Ukraine War

[cactusflinthead 27,601]

 

[RDCanecutter 26,454]

Hunter Biden will be able to listen to right-wing talk radio Monday morning without flinching.

[cactusflinthead 27,601]

 

[Longhorn_Fan68 33,876]

wait, how are we bleeding Ukraine by giving them weapons and money? I know the right wing propaganda machine doesn't expect even an base analysis of that statement, but it needs to be at least understandable on its face. it is not. what a dumb dumb

Edited October 2, 2023 by Longhorn_Fan68

[956 Worldwide 34,729]

I think my favorite thing about JD Vance is how he wrote a whole-book about how hillbillies are all fucked up with a lot of self-destructive habits and poor long-term thinking and now he relies on exactly them to get elected and it really shows. 

[Satchel 6,938]

Fun fact: the United States has spent less than 3% of its annual military budget to aid Ukraine in its war against Russia., resulting in the Ukrainian Defense Forces " destroying half of the Russian army.”

https://news.yahoo.com/ukraine-used-3-us-defense-203500822.html#:~:text=At the press conference%2C Graham,half of the Russian army."

 

[atomheartbevo 89,735]

We are over 570 days into the Russian war in Ukraine, I don't feel like the vast majority American people are seriously concerned that we are headed into WWIII, and we aren't even killing Russians.

And the people that think this will lead to WWIII, well they are probably still disappointed that JFK didn't show up in Dallas back in November of 2021.  Which, on a side note, that was an awesome troll by the folks behind Qanon, convincing their followers that JFK  would show up in fucking Dallas in November, putting aside the fact that he'd be pushing 105 years old if he had survived 1963.  Dallas is exactly where a 104 year-old JFK would return to after being absent for nearly 60 years, because things went so well there back in '63.

[InkaUtexas 26,007]

20 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

We are over 570 days into the Russian war in Ukraine, I don't feel like the vast majority American people are seriously concerned that we are headed into WWIII, and we aren't even killing Russians.

And the people that think this will lead to WWIII, well they are probably still disappointed that JFK didn't show up in Dallas back in November of 2021.  Which, on a side note, that was an awesome troll by the folks behind Qanon, convincing their followers that JFK  would show up in fucking Dallas in November, putting aside the fact that he'd be pushing 105 years old if he had survived 1963.  Dallas is exactly where a 104 year-old JFK would return to after being absent for nearly 60 years, because things went so well there back in '63.

What a fucking loon. her, not you. Well...... 

[wildcat09 29,355]

16 hours ago, 956 Worldwide said:

I think my favorite thing about JD Vance is how he wrote a whole-book about how hillbillies are all fucked up with a lot of self-destructive habits and poor long-term thinking and now he relies on exactly them to get elected and it really shows. 

What's wild is he was so popular among liberals at one point that he probably could have run for office as a Dem and won in many places. 

Going MAGA was just easier and more in line with his natural inclinations.

[MissingInAction 25,117]

2 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

We are over 570 days into the Russian war in Ukraine, I don't feel like the vast majority American people are seriously concerned that we are headed into WWIII, and we aren't even killing Russians.

And the people that think this will lead to WWIII, well they are probably still disappointed that JFK didn't show up in Dallas back in November of 2021.  Which, on a side note, that was an awesome troll by the folks behind Qanon, convincing their followers that JFK  would show up in fucking Dallas in November, putting aside the fact that he'd be pushing 105 years old if he had survived 1963.  Dallas is exactly where a 104 year-old JFK would return to after being absent for nearly 60 years, because things went so well there back in '63.

I think we are headed towards wider scale conflict due to the tensions spreading in the region. Re: Armenia. 

I'm surprised more of russias vassal states aren't taking advantage of the current situation.

[RomaVicta 29,941]

18 hours ago, Longhorn_Fan68 said:

wait, how are we bleeding Ukraine by giving them weapons and money? I know the right wing propaganda machine doesn't expect even an base analysis of that statement, but it needs to be at least understandable on its face. it is not. what a dumb dumb

I may have lost the thread of the discussion, but earlier the talk of bleeding had to do with human cost. I don't see us as bleeding Ukraine and support aiding them. I am concerned about the human cost and wonder if that may be what leads to resolution.

I'm fine with bleeding the Russian military as they have impaled themselves on this spear.

[The Dog 44,066]

MTG is a Communist:

 

[Satchel 6,938]

3 hours ago, The Dog said:

MTG is a Communist:

 

For its part, Code Pink said there "has been some confusion about an image that was taken w/ CODEPINK volunteers & Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green."

"MTG opportunistically approached our volunteers in a parking lot on the Hill and she requested they take a photo together," she said Wednesday.

"Our volunteers weren’t sure how to respond & immediately reached out to us about what happened after the fact. This picture was not initiated by our organization," the group clarified.

[Al Bundy's Napoleon Hand 13,585]

"You see, people need guns to protect themselves from tyrannical governments, but when tyrannical governments intentionally slaughter innocent people, you need to cut people off from guns cuz war is bad."

[C-Man 27,235]

2 hours ago, Al Bundy's Napoleon Hand said:

"You see, people need guns to protect themselves from tyrannical governments, but when tyrannical governments intentionally slaughter innocent people, you need to cut people off from guns cuz war is bad."

[C-Man 27,235]

https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/05/europe/russia-vladimir-putin-prigozhin-plane-intl/index.html

 

Quote

Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested Thursday that it was not an “external” attack that crashed the plane carrying Wagner warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin in August, but hand grenades within the aircraft.

Speaking at the Valdai Forum in Sochi, Putin said the “chairman of the investigative committee just reported a few days ago that the fragments of hand grenades were found in the bodies of the victims. There was no external influence on the plane, it is an established fact.”

Prigozhin, who led a failed uprising against the Kremlin, was among the 10 people on board the private plane which crashed in a field northwest of Moscow in August while en route to St. Petersburg. All on board, including Prigozhin and his top aides, were killed.

The Russian leader, whose government has denied involvement in the crash, did not detail how grenades might have exploded on the plane, but said that he thought investigators should have performed drug or alcohol tests on the bodies of the victims.

“I repeat, in my opinion such an examination should have been carried out but it wasn’t,” he said, also saying that “10 billion in cash and 5 kilos of cocaine” had previously been found by Russian security forces in Wagner’s office in St Petersburg.

Putin said the chairman of the investigation committee said it was ok to “share this information publicly” as it was “an established fact.”

The crash came two months to the day after Prigozhin’s attempted mutiny against Russia’s military leadership, which posed the biggest challenge to Putin’s rule in decades.

In June, Prigozhin and his Wagner troops seized key military sites and marched toward Moscow, where the Kremlin had deployed heavily armed troops to the streets. But before they could face off, a deal was struck that ended the rebellion and sent Prigozhin and his fighters to neighboring Belarus.

Explosion likely brought down aircraft purportedly carrying Wagner boss, flight data and video analysis suggest

Following the deadly crash, Russian officials said they were considering various scenarios surrounding the incident, including the possibility of a “deliberate atrocity,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in late August.

US and western intelligence officials, however, told CNN at the time that they believed the crash was deliberate. US President Joe Biden even suggested that Putin may have been involved. “I don’t know for a fact what happened, but I’m not surprised,” he said in late August.

Peskov has denied claims that the Kremlin might have been involved in the plane’s demise, calling such speculation an “absolute lie.”

Gotta love any time Putin says something is "an established fact."

[C-Man 27,235]

Putin said in the above link that they found $10B in cash and five kilos of cocaine in Prigozhin's Wagner office. Quick Googling says $1B in cash weighs approx 10,000 kilograms, which is about 22,000 pounds. So, we're to believe that Prigozhin had 220,000 pounds of cash in his office? (I can believe the five kilos of Peruvian Marching Powder though.)

Or maybe Prigozhin was The Joker:

Edited October 5, 2023 by C-Man

[Anastasis 23,479]

12 minutes ago, C-Man said:

Putin said in the above link that they found $10B in cash and five kilos of cocaine in Prigozhin's Wagner office. Quick Googling says $1B in cash weighs approx 10,000 kilograms, which is about 22,000 pounds. So, we're to believe that Prigozhin had 220,000 pounds of cash in his office? (I can believe the five kilos of Peruvian Marching Powder though.)

 

 

Can cut that number down substantially if they were 500 euro notes, and it is still a completely unrealistic claim. 

[Pescado_Rojo 19,426]

Maybe it was 10B Rubles, which is about (sounds of 10 key clacking away)...

Spoiler

 

[TeeDubya 3,362]

Ooooopsie....

 

[Longhorn_Fan68 33,876]

21 hours ago, TeeDubya said:

Ooooopsie....

 

"Astonishingly the entire crew made it safely into lifeboats and were inexplicably well away from the explosion when it happened." If only.

[TeeDubya 3,362]

ATACMS used last night for the first time.
 

 

[TeeDubya 3,362]

several reports that UAF have established a significant beachhead on the south side of the river SE of Kherson.
 

 

[TeeDubya 3,362]

Bad day for a few Russians....
 

Spoiler

 

[InkaUtexas 26,007]

Two things. Russia is going to have quite a few new amputees sitting outside of train stations. Second, interesting Ukraine seems to hit them near their legs. So these are AP flying mines designed to injure, not kill, and make the casualty a liability for the nation and the units that need to recover them. 

 

[atomheartbevo 89,735]

4 hours ago, TeeDubya said:

Bad day for a few Russians....

It will never not be slightly creepy to see drone operators hunting down and wounding/killing individual Russian soldiers.  Props to the Ukrainians for innovating in this space, and it's basically a force multiplier for them.

38 minutes ago, InkaUtexas said:

Two things. Russia is going to have quite a few new amputees sitting outside of train stations.

Who will freak out every time some kid flies their little drone toy around.

38 minutes ago, InkaUtexas said:

Second, interesting Ukraine seems to hit them near their legs. So these are AP flying mines designed to injure, not kill, and make the casualty a liability for the nation and the units that need to recover them. 

Well the first one was a head shot.  I'm curious what those are - they aren't grenades from a grenade launcher and they aren't hand grenades, but the explosion seems small for a mortar, and you have to make sure the mortar arms itself.

But the size seems to be 60mm and maybe the Ukrainians are using a modified mortar that can arm itself on the way down.  They may strip out some of the charge and shrapnel (or have a different casing) to get the weight down as well.

I'm guessing they don't arm them before they lift off since an accident would kill people and destroy a lot of stuff.

These guys aren't too concerned about an accidental drop

From a comment:

Quote

Those hanging from the drone in the photo are 82mm HE mortar rounds and the one in the crate are 120mm HE mortar rounds.

But with that kind of payload capability (each 82mm bomb is 3.1kg, so that means at least 18.6kg for the whole drone) you can bet it can carry aloft something like an 100mm HEAT projectile (15kg) or that 120mm HE mortar bomb (13.5kg) and those pack a big punch and either will one-shot a tank if they connect.

And if you see the drones that have a revolver-style setup for deploying the mortar shells, that's the Taiwanese - apparently they have some serious drone stuff going on.  This stuff is practically home-brew (but it's from a year ago).

Edited October 25, 2023 by atomheartbevo

[Party_Taco 3,742]

Two things. Russia is going to have quite a few new amputees sitting outside of train stations. Second, interesting Ukraine seems to hit them near their legs. So these are AP flying mines designed to injure, not kill, and make the casualty a liability for the nation and the units that need to recover them. 
 

Recover? You might not be familiar with Russian tactics…

[TeeDubya 3,362]

Russia brings in Pole-21 GPS jamming system.

Ukraine destroys it.....  with a JDAM....  a GPS-guided munition.

https://t.me/csources/267134

[TeeDubya 3,362]

Russian boat go kaboomski.

 

Edited November 7, 2023 by TeeDubya

[TeeDubya 3,362]

Playing tag with a drone is not a great idea....
 

 

[atomheartbevo 89,735]

 

[Anastasis 23,479]

No shit, Ukraine blew that up?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/11/11/nordstream-bombing-ukraine-chervinsky/

Ukrainian military officer coordinated Nord Stream pipeline attack

@G650

Edited November 14, 2023 by Anastasis

[G650 14,268]

6 hours ago, Anastasis said:

No shit, Ukraine blew that up?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/11/11/nordstream-bombing-ukraine-chervinsky/

Ukrainian military officer coordinated Nord Stream pipeline attack

@G650

 

Ha, good grief man. How long have you been waiting to tag me in about about this.

 

I buy that some rogue elements did this, that's a lot more plausible than the Ukraine government striking the west.

 

Pretty interesting other plots as well it sounds like

[Anastasis 23,479]

1 hour ago, G650 said:

 

Ha, good grief man. How long have you been waiting to tag me in about about this.

Our exchange wasn’t that long ago. Maybe a few weeks. 

[wildcat09 29,355]

8 hours ago, Anastasis said:

No shit, Ukraine blew that up?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/11/11/nordstream-bombing-ukraine-chervinsky/

Ukrainian military officer coordinated Nord Stream pipeline attack

@G650

You’re believing Shane Harris’ reporting now?

[Captainant 27,682]

8 hours ago, Anastasis said:

No shit, Ukraine blew that up?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/11/11/nordstream-bombing-ukraine-chervinsky/

Ukrainian military officer coordinated Nord Stream pipeline attack

@G650

Lulz you should check who the sourcing is for that reporting. Try not to get too excited to repeat russian disinfo, champ. 

[WhatTheBuck 28,791]

9 minutes ago, Captainant said:

Lulz you should check who the sourcing is for that reporting. Try not to get too excited to repeat russian disinfo, champ. 

Are you unfamiliar with comrade Annie’s posting history?

[Anastasis 23,479]

Man, posting that WaPo article was like a bat signal for clowns.

 

[Dahobbs 17,625]

3 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

Man, posting that WaPo article was like a bat signal for clowns.

 

Is that why you put on the makeup and the nose?

[G650 14,268]

1 hour ago, Anastasis said:

Our exchange wasn’t that long ago. Maybe a few weeks. 

 

I mean, I got a good chuckle this morning so all good. But I'm pretty sure if I read a conflicting report in a few weeks though it won't occur to me to head to the internet to inform you.

[Aqua Buddha 14,598]

They've lost 300K troops?  You hate to see it:

[TeeDubya 3,362]

Russian take a shit in the woods, then gets launched into low-Earth orbit.
 

 

[Scheiss Meister 8,408]

12 hours ago, TeeDubya said:

Russian take a shit in the woods, then gets launched into low-Earth orbit.
 

 

That looks like something from a Monty Python skit, with a dummy flying through the air.

[Longhorn_Fan68 33,876]

too bad they didn't tag him while he was dropping a deuce. however, if I saw correctly they got at least two dudes, so good use of resources

[TeeDubya 3,362]

In case you're wondering about stick vs. drone....

Drone wins....
 

 

[bolverk 29,694]

Republicans to meet allies of Hungary’s Viktor Orbán on ending Ukraine aid
Hungarian appearance at two-day event part of Orbán’s transatlantic attempt to bolster Russia’s war

Allies of Hungary’s far-right prime minister Viktor Orbán will hold a closed-door meeting with Republicans in Washington to push for an end to US military support for Ukraine, the Guardian has learned.

Members of the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs and staff from the Hungarian embassy in Washington will on Monday begin a two-day event hosted by the conservative Heritage Foundation thinktank.

The first day includes panel speeches about the Ukraine war as well as topics such as Transatlantic Culture Wars. It is expected to feature guests including Magor Ernyei, the international director of the Centre for Fundamental Rights, the institute that organized CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) Hungary. Kelley Currie, a former ambassador under then president Donald Trump, said she was invited “but declined”.

According to a Republican source, some of the attendees, including Republican members of Congress, have been invited to join closed-door talks the next day.

The meeting will take place against a backdrop of tense debate in Washington over Ukraine’s future. Last week the White House warned that, without congressional action, money to buy more weapons and equipment for Kyiv will run out by the end of the year. On Wednesday Senate Republicans blocked an emergency spending bill to fund the war in Ukraine.

A diplomatic source close to the Hungarian embassy said: “Orbán is confident that the Ukraine aid will not pass in Congress. That is why he is trying to block assistance from the EU as well.”

Orbán is a frequent critic of aid to help Ukraine against the Russian invasion. Seen as Vladimir Putin’s closest ally inside the EU for the past few years, he was photographed smiling and shaking hands with the Russian president two months ago in Beijing.

Orbán recently demanded that Ukraine’s European Union (EU) membership be taken off the European Council’s agenda in December. The Hungarian leader posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter: “It is clear that the proposal of the European Commission on Ukraine’s EU accession is unfounded and poorly prepared.”

The Heritage Foundation is leading Project 2025, a coalition preparing for the next conservative presidential administration, and has in recent months hosted speeches by leading British Conservative party members Liz Truss and Iain Duncan Smith.

The thinktank has also been a vocal opponent of US assistance to Ukraine. Last year Jessica Anderson, the executive director of its lobbying operation, released a statement under the headline: “Ukraine Aid Package Puts America Last.” In August, Victoria Coates, Heritage’s vice-president, posted on social media: “It’s time to end the blank, undated checks for Ukraine.”

When Heritage celebrated its 50th anniversary last April, Orbán’s political director, Balázs Orbán (no relation), was invited as a speaker for the event. Heritage’s president, Kevin Roberts, repeatedly praised the Hungarian leader on X: “One thing is clear from visiting Hungary and from being involved in current policy and cultural debates in America: the world needs a movement that fights for Truth, for tradition, for families, and for the average person.”

In recent years Orbán has championed a transatlantic far-right alliance with a hardline stance against immigration and “gender ideology”, staunch Christian nationalism and scorn for those who warn of a slide into authoritarianism.

Hungary has been portrayed by conservative media as an anti-“woke” paradise and model for the United States. Some far-right Republicans, such as Kari Lake and Paul Gosar, said they would like to see the “Hungarian model” transplanted to the US, especially when it comes to immigration and family policies. CPAC went to Hungary for the second time this year, and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson shot multiple episodes in Hungary touting Orbán policies.

Orbán has returned the favour by lavishing praise on Trump. During this year’s CPAC, where Roberts was also featured as a speaker, he claimed that if Trump were president, “there would be no war in Ukraine and Europe”. The Hungarian prime minister has criticised the multiple federal indictments against the former US president and called the judicial procedure a “very communist methodology” in a recent interview with Carlson.

Dalibor Rohac, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute thinktank in Washington, said: “The Hungarian embassy in DC has been very active lately, trying to repair ties with the Republicans and strengthen them where it’s appropriate.

“It is also not surprising that Heritage is the venue of these talks because they are different from other thinktanks in DC; they are more partisan, and their funding model heavily overlaps with the Trump base.”

But, Rohac said, despite his good relations with some Republicans it was “unlikely” that Orbán would have any leverage over US funding for Ukraine.

Supporters of Ukraine have also been making their case to Republicans in Congress. This week David Cameron, the British foreign secretary, held meetings on Capitol Hill. He told a press conference: “I am sure that goodwill will prevail and the money will be voted through, and it will have a huge effect not just on morale in Ukraine but also making sure that European countries keep asking themselves what more can they do.”

[Neonmoon 38,129]

[atomheartbevo 89,735]

6 hours ago, bolverk said:

Allies of Hungary’s far-right prime minister Viktor Orbán will hold a closed-door meeting with Republicans in Washington to push for an end to US military support for Ukraine, the Guardian has learned.

Yes, because people should give a shit about Hungary and its Putin lapdog.

6 hours ago, bolverk said:

Members of the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs and staff from the Hungarian embassy in Washington will on Monday begin a two-day event hosted by the conservative Heritage Foundation thinktank.

The first day includes panel speeches about the Ukraine war as well as topics such as Transatlantic Culture Wars. It is expected to feature guests including Magor Ernyei, the international director of the Centre for Fundamental Rights, the institute that organized CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) Hungary. 

Again, gotta give Republican groups credit.  They don't hide the fact that they align with former Communists and would-be dictators.  Not when Trump openly embraces and/or respects Putin, Xi, Lil' Kim, Orban, the Saudis, etc. 

[Brisketexan 105,161]

I mean…I gotta telll ya…as horrifically pessimistic as I am, I truly never thought the Republican Party of the United States of America would openly push for the United States to bow in supplication to shitbag fascist dictators begging them to love us.
Here we are…and I truly can’t believe it. And our resident “conservatives” are ok with it, even though they also know that if we’d have told them 10 years ago that this is what their platform would be, they’d have called us lying pieces of shit. The utterly pathetic malleability of those prices of shit with no actual guiding principles is going to be the death of us. Not a spine to be found in the entire party.

[RomaVicta 29,941]

11 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

The utterly pathetic malleability of those prices of shit with no actual guiding principles is going to be the death of us. Not a spine to be found in the entire party.

They'd be spineless if they were refusing to make a stand that they know they should make. Also, as you well know, priniciples need not be virtuous or even good. 

Their guiding principles are demonstrated just about every day. The status of their spines regarding Trump is indeed weak to non-existent. However, they've been part of a much more subtle and insidious brand of what has become known as Trumpism for decades.

It takes spine to want to subvert the democratic government of your own country. If self-interest and will to power at all costs form the foundation of your guiding principles, then your spine and values are aligned.

They are boldly taking this country in broad daylight.

I wish they were spineless and aimless, but they're not.