Russia's invasion of Ukraine: Part 5

Joshua Myers432 said:Look, you can't just sell off a pipeline or pack it up and move it. It’s a direct line to Russia. There is zero logic in the Russians blowing it up—none at all. Same goes for the Germans; it makes no sense. The only actors that make any sense here are Ukrainians or Americans. Given that Ukrainians likely don't have the capability to pull off sabotage of this scale, that leaves...

Besides, the US rebuilt Germany from the ashes after WWII and jumpstarted their entire industrial sector. If they wanted to tear it down now, they certainly could.🎉

The Poles just opened up a pipeline to Norway yesterday and the Russian one immediately went up in smoke.
I'm putting my money on Poland. 😁

rowdytiger13 said:Sure, if you follow the theory that the Norwegian pipeline was the actual target.
Which implies they actually managed to puncture the line or whatever.🤣
Or, more likely, it was just a warning—though you don't really send a "warning" by blowing up someone else's infrastructure.
Who knows.

World War II kicked off with a false-flag attack on Germany. These people are just ready to "retaliate" in kind. For regimes like this, all that matters is finding a justification, no matter how transparent the lie is—just look at those recent "referendums." We could be looking at a wave of sabotage hitting other pipelines next. First, it’s the Russian lines (which aren't even being used anyway), then they move on to the active ones. And predictably, the narrative will shift to blame Americans for trying to "bring Europe to its knees." I mean, who else would "want to drive a wedge between us"?😉

Putin's middle finger from Kazakhstan is getting harder to ignore.

On Tuesday, the president of this Central Asian nation claimed they would provide "care" and "security" for Russians fleeing a "hopeless situation," all while Russian men scramble to dodge military conscription.
https://twitter.com/AFP/status/15746...Xoc-vOfjPF_dvw

Starting next week, Verizon Kazakhstan is pulling the plug on 15 Russian TV channels, including ABC, NBC, CNN, and several others.
The company hasn't officially stated why they’re cutting these specific broadcasts.*
https://vlast.kz/novosti/51845-beeli...h-kanalov.html

EDIT:
* perhaps this is what's actually happening:

AT&T reported massive DDoS attacks originating from abroad targeting information sources within Kazakhstan.
“On September 24, a massive foreign DDoS attack was recorded against a series of Kazakhstani information outlets,” the report states.

https://kaztag.kz/en/news/kazakhtele...-of-kazakhstan

Giorgia Meloni on Twitter:

Dear @ZelenskyUa, just a reminder that you have our unwavering support in the fight for the freedom of the Ukrainian people. Stay strong and keep your resolve unshaken.
https://twitter.com/GiorgiaMeloni/st...jVw1zNG1yrp1bg

Carol Johnson21 said:Gas isn't actually flowing through the pipeline; it's just sitting there within a closed system.

So, based on my friend's logic up there...

Nancy Gomez26 said:The real question is how a major power struggle at the top of the Russian political hierarchy would play out today. What is Putin's actual political leverage right now? I suspect he is much like his military—formidable on paper and perhaps against much weaker adversaries, but in reality, it's an entirely different story....

☕man, some of these shakeups have been going on for months already. like, 13 bank execs and big shots from companies like ExxonMobil are already dead. some "accidentally" killed their families then themselves, others took a sudden dive from an 8th-story window, fell off yachts, or just dropped dead after a cup of coffee...

all these high-level people, and who knows which faction they belong to 🙂but they sure have a weird habit of falling from crazy heights...

gentlestag15 said:The Poles just opened up a pipeline to Norway yesterday and the Russian one immediately went up in smoke.
I'm putting my money on Poland. 😁

Fair point, I completely overlooked them. 🙂

Joshua Myers432 said:Look, you can't just sell off a pipeline or pack it up and move it. It’s a direct line to Russia. There is zero logic in the Russians blowing it up—none at all. Same goes for the Germans; it makes no sense. The only actors that make any sense here are Ukrainians or Americans. Given that Ukrainians likely don't have the capability to pull off sabotage of this scale, that leaves...

Besides, the US rebuilt Germany from the ashes after WWII and jumpstarted their entire industrial sector. If they wanted to tear it down now, they certainly could.🎉

What kind of twisted logic says you can't sell off your stake in a pipeline?

Pure FTW logic.

darkotter35 said:🤦

Man, what planet are you living on?

Just another guy trying to claim intellectual superiority by leaning on paid troll posts from the alt-right and Russian bots on Facebook and whatnot.
"It’s all just conspiracy theory nonsense, especially if they can get a reaction out of you."

gentlestag15 said:The Poles just opened up a pipeline to Norway yesterday and the Russian one immediately went up in smoke.
I'm putting my money on Poland. 😁

Do you really think Americans would let them pull something like that off without giving the green light?

If they had permission, it means the US wants it done, and it’s actually safer if they just handle the dirty work themselves. They have the resources.
Even if Poland did the job for them, at the end of the day, it's still an American stock action.

George Robinson43 said:I see! So the theory is we just wait for the war to wrap up, and then overnight, everything reverts to the old way.
It’s like Schroeder, Schüssel, and the whole gang are already lined up at the starting blocks. Even Milančo is ready to go.

Give me a break. Just look at the timeline from 1944 to 1945 compared to the years immediately following. Look at how the US, Germany, and Japan handled economic cooperation.

Forget the fairy tales. Money moves the world—or more specifically, the dollar does. 🍿

Linda Collins3 said:You think Americans view Europe as their own property.

You're spot on there...

Except now it's property; I would have called it a colony 😁

It’s wild how things have flipped 180 degrees in just two centuries.

Linda Collins3 said:Do you really think Americans would let them pull something like that off without giving the green light?

If they had permission, it means the US wants it done, and it’s actually safer if they just handle the dirty work themselves. They have the resources.
Even if Poland did the job for them, at the end of the day, it's still an American stock action.

The Poles are obsessed with the Russians, and the Russians are just as fixated on them.
Why on earth would the Americans go blowing things up? Doesn't make any sense to me.
It's basically a message from Poland to Russia: we've got Norwegian gas now, so you can take your nonsense elsewhere.
They've definitely branded them an enemy state, and frankly, the Poles are taking that way more seriously than the Americans are. They're used to this kind of thing.

Christian Torres3 said:What kind of twisted logic says you can't sell off your stake in a pipeline?

Pure FTW logic.

Sure, technically you can sell your share of a pipeline. But look at the bigger picture: that pipeline was essentially a way to secure Russian gas for Germany—a massive strategic project vital to both nations. It’s not just about the asset. It’s like if we decided to blow up the Golden Gate Bridge just because we didn't want to own it anymore. What exactly are we thinking?

Joshua Myers432 said:Except now it's property; I would have called it a colony 😁

It’s wild how things have flipped 180 degrees in just two centuries.

Colonies were always treated as nothing more than assets for the colonizers.

rowdytiger13 said:

says:
It feels like classic American cowboy energy to me—that whole "screw the European Union" vibe coming from Victoria Nuland.

They love making threats, even if they aren't quite as subtle as Russia. Honestly, we dealt with constant, blunt blackmail and intimidation back during our own Civil War.

You pointed to the far-right victory in Italy as a reason, but those guys still need that European Union money, and she’s already said she supports the sanctions. Once she actually takes office, she'll probably just tone down the rhetoric, at least where necessary to keep the funding flowing.
Only countries that basically bankroll the funds, like the UK, can afford to act tough. Everyone else can talk big until their wallets get frozen.
So... it doesn't really mean anything, and it's definitely not enough reason for the US to start running sabotage operations.
Sure, he gets under their skin... that's true. But would they really take him out just for that? I wouldn't bet on it.
The whole thing is pretty strange because neither side seems to have a rock-solid motive.

My own view is that the U.S. was the primary force behind ensuring that gas simply wouldn't flow through the completed NS2. I suspect that was one of the main triggers for Putin deciding to invade Ukraine—he realized he was becoming dependent on someone else's "goodwill," so he decided to raise the stakes in what looked like a viable "operation" at the time. If the Americans can control gas flows through mere bureaucratic pressure (and in that case, they can also ease that pressure if the opportunity arises), it becomes a massive political lever in their hands. Perhaps his internal circle sent him a "message" suggesting it would be wise to open the valves before winter to show "goodwill"—letting the gas flow instead of letting it burn off uselessly—to normalize things. Instead, he preempted them by ordering the pipeline to be sabotaged, effectively stripping them of that leverage.

Nancy Gomez26 said:The real question is how a major power struggle at the top of the Russian political hierarchy would play out today. What is Putin's actual political leverage right now? I suspect he is much like his military—formidable on paper and perhaps against much weaker adversaries, but in reality, it's an entirely different story....

Maybe. To me, it seems more likely that if someone suggested opening up a pipeline, Putin would just say "no" and leave it at that, instead of sabotaging his own infrastructure.

gentlestag15 said:The Poles are obsessed with the Russians, and the Russians are just as fixated on them.
Why on earth would the Americans go blowing things up? Doesn't make any sense to me.
It's basically a message from Poland to Russia: we've got Norwegian gas now, so you can take your nonsense elsewhere.
They've definitely branded them an enemy state, and frankly, the Poles are taking that way more seriously than the Americans are. They're used to this kind of thing.

There is zero chance Poland pulls something like that off without the green light from the US.
And that "green light" would actually be more like a massive push.

Justin Mendoza16 said:☕man, some of these shakeups have been going on for months already. like, 13 bank execs and big shots from companies like ExxonMobil are already dead. some "accidentally" killed their families then themselves, others took a sudden dive from an 8th-story window, fell off yachts, or just dropped dead after a cup of coffee...

all these high-level people, and who knows which faction they belong to 🙂but they sure have a weird habit of falling from crazy heights...

In the grand scheme of things, this is all relatively minor noise for the American political landscape—likely just a routine purging of known dissidents, inconvenient witnesses, or those openly unaligned with the current administration. It might even be a few personal vendettas. When we start seeing CEOs of ExxonMobil or Chevron, or high-ranking military officials, or agents within the FBI or Secret Service—perhaps even someone in the inner circle surrounding Putin—falling one by one, then we will know we are witnessing something significant.

Henry Gonzalez67 said:And if the valve on the Russian side is closed, then how do you explain those "bubbles" in the Baltic Sea? How does the gas reach the site of the rupture?

I suppose we should consider just how long that pipeline actually is; once you shut off the valve, is there a vacuum left inside the pipe, or is it still filled with residual gas?