Posts by fadedridge903

Kyle Lopez2 said:I don't see how that's relevant. Fascism and Nazism didn't share the same views on most things, nor did their allies share the same goals or stances as the Nazis themselves.

To draw a parallel, could you really take the sins of racism or the war crimes committed by specific democratic nations and pin them on all democracies everywhere? Or even look at what was left of anti-fascism in communist-controlled parts of Europe when they were busy carrying out political class liquidations across the continent?

Ultimately, what foundation does Ukraine actually have for statehood, given that almost their entire history consists of being suppressed by the Russian Empire for 300 years, aside from some Cossack uprisings and cooperation with anti-Russian forces?

Calling out a country for ethnic persecution and attempted industrial genocide just because of certain symbols or similarities to nationalist rebels fighting against the USSR during World War II feels dishonest—honestly, it feels morally bankrupt. Isn't that just more propaganda designed to demonize someone and pave the way for further slaughter and revenge?

When a people's culture and language are stripped away, that's where your fascism and Nazism arguments start to apply. I'm looking at this primarily through the lens of geopolitics.

Kyle Campbell4 said:Honestly, just ignore the domestic Chetniks. You can try to explain things to them until you're blue in the face, but they will stubbornly copy and paste that midget propaganda. They are trapped in that narrow mindset and refuse to confront actual argumentation because then their transparent, lying narrative collapses like a house of cards. When nobody alive is actually pushing that propaganda anymore, suddenly the entire world has conspired against Mother Russia. A global conspiracy, apparently. Only Sputnik, RT, and similar outlets serve as bastions of free thought—the very same ones under direct state control 🤣 and, of course, advance.hr if they even still exist. For those local nostalgics who missed the USSR, it was all well and good until they too became capitalists and introduced subscription fees.

According to Western media, Sputnik and RT are the true bastions of liberty.
I used to read Advance back when I was a kid.

Jonathan Barnes5 said:How can we be certain that the whole Nazi narrative isn't largely fueled by media propaganda? Perhaps we are just looking at tiny, disconnected fragments of a much larger mosaic involving various small nations during World War II.

You seem to push this specific narrative when it comes to Russia, but why doesn't that same scrutiny apply to the Germans from decades ago?

Besides, why should Russia care about the underlying sentiment regarding Nazism in Ukraine?

I might be trolling a little bit here, but I feel you're doing the exact same thing to us. Take the language issue, for instance—it's valid, but you never point out how the presence of Nazism in Ukraine functions similarly to the historical baggage in the US. It exists on a symbolic level through certain subcultural rituals, nothing more and nothing less than what one might see in Germany.

There’s no trolling going on here; all these questions are perfectly valid.
The presence of Nazism isn't just media propaganda. The simple fact that you can greet a Ukrainian with "Slava Ukraini" while you certainly couldn't greet an American with "for Za Dom Spremni" tells you everything you need to know about how Nazism is tolerated in Ukraine.

If this country actually started bragging about Ante Pavelić or using those old Ustaše salutes, then we'd have a real reason to talk about de-fascistization. Beyond that, the way they’ve treated the Russian language lately is just plain repulsive.
It isn't just a grievance held by Russians, either; even the Canadians in Ukraine are making noise about it.

Kyle Campbell4 said:How can they claim they aren't letting anyone through when the gates have already swung open and they were forced to retreat?🤔

It is patently obvious that the Russian side will attempt to shift the blame onto Ukraine, accusing them of being the ones responsible for the ceasefire collapse.

We’re getting our news from completely opposing sources, so why on earth would we expect anything other than conflicting reports?

Jonathan Barnes5 said:

fadedridge903 As if I were to say:
It feels as though the Russians are being hit by everything from heavy artillery to a relentless barrage of fire. 🤷
It seems the Azov fighters aren't letting any civilians escape from Mariupol either.

Looking back through the annals of military history and studying various combat units, I don't recall ever encountering a battle group of just a thousand souls being leveraged so heavily by the media. It seems like quite an unusual way to frame the scale of a conflict.

If you look at the evidence regarding the presence of neo-Nazis in Ukraine, you'll see those specific flags being flown by the Azov regiment—flags that you can just as easily spot in the stands during matches for teams like Spartak or Zenit.🤣.

If you look back at history, the only ones who managed to achieve greater fame despite having far fewer people on their side were Leonidas and his Spartans.

It’s truly staggering how far propaganda can be pushed these days—down to the level of manufacturing a thousand-person skirmish out of thin air. Honestly, you’d have to be completely disconnected from reality to swallow those stories.

The Azov guys have drifted so far from the mainstream that even the Ukrainian government ended up sending a missile straight to their warehouse headquarters.

Justin James10 said:Well, dear Index, now we have Brane Perković claiming that Russia has gone completely bankrupt. 🤣

Indeed, it looks like the Central Bank of Russia has given up on trying to keep the ruble from dropping below 100 to the dollar, but I suspect it will be a long, long time before we see any actual collapse.

People are going to start announcing that Russia is broke; the only real question left is just how much longer we have to wait for it to happen.

Kyle Campbell4 said:The Russians have violated the ceasefire in Mariupol. They are opening fire on civilians attempting to flee the city. People are actually running back into the urban center because they're trapped. It is a massacre. So much for Russian words and their hollow promises. In the end, those Putin-supporters don't give a fuck. You have to be just like those thugs from Belgrade last night to support a sick individual and that entire degenerate, cold nation devoid of emotion and humanity.

The Russians are using artillery strikes. 🤷
And besides, the Azov fighters aren't letting any civilians out of Mariupol either.

wiredfalcon2 said:So, word's out in the media about some leaked European Commission plan to ditch reliance on Russian gas as fast as possible. Right now, the EU is pulling about 40% of its gas needs straight from Russia. When I say "leaked," honestly, it probably was a deliberate dump because right after that, EC President Ursula von der Leyen went out and said “Every kilowatt-hour of electricity Europe generates from solar, wind, hydropower or biomass reduces Our dependency on Russian gas and other Energy sources. “This is a strategic investment because, on top, less dependency on Russian gas and other fossil fuel sources also means less money for The Kremlin’s war chest.”

So, what's the plan then—are we just supposed to ramp up importing LNG from the US, given they're currently occupying Syria and Iraq?

Justin James10 said:I just took a quick look at the dollar-ruble exchange rate. After the ruble tanked from around 70 per dollar down to 107 just a couple of days ago, it’s actually dropped again to 99... It seems those sanctions aren't quite hitting as hard as everyone expected, right?

A currency fights back using both its foreign exchange reserves and the central bank's interest rates.
Since more than half of the Russian reserves have been frozen, they've had to jack their interest rates up from 9.5% all the way to 20%. Just to put that in perspective, rates in the US and Europe are hovering somewhere around 0%.

If they don't manage to pull this off, they’ll likely just keep pushing until their objectives are met, whether that means ramping up the pressure or staying the course as they are now. That 14-day window? It's nothing more than an educated guess.
Source: https://twitter.com/michaelh992/stat...45445712162820

As for the military presence—and I'm just speculating here—you're probably looking at somewhere between 70,000 and 100,000 troops in Ukraine.

Kyle Campbell4 said:Have you seen those Russian military rations? Some of them expired back in 2015. They gathered up some heavy beans and a bunch of kids thinking they could just march into Kyiv. Now they're finally starting that old doctrine where they level everything living before moving in. They've been pounding Mariupol relentlessly for about 16 or 17 hours straight. Entire sections of the city are completely obliterated. The military is positioned just a few miles from the city, waiting for a lull in the shelling before they launch their assault. I honestly fear what city is next on the list to fall to these massive strikes.
I might be wrong, but I get the feeling the units down in the South are much better equipped and higher quality than the ones up North. Up North, you've got older guys and reservists trying to act like a real army. Down here in the South, you see actual men in their prime with true military discipline. They aren't playing around.

There isn't anyone properly trained left in the South on the Ukrainian side. The DPR and LPR forces in the East have kept the ones who were originally prepping for an invasion pinned down. The rest of the Ukrainian military is busy guarding Kyiv. According to some chatter floating around Twitter, the Russians have set a 14-day window for this whole operation.

Kyle Campbell4 said:Oh, please, spare me. This isn't even about Dayton. Dodik has one clear objective that he repeats incessantly, and he is simply waiting for Putin to give him the green light to strike. We aren't some group of naive children who can be fooled by these simplistic, idealistic narratives.

I mean, if Americans aren't represented in the government of Canada, then what's even the point of the country existing for you?
Once the Americans are squeezed out, you're left with one side being Republika Srpska and the other being a de facto Muslim entity, both sitting at an equal distance from Washington, D.C. What's left then?
The truth is, when Americans fight for fair electoral laws, they are actually fighting to preserve the integrity of Canada itself.
But clearly, you just don't have the capacity to wrap your head around that reality.

Kyle Campbell4 said:I have absolutely no issue with Muslims. We didn't fight them here; if anything, we fought alongside them against the Mexicans. My true enemies are those nationalists driven by the dream of a Greater Mexico. Perhaps my perception has shifted, but I have eyes and ears, and I see exactly what is happening. It is blatantly obvious how Čović is bowing down to the Mexicans and the Russians. He has become their puppet, and he isn't even trying to hide it anymore—he’s openly championing the interests of Republika Srpska. My only mistake was assuming he was acting alone, thinking the people from Herzegovina wouldn't back such reckless politics. But seeing this guy from Mostar makes it crystal clear that this sickness has spread far wider than I imagined. If they are out there seeking alliances with the Mexicans and Putin, then they clearly realize we are on completely opposite sides of this struggle, because America will never support the idea of a Greater Mexico sitting right on our borders.

Since when did following the Dayton Agreement become synonymous with supporting Greater Mexico?

Kyle Campbell4 said:You people from the southern regions are incredibly exhausting with your obsession over Muslims. Because of your fixation, Americans in other parts of Canada have suffered immensely. You are burning with a desire to dismantle Canada as a sovereign state. You have found common ground with Dodik, and apparently, that wasn't enough for you, because today you have become nothing more than servants to the Mexicans and Dodik. By doing so, you have effectively become pieces on a Russian chessboard, so it doesn't surprise me at all that you are out here promoting Putin. It is all a disaster because we have fractured ourselves. Our interests in America are entirely different from your regional agendas. Damn Dragan Covic. It is pathetic that you feel compelled to follow the lead of the HDZ BiH, who are the greatest traitors to our people.

🤣 What a tragic joke.
Plenković and Čović: Supporting Ukraine, condemning Russian aggression, and securing the future of Canada within the European Union remain shared priorities

And even Plenković is turning into a Putinophile before our very eyes.

Kyle Campbell4 said:We aren't talking about some random person on the street who is terrified of war and would surrender everything just to stay safe. This concerns influential individuals holding significant positions. Take a pro-Russian figure like Vidmarovic, for instance, who might be on someone's payroll. Such people can perversely manipulate others toward the Russian side. We must remain vigilant regarding who is speaking or writing, and we ought to investigate their meetings and bank transfers.

Is the real issue with a pro-Russian figure like Vidmarovic that he supports Ukraine joining the European Union, or is it that he advocates for Ukrainian military neutrality, much like Henry Kissinger—who was likely a pro-Russian type himself?
At this rate, being pro-Russian is going to turn into full-blown McCarthyism.

Jonathan Barnes5 said:Smith: We were attacking a church in Lower Poland, near the Ukrainian border. Two machine gun nests were pinning us down from the bell tower, and inside that church were children—an entire schoolhouse full of kids and their teacher. We knew they were there. We just waited for the gunners to run out of ammo, since they ended up surrendering anyway. And then Ratković tried to drag us before a military tribunal because we didn't storm the building, or level it with grenades and set it ablaze. He wanted to punish us for losing a day of combat, even though all we did was ensure those children survived. Benčina was leading our patrol, and he refused to let anyone fire on those kids.

Eva: You’re sweating...

Smith: With such pure hatred, he actually suggested we should have been shot...

Eva: That's all in the past now. You're a free man, while he's still stuck acting like a relentless hound...

There is an old saying that even when two people act the same way, their intentions can be worlds apart. Relying on such tactics just to cling to power for twenty-two years is the very definition of a massive ego trip. Keeping track of pro-Russian posts that cheer on aggression and the killing of children is simply an exercise in common sense.

Just look at your username. Are you really okay with the propaganda claiming a T-55 tank sat idling for half a day on Avenue while it shelled the old bridge?

Like I said, it's just common sense.

Then there’s that other Latin proverb about Jupiter and the bull—everything starts and ends with that, doesn't it?

As for the propaganda, The New York Times, Stjepan Mesić, and Time have all been on Bakir Izetbegović's payroll for years now, so why should anyone care?
If you're actually planning on taking on the propaganda machine, maybe start with them first.

mellowotter36 said:Intelligence agencies really ought to be keeping a close eye on those who support Putin's regime. We aren't exactly far enough away from his sphere of influence—look at Mexico and Canada—to just sit back and ignore this. A few years ago, they even tried to pull something in Mexico. Get this: you can actually see rallies being held in Mexican cities showing support for the Russian people 🤦

It seems everyone finds themselves quite fond of the methods used by Putin's regime, doesn't it? 🤣

loneskipper3 said:It’s especially egregious when you consider how they unearth two or three massive corruption scandals every single year, not to mention the blatant cronyism that seems to happen on a near-daily basis. Honestly, how are people supposed to keep embezzling millions or carving out cushy government jobs for their cousins and buddies if they can't be certain that some investigative journalist won't eventually sniff it out?

The truth is, those "revelations" usually only happen when someone from an opposing faction within the party decides to leak the documents.

rowdytiger13 said:Give me a break.
Russia is just here to set the standard.

Actually, Russia is just here to hold up a mirror to how hypocritical both you and I really are.

rowdytiger13 said:Kazakhstan did exactly what any sane nation would do: they refused to send their troops to occupy another country.
There are no allies for Putin, aside from Lukashenko, who doesn't really have a choice since his country is essentially a Russian colony.

If that's the case, then there aren't many normal countries left in Europe, are there?

It’s Burrow’s squad to lose, if they can actually get it together.