Ukraine War

[TexArcher 37774]

1 hour ago, Gil Bang said:

FFS.
 

Right, because if there's anyone who knows what our intelligence community is and isn't doing, it's NBC News.

 

[Bama Chick 28596]

“Being led from one crisis to another”

That, my friends, is the tell in bullshit.

Implying that somehow none of the bad shit is actually real.

Fuck the fuck off.

[Bama Chick 28596]

Rage double

[Immaculate Vibes 114]

3 minutes ago, Bama Chick said:

“Being led from one crisis to another”

That, my friends, is the tell in bullshit.

Implying that somehow none of the bad shit is actually real.

Fuck the fuck off.

Covid yes. 
 

Ukraine no, not a crisis for us.

[Longhorn_Fan68 33870]

Just now, Immaculate Vibes said:

Covid yes. 
 

Ukraine no, not a crisis for us.

[TexArcher 37774]

1 minute ago, Immaculate Vibes said:

Covid yes. 
 

Ukraine no, not a crisis for us.

 

[hayden_horn 11362]

7 minutes ago, Bama Chick said:

“Being led from one crisis to another”

That, my friends, is the tell in bullshit.

Implying that somehow none of the bad shit is actually real.

Fuck the fuck off.

yeah, that and "ukraine is not a crisis for us." these are huge tells.

[Bama Chick 28596]

[Brisketexan 105139]

yeah, that and "ukraine is not a crisis for us." these are huge tells.

A definitive and irrefutable tell.

[956 Worldwide 34715]

54 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

Point of order, non-US citizens are still entitled to due process.  

I support the seizure of such assets, despite my opposition to, inter alia, civil asset forfeiture.  But I am a bit curious about the legal basis for it and what sort of "procedure" will be applied after the seizure.

And, I am not comparing oligarchs to Japanese-Americans, but I think it is worth considering that "wartime zeal" is what gets you shit like Korematsu.

Global Magnitsky Act and CAATSA will fuck your world up in a hurry.  Treasury does not seize assets, they are blocked indefinitely. I’m unaware of any challenges to them yet in court. 

[956 Worldwide 34715]

1 hour ago, pyrohornIII said:

It does raise a lot of questions. 

So if they hold those assets basically in escrow until the end of the conflict, seems like they would go after the owners as war criminals for financially backing Putin and the Kremlin?   Then the assets can be officially seized as part of the punishment?    

In the meantime, who pays the maintenance on those yachts?  I assume the countries who seize them?   

I am sure each European nation has its own mechanism. In the U.S., most of these guys would fall under Global Magnitsky, which allows Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Controls to block U.S. assets of individuals engaged in significant human rights abuses or corruption. U.S. entities are also prohibited from engaging in business with them or anything they control, which is what makes them super toxic.  It’s not based on convictions or anything (as you might expect, corrupt oligarchs are a rarely convicted) and the assets aren’t seized. They’re blocked and you’re just radioactive financially. There’s ways to get delisted but this is new law and I’m not sure we’ve ever done it. Courts generally defer to the President’s foreign policy authority to allow him to make these determinations. 
 

One thing most European coverage and even officials have admitted— they’re moving on the bleeding edge of law and acting now, will clean up later. Trying to move faster than Russian tanks. 

Edited March 4, 2022 by 956 Worldwide

[Caponata 151]

44 minutes ago, TexArcher said:

Right, because if there's anyone who knows what our intelligence community is and isn't doing, it's NBC News.

 

Seeing the replies on Twitter from Americans who couldn't find Ukraine on a map week ago all of sudden becoming experts in geopolitics is really fucking annoying. This is like a reality show to them. 

[wildcat09 29354]

I love reading the DT thread and seeing some of the same posters who have screamed about how mask and vaccine requirements are the ultimate tyranny talk about how Ukraine needs to surrender. 

[Brisketexan 105139]

3 minutes ago, Caponata said:

Seeing the replies on Twitter from Americans who couldn't find Ukraine on a map week ago all of sudden becoming experts in geopolitics is really fucking annoying. This is like a reality show to them. 

That's incorrect.

A lot of Americans have experience playing Risk.

 

[Hugo Stiglitz 23367]

Sand in my eye

[Hugo Stiglitz 23367]

 

[Longhorn_Fan68 33870]

 

[TexasEd 8067]

4 hours ago, bolverk said:

Re: Kremlin Kentucky Konnection

You guys do recall the aluminum plant investment that was made after McConnell & Rand voted to end Russian sanctions.

US Senate report says Russian investor in Braidy Industries' mill is a proxy for the Kremlin

A Russian company that has invested in Braidy Industries' planned aluminum rolling mill in Eastern Kentucky was identified as a proxy of the Kremlin in a new report the Senate Intelligence Committee released this week.

The Russian firm, United Co. Rusal, agreed last year to invest $200 million in the mill, which is expected to create hundreds of long-term jobs in a struggling region of the state if Braidy is able to raise enough financing to build the facility, which will cost well over $1.5 billion.

The Republican-led Senate committee released a report Tuesday that detailed extensive connections between President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign advisers and people with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin's regime.

And it points to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska — a part-owner of Rusal, which is a major aluminum company that operates internationally — as a key figure.

The Senate committee's report, which examines Russian efforts to interfere in America's 2016 presidential election, says: "Deripaska's companies, including RUSAL, are proxies for the Kremlin, including for Russian government influence efforts, economic measures, and diplomatic relations."

The Courier Journal sent Braidy Industries a request for comment concerning the Senate committee's report. It also asked about the status of Rusal's investment in the mill, whether Braidy intends to continue its business relationship with that firm, and how Braidy's efforts to secure financing for the mill are proceeding.

Braidy — which recently brought a new acting president and CEO, Don Foster, on board — responded through a spokeswoman with the following statement: "Don Foster ... is hard at work every day, utilizing his expertise and expansive network built during his 40 years in the metals industry to finalize financing and build the mill in Ashland, KY."

A U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission report Braidy filed in June said Rusal had provided $75 million so far for the mill project as of Dec. 31, 2019, but had discontinued further contributions until Braidy secures another $300 million in funding. 

Kentucky's state government also has a financial stake in the mill's future, following a direct investment it made in Braidy in 2017. State officials, including Gov. Andy Beshear, have said they hope the mill project will succeed and create job opportunities in the commonwealth.

The U.S. government previously imposed sanctions on Rusal and its parent company, EN+ Group.

Rusal's decision to invest in Braidy's mill was announced in April 2019, a few months after the federal government lifted the sanctions against the Russian firm. Several Democrats in Congress quickly expressed concern about the planned investment.

The U.S. Senate voted down a measure opposing the plan to end the sanctions against Rusal and EN+ Group in January 2019. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, as well as Sen. Rand Paul, both Kentucky Republicans, voted against that attempt to keep the sanctions in place.

The Kentucky Democratic Party on Wednesday questioned McConnell's decision to support lifting the sanctions on Rusal, in light of the Senate Intelligence Committee report's identification of Rusal as a proxy for the Kremlin.

The Democratic Party also mentioned a 2019 Politico report about how two people who used to work on McConnell's staff lobbied the federal government on Braidy's behalf. 

Party spokeswoman Marisa McNee said McConnell needs to publicly explain what he knows concerning how Rusal became a vital source of funds for a project that will be built in the state he has represented in Congress for decades.

"It’s time for Moscow Mitch to tell the truth to the people of Kentucky. There are just too many unanswered questions, and too many people from McConnell’s orbit who have been exposed as playing a big role in this deal for him to continue to play dumb," McNee said. "What did he know, and when did he know it?"

Robert Steurer, a spokesman for McConnell, told The Courier Journal last year that the senator has said Rusal's investment in Braidy's mill did not play a role in his stance on the sanctions against the Russian company. And McConnell told reporters in May 2019 that his decision to support lifting the sanctions was unrelated to "anything that might happen in my home state."

Steurer said in an email Wednesday that previous comments McConnell has made about Rusal still stand. He also referred The Courier Journal to a statement McConnell released Tuesday that praised the Senate Intelligence Committee's members for keeping their investigation "out of the partisan spotlight and focused on the facts."

“The Committee’s findings, along with other information recently released by the Intelligence Community, confirm what we already knew: Russia, China, Iran, and other foreign actors want to influence our politics, interfere with our elections, and stoke fear and division among Americans," McConnell said.

Deripaska, the Rusal co-owner, pops up many times in the Senate committee's report.

The report says Paul Manafort — Trump's former campaign chairman — worked for Deripaska in the past and was in close contact with a Russian intelligence officer, Konstantin Kilimnik, whom the report describes as having been "Manafort's primary liaison to Deripaska ..." 

"The Committee found that Manafort's presence on the Campaign and proximity to Trump created opportunities for Russian intelligence services to exert influence over, and acquire confidential information on, the Trump Campaign," the report says.

"Taken as a whole, Manafort's high-level access and willingness to share information with individuals closely affiliated with the Russian intelligence services, particularly Kilimnik and associates of Oleg Deripaska, represented a grave counterintelligence threat," it also says.

Manafort resigned from Trump's campaign in August 2016 and later was convicted of financial fraud.

 

4 hours ago, Make em eat Taco Bell said:

2 things which don't seem right:

1.  seizing assets of Russian billionaires. While this feels good as a "gotcha!", what is the legal justification? Sure, the government can make up their own rules at will against foreigners, but what about due process? This may move the needle against Putin but if the subjects are not Russian government officials, seems like a shady move by the governments involved. 

2. Not letting Ukranian men 18-60 leave. What if the man needs to support his 5 kids? But dies in a Russian bombing. His worth is destoryed which leads to another level of humanitarian disasters (no more breadwinner). The men should be allowed to leave. 

These problems are all a natural progression from the 2010 Citizens United ruling that corporations are entitled to political speech.  This allows black market money from Russian Oligarchs or Columbian cartels to be invested in American companies to launder it and double down by influencing our elections by using the corporation as a proxy donor.

The answer to #1 above is that the money used to buy the assets came from illegal or corrupt sources.  And not only was it a gain due to the policies that the sanctions are fighting, but it could also have been used to influence US policy to ignore the acts to begin with.

Putin thought he had enough money in the US system to keep us from reacting but Zelensky pantsed him on the social media front.

Edited March 4, 2022 by TexasEd

[babysdaddy 2724]

7 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

That's incorrect.

A lot of Americans have experience playing Risk.

 

this map is giving me hives

[Hugo Stiglitz 23367]

 

[Hugo Stiglitz 23367]

Another innocent Yacht taken into custody 

 

[Mdhorn 5949]

1 hour ago, pyrohornIII said:

Don't mind 3 putt.  He's been busy with his ladies.  Wonder if his Russian interest is still in good standing.

Only one way to find out--3P is going to have to go scorched earth.  New policy management mandate--going to need to conduct a full body search for contraband during times of war.

[Mdhorn 5949]

33 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

That's incorrect.

A lot of Americans have experience playing Risk.

 

That's how I learned about it--from the 5th grade on could find it on a map.  Damn hard to defend, but wasn't the ocean blue?  

Edited March 4, 2022 by Mdhorn

[Hugo Stiglitz 23367]

I hope Putin is reading these polls 

[wildcat09 29354]

36 minutes ago, wildcat09 said:

I love reading the DT thread and seeing some of the same posters who have screamed about how mask and vaccine requirements are the ultimate tyranny talk about how Ukraine needs to surrender. 

Addendum to this: also about how really this is all NATO's fault.

Yes, I'm looking at IDW/greyzone chuds (that's a perfectly overlapping venn diagram) like Buzzrock.

[Brisketexan 105139]

3 minutes ago, Hugo Stiglitz said:

I hope Putin is reading these polls 

Why?

He doesn't care about the first one (we're a negligible buyer), and he's salivating about the second one.  His entire pitch is "NATO is at war with us."  NATO actually attacking Russian forces would give him the validation he needs to tell his people "see, I told you so."

[Hugo Stiglitz 23367]

1 minute ago, Brisketexan said:

He doesn't care about the first one (we're a negligible buyer), and he's salivating about the second one.  His entire pitch is "NATO is at war with us."  NATO actually attacking Russian forces would give him the validation he needs to tell his people "see, I told you so."

So what?  The Russian people either know Putin is bad by now or they don’t. Plus his credibility can’t be great as he’s closing every newspaper and banning any vocal criticism.  We’re way past him having any narrative advantage.  He lies constantly too. 

[Foosters 17856]

13 minutes ago, Mdhorn said:

That's how I learned about it--from the 5th grade on could find it on a map.  Damn hard to defend, but wasn't the ocean blue?  

[Wiler77 1566]

Quick csb on that Risk map...

I took a history class one summer at ACC, must have been 1996.  On each test there was extra credit that asked you to identify 5 shaded countries on the world map.  One test had a country shaded that I had no clue, but it was pretty damn close to what I knew as "Congo" from Risk.  So I went with that.  I had no idea it was called Zaire at the time, but he gave me credit anyway, as it was called Congo prior to 1971.  And btw the name changed back in 1997.

[TexLonghorn 5667]

11 minutes ago, Mdhorn said:

That's how I learned about it--from the 5th grade on could find it on a map.  Damn hard to defend, but wasn't the ocean blue?  

I think the Gulf Coast edition used brown water for local fimiliarity sake.

[Chopper 17235]

6 hours ago, henrygandorf said:

 

I'm not sure which "Times" the tweet refers to but the Wagner Group is a bunch of nazis from Moscow. Wagner was Hitler's favorite composer.

 

1 hour ago, Immaculate Vibes said:

Covid yes. 
 

Ukraine no, not a crisis for us.

At the very least, the Ukraine refugee crisis going going on now with both Western and Eastern Europe, all of which are our allies, is a humanitarian one on a scale that has never before been approached. Just putting aside the military and political aspects of the invasion, it's a huge crisis for us. No offense intended but you seem way too stupid to be posting.

[wildcat09 29354]

Wagner are also incompetent fuckups who make Blackwater look like the model professional by comparison.

[Dahobbs 17534]

26 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Why?

He doesn't care about the first one (we're a negligible buyer), and he's salivating about the second one.  His entire pitch is "NATO is at war with us."  NATO actually attacking Russian forces would give him the validation he needs to tell his people "see, I told you so."

Correct. That would be a win for Putin. It'll allow him to actually galvanize political support back home and increase moral of his units that don't know why they are fighting. NATO cannot directly intervene. That column that has been stuck in the mud for a couple days, I'm pretty sure that is a Queen's Gambit, trading resources for long term positional advantage.  

[Chopper 17235]

and now this...

 

[wildcat09 29354]

1 minute ago, Dahobbs said:

Correct. That would be a win for Putin. It'll allow him to actually galvanize political support back home and increase moral of his units that don't know why they are fighting. NATO cannot directly intervene. That column that has been stuck in the mud for a couple days, I'm pretty sure that is a Queen's Gambit, trading resources for long term positional advantage.  

What's the positional advantage gained? They've barely moved in days. I think they just didn't realize that their wheeled vehicles couldn't make it offroad right now until it was too late.

[Dahobbs 17534]

Just now, wildcat09 said:

What's the positional advantage gained? They've barely moved in days. I think they just didn't realize that their wheeled vehicles couldn't make it offroad right now until it was too late.

Oh, I mean if NATO attacks the damn thing. The advantage to him is that he'll actually be able to galvanize support from the Russian people and justify even broader military action. Right now, he looks weak. But if NATO attacks that convoy, he can project defiance and strength. 

[Chopper 17235]

2 minutes ago, wildcat09 said:

What's the positional advantage gained? They've barely moved in days. I think they just didn't realize that their wheeled vehicles couldn't make it offroad right now until it was too late.

I read a report this morning that Ukraine took out the front and rear vehicles of that column and that's why they haven't moved.

[Hugo Stiglitz 23367]

These aren’t NATO planes. These are NATO Olympic Committee planes. 

[Hugo Stiglitz 23367]

15 minutes ago, Dahobbs said:

Right now, he looks weak.

Putin is weaker right now than he’s ever been. Losing the war would make him weaker, capturing Ukraine would do the opposite. I’m not a smart man but any effort to accelerate to the former would be better than allowing the latter. If we could do it without NATO intervention, that would be great. 

Edited March 4, 2022 by Hugo Stiglitz

[HenryJames 66052]

1 hour ago, Longhorn_Fan68 said:

 

[Chopper 17235]

 

[27-25 2047]

18 minutes ago, Hugo Stiglitz said:

These aren’t NATO planes. These are NATO Olympic Committee planes. 

Man.  I wish I could rep this one more than once.

[henrygandorf 29191]

didn’t they clarify that the whole “30 mile convoy” wasn’t actually 30 miles long, it was 30 miles away?

[Gil Bang 25958]

 

[Chopper 17235]

here's more about what might have stopped the Convoy.

https://www.newsletter.co.uk/business/ni-built-missiles-may-have-halted-40-mile-long-russian-convoy-3594143

Russia invasion of Ukraine: Northern Ireland-built NLAW anti-tank missiles may have halted dreaded 40-mile-long-convoy, says ex-NATO Colonel

A former NATO intelligence Colonel from Co Tyrone says it appears the 40 mile long Russian military convoy moving into Ukraine has halted - and that it is feasible that shoulder mounted rockets built in Belfast could be responsible.

By Philip Bradfield

Wednesday, 2nd March 2022, 7:11 pm

Updated Wednesday, 2nd March 2022, 7:36 pm

 

Retired Col Philip Ingram, a former intelligence and planning officer with NATO, was speaking to the News Letter after Tuesday saw a convoy of tanks and troops some 40 miles long snaking forward towards the capital of Kyiv.

 

However Mr Ingram says intelligence suggests the convoy may now be stuck because the front of it has been destroyed. If so, he says it is feasible that bazookas built in Belfast may be responsible.

In January, a consignment of 2,000 Next-generation Light Anti-tank Weapons (NLAWs), developed by the UK and Sweden, were dispatched to Ukraine. A small number of British troops travelled to train the Ukrainian armed forces in operating them. It is understood that missiles are constructed for Thales in their Northern Ireland facilities. The 12.5kg NLAW is reportedly quick and easy to master, and gives one soldier the ability to take out a battle tank up to 800m away.

 

 

 

Mr Ingram, whose job at NATO was to ‘game out’ just the type of Russian aggression now seen in Ukraine, said there were “no reports” of the convoy moving on Wednesday.

“Therefore if it is static something is stopping it maneuvering forward,” he told the News Letter. “You don’t put a convoy down a route unless it has something to do. And you certainly don’t have vehicles backed up against each other the way you have seen in some of the pictures.

“I have seen reports this morning on one of the routes ... at the front end of a convoy... lots of destroyed Russian armoured vehicles. That then provides a block and everything stacks up behind it.”

Something is “fixing” the front of the convoy and its ability to manoeuvre, he says.

 

 

 

A an NLAW shoulder mounted anti-tank missile as is being used in Ukraine against Russian tanks.

“It is possible vehicles at the front may have been destroyed although it cannot be certain.” There are too many images circulating that cannot be geospatially located to draw definite conclusions, he adds.

However if it has halted because vehicles at the front have been destroyed, it is perfectly feasible that weapons built in Belfast may be responsible. “Oh, 100%” he affirms.

He cites video footage to support his conclusion. “There was one where there was a Ukrainian anti-tank team which fired an NLAW at a Russian tank and destroyed it, and the Ukrainian operator turned and said: ‘NLAW - God Save the Queem!’

 

 

 

So they are proving very popular and very effective.”

The weapon can either be fired directly at a tank or just over the top where the armour is weakest. The missile can discharge an armour penetrating, superheated copper cone down into the tank as it passes overhead. This melts through the armour, “splattering” around the inside and setting off any explosives. The shockwave and shrapnel will kill any crew, he adds.

Edited March 4, 2022 by Chopper

[Chopper 17235]

3 minutes ago, henrygandorf said:

didn’t they clarify that the whole “30 mile convoy” wasn’t actually 30 miles long, it was 30 miles away?

I saw that report and believe I posted it here but that understanding, if it ever was one, has never been the predominant media report. Seems like most believe it's closer. But still stuck, thankfully.

[DDD Dad 14339]

7 hours ago, Immaculate Vibes said:

My masters? Cmon. 
 

Disagreeing with any policies we have is not inherently pro-Putin. Speaking of propaganda, much of this board has been propagandized to think just that. Simplistic. 
 

Here’s a policy disagreement I have with our leaders here and in the West that is decidedly anti-Russia/Putin. 
 

The US and Western Europe should/should have maintained/pursued energy independence. If we’re not reliant on Russia for energy then he has less leverage geopolitically and his country is poorer. I would like that specifically. Weaken Russia while strengthening ourselves versus weakening Russia while weakening ourselves via undermining the USD. 

Oh look who pos-repped this post--Zeus.  I'm shocked, I tell you, shocked!

[hobbes2702 13033]

1 hour ago, Hugo Stiglitz said:

So what?  The Russian people either know Putin is bad by now or they don’t. Plus his credibility can’t be great as he’s closing every newspaper and banning any vocal criticism.  We’re way past him having any narrative advantage.  He lies constantly too. 

If we impose a no fly zone and shoot down a Russian jet then any narrative advantage we had is gone. His support will go right back up again.

[WhatTheBuck 28781]

3 hours ago, TexArcher said:

Right, because if there's anyone who knows what our intelligence community is and isn't doing, it's NBC News.

I’m pretty sure that reporting is accurate. We can share some intelligence with them. We’ve been sharing a bunch with the whole world. We can share information gained through HUMINT and SIGINT sources and observational data from satellites. Unlike in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, we aren’t flying drones over Ukraine and we don’t have special forces on the ground directing attacks with laser targeting. If that reporting wasn’t accurate and we were involved in that way then things would be going very poorly for the Russians. 

[henrygandorf 29191]

6 minutes ago, hobbes2702 said:

If we impose a no fly zone and shoot down a Russian jet then any narrative advantage we had is gone. His support will go right back up again.

yeah, the time for a no-fly to be instituted/enforced would've been before the invasion.  now it should be a last resort, because it will get tested immediately and our hand will get forced.