Русский корабль - иди нахуй

[Rimbo 27,014]

2 hours ago, Slacks said:

Counterpoint: The greatest military in the world has been fueled by exactly that. Why change? The goal is not harmony. The goal is hegemony. Same for other parts of society. 

 

[Rimbo 27,014]

14 minutes ago, Nivek said:

I think the problem with this line of thinking is that they are hoping to become the next skimming official.  Not hoping for a less corrupt regime. 

 

5 minutes ago, BamaATL said:

I think you underestimate the level of idiocy in Russia.  Anyone with any ability or talent leaves, be it via athletics or brains.  Anyone left is a knuckle dragger or just smart enough to sort of manage a bunch of knuckle draggers.  

Are you actually disagreeing with Nivek, here?

[BamaATL 16,593]

4 minutes ago, Rimbo said:

 

Are you actually disagreeing with Nivek, here?

Yeah, these folks aren't machiavellians here scheming to get to power.  The vast majority are fucking morons that can't see five feet in front of them (due to being chronic drunks and children of the same), let alone are they capable of scheming their way to any sort of power.  

[SydneyCarton 49,494]

3 hours ago, BamaATL said:

I'd sooner sew my face to the carpet than root for either of them.  

I’m not cheering for a victor, but I’m popping popcorn and going to enjoy the game. 

[Rimbo 27,014]

2 hours ago, BamaATL said:

Yeah, these folks aren't machiavellians here scheming to get to power.  The vast majority are fucking morons that can't see five feet in front of them (due to being chronic drunks and children of the same), let alone are they capable of scheming their way to any sort of power.  

They don't need to be. All they need is self-interest, a prerequisite amount of charisma, and a lack of morality.

Intelligence isn't a factor.

Edited May 27, 2023 by Rimbo

[Rimbo 27,014]

1 hour ago, SydneyCarton said:

I’m not cheering for a victor, but I’m popping popcorn and going to enjoy the game. 

same

[Schulz2.0 29,280]

 

[Schulz2.0 29,280]

 

[Pato del Muerto 53,492]

Comments on that Lindsay graham video are super. 

[Parliament 14,596]

"You're killing Russians.  Best money we ever spent."

New thread title?

[Rimbo 27,014]

 

 

[SydneyCarton 49,494]

24 minutes ago, Rimbo said:

 

 

TIL that 19fortyfive is what MulletFree named his dick. Now I need a shot and a lye shower. 

[Armybrat 41,403]

1 hour ago, Pato del Muerto said:

Comments on that Lindsay graham video are super. 

Quote

Kilgore Fella

@RedDawnUkraine

2h

Somewhere Curtis Le May has a boner

Lol

[Rimbo 27,014]

1 hour ago, SydneyCarton said:

TIL that 19fortyfive is what MulletFree named his dick. Now I need a shot and a lye shower. 

Speaking of Twitter misinformation vatniks...

 

Edited May 28, 2023 by Rimbo

[686 3,461]

Solovyov is still delaminating, “nuke England, nuke the Gerald Ford, etc”. Seemingly more and firmer dissenting voices. I’m actually surprised one of the guests didn’t call him out on his hypersonic missiles are the solution statement. The silence was palpable though. They all know they’re fucked.

[Rimbo 27,014]

7 minutes ago, 686 said:

Solovyov is still delaminating, “nuke England, nuke the Gerald Ford, etc”. Seemingly more and firmer dissenting voices. I’m actually surprised one of the guests didn’t call him out on his hypersonic missiles are the solution statement. The silence was palpable though. They all know they’re fucked.
 

I mean that's literally Article 5 right there.

[686 3,461]

I’m not cheering for a victor, but I’m popping popcorn and going to enjoy the game. 

Taliban has been watching the Ukes crush the Russian and Iranian tech and is feeling their Wheaties with their NATO gear.

[Pato del Muerto 53,492]

I assume that if russia were dumb enough to detonate a nuclear weapon in Europe, it would be a no holds barred race to Moscow from everywhere. 

[tx ind 7,057]

1 hour ago, Parliament said:

"You're killing Russians.  Best money we ever spent."

New thread title?

Can everyone agree that is a fucking hilarious quote despite who said it?

/noCR

[686 3,461]

I mean that's literally Article 5 right there.

Yeah he’s jumped the shark, maybe intentionally entering the “old man yells at cloud” zone so that cooler heads can prevail while he keeps the crazy rants going to some how “save face” int their way. Solovyov is like Khrushchev banging his shoe on the podium like a clown and the rest of the folks know it’s time to “make a deal, wrap this up and get back to doing business with Europe”, as was said in the other state tv broadcast.

[atomheartbevo 90,645]

Even Austria is somewhat getting off the pot.

[686 3,461]

Can everyone agree that is a fucking hilarious quote despite who said it?
/noCR

Graham has hates him some Russians. It’s interesting, I’d like to hear his mindset/backstory on it. He’s been all-in since the beginning.

[Pods 7,637]

10 minutes ago, tx ind said:

Can everyone agree that is a fucking hilarious quote despite who said it?

/noCR

It's both hilarious and true. Fuckloads of dead Russians and their destroyed gear for mostly old stuff that we were paying to maintain and would have had to pay to decommission. Ukraine is eliminating Russia as a serious global threat with stuff NATO found in their couch cushions.  

This is one of the best returns on investment in history. 

[Foggy Notion 1,202]

Russian drones attacked Kyiv over the past couple hours. Here’s a pretty cool (unconfirmed) video of one of them getting shot down.

 

[BamaATL 16,593]

43 minutes ago, 686 said:

Graham has hates him some Russians. It’s interesting, I’d like to hear his mindset/backstory on it. He’s been all-in since the beginning.

Well, there is a fairly obvious answer to that.   

 

[Parliament 14,596]

51 minutes ago, tx ind said:

Can everyone agree that is a fucking hilarious quote despite who said it?

/noCR

I'm no fan of Senator Graham, but yeah.  Credit where it's due.  Last week we had President Biden drop the, "(F16's aren't a problem for the US), F16's are a problem for Russia."  Are these guys throwing shade on purpose, or is the smartassery coming out by accident?  I don't mind either way.  I want more.

[Deej 77,815]

1 hour ago, 686 said:

Solovyov is still delaminating, “nuke England, nuke the Gerald Ford, etc”. Seemingly more and firmer dissenting voices. I’m actually surprised one of the guests didn’t call him out on his hypersonic missiles are the solution statement. The silence was palpable though. They all know they’re fucked.
 

Says the guy with the insolent, chubby face. 

[Mach 1 1,677]

54 minutes ago, 686 said:

Graham has hates him some Russians. It’s interesting, I’d like to hear his mindset/backstory on it. He’s been all-in since the beginning.

He was a USAF attorney stationed at Rhein Main in the 80s Cold War. My mom was his court reporter, referenced in the Lindsay Graham thread.  He’s old school.

[Rimbo 27,014]

quoting text in case it gets taken down or edited:

Spoiler

According to preliminary information, subject to further confirmation, #Lukashenko was urgently transported to Moscow's Central Clinical Hospital after his closed-door meeting with #Putin. Currently, he remains under medical care there. Leading specialists have been mobilized to address his critical condition. Blood purification procedures have been conducted, and Lukashenko's condition has been deemed non-transportable. The orchestrated efforts to save the Belarusian dictator aimed to dispel speculations regarding Kremlin's alleged involvement in his poisoning. Irrespective of whether he recovers or not, doctors caution about the possibility of relapses. As  representatives of the Belarus Democratic Forum of the Republic of Belarus, we earnestly urge Western leaders to convene a strategic session in the coming days to discuss the "Elections" initiative and other measures that should be undertaken in order to secure the transitional period. We firmly assert that the existing technologies are adequate for conducting fair and transparent elections in Belarus in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, without direct interference from the Kremlin. By doing so, we will establish a legitimate institution in the eyes of all Belarusians and the global community at large. Holding elections during such a critical juncture will not only help restore law and order in the future Belarus but also lay the groundwork for stabilizing the situation on the borders of the European Union and the world.

Reading between the lines, sounds very much like Lukashenko is "falling out a window."

[TexasEd 8,266]

Yeah, the private closed door meeting with Putin and then rolled out on a stretcher was just a coincidence.

[atomheartbevo 90,645]

6 minutes ago, Rimbo said:

Reading between the lines, sounds very much like Lukashenko is "falling out a window."

If true and Belarus ends up in some turmoil, I don't think there is much Russia can do, if they can't even protect their own borders.  If they shift forces over to try and keep a lid on Belarus, that helps Ukraine out, and opens the door for more Russians invading Russia actions.

[B00M 6,734]

2 hours ago, Foggy Notion said:

Russian drones attacked Kyiv over the past couple hours. Here’s a pretty cool (unconfirmed) video of one of them getting shot down.

 

Link appears already dead? Good… Hate to see vids of kills over Kyiv because it gives the Russians intel.

[Deej 77,815]

43 minutes ago, Rimbo said:

quoting text in case it gets taken down or edited:

  Hide contents

According to preliminary information, subject to further confirmation, #Lukashenko was urgently transported to Moscow's Central Clinical Hospital after his closed-door meeting with #Putin. Currently, he remains under medical care there. Leading specialists have been mobilized to address his critical condition. Blood purification procedures have been conducted, and Lukashenko's condition has been deemed non-transportable. The orchestrated efforts to save the Belarusian dictator aimed to dispel speculations regarding Kremlin's alleged involvement in his poisoning. Irrespective of whether he recovers or not, doctors caution about the possibility of relapses. As  representatives of the Belarus Democratic Forum of the Republic of Belarus, we earnestly urge Western leaders to convene a strategic session in the coming days to discuss the "Elections" initiative and other measures that should be undertaken in order to secure the transitional period. We firmly assert that the existing technologies are adequate for conducting fair and transparent elections in Belarus in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, without direct interference from the Kremlin. By doing so, we will establish a legitimate institution in the eyes of all Belarusians and the global community at large. Holding elections during such a critical juncture will not only help restore law and order in the future Belarus but also lay the groundwork for stabilizing the situation on the borders of the European Union and the world.

Reading between the lines, sounds very much like Lukashenko is "falling out a window."

Amazing that Putin was able to poison him from the other end of a 30 foot table. 

[Armybrat 41,403]

47 minutes ago, TexasEd said:

Yeah, the private closed door meeting with Putin and then rolled out on a stretcher was just a coincidence.

Wonder what floor his hospital room is on?

[Bevo 13,882]

50 minutes ago, Rimbo said:

quoting text in case it gets taken down or edited:

  Hide contents

According to preliminary information, subject to further confirmation, #Lukashenko was urgently transported to Moscow's Central Clinical Hospital after his closed-door meeting with #Putin. Currently, he remains under medical care there. Leading specialists have been mobilized to address his critical condition. Blood purification procedures have been conducted, and Lukashenko's condition has been deemed non-transportable. The orchestrated efforts to save the Belarusian dictator aimed to dispel speculations regarding Kremlin's alleged involvement in his poisoning. Irrespective of whether he recovers or not, doctors caution about the possibility of relapses. As  representatives of the Belarus Democratic Forum of the Republic of Belarus, we earnestly urge Western leaders to convene a strategic session in the coming days to discuss the "Elections" initiative and other measures that should be undertaken in order to secure the transitional period. We firmly assert that the existing technologies are adequate for conducting fair and transparent elections in Belarus in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, without direct interference from the Kremlin. By doing so, we will establish a legitimate institution in the eyes of all Belarusians and the global community at large. Holding elections during such a critical juncture will not only help restore law and order in the future Belarus but also lay the groundwork for stabilizing the situation on the borders of the European Union and the world.

Reading between the lines, sounds very much like Lukashenko is "falling out a window."

Sounds like liver failure.

[Rimbo 27,014]

 

[Bevo 13,882]

https://www.intellinews.com/is-lukashenko-dead-278618/

 

A somewhat interesting article on what may happen if Lukashenko dies. I don't see how Russia could take the country, though. And if it tried, would NATO just watch or at the very least would it try to hold fair elections?

[Laxtonto 13,294]

38 minutes ago, Deej said:

Amazing that Putin was able to poison him from the other end of a 30 foot table. 

[BamaATL 16,593]

1 hour ago, atomheartbevo said:

If true and Belarus ends up in some turmoil, I don't think there is much Russia can do, if they can't even protect their own borders.  If they shift forces over to try and keep a lid on Belarus, that helps Ukraine out, and opens the door for more Russians invading Russia actions.

This may just be legit poor health, so grain of salt with all this:

If Putin is behind this it would make some sense because at this point we all know how prone he is to magical thinking.  His thought might well be that with Lukashenko out of the way, he can just take Belarus thru his will (remember I did say magical thinking) and simply absorb them into his new empire.  He likely has people around him that would say this would work (I'm sure he can trot out a bullshit map or two in this scenario as well).  With that in mind, his thought would be that he could immediately mobilize the  Belarusian Army and open a new front in northern Ukraine.  One that would prevent the Ukrainians from launching their offensive elsewhere.  

Of course the reality is very different.  If Putin were to attempt to seize Belarus in the wake of a Lukashenko death, I think there is a far better possibility of a full scale revolt in Minsk.  I also don't think the Belarusian military would take orders from him.  Given that Russia's military is bogged down in Ukraine, it's not as if Putin has the ability to take Belarus by force.  Instead, if this is really what is going on, I'm sure he's getting told that Russian-Belarusian unification will be greeted with flowers, and that troops won't be necessary as the Belarusian military will immediate accept transfer for command.  In the end, in this scenario, he could well lose what has until now been a friendly staging area for the war in Ukraine.  To boot, if he already has been staging tactical nukes in Belarus, there is a chance these get taken in the midst of revolt.  

All this having been said, we know Putin is a master strategist, and this sort of catastrophic thinking/planning is now part of his M.O.  If there is a shitty choice to make, he will do it.  So I can't dismiss this as a possibility.  

[Bevo 13,882]

15 minutes ago, BamaATL said:

This may just be legit poor health, so grain of salt with all this:

If Putin is behind this it would make some sense because at this point we all know how prone he is to magical thinking.  His thought might well be that with Lukashenko out of the way, he can just take Belarus thru his will (remember I did say magical thinking) and simply absorb them into his new empire.  He likely has people around him that would say this would work (I'm sure he can trot out a bullshit map or two in this scenario as well).  With that in mind, his thought would be that he could immediately mobilize the  Belarusian Army and open a new front in northern Ukraine.  One that would prevent the Ukrainians from launching their offensive elsewhere.  

Of course the reality is very different.  If Putin were to attempt to seize Belarus in the wake of a Lukashenko death, I think there is a far better possibility of a full scale revolt in Minsk.  I also don't think the Belarusian military would take orders from him.  Given that Russia's military is bogged down in Ukraine, it's not as if Putin has the ability to take Belarus by force.  Instead, if this is really what is going on, I'm sure he's getting told that Russian-Belarusian unification will be greeted with flowers, and that troops won't be necessary as the Belarusian military will immediate accept transfer for command.  In the end, in this scenario, he could well lose what has until now been a friendly staging area for the war in Ukraine.  To boot, if he already has been staging tactical nukes in Belarus, there is a chance these get taken in the midst of revolt.  

All this having been said, we know Putin is a master strategist, and this sort of catastrophic thinking/planning is now part of his M.O.  If there is a shitty choice to make, he will do it.  So I can't dismiss this as a possibility.  

What happens if Lukashenko dies?

If Lukashenko is already dead then in theory fresh elections should be held and a new president elected; however, that is unlikely to happen.

Belarus was thrown into uproar after Lukashenko massively falsified the results of the August 2020 elections, returning himself to office with a massive landslide. The few independent results from the voting reported by rebel polling stations# suggest that the wife of an opposition candidate, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, actually won by a landslide. The country erupted into mass demonstrations within hours of the official result being announced and the head of the Central Election Committee fled the country in fear of her life. Tikhanovskaya fled into exile a few days later after being threatened with arrest by Belarus’ KGB. Her husband, Sergei Tikhanovsky, has been in jail ever since.

The authorities will be unwilling to risk a repeat performance. Fresh elections would almost certainly ignite fresh protests, which were only quelled before by Belarus’ freezing winter in 2021 and brutal police repression once the crowds on the street every weekend became small enough to manage.

Lukashenko has already prepared the ground for one of his sons to take over by increasing the authority of the Security Council which his son chairs. Similar to the informal mechanisms used to choose successors in Central Asia, Lukashenko has merely institutionalised a similar confab of the elite and given it a legal base.

It remains to be seen if the Security Council will be allowed to take power or choose a successor, as Russian social media is already speculating that the Union State deal signed with Russia in 1999 could be rushed to completion and Belarus subsumed into Russia in some form. At the least the Kremlin will interfere and push its own preferred presidential candidate on Minsk to maintain the tight bonds between the two countries and increase its control at the same time.

[atomheartbevo 90,645]

13 minutes ago, BamaATL said:

If Putin is behind this it would make some sense because at this point we all know how prone he is to magical thinking.  His thought might well be that with Lukashenko out of the way, he can just take Belarus thru his will (remember I did say magical thinking) and simply absorb them into his new empire.  He likely has people around him that would say this would work (I'm sure he can trot out a bullshit map or two in this scenario as well).  With that in mind, his thought would be that he could immediately mobilize the  Belarusian Army and open a new front in northern Ukraine.  One that would prevent the Ukrainians from launching their offensive elsewhere.  

And lest we forget, Putin probably feels betrayed by Lukashenko for not directly helping him.

13 minutes ago, BamaATL said:

Of course the reality is very different.  If Putin were to attempt to seize Belarus in the wake of a Lukashenko death, I think there is a far better possibility of a full scale revolt in Minsk.  I also don't think the Belarusian military would take orders from him.  Given that Russia's military is bogged down in Ukraine, it's not as if Putin has the ability to take Belarus by force.  Instead, if this is really what is going on, I'm sure he's getting told that Russian-Belarusian unification will be greeted with flowers, and that troops won't be necessary as the Belarusian military will immediate accept transfer for command.  In the end, in this scenario, he could well lose what has until now been a friendly staging area for the war in Ukraine.  To boot, if he already has been staging tactical nukes in Belarus, there is a chance these get taken in the midst of revolt.  

I doubt he has nukes in Belarus - he's old-school KGB, I have a feeling he'd be scared shitless of losing control of them and them being used against him, because he would be thinking that if a European ally of the US had some tactical nukes and it's government deteriorated, he'd be working to get those nukes and use them to cause chaos for the US. He assumes that the things he would do to other countries, would be done to him.

13 minutes ago, BamaATL said:

All this having been said, we know Putin is a master strategist, and this sort of catastrophic thinking/planning is now part of his M.O.  If there is a shitty choice to make, he will do it.  So I can't dismiss this as a possibility.  

Amen.

[atomheartbevo 90,645]

1 minute ago, Bevo said:

The authorities will be unwilling to risk a repeat performance. Fresh elections would almost certainly ignite fresh protests, which were only quelled before by Belarus’ freezing winter in 2021 and brutal police repression once the crowds on the street every weekend became small enough to manage.

Yeah, if Lukashenko was dead, the population might think this is their one and only shot and getting out from under the Kremlin's shadow, both because if Putin takes power in Belarus, things will get really bad for them, but also because Putin is tied up in Ukraine.

[BamaATL 16,593]

25 minutes ago, Bevo said:

What happens if Lukashenko dies?

If Lukashenko is already dead then in theory fresh elections should be held and a new president elected; however, that is unlikely to happen.

Belarus was thrown into uproar after Lukashenko massively falsified the results of the August 2020 elections, returning himself to office with a massive landslide. The few independent results from the voting reported by rebel polling stations# suggest that the wife of an opposition candidate, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, actually won by a landslide. The country erupted into mass demonstrations within hours of the official result being announced and the head of the Central Election Committee fled the country in fear of her life. Tikhanovskaya fled into exile a few days later after being threatened with arrest by Belarus’ KGB. Her husband, Sergei Tikhanovsky, has been in jail ever since.

The authorities will be unwilling to risk a repeat performance. Fresh elections would almost certainly ignite fresh protests, which were only quelled before by Belarus’ freezing winter in 2021 and brutal police repression once the crowds on the street every weekend became small enough to manage.

Lukashenko has already prepared the ground for one of his sons to take over by increasing the authority of the Security Council which his son chairs. Similar to the informal mechanisms used to choose successors in Central Asia, Lukashenko has merely institutionalised a similar confab of the elite and given it a legal base.

It remains to be seen if the Security Council will be allowed to take power or choose a successor, as Russian social media is already speculating that the Union State deal signed with Russia in 1999 could be rushed to completion and Belarus subsumed into Russia in some form. At the least the Kremlin will interfere and push its own preferred presidential candidate on Minsk to maintain the tight bonds between the two countries and increase its control at the same time.

Oh, I'm well aware of the history, and why this can't happen and won't happen.  But that doesn't mean that Putin is.  What we know is that this is a guy who is sitting in an information bubble of his own choosing.  He doesn't read outside sources; he doesn't have but a small group that advises him, and by all accounts that group has only gotten smaller.  He seems to collect people around him that only share his worldview (or reinforce it for their own personal gain).  In short, his downfall will be his own hubris (call it vanity, ego, whatever you want), his self belief, deluded as it is, and this could be yet another example of this.

Long story short, if this is what he is up to, it's going to backfire spectacularly.  While I think that's apparent to everyone who is basically paying attention; for Putin it may well be another big blind spot.  

[atomheartbevo 90,645]

1 hour ago, atomheartbevo said:

I doubt he has nukes in Belarus - he's old-school KGB, I have a feeling he'd be scared shitless of losing control of them and them being used against him, because he would be thinking that if a European ally of the US had some tactical nukes and it's government deteriorated, he'd be working to get those nukes and use them to cause chaos for the US. He assumes that the things he would do to other countries, would be done to him.

To add to this, I have a feeling the announcement was more about trying to scare the West from intervening in Belarus. They love to use talk of nukes to try and intimidate us. and this could be a really cheap form of deterrence for them - wouldn't require any additional Russian troops (which would be in short demand).

Speaking of Russian "allies"

 

[InkaUtexas 26,881]

LOL, how is this three day operation going? 

 

 

[atomheartbevo 90,645]

Interesting

 

[Schulz2.0 29,280]

 

[Schulz2.0 29,280]

 

[YGIFS 19,458]

5 hours ago, InkaUtexas said:

LOL, how is this three day operation going? 

 

 

Sluggish.  

Like a wet sponge. 

[Schulz2.0 29,280]

Retards on Twitter are of course using the McDonald's video as evidence that the war is a hoax.