Generational Dynamics World View News

[DaKardii]

At some point refusing to admit you were wrong is just stubbornness that accomplishes nothing.

Nobody forced Putin to invade Ukraine; he spent millions of $ and months putting troops into place exactly to accomplish what he's doing today.

That's highly debatable. Biden kept saying an invasion was imminent even when both Putin AND Zelensky were telling him otherwise, and Biden was taking actions to reflect this "belief." This likely gave Putin the impression that Biden could not be appeased, and he took action accordingly by turning what was originally a military exercise into actual preparations for an invasion. In other words Biden proclaimed a self-fulfilling prophecy, which ultimately came true.

But according to Putin himself even that wasn't enough to prompt him to invade; he was only merely preparing for the worst at that point. The final straw came when Zelensky responded to Russia's recognition of Donetsk and Luhansk by weighing the possibility of Ukraine obtaining nuclear weapons. While such a response is understandable at face value, one has to consider the fact that Ukraine has had a serious neo-Nazi problem in its military for years.

NOTE: I am NOT endorsing the idea that the Ukrainian government itself is neo-Nazi, which is a narrative often promoted by actual Russian trolls. Rather, I'm pointing out the fact that the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion has made up an entire Ukrainian National Guard division for the past seven years, and it's likely that the Azov Battalion is trying to radicalize other portions of the Ukrainian military.

Thus, if Ukraine's current government were to obtain nuclear weapons, then Ukraine would become just like Pakistan, where there is constant risk of rogue elements of the military using nuclear weapons without the permission of the central government. The only difference this time is that the rogue elements would be neo-Nazis instead of Salafi/Wahhabi Islamists.

Now that I think about it, we should be paying closer attention to the India-Pakistan conflict going forward, because Russia just set a precedent for India to take action against Pakistan on similar grounds. It's also possible that Israel may use this precedent against Iran in the future.

[DaKardii]

No, it isn't responding. There were no threats or provocations from NATO against Russia. The only thing that NATO has done is some mild pushing back against Russian aggression. Your argument is the same as blaming the British for the Germans invading Czechoslovakia.

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There's a reason I said "responding" and not "defending itself." I've never bought the idea that Russia was entirely innocent in this conflict, and it's easy to argue that Russia acted inappropriately by invading upon the mere threat of Ukraine obtaining nuclear weapons, instead of waiting until Ukraine actually acted upon that threat.

Surprisingly, there was actually been popular support in China for Ukraine while the Chinese government has mostly been silent on the issue. It notably has not supported Russia.

I knew China's government was laying low, but I wasn't aware of the popular support for Ukraine. That's... interesting.

Turkey doesn't hate the US but it does hate Russia. And Turkey knows that it fought Russia for a long time and lost the majority of those wars. Few of Turkey's neighbors are anti-US and fewer are pro-Russia. Mostly there is ambivalence and a desire to stay out of the way. Greece, Bulgaria and Romania are NOT pro-Russia. They may be somewhat less anti-Russia than others, but they do not support Putin. The latter two in particular remember what it was like to be under the Russian boot and have no desire to return. Turkey is not going to side with Russia.

I don't know where you keep getting this stuff. It's not just wrong, it doesn't make sense.

Anti-Americanism in Turkey has surged in the post-9/11 era in general and over the past 5 years in particular. Many recent polls show that the US is even more unpopular among the Turkish people than Russia is. Erdogan has also brought his country closer to both Russia and Iran over the past several years due to growing tensions with the US over the Syrian conflict as well as the proxy conflict between Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

[DaKardii]

I swear, you get dumber by the post. Putin has used force in Chechnya, Georgia, the streets of London (to poison his enemies), and Ukraine.

You will make great cannon fodder. For the Russians.

I never said Putin hasn't resorted to using force. I only said he hasn't used force as the only option. He's also attempted to expand Russia's influence through soft power. Hitler did no such thing.

[new guy]

I swear, you get dumber by the post. Putin has used force in Chechnya, Georgia, the streets of London (to poison his enemies), and Ukraine.

You will make great cannon fodder. For the Russians.

I never said Putin hasn't resorted to using force. I only said he hasn't used force as the only option. He's also attempted to expand Russia's influence through soft power. Hitler did no such thing.

The madness continues, I see...

Is cutting back oil production or cutting off oil in the middle of the winter considered soft power in Russia?

[new guy]

The best, most accurate, and to the point analysis of the issue in Ukraine. Most of you won't watch, and some of you will watch and deny the overall premise.

https://www.bitchute.com/video/U7wAdvOUtH0f/

https://www.unz.com/mwhitney/the-crisis ... t-germany/

tglee knows his stuff, he sees truth where he can find it, and shares it

Cool Breeze, thomasglee, and dakardii are always impartial between the firefighters and the fire.

[Navigator]

This link is a good way to see the latest videos from the near battlefield. It shows a map of Ukraine with pins for locations of military operations.

From their you get links to videos showing the actual operations.

https://maphub.net/Cen4infoRes/russian-ukraine-monitor

[DT Subscriber]

France says Putin needs to understand Nato has nuclear weapons

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has said that Russian President Vladimir Putin, when making threats about using nuclear weapons, needs to understand that Nato, too, is a nuclear alliance.

Asked whether Putin's threat of "such consequences that you have never encountered in your history" was tantamount to threatening to use nuclear weapons in the Ukraine conflict, Le Drian said it was understood as such.

"Yes, I think that Vladimir Putin must also understand that the Atlantic alliance is a nuclear alliance. That is all I will say about this," Le Drian said on French television TF1.

Taken from a live feed from the Daily Telegraph in London.

[DT Subscriber]

This link is a good way to see the latest videos from the near battlefield. It shows a map of Ukraine with pins for locations of military operations.

From their you get links to videos showing the actual operations.

https://maphub.net/Cen4infoRes/russian-ukraine-monitor

Key airfield recaptured by Ukrainian forces

Ukrainian forces have recaptured an airfield in north-west suburbs of Kyiv, a presidential adviser has told Reuters.

Control of Hostomel Airfield is thought to be key for Russia's ability to assault Kyiv.

Smoke rising near the town of Hostomel and the Antonov Airport
Smoke rising near the town of Hostomel and the Antonov Airport CREDIT: DANIEL LEAL/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
Tom Tugenhadt, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee has reacted to the news by tweeting: "This is extraordinary courage. I can only imagine how exhausted those Ukrainian soldiers are. They’re fighting for their freedom."

[DT Subscriber]

Liz Truss to travel to US and Europe

The Foreign Secretary will visit the US and Europe "in the coming days" to "galvanise the international response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine."

Earlier today she summoned Russia's ambassador to the UK but dismissed him within ten minutes after a dressing down.

A source told Sky's Beth Rigby: “It was a heated meeting. Liz Truss kicked him out early. Said he should be ashamed of himself, that Russia has lied repeatedly and lost its last shred of credibility with the international community”

[DaKardii]

The madness continues, I see...

Is cutting back oil production or cutting off oil in the middle of the winter considered soft power in Russia?

Actually, no. It is hard power.

The very concept of soft power is that it is used to persuade rather than coerce. Putin has been using both persuasion and coercion in his wielding of power, while Hitler only used coercion. An example of Putin using soft power is setting up Russo-centric free trade agreements such as the Eurasian Economic Union.