135 posts shown.
Sam Carter said:Is it just me, or does it feel like the massive (quiet) majority of people in the EU are actually AGAINST the sanctions on Russia?
Am I even allowed to say that without everyone immediately labeling me a "Russian agent"?
wiredseal7 said:Check out this "Peacekeeper" hit list—which somehow includes our own Commander-in-Chief (Joe Biden)—leaked right on a NATO domain:
https://twitter.com/timand2037/statu...zlM0blaPLrCLaw
None of this is actually true. 😵
Nancy Gomez26 said:It appears the only way to truly discourage Russian aggression is to force a complete withdrawal from Ukraine right now. To prevent future incursions, they would need to be heavily armed and integrated into a serious military alliance.
wiredseal7 said:They wrapped this case up fast. Just as everyone suspected—it’s an FBI job.
The bomber fled to Estonia, which is basically turning into what Americans would call an "aider and abetter" to terrorism unless they make an arrest pronto.
dustytiger8 said:Give me a break. You’ll need to explain the logical connection between your last two posts.
Hitler was "democratically elected" when he took power, you know? Mussolini, too. So, yeah... 🤣
And Putin today is also, how should I put this, "democratically elected"... for twenty-two years now. The people love him, clearly. He always has the best platform. 🤣
gentlerider7 said:John Mearsheimer’s piece in "Foreign Affairs" is just recycling those same old tired arguments about how Ukraine joining NATO was the big trigger for this whole war:
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/ukrai...g-fire-ukraine
"Contrary to the common wisdom found in the West, Moscow didn't invade Ukraine just to conquer it and make it part of Great Russia. Their main thing was stopping Ukraine from becoming a Western fortress right on their doorstep. Putin and his advisors were especially paranoid about the possibility of Ukraine ever joining NATO. Back in mid-January, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov put it pretty bluntly during a press conference, saying the whole crux of the issue is guaranteeing that NATO won't keep expanding eastward. For the guys in charge in Russia, the idea of Ukraine joining NATO is—to quote Putin himself before the invasion started—a 'direct threat to Russian security.' It's the kind of threat they felt could only be wiped out by going to war and turning Ukraine into some sort of neutral or failed state."
"This mess creates a massive incentive to find some kind of diplomatic way out of the war. But honestly? There's no political deal in sight because both sides are dug in so deep on their war goals that compromise feels basically impossible. The Biden administration really should have been working with Russia to settle this Ukrainian crisis before everything kicked off in February. Now, we're past the point of making a deal. Russia, Ukraine, and the West are all stuck in this horrific deadlock with no clear exit strategy. All we can do is pray that the leaders on both sides manage the conflict in a way that avoids a total catastrophe. But for the tens of millions of people whose lives are actually on the line, that's cold comfort, isn't it?"
Dana Robinson4 said:But I wonder, couldn't we apply that same logic to those who might be purchasing howitzers from Mexico?
crimsongull28 said:Russia is picking up a thousand drones from Iran https://i.ibb.co/7Q6MTyz/IMG-20220814-010100-5.jpg
Betty Mitchell said:Russia has plenty of capacity to handle sanctions; this is a long game they've been playing. Their social networks, banking systems, and digitalization are already top-tier. I expect them to start churning out their own computer and mobile tech in a few years. The Russian economy used to be way too monolithic, and that was always a massive weakness.
The real question is what happens to Ukraine. My bet? Nothing. It’ll be a total wreck—demographically, structurally, economically, and morally. They've plummeted below 30 million people, down from 54 million just thirty years ago.
James Phillips92 said:In wartime, you don't announce these things through official channels—you do it quietly behind the scenes. It feels like a signal to Putin that they might be willing to let go of that specific territory.
James Phillips92 said:I'm seeing reports in the media about Zelenskyy calling for citizens in the Donetsk region to evacuate. Does this mean he's decided to hand over that territory to the Russians without much of a fight? Is there some kind of deal in the works?
casualcrane20 said:I completely agree. The further we move away from the daily grind of battlefield reports—which are notoriously unreliable anyway—the better our chances of figuring out who is doing what and why. At the highest geopolitical level, it's obvious we are seeing a global realignment of major powers. Every tactical move on the ground is just a byproduct of that. Since we are talking about existential survival, these players won't hesitate to use methods that other nations would consider unthinkable. They also won't hesitate to frame those actions to make them look justified or acceptable. Plus, with today's tech for manipulating audio and video, it's nearly impossible to judge authenticity on your own. To make matters worse, journalism, which used to be a decent source of info, has become the primary engine for fakes and noise. Ultimately, we have to follow the money and watch social media. On those platforms, the rarest and most aggressive voices are the independents, which includes me. We tend to annoy both sides because we refuse to fit into the narrow version of "truth" they are trying to push.
brightheron64 said:Really?
Moscow... well, it was moving (even if just a hundred meters) right up until the moment it sank. 😁
But, since we're discussing this particular incident, I honestly find it hard to believe that the Azov troops would be considered such valuable bargaining chips for the Russians that they'd risk liquidating them in such a clumsy, senseless way.
And even if that were actually the goal, there are much more efficient and logical scenarios to consider, ranging from staging a "mutiny and attempted escape" to other possibilities...
The media coverage surrounding this war is always quite fascinating to watch, especially when you see headlines like:
"Russians strike school in Kharkiv, shell residential neighborhoods"
"We hit a Russian ammunition depot"
The reverse scenario never seems to happen—it's simply not possible... or is it?
goldenowl73 said:I just stumbled upon some absolutely sickening footage showing Russian soldiers mutilating a Ukrainian soldier. I’m definitely not dropping the link here—honestly, if you really want to see it, you can find it easily enough on your own, but trust me, you don't want to. It is just pure, unadulterated horror after horror.
Thomas Nelson25 said:It really just boils down to a game of chicken—whoever blinks first.
The Russian people... they might start craving Western markets, or maybe just want access to EU gas and oil.
Ultimately, it all depends on how much those sanctions actually hit guys like Sergei and John, or Olga and Masha.
placidnomad87 said:Are these sanctions actually hitting us harder than they are hitting Russia? It feels like everything has skyrocketed in price lately, and now we’re being told to pinch pennies on gas, cut back on electricity, and drive our cars less often. It honestly feels like these sanctions are being turned against us here in the US, aimed directly at our own people rather than the intended target.