Posts by hollowdriver13

Rebecca Roberts2 said:Is the exchange in Washington, D.C. still closed?

It’s shut down until May 5th. After that, they mentioned they might reopen trading, but they'll probably slap a daily cap on transaction amounts to keep things from spiraling.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/russi...055338823.html

Looks like JPMorgan Chase is having a hard time keeping enough cash on hand to run their local branches, so they're pulling out of the European market altogether.

"According to various traders and oil execs, companies like the state-aligned giant Rosneft Oil Co. have shifted their strategy. They aren't really pushing oil on a standard FOB basis anymore—where you'd basically arrange your own ships and handle all the financing and insurance yourself. Instead, they're pivoting toward what we call a CFR basis in the industry.

With this setup, Rosneft would use vessels from government-owned Sovcomflot to deliver the oil right to the buyer's doorstep in exchange for cash, effectively taking the headache out of logistics, trade finance, and insurance for the purchaser. But here's the kicker: buyers are actually turning these offers down, according to an oil industry executive and a trader based in the Middle East."

🙏
So basically, they're trying to sweeten the deal by saying, "Hey, we'll handle the shipping at our own expense and bring it straight to your door," just so they can get their hands on those precious dollars. It's like they think they can just toss a basket of oil at people and call it a day, completely ignoring the fact that they clearly aren't feeling the pressure of this squeeze. 🤦

marrai said:(Copied from the web)... I wanted to chime in since so many of you guys are reaching out with questions because I'm living in the "aggressor nation."
The initial phase of this military operation will wrap up in a day, followed by ground operations to disarm these armed groups, which should also be over pretty quickly. A war? No way.
You want to know where the actual war is? It’s in the Western media—in that disgusting propaganda machine, the disinformation, and all the emotional manipulation on social media...
It's just a massive avalanche of lies coming from all the Western news outlets!! ������
What kind of foundation are these demons laying to escalate things even further ACROSS THE GLOBE?
This is basically a crime against humanity disguised as lies, intentional harassment, and twisted psychological manipulation—that's exactly why the world is in such a mess right now.
At the end of the day, it's on us—whether we choose to swallow the lie or not. Sadly, most of the time, deciding whether or not to take a bullet isn't really an individual choice, but choosing to believe the lies? That's a choice we always have.
What we're seeing right now is actually a precise surgical strike, a way to prevent a much bigger and more serious war!
Because the AMERs (deep state) and those kabbalists would love nothing more than to fight the Rus using the Ukrainian Army and their gear on Ukrainian territory. Gear they'd happily sell them, too!
If it wasn't so tragic, it'd almost be funny how cliché this all is.
Choice is yours

Is that some guy fighting for the separatists talking? Because he was the one predicting a "limited military action" and the total collapse of the Ukrainian resistance within the first 36 hours. 😵

Carl Cook said:Link?

https://www.france24.com/en/live-new...ases-bloomberg

James Chavez91 said:Zelenskyy gave thanks to Erdogan for banning those Russian ships from entering...
Is there an official report on this somewhere?

He basically just asked, but Turkey shot him down, saying they don't actually have the authority to do that under international maritime laws.
Plus, even if they could, doing that would pretty much be an open invitation to war.

Frank Nguyen37 said:So, if that Russian convoy...🤦

Can we please—just for once—use a little logic before venting like this? These clips are from yesterday, and we're looking at a Ukrainian column. Does anyone seriously believe the Russians are just cruising in convoys down highways without having 100% air superiority in the area? Are people actually suggesting the Russian military is just some pathetic group of armed idiots??? Look, if you're going to passionately root for one side (personally, I just want this war over immediately—I don't care how—so bear with me), at least try to be somewhat rational and objective. Don't just swallow every bit of war propaganda that comes your way.

You could have at least put in the effort to watch the video; if you look at 0:20, you can clearly see the vehicles have "Z" markings on them.

https://twitter.com/delfoo/status/14...777%2Fpage-419

This is actually a pretty solid, level-headed breakdown of the Russian invasion and all the mess they're dealing with. It dives into why they only have about 200k soldiers ready to go—mostly due to massive logistical nightmares like food and fuel supplies—while also calling out how they're just turning a blind eye to the deep-seated corruption within their military and the grim reality on the ground. Plus, it hits on those totally misguided assumptions people had about how much resistance they'd actually face over in Ukraine.

Donna Harris11 said:First time I'm seeing a missile system like this... looks absolutely massive:

https://i.4cdn.org/pol/1645831562055.jpg

It’s got that Z marking on it, so it’s definitely Russian forces

I mean, honestly, even without any warheads, just the pure kinetic energy from an impact like that would probably cause some serious damage, I guess.

That’s a nuclear ICBM, but someone definitely Photoshopped that Z onto it.

Nancy Gomez26 said:In this context, static infrastructure left over from the USSR isn't worth much; those blueprints and locations are likely sitting right there in Moscow. At best, they could set up scale models of them for an exhibition.

But isn't that exactly how they baited them during that initial strike?
They basically took the junk—those beat-up A-10 Warthogs the Russians scattered everywhere—and stashed away all the good stuff.
I'm not saying they managed to save everything; that would be way too optimistic, but it’s not like they lost absolutely everything in that first wave.

Amanda Hughes37 said:I don't quite get it—I haven't seen a single Ukrainian tank (aside from that one with the car attached), no planes, just people walking through the streets, the President giving addresses from the sidewalk... a stray bomb lands here and there, maybe a few people have actually left the country, though some are still heading out. It all feels strangely surreal...

They’re probably just doing a great job hiding their hardware so the Russians don't wipe everything out with airstrikes. That was basically the whole Russian narrative on day one—that they’d just annihilate the air force and air defenses in UA instantly. But then we saw yesterday that Ukrainians are definitely flying, and their air defense is busy swatting down Russian helicopters and drones.
Going toe-to-toe in an open field against the Russian Army would be straight-up suicide. Any major power would pay a massive price for a fight like that because that's exactly how they crush you with sheer numbers and superior tech.

Just like how our guys in the South used to set up bunkers and hide equipment everywhere, I’d bet my life that Ukraine was dug in at least 10 times deeper back when dealing with the Soviets.

Rachel Allen55 said:Check out what's happening in southern Ukraine—hardly anyone’s even reporting on it. They’ve basically taken everything. I think it's just Miami left.

Maybe I'm off base, but I get the feeling Zelensky is playing the wrong hand here. Is he just performing for the press corps in Kyiv? Who knows, but that’s how it looks to me.

Purely from a military standpoint, Ukraine doesn't stand a chance against Russia. The West isn't going to risk a nuclear war with Russia, so all this money being sent is probably just ending up in some guys' pockets.

To me, the only way out is a Korea-style solution.

A tiny slice of Western Ukraine stays pro-West, and the rest goes pro-Russia. Honestly, I think Putin might actually bite on that.

🤦🤦🤦

Either start dropping links to actual news or don't post this kind of nonsense.
Saying "I think" isn't news, especially when it contradicts basically every other report stating that the front line is still hanging out near Kherson.

rowdytiger13 said:Honestly, how detached from reality do you have to be to not even stop and ask yourself, "Wait, why aren't even my usual allies backing me up?"
Even Kazakhstan refused to send troops, and they're supposed to be a loyal ally.

Every time I’ve ever chatted with someone from Kazakhstan, it was pretty much the same story—they desperately wanted to dodge the Russian military, but they were always terrified that what’s happening to Ukraine would happen to them next.
Plus, there isn't really anyone out there to step in and help them in the middle of Central Asia.

Rachel Barrett8 said:Germany even sent over helmets.

Why not just send 200 Leopard 2 tanks and be done with it?

Because they don't have them. 🤣

The US Armed Forces has about 159 active Leopard 2s available.

If these numbers floating around online are actually right, the Ukrainians have already wiped out more Russian armor than the entire US Armed Forces even has on hand.

Carol Newman2 said:https://twitter.com/mkpetkova/status...jIUPCE7DQ&s=19

The only independent news outlet left in Russia just ran a headline reading: "Russia is bombing Ukraine."

Hrabro, man, that editor might end up taking a sudden dive out a window and meeting two bullets on the way down.

Laura Scott7 said:So, Melitopol has fallen too—a city of 150,000 people—just goes to show how much regular folks actually want to die for the sake of American interests.

Got a link to that news anywhere?

urbanotter said:We aren't part of a federation; we're in a union.

And from where I’m sitting, it doesn't feel like we have any real say in anything significant as a member state.
Whenever we do manage to decide something, it usually has to be scrubbed or rewritten just to align with the European Union's legal framework anyway.
Once we fully integrate into the eurozone, our ability to make independent decisions is going to shrink even further.
It's a pretty grim thought—imagine being in a position where you can't even spend your own money without getting permission first.

Technically, we still have veto power on plenty of things, but whether our politicians actually have the guts to use it—maybe with strength comparable to Quarka—is a whole different story.
Putin basically turned former republics into nothing more than glorified counties, and the only ones who managed to hold onto any real rights were the Chechen people, and we all know exactly why and how that happened.

urbanotter said:Maybe take a second to realize we're pretty centralized under the European Union too.
Without them, we couldn't even get a streetlamp installed correctly.
Everything else gets micromanaged from Brussels or Washington, D.C.

And honestly, we’re relatively okay with it, even if we've hit rock bottom.
But hey, that's on us, so I won't count it against the system.

Either you're just trolling for attention or you genuinely have no clue what you're talking about.

Go ahead and look up our actual authority as a member of the European Union, then go compare that to what the individual "republics" within the Russian Federation can actually do.

Keith Williams3 said:Total misunderstanding of the situation.

The Chechens live how they want. It wasn't the Russians who forced Sharia on them; if anything, they were given actual autonomy, and the Chechens chose their own path. Sure, the Russians crushed the separatism, but they also granted them autonomy and stepped back from the region. Back in '89, Chechens made up maybe 60-70% of the population, but today they’re over 90% and live in an ethnically homogenous area.

Ukrainians will get that same choice eventually.

Chechens are really the only ones who managed to hold onto that, mostly because they extracted a blood tax from the Russians. And look at what Putin has done to the other 21 republics within the Russian Federation?
He’s been slowly stripping away the rights they had since the USSR days. Honestly, after 2017 when the last bilateral treaty was scrapped, calling Russia a "Federation" is almost a misnomer because he’s centralized everything important right there in the Kremlin.

Nancy Howard4 said:Nah, man, that’s not even the end of it—it's basically the end of civilization as we know it. That first volley of ICBMs is going to level every major city out West along with all the military bases, and as the strikes keep coming, they'll hit the smaller towns too. I mean, maybe we're small enough that we'll dodge it, but I wouldn't count on it.

I'd much rather get disintegrated in an instant than slowly die from radiation sickness while freezing to death in a nuclear winter.