Russia's invasion of Ukraine: Part 5

If you can't manage to get 100,000 people out on the streets to protest this madness in a massive metropolis like New York City, then honestly, everyone deserves to be drafted...

dustytiger8 said:Wrong. Read that definition again... according to how Russia views reality, not yours. 🙂

Though, it's obvious Wagner has a role model... the 36. SS Division... previously known as the Dirlewanger brigade. 🙂

https://www.feldgrau.com/ww2-german-...dier-division/

It gets even closer than that:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Tactical_Justice_Battalion

And I can't think of any specific American movies on the subject right now.

War doesn't change much, obviously. Just the hardware.

Hannah Alvarez2 said:Are you kidding me? I know the Moscow to Mexico City routes are booked solid, and yeah, I know our neighbors can be a little... "particular" 😁, but I had no idea they were this brain-dead.

Just picture some poor Russian guy who spent every last cent he had left after inflation just to grab a plane ticket and bail out of Russia before being sent to the front lines—only to land in Mexico City and see Putin's face and the Z everywhere! 🤣

Checked Google, but it doesn't look like 🙂 there are any one-way flights for $500 in the next few days.

This guy was claiming it:

edit: looks like there aren't any direct flights available—only layovers—until mid-October, so maybe there's actually some truth to this...

Sean Reed3 said:If you can't manage to get 100,000 people out on the streets to protest this madness in a massive metropolis like New York City, then honestly, everyone deserves to be drafted...

I’m not so sure about that.
I fear nobody trusts anyone anymore. Everyone is looking for a provocateur, and you could end up fighting in Ukraine just for saying the wrong word.

Not much happening with the protests in Russia—just a few hundred to maybe a couple thousand people scattered everywhere
sad stuff
The police are just handing out arrests left and right. Over here, they actually messed up and arrested one of their own undercover agents by mistake
View on twitter

I’m kind of digging this "Putin into the trenches" slogan
View on twitter

gentlestag15 said:Not much happening with the protests in Russia—just a few hundred to maybe a couple thousand people scattered everywhere
sad stuff
The police are just handing out arrests left and right. Over here, they actually messed up and arrested one of their own undercover agents by mistake
View on twitter

I’m kind of digging this "Putin into the trenches" slogan
View on twitter

Especially when the guy was literally wearing a protester's disguise! 🍿

Frank Martin13 said:...uh, look, old friend, don't take this the wrong way, but regarding everything you just compared—you brought up 9/11. 🤦 That wasn't some grand act of defense; it was pure manipulation of the public... the key players from that era basically turned into high-paid lobbyists and bureaucrats once things settled down. Just thinking about where they ended up (and where they are now) and the massive salaries they pull—take their "heroine" Z.V.M., for instance, compared to the 99% of protesters who were just caught up in the moment... which is something, say, you didn't mention, like the homecoming for the US Men's National Soccer Team after they took 2nd in the World Cup. There were roughly half a million Americans gathered in Times Square—though some shady forces actually cut the microphone on the stage while the players were still up there celebrating with the crowd🤦 )...
...rather, the rest of Europe and the world really need to watch carefully about who they let across the borders during this mass exodus from Russia...

I got nothing to hold against you.

How can you even put the soccer team's parade in the same bucket as people hitting the streets for a protest where autocrats are threatening them with batons, police, the military, and water cannons?
That's the whole damn point—people showed up in massive numbers despite the threats, whereas in Russia, if you're standing up for some higher ideal like freedom, you might get lucky if 200 Muscovites show up. So, whatever happens, happens...

So, they actually released our Fugitive along with a few other foreign nationals—just saw it breaking on ABC. 👍

Larry Sanchez7 said:Since everyone’s talking about panic in Russia, does anyone actually have footage of people fleeing or civilians storming airports and borders?
They’ll either spontaneously hit the streets tonight or they’ll just lose their minds...

Back in the day, if 100,000 people marched in Washington, D.C. just to defend some radio station, then you could easily see half a million hitting the streets in Moscow today. But they won't. So, honestly, who even cares...

I have nothing but respect for the folks in D.C. back in '96, but let’s be brutally honest: they weren't actually facing an existential threat back then. In Russia, the police will arrest and beat anyone in sight the second they see a crowd forming—young people, the elderly, women, even 90-year-old grandmothers (literally, look at this: https://www.bbc.com/mexican/lat/svet-60618858). There are absolutely no exceptions. It takes incredible courage to step out onto those streets when you know you're looking at years in prison plus God knows what other horrific consequences...
We simply cannot compare this to other countries where hundreds of thousands can demonstrate without fearing for their physical safety.

Larry Sanchez7 said:I got nothing to hold against you.

How can you even put the soccer team's parade in the same bucket as people hitting the streets for a protest where autocrats are threatening them with batons, police, the military, and water cannons?
That's the whole damn point—people showed up in massive numbers despite the threats, whereas in Russia, if you're standing up for some higher ideal like freedom, you might get lucky if 200 Muscovites show up. So, whatever happens, happens...

Putin's regime crushed and dismantled any semblance of political opposition, independent intellectuals, and the NGO sector in Russia long ago. Protests require organization, yet the entire landscape is saturated with informants and a repressive apparatus that arrests people without having to answer to anyone. Economically, things are still moving forward due to sheer inertia; life hasn't become catastrophic enough yet to drive people to revolt over those issues. But that time will come.

electricstag9 said:I have nothing but respect for the folks in D.C. back in '96, but let’s be brutally honest: they weren't actually facing an existential threat back then. In Russia, the police will arrest and beat anyone in sight the second they see a crowd forming—young people, the elderly, women, even 90-year-old grandmothers (literally, look at this: https://www.bbc.com/mexican/lat/svet-60618858). There are absolutely no exceptions. It takes incredible courage to step out onto those streets when you know you're looking at years in prison plus God knows what other horrific consequences...
We simply cannot compare this to other countries where hundreds of thousands can demonstrate without fearing for their physical safety.

View on twitter

Just look at the protests happening in Iran right now over the Hijab laws.
The moment they grab a cop, there's a total breakdown of order—it's like they lose all sense of sanctity.
View on twitter
People are dying. Since when was the Iranian Revolutionary Guard known for having a soft heart?
The Iranians are protesting in much larger numbers and with way more resolve over something far less existential than a war or mass mobilization.

darkrider55 said:So, they actually released our Fugitive along with a few other foreign nationals—just saw it breaking on ABC. 👍

And those women sentenced to death in the so-called DNR.

gentlestag15 said:View on twitter

Just look at the protests happening in Iran right now over the Hijab laws.
The moment they grab a cop, there's a total breakdown of order—it's like they lose all sense of sanctity.
View on twitter
People are dying. Since when was the Iranian Revolutionary Guard known for having a soft heart?
The Iranians are protesting in much larger numbers and with way more resolve over something far less existential than a war or mass mobilization.

Americans in Iran live much, much worse than Russians. On one hand, decades of isolation and sanctions have taken their toll; on the other, you have a nation that is educated and possesses a deep civilizational heritage—something that cannot be easily suppressed. The Russians will hit this phase sooner. The only salvation for those in power in the Kremlin is if the sanctions somehow fail in the short term, but in my view, that is utterly impossible without a change in leadership.

darkrider55 said:So, they actually released our Fugitive along with a few other foreign nationals—just saw it breaking on ABC. 👍

That’s a much smarter play than those empty nuclear threats.

darkrider55 said:So, they actually released our Fugitive along with a few other foreign nationals—just saw it breaking on ABC. 👍

From what I can gather, it looks like Saudi Arabia pulled the strings to make this happen.

View on twitter

gentlestag15 said:View on twitter

Just look at the protests happening in Iran right now over the Hijab laws.
The moment they grab a cop, there's a total breakdown of order—it's like they lose all sense of sanctity.
View on twitter
People are dying. Since when was the Iranian Revolutionary Guard known for having a soft heart?
The Iranians are protesting in much larger numbers and with way more resolve over something far less existential than a war or mass mobilization.

The authorities are just beating them mercilessly wherever they can. Years of repression and pure frustration are finally boiling over. It's like that old saying about the straw that broke the camel's back.

https://twitter.com/AzeriTimes/statu...13704074838017

Honestly, I don't think Russians have even reached that breaking point as a nation yet. So far, it's mostly been the folks on the outskirts and the minorities paying the price for this war.

darkrider55 said:So, they actually released our Fugitive along with a few other foreign nationals—just saw it breaking on ABC. 👍

That reporter, that Royalist Daniel Simic, was all over him on camera. He was basically treating him like a trophy during the interrogation, acting all smug because he was dead certain the guy was headed for execution or life in prison...

Exactly. A Saudi Arabian prince might not be my usual type, but hey, I’ll definitely take the gesture. Thanks for this! 😁

I heard that Vjeko is heading over to the States tomorrow, 👍and apparently there are another 200 foreigners being let in too,

So, is this partial mobilization actually just a fancy way of declaring war on Ukraine? Is the whole "special military operation" thing officially dead in the water now?