Posts by Joseph Clark37

Kyle Campbell4 said:These people have completely lost their minds; reading between the lines, I see a blatant readiness and a terrifying potential for all-out war.

Their rhetoric reminds me of those scenes from 1945 where Hitler is in his bunker, making grand speeches about the Third Reich and launching counterattacks against the Soviets and Americans.

Everything mentioned in this article, and much more, is just propaganda from a regime charging headlong toward its own destruction if they keep this up long-term...

Larry Fox5 said:Maybe they got that cash through some shady conversion or straight-up robbery—whatever—but that's just how things work in Russian society and their "rule of law"... We can't ignore the fact that these Oligarchs were already filthy rich long before Putin even took power, so saying they're all in cahoots with his regime to build their fortunes is a stretch. Otherwise, it makes it look like they froze his assets just because he was on good terms with Putin for a minute... ridiculous.

Maybe so, but you need the context of the timing—it’s crucial. It’s not like he was just hopping on a plane to Moscow right now to give Putin his blessing for this attack. Besides, the whole world has had a specific way of communicating and trading with him until now. We have to look at the last 22 years, not just the last three weeks...

That’s just straight-up Bolshevik communist tactics—you end up acting exactly like the people you claim to be fighting against... ridiculous.

Many of today's oligarchs reached their positions of wealth and influence before Putin; some arrived with him, but nearly all of them saw further ascent during his reign. In Russia, once you reach a certain level of investment and business, you can't do anything without patronage and cooperation from the Tsar. What happened in the past doesn't matter anymore; this is now a war between Russia and the West. A war that, so far, is fought primarily on an economic level, by arming Ukraine, and indirectly on the battlefield...

Larry Fox5 said:Maybe they got that cash through some shady conversion or straight-up robbery—whatever—but that's just how things work in Russian society and their "rule of law"... We can't ignore the fact that these Oligarchs were already filthy rich long before Putin even took power, so saying they're all in cahoots with his regime to build their fortunes is a stretch. Otherwise, it makes it look like they froze his assets just because he was on good terms with Putin for a minute... ridiculous.

Maybe so, but you need the context of the timing—it’s crucial. It’s not like he was just hopping on a plane to Moscow right now to give Putin his blessing for this attack. Besides, the whole world has had a specific way of communicating and trading with him until now. We have to look at the last 22 years, not just the last three weeks...

That’s just straight-up Bolshevik communist tactics—you end up acting exactly like the people you claim to be fighting against... ridiculous.

Those scarecrow labels are completely irrelevant. I'll say it again: this is war, and you choose whatever means necessary during wartime to defeat the enemy. The goal of sanctions against the oligarchs is to force those who hold power in Russia to pressure for an end to the war. Won't succeed? You lose your assets. Violating their rights? Yes. But they aren't the first or last to face that during a war. Does that make me any better than those who are, one way or another, part of the system that launched an invasion on another country and is killing civilians? It's just your opinion, and I don't share it...

Sure, everything happening now and all the fallout from this war—both on the battlefield and in the markets—was supposedly predicted and calculated by Putin in advance...

My ass.

There isn't a single person on this planet smart or wise enough to foresee every single detail, let alone most of the short-term and long-term consequences of a war played out on the global stage.

If Vladimir Putin actually had that kind of foresight, he wouldn't have kicked this conflict off the way he did. You're overestimating these leaders and their inner circles, who are more than capable of making massive mistakes...

nimbleranger52 said:He managed to grab all those untapped resources out in Donbas and Crimea. We’re talking billions upon billions of cubic meters of gas, not to mention the ore deposits sitting right there around Donetsk...

How can you people not see that this was literally a matter of survival for him? He isn't about to let NATO missiles parked in his own backyard, so end of story. Period.

The Ukrainians are just too good, really. But they ended up looking like naive fools, much like what happened in Georgia back in 2008.

The US doesn't actually have the guts to go toe-to-toe in a direct conflict with a nuclear superpower. They only seem to have the nerve when it comes to picking on poor folks in places like Libya, Iraq, or Afghanistan...

Just wait, you'll all be crying over Russia and the gas soon enough....

Diesel is already hitting 2.50 euros on the Autobahn in Germany... and word is it could climb as high as 3 euros...

Mercedes owners are putting their orders on hold, and Porsche is doing the exact same thing...

The West is going to feel the sting of this just as much as the Russians... everyone is in for a world of hurt here... it's not just the Russians and the Ukrainians who are going to suffer...

Oh, and by the way, where on earth did that whole COVID religion disappear to????

To me, it seems perfectly logical that Putin wouldn't want Ukraine in the NATO alliance. If that were truly his primary concern regarding Ukraine, he shouldn't have annexed Crimea or orchestrated and funded the secession of the Donbas regions—territories that would essentially become Russian satellites or eventually part of Russia itself. But clearly, that wasn't his main priority; he had other agendas. Up until 2013, support for joining NATO among the Ukrainian population was low, and it’s only natural that sentiment shifted after the events mentioned above. Anyone would change their stance in a similar scenario. What is absurd is that Ukraine wasn't actually close to joining the alliance at all. Ukraine joining NATO in this current context is merely a pretext; the real cause is something that has been sitting in Vladimir Putin's head for years.

Larry Fox5 said:This whole asset freezing thing—it has absolutely nothing to do with the rule of law... especially since it wasn't an issue until suddenly it became one.
Plus, Saudi money isn't any better than Oligarchic cash, yet they let that slide without a second thought.

It wasn't an issue before their boss decided to invade another country. Even Saudi Arabia wouldn't get away with it if they suddenly invaded somewhere like Jordan... This isn't about the rule of law, nor is it about how most of these Russian oligarchs made their fortunes during what was perhaps the largest heist in history—the privatization of Russia after the collapse of the USSR. These targeted oligarchs are close to Putin. Honestly, instead of just freezing their assets, I’d prefer to see everything they own in the West seized following Tatta's moves, liquidated, and used to compensate companies hit by the war and to rebuild a devastated Ukraine.

Larry Fox5 said:It's not exactly the same thing. Ukraine is falling apart and people are dying every single day. It makes total sense that emotions would override rational thinking in a situation like that.
On the flip side, hunting down Russians all over the world just because they happen to be Russian isn't justified at all—it's a massive failure for our Western civilization.

What kind of global persecution of Russians are we actually talking about here? Are they being physically assaulted, thrown in prison, or killed just because they happen to be Russian?

hiddencyclist112 said:I honestly find what the Ukrainians are doing to Tymoshenko quite unsettling. From everything I’ve seen so far, the man hasn't even made an official statement on this issue, yet somehow that silence is being treated like a criminal offense. And then there's the fact that he's still working with Zenit in Russia. Is that supposed to be considered complicity or what? I don't get it. It is entirely possible that I don't have the full picture here, but from my limited understanding, it seems like everyone is being expected to explicitly declare their allegiances and pick a side immediately.
I don't know; it feels similar to these irrational retaliations we're seeing against Russians across the globe—targeting athletes, artists, and regular people whose only "sin" is having any connection to Russia at this moment.

To me, this isn't about trying to sit on two sides of the fence. It’s simply a personal choice in this specific moment to not take a side—or perhaps, more accurately, it's my own plea for peace and a refusal to participate in all this madness. But no, apparently we’re just going to erase your entire legacy and all 140 of your appearances. Who cares, right? So much for democracy.

I’ve always found this fascination with invoking "democracy" interesting. Just because Ukraine has a democratic political system doesn't mean everything should be tolerated during wartime. Other athletes walked away from safety, luxury, and comfort to risk their lives helping their people in Ukraine, while this guy is still working for a club tied to the regime of the state that is attacking and killing his own countrymen—all while staying silent. It would be like if Dario Srna were an assistant coach at Red Star while an invasion of America by Mexico was happening, and he just kept working there without saying a word. And then what? Should we, as a fair and tolerant democratic society, say: "That's fine, Dario, it's your choice, we respect it, best of luck"? Clearly, the perks of working at Zenit outweigh his loyalty to his country and people, so it's his choice (unless there's some coercion involved that I don't know about). In wartime, when polarization hits its peak, the equation is simple: Klitschko is the hero, Tymoshenko is the traitor. You and other observers watching from the sidelines without any emotional involvement or personal risk are free to be outraged by how they treat him. In my view, it isn't the most "fair," but it is completely understandable...

Kyle Campbell4 said:Reading letters from Russian journalists has been one of the most absurd things lately. If even a fraction of it is true, then Putko has completely lost his mind and gone off the deep end.

Looking at his behavior and recent moves, Putin has definitely changed. Once someone adopts a new pattern of behavior, it’s an illusion to assume they’ll revert to their old ways. The West needs to gather every possible bit of intelligence to assess his actual plans and ultimate goals. Hoping that someone will return to their previous way of thinking is a lazy and dangerous strategy...

Jonathan Smith12 said:But how are you even supposed to move a convoy if the Russians have total air superiority? They tried that right at the beginning of the conflict, and the Russians just picked off several columns effortlessly...
The real question is how seriously the Ukrainians actually took the warnings from the Americans, and just how much equipment they have tucked away in the east... the most capable Ukrainian fighters are stationed in the Donbas, and if they try to move them anywhere else in a convoy, the Russians will likely intercept and destroy them on the road, which is exactly why the Ukrainians are pleading with NATO for a no-fly zone.
It’s basically down to guerrilla territory tactics and seeing who can endure the longest... that’s just how it’s going to play out.

I think Ukraine realized the gravity of the situation too late, and I suspect Western intelligence services did as well. This has been brewing for years; they should have seen this coming months ago.
For the Ukrainians fighting the Russians, there isn't much choice left but to concentrate their forces within urban centers and fortified positions in the Donbas. That's one reason why the Russians are penetrating so deeply in the south. But like you said, with Russian air superiority, the Ukrainians simply cannot perform any significant tactical repositioning, and their logistics are being choked because of it.
In my view, NATO should have already taken a more aggressive stance against the Russians, unofficially targeting and destroying Russian objectives on both the ground and in the sky within Ukraine. Alongside the Russian buildup near the borders, they should have deployed the largest concentration of NATO forces in history in Poland. Putin is like a classic physical abuser; if you don't physically stand up to him, he'll never stop.

Anthony Jackson2 said:Nah, those sanctions will vanish a week after the attacks stop—I get the feeling half of Europe is just dying to wrap this up so they can get back to business as usual.

A lot of global brands will head back to Russia because much of what's happening right now is driven by pure PR. However, if the Russians topple the current regime and occupy all of Eastern Ukraine, those Western sanctions will stay in place until there are direct negotiations between both sides. Given the latest version of Putin in the Kremlin, I don't see those talks being particularly productive...

Jonathan Smith12 said:I suppose the Arrow is fine for someone on a shoestring budget; if you haven't got any air cover of your own, you just fire an Arrow at anything that looks even remotely hostile... but if you actually possess your own air force, well, then you start worrying about accidentally taking down one of your own pilots, and frankly, what does some guy standing in the dirt know about who's actually up in the clouds?
It’s all interconnected, really—getting high-end aircraft naturally necessitates having top-tier air defense to match...

Exactly. Once we get the Rafale, we really need to look into more sophisticated short and medium-range SAM systems. We simply don't have the budget for the top-tier options, as they'd likely cost more than the jets themselves. Perhaps something like the Raytheon system from Norway?

Kyle Campbell4 said:Putting it in a bowl of water won't help, damn. 🤣

The Mexican representative spent the entire segment leaning toward the Russian side, attempting to justify everything through geopolitical lenses and using that tired, old rhetoric about Nazis and even bringing up Azov... towards the end of the topic, Music tried to replicate his points, but the guy dismantled him point by point with sheer logic. He dominated the debate so completely that the other man’s reaction was just a pale, stuttering mess, asking, "Why are you attacking me? Just because I'm Orthodox doesn't mean I'm defending Russia..." Music had to cut him off, telling him to stop being defensive and get back to the actual merits of the argument. The poor guy just sat there in silence, and it became so awkward that the host had to change the subject just to break the tension. It was an absolute masterclass in dominance. I'll post the link here once they upload it to YouTube.

Post it if you find it. I'll definitely watch...🍿

mellowotter36 said:My uncle used to work at the Pentagon, so I’ll ask him how long it actually took them to track and shoot down a plane with an Arrow back in '91. But look, war is a different beast entirely. You don't expect this kind of stuff during peacetime. Honestly, the best move would be to station a soldier with an Arrow every few miles along the border with Canada and Mexico.

The Arrow was a solid system back in its day, though I hear many of the units we still have are malfunctioning and will soon be replaced by Israeli tech. At the end of the day, the Arrow is a short-range anti-aircraft system... if you don't have troops on the ground in that specific area carrying them, you're essentially defenseless...

Kyle Campbell4 said:If there is one thing our military actually gets right, it’s the quality of our radar systems. A close friend of mine brings this up constantly.

Does that include the Falcon III coastal surveillance radars? 😁

Kyle Lopez2 said:Did we even have anything capable of taking down a drone like that?🤣

Also, maybe ask your friend how far into Canadian territory our radar can actually see, or if they’re even monitoring what happens in Canadian airspace.🤔

Taking it down within seven minutes of detection? No chance. Our air defense is a joke, just like that drone that went down...

Kyle Campbell4 said:How Music absolutely dismantled that Mexican player on day five! Man!🙏🙏 I haven't witnessed a total demolition like this in a very long time. Who's watching this?

I don't have access to PBS at the moment, so I missed it. What happened? Give me the short version...

Carl Lee27 said:So far, the UK has sent over 3,615 NLAWs—well, at least that’s the number they’re officially acknowledging. And get this, the Javelin deliveries are supposed to be starting pretty soon too.
It's just like the Starstreak, which, from what I can gather, should really be sitting right at the top of the pack when you're looking at the whole MANPADS category.

https://twitter.com/tnewtondunn/stat...41861181517826

There will still be plenty of heavy Russian paratroopers over Ukraine... 🙂

Too expensive, too complicated, and there just isn't enough training time. In my view, the only way this works is if they managed to strike a deal with the Slovaks or Bulgarians to hand over their S-300s—assuming they're actually functional and the Ukrainians have crews ready to operate them... though I doubt those countries would part with such systems so easily.

Russians without their Nike gear 😲

Jacob Price95 said:The VDV effectively played their last note, watching their entire reputation crumble into nothingness. I can't help but wonder what kind of delusional strategies their command was even cooking up back in 2022... 🤣 🙏

Besides that disastrous landing at the airfield near Kyiv, where else have they managed to embarrass themselves?