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More deflection.

Yes. It is utterly unfair the way some people describe Ivermectin as being a horse dewormer or some other kind of veterinary medicine. The scientist who discovered Ivermectin got his Nobel Prize for a reason. It has saved millions of human lives. That said it is utterly irrelevant to the question of whether Ivermectin is effective against covid-19. At best clinical trials show that it is valueless against covid. And no amount of deflection about it being unfairly characterized can change that.

Not just that. They are losing citizens who should be at the beginning of productive careers - net contributors to the economy. Russia's fertility rate is 1.5. Which not only will be worsened through war, but for lack of men. And of course there's the fact that even if Russia does triumph over Ukraine, the costs of administering it will be huge. Chechnya, a nation of 1 million people, costs Russia 3.8 billions US dollars per year to govern. Ukraine's population is 40 times that.

You think in the way of the real world? Aren't you the party who says Russia is playing chess and gleefully sacrificing pieces and treasure to no discernible advantage? Looks like the reality you're living in is virtual.

That's about as specific as saying "Make Peace, Not War." You've got nothing. How about actually giving some indication of what should be offered and by whom? And while you're at it, how about estimating the odds a Putin-led Russia is to be trusted to keep its word? But it is interesting to note that you think the war will continue for years. Do you think the Russian economy is going to have the resources to wage war for years?

It might be possible for a sentence to be vaguer than that one, but it would take a lot of work.

I don't think being off topic is of much concern to Mac MickManus. He recently referenced a certain US ex-President in this very thread. https://aseannow.com/topic/1251459-assault-on-kiev-russian-helicopters-swoop-above-ukraines-capital/page/105/#comment-17299692

This article is your idea of evidence? Some radical lesbians from Leeds write a booklet and this means that they're the ones behind the feminist movement? I challenge you to come up with something even more ridiculous. It won't be easy, but I bet you can do it.

If Ukraine is a lamb, what does that make Russia? A lamb's b1tch? And what in the world do you mean by "The UN is fast tracking Ukraine into the EU that will be of great help." Was that meant to be some kind of joke? Or do you actually believe that the UN has any say in who gets to be in the EU? "Russia is playing it like chess?" You mean they sacrificed a lot of pawns, knights, bishops, and rooks for no discernible advantage? Do you actually believe that Russia's invasion is going according to plan? I just hope that the Russians are as deficient in information as you appear to be.

Obsessed much? You just can't quit him.

You mean that you were actually serious when you wrote about lesbians who want to control the sex lives of straight women and impose upon them their twisted ideology? The case with you is sadder and more serious than I thought.

Thank you for sharing with us your absurd sexual fantasies.

So you think domination of an impoverished wasteland is a goal that is consistent with playing "the long game"?

Where does it say that the EU nations have to declare war in order to invoke the fast track regime? And the EU doesn't have the power to declare war. Apart from those quibbles, yours was a truly informative post.

No, not off topic since it says a lot about the character of Orban. Moreover, the suppression of independent media is of obvious concern when it comes to elections. As for an independent investigation...This is just another disinformation tactic. Does any allegation, no matter how absurd, merit independent investigations? This reminds me of climate change or covid vaccine denialists who call for debate based on claims for evidence that is obviously faulty or non existent.

If you turn to other cheek to evil, dont be surprised when you get stabbed in the back That de Maistre fellow sounds like a right smug b@$+ard.

Absolutely. It was truly benighted behavior. Bad enough to depend on one pipeline, but then to support building another? ‘Mistake’ not to object to Nord Stream 2, says German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier admits Germany ‘failed with the approach of including Russia in a common security architecture.’ https://www.politico.eu/article/german-president-admits-having-been-mistaken-on-nord-stream-2/

On the other hand, in MAKRO, if produce or meat comes from most other countries, the country of origin is specified. But if it comes from China, the signage just says "imported".

If an honest, non-partisan fellow like Orban needs proof, who are we to doubt him? Orban's Hungary risks EU funding cut over corruption fears The EU executive on Tuesday launched a never-used procedure against Hungary that could see the Hungarian government stripped of EU funding for falling short on anticorruption and flouting democratic standards. ADVERTISING The move comes two days after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban won re-election with an overwhelming majority, claiming his victory as a win over liberal values defended by Brussels. The nationalist and ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin is frequently accused in Brussels of backsliding on democratic norms https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220405-orban-s-hungary-risks-eu-funding-cut-over-corruption-fears Hungary: where editors tell reporters to disregard facts before their eyes Welcome to the media in Hungary, where NGOs are blacklisted, critical stories are binned and senior editors instruct journalists to disregard the facts before their eyes. “We have reached a situation where our position is now much much worse than it was back in the 1980s when Hungary was a communist country,” said one person with decades of experience of Hungarian state media, recalling the days when the central European country was described as “the happiest barracks” in the eastern bloc, for its relative freedom. “The situation back then in terms of censorship and state interference in public service journalism is nowhere near, nowhere near, the situation right now,” the person told the Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/02/hungary-independent-media-editors-reporters-orban

Preparing for the first winter without Russian gas The European Union can manage without Russian gas next winter, but must be united in taking difficult decisions, accepting that in many cases it won’t have enough time for perfect solutions. https://www.bruegel.org/2022/02/preparing-for-the-first-winter-without-russian-gas/

It's a good thing for Zelenskyy that Russian missiles couldn't reach Kyiv. Otherwise he'd be in big trouble...oh wait a minute.

If they don't love Chinese Imports, then why do they buy so much of them?

He may have wanted some implications to go global, but not the ones that have. Unless you think "Russia is a paper tiger" is what he wanted the world to believe.

Rumor has it that you're a shoo-in to win this year's Neville Chamberlain Prize.

This is, of course, more nonsense. Russia's Chechen war turns out to have been actually quite similar to its conduct in the Ukraine. Massive bombing and massive use of Russian troops and Chechen soldiers as well. In Iraq US ground troops were engaged mostly in urban warfare. And later alongside lots of Iraqi troops to stage a counteroffensive against Isis. And lots of bombing. The difference here of course is that Isis was loathed by the Shia majority whereas the Ukrainian troops have the overwhelming support of the locals. Another difference is in the quality of the military. Clearly, Russian troops are poorly led. The assault on Kyiv was a disaster. And the reason so many generals and other high officers have died is twofold. For one, a defective communication system with left Russian forces with no choice but to use mobile phones to coordinate their movements. Unfortunately for them, that means that their generals were easily locatable. For another, the quality of the officer class in Russia is poor. Generals can't trust their subordinates to get it right so they have to expose themselves to danger. It may be morally satisfying in a way to see a general at the front, but if he's any good at strategy, that's a foolish risk to take. Unless there's no choice. As for your point about civilian deaths...before you were claiming that they were less than those of Russian forces...but now you're claiming it's unknowable?