Posts by Sandra Harris2

Thomas Nelson25 said:They need to go clear out Crimea.
I should probably write something deep and strategic here, but honestly? Nah.

Nah, first they need to let all those Putin-lovers leave, then hold a referendum to return to Ukraine☕
With 100% turnout and 99% of voters checking "YES."
Sound familiar?

darkhawk30 said:"Ukrainians have dealt with countless Russian deceptions in the past, and Zelenskyy was clearly worried about an economic meltdown if his nation spiraled into a panic, Blinken stated."
*
“Guys, start digging trenches!” the official began.
“When we tried to play it off with a smile,” Kuleba recalled, "the official just said: 'I'm serious. Start digging trenches. ... You’re going to be attacked. A massive offensive is being prepared and you need to get ready for it.' We asked for specifics; he didn't have any."

How much differently would everything have played out if they had actually started "digging trenches"?
🤷

https://www.washingtonpost.com/natio...ew-transcript/

Throughout December, January and February, Ukrainians were pulling funds out of our economy. We could have tightened things up, but we didn't want to stop the Federal Reserve or anyone else from limiting the people's ability to access their own cash. Even though we knew full well it would hit the national economy. The Freedom People have in a democratic country is The Freedom Our People Had. They had access to every bit of info available. Unfortunately, I wasn't briefing them on the Russ plot against me or everything the intelligence agencies were feeding me: “You need to get your family out of here.” I thought, how is that even possible? If I'm moving my family, I'm taking action—people aren't just going to sit around waiting. I couldn't do that. This land is all we've got; we're sticking it out together. And then, well, things happened.

Tomorrow, Zelenskyy, Erdogan, and Guterres are meeting in Lviv.

crimsonorca42 said:

My little contribution to the "Russian" concert. 👍

I really hope they don't find it too enjoyable. 😁

A little while ago, we played Oy u luzi chervona kalyna performed by Pink Floyd.
They actually quieted down.

We're saving the anthem for heavy artillery.

crimsongull28 said:Russia is picking up a thousand drones from Iran https://i.ibb.co/7Q6MTyz/IMG-20220814-010100-5.jpg

hiddeneagle98 said:Honestly, this just feels like a perfect excuse to finally send some actually serious anti-aircraft systems over to Ukraine.

I really hope Israel interprets this exactly that way.
☕ In the meantime...

Finland greets Russian tourists with the Ukrainian anthem
. I might just try wishing my noisy Russian neighbors goodnight the same way tonight...

🕺

Paul Thomas46 said:But haven't they made that public yet? 🤔

They did, but it wasn't exactly loud enough... I think it mostly flew under the radar. 🕺
Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted on IG: this Russian War against Ukraine and against The entire Free Europe Began with Crimea and must end with Crimea - with its liberation

The thing is, while that's technically a post from yesterday, his actual address was just a story he put up the very same evening the reports of smoke and explosions started circulating—back when the Russians were already rushing to claim it was just some warehouse being hit.

Italian sources are reporting that Lavrov spoke with the US Secretary of State today, suggesting there might be some movement toward resuming negotiations.
Peskov stated that a diplomatic solution remains on the table for the Russian Federation, noting they are open to the March 29th framework—which involves Ukrainian neutrality, third-party guarantees, and settling the status of Crimea and Donbas.

It bugs me that the Russians are negotiating through intermediaries like this. It’s just blatant disrespect. I mean, we already know they treat Ukraine like a Schrödinger's state—existing and not existing at the same time—but this is just low.

Anyway, let them show some actual good faith with a peace offering. ☕🕺

goldenowl73 said:Nah, I'm dead serious. They actually identified someone from Siberia as the one responsible.

.
The Russian military has published footage of abuse of Ukrainian prisoners of war

The video shows Russian mercenaries bullying a captured Ukrainian soldier. In what can only be described as pure depravity, they cut off his testicles. Some of them were also shown in a Russian media report.

https://twitter.com/alert_ukraine/st...IEFh9kmxEDuXTA

silentsurfer3 said:No joke—I shut the video off after ten seconds.
While Ukrainians are out there doing the work of taking POWs, the Russians are just handing back these... well, let's just say they aren't exactly returning whole men.

And look, this isn't some one-off thing either; we heard similar stories coming out of Mariupol before.

I didn't even open the link because I honestly can't stomach animalistic cruelty (assuming that's what the video is).

If this leaked today, it's not just proof of a total lack of humanity—it's a mockery of the highest order.

goldenowl73 said:I just stumbled upon some absolutely sickening footage showing Russian soldiers mutilating a Ukrainian soldier. I’m definitely not dropping the link here—honestly, if you really want to see it, you can find it easily enough on your own, but trust me, you don't want to. It is just pure, unadulterated horror after horror.

I hope you're joking.
Or maybe it's just an Informer story.

https://twitter.com/olex_scherba/sta...2F2383349.aspx

That "No one will go away" line is just haunting me.

wiredtiger8 said:Look, maybe I should've spelled it out, but I just assumed you had a clue what was going on since we're actually having a debate here.

China is investing in Africa, China is moving into the Middle East...

And why would that stop them from investing in Russia, if there's actual interest in their sphere of influence there?

I brought up Putin in the same context because some of the posts here make it seem like he doesn't even need the money.

wiredtiger8 said:Look, China can move people around within their own borders all they want. Doing that in Russia? That's a whole different ballgame.

Sure, they could invest, provided Putin and his crew actually let them. But don't kid yourself—that kind of money isn't a guarantee that they'll be able to "pull the strings" on the Russians later on using their own playbook.

Besides, comparing economic investment in some underdeveloped, struggling nations in Africa to potential investments in Siberia is just apples and oranges. The Russians have plenty of resources as it is; they aren't exactly begging for this kind of partnership.

And let's not forget, Russia is still a nuclear power—they won't hesitate to use those toys if they feel their territory is being threatened. Especially Siberia. I honestly don't get why anyone would doubt that.

It's way more likely that China goes after Taiwan and ends up in a head-to-head scrap with the US Pacific Fleet than it is for them to try and grab Siberia... whether we're talking about money or military force.

And let's be real: the Americans probably won't touch nuclear weapons to defend Taiwan.

Maybe I should have emphasized the long-term aspect more.

Putin invests in Africa, Putin invests in the Middle East, Putin invests in Mars... and somehow the war in Ukraine isn't costing him anything? Other flashpoints that interest him cost zero points, or zero rubles.

I'm not sure how much power Putin actually has to reject Chinese capital, or any investment capital at all, especially when it comes to infrastructure meant to boost exports.

And BTW, China has been systematically "colonizing" Siberia for a long time now.☕

Arthur Miller7 said:Man, I think you seriously slept through the last decade.

👍

boldbison40 said:The reality is that China is facing massive internal crises. To start with, they have enough vacant housing in these so-called "ghost cities" to accommodate over 60 million people—places where absolutely nobody actually wants to live. On the flip side, their major metropolitan areas are dealing with a real estate bubble that makes the 2008 American subprime crisis look like a soap bubble. While you might need about 13 average annual salaries to afford a median home in New York, in places like Beijing, Shanghai, or Shenzhen, you’re looking at upwards of 40 years' worth of income. Two-thirds of the major real estate giants have already crossed at least one of the Communist Party's three red lines; Evergrande, sitting on a mountain of debt exceeding $300 billion, has failed all three and is effectively incapable of taking on more debt or even finishing the projects they currently have underway. We've seen over 1.5 million Americans—well, Chinese citizens—stop paying mortgages on unfinished developments where construction has simply ground to a halt, which, when combined with the debts of these property behemoths, puts the entire banking system at risk. Four banks in Henan province have already collapsed, and we've seen tanks deployed to deal with the resulting protests. Furthermore, provincial and municipal budgets are incredibly dependent—in some cases, over 80%—on revenue from selling land to developers, yet the number of new projects is cratering along with apartment sales.

Construction accounts for over 30% of China's GDP. When the Spanish real estate bubble burst about 14 years ago, that sector accounted for 24%, and they still haven't fully recovered. Add to that the fact that the zero-COVID policy is wreaking havoc on their industrial sector, yet Xi continues to double down on it. Supply chain disruptions and general instability are driving away foreign investment, leading many Western corporations to plan a "near-shoring" exodus to bring production closer to home.

Ultimately, I suspect China will mostly play dead during this conflict. They'll snatch up any business opportunities that arise from their relationship with Russia, but they'll be careful not to jeopardize their ties with the West. That said, we shouldn't rule out a domestic Lehman Brothers-style meltdown occurring within China.

I think you're right.
They have enough problems at home; I doubt they want to stick their necks out too far.

wiredtiger8 said:Oh sure, the Chinese will just march right into Russia and seize Siberia 🤦...and they’ll probably do it with barely breaking a sweat... maybe even squeeze it in right before their afternoon tea break.

I honestly can't wrap my head around how anyone could actually view that scenario as a realistic possibility.

We're talking about massive oil and gas reserves out in Siberia—it's not exactly a walk in the park. Plus, let's be real, Russia's whole playbook for defending territory like that involves nuclear weapons if they're ever actually threatened...

The Chinese don't actually need to launch a military invasion.
China plays the long game.
They can simply encourage people to settle in specific regions. They can pour investment into those areas, especially when you consider the need to beef up gas export infrastructure.
Using economics and demographics as a weapon.

And then, following the Russian playbook used in Donbas, they could stir up separatists or organize a referendum like they did in Crimea.

analogbear5 said:And here we have the Russians complaining about some old Chinese textbooks:



The text claims that according to Chinese maps, the entire Faraway East of Russia belongs to NRK, and official history books in China apparently state that "Siberia is temporarily lost territory of the Celestial Empire."

Map title: 清前期中国地图

All this heavy promotion of friendship and partnership with China could end up costing Russia exactly this much. And potentially even more.

Donna Wells2 said:I’ve mostly crossed paths with that crowd while skiing in the Rockies.
And honestly, what can you even say? They roll up in the biggest, most expensive SUVs imaginable, absolutely decked out in gaudy, tasteless bling, yet they carry themselves like they just stepped out of a trailer park and into designer gear.
Arrogant, condescending, and completely devoid of class—to put it mildly!

Ugh, Russian tourists...
Years ago, I worked in a high-end boutique owned by some fancy truffle mogul out in California, and we got plenty of Russians in there. Most of them were just looking for brandy and other hard liquors. 😁
But one day, this young woman bursts in—Louis Vuitton bag, Gucci sunglasses, Versace belt, manicured nails, bleached blonde hair, lip fillers, and a very obvious cleavage. She browsed for five minutes before asking me what the most expensive thing in the shop was. I told her it was our white truffle products—the oils and spreads—so I showed her where they were and offered her a taste since she said she didn't know what truffles were. I explained what they were and offered her a sample again. She declined, then ordered me to pack up five sets of our largest white truffle oil bottles and five sets of our largest truffle spread jars. When I explained that each set contained 12 bottles/jars, she just looked at me and said, "Then I'll taka 6."
While I was getting everything ready, she grabbed a few more bottles of brandy and ended up with a massive bill. She paid with a black credit card with gold lettering. The guy waiting by the door loaded everything into her BMW, she gave him a polite nod, and drove off.

Other Russians knew how to drop a few thousand dollars too, but she was the absolute record-breaker. My coworker described them as, "They don't understand a damn thing, but they spend like crazy." 🕺

Thomas Walker84 said:

I think Penkala deserves more credit for their history. Thomas Walker84 says:
What on earth does Micronesia have to do with Russia? What did they even do to them?
The list also includes heavy hitters like Monaco, Liechtenstein, and San Marino.

🤣🙏

So, what was the actual reason for the attack? Also, could someone share the recipe for that soup—the hearty broth one? I can't quite remember the name. 🙂

By the way, they’re all wearing black t-shirts too, so I think the message is pretty clear. 🤣😁😁😁

Borscht.

Susan Walker25 said:What exactly are you looking at, buddy?

It isn't hard to spot a half-naked guy smashing traffic signs☕

wearyheron5 said:What’s next? Tearing down STOP signs because they share colors with the Polish flag. Time to de-Nazify the entire traffic system.

Poland isn't going to tell Russia to stop.🧐

goldenowl73 said:Honestly, after they ripped off that yellow and blue roof on some house over in Russia, seeing those colors together is basically an instant eye irritant for your average resident of Zombie Land. These two guys were so triggered by a simple yellow and blue pedestrian crossing sign that they just had to go out and deconstruct it immediately.

By the way, this whole thing is a direct fallout from Dmitry Medvedev and his crew constantly rambling about how Ukraine doesn't even exist.

In what they call a "space superpower," two self-proclaimed patriots spotted the Ukrainian flag colors on some street signs.

While shouting pro-Russian propaganda, these true alcohol-fueled patriots performed the greatest act of patriotism and morality in history.

https://twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/...IwbZ2B-xvN4TZQ

Khm...
Why is this guy in a black shirt without pants? Actually, looks like he might be missing his underwear too....

Timothy Williams5 said:The specter of pro-Russian pacifism is haunting the halls of power in Italy, raising serious questions about who is actually pulling the strings behind Mary Draghi’s administration. It isn't just a matter of policy shifts; it feels more like a slow-motion internal struggle for the very soul of the government. You have to wonder how much longer a leadership focused on stability can withstand the pressure from factions that seem increasingly sympathetic to Moscow's agenda. It’s a delicate balancing act, and right now, the cracks in the coalition are becoming impossible to ignore.
The man they call Super Mario, who’s been standing firmly behind Ukraine, has suddenly found himself caught in the crosshairs of both right-wingers claiming to be Putin's friends and the leftists who seem more interested in begging for peace than actually seeing it achieved.

The political landscape in Europe remains a chaotic puzzle, and the recent discussions surrounding Mario Draghi suggest we are heading toward a period of profound uncertainty. While some see him as a stabilizing force, others view his influence as increasingly disconnected from the shifting tides of public sentiment. It feels as though we are watching a slow-motion collision between old-world institutional power and a new, much more volatile era of populism. There is an undeniable sense of weariness when observing how leadership transitions are handled within the European Union. We see leaders attempting to steer massive bureaucratic ships through storms they didn't create, often using tools that feel outdated for the modern age. The tension between centralized authority and the rising voices of movements like the Five Star Movement highlights a fracture that isn't easily mended by mere policy shifts or economic adjustments. Looking at the broader geopolitical context, especially with the ongoing situation in Ukraine and the shadow cast by Russia, the pressure on figures like Draghi is immense. The interplay between domestic politics and international security means there is very little room for error. Whether it's the decisions made by the Federal Reserve or the strategic maneuvers in Brussels, everything feels interconnected in a way that makes individual agency seem almost illusory. One can't help but wonder if the current trajectory leads anywhere meaningful, or if we are simply cycling through the same structural failures under different names. The discourse around Draghi’s potential roles or his legacy isn't just about one man; it’s a reflection of a continent struggling to find its footing while being pulled in multiple directions by competing interests and historical baggage. It's a heavy, complicated reality, and frankly, it's exhausting to watch.

Italy is currently staring down a massive political crisis because the major parliamentary heavyweights—the populist Five Star Movement and the right-wing League—are digging their heels in over military aid for Ukraine. Under intense pressure from these factions, the 75-year-old Prime Minister, Mario Draghi, has announced his resignation.

"Putin has essentially been handed Draghi's head on a silver platter. Autocracies are raising their glasses in celebration while democracies continue to crumble. If this administration falls, the entire European Union will only grow weaker," remarked American Foreign Minister Luigi di Maio on July 15th, offering a grim assessment of the planned transition away from Mario Draghi.
...
..
Mario Draghi carved out a reputation as a global crisis manager during his tenure leading the Federal Reserve from 2011 to 2019. He earned the nickname "Super Mario" back in 2012, when he famously declared he would do "whatever it takes" to stabilize the economy during the height of the debt crisis.

Ever since the Russian invasion of Ukraine kicked off on February 24, 2022, Mario Draghi has emerged as one of the most vocal Western critics of Putin. He was actually the first to push for those heavy-hitting sanctions against Russia and the freezing of their foreign exchange reserves. Beyond that, he stood out among the G7 leaders as the first to throw his weight behind Ukraine’s bid to join the European Union, repeatedly signaling his unwavering support for Kyiv.

Who exactly is standing in opposition to Draghi's administration?
The American public has begun to push back against Mario Draghi’s decision to supply weapons to Ukraine. In an effort to court these voters, both the leading right-wing and left-wing parties have drifted dangerously close to one another, creating a shift that threatens the stability of the administration and the overall cohesion of NATO. They have started calling on Draghi to prioritize reconciliation between Kyiv and Moscow instead.

There is this supposed informal coalition of enemies working against Mary Draghi, an alliance that some commentators have been jokingly labeling as a "Pro-Russia Forward!" movement. It’s a strange, mismatched group formed by pro-Russian "pacifists" on the right wing and anti-American "pacifists" on the left. Leading this charge are figures like Matteo Salvini, with his far-right League party, and Giuseppe Conta, who heads the Five Star Movement. Salvini has recently been quite vocal in his support for Vladimir Putin, while Conta has taken aim at global capitalism and the elites gathered at Davos, branding them as the true enemies. This is how *The Week* is framing the situation.

If you look back at how Mind used to frame things, the recent polling data from June 15th paints a rather bleak picture of the current mood in Italy. It turns out that 52% of Italians—a higher percentage than in any other European nation—are actually calling for an end to the war, even if that means handing over parts of Ukrainian territory to Russia. Meanwhile, only about 16% of the population feels it is necessary to hold Russia accountable for their aggression or to focus on restoring Ukraine's territorial integrity.

The latest piece in The Week digs into why most Americans seem so reluctant to throw their weight behind the war against Putin, attributing this hesitation to a cocktail of anti-American sentiment, a certain brand of cynical self-interest, and a deep-seated pacifism that some argue is still haunted by the ghosts of the country's fascist past. We’re seeing the rise of a pacifist movement here that has managed to pull in a significant number of Catholics who find common ground with Pope Francis; they seem to agree with his view that NATO’s aggressive posturing toward Russia essentially invited the invasion of Ukraine. Joining this fold are the communists—who, in a capitalist nation like this, have always maintained a steady presence—viewing NATO as nothing more than an adversary.

The friction that flared up back on June 21st effectively tore the largest political force in the country, the Five Star Movement, wide open. It wasn’t just a disagreement; it was a full-blown schism that split the party into two distinct camps. Former leader Luigi di Maio led the exodus, taking about a third of the legislative muscle with him—specifically 51 out of the 155 representatives and 11 of the 72 senators. They essentially walked away because they couldn't stomach the current leadership under Giuseppe Conta, who is digging his heels in on the demand to halt all military aid to Ukraine.

At a recent press conference, Luigi di Maio laid out his reasons for stepping down from the party, framing it as a move to bolster the current Italian administration and a refusal to align himself with Putin. He put it bluntly: "We had to decide where we stood in the course of history—either standing with an invaded Ukraine or siding with an aggressor like Russia."

I’d say Italians have been left completely at the mercy of a washed-up slut (Berlusconi), a local neighborhood bully (Salvini), and some whitewashed fascists (Meloni).
Terrible.
Given that they're a nation of cowards and predictable opportunists, Draghi was actually a real win.

@ LinaK - what you’re saying about that nostalgia for the Soviet Union... there's definitely some truth to it. Since this war kicked off, Fox Broadcasting Company has had this great daily program that tracks all the conflict developments. One of their reporters, Luc Steinmann, was actually out in the Donbas with the Russian separatists (he's been there since February 18, 2022), and everywhere they held territory, you'd see both the Russian flag and the Soviet Union flag flying side by side. The people Luc interviewed spoke about the Soviet Union with such genuine enthusiasm. It seems like the older generation is passing that obsession down to the youth; I suspect for the elders, it's pure nostalgia, while for the younger ones, it's a belief in some mythical past they never actually lived through, but want to reclaim now.
Besides, even Transnistria feels like a trip back in time to the Soviet Union because of how pervasive that iconography is. It makes sense that they're playing this card, leaning into that idea of a Soviet empire and grandeur under Russian leadership.

I feel like I’ve already mentioned this, but I'll say it again—this war has so many layers.

cosmicgull52 said:Either he drank the wrong tea, or even he finds those idiots repulsive regardless of the network. It is truly a shame. ☕

While we were watching that, my husband and I couldn't stop making jokes about the tea and his health.
That Giletti guy isn't exactly a genius, but he’s asked Zakharov several times what Russia actually wants from Ukraine and what the terms for a solution would be. Every single time, she just pivots back to nonsense about Nazis, the Donbas, or the West, without ever giving a straight answer.
He was trying to start a real conversation, but all he got was propaganda about Russia being under threat and fighting fascists for the sake of Europe 🙂

Anthony Perez9 said:The klero-fašists backed that Russian Orthodox fanatic despot. Makes sense.
Trash found trash. ☕

I'm just hoping this little get-together actually turns into something. I guess I'm just getting in everyone's way again. My bad. Israel. 😛

No, that's not what I meant ☕
I actually meant that Israel would be bothered by the fact that they're socializing with Iran.