Offside (General Discussion)

boldbadger1 said:Good grief, it just hit me—where on earth did Kamala Harris go?!

Maybe she just found herself a new flame. 😬

I wonder if Miller has said anything about this yet?

shadowcobra89 said:Based on nothing more than these tweets, it’s incredibly obvious that he’s just another member of the labor union crowd, and he's already narrowed his focus down to a tiny handful of people...

I’m actually sitting here scrolling through his feed right now... honestly, the guy seems to be picking fights with the entire planet. He’s got this massive, irrational grudge against anti-fascism and even targets guys like Matt Rimac.😬

Yeah, he's definitely one of those radical labor types—nothing but a total snitch.

boldbadger1 said:Good grief, it just hit me—where on earth did Kamala Harris go?!

Probably in Beijing, obviously.

Bryan Adams6 said:Alekperova hit the nail on the head with those sanctions. Lukoil basically went public against the military fix, demanding they wrap this whole madness up through negotiations instead.

Ran into some news earlier about an oligarch offering a million bucks to whoever takes out Putin. Is that just some internet trolling or is it actually happening?

Not to the guy who kills him, but to the cop who makes the arrest.

The vibe in Chicago tonight is just... 🙏

Jessica Gonzalez said:I wonder if Miller has said anything about this yet?

Nah, hasn't hit the news yet. I bet he's busy throwing shade at some massive banner featuring a historical figure during a Yankees game, just like all the usual trash talk you hear echoing through our own stadiums.

Wait, hold up, scratch that.

https://www.foreignpolicy.com/news/article/...example_link

Man, he really played him for a fool 🙏

I can't help but wonder what you all make of this odd little phenomenon where, out of all the foreign mercenaries and volunteers fighting for the Russians, Americans seem to be their absolute favorite target. I mean, look at today—right in the middle of a literal war zone, the Russian Ministry of Defense is standing up there making public statements specifically calling out Americans 🙏

It seems quite evident that Mariupol would be one of the primary objectives of this invasion, likely becoming a major flashpoint, especially given how these movements 🙏🙏

nimbleranger17 said:https://www.foreignpolicy.com/news/article/...example_link

Man, he really played him for a fool 🙏

I can't help but wonder what you all make of this odd little phenomenon where, out of all the foreign mercenaries and volunteers fighting for the Russians, Americans seem to be their absolute favorite target. I mean, look at today—right in the middle of a literal war zone, the Russian Ministry of Defense is standing up there making public statements specifically calling out Americans 🙏

It’s a shame we don't have operational Rafales ready to launch preemptive strikes in Ukraine with help from American AWACS... 😢

Man, Kyle Campbell4, if that guy is actually your friend, you might want to let him know this Russian dude is calling him out right here. I don't speak Russian, but he's definitely saying "Schiller."

I can't say I'm feeling particularly optimistic right now.
Looking at the maps—it seems they've pushed from Kherson all the way up toward Mykolaiv, maybe about 40 miles or so—31 miles
If these maps are actually accurate, they’ve driven themselves along the left bank of the river like a thin wedge, reaching Mykolaiv; it looks just like a red thorn embedded deep into Ukrainian territory.
Assuming the intelligence is correct, you have to wonder what the defense is doing—if there’s even a defense left—to stop this thin line from being cut off.
The real question is whether there is an active defense in place, or if they’ve already breached the city and are just waiting.
They should at least be raising bridges—honestly, it looks like an invitation to march straight into the city.
And those reports coming out of Kherson... well, they seem designed to feed the poor Russian soldiers—I don't know why anyone would buy into that narrative.
Who is actually feeding the occupiers? Why isn't anyone saying they were met with resistance and a warm welcome?
Look, the Ukrainians won't say it for morale reasons, but Western media keeps pushing this angle.
Someone out there might actually feel sorry for the occupiers and try to feed them—how is that even possible?
I suspect some people don't even view them as occupiers.
The South concerns me—and Zaporizhzhia too; it's a major city, and everything is getting closer.
I worry we might actually see the border settle along the middle of the Dnieper, which would lead directly to an immediate ceasefire and negotiations.

I find the demographics of Herson County quite puzzling—it has roughly 1 million residents with a capital city sitting at about 250,000 people.
Mykivaiv County, on the other hand, holds around 1.1 million people with a capital of 500,000.
As for the Ukrainians—well, they claim to make up about 70-80%, though honestly, those figures don't tell us much.
In my view, there is real potential for a solid defense here—especially if the forces coming from Crimea aren't as massive as feared. I have this nagging feeling that the Russians are just driving through the South however they please.
Or perhaps a fifth column has already done its dirty work.
What can one truly expect from Odessa, where you have pro-Russian sentiments mixed with a significant ethnic Russian population?

Carl Hernandez3 said:I can't say I'm feeling particularly optimistic right now.
Looking at the maps—it seems they've pushed from Kherson all the way up toward Mykolaiv, maybe about 40 miles or so—31 miles
If these maps are actually accurate, they’ve driven themselves along the left bank of the river like a thin wedge, reaching Mykolaiv; it looks just like a red thorn embedded deep into Ukrainian territory.
Assuming the intelligence is correct, you have to wonder what the defense is doing—if there’s even a defense left—to stop this thin line from being cut off.
The real question is whether there is an active defense in place, or if they’ve already breached the city and are just waiting.
They should at least be raising bridges—honestly, it looks like an invitation to march straight into the city.
And those reports coming out of Kherson... well, they seem designed to feed the poor Russian soldiers—I don't know why anyone would buy into that narrative.
Who is actually feeding the occupiers? Why isn't anyone saying they were met with resistance and a warm welcome?
Look, the Ukrainians won't say it for morale reasons, but Western media keeps pushing this angle.
Someone out there might actually feel sorry for the occupiers and try to feed them—how is that even possible?
I suspect some people don't even view them as occupiers.
The South concerns me—and Zaporizhzhia too; it's a major city, and everything is getting closer.
I worry we might actually see the border settle along the middle of the Dnieper, which would lead directly to an immediate ceasefire and negotiations.

Kherson held out for five or six days despite being partially surrounded. A young woman reported from Kherson for CNN, claiming that the Russians are spreading propaganda by suggesting Kherson wants to join Crimea, when in reality, the majority of the population wants to remain part of Ukraine. She is clearly pro-Ukrainian and expressed hope that the Russians would depart soon. She also claimed that the Ukrainian flag is still flying above the city and that the Russians haven't touched it. To me, that seems highly suspicious; if you capture a city, you do not leave the enemy's flag flying over it.

However, you are not far from the truth. The South is falling far too easily, and the Russians have already begun moving into the interior of the country. There is a genuine threat that the nation could be split in two. That would effectively mean game over for much of the Ukrainian military currently stationed in the Donbas and those defending Mariupol.

The entire situation appears sluggish and fraught with complications, yet the Russians are steadily achieving their objectives.

mellowotter36 said:

Man, Kyle Campbell4, if that guy is actually your friend, you might want to let him know this Russian dude is calling him out right here. I don't speak Russian, but he's definitely saying "Schiller."

No, he isn't, though everyone in the hardcore supporter circles knows exactly who he is from the old stadium days.

Carl Hernandez3 said:I find the demographics of Herson County quite puzzling—it has roughly 1 million residents with a capital city sitting at about 250,000 people.
Mykivaiv County, on the other hand, holds around 1.1 million people with a capital of 500,000.
As for the Ukrainians—well, they claim to make up about 70-80%, though honestly, those figures don't tell us much.
In my view, there is real potential for a solid defense here—especially if the forces coming from Crimea aren't as massive as feared. I have this nagging feeling that the Russians are just driving through the South however they please.
Or perhaps a fifth column has already done its dirty work.
What can one truly expect from Odessa, where you have pro-Russian sentiments mixed with a significant ethnic Russian population?

Carl, you are clearly failing to grasp the core of the argument.

Last night, a user noted that there isn't actually a standing army in the South; it consists mostly of local territorial militias. The regular military is stretched thin, locked in combat within the Donbas against the Russian Army and separatists, while Kharkiv and other regions are focused on defending D.C. Most of the troops are concentrated in the Donbas, and therefore, it will be an absolute catastrophe if the Russians manage to cut the country in half.

Kyle Campbell4 said:Carl, you are clearly failing to grasp the core of the argument.

Last night, a user noted that there isn't actually a standing army in the South; it consists mostly of local territorial militias. The regular military is stretched thin, locked in combat within the Donbas against the Russian Army and separatists, while Kharkiv and other regions are focused on defending D.C. Most of the troops are concentrated in the Donbas, and therefore, it will be an absolute catastrophe if the Russians manage to cut the country in half.

I don't catch every single word, sorry.
Do you honestly think the East and the South would just satisfy the Russians?
If they didn't, the hardliners in the West wouldn't dare step up.
Or else we could be looking at a bloody showdown—without any of the staged theater involving the people and the Russians.
In my view—and this is just my take—those Catholics don't exactly see the Orthodox crowd as brothers.
Besides, would Putin really risk an operation out West?

Honestly, just look at what they’ve done to . It’s enough to make you lose faith in urban planning entirely. 😢

Carl Hernandez3 said:I don't catch every single word, sorry.
Do you honestly think the East and the South would just satisfy the Russians?
If they didn't, the hardliners in the West wouldn't dare step up.
Or else we could be looking at a bloody showdown—without any of the staged theater involving the people and the Russians.
In my view—and this is just my take—those Catholics don't exactly see the Orthodox crowd as brothers.
Besides, would Putin really risk an operation out West?

I hold the exact opposite conviction of yours. If Kyiv, Kharkiv, and all these other territories fall, I believe the West will collapse without even putting up a fight. My solitary hope lies in guerrilla warfare. If there is one group known for their tenacity when their land is threatened, it is the Ukrainians. Putin might manage to seize Ukraine, but we shall see if he can actually hold it. It is an old adage that conquering territory is far simpler than maintaining control over it. I am convinced that a partisan insurgency will inevitably rise against the occupiers.

You are viewing this through too simplistic a lens. I have the distinct impression that you are thinking in binaries: Russians are pro-Russian, and Ukrainians are pro-Ukrainian. In reality, the situation is far more nuanced and intertwined. There are ethical Ukrainians who feel much closer to Russia than to the West and deeply despise Putin. Conversely, there are Russians who view this entire invasion as an occupation and consider Ukraine to be their true home. The reality is significantly more complex than your ethnic and religious categorizations suggest. This is especially true among the younger generations, who possess no memory of the Soviet era and instead grew up in this modern, post-Soviet Ukraine that has forged a powerful national identity. That is precisely why Putin is so terrified of them and resorts to calling them Nazis.

Back in 1997, during those intense clashes out East against Spartak—I remember watching this on the news—they were chanting for Dzhokhar Dudayev and Grozny, Grozny everywhere.
The West, meanwhile, seems intent on backing Al-Nusra in Syria.
It really makes you wonder about Putin’s grip on the Chechen situation.

They won't even make it to the World Championships or any major shows at this rate... 😠

This is definitely going way too far 😁