Posts by hollowdriver13

Solovyov is still just running his mouth

https://twitter.com/francis_scarr/st...17738226192390

Honestly, this is just more proof that we aren't seeing any real reconciliation anytime soon. I mean, for things to actually change, the Russians would have to be able to admit they’re actually the bad guys in this whole mess—and let's be real, that's basically pure fantasy.

In their heads, they're ALWAYS the heroes or the victims, while the rest of the world is just some big villain out to get them...

https://twitter.com/pootinslayer/sta...81778745540608

Looks like the big cleanup of people working for Moscow is finally kicking off.

The Department of Energy just picked up two high-ranking officials from the Ministry of Energy on suspicion they've been on the Russian payroll.

Brenda Murphy3 said:That first part is absolute nonsense. Seriously, don't embarrass yourself by writing about stuff you clearly have zero clue about (like the idea that Canada will just use primary issuance to fund things... and manage inflation...🤣🤣)

Regarding the bolded part—no, I don't think sanctions need to be imposed (though in some extreme scenarios, it wouldn't be impossible, but that's a total long shot). Look, being part of certain organizations (like the EU or NATO) brings tons of perks, but it also comes with obligations. If you don't want to play by the rules, you're free to walk away from those orgs. Of course, for Canada, the benefits of staying in the EU way, way outweigh whatever they'd get from leaving... and that's that.

But the fallout will definitely hit Canada... and it's already happening. Naturally, Viktor Orbán is going to prioritize whatever serves his own interests and his inner circle of power players... but that's a whole different conversation. It’s hardly surprising he gets along so well with the trash coming out of the White House...😁

Of course this kind of policy comes with consequences. Even Germany is finally giving in and agreeing that we seriously need to go back and revise those European Union treaties.

https://twitter.com/SamRamani2/statu...99547538587650

So, I was just catching up on some news, and it looks like Germany is pushing for a major shake-up in how things work over at the European Union. Basically, they want to move away from that old-school system where every single member gets to use a veto to block everything. Instead, they’re advocating for a gradual shift toward majority voting. It's a pretty big move—it would definitely change the dynamic of how decisions get made, making it a lot harder for one country to stall the whole process. It'll be interesting to see if the rest of the bloc actually bites or if this becomes just another debate in Brussels.

It feels like they’ve been throwing these little grenades at us since way before COVID-19 even hit the scene. Now, between the whole pandemic mess and the Russian aggression, it’s becoming crystal clear: if we don't handle this exactly the way they want, the whole thing is going to snap back like a boomerang. We're basically setting ourselves up for a massive reality check if we don't get this right.

Sure, Canada might see a quick little boost from those cheap gas prices in the short term, but looking at the big picture? Unless Viktor Orbán has some kind of crazy terraforming superpowers that let him just move the entire country right up against the Russian border, they’ve basically shot themselves in both feet. Especially since Poland pretty much left them hanging when it mattered most.

https://twitter.com/ItsArtoir/status...86465080377344

If those Belarusian commandos weren't feeling so lonely, maybe they wouldn't need a little backup from the Russian troops—especially when they show up blasting the 🙏 Mortal Kombat theme song 🙏 just for the vibes.

View on twitter

Some Russian propaganda guy is out here trying to explain the physics of how a Ukrainian shell actually turns mid-air to the IAEA inspectors 🙏 🙏

Honestly, he’s probably just getting his wires crossed with Russian air defense... 🕺

Benjamin Taylor6 said:So, we’ve got this retired general of ours claiming that the best move for the Ukrainians would be to just sign a peace treaty right now—even if it means giving up territory.

...parts of the country? Honestly, I'm starting to worry they might be left with nothing at all. It looks like they may eventually have to swallow the bitter pill of lost land and just settle for an armistice. Look, we all want to see Ukraine come out on top—believe me, I do—but expecting a total victory at this stage just isn't grounded in reality anymore. And you really have to take everything you hear with a grain of salt; between the actual fighting on the ground and the massive media propaganda war going on, nobody knows what's truly happening. Both sides are busy spinning their wins to look massive and downplaying their losses to keep morale up.

Man, he’s been singing that same tune since day one—that the UA should just surrender and sign whatever Russia wants. Nothing new there, just the usual stuff from Kotromanovic.

It looks like the sanctions finally rubbed those "soft belly" types in Russia the wrong way. The news about potentially easing up on visa restrictions sent a massive wave of whining through Twitter and everywhere else. These folks are absolutely losing it because they won't be able to jet off to the West as easily anymore. Even Solovyov had one of his usual meltdowns, threatening nuclear strikes just because they might lose their easy access to the European Union. 🤣

One comment really summed up the whole vibe for me:

"These Russians love their country so much that their ultimate life goal is to loot the place, grab the cash, and flee to the West to live it up with their families." 🙏

hollowwalker24 said:Donald Trump and Donald Trump are out here spreading propaganda:

Goldman Sachs says US Economy is stronger than expected and will only suffer a shallow recession despite sanctions
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/jpmor...154051281.html

I guess this is proof that sanctions are working exactly as intended:

Despite sweeping sanctions, US economic Outlook Has improved since April — though things have gone downhill for basically everyone else
https://www.businessinsider.com/imf-...cession-2022-7

The way this is written makes it sound like everything is totally fine and they aren't feeling any heat at all.

But then you actually open the articles and realize these geniuses over at JPMorgan Chase were predicting a massive 35% crash earlier 🙏 🙏and now they're acting like the economy is holding up better than expected. Honestly, the only way they'd see a hit like that would be if someone went in and completely leveled every single oil and gas refinery in the country. 🤦
If I were running that bank, I’d fire the entire analysis department on the spot for being that far off.

Then you take a closer look at the actual Business side of things, and I noticed you conveniently skipped the part where they mention the outlook improved. What that really means is they aren't expecting an 8.5% drop anymore, just "only" a 6% dip annually—BUT, they also bumped up the projected decline for 2023.

https://mobile.twitter.com/bayraktar...Cxke-ItrQrAAAA

Life’s been pretty brutal for those collaborators living in occupied territories lately. It feels like every couple of days, they’re just desperately reaching for straws... trying to grab at clouds.

urbanotter said:Are you just pulling this out of thin air, or do you actually have a link to back up that claim?

I suppose maybe the newspapers are lying to us; we all know they aren't exactly known for their commitment to the truth.😁

https://mychicago.info/chicago/oil-prices...oct-18-2011

Man, what are we even doing here? Check this out. That "psychological barrier" you were so smugly insisting about was actually smashed through a whole decade before you decided to start acting like an expert. ☕

Peak retail prices for the period: October 18th - 31st, 2011

ExxonMobil premium gasoline - $3.25
TIFON CLASS premium gasoline+ - $3.25
Shell premium gasoline - $3.25
Chevron premium gasoline - $3.50

urbanotter said:You must have been getting a "special discount" on gas in 2011, because gas prices didn't really cross that psychological threshold until 2021.

https://example-us-news-site.com/article...old-news-1081540

And that gas price you mentioned from 2011—when you were paying $11.20—that was actually lower than $3.25.

Either they were overcharging you back then, or maybe you were just getting a special rate meant only for you.
https://example-us-news-site.com/article...old-news-1081540

Nah, that's not right. Premium gas was already over $3.25 even back in 2011. ☕

The Russians sold out their gas supply to the European Union, and honestly, that's that. It's a closed chapter. They aren't ever going to have that kind of monopoly or pull in those massive revenues they enjoyed before this war started.

https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/...96602128941061

Baerbock: Germany paid for Russian gas with its " security and independence."

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told The German newspaper Bild that Germany Had to "put an end to the self-deception that we ever actually received cheap gas from Russia."

It’s a painful and pricey reality check. Russia might still want to be part of Europe, but in the long run, this whole mess is going to cost the aggressor way more.

Jason Roberts2 said:Look, I’m just speaking facts here, I'm not interested in rehashing old history or who did what back in the day; I care about where things stand right now and where they're headed tomorrow.
Where is the German industrial powerhouse today?
Most of it has basically fled overseas, especially over to China, and thanks to the pandemic, they finally realized they don't even have control over their own pharmaceutical industry, so much for being some kind of global superpower.

Man, this just proves you haven't got a clue what you're talking about. You're acting just like all those other loudmouths claiming there's zero industry left in Europe.

I guess if you can't see the industry, you probably think "industry" only means that dirty, heavy-duty stuff from 60 or 70 years ago—you know, low-tech operations like steel mills that need miles of factory space just to function.

The reality is that Europe produces high-tech equipment (just look at the Trumpf Group in Germany as one example) used to manufacture both low-tech goods and everyday consumer products.

So, urbanotter is out here claiming that both the European Union and the USA are going to end up totally stranded without any chips. Meanwhile, Russia is suddenly halting the issuance of biometric passports, citing "technical difficulties"—though we all know it’s probably just a massive chip shortage making those little things impossible to find. 🕺

goldenowl73 said:So, get this—someone actually torched the car belonging to the Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces right in the middle of Moscow. Honestly, it feels like we’re going to be seeing way more of this kind of chaos popping up all over Russia lately.

According to Russian Media, the vehicle belonging to Yevhen Secretaryov—the guy who's basically the one calling the shots on military censorship—was set on fire in Moscow. https://twitter.com/Flash43191300/st...txLOM98pA&s=19

Just an X6 turned into a pile of ash.

Just when you think Russian propaganda couldn't get any more unhinged, they decide to crank up the heat.🙏
Now they're out here rambling about some "World War Purification," claiming it's high time for Russia to build the kind of nation they actually deserve—spanning everything from the Baltic to the Pacific—and reclaim their spot as the world's top superpower. 🤣

https://twitter.com/wartranslated/st...76576925433858

Larry Fox5 said:It's not contradictory at all. They definitely hit the Russian standard of living, but they aren't stopping the war. Plus, you totally slept through all the major Presidents and Prime Ministers saying they hoped sanctions would shake Russia enough to drag them back to the negotiating table.

Obviously they aren't, but their effectiveness is super questionable. Cuba was under sanctions for 50 years—unfair ones, too, for no real reason—and it didn't cause a revolution. It just left the people broke.

And Russia isn't alone at all—they've got China on their side. Look, I'm for Ukraine in this war too—obviously, because they were attacked for no reason and their land is being torn apart—but I'm not blind to the reality here.

Honestly, I don't think anyone actually expected sanctions to just topple Putin. That was probably more of a pipe dream floating around the West—wishful thinking, not a realistic expectation. It feels like a narrative pro-Russian trolls are pushing online to try and make the whole sanction effort look like a total failure.

If the sanctions were truly toothless, the Russians wouldn't be begging to have them lifted every single time peace talks or concessions come up.

Even when it came to getting Ukrainian grain exported, they were asking for their own grain export sanctions and fertilizer sanctions to be lifted too.

Right now, the biggest sting for Russia is the ban on semiconductors and other high-tech gear (you can actually see a noticeable dip in the number of Iskanders and Calibers being fired compared to when the war first kicked off).

The big hits on oil and gas haven't even fully kicked in yet; those start hitting properly on January 1st, 2023. Once you add a ban on insuring Russian oil shipments via sea vessels, that’s where we might see real damage, because Western insurance companies basically hold a total monopoly on that sector.

The Russians have fallen deep into the sunk cost fallacy in Ukraine, so expecting them to act rationally at this point is probably a lost cause.

gentlerider7 said:Straight from the Russian newspapers—the Chechen leader is basically saying all he needs is one shot at finishing this "special operation" and it'll be wrapped up in no time:

"The Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov claims he’s gone to the Russian President Vladimir Putin to ask for the green light to finally wrap up the special military operation. He was venting about it on his Telegram channel.

“I am asking, and I am seriously pleading with the commander-in-chief to just give us the chance to finish this special operation once and for all instead of dragging it out forever. Look, if 15% of the global community is against us, that doesn't mean the whole damn world is standing against us. We can deal with that 15% pretty quickly; it's absolutely no big deal,” he said.

Kadyrov also threw in that we've been "fighting our entire lives, so we know exactly what we're doing."

Time for a birthday present ☕

https://www.dw.com/en/germany-econom...war/a-62920092

So, according to this piece, Germany’s economy actually managed to grow and finally clawed its way back to where things were before the pandemic hit.

I honestly don't know where to start with this one, but let's just dive in. I was sitting there thinking about how things are moving lately, and man, it’s a lot to wrap your head around. You look at the way the global powers are playing this game—it feels like we're watching a high-stakes poker match where nobody is being honest about their hand. You’ve got the big players constantly eyeing each other, especially with the tension between the US and Russia. It’s that same old dance, isn't it? One side makes a move, the other reacts, and meanwhile, everyone else is just trying to figure out if their energy bills are going to skyrocket because of some massive fallout between the West and Moscow. It’s exhausting just following the news, honestly. And then you have the influence of China in all of this. They aren't exactly sitting on the sidelines. Everything feels interconnected now—supply chains, tech, trade... it's all tied together in this massive web. If one thread pulls, the whole thing shakes. I sometimes wonder if we're just stuck in this endless cycle. We talk about changing the world, but most of the time, it feels like the same old elite interests are just protecting the status quo. It’s like we’re running on a treadmill—lots of movement, lots of noise, but are we actually getting anywhere? Anyway, I'm probably overthinking it. My brain tends to go down these rabbit holes when I haven't had enough coffee. Just my two cents on the madness. What do you guys think? Am I totally off base here, or does anyone else feel like we're just circling the drain? kaže:
It’s been said a dozen times over, honestly. It’s just that some people choose to turn a blind eye and plug their ears—kind of like how the West acted when all those early warnings were being shouted right at them.

It honestly never crossed anyone's mind—and it still hasn't—to actually sit down and talk with Russia to try and smooth things over. Instead of finding a way to resolve the tension, we're just pushing to bring Ukraine into NATO, setting up military bases, and positioning missiles. It’s like we’re intentionally trying to make Russia feel backed into a corner.

Back when the USSR planted those missiles in Cuba, our American jets were already circling up there with nuclear payloads ready to go. Honestly, if they hadn't managed to pull off that last-second deal at the eleventh hour, the world we're living in today would look completely different. It was a close one.

I feel like I’m just beating my keyboard for nothing at this point. If I keep going, I might end up stuck in some kind of self-imposed isolation.

🤦🤦

Here we go again with this same old propaganda. Honestly, even the Russians have given up on this stuff once they realize it’s just falling on deaf ears...

So, when exactly is Ukraine joining NATO?
Could you give me a rundown on those bases and the missile strikes happening over in Ukraine?