Would you like to take a guess at how many NATO countries will be making retribution payments? I’m going to guess that the number is going to be between 0 and 1.
Ukraine / Russia - Actions and Reactions
- Thread starter GURPS
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War Update: No Ukrainian Girlfriend for You
I have to agree with her. We call it an “information war,” but there’s very little the West is doing right now that amounts to much more than literal censorship. Even the disinformation at this point seems to serve no other purpose than to keep western audiences suitably brainwashed. I think that also explains this continuing obsession with the Moskva and I think I finally have an answer for why that particular incident is so important to our regimes.
The West needs a distraction, literally any distraction, against the real story of Mariupol, and the impending battle with what’s left of the Ukrainian army. A big Russian ship sinking serves that purpose nicely.
There’s also the much bigger problem that the window for NATO direct confrontation with Russia has already closed. It’s not clear that this window even existed at all. If it did, the Biden regime needed to escalate within the first week, when American interest in the war was the highest.
Okay now I will explain my clickbait headline, and how it applies to politics. Take a look at some graphs from Google Trends for American users, and how they correlate to recent events. Guess when the spike happened.
It’s interesting of course how we speak this dogma that Ukraine and Russia are completely separate, antagonistic groups, but really, in our minds, they’re the same. Natasha could be Ukrainian, or she could be Russian, but who actually cares? The “Russian mail order bride” is a tired trope from the 90s and is a brand at this point. Who’s to say if Natasha is really Russian? She could be from Estonia, Moldova, or Ukraine. So here we are. It is too early to say yet, but based on this initial data, but I do think, all propaganda aside, Ukrainians have appropriated the mail order bride stereotype from the Russians. This is likely a permanent change.
European ban on Russian energy may do more harm than good
During a Thursday press conference, Yellen said it was essential for the European Union to end its dependence on Russian oil, natural gas and coal imports — a critical energy supply for Europe and a steady stream of foreign revenue for Moscow. But Yellen said a total embargo on Russian energy imports may do little to hinder Russia’s economy while crippling Europe with staggering price increases.
“Europe clearly needs to reduce its dependence on Russia with respect to energy, but we need to be careful when we think about a complete European ban on, say, oil imports,” Yellen said.
Russia provides roughly 27 percent of crude oil, 47 percent of coal and 41 percent of natural gas imported by the E.U. in 2019, according to the European Commission.
Pandora Papers Reveal Offshore Holdings of Ukrainian President and his Inner Circle
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rode to power on pledges to clean up the Eastern European country, but the Pandora Papers reveal he and his close circle were the beneficiaries of a network of offshore companies, including some that owned expensive London property.
Key Findings
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his partners in comedy production owned a network of offshore companies related to their business based in the British Virgin Islands, Cyprus, and Belize.
- Zelensky’s current chief aide, Serhiy Shefir, as well as the head of the country’s Security Service, were part of the offshore network.
- Offshore companies were used by Shefir and another business partner to buy pricey London real estate.
- Around the time of his 2019 election, Zelensky handed his shares in a key offshore company over to Shefir, but the two appear to have made an arrangement for Zelensky’s family to continue receiving money from the offshore.
US weapon stockpiles worry some lawmakers as Ukraine war rages on
Shipments to Ukraine of weapons such as Javelin anti-tank missiles and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles have cut into the Pentagon’s inventory by about one-third, according to estimates by some lawmakers and experts during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.
Restocking them will likely take several years, they said.
“I think we have lost the luxury of time here, the closet is bare,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. “The decisions we make now will determine the outcome [of the war] because these weapons will not magically appear for us or our allies or Ukraine.”
Blumenthal has been a vocal supporter of invoking the Defense Production Act to fund and sustain a higher rate of munition production. He noted it would take a year to boost production of Javelins and 32 months to restock them unless President Joe Biden invokes the act. The weapon has proved crucial for the Ukrainians in repelling Russian forces.
Congress Should Reject Biden's $33 Billion for Ukraine
Joe Biden wants to give $33 billion we don’t have to Ukraine to prolong the war with Russia. To put that in perspective, for that amount we could buy three new aircraft carriers and put them in the Western Pacific to deter war with China. Better yet, we could buy ten new Virginia-class attack submarines or 300 F-35 stealth jets.
China’s navy now has more ships than the U.S. Navy and a lot less geography about which to concern itself. While we have spent the last two decades developing an ineffective counterinsurgency capacity fighting in Mideast backwaters and underwriting security for wealthy Europeans who can afford to defend themselves, Beijing has fielded a military that could threaten us directly.
Europe won’t help us deter war with China or fight one if the worst happens. We badly need a larger Navy and Air Force. We should reposition the entire Marine Corps to the Pacific as we did in World War II, cut the Army to a base force, and develop and test a new generation of nuclear weapons along with the stealthy, maneuverable, and hypersonic vehicles to deliver them. We also need to win the new space race, which is with China, not Russia.
Someone should tell Biden its not our war. Then tell him how many bridges & roads that money would repair.
LightRoasted
If I may ...
If I may ...
Not from the official newly created Ministry of Truth.
Not from the official newly created Ministry of Truth.
You Guys Do Know That Ukraine Is Massively Corrupt, Right?
Some Arabs tried to bribe me when I was a contracting officer in Saudi Arabia, but if you want the big leagues of corruption you should head to Ukraine. It was mind-boggling – like suitcases of cash mind-boggling.
Now, I support the people of Ukraine. I trained their troops and deployed with them too. I know Russia and Ukraine have ancient beefs that you and I can’t comprehend and I’m not here to sort them out. What I can say is that there’s nothing at issue here justifying Russia sending in 200K mechanized troops. I want Ukraine to push them out.
But I am not going to pretend the Ukrainians are angels. Their propaganda was laid on pretty thick early on, and none of the saps who bought the manifestly silly Ghost of Kyiv thing have come out and fess’d up. Notable among them is Adam Kinzinger, the soon to be jobless Liz Cheney rump-sniff who went all in on the story – but then, he’s so dumb he trusted the Dems and they promptly redistricted him into unemployment.
Nor do I have any doubt there have been Ukrainian war crimes, not because the Ukrainians are exceptionally wicked but because there are always war crimes, particularly when lots of lightly trained armed men defending their homes are involved.
Some Arabs tried to bribe me when I was a contracting officer in Saudi Arabia, but if you want the big leagues of corruption you should head to Ukraine. It was mind-boggling – like suitcases of cash mind-boggling.
Now, I support the people of Ukraine. I trained their troops and deployed with them too. I know Russia and Ukraine have ancient beefs that you and I can’t comprehend and I’m not here to sort them out. What I can say is that there’s nothing at issue here justifying Russia sending in 200K mechanized troops. I want Ukraine to push them out.
But I am not going to pretend the Ukrainians are angels. Their propaganda was laid on pretty thick early on, and none of the saps who bought the manifestly silly Ghost of Kyiv thing have come out and fess’d up. Notable among them is Adam Kinzinger, the soon to be jobless Liz Cheney rump-sniff who went all in on the story – but then, he’s so dumb he trusted the Dems and they promptly redistricted him into unemployment.
Nor do I have any doubt there have been Ukrainian war crimes, not because the Ukrainians are exceptionally wicked but because there are always war crimes, particularly when lots of lightly trained armed men defending their homes are involved.
Zelensky & World War III
Our computer warned back in 2013 that Ukraine would be the place where World War III would begin. I warned that the ONLY way to prevent that was to split Ukraine based on the language. While the propaganda is that Kyiv is fighting for freedom and democracy, they have refused to allow Donbas to vote and recognize their independence. The hatred in the West of the Russian-speaking East is well documented. It stems from the period of Stalin’ starving of 7 million Ukrainians to pretend that Communism was working. The fact that Stalin was not Russian but a Georgian has been lost in the pages of history.
The Dnipro River was the border between the old Russian Empire and Ukraine. The East of that river was NEVER Ukrainian territory. It was assigned to Kyiv under the USSR for administrative purposes. Crimea was always Russian and was merely assigned to Kyiv in 1954 under the USSR. Nevertheless, we are to throw the entire world into war over this nonsense only because it serves the objectives of the Neocons and the World Economic Forum which cannot pull off this Great Reset without also overthrowing both the governments of Russia and China. Sorry to inform them that our computer has NEVER been wrong on geopolitical forecasts and it is written in stone, in the end, the West will lose to China, which has already stated that it is in a strategic partnership with Russia. SO while people die to fill Zelensky’s offshore accounts and I warned from the outset that he was the agent who would create World War III, he has been preaching this is World War III to engulf the entire world for this territorial grab that is historically unjustified.
The Nazi Ukrainian troops are clinging to control of the steel plant in Mariupol. Our sources say that the Russian troops have breached their defenses and hand-to-hand combat is even taking place inside. They have asked for support from Kyiv, but so far that is not coming. This is the final stronghold and this fierce attack is to deliver the Kremlin a victory against the Nazis days ahead of a major Russian military holiday on Monday.
https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Mariupol_Maps-Ukraine.png
Zelensky & World War III | Armstrong Economics
Our computer warned back in 2013 that Ukraine would be the place where World War III would begin. I warned that the ONLY way to prevent that was to split
www.armstrongeconomics.com
Where is the $56 billion 'to Ukraine' actually going?
Wherever your opinion resides on this proxy war/inter-slavic spat 5,000 miles away on the Russia-Ukraine border region, reality cannot be denied.
The $56 billion and counting in “aid for Ukraine” that’s passing through the American legislature primarily serves the purpose of greasing the skids of the D.C. Beltway ruling class. And you’re paying for it.
If you think the people of Ukraine are going to see one dime of this money, think again. Not even the “humanitarian aid” portions of the assistance will reach the Ukrainian people, as it will be absorbed by a variety of DC lawyers, lobbyists, NGOs, and other well connected middle men. See: Afghanistan.
If they gave the bill a more accurate title, it would be called the “Money For Raytheon And Friends” bill, as the majority of the funds from the latest $40 billion behemoth will be used to supply weapons purchase orders, and resupply weapons that were already sent to Ukraine, which arrived with a seeming back room deal to add to the deep pockets of the weapons manufacturers back home.
Sorry, I gotta agree with Rand on this. Especially with the pallets of cash debacle in Iraq/Afganistan. There needs to be somone who's only job is to see where the money is going and how's it's spent.
Agreed. Some of it should be spent to help out US businesses still struggling to recover from the COVID shutown. Small companies in particular...especially small companies working out of an office building located on a remote island.
LightRoasted
If I may ...
If I may ...
I dunna see the problem here. It's only $40 billion. That's only half of the $80 billion in equipment we left in Afghanistan, just like, last year. I wonder if someone could open some back channels to Afghanistan to inquire if they could spare some munitions and the like, since, it seems, by way of no media news, that they aren't using what we left behind anyway.
I dunna see the problem here. It's only $40 billion. That's only half of the $80 billion in equipment we left in Afghanistan, just like, last year. I wonder if someone could open some back channels to Afghanistan to inquire if they could spare some munitions and the like, since, it seems, by way of no media news, that they aren't using what we left behind anyway.
The Senate majority leader also emphasized to Zelensky during their Saturday visit that he expects to pass a $40 billion package of additional aid to Ukraine.
“What I assured him — as this is an all-Republican delegation — is that support for Ukraine and this war against the Russians is bipartisan,” McConnell said, adding that the support includes “an overwhelming majority of Republicans.”
“There have always been isolationist voices in the Republican Party,” McConnell added. “I think one of the lessons we learned in World War II is not standing up to aggression early is a huge mistake.”
While the majority of Republicans have supported the additional aid for Ukraine, some GOP members have decided not to rush forward with the additional package.
McConnell Calls On Biden To Name Russia A State Sponsor of Terrorism
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) called on President Joe Biden on Sunday to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism. McConnell shared the comments during a press call from Stockholm on Sunday after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday. “I think...
Hijinx
Well-Known Member
One day the war will be over and we will want a peaceful world with Russia in it.
One thing we should be doing is shutting the hell up about what we are doing for Ukraine.
We are throwing it in Russia's face and they have long memories.
Should we help Ukraine. I think so, but we don't have to be so open about it.
One thing we should be doing is shutting the hell up about what we are doing for Ukraine.
We are throwing it in Russia's face and they have long memories.
Should we help Ukraine. I think so, but we don't have to be so open about it.