rabas

2 hours ago, Gweiloman said:

I noticed you like to quote Wikipedia as if it’s unbiased and factual in all instances. It is in fact full of western propaganda and disinformation. In your own words, you stand as testimony.

The Wiki articles have 577 verified references on Russian propaganda from all over the world. Did you read them? 

My views on Russia come from lifelong interaction with Russia and close longtime Russian friends, not media. They will tell you do not believe anything that comes out of Russia. Emphasis theirs. 

12 hours ago, Gweiloman said:

I wonder how many times this Horowitz guy has met Putin. I’ll wager none. He’s (Horowitz)an idiot and Putin doesn’t meet with idiots lol.

Talk to Putin? Why?

Russia has been the world's most prolific manufacturer of weaponized propaganda for 100+ years. Greatly improved by Putin. You stand as testimony. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda_in_the_Soviet_Union
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda_in_Russia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disinformation_in_the_Russian_invasion_of_Ukraine

31 minutes ago, frank83628 said:

ever stopped to wonder why all muricas enemies seem to kiil their own people, women, children... purely a coincidence right, or you are a gullible thoughtless sheep

You mean like the 30000 innocent Iranians killed in 4 weeks by now dead president Ebrahim Raisi? Or the subsequent 38 years of death and imprisonment on his orders? Or the 834 he hung just last year? 

https://iranprimer.usip.org/blog/2021/jul/21/raisi-role-1988-massacre

I'd worry more about anti American Western World enemies' gullibility.

2 hours ago, Neeranam said:

Some rather negative comments about a country that is generally peace loving. I find it funny when an American, for example, thinks Iran is evil. Iran has not started any war in the last say 100 years, compared to the US who have started many and one for a  made up reason, yet the Muslims are the bad guys.... 

People are commenting about the regime, not citizens. There are widespread reports of celebrations in Iran and by overseas Iranians. He and the regime are not well liked by many. Celebrations in Iran will be subdued because the military and feared IRGC are setting up positions around Tehran.  

https://www.iranintl.com/en/202405196321

4 hours ago, beautifulthailand99 said:

Starting to see a pivot in the info wars positing the line if Ukraine loses then it will cost our economies much more which is turning truth on it's head.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/business/article/2024/may/18/if-putin-wins-in-ukraine-the-british-economy-will-be-in-the-firing-line

Truth doesn't change and stand on it's head, that's the whole point about truth.  Not sure of your point so I'll go with the article's byline:

"We and the EU must show the Russian leader we mean business and seize $300bn of his country’s [frozen] central bank funds."

Yes!, and the time just arrived today as it's being widely reported that Putin just started seizing assets of European banks in Russia!

Russian court seizes €700mn of assets from UniCredit, Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank

What Putin doing?  His 700M theft could well lead to the seizure of Russia's 300B. The answer may be deep desperation. It's simultaneously being reported that Gazprom, Russia's biggest corp (a main source of elite corruption and mil spending) is in deep dodo and forced to make immediate fire sales to survive (as Ukraine continues pounding Russian petroleum infrastructure)

  Putin's Crown Jewel GasProm Forced Into Fire Sale Amid Record Losses Newsweek

And, Russia's EU bank asset seizures come immediately after Putin returned from China without his long sought agreement for a gas pipeline to China, probably the reason for the trip. Here is the foundational dodo underlying all this, Russia's 10-year government bond is going through the roof.  

  [source]

3 hours ago, beautifulthailand99 said:

Thanks you're right I'll nick that for one of my rambles. Mafia state well describes it. There was an interesting article in the FT a while back that said something like 70% of the world's countries were basically "mafia" states - that sounds about right.

No. Sounds like obfuscation (propaganda). And, no reference again !  Simply, Putin's Russia is the world's most corrupt country: [reference] [reference top 10] Probably why they will lose. 

1 hour ago, beautifulthailand99 said:

I made that up but when I googled it I found that Labour Shadow Foreign Secretray says he's one so I'm obviously not that. I'll take Red. (Putin's Russia is certainly not communist though. It's increasingly autocratic state capatalist with a fake democracy akin to Thailand - you get rid of the opposition via legal or other darker means.

Russia under Putin is a kleptocracy.

The Rise of Kleptocracy: Power and Plunder in Putin’s Russia

Authors:  Miriam Lanskoy,  Dylan Myles-Primakoff 

50 minutes ago, beautifulthailand99 said:

They were used to build the impenetrable Surovikin lIne - how they laughed but as Bob Monkhouse said of his critics when they laughed at him wanting to be a comedian. Well they are not laughing now. We can add washing machines, toilets, prisoners being conscripted (Ukraine now|!) , endless wunderwafffe - Leopards, Challengers, M1 Abrams  and now the coming F15s , Putin's dying , will be deposed in a coup, body doubles, the much vaunted counteroffensive that went nowhere, economy imploding, sanctions biting, corruption banished, and many more jingo narratives fed to the poulations to make this war seem trivial and we are winning - just a matter of time - victory is assured.

 

Whereas the western military industrial complex charges eye watering amounts for tech that seems oudated in the modern era of conflict and £5 billion UK Ajax tanks that still don't work and aircraft carriers that look like sitting ducks  - the Russians stick glide bomb kits onto tens of thousand of dumb bombs to make deadly accurate FAB bombs, go to the scrapyard to make Turtle Tanks to combat FPV drones and developed the deadly Lancet's in abandoned shopping malls that are fired by catapults at $20k a pop and refurb junkyard tanks that almost run on anything that burns.

 

And that's before we get to a woke army more focused on politcal correctness in ther ranks and mental health of their troops than fighting bloody battles with an enemy not afraid to die or endure misery and suffering.

 

Don't poke the bear has been a mantra down the ages and with good reason - just ask Napoleon and Hitler who found out what exactly that means.

Nice soundbites, some/many are true. Certainly the West is powerless facing Putin and his ... no, wait ... "You are powerless, surrender ..." is the primary message of Russian propaganda!  Oh, what to believe...

How about NATO's great weapons superiority. How about NATO's $51 trillion GDP [ref]? What's Russia's GDP?,  no one knows as Russia has stopped reporting any financial data to the World Bank as required to maintain their membership. Maybe ~3% of NATO's would be not far off. How about the West's great technological edge as we have seen by the failure of many of Russia's most vaulted weapons systems, like penetrated impenetrables, stopped unstoppables, and destroyed indestructibles.  Never mind the UK's  aircraft carrier, have you seen Russia's? Anyway the US has 11. 

I agree with your previous posted article warning that the West needs to wake up and take Russia very seriously. Time has come. It's a fact of history that enemies only attack when you drop your guard.

BTW, I do pray for a stable world but Vladimir Putin is not the path to peace.

Edit: reduce estimated Russian GDP to ~3% of NATO's.  4% was before the war.

On 5/14/2024 at 5:44 PM, BobBKK said:

I don't believe that is true. That is just the West's propaganda, the same as Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam and all the rest. The 2014 agreement was not implemented as agreed - and guaranteed by Germany amongst others.

You mean the agreement to stop fighting that failed when  Russia sent another large batch of its regular military at the start of January 2015^[2]. Then, following the subsequent Russian victory at Donetsk International Airport in defiance of the  agreement ,Russia repeated its pattern of August 2014, invading with fresh forces and attacked Ukrainian forces at Debaltseve,  That agreement?

That led to Minsk 2 that was a bigger mess as Russia continued to cheat. Even though Russia signed Minsk 2 (the only group with 2 signatories) they later claimed in Match 2016 it had nothing to do with them.

[reference + 125 referenced addenda]

Negotiations with Putin:   "Trust me bro, I ain't gonna cheat you again ..." , he said for the third time.

53 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

IMO you are being disingenuous. You must know that that is how Russia has always fought, and that they have far more men to send than Ukraine has available.

Russia lost between 20 million and 40 million ( depending on the source ) in WW2, so they have a ways to go yet.

 No, not disingenuous. You ignored or missed my genuine point. 

I correctly showed that Ukraine's death toll cannot be way beyond Russia's rather the opposite is true and 400K Ukraine dead is likely just more Russian propaganda.  

How many Russians, Ukrainians, or others butcher Putin is willing to kill is a different subject. 

2 hours ago, BobBKK said:

 Of course, the lying Zelensky said it - which makes it worthless. The point is they are running out of people to fight - people don't want to die in this proxy war. Thousands have fled abroad. I think the figure of 400,000 is much more likely to be right - but who really knows?

Question.

Invading land armies attaching prepared defenses require far greater numbers just to not get killed. This is well known. Russia also sends wave after wave of poorly trained and equipped conscripts from streets and prisons in meat grinder attacks where they die in droves. This is well documented even by Russia, a recent Russian video shows a commander telling new troops they will all die, and thanks them.

You many not know that defenders have an advantage in local hospitals and doctors, which reduces deaths (but not casualties).

Given these well known factors that should greatly increase  Russian casualties, what logic do you use to say Ukraine has a 2X-3X higher death rate? Is it propaganda?

2 hours ago, VBer said:

The numbers are hidden, but in October 2023 it was 150k confirmed. Link

Compare it with 10k civilians.

This article is obvious propaganda. Author's name "Special", no references, rambling guesstimates (their words) and illogic.  

You need no more proof than the final conclusion where the author says Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief General Valerie Zaluzhnyi claimed the Russians had lost 150,000 dead. So, he opines, maybe he really meant Ukrainian dead. Not to be taken seriously. 

Also, the Youtube video you posted (since removed) of a Russian speaking guy driving around a Ukrainian graveyard as proof of war dead was in a civilian graveyard in Kharkiv. The author was lamenting the huge number of civilians killed by Russia. You can see this by setting English subtitles. 

Edit: I mention the video for the benefit of those who may have been misled by the false propaganda.

Russian forces advance on Kharkiv, residents dance in streets, wait, what?

Latest Jake Broe update, spoiler: Russians can't take Kharkiv, lose 1260 and 1740 soldiers on 12, 13 May respectively.

Click to start at dance scene, go to start for full story.

3 hours ago, Gweiloman said:

Simple question for you to answer. Is Russia gaining more territory or not?

 

No.

Russia has lost a vast amount of territory since the high point of Putin's current brutal war in Ukraine. Also note, they tried to take Kyiv in Putin's infamous 3 day special operation and failed badly.  By the numbers:

"Before 2022, Russia occupied 42,000 km² of Ukrainian territory, and occupied an additional 119,000 km² after its full-scale invasion by March 2022, totaling of 161,000 km²  By 11 November 2022, the Institute for the Study of War calculated that Ukrainian forces had liberated an area of 74,443 km²  from Russian occupation". [reference]

From the same source:

"During the entire 2023, the Russian forces only captured 518 km² of Ukrainian territory, despite huge losses on the battlefield."

You need better information sources. 

9 minutes ago, Gweiloman said:

Europe and especially Germany are even  bigger losers Deprived of cheap reliable energy, they now have to pay exorbitant prices for US LNG and supplies from other parts of the world, not to mention having to waste billions more on unnecessary military spending going forward.

Do you know that German gas imports are now cheaper than before Putin's war? And, you suggest Putin's threats to shut off EU gas, possibly killing people, is more a reliable energy supply? 

I ask if know because I find it hard to believe someone can post so much Russian disinformation and not know. But I acknowledge it's possible. Read this: Newly declassified US intel claims Russia is laundering propaganda through unwitting Westerners

https://ycharts.com/indicators/germany_natural_gas_border_price

1 hour ago, Gweiloman said:

 

One thing the west wins in is the great sounding names attached to their weapons; Leopard, Challenger, Abrams  etc

The less one knows about Russia, the more one cheers for Russia, even more so for Russians.  Let me know when they reach 3000+ tanks destroyed.

Following Putin's stopped unstoppable missiles and penetrated impenetrable missile defenses, meet Russia's indestructible tank, the storied T90:  

From the same Youtube channel. 

Why Are T 90 Tanks Losing the War in Ukraine

2 hours ago, Gweiloman said:

Is Ukraine winning? If no ammunition, no weapons, no men and losing 20% of your territory is winning, I shudder to think what losing looks like.

Do you really want to open Pandora's Box?

A  full survey of Putin's failures is beyond a forum. From stopping his unstoppable missiles, penetrating his impenetrable air defenses, (hence ruining his international weapons market), nearly loosing the entire active fleet of fabled Russian tanks, or slowly losing his Black Sea fleet to a country with no navy. Did I mention the soon to disappear bridge?  And, a favorite Putin S-400 clip. 

You could google "Putin's military failures" but the list is long, here is a good article from the Atlantic Council think tank, Russia’s failing Ukraine invasion is exposing Putin’s many weaknesses.

A deeper look at Putin's failures to the Russian people and to Russia itself. Stanford's Center for International Security and Cooperation: Putin's Failures to Deliver  And, most Russians know these things.

Both articles are good background from think tank experts whose job is finding the truth. 

3 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

The tank in question is a WW2 tank, so appropriate to use in a parade to celebrate their defeat of Germany. Perhaps the other, more modern tanks are being used to defeat the Ukrainians, and a bit busy to take part in a parade in Moscow.

The tanks aren't busy, they just aren't.

Russia Might Be Running Out Of Tanks (Forbes Jan 2024)

Russia has lost roughly 90% of its existing active tank force since the start of the war. They are now surviving on replacements. Whether they can or not depends on whether you believe Russian state propaganda (cough) or objective military analysis.

2018 Victory Day Parade proudly displayed their latest, most advanced T-14 tanks. No more. T-14s were sent to Ukraine and eventually withdrawn as being not battle ready.  "On 4 September 2023, TASS reported that the T-14 Armata has been withdrawn from Ukraine. " WIKI  

T-14 Armata: Russia's Tank Nightmare Just Won't End

"Moreover, the T-14's performance in Ukraine has been underwhelming, leading to its quick withdrawal from the front lines."  Worse, Russia had to halt T-14 production in Nov 2022 due to budget constraints.  WIKI  

Is Putin winning yet?

3 hours ago, Gweiloman said:

Putin has an arrest warrant out for him. What does that mean?

 

7 EU countries sent representatives to his inauguration. Seems like they see the arrest warrant for what it is. A politically motivated move.

Putin has an international arrest warrant against him so he has trouble traveling outside of Russia. The arrest warrant is for the illegal and brutal invasion of a sovereign nation and crimes against humanity. ref

Zelenskyy has a fictitious warrant issued by decree of Putin (who is trying to kill Zelenskyy and any Ukrainians he can shoot at (the reason for Putin's arrest warrant to begin with)), which prevents Zelenskyy traveling to, wait for it, Russia. 

Zelenskyy 1

Putin -2

8 hours ago, johng said:

Perhaps they have built alternative supply routes ?

Yes, they've spent about a year so far rebuilding an alternative rail link that goes the long way around for when, not if, Ukraine drops the illegally constructed bridge. Reports are it will be fully functional by year's end.  ref

So, how hard is it to punch holes daily in a long, lightly defended 500km railway running along the (inside) periphery of Ukraine versus a few km of far away bridge easily covered with the best Russian air defenses (cough).  You see the problem. 

Or do you mean using ships? What ships? 

1 hour ago, AreYouGerman said:

According to their own calculation, which is 2 murdered civilians for every 1 Hamas fighter.

 

Can you read?

Not only can I read, I can do math.   

To save time, let me just explain your deception. 

You reference last year's old data (your links) with a 2:1 kill ratio at that time (already good for urban warfare) mix with partial new  numbers, add some slight of hand math, then present unsubstantiated civilian death tolls, with no reference or basis in fact. (then you have the gall to scold others about references.)

Here is a (recent) refutation of your numbers:

Hamas data on civilian casualties in Gaza war is misleading and easily disproved