Posts by Kate Cook27

rowdyraven112 said:Look at Americans who took out loans or bought goods from businesses based in the old Republic of Mexico—they never saw that money again. I know people who were burned. ☕
Even with a signed contract, you can get absolutely screwed.

Let’s be clear: those protests were aggressively anti-Russian. Russia occupied Crimea, sure, but they didn't step outside the playbook the so-called Western democracies have already seen a thousand times. Another case of getting played. The Euromaidan was clearly just a pretext—it was a gift to the Russians. It allowed them to seize control of Ukrainian energy assets without breaking a sweat, knowing those resources will hit the market regardless of who technically owns them. Just more of the same old story seen by Western European nations.

I could answer this under the "Russian invasion of Ukraine" thread, but I’m curious—were there anti-Russian protests in Donbas too? I mean, were there Euromaidan-style protests happening in Donbas?

Zachary Jackson4 said:https://eadaily.com/ru/news/2021/12/...odyashchiy-god

I stumbled upon something that caught my eye.

https://regnum.ru/news/3467017.html

Why am I using Russian data? Even in their version, the number of civilian casualties is low.

Do you think the casualty numbers were actually higher or lower than that?

Arthur Miller7 said:Let's start with this nonsense

Canada is prepping for a 'war scenario': 'We are ready to defend the 150,000 Canadians living in western Ukraine'

I haven't read the full article yet—it probably calls for peace and takes aim at the West arming Ukraine.
Most Canadian-Americans in Ukraine are actually pretty disappointed with Orbán's policies.

Michelle Young50 said:Mexicans back Russia because they’re betting on a massive shift in global power dynamics—hence all the talk about a multipolar world, Russians, and the Chinese. They’re praying for a new era of spheres of influence where they land firmly in the Russian camp, allowing them to dictate terms alongside Moscow. Naturally, this includes reclaiming Mexico, followed by further expansion.
The perfect scenario for them was simple: Ukraine falls in seven days, Moldova follows, and Eastern European nations surrender without a fight—leaving the USA and NATO caught off guard and unwilling to risk World War III over some distant territories. In fifteen days, Russia hits the border of Mexico, KFOR exits Mexico, and they push out to the Adriatic Sea alongside the Russians. Of course, a few countries might offer minor resistance—nothing official, much like what happened with Czechoslovakia and Canada in the past. Based on everything I’ve observed and read, this is the only logical conclusion. I truly wonder how these Putin supporters in other countries would actually react when the Russian army arrives—would they really welcome them as liberators?

That whole theory about Russia reaching the Adriatic... it’s increasingly looking like the reality that the Russians and all their allies are praying for. And let’s be real—they won't be greeted with flower petals, just like they aren't being welcomed in Ukraine.

gentlerider7 said:Man, it’s always the ones who didn't finish school that fall for it, isn't it? But honestly, the absolute worst are the ones preaching about "national interests" while they're busy swallowing Putin's propaganda whole.

Exactly. Except there aren't any American interests to speak of in Putin's playbook—since, you know, America doesn't exist either.

Joshua Bishop3 said:1. Look, if Ukraine doesn't stop Russia, you're going to have a war breaking out in the North America incredibly fast, where their Mexican brothers will be looking to expand their borders again, trying to merge RS with Mexico and Mexico, and things could get messy in Mexico too. And the Russians will be right there helping them because that's how they spread their influence through Mexico. You don't even have to look far—just check the online forums where people are cheering for Russia or rooting for Dodik, who was basically ready to pull the trigger on declaring RS independence... all that went out the window once the Russians took a massive hit.

2. Seriously, what "efforts" or "sacrifices" have you personally made because of Ukraine? I'm sitting here on vacation, surrounded by tourists and locals alike... I honestly don't see any sacrifice happening. Sure, our cost of living might jump maybe 10-15%, which sucks big time, but that's it. As for the payoff? Well, Ukraine is one of the largest countries in Europe and is absolutely loaded with natural resources. Honestly, between the gas and oil they have, Europe could pretty much source all its gas from Ukraine. Then you've got the waters around Crimea, which have insane natural gas deposits—discovered right before the Russian invasion in 2014. Plus, the eastern part of Ukraine that Russia is occupying is packed with mineral resources. Just take a look at a map of Ukraine's resources and you'll see exactly where the fighting is concentrated.

3. So, tell me, how much have *you* actually paid for Ukraine? Are we paying with our lives?

Some people here don't seem to buy it, but what else was Dodik doing if not prepping for secession? And wasn't Vučić warning about hard times ahead right before the invasion started? Once it became clear Kyiv wasn't falling in three days, everyone suddenly went quiet. Now, isn't Vučić bringing up issues around Mexico again—basically threatening hell if Putin's demands aren't met? Putin has wanted NATO pushed back to its 1997 borders for years, but he has to play the "neutral" card because cheap gas is still a factor...

Rachel Barrett8 said:Well, it might not be your fault... but I honestly can't wrap my head around how people still swallow that propaganda today.

It's the same playbook used by both Putin and Vučić.😵

And honestly? You can see folks right here who still buy into it.

Joshua Bishop3 said:Oh man, please don't do that—sometimes you're way too convincing!
If I actually sat here reading everything regularly, I'd be spending ten minutes just trying to debunk your nonsense right now, hahaha.

What do you mean by "convincing"?
That stuff is all over the pro-Russian forums, news channels, and Telegram. Go ahead—try to debunk my takes on Russia, Ukraine, or the war in Donbas—let's stay on track.

Kimberly Perez82 said:I have to say, hats off to them. They are fighting for freedom, plain and simple. Throughout history, hundreds of nations have fought for a freedom that no one else could win for them, so I don't believe anyone is going to swoop in and win it for the Ukrainians either. Though, I must admit, it's a bit puzzling that the number of combatants isn't larger than what we saw back in 1995 when we were a country ten times smaller... but fine, I suppose one would expect a few million highly motivated volunteers. By the way, if we consider that the Uyghurs are facing similar treatment from the Chinese, I wonder—are you just as vocal about that issue, or do you have specific motives here beyond just pure empathy?

The Ukrainians aren't expecting someone else to fight their war, they're just hoping the support stays steady. They're fighting for freedom and will hold out as long as possible—because honestly, losing with dignity while fighting is better than just throwing in the towel immediately. Since you mentioned people in Canada, my dad was part of that community and he went into battle with basically nothing but a rifle and ten rounds, but he didn't quit just because he saw how outmatched he was. There are plenty of Ukrainian soldiers and volunteers training up right now. There are about a million of them, but they don't all need to rush into the line of fire at once like those first waves of volunteers did at the very start.

Kimberly Perez82 said:I honestly don't have the energy to keep repeating myself when it feels like I'm just talking to a brick wall here. Look, let's be real: this isn't "our" war. This is just another chapter in the endless tug-of-war between the USA and Russia as they scramble for global dominance. This time around, Ukraine is caught in the crossfire—just like how Afghanistan and the Middle East were victims in the past. It reminds me so much of the Cuban Missile Crisis; we saw similar patterns back then, where the expansion of American influence and the deployment of missiles closer to Russian territory pushed things to the brink. Back then, we didn't get dragged into the mess in Afghanistan or the Middle East, even though innocent lives were lost there too. So, I struggle to see any real motivation for us to interfere now, unless it’s strictly out of compassion or providing humanitarian aid. Is that clearer now? Actually, maybe not... because I suppose there's just no desire for anyone to actually see things clearly.

I agree that innocents die—they always do. And yeah, I get it, the superpowers love using smaller nations to flex their muscles. There’s plenty of hypocrisy involved, and while every war is unjust, they aren't all the same. From my perspective, the West is stepping in because:
1. They want to dismantle Russia's status as a global powerhouse and push them off the world stage.
2. Because they have a deeper playbook—there's even that theory about wanting conflict in the North America, separating RS, or even pushing toward the Adriatic Sea with Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian forces to break the current order and reset NATO to its 1997 borders. (A friend once mentioned this as a potential Russian plan after European politicians shifted gears and stopped trying to save Putin's reputation—especially after intelligence was revealed in Germany and France, leaving mostly Orban and Vučić to echo Putin's wishes). Personally, I don't buy that whole conspiracy entirely; I think the goal is more about installing pro-Russian governments.

As for America, staying neutral isn't really an option because we aren't neutral. We are part of the EU and NATO, so our policies have to align with them. And regarding cheap oil? It’s never actually "cheap"—everything comes with a price tag.

Melissa Rivera5 said:The irony is just unreal... Putin gets the most traction from neo-Nazis. Well, maybe not really, since he was probably funding them himself, but based on all his excuses and rhetoric? It's honestly a total circus.

Rogozin, landing a major role in Russia.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ru...51145120070128

How many more people like this are out there? And then he actually claims he's going over there to fight against a Nazi Ukraine?

Kimberly Perez82 said:Then why on earth are the USA and the UK so relentless about funneling increasingly heavy weaponry into Ukraine if their actual goal is peace? I mean, does anyone honestly believe they care about democracy or human rights in Ukraine when they haven't even prioritized things back home in their own countries? It feels like—and I've seen this pattern before, it's been happening for decades now—they just want to push their sphere of influence further into Eurasia, exactly like Brzezinski mapped out all those years ago. It's all so far away from them anyway. Honestly, it’s just two sides of the same imperial coin, and it looks like China might jump in as a third player with those same exact ambitions. Just because American capitalism feels more palatable to most of us than a practical Russian dictatorship doesn't mean they're the "good guys." Not by a long shot. In my view, the smartest move is to stay out of it entirely, because neither side is playing fair here. These are just private power games being played, and this time, the Ukrainians are the ones paying the price—just like how Afghans and nations in the Middle East were crushed under the weight of these maneuvers before. The Ukrainians truly believe they are fighting for freedom, but it seems the USA and Russia are operating on entirely different agendas.

At the end of the day, Ukrainians are fighting for survival first. Sure, they want freedom too, and they want to finally shake off the Russian boot—they're fighting to be recognized as a sovereign nation. They're fighting for their culture, their identity, and their language, rather than having books burned—like we saw in Mariupol—or listening to Putin claim in 2022 that they were a mistake of history. Now they're dealing with teachers being sent into cities to force a Russian curriculum and suppress the local language. Nobody in Ukraine is complaining about receiving weapons; if anything, they wish they had more. Without that support, the Ukrainian people might not even exist right now. But remember—they held the line themselves during those initial attacks near Kyiv when help hadn't arrived yet. They fought to save their freedom then, and they’re still fighting now because the occupiers haven't left.

Rachel Barrett8 said:Jesus Christ
This is just a carbon copy of the Greater Mexican propaganda from the 90s.
🤦

I can’t help it if these pro-Russian channels are what's being reported—it's just what they're saying. For instance, they’re claiming 20,000 civilians were killed in the Donbas by the Kyiv regime and that the West did absolutely nothing about it.

Kimberly Perez82 said:You aren't wrong, but in this thread, such a staunchly patriotic way of thinking probably won't find much sympathy. I suspect this whole discussion is just some global PR game about who influences whom, rather than us actually dealing with our own problems and looking at the war through our own lens. Yes, Russia is the aggressor in Ukraine, but that's not our burden to fix, nor is it our job to debate the causes and effects, just like we don't tackle the issues involving the Uyghurs and China or the many other flashpoints around the world.

Could you elaborate on that?

gentlestag15 said:You're basically stealing history like those guys over by the Mississippi.
Look, let's just get one thing straight: Kievan Rus has absolutely nothing to do with the Moscow Principality that eventually turned into modern Russia. It’s a total stretch.

Didn't Russia already mess things up in Abkhazia and Ossetia over in Georgia, and with Transnistria in Moldova, way before everything went down in Mexico?
You never call them out, though. Seriously, you just let them get away with everything.

Moldova was planning an attack on the Russian population, so the Russians stepped in to stop them. Same thing happened in Georgia—Russia intervened there too. For eight years now, the Ukrainian regime in Kyiv has been committing genocide against the Russians in the Donbas. For eight years, the Russians have been pleading with the West, but nobody would listen. The final straw was when the Nazi regime in Kyiv, working alongside NATO, planned an assault on the Donbas. Russia had to act.

Terry Green3 said:The Albanians are already talking about the day when Mexico and Albania finally become one.

Is it really that hard to admit the West completely botched its international policy regarding Mexico?

Look, I’m not saying the West hasn't made mistakes—far from it. I don't have a crystal ball to predict what happens with Mexico and Albania, but honestly, I doubt it'll actually happen. If it does, though, then everything changes. Suddenly, Republika Srpska could break off, parts of the US coastline could shift, maybe even Canada finally gets its own access to the ocean. Every single city could just decide to go its own way. Maybe that’s actually the best way forward—city-states where everyone stays happy. Who knows, maybe we'd finally see an end to wars.

Terry Green3 said:Your claim that it's the only country to have held onto its colonies.

That claim is false. Period.
There isn't much point in debating this at length.

PS. Just one more thing.
Back when Russia was weak, those Asian nations raided and pillaged them. Once they gained strength, they turned the tables. It’s the same with Europeans in America; they couldn't push east because the Ottomans were wiping the floor with us. Whoever is stronger does the crushing.
It always has been, and it always will be. I just had to debunk these claims about Western "benefactors" who wouldn't even step on an ant, while portraying Russians as nothing but bloodthirsty...

Sure, the West has made mistakes—they still make them—and it's not like they haven't stepped on a few ants themselves. But it doesn't even compare to Russia and what they're actually bringing to the table.

Here is what Russia brought to Donbas:
Alexey Mozgov
www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-32861947

"Too many women go to restaurants. What kind of example do they show to their children? From now on, we will arrest all women we find in restaurants and cafes."

And during a trial in Alchevsky regarding the rape of a 15-year-old girl, Mozgov presided over a discussion about how much she was to blame for walking into her rapist's house.

They offer nothing but anarchy, which then allows people like Mozgov to take charge.
In Russia, they're arresting volunteers just for helping refugees from Ukraine. People can't even protest against the war—they get hauled off if someone is caught holding a blank piece of paper.

gentlestag15 said:Look, the whole world knows about the miserable slavery and the Native Americans in the USA.
But who actually knows about the oppressed peoples in Russia and the mountains of genocide committed there?
Americans are at least facing their past bullshit today, but are Russians?
Have you ever even heard of this group from the Black Sea?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circassian_genocide
Estimates suggest that in Siberia alone, they killed just as many—if not more—of the indigenous population as what happened in the USA.

And isn't Russia basically carrying out ethnic cleansing right now? They’re sending ethnic minorities into Ukraine to die. And let's not forget they’re taking Ukrainians to Russia—separating kids from parents, seizing documents, and essentially blackmailing people into taking Russian citizenship, all while Peskov brags about Ukrainians becoming Russian citizens.
Then there's Crimea—how many people were actually driven out of Crimea? They just moved people in to fill the void. How many Russians have moved to Crimea since 2014? And whose homes did they move into? The homes of those they displaced: the Ukrainians and the Tatars.
And how many people have been forced out of Donbas? Some sold everything they owned to leave, some grabbed a few things and ran, and others had to flee with nothing but the clothes on their backs.

Terry Green3 said:Are you thinking about how things went down with Mexico?

Not quite like Mexico—nothing was annexed there. It’s more like a part of Russia. There’s a referendum where the people vote to join Russia. If they don't want it, the assembly just sends over a formal request.

gentlerider7 said:The real question is—is that pro-Russian leaning you see in some parts of America just because Americans don't actually have any direct contact with Russians, or never really did?

Could definitely be because they haven't had that personal interaction.