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Topic Originator: hurricane_jimmy
Date: Wed 15 Nov 14:48
...in order to sensor its press?
Genuinely a question that has fascinated me since the Scottish referendum in 2014.
The point of fascism being "on the rise" that was raised in the Israel-Palestine thread also struck a chord, especially when one thinks about the actions of the CCP RE Cantonese and United Russia and their attempts to promote Russian-fascism/ultra-nationalism and destabilise former Soviet States like Ukraine.
Some of the comments in the Israel Palestine thread really struck me regarding Western Journalists being banned from Gaza. I`m in no doubt that Hamas are religious fanatics that the would would be better off without, but there is no question that Likud and Zionist actions are very much responsible for a large portion of the existence of such organisations
At the moment, I have been moved to Hong Kong for work and the level of propaganda here aimed at the deletion of the Cantonese Language in favour of promoting Beijing dialect (Putonghua) is genuinely unreal!
The sloppiness of the CCP propaganda is absolutely laughable, yet there are people in the EU and US who actually mop up everything that the likes of CGTN and Xinhua say. Of course you`ll get the usual "Western Monkeys" like Sammer who will parrot the de-dollarisation, "Western-inflated death figures" (referring to the Russo-Ukrainian war, Mao & Soviet persecutions etc), "EU & US = bad" propaganda but it certainly does get the old gray matter going.
We saw in 2014 how scared the UK Government was regarding an attempt at Scottish Independence and how it would have diminished England`s standing in the world. I genuinely wonder if the trend of "The Greater the level of surveillance, the less secure the power of the state is", is a true measure of things.
Right now, we`re seeing any Russian opposition to Putin being labelled as "foreign agents" and fired in prison for years while the boomers idolise the Soviet Union but ignore the embezzlement of United Russia. (Very interesting video on Soviet Nostalgia from NFKRZ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fo2JTT5_BI) We`re seeing China threaten the democratic nation of Taiwan, over which the CCP has never held control which, like Russia claims that everything is the fault of the "collective west". Kinda reminds me of Trumpers who claim that Biden is in cognitive decline simply because Trump is in cognitive decline.
So, is it the case that projection = insecurity?
Personally, I reckon we`re well on the way to a second Cold War.
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Topic Originator: sadindiefreak
Date: Wed 15 Nov 15:19
19 journalists have been killed in Gaza since the bombardments started.
I`m certain it benefits Israel not to have western media reporting from the front lines but Israels arguement that its for security/safety reasons it true also.
Would be a very bad look if Western journalists were dying in the same numbers.
There is zero chance of there ever being peace there while extremists are in change of both Israel and Palestine.
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Topic Originator: sammer
Date: Wed 15 Nov 17:15
Well, I did manage to sit through that link on USSR nostalgia till the end. An adolescent who wears a baseball hat indoors is never a good sign and his braying delivery in pseudo American slang was hard on the ear. Add to that the occasional profanity to establish street cred, the presenter giggling at his own jokes, and it should have been unbearable.
Actually the content was pretty good. What he merely touched upon at the end is a political problem facing not just Russia but western countries as well. It is not just the ‘boomers’ who look back nostalgically at the 1970s, which he recognises as a traditional response in older generations. The middle aged across Russia and Europe are reaching the same conclusion even although their knowledge of that time can only be second hand. They see themselves as no better off- maybe worse off- than their parents.
The neo-conservative dream about the end of history has not aged well and its fag ends can be seen in the American gerontocracy: the last 4 candidates for US Presidency have all been of retiral age and their satraps like Macron, Scholz, Sunak and Netanyahu are on life support. We can see that the old order is dying but we remain uncertain about what should replace it.
sammer
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Topic Originator: OzPar
Date: Thu 16 Nov 09:17
I went to the Soviet Union in 1970. My parents generously paid for me to go on a school cruise on the ‘Nevasa’ to the Baltic Sea. We visited Stockholm, Helsinki and Copenhagen, but the obvious highlight of the trip was a couple of days in Leningrad (now St Petersburg) and a train trip to Moscow, where we stayed for two days.
A pair of young Soviet boys our age who were incredibly fluent in English were assigned to each Scottish student in Leningrad. There were several hundred. My two would incessantly bombard me with questions about life in the West, thirsty for knowledge about our world. Their pockets jingled with a medley of metal badges, each depicting a piece of Soviet history. These badges were currency in their world, something they swapped for the treasures we carried in our duffel bags, for the Soviet youngsters had no money.
Our BIC pens and T-shirts were highly sought after, and if you were prepared to exchange a pair of Wrangler jeans, you could pretty much empty their pockets of every badge.
We explored Leningrad on a water taxi sailing along the Neva River and its neighbouring canals, then took a tour down the famed Nevsky Prospekt, eventually coming upon the Winter Palace, transformed since the revolution into the State Hermitage Museum. The museum was filled with treasures which, paradoxically, seemed to me to celebrate the wealth and opulence of the regal Tsars rather than the struggles of the Bolsheviks.
Moscow in 1970 looked nothing like I had imagined it. British and American movies in the 1960s depicted it as a grim, dark, and threatening city with danger on every corner. We were bussed to a raised vantage point that offered an unrestricted view. The streets were vast and empty, the architecture bold, elegant, and massive in scale, and the colours so vivid compared to the dull grey sandstone and granite of our public buildings back in Scotland.
While in Moscow, the Scottish students were accompanied by young Soviets of the opposite sex. To my delight, I found myself with a brilliantly funny blonde and a gorgeous girl of Asiatic appearance from Kazakhstan. That evening, this attractive duo sat on either side of me at the Bolshoi Ballet, where we enjoyed an unforgettable performance of Romeo & Juliet.
The next day, we joined a long queue in Red Square as the line snaked around the enormous, cobbled space to see Vladimir Ilyich Lenin lying in state in his mausoleum under the Kremlin walls.
As we stood in the queue, our Soviet hosts, eager to avoid the ears of nearby military guards, talked to us in hushed, conspiratorial tones. The girls displayed a healthy disdain for their nation`s leaders and an adept understanding of English puns when joking about things that amused them in the Soviet Union.
We were then taken to a Beryozka store to buy souvenirs. Beryozkas were upscale supermarkets, the only places you could legally spend foreign currency in the Soviet Union. They were primarily aimed at tourists, who were invited to spend as much hard cash as possible.
The Beryozkas were only available to a limited number of privileged Russians. My Soviet companions were not permitted to enter the store, and with the other guides, they stood outside in the street staring forlornly at their reflections in the shop`s large, tinted windows. I felt terrible about this, recognising another paradox in this "egalitarian" society. I quietly bought the girls two small sample bottles of French perfume as thank-you gifts.
And so, with these offerings in hand, I re-joined them outside, my mind swirling with thoughts of the Beryozka`s dual nature – a theatre of opulence for the chosen few and a forbidden fruit for those left yearning. How could such a haven exist in a communist society, welcoming the privileged few while leaving the rest at the doorstep?
The USSR I visited in 1970 was not a grim and monochromatic dystopia but a place rich in history, beauty, and the warmth of its people. Yet, the contradictions I witnessed were undeniable, as communism`s promises clashed with the reality experienced by the youth of that nation.
Ultimately, it dawned on me that the Soviet Union had staged a grand production for our benefit - a Russian Disneyland, where every moment was observed, every step controlled. The Soviets were selling us a fairy tale, but most of us saw beneath the façade.
Post Edited (Thu 16 Nov 09:20)
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Topic Originator: Buspasspar
Date: Thu 16 Nov 09:39
Superb read .. enjoyed that OzPar
We are forever shaped by the Children we once were
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Topic Originator: hurricane_jimmy
Date: Fri 17 Nov 16:45
Oz - Your post was a very interesting read. Honestly not sure what to say about it other than that and that it reminds me of the accounts of visits to North Korea that I`ve heard from Westerners, particularly the part about the departments store with the foreign goods!
Sammer - genuinely funny to hear you call NFKRZ an "adolescent". The guy is over 25, from Chelyabinsk and one of the most popular Russians on YouTube. It would seem that such terms are meant simply as a means to discredit because he could destroy your own world view rather easily. If you want another, then check out Artem Dikarev a.k.a. "The Russian Dude" who has proven quite adept at summarising the pro-Putin propaganda on Tik Tok and other places. This was his video released on 17/11:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GS9HtVCqwQ
Surely these guys know the deal better than you?
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Topic Originator: sammer
Date: Fri 17 Nov 20:45
I enjoyed Ozpar’s account of his visit to the USSR but it was a guided tour as he realised, and the attractive Russian females who escorted him would have been well vetted beforehand. The most heartening part of his account was the natural instinct of young people to see through the narrative served up to them by the political elite. Long may that continue, all around the world.
HJ’s latest link is little more than teenage scribbling put on audio. As Ozpar noted, Russians often speak English very well indeed- I have encountered some who could read the BBC News. Artom sounds suspect to me, rather like these Soviet spies who turned up in Cold War films saying ‘Vere iz ze plans, Ivan?’ He’s trying too hard. In any case, I’m too old to be told how to father bairns by my grandchildren. Brian Berletic, Douglas McGregor and Scott Ritter (SIF alert) have all seen active service and I’ll be guided by their take on military events before that of non combatants. McGovern, Crooke (MI6), Shaffer and Larry Johnson have a CIA background and can join some of the dots. Schulenberg, a former high heidyin in NATO, is informative on the aborted peace deal of late March 2022. That was a few hundred thousand dead ago.
Expect authoritarian clampdowns to increase. The 7 year sentence handed out to a Russian anti-war activist was draconian- 7 weeks would have been nearer the mark in my view. But Russia at least has the excuse that it is engaged in a war: Oswald Moseley, the grandfather of UK fascism, was jailed at the start of WW2. The Czech Republic has no such mitigating circumstance. It has announced 5 years sentences for the following crimes: claiming that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is NOT genocide; and claiming that Israel’s invasion of Gaza and targeting civilians IS genocide. The UK government has not yet managed to criminalise Pro-Peace marches (often called Pro Palestine marches or even Hate Marches) but I am confident that Sir Keir Starmer, with the support of Sir Ed Davey, will do so if elected in a coalition.
Back in the halcyon days of the 1970s you only got a knighthood once you had served your time. Now they are handed out in advance to the leaders of the two main opposition parties! Feudalism here we come.
sammer
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Topic Originator: hurricane_jimmy
Date: Sat 18 Nov 02:54
Sammer - Sounds like you`re regurgitating the same names your did a few weeks back, one of whom was a convicted paedophile and a few of the others had been dishonourably discharged if memory serves correctly. Are you actually aware of how much the likes of CGTN are paying these guys to appear and spurt their propaganda? Its a very normal thing for CCP and Putin shills like yourself to be able to name a few "experts" but not be able to state much in the way of facts - that`s been demonstrated time and again.
Artem is actually pretty accurate - he reported about 2 weeks ago that the Ukrainians had secured a foothold on the East bank of the Dnieper. Yesterday the Kremlin was forced to admit that "small groups" of Ukrainians have crossed over. go figure.
The Czech one is new to me - why not share a link from a reliable source? The last thing I remember was that Czech recognised the Holodomor as a genocide.
Good to see you finally admit there are "a few hundred thousand dead". Which man gave the order to attack again and cause that?
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Topic Originator: The One Who Knocks
Date: Sat 18 Nov 10:49
I`d say this brave young woman is more akin to the White Rose resistance of 1942/43 Germany than Max Moseley.
And although my eyes were open
They just might as well be closed
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Topic Originator: sammer
Date: Sat 18 Nov 22:16
Let me educate you then.
I was referring to Oswald Mosley, not his son.
The White Rose were resisters to Naziism when they realised after Stalingrad there was no victory possible. They were not so vocal in their beliefs before, although I do not question their moral purpose.
They were hanged by the neck for their views. Which is not the same as 7 years in prison, however unfair that is.
The closest link to the White Rose Movement is probably the Baader Meinhof Group of the 1970s who saw the horror that was about to unfold unless the system was attacked front on. We have not confronted that system since, hence the situation in Gaza of of my writing.
sammer
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Topic Originator: The One Who Knocks
Date: Sun 19 Nov 00:01
Always ready to be educated Sammer. I did of course mean Oswald not the former motor sport chief.
An interesting take on the Red Army Faction but not one I agree with.
And although my eyes were open
They just might as well be closed
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Topic Originator: parfection
Date: Sun 19 Nov 00:16
“They were hanged by the neck for their views“
Their fate was perhaps more dreadful - they were guillotined. Theirs is a very moving story. The film ‘die letzten Tage der Sophie Scholl’ is very powerful. I’m not sure if there’s a version with English subtitles. I watched it with an Advanced Higher German class and the pupils got a lot from watching it.
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Topic Originator: sammer
Date: Sun 19 Nov 17:44
Yes, my mistake. The White Rose leaders were indeed guillotined, joining the estimated 30,000 other German citizens who were judicially executed between 1933 and 1945. To put that number in perspective the UK’s chief executioner, Albert Pierrepoint, hanged around 500 persons (some at the Nuremburg trials) in a 30 year career.
The White Rose group is well known since by being Christian and pacifist they conform to the western ideal of martyrdom. Less well celebrated are the Edelweiss Pirates of Cologne, the most high profile of the proletarian youth gangs that confronted the Nazi state more from knee jerk anarchism than any political creed. They even managed to blow up the Gestapo H.Q. in Cologne which led to 13 of them, many teenagers, being publicly hanged. By showing that the Nazi regime could indeed be confronted The Pirates found themselves written out of the post war narrative which emphasised the basic decency of a German people who had fallen under the spell of Adolf Hitler. There was a film made about them maybe 15 years ago.
To return to the OP, most Nazis spent little if any time in prison. They easily converted to Anglo-American imperialism and enriched themselves in the process. As such they were no threat to the military-industrial complex based in the USA, unlike the RAF (often called Baader-Meinhof gang) who identified NATO installations and leading industrialists as their targets. RAF members arrested spent more time in jail than the former Nazis who sentenced them.
HJ’s recommended analysts seem to be unaware of General Zaluzhny’s recent article in The Economist magazine. Since Zaluzhny has been spearheading the Ukrainian military effort he must have some idea of the realities on the ground, even if his Commander-in- Chief remains in denial. There’s a story about a German telephonist in Munich, April 1945, who thought the allied soldiers invading her exchange were part of a student prank: she had no idea that Nazi Germany was losing the war. It seems the messages were not getting through to her.
sammer
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Topic Originator: answer
Date: Sun 19 Nov 19:32
Sorry to go back a couple of days but what’s the deal with these sentences in the Czech Republic? Can anyone share a link?
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Topic Originator: hurricane_jimmy
Date: Mon 20 Nov 07:35
Answer - I`m still waiting for a link to said source regarding Czechia as well.
Sammer - We all know what the solution to end the War in Ukraine is and that is for Russia to withdraw its forces. We both know that Putin will never do this because it will be the end of his rule and he`ll end up dead or in jail. Why don`t you advocate this?
You keep talking about Russia offering peace, but Zelensky offered peace to Russia quite quickly after the attack by telling them to retreat to the pre-invasion lines and this was refused. It seems though that you either don`t know this fact or are keen to ignore it - which is it?
The simple fact of the matter is that the Ukrainians are now "over the hump" in terms of their training on Western Equipment and they have people who can operate Western MBTs and now F16s. Training on the F16 in comparison to the Sukhois basically requires a pilot to read the instruments in a completely different way as everything is inverted and then there is being able to speak English well enough to use the manuals which was a big issue. The Ukrainians now have their own people who are able to train others on this equipment, which speed up training quite substantially.
What is Putin going to do now? Ask the Chinese for Chengdus? These aint a match for NATO electronic warfare as the targeting systems are basically inferior versions created from reverse engineering the old Sukhoi systems, so they basically know these things inside out. Somehow, I think Xi has too much in the way of worries regarding the current power struggle atop the CCP and Chinas economic slowdown to inflict the ire of the US and EU.
I too actually read the comments by Zaluzhny in the Economist, who stated that the offensive would not be a mobile conflict for the next phase. For the war being in a "static phase" as he called it, they are still inflicting pretty huge casualties on the Russians in Avdiivka, among others. Or is this fake news in your world? It would seem that Russia has very few professional soldiers left. And Ukraine hasn`t even really started conscription!
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Topic Originator: OzPar
Date: Mon 20 Nov 10:21
I don`t know where you are receiving your info, HJ, but everything I see suggests that Ukraine is knacked. The war could be over very soon, and Russia will be victorious. Ukraine`s allies have run out of steam, and their support is diminishing. Much as it pains me, Zelensky looks a goner. That old clown in the White House has done a runner...
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Topic Originator: hurricane_jimmy
Date: Mon 20 Nov 13:26
Oz - Genuine Question: Have you been watching Sky News Australia by chance? Seen a good few of their reports and they seem to love Trump and utterly despise Biden for no apparent real reason other than that he`s not the orange man. They`ve said pretty much word for word what you have just said, which is in quite a stark contrast to Sky News UK.
I`m reading reports from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) and the likes of Reuters, DW, France 24 etc as well as several anti-Putin Russian bloggers. The first Ukrainian piloted F-16 sortie took place last week over Romania and it is thought that the first Ukrainian F16 squadron will be ready to go operational by the end of the year. The Russians are taking huge casualties (about 7000 over the last month) in an "offensive" in Avdiivka where they`ve only advanced 1-2km.
Funnily enough, at the time of writing, this popped up in my recommendeds on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cz6zU5Kh4L8
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Topic Originator: sammer
Date: Mon 20 Nov 17:23
The notion that Russia withdrawing all of its troops from what used to be called Ukraine would lead to peace is delusional. The areas would be flooded with what remains of the Ukrainian military, presumably joined by all the fascist sweepings of Europe, and a real bloodbath aimed at ethnically cleansing Ukraine could begin. Kicking the Russians out of Crimea, an area where they constitute a significant majority, is one of Zelensky’s stated aims. He must be casting his eye over Gaza today in awe and wonder at Israeli actions, for which he has voiced support. Fortunately Vladimir Putin is no Gorbachev which is why the majority in eastern Ukraine voted to become absorbed into the Russian Federation last year. They were threatened with death by democratic Ukraine if they voted, but vote they did.
Zelensky was a goner from the 22nd February 2022; it was only ever a question of when, and whether he might escape with his life. He had no political background and if HJ’s claims are true, has not even grasped the difference between a peace deal and an ultimatum. Zelensky’s best opportunity was the Istanbul deal back in March 2022 which would have granted him territory he no longer controls, and many Ukrainian lives which have since been lost. He has now almost lost the ability to speak in the present tense.
The promises of game changing magic weapons has been a constant in NATO propaganda. These have all come to the Steppes and proved far from indestructible. Zeluzhny, in his Economist article, even mused about weapons which have not yet been invented. That kind of Dan Dare talk strikes me as rather desperate.
sammer
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Topic Originator: The One Who Knocks
Date: Mon 20 Nov 18:55
Ahh yes those freely held referendums where a whopping 98% of those who voted (with turnout in the high 90s) all voted in line with what Russia wanted. With those numbers they didn`t even bother to pretend it wasn`t fixed.
Of course there could been higher numbers wanting to remain Ukrainian but many thousands of them had been forced to flee as the Russian troops swarmed over the border.
Post Edited (Mon 20 Nov 18:58)
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Topic Originator: sammer
Date: Mon 20 Nov 19:56
Well you don`t call a referendum unless you are certain of winning it, unless your name is David Cameron.
Those who voted in favour would have endured 8 years of the Azov Legion swarming into their streets so the result was no surprise.
Regarding the questions about criminalising opposition to Israel within the Czech Republic, I can understand why western media is reluctant to highlight the issue but a few enquiries on a search engine will come up with a few hits. The Czech Republic, Slovakia and Latvia have all used existing laws to criminalise opposing the NATO narrative on Ukraine since March 2022, so this is merely an extension of that policy to the situation in Gaza. I picked up the story on RT but two Turkish newspapers- the Daily Sabah and Anadolu Ajansi- have covered it, as has Expats.cz.
Much of Igor Striz, the Czech interior minister`s pitch, is along the Suella Braverman line of threatening to use existing powers or adding amendments to these. The Czech regime recently threatened to leave the UN since it was so ‘anti-Israeli.’
sammer
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Topic Originator: hurricane_jimmy
Date: Wed 22 Nov 19:27
Oh dear, once again it`s the "Fascists Everywhere" narrative.
Again, it was the pro-Russian Party of Regions who introduced language policy in Ukraine which had never existed before as both Russian and Ukrainian were used interchangeably. Funnily enough, they didn`t favour the same rights for Hungarians in the West that they wanted for the Russians in the East. Again, ethnic Russians were only 17% of the Ukrainian pre-war population. Somehow, I think the Fascism in the region started with the Brezhnev doctrines where the Russians started forcing Russian language on people who were not Russian.
The comment regarding Zelensky "being in awe of Israel" is as hilarious as it is distasteful. Absolutely desperate attempt to peddle the "de-Nazification" narrative which, other than gullible auld Russians and Sammer, nobody believes.
RT and Turkish Newspapers as sources for the claim about Czechia...aye because Erdogan is known for being a lover of the free press!
Hilarious too that Sammer seems to think Russian elections and referenda are free and fair. I`m guessing that Kara-Murza, Navalny et al shall be released so that they can fully participate in a UN-observed free and fair election? There is no doubt that he has genuine support among the nostalgic oldies but the level of support he has across the country is questionable.
As for the battlefield, the crossing of the Dnieper by the Ukrainians should not be underestimated and crossing that is a huge logistical undertaking and quite an achievement. They`re in a phase of positional warfare now and the Russians are continuing to suffer heavy casualties while the professional part of their army has been largely destroyed. By all accounts the Russians fighting without even having thermal scopes!
As I said, the Ukrainians now have their own people that are trained on HIMARS, Leopard IIs and F16s (among others) which are far more technical than anything in the Russians have - the only area where they have some technology on the Western level is with missiles - and this is the Ukrainians over the main hump in terms of Conversion. The US just announced another $100Mn of military aid and its quite likely that Biden will pile more in before the election in the US.
I see Putin has been on TV in the last day or two bleating about "the tragedy of war" and saying "Russia is not refusing peace". Very strange if Russia is, as Sammer claims, winning the war. Putin doesn`t need to win, he simply needs not to lose.
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Topic Originator: sammer
Date: Thu 23 Nov 02:01
The only bleating is coming from Zelensky. Once the cash from his US backers dries up he will be on the Kerensky plane, or worse. He has decimated a generation of Ukrainian men. What a patriot. His missus is well served by his largesse so need to cry for his family. He`s milked the system par excellence.
The so called Ukrainian mobilisation is is nothing less than a slaughter of the innocents. If the average age of a Ukrainian front line soldier is 43 then apply that to DAFC or any football club and consider the reality. Recruiting teenagers and women (even Hitler in his bunker shied away from the latter) is the end of times.
If HJ applied his holier than thou morality to the present situation in Gaza then that thread would be much longer. But like many, his outrage is somewhat stilled in that regard. Mealy mouthed platitudes become the order of the day. He`s a NATO man so war is good: unless it confronts NATO.
My position is: NATO in the west OK. NATO in the East: F.O.
sammer
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Topic Originator: OzPar
Date: Thu 23 Nov 02:42
We have heard next to nothing from Ukraine for six weeks because things are not going well. The sad truth is that the Ukraine advance has ground to a halt, yet the number of deaths continues to pile up on both sides.
No matter what you hear in your media, peace negotiations have been going on behind the scenes, and an announcement of a settlement will not be too far away. Biden and NATO leaders have told Zelensky the game is up. There will be no more money for weapons.
Russia will walk away with 20% of Ukraine and keep an eye out for changes in the narrative of the mainstream media in the next few days to paint this as a desirable outcome.
Don`t believe me? Just remember where you heard it first. And it was undoubtedly not on Sky News!
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Topic Originator: hurricane_jimmy
Date: Thu 23 Nov 12:40
Oh dear Sammer...so anyone who can actually take you to task on the facts regarding Russia is sporting a "holier than thou" attitude? Ego is hurting a wee bit methinks
You repeatedly ignore inconvenient truths that don`t support your "Ukrainian fascism" narrative and claim to be opposed to Fascism but ignore it when its happening on the part of your beloved Russia.
You`ve been caught out as simply lacking in knowledge (or being willfully ignorant) of historical and contemporary facts more times than I care to county, yet you continue your grandstanding.
When you call Ukrainian mobilisation "a slaughter of the innocents", why do you have a double standard and not say the same about the (substantially larger) Russian mobilisation?
As for the Israel-Palestine thread...I`ve made my feelings on the situation quite clear, as well as to religion and religious nationalism/theocracy abundantly clear over the year. All three of the Abrahamic religions are poison and the theocratic sects are a threat to democracy. Hamas are a terrorist organisation who exist because of the genocidal actions of the Zionist Likud party. I view Palestine as a state. When have I ever said the conflict in Palestine is "good"? Spouting utter nonsense once again!
As the Soviets did though, if you can`t beat them, try to denounce them.
Oz - the reason we haven`t heard anything from Ukraine in the last 6 weeks is two fold: the Hamas attack and Israeli response and the fact that its the rainy season in Ukraine.
Very curious as to where you`ve been hearing that negotiations are ongoing and that money and weapons will be stopping, particularly when Cameron has just been to Ukraine and Lloyd Austin just announced another $100Mn. Germany recently announced a new package as well. It certainly wouldn`t surprise me to see the US pushing more money into Ukraine in the run up to the election next November.
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Topic Originator: sammer
Date: Thu 23 Nov 20:09
I notice Greenwald in the link above name checked David Patraeus, disgraced former CIA chief. Patraeus is on the board of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), an organisation whose analysis on Ukraine was recommended to us a few posts ago. The neutral sounding name belies it true nature for this is a group funded principally by arms manufacturers like Raytheon in order to make the case for US military intervention anywhere in the world. The Kagan millionaire family, who run ISW, are unashamed arch Zionists and warmongers and their best placed person through marriage is Victoria Nuland. She who megaphoned the Maidan revolution and was overheard saying, ‘F**k the EU’ as she set about picking the next Ukrainian government.
The ISW is messianic regarding US imperialism and when every war it supports ends up in failure (and there is no US war it has ever failed to support) it claims the operation was a success: it’s just that the patient died. So in their incestuous world of arms manufacturers and politicians, the campaigns in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria have all been great achievements. Inevitably Ukraine - bankrupt, depopulated and partitioned- will be added to that roll of honour.
I don’t share Ozpar’s optimism about a peace deal. Zelensky can hardly put his signature to something worse than he was offered back in March 2022. The ultra nationalists would be looking for a lamp post to hang him from, if the families whose husbands and sons died needlessly didn’t get him first. And Putin, aware of what happened with the Minsk agreements, will assume he needs more than a piece of paper to neutralise the threat to Russia.
sammer
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Topic Originator: OzPar
Date: Thu 23 Nov 20:51
Zelensky and Netanyahu will likely be found safe and secure homes in Palm Beach, Florida before the baying crowds get to them. Putin? There`s probably an open window at the Kremlin with his name on it.
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Topic Originator: hurricane_jimmy
Date: Fri 24 Nov 15:30
Sammer - Do you genuinely not realise how unhinged these desperate attempts to discredit well-respected organisations actually sound?
So: ISW, Oryx, Reuters and various others who have well-established verification standards are all lying and Xinhua and RT are the only ones telling the truth? C`mon eh?
Yet again, you ignore the historical facts that undermine your own narrative but, then again, projection is a common tactic employed by pro-Putin and pro-CCP authoritarian shills like yourself.
Why not actually address the points put to you instead of reverting to the usual Poor Man`s Galloway-esqe slavering that has become your signature?
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Topic Originator: sammer
Date: Fri 24 Nov 16:37
Claiming that outlets like ISW or Oryx are ‘well respected’ depends on where your sympathies lie. I notice Oryx was praised by David Patraeus for its accuracy, and also by Forbes magazine so for anyone supportive of US imperialism I can see it will be well respected. For anyone who objects to US imperialism then ISW, Oryx (and its associate Bellingcat) will be viewed as little more than well funded echo chambers for warmongers.
RT is a state broadcaster same as the BBC so its news content has to be read in that context. Craig Murray’s blog today was critical of BBC coverage of Gaza and many BTL contributors share my view that Al Jazeera is carrying out the role that a respected news agency should be providing. Although Al Jazeera itself is a state broadcaster of course, albeit Qatar is committed to ending the conflict in Gaza whereas other countries have been reluctant to even call for so much as a ceasefire.
Now Ukraine’s offensive is recognised as having failed, as many commentators forecast it would. It seems the laying of minefields by Russia, a tactic first used in the 19th century, took the West’s favoured Ukrainian general, Zaluzhny, by surprise. No matter, ISW and its cheerleaders for the Military-Industrial Complex can move on to the next victory in Taiwan.
sammer
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Topic Originator: hurricane_jimmy
Date: Sat 25 Nov 00:59
Sammer - It`s actually nothing to do with "where one`s sympathys lie". The reason these organisations are well-respected is because of their verification methods such as geolocation, digital fingerprinting and so on. From your posts, as with a number of things, it seems that you are simply quite lacking in knowledge about how these techniques work. Honestly, I think you have to wake up and realise you`re living in a different era.
Are we really gonna compare the accuracy of the likes of DW, France24, Reuters, etc to the likes of RT and Xinhua? Really...
Also very telling that you seem to oppose what you call "Western warmongering", yet support the CCP and Putin in their own warmongering and fascism. As I said in another post, I`m seconded to Hong Kong at the moment and the level of Propaganda surrounding the upcoming local "election" and the attempts to delete the Cantonese/Guangdong language in Beijing Putonghua. Sounds very similar to what the Soviets did under Brezhnev, no? Or is that too uncomfortable a point for you to actually address?
Having sat in briefings regarding the defence of Taiwan and having visited a number of the few viable landing sites that the CCP would use, all I can say is that regardless of success or failure that an amphibious landing would result in massive casualties for an invading force. Joining Taiwan to Mainaland China is most definitely not favoured by the Taiwanese population. Do you support it by force or otherwise?
As for the Ukrainians, well, I certainly wouldn`t count them out of the fight yet. One of the big issues is that the use of drones makes it difficult to amass large numbers of troops and the Ukrainians have been particularly effective in using drones to destroy Russian equipment, hence the thousands of vehicles lost and higher casualty rate. The Russians appear to be resorting to packing their own vehicles with explosives and then putting them across their own minefields in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. They`ve also now lost 10,000 in Avdiivka and gained very little and the Ukrainians will simply sit there and pick them off. Putin certainly wouldn`t be talking about peace if he is so confident of victory - its probably more that he knows he can`t cover up the casualty rate and his disregard for human life much more. As Oz said, I think the man has a window waiting for him very soon!
So, we have the fact that you support a Russian Ultra-nationalist/fascist regime in the Kremlin and the genocidal CCP regime in Beijing. What`s next, you saying "Kim Jong Un" is just misunderstood?
Post Edited (Sat 25 Nov 01:08)
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Topic Originator: sammer
Date: Sat 25 Nov 15:19
If geolocation or digital fingerprinting was much use, it might have been able to identify the problem of minefields laid down by Russian troops. Sniffer dogs could have managed that.
I’ve previously stated my main sources regarding the battlefield and they have proved reliable so far. Brian Berletic identified the problem of weapon shortages well over a year ago, something now acknowledged by NATO which has vowed to increase its arms production. Douglas MacGregor pointed out some time ago that Ukraine had lost too many of its best troops and would soon have to resort to calling up teenagers, women and OAPs. The proposed next (and presumably last) conscription drive allows for men as old as 70 to take up arms so he called that one right. He puts the Ukraine-Russian casualty rate at around 5:1, caused largely by Zelensky following NATO advice to advance when he has neither the manpower nor machinery to do so.
I thought Taiwan was part of China so I’m not sure how China can invade itself.
HJ’s inability to comprehend the meaning of the word ‘fascism’ has been long standing but if he is being seconded to military briefings at the behest of western powers then a quick glance around the room should put that right.
Any peace deal will be on terms less advantageous to Ukraine than the one offered back in April 2022. And it will certainly not allow for NATO forces to be on West Ukrainian soil.
sammer
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Topic Originator: hurricane_jimmy
Date: Sun 26 Nov 03:03
Sammer - Oh dear, more dodging as we always see!
Geolocation and digital fingerprinting would inform the Ukrainians about minefields? eh? Quite obviously you don`t understand how these techniques work. As far as I`m aware, the Ukrainians were quite aware of the minefields which is why they did a series of probing attacks.
Yes, we know that your military sources tend to be convicted paedophiles and those who have been dishonourably discharged and now make their living being paid quite substantial sums by the Kremlin and the CCP. If the ratio was 5:1 in favour of Russia, that would mean 1.5Mn Ukrainian casualties...somehow I don`t think so!
Taiwan was part of China prior to the Chinese Civil War. The CCP Government has never controlled Taiwan and the Taiwanese people do not want to be part of CCP China. Simple.
I can assure you that I understand the word Fascism very well. Unlike yourself, I prefer not to turn a blind eye to it in China and Russia.
As far as I`m aware NATO members have already approved Ukrainian membership in principle, so Putin will have to get used to that fact.
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