Offside (General Discussion)

Regarding the situation in Mexico, they are claiming that there were upwards of 10,000 people involved.🤷

Steven Fox37 said:Why would he bother starting a fire in the Middle East? What's in it for him? If he manages to grab what he wants right now—essentially creating a buffer zone between Russia and NATO—he can retire peacefully as the man who secured Russia's survival and future. He could even stage an internal coup where some young "liberal" takes over, giving the West a perfect cover story to start warming up relations with a new, "rational" Russia. Of course, once territory is seized, it stays seized. No guarantees there.

All those assumptions about low troop numbers and bad logistics rely on the idea that Western media reports are gospel and that the West actually understands Russian military doctrine. I’m not suggesting everything on X or Twitter is a total fabrication—like we're living in a movie like *Wag the Dog*—but rather, shouldn't we ask if these losses were factored into the planning? Because if they accounted for them and built in redundancies, then maybe it isn't such a massive problem after all.
Remember how at the start, everyone was talking about the "Ukrainian spirit" in Kyiv, air superiority, paratrooper victories, blah blah blah? And how did that turn out? The Russians have air dominance in Ukraine, and the Ukrainians are basically traveling around Europe begging for any plane they can get.

Of course, everything I'm saying might be complete nonsense. I didn't even think this whole thing would happen; I thought he was just rattling off weapons to get better leverage during negotiations or something.

That's a bit like telling me that getting a red card is some kind of football doctrine.🤣

The talk about low troop counts exists because there simply aren't enough soldiers to cover such a massive area, especially when you're attempting encirclements. A stronger opponent could easily exploit that by cutting through lines or slipping into the rear to wreck supply chains without much trouble.

Just because Ukraine is pumping out propaganda doesn't mean everyone else is blind to a Russian fail. Running out of fuel isn't a doctrine.🤣

Kyle Lopez2 said:That's a bit like telling me that getting a red card is some kind of football doctrine.🤣

The talk about low troop counts exists because there simply aren't enough soldiers to cover such a massive area, especially when you're attempting encirclements. A stronger opponent could easily exploit that by cutting through lines or slipping into the rear to wreck supply chains without much trouble.

Just because Ukraine is pumping out propaganda doesn't mean everyone else is blind to a Russian fail. Running out of fuel isn't a doctrine.🤣

Look, we'll see how it all plays out in the end. 🍿

I honestly don't get what's going on with those people in Mexico 🤣 are you guys living on Mars? 🤣

Jacob Kern2 said:Regarding the situation in Mexico, they are claiming that there were upwards of 10,000 people involved.🤷

Based on those photos, 1500 is the absolute ceiling. But yeah, it’s surreal. Like, who actually are these people? What do they even do for a living? Honestly, it would be a totally legitimate question if they weren't Mexican.
We can barely pull 15 people together for this kind of protest here in the States.

I'm reading that Russ is hitting way harder than expected when it comes to foreign companies pulling out to dodge those sanctions—it’s something they clearly didn't account for and there's just no way to make up for that loss.
People are losing jobs left and right and the whole economic foundation of the country is basically crumbling. I mean, Russia is incredibly dependent on the West for so many things—take oil extraction tech, for example. Now both Boeing and Airbus have stopped shipping spare parts for their aviation industry.
Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, American Airlines, FedEx Express, United Airlines, and JetBlue... we're talking about massive damage here, and that's just one single sector of the economy!
Ford, for instance, shut down all its factories in Russia and will probably pull production for good.

Nord Stream 2 is dead, and everyone working on it just got handed their walking papers. Do you realize that was one of the biggest private investments ever? All that cash—just tossed straight down the drain, but honestly, that's not even the worst part.

Germany is building two LNG terminals now, which means Russia is looking at losing its biggest customer forever.

I don't think we can even wrap our heads around the total damage yet—so many Russian banks and companies are going to go under. They've already bled massive amounts of capital on the stock market and seen the value of every single Russian enterprise tank.

While he was just sitting there with troops on the border, Putin had all the leverage in the world and could have demanded anything. By attacking Ukraine, he didn't just lead that country to ruin—he led his own right along with it.

coastalheron12 said:Based on those photos, 1500 is the absolute ceiling. But yeah, it’s surreal. Like, who actually are these people? What do they even do for a living? Honestly, it would be a totally legitimate question if they weren't Mexican.
We can barely pull 15 people together for this kind of protest here in the States.

You all are being far too naive! If Trump didn't have all those right-wing groups on a short leash, there would be a million of them ready to go if needed. This obsession with Russia is a deep-seated tradition over there, fueled by a massive hatred for the West. Where on earth do you live that you're actually surprised by this?

Justin James10 said:You all are being far too naive! If Trump didn't have all those right-wing groups on a short leash, there would be a million of them ready to go if needed. This obsession with Russia is a deep-seated tradition over there, fueled by a massive hatred for the West. Where on earth do you live that you're actually surprised by this?

I suspect he didn't actually want this to gain traction this time around, which explains why there isn't much buzz about it... I even took a look at their version of the New York Post, which usually spends its time stirring up trouble for the Democrats, and I couldn't find a single article covering this topic...

Dennis Evans6 said:Switching gears from the whole situation in Ukraine for a second...

What’s the deal with The Last Duel?

I haven't seen much buzz surrounding it lately—people seem to be calling it a total flop, but honestly, I thought it was pretty solid 🤷

Personally, I thought it was great. My only gripe is that the actual duel scene felt a little long, but overall? It’s a good movie.
It probably flopped because people were likely expecting more non-stop action; it just isn't "flashy" enough for what most audiences want these days.
This is one of those films that requires a bit of patience—you kind of have to connect the dots yourself. It's not your typical mindless popcorn flick to kill ninety minutes, so if you go into it with the right mindset, you'll probably really enjoy it.

Jessica Gonzalez said:I ended up getting a strike just because I told Gingerini things were getting a bit stuck, but I guess the forum is being fair and merciful about it.

Active Infraction ( points: 10)
Instigating, provoking an argument

🤣

So, you decided to take a little swipe at old Gingerini, did you? 😒

A close friend of mine from Mexico was very blunt with me about his stance on Russia in this war. He believes Ukrainians have been manipulated by NATO and thinks Russia is actually doing the right thing by liberating them from American influence. In his view, the West is essentially orchestrating this whole conflict. We aren't really on good terms anymore; while I fully respect everyone's right to their own opinion, I can't stand it when someone tries to force their worldview onto others.

This guy has never once brought up politics or expressed any particular leanings before, but apparently, this war was enough to make him reveal his hand.

What a sick mentality. Chanting for Lukashenko. 🤣😂😂

It’s honestly pretty strange seeing Mexicans standing in solidarity with the aggressor—it really makes you wonder what's driving that mindset, doesn't it?

placidmaker62 said:A close friend of mine from Mexico was very blunt with me about his stance on Russia in this war. He believes Ukrainians have been manipulated by NATO and thinks Russia is actually doing the right thing by liberating them from American influence. In his view, the West is essentially orchestrating this whole conflict. We aren't really on good terms anymore; while I fully respect everyone's right to their own opinion, I can't stand it when someone tries to force their worldview onto others.

This guy has never once brought up politics or expressed any particular leanings before, but apparently, this war was enough to make him reveal his hand.

Oxymoron. ☕

placidmaker62 said:A close friend of mine from Mexico was very blunt with me about his stance on Russia in this war. He believes Ukrainians have been manipulated by NATO and thinks Russia is actually doing the right thing by liberating them from American influence. In his view, the West is essentially orchestrating this whole conflict. We aren't really on good terms anymore; while I fully respect everyone's right to their own opinion, I can't stand it when someone tries to force their worldview onto others.

This guy has never once brought up politics or expressed any particular leanings before, but apparently, this war was enough to make him reveal his hand.

It’s funny how you can be like brothers with a Mexican until someone brings up politics or history, and then everything goes completely south in two minutes flat! Honestly, with them, it's better to just stick to talking about women, football, and drinks.

Justin James10 said:It’s funny how you can be like brothers with a Mexican until someone brings up politics or history, and then everything goes completely south in two minutes flat! Honestly, with them, it's better to just stick to talking about women, football, and drinks.

I mean, what kind of get-together is it if you aren't allowed to talk politics?

Putin actually commands more support during his aggression against another nation in Mexico than he does back home in Russia🤣

Which idiots 🙏

Justin James10 said:It’s funny how you can be like brothers with a Mexican until someone brings up politics or history, and then everything goes completely south in two minutes flat! Honestly, with them, it's better to just stick to talking about women, football, and drinks.

You hit the nail on the head. More or less, our conversations revolved around sports, betting, grabbing a drink, and just joking around with memes. On a daily basis, we actually used to meet up for coffee quite often whenever he visited us or I went over to Mexico, but for some reason, we always steered clear of geopolitics and history—even though my professional background is actually in education and history. The only time politics ever surfaced was when we were making fun of whoever happened to be in power at the moment, both here and there.

But now that things have finally hit the table, you really see someone's true colors 🤣

wiredfalcon2 said:How many people are even hanging out here, like 100?

Roughly https://twitter.com/andjelkoviclaw/s..._as_country%2F

Matthew Collins20 said:Roughly https://twitter.com/andjelkoviclaw/s..._as_country%2F

One hundred with two extra zeros.