Posts by Timothy Williams5

Noah Diaz said:duplicate ... delete

My apologies for drifting off-topic, sir, but you have the ability to just go ahead and delete the message yourself😉

Amnesty International has labeled the strike on the theater in Mariupol a war crime
https://www.agents.media/amnesty-int...nal-war-crime/

In their latest report, Amnesty International categorized the airstrike on the drama theater in Mariupol as a "clear war crime." Based on an investigation involving photographic evidence and interviews with survivors and eyewitnesses, it appears hundreds of civilians were inside the building when the attack occurred.

Quote. "We have concluded that the attack was a clear war crime committed by Russian forces," stated Agnès Callamard, head of Amnesty International, noting that numerous civilians were wounded or killed due to the "ruthless attack" carried out by Russian forces.

Russian forces have claimed to seize over 25 settlements in Ukraine more than twice over, all without ever actually losing them in the interim. 😁

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, their military has "taken control" of at least 25 towns and villages across the Donetsk, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia regions. Curiously, the Department of Defense has never once reported any tactical retreats or instances where these locations changed hands during combat. This pattern was uncovered in a study by Project, which meticulously analyzed roughly 200 briefings delivered by Russian Ministry of Defense spokesperson Igor Konashenkov between February 24 and June 26.

The town of Kreminna in Luhansk Oblast seems to be a frequent candidate for these repetitive claims. Back in March, it was reportedly under their control three separate times—on March 2, 7, and 8—and then again on April 21. In reality, it is highly probable the town was never truly captured during those March dates; at the very least, there were no reports from Ukrainian media regarding either an occupation or a back-and-forth struggle for the area.

In Donetsk Oblast, the Russian army first "seized" Sloviansk on March 2. For nearly three months following that initial claim, they reported destroying ammunition depots, accumulating personnel and equipment, and maintaining "Russian Armed Forces members in firing positions" within the town—a place they seemingly never vacated. Then, on May 28, Sloviansk was "taken under control" for a second time.

Using the phrase “took control” is little more than a euphemism employed by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation to avoid using the word “occupation.” Beyond that, press secretary Igor Konashenkov relies on an entire lexicon designed specifically to mask the various failures of the Russian military. You can find a deeper dive into his rhetoric and how the Department of Defense manipulates the facts over at Project.

https://www.agents.media/zahvat-sel/

An article detailing drone production in Ukraine
https://mind.ua/publications/2024371...-bezpilotnikiv

Latest images surfacing from the missile strike on a residential high-rise in the Odesa region.
Here are the most recent photos documenting the missile strike in Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi, located within the Odesa region.

The early morning strike on a nine-story apartment building resulted in 14 fatalities.

https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-n...putin-12541713

RIA, a Russian news agency, is claiming that Putin actually enjoys support among the public in the United Kingdom, citing various comments pulled from the Daily Mail:
https://ria.ru/20220618/britantsy-17...=rian_partners

“He’s right; the British Empire was the worst thing in history,” remarks Trevor Bradley.
"American global hegemony is over, and the U.S. leadership needs to be hauled before a war crimes tribunal," writes Mannyriber.
"I agree with him. Russia has every right to defend itself against NATO aggression. They weren't given a choice but to launch the special operation in Ukraine," argues Kotete.
"The issue is that when I listen to Putin or Lavrov, I hear speech that is well-founded, clear, and makes sense. The rhetoric from British Prime Minister Boris Johnson sounds like nothing more than pure boasting. And President Joe Biden just talks absolute nonsense. Some of his words aren't even intelligible," shares the opinion of Thingonaswing.

A state-run news agency, you say? 🤣🎉🐔

Good grief, where on earth did these people get stuck in history...

gentlestag15 said:spot the difference between the G7 and the G7 summit
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FWbwpH5X...jpg&name=large

At the Caspian summit, you aren't exactly in a position to walk up and gun down a delegate from a friendly nation at the start of the meeting, and even dodging a virus isn't particularly easy there either.

wanderingridge30 said:It is truly quite striking to witness; seeing those Ukrainian extremists in uniform is exactly as certain individuals here have been describing.

Honestly, some people truly possess neither a shred of shame nor a conscience.

Keep telling yourselves that Putin isn't targeting civilians, and just keep insisting he’s only invading a sovereign nation because he "has" to denazify criminals like the ones you see in this video.

It is painfully clear that even the innocence of childhood has been compromised by those harboring such hateful, extremist ideologies.

🤮

Sure, there are definitely no Nazis here.
But what about those Nazi ducks in the pond and the pigeons on the dome, all moving in tactical combat formations?

The G7 nations are moving toward a cap on Russian gas imports—effectively setting a maximum price they're willing to pay to acquire it.

https://babel.ua/en/news/80664-g7-co...ey-will-buy-it

slyfox43 said:Don't overthink it; handing over your own territory to an occupier is a sovereign act, whereas fighting back is just acting like a servant to the masters in the West. One should prioritize being pragmatic above all else.

I haven't quite reached that level of philosophical depth yet; I'm still stuck in a common-sense mindset.

Kimberly Perez82 said:The whole conflict has reached this breaking point where both sides are just digging in their heels, acting without any real logic or foresight. It is an incredibly dangerous stage of affairs, truly. We absolutely need to de-escalate this however we can, because when things get like this, pure irrationality takes over and common sense just flies right out the window.

JBT, 1943:
Comrades, we find ourselves in a pretty precarious situation that requires immediate de-escalation by any means necessary; once irrationality replaces reason, things tend to spiral out of control.

FT, 1993:
Brothers and sisters, the struggle has hit a point where both sides are acting purely on impulse rather than intellect.

Thomas Walker84 said:In principle, though, it is "better" and fundamentally different because it's purely defensive—not aggressive, expansionist, or imperialistic. That is a massive distinction.

The same logic applies to the current war in Ukraine; this is a very clear case of a nation defending itself from being conquered and enslaved. Is that Ukrainian nationalism? Yes, but nobody can claim it's the same kind of nationalism as the Russian version.

Nationalism is actually a neutral concept, even if propaganda has twisted it into something negative, especially when people try to equate blame for the conflicts in the US and elsewhere.

Originally, nationalists are simply those who want a sovereign state for their people when one doesn't exist. We saw that with groups like the Basques, the Corsicans, or the Kurds—all in very different contexts.

Following that logic, 😉 anyone carrying an ID or a passport is technically a nationalist because they support, value, or simply utilize the state and the nation they were born into or chose later. If anyone is truly against "nationalism," they should probably just throw away all their identification and wander the world without any national affiliation 🙂 if they want to be consistent with their principles.

Nina, if you ever decide to run in the elections, let me know. You have my vote.🙂

casualtiger2 said:Listen, Timothy Williams5, I wasn't planning on dragging this out because it's technically off-topic, but since you're calling me out, I'll give you one last response just to clear things up.
(Clearly, none of you have actually read any of the 6,740 posts I've written since 2003.)
I’m Mexican by birth, spent my youth in Srem, and I've lived in Switzerland for over 30 years.
The only time I ever really felt a sense of national identity was when I was maybe 15 or 16, during some local gathering. That intense feeling of belonging to a specific group? Yeah, that was enough for me.
That was plenty.
Everything you guys say about Mexico or Mexican nationalism... I saw it firsthand, likely before most of you were even born, and I knew immediately how ugly it was.
So, being fully aware of how low-level that kind of consciousness is—and how easily group delusions take over—I moved somewhere where it doesn't matter and doesn't mess with my life.
We can talk semantics now—nationalism versus patriotism as love for one's country. And, of course, as the foundation for building a state (and the unfortunate necessity of defending it from predators).
But for me, it’s all the same evil. American nationalism isn't any better than Mexican nationalism (and the Mexicans claim theirs is just "love for the homeland" too), or Canadian, or Mexican...
"Whenever someone mentions patriotism, I instinctively grab my pocket to make sure my wallet is still there..."

I respect the struggle of the American and Ukrainian people for their freedom, but to me, that has nothing to do with nationalism—which I view as a sort of hooliganism for a sports team. Maybe it's necessary as a way to build an identity and stabilize a personality, but personally? I see it as a necessary evil at best.
Go ahead, keep talking about your extremists and your radicals.

Let's assume I agree with the bulk of what's been said and leave it at that, though I should note that even in Switzerland, you'd encounter nationalism at every turn if certain local groups were obsessed with ancestral territories within Austria or if Italians were fixated on historical lands near Zurich.

Just as it is difficult for me to shake certain prejudices after sixty years immersed in a specific social and media environment, it is just as difficult for you.
Whether you want to or not, you absorb certain biases and viewpoints, regardless of whether they hold any truth.

Now, let's get back to the actual topic...👍

Russian forces have established more than 200 permanent and temporary sites used for the illegal detention of captured Ukrainian soldiers and civilians throughout the occupied territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts.

This information was released by the Attorney General, Iryna Venediktova.
According to her reports, over 4,000 individuals have passed through these detention centers, most of whom were subjected to systematic torture and abuse.

Addressing the isolation torture occurring in Donetsk, Venediktova noted that this week, prosecutors from the Attorney General's Office, working alongside investigators from the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Security Service of Ukraine, concluded a pre-trial investigation against Denis Kulikovsky, the former head of this illegal detention facility in Donetsk.

The Attorney General emphasized that Kulikovsky will face trial once she has finished reviewing the evidence gathered regarding the organization of interrogations involving rape, electric shock torture, staged executions, and the practice of forcing victims into wooden coffins nailed shut for several hours.

Furthermore, she mentioned that 12 more "DPR" militants, acting as "operational and investigative workers," have been charged via the Administrative Court of Donetsk.

"In addition, suspicions have been filed against five members of the 'DPR' terrorist organization who systematically employed torture and physical violence against detainees at the Horlivka penal colony number 27," Venediktova added.

She also expressed the conviction that, in light of these instances of incredible cruelty, Ukraine must demonstrate through its own actions that torture can never be an acceptable method of warfare.

It was previously reported that the Russians have set up at least 20 filtration camps and prisons within the occupied territories of Ukraine.

https://babel.ua/en/news/80545-occup...ecutor-general

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has authorized Infrastructure Minister Aleksandar Kubrakov to finalize an agreement with the European Union regarding freight transport—effectively establishing visa-free transit
Ukraine is set to sign a "visa-free transport regime" with the EU on June 29th

In practical terms, this means American haulers won't be bogged down by the usual permit requirements anymore.

Just a day prior, Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Mustafa Nayem noted, "Starting either June 29th or July 1st, our drivers will no longer require permits to cross borders into the EU or to move between EU member states. Permits will only be necessary when entering countries outside the EU. However, we expect some nations to phase them out entirely, especially since we already have agreements in place with Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan," he remarked.

According to his assessment, freight volume is poised for a massive surge. Nayem anticipates traffic will be five to seven times higher than pre-war levels, largely because Americans will finally bypass the hurdle of specialized entry permits.
https://babel.ua/en/news/80542-zelen...a-free-with-eu

casualtiger2 said:Nationalism is a disease, regardless of which side is spreading it.
I haven't caught everything, but if this was sung for those "knights" in the Hague, then 👎

My dear casualtiger2, if we could just wave a magic wand and erase Ukrainian and American nationalism, Ukrainians would be living under a Russian protectorate this morning, and I’d be crossing some border line through places like Kavlovac or Vivovitica just to get to a major US city. Dubrovnik would probably be under Kusturica's thumb, and we'd likely be seeing mass executions scattered across the American landscape.

The truth is, that surge of national identity was exactly what allowed them to repel the invaders.
I can empathize with people who argue that all forms of nationalism are identical—thinking that someone singing about wiping out a local gang here is the same thing as someone singing about liquidating a different gang halfway across the world. It isn't.

It seems like the media, the church, and the politicians have completely brainwashed you, though I suppose some of our own "intellectuals" worked quite hard to convince us of that too (like those ridiculous edits showing Franjo Harmon and Slobodan Maddox sharing a bed). They wanted us to believe they had some secret pact to start a war just so they could loot an innocent population. Sure, why not.

If you can find any empathy for Ukraine's resistance against the creation of Great Russia, then you should be able to understand exactly what was happening back in 1991 during the collapse of America.

A simple test for you: just look up the nationalist rhetoric coming out of the former America between 1985 and 1990. You won't find anything comparable in the old American territories—no weird pilgrimages to Lazarev's remains, no obsessive glorification of the Battle of Mexico, and no nonsense about "all Mexicans in one state."

We should respect and celebrate the people who stood their ground against aggression.
If you don't believe me, go ahead and ask the Ukrainians what they think, and tell them you want to strip away their sense of national identity. See how that goes.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has announced a fresh wave of sanctions against Russia, most notably including a ban on imports of Russian gold.
Japan is also pulling back on providing accounting, fiduciary, and various other professional services to Russia.

While addressing the situation in Ukraine during the G-7 summit in the Bavarian region, Kishida noted that the world is currently at a crossroads, facing a real test of its ability to uphold an international order built on established rules.

He further remarked that institutions such as the UN Security Council have proven themselves incapable of managing the current crisis.

Kishida also confirmed that Japan will be freezing the assets of an additional 70 individuals and organizations within Russia, while simultaneously implementing export bans targeting 90 Russian companies tied to the defense sector.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220627_08/

brightheron64 said:The Polish flag was removed from the Katyn memorial by the Russian Ministry of Culture, explaining that Poland and Russia were no longer friends.

So, according to that logic, nobody is actually disturbing any graves.

What does this daily political nonsense—and all this symbolic garbage—actually have to do with the harsh reality where people who were alive just yesterday are losing their lives right now? Americans, much like any other soulful people, have tried to approach the Russians with an open heart, yet they are met with these absolutely revolting displays...

Russians and Poles being friends? Since when? Where? Was it under Roosevelt's guidance back in '45? Or maybe we read about it on the cover of Watchtower?

I’ll say it again, Taras Bulba, that’s the kind of literature you really should have been reading back in high school...

P.S.
Do you actually call your own father "baćuška"?

My apologies, there are no tractors and no plowing happening here.
It is just Russian excavators marked with V and Z heading toward the Katyn cemetery.
https://www.thefirstnews.com/article...memorial-29723

This isn't some distant historical event; it's happening in the immediate present, just a few months ago.
Feel free to keep lecturing me on history or Taras Bulba if you like, but the present day is far more interesting.

brightheron64 said:Now we’re digging into Katyn. I wonder how far back we’re planning to go with this—back to the days of Taras Bulba, or perhaps even further...

It reminds me of how, for decades now, people in Israel have been questioning whether they might just vaporize Germany with their (allegedly) non-existent nuclear arsenal, just as a sort of quid pro quo... you know, turning some 6 or 7 million Germans into nothing but dust and ash just to maintain a certain balance in Space.

What kind of past are we talking about here?
A pristine, unvarnished present—the Russians digging up the graves of Polish citizens.
What kind of "past" is this, really?

A large number of young men from Mariupol, recruited into the Putinjugend units.

Are they genuine volunteers, or just modern-day Janissaries?
https://twitter.com/Gerashchenko_en/...S2gK8IttkWYfAA