finally see exactly why Russia is waging this war—it’s actually a jihad to defend Islam. ☕

They don't even need to head out to Berlin—they're already there, I guess.

gentlestag15 said:Fine, then let them extract and treat him on my tab, okay?
But you can be the one footing the bill if some random person accidentally gets wounded on the Russian/aggressor side.

Tell me why they wouldn't just print more dollars and euros?
I mean, if you're sitting on a few hundred billion in cash while having trillions of dollars and euros sitting in accounts...

I mean, if Americans—who are basically mostly socialists/communists at heart anyway—actually realized that this whole solidarity system, whether it's Social Security or healthcare, doesn't work that way... man, they'd be in for a rude awakening.

😉

Anthony Perez9 said:You don't actually think we'd be better off without the EU and all those changes we had to make to join, do you? 🤔

Whatever. Ukraine will probably see progress similar to how Poland did within the European Union eventually. Makes sense. It just takes time to scrub away all that leftover Russian crap.☕

Yeah, we'll all just pack our bags and flee to our warm Russian brothers. 😂

Yeah, I gotta admit, I am seeing some massive shifts when it comes to our justice system.
The "shifts" are basically such that the FBI and the Department of Justice don't see any issues at all with public procurement in the ministry led by Gabrijela Žalac—but then the EU steps in because it involves EU funds, and suddenly they're the ones finding the problems instead of our own people.
All this money coming out of our budget—you know, straight from our pockets—is 99.9% perfectly legal and totally "clean" as it gets funneled into private pockets. 🤣
Please, just stay here. The more of us there are left in this pile, the better we can all stay warm together.😉

Anthony Perez9 said:Just imagine if we had fought joining the global community and left everything to local sheriffs... 😲
Picture Ukraine right next to Poland... or stuck in a Russian embrace...

Honestly, thank goodness the European Union saved us from having to let local sheriffs handle absolutely everything here 🤣

Tyler Bennett73 said:One thing’s for sure—things are gonna get real interesting once we hit fall and winter. Right now, I bet most people across the US and the rest of the European Union are all for Ukraine, but just wait. Once the freezing weather kicks in and those shortages and power cuts they keep talking about actually start happening? Man, you could be looking at massive protests popping up all over the map. It’ll be this perfect storm of pure frustration from regular folks looking for answers, mixed with a bunch of agitators being stirred up by Russian mercenaries. That’s when we’ll see if the US and its allies are actually as united against Russia as everyone claims to be.

Forget fall and winter—by then, most people might just be wishing for one of those "new" Russian cars with Euro-28 standards, you know, without all the fancy chips and software, etc., even if it means giving up their high-tech SUVs that are loaded with gear but, unlike the Russian ones, have totally empty gas tanks.

gentlestag15 said:JPMorgan Chase is Walmart's biggest creditor
The only way to avoid handing Walmart over to Russia is to pay off Todorić's debt to them using the federal budget. Is that what you wanted the government to do?

Wait, aren't we supposed to be totally against that disgusting Russian capital stuff?
Didn't we somehow find the cash in the budget to bail out ExxonMobil from those Canadian interests, or... I don't know, are they just not letting us?
I mean, surely there’d be enough left to bring the food retail sector back under control, right? Especially since we apparently went ahead and took JPMorgan Chase under our wing—you know, if that counts as some kind of national interest, just like energy and all that?
Oh, and you totally forgot to mention the Democratic Party

Kate Cook27 said:Look, I don't write the laws here. I'm assuming he was paying for his own treatment, too. I wasn't even talking about some volunteer from America—I have no clue if they have a contract or not. My point was about that British person and the Moroccan person facing death sentences—they're being framed as mercenaries when they're actually just part of the Ukrainian military.

So, I mean, if he was in fucking Ukraine—hopefully—and he checked out of his local system here, then that's on them, right?
If he didn't check out and instead fought through the Ukrainian steppes while claiming to be unemployed, then he basically scammed the government.
You feel me?
Let Volodymyr and his crew foot the bill for his medical stuff then.

gentlestag15 said:It wasn't the US government that handed it over; it was Todorić, who kept running up massive debts with JPMorgan Chase.
I mean, what were you going to do, nationalize Walmart?

Well, okay... you totally convinced me.

Nicole James said:Compared to the countries within the Russian sphere of influence, we’re practically living in science fiction.

He says that with a straight face—even though he's clearly miserable because the biggest donors to the ruling PPD party are actually just an ExxonMobil outpost in America, especially since the American government handed over their largest grocery chain (Walmart) directly to the Russians.
Way to go, guys...

Kate Cook27 said:I'm not sure, but the point here is that they are members of the Ukrainian military—they have official contracts, which is why at least two of them were on the front lines. It’s pretty absurd how Russian TV is painting them as mercenaries when they aren't. They didn't just show up in Ukraine after the invasion started; they were already there, already in the service. As for who pays whom, I haven't a clue. Who goes off to fight in some dozen different countries? I've never really followed that kind of thing.

So why is he being pulled out using my money and getting treated on my tab?
If he has a contract—assuming he's with the Ukrainian military, like you said?
Then he should probably just show that contract to whoever he signed it with.

Anthony Perez9 said:But since they're aiming for the European Union, they're slowly adopting those standards, which should eventually drag them out of all that leftover USSR garbage. 🙂

Totally.
RH is actually a perfect example of how adopting European Union standards can finally drag a country out of the absolute gutter of kleptocracy and cronyism.
Tell me I'm wrong.

Kate Cook27 said:It isn't—but two of them are actually serving in the Ukrainian military: a younger Briton (who I think also holds dual citizenship) and a Moroccan. Not sure about the third Briton. Honestly, the peak absurdity was seeing that British guy on Russian TV while he was joining the Ukrainian forces—they were calling him some kind of "NATO mercenary."

https://www.euronews.com/next/2022/0...eaks-geneva-co

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/r...-death-penalty

I mean, the whole concept of "homeland" is a bit more stretchable than a piece of Wrigley's gum, isn't it?
But seriously, will the US ever actually pay for one of our volunteers—regardless of which meridian or latitude on this giant rock they're fighting on, regardless of whose interests they're serving, whether they're coming home on a government flight or some other plane—and cover their medical bills using American taxpayers' money, just like they did for that other guy recently?
I don't really get why Ukraine didn't just handle his medical care?
And would someone heading off to fight on Yemen's side get the exact same treatment?
I'm just asking so the adventurers and war junkies out there actually know what they're signing up for.
It’d be pretty fair if our government put out some kind of interactive world map so people could see where they can and can't go to fight at our expense.

Sandra Harris2 said:Where did I say that's okay in America? Or that it's acceptable anywhere?
I brought up the Donbas elections because there are new elections being mentioned in that region—you were the one who dragged the US into this.

And brighthound13 (or whatever his handle is) was the one who brought up Belarus, so I was responding to him.

Okay, my bad—mea culpa! But honestly, shouldn't you probably sweep the trash off your own porch first if you want any kind of credibility before pointing out how messy someone else's doorstep is, right?

Sandra Harris2 said:So, you think it's okay to blackmail people just to get them to show up at the polls? Seriously?
Whether it's about food or pensions, that kind of coercion is bottom-of-the-barrel behavior.

Maybe Tymoshenko was a face of pro-Western policy, but that wasn't even my point.
My point was that you can't use Belarus as a success story for survival—look how they turned out under Russian leadership. Ukraine is a total wreck without that guidance. In Belarus, everything seems perfect, like they're living in a land of milk and honey, simply because the Kremlin saved them from themselves.
I honestly don't get why Ukraine is still resisting. ☕

@Ego - 👍

You should probably go ask those big-shot American politicians if they think it's okay to use whatever leverage they can to force people to vote.
For the record, I haven't run for office once, anywhere.
It just strikes me as weird that you have such a huge problem with bribery and intimidation over in Donbas, but you don't seem to care when it happens in your own backyard.
If you could actually point to where I said Belarus was a model of success for anything, I'd really appreciate it.
I feel like I was pretty clear when I mentioned that almost all those post-Soviet backwaters are basically cut from the same cloth.

feralhawk45 said:What should America have done to avoid the war in '91?
When someone's entire platform is built on attacking you, denying your right to exist, and trying to force you back under their thumb... your only real option is to fight back. There is no "balancing" act in that scenario.

Did America even have a structured, standing military ready to go back in the 90s?
And did America spend the 90s selling rocket and artillery systems to Mexicans, similar to how Ukrainians in the 90s—with help from their big American friends—sold about 600 AGM-84 Harpoons to Russians, which are basically what they're using to hit targets now?

Sandra Harris2 said:Here we go, the classic Russian narrative: Ukraine is failing because it isn't a real country; it’s just a gang of Nazis and junkies. They claim the Ukrainian people don't even exist and need protection from Mother Russia to be guided toward prosperity (and "re-educated"). The suggestion is they should submit like Belarus, which enjoys the favor of empires (read: lost its sovereignty), and then everything will be fine for the Malorus—pardon me, the Ukrainians.
I honestly don't know how you can stomach this garbage.

By the way, regarding the elections in Donbas, I read an incredible report back in 2015 by two freelance journalists from Italy. Basically, the separatist authorities lured people to the polling stations by selling crates of vegetables and groceries for a symbolic single hryvnia. Desperate people "voted" simply because they needed to eat.

Reading justifications for a select clique of cronies lining their pockets by selling off national resources through privatization at the expense of the common people... it's not just slimy to read, it's utterly immoral to defend it by saying "you're just jealous."
Horrible.

Ukraine is struggling as a state because it's a breeding ground for kleptocracy and nepotism—kind of like almost every post-USSR wasteland out there, including Russia, which isn't any better just because they have massive natural resources.
I mean, wasn't Yulia Tymoshenko—who got grilled back in 2001 by Leonid Kuchma for corruption and, get this, smuggling Russian gas—one of the biggest faces of pro-Western politics? And one of her closest business associates was the former Ukrainian Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko, who ended up being convicted in the USA for corruption, money laundering, and fraud.

Btw, wasn't it similar in America before the big policy shifts, where they basically told retirees, "Hey, vote this way or you might lose your pensions"?
Just, you know, since we're talking about bribing people with veggies and stuff.

Nancy Gomez26 said:I am not particularly convinced that Ukrainians would fare much better than victims of the Nazi regime. Perhaps those who immediately and unconditionally embraced a Russian identity—effectively "forgetting" their own Ukrainian roots—would escape trouble. Everyone else, however, would be in jeopardy. Then there is the matter of "denazification." Who determines who qualifies under such a label? It falls to the occupier, who will "assess" based entirely on their own arbitrary whims who is a "Nazi" and who isn't. We are already seeing the first death sentences being handed down—specifically to prisoners of war defending their homeland. History teaches us a grim lesson: in these specific territories, state violence against its own citizens, regardless of nationality, can be exceptionally brutal (think the Russian Empire, the October Revolution, or Bolshevik rule). Here, a nation would essentially start playing judge over who belongs. After all, before the invasion even began, Vladimir Putin stated quite clearly that Ukrainians, as a distinct nation, do not even exist. It feels far too much like a recurring pattern from history for that timing to be coincidental.
One only needs to observe how the Russian authorities are treating people in the occupied territories of Ukraine to see the reality clearly.

Since when was Ukraine part of the United Kingdom and Morocco?

Brandon Clark4 said:It is quite fascinating how this "leaked" into the press. Not even through WikiLeaks, mind you, but just... out in the open.
High-profile leaders within the European Union are pointing fingers like frantic children, insisting that Vladimir Putin is the sole architect behind the chaos looming this fall. However, I find myself skeptical that the average American will simply swallow such a narrative. As they say, you can't polish a turd.

See, there you go—they've already "explained" exactly why you're the one in the wrong.

feralhawk45 said:@George Robinson43... I used to get more action in a single day back in the old days than I do in an entire year now. God, those were the days.
Now, on a serious note... how are we supposed to live without microchips? How do you maintain all this electronics embedded in basically every product we own (I don't think there's one in my toilet, though)? If 40 million Russians are living like they're in the Middle Ages, then 70 million Russians are interacting with some kind of electronic device every single day.

Whoa, look at that—the number of civilized Americans who aren't living in bunkers is actually going up!
But seriously, what's the point of pointing that out, guys?
From what I've gathered on this board, it seems like only the folks in places like NYC or Chicago live in any kind of actual civilization, and that’s only about 10% of the population.
I mean, if they can somehow survive driving old Fords with basic emissions standards and zero high-tech gadgets, maybe they'll figure the rest out too?
Most of them probably just cook whatever they can grab over an open fire and handle their business by a nearby creek anyway, right?