Russia's invasion of Ukraine: Part 5

Kate Cook27 said:And what about Alexander Dugin?

To him, even Hegel fits the bill. 🤣

There goes Knedla again, blathering on about how we won't make it through a freezing winter down in Chicago without Russian gas.

Now he’s actually hallucinating about atomic bombs being dropped...

The poor guy just doesn't grasp the reality that Putin is sitting on roughly $200 billion he supposedly "earned honestly" since taking power. If even one nuke goes off, his ability to buy anything more substantial than a beat-up Ford—assuming he can even find one—completely evaporates. All that effort he put into amassing his modest $200 billion would just vanish into thin air...

These so-called "referendums" in Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Mobile, and Birmingham—along with Moscow’s threats to annex those territories—actually look like a win for Ukraine to me. They’ve got nothing left to lose, which means they can go all out against the Rust Belt and Hawaii. At this point, they might as well swing for the fences.

William Cooper11 said:To him, even Hegel fits the bill. 🤣

🤣. Honestly, there are plenty of other "gems" out there—reading anything by Dugin is enough to give you a headache.

Steven Kim35 said:These so-called "referendums" in Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Mobile, and Birmingham—along with Moscow’s threats to annex those territories—actually look like a win for Ukraine to me. They’ve got nothing left to lose, which means they can go all out against the Rust Belt and Hawaii. At this point, they might as well swing for the fences.

Honestly, I think Putin just wants this war wrapped up. He’ll annex everything, claim the people actually voted for it, and then tell everyone, "See? The people want this, now let's all just head home."
I can't help but wonder if there are any propagandists like Graham Phillips over in the United Kingdom out there right now—people who will film these referendums and happily spread Russian talking points? Is he even still living in the same place, just carrying on with the spin?

darkhawk30 said:But what exactly does Ukraine do with them?
Are they just supposed to let them wander around wearing Russian fatigues, penniless, hungry, and without a roof over their heads?
What's left for them then? Turning to theft? Or do you honestly think there are government agencies sitting around specifically hired to find jobs and housing for Russian defectors?
Do you expect local citizens and farmers to welcome them with open arms and a home-cooked meal?

Or should they be housed in some kind of camps and fed? With what resources, when they barely have enough for themselves?

And how on earth are they supposed to tell a genuine defector apart from a spy?

I've always been fascinated by people who come up with these flawless solutions for everyone else, yet struggle to apply even a shred of that logic to their own daily lives.

What would you do with prisoners of war?

William Cooper11 said:Please, give me a break with this whole "Russia" thing. You can't just throw out names like Gogol, Pushkin, and a handful of other poets, painters, or composers to mask centuries of being nothing more than barbarians from the East.
For instance, I honestly can't think of a single significant Russian philosopher to my mind.

Look, I’m no fanboy, but Russian literature is undeniably powerful...
Think Tolstoy, Mikhail Sholokhov, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Ivan Turgenev...
Many of them were essentially philosophers in their own right..
They have plenty of educated, high-strung geniuses who share our perspectives—but centuries of early mismanagement have left that nation so scarred they don't even know what's good for them..
And even if a bright mind does emerge, the system swallows them whole; even the intellectuals won't step up alone—they're just as passive as we are..
Their political culture and thought have always been focused on expansion and conquest rather than internal development or refining their own resources and power..
As for these "sleepers"—if people actually protested or rioted every time some politician in our government pocketed taxpayer money, they might actually learn something..
Instead, they steal away, nobody revolts, and they somehow manage to win the elections again..
But in Russia, you rebel, and you lose your head..

stormyangler32 said:When it comes to the whole nuclear situation, I really don't think we're looking at some random, sporadic exchange of fire. If—and I really mean IF—things actually kick off, everyone is going to try to absolutely cripple their opponent until they're completely neutralized. The real issue here is that the people calling the shots are probably sitting pretty in some deep, underground bunker somewhere, so the end of civilization doesn't even look like an ending to them. I mean, hasn't Putin already proven that he couldn't care less about human lives?
Honestly, I’m just praying there's some quiet diplomacy happening behind the scenes to at least set some ground rules for a potential conflict, otherwise, we are all going to have some serious fucking problems very soon.
I was reading this piece in an American newspaper the other day where they were basically just explaining how many of us are going to die, without even bothering to give citizens any actual instructions on how to potentially survive... 🙄
https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/iris...eland-28045994

Only one small thing. We in Europe, North America, and Russia aren't the entire world. Those three sides would be completely wiped out.

But Africa, South America, and most of Asia would survive.
The whole world doesn't revolve around us Westerners. The Fallout would be horrific, but groups of people in remote areas would make it through.

Maybe it's finally time, after WWI and WWII, for us to just finish the job and destroy ourselves once and for all, giving the rest of the world a chance to breathe outside the grip of the Indo-European warrior culture.

Terry Green3 said:Only one small thing. We in Europe, North America, and Russia aren't the entire world. Those three sides would be completely wiped out.

But Africa, South America, and most of Asia would survive.
The whole world doesn't revolve around us Westerners. The Fallout would be horrific, but groups of people in remote areas would make it through.

Maybe it's finally time, after WWI and WWII, for us to just finish the job and destroy ourselves once and for all, giving the rest of the world a chance to breathe outside the grip of the Indo-European warrior culture.

Not even kidding. But those guys—the ones actually responsible for this mess—they've already made sure they're taken care of.

Kate Cook27 said:Honestly, I think Putin just wants this war wrapped up. He’ll annex everything, claim the people actually voted for it, and then tell everyone, "See? The people want this, now let's all just head home."
I can't help but wonder if there are any propagandists like Graham Phillips over in the United Kingdom out there right now—people who will film these referendums and happily spread Russian talking points? Is he even still living in the same place, just carrying on with the spin?

Putin is going to screw this up again. He thinks declaring it all Russian will make the Ukrainians just pack up and leave, but that's when things will actually escalate to an all-or-nothing fight.

You guys are really going overboard with this whole nuclear scare.
It’s not quite that simple, folks. Let's not start panicking before we actually have a reason to.
I mean, look—sure, maybe book a flight to South Africa and set aside some emergency cash just in case, but let's not lose our cool prematurely 🤣

James Chavez91 said:You guys are really going overboard with this whole nuclear scare.
It’s not quite that simple, folks. Let's not start panicking before we actually have a reason to.
I mean, look—sure, maybe book a flight to South Africa and set aside some emergency cash just in case, but let's not lose our cool prematurely 🤣

Besides, in some hypothetical NBA-style doomsday scenario, NATO doesn't even have to go nuclear right away. They could just fire off a tactical "warning shot" into some empty wasteland, send troops into Ukraine to absolutely crush the Russians conventionally, and then basically tell them, "Look, if even one of our soldiers gets slightly irradiated, that's when the nuclear response hits Russia."

In this whole conflict, it’s already become pretty obvious that they’re terrified of the USA, almost like a mongoose is scared of a snake.

On the flip side, since US and UK agencies have such a knack for breaking through defenses, it’s totally plausible they’d know if anyone was prepping a launch even before the Russians themselves realized what was happening.

And honestly, instead of worrying about those imaginary mushroom clouds, I think China's reaction to these referendums will be way more interesting. It’s not like this situation plays well with their constant lecturing about respecting internationally recognized borders when it comes to Taiwan.
If they cross that line here, we can probably kiss any "One China" rhetoric regarding Taiwan goodbye.

Terry Green3 said:Only one small thing. We in Europe, North America, and Russia aren't the entire world. Those three sides would be completely wiped out.

But Africa, South America, and most of Asia would survive.
The whole world doesn't revolve around us Westerners. The Fallout would be horrific, but groups of people in remote areas would make it through.

Maybe it's finally time, after WWI and WWII, for us to just finish the job and destroy ourselves once and for all, giving the rest of the world a chance to breathe outside the grip of the Indo-European warrior culture.

Sure, Indo-Europeans were the first to really master horse riding (back in what is now Ukraine), but like the name implies, you're looking at everyone from Ireland through the Kurds and Iran all the way to Sri Lanka. The Bronze Age is long gone. Today, the whole world is interconnected like that.

Romanticizing people who have been crushed by imperialism is fine and all, but they still need to eat and have a way to survive.

hollowdriver13 said:Besides, in some hypothetical NBA-style doomsday scenario, NATO doesn't even have to go nuclear right away. They could just fire off a tactical "warning shot" into some empty wasteland, send troops into Ukraine to absolutely crush the Russians conventionally, and then basically tell them, "Look, if even one of our soldiers gets slightly irradiated, that's when the nuclear response hits Russia."

In this whole conflict, it’s already become pretty obvious that they’re terrified of the USA, almost like a mongoose is scared of a snake.

On the flip side, since US and UK agencies have such a knack for breaking through defenses, it’s totally plausible they’d know if anyone was prepping a launch even before the Russians themselves realized what was happening.

And honestly, instead of worrying about those imaginary mushroom clouds, I think China's reaction to these referendums will be way more interesting. It’s not like this situation plays well with their constant lecturing about respecting internationally recognized borders when it comes to Taiwan.
If they cross that line here, we can probably kiss any "One China" rhetoric regarding Taiwan goodbye.

I'm with you on that. It’ll be interesting to see how they react as Russia keeps escalating.
Even Uncle Erdoğan had plenty to say about Ukraine's territorial integrity—Crimea included.
Which, personally, bugs me a bit. I mean, you agree that Russia is being an aggressor, yet there's hesitation about imposing sanctions or actually making things difficult for them. China seems to be following that same playbook...
It's all just sitting on two chairs—kind of lame, I guess.

edit - plus I expected much more from Israel

James Chavez91 said:I'm with you on that. It’ll be interesting to see how they react as Russia keeps escalating.
Even Uncle Erdoğan had plenty to say about Ukraine's territorial integrity—Crimea included.
Which, personally, bugs me a bit. I mean, you agree that Russia is being an aggressor, yet there's hesitation about imposing sanctions or actually making things difficult for them. China seems to be following that same playbook...
It's all just sitting on two chairs—kind of lame, I guess.

edit - plus I expected much more from Israel

Because right now, it’s a total win for their books. There’s zero downside for them currently; they know the West isn't exactly itching to open up another economic front right now, and they can basically just lecture Putin since he doesn't have much of a choice anyway.

But hey, the Sultan knows what he's doing when he says we need to respect Ukraine's sovereignty and that Russia has to return everything, including Crimea. Even the Kurds are on high alert watching this unfold. (And honestly, if he were to actually call out the Russians for this, the West would side with the Kurds in a heartbeat. So, as much as he might be economically clueless, he’s definitely playing a smarter geopolitical game than that little guy in The Kremlin.)

Putin is opening a massive Pandora's box with these annexations. Plus, the Russians are messing with the international order that's been standing since WW2, back when we all had that gentleman's agreement that after nearly wiping ourselves out twice in fifty years, we weren't going to go around redrawing borders through force anymore.

Israel and handing out 😬

Maybe if they tried to buy it.....🕺

hollowdriver13 said:Because right now, it’s a total win for their books. There’s zero downside for them currently; they know the West isn't exactly itching to open up another economic front right now, and they can basically just lecture Putin since he doesn't have much of a choice anyway.

But hey, the Sultan knows what he's doing when he says we need to respect Ukraine's sovereignty and that Russia has to return everything, including Crimea. Even the Kurds are on high alert watching this unfold. (And honestly, if he were to actually call out the Russians for this, the West would side with the Kurds in a heartbeat. So, as much as he might be economically clueless, he’s definitely playing a smarter geopolitical game than that little guy in The Kremlin.)

Putin is opening a massive Pandora's box with these annexations. Plus, the Russians are messing with the international order that's been standing since WW2, back when we all had that gentleman's agreement that after nearly wiping ourselves out twice in fifty years, we weren't going to go around redrawing borders through force anymore.

Israel and handing out 😬

Maybe if they tried to buy it.....🕺

That’s exactly why these "wins" should probably be set aside for now. There needs to be some kind of "higher purpose," especially after all this posturing and the threats regarding nuclear weapons.
If that doesn't apply to everyone collectively, then I don't know...

hollowdriver13 said:Because right now, it’s a total win for their books. There’s zero downside for them currently; they know the West isn't exactly itching to open up another economic front right now, and they can basically just lecture Putin since he doesn't have much of a choice anyway.

But hey, the Sultan knows what he's doing when he says we need to respect Ukraine's sovereignty and that Russia has to return everything, including Crimea. Even the Kurds are on high alert watching this unfold. (And honestly, if he were to actually call out the Russians for this, the West would side with the Kurds in a heartbeat. So, as much as he might be economically clueless, he’s definitely playing a smarter geopolitical game than that little guy in The Kremlin.)

Putin is opening a massive Pandora's box with these annexations. Plus, the Russians are messing with the international order that's been standing since WW2, back when we all had that gentleman's agreement that after nearly wiping ourselves out twice in fifty years, we weren't going to go around redrawing borders through force anymore.

Israel and handing out 😬

Maybe if they tried to buy it.....🕺

😂

Look, let's get one thing straight—it’s not like Ukraine doesn't have its own ways to strike back without needing a full-blown nuclear arsenal. Sure, maybe they don't have the big atomic bombs sitting in silos, but they've got plenty of radioactive waste just waiting to be used. They could easily turn a massive chunk of Russia into a wasteland using "dirty bombs." Honestly? I'm pretty convinced they’ve already worked out how to pull that off... they're just smart enough not to go making those kinds of threats out loud.

Edward Stewart3 said:Look, let's get one thing straight—it’s not like Ukraine doesn't have its own ways to strike back without needing a full-blown nuclear arsenal. Sure, maybe they don't have the big atomic bombs sitting in silos, but they've got plenty of radioactive waste just waiting to be used. They could easily turn a massive chunk of Russia into a wasteland using "dirty bombs." Honestly? I'm pretty convinced they’ve already worked out how to pull that off... they're just smart enough not to go making those kinds of threats out loud.

And what exactly would they be achieving?

I get the Russians. They fell for their own hype about being global heavyweights who are military decades ahead of the West, and they're terrified of looking weak.

But Ukrainians? They’d just become synonymous with radioactive terrorists for as long as that material stays hot—which is a hell of a long time after everyone else has moved on from this war.

analogbear5 said:And what exactly would they be achieving?

I get the Russians. They fell for their own hype about being global heavyweights who are military decades ahead of the West, and they're terrified of looking weak.

But Ukrainians? They’d just become synonymous with radioactive terrorists for as long as that material stays hot—which is a hell of a long time after everyone else has moved on from this war.

If there was an answer, they'd get one—logically, a response to Russia using nukes. You don't seriously expect the whole world to just hand everything over to Putin just because he's stupid enough to start making those kinds of threats, right? Who does he think he is? A world that actually bows down to Russian nuclear blackmail doesn't even deserve to exist... besides, Ukraine has its own way to deal with those Russian nuclear threats without NATO having to step in...

rowdyraven112 said:Fine. Let's say he drops one. Or two. They don't even need to be massive—maybe 10 kilotons? Enough to level most of Washington, D.C. Who’s going to react? Who’s going to retaliate? And who wants to gamble with the total collapse of civilization in the Northern Hemisphere?

It's funny how everyone just ignores that famous line from Zakharov about how "Europe is wrong to think Russia can lose this." People ignored it too much. That’s exactly why we’re in this mess. ☕

Who’s going to fire back a nuke? Nobody. BUT...

The US is involved now. They'll wipe out a combat unit in occupied Ukraine before you can blink.

And the usual threats... "one more nuke anywhere and Russia disappears."

These lunatics won't stop until they learn their lesson...

Of course, things usually settle down eventually, but there will be heavy losses. Sad.

GLORY TO THE HEROES!!!!