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June 3, 2022
How Russia, And Putin, Are Weaponizing, Losing And Running Out Of … Everything

Moon of Alabama earlier explored how Russia was weaponizing everything. This after Donald Trump had done so many good things for Russia. Then Putin lost everything he ever might have had.

It has been getting worse since.

Now Russia, and Putin himself, are 'running out' of whatever may have been left.

Posted by b on June 3, 2022 at 07:46 UTC | Permalink
Comments

@ Debsisdead | Jun 3 2022 14:36 utc | 89 with the concern
”
The other vulnerable point for Russia is the gazprom bank payment in roubles scheme.
”
How the system of finance is going to operate globally in the future is a key component of the civilization war we are in. The Russian position is only vulnerable if the God of Mammon private banking cult stays in unipolar power which I think is highly unlikely…we are too far down that road for China to become part of the cult.
I agree with your concern that China will be part of the schism in global finance. I welcome their involvement and am waiting patiently for more details about the alternative system of finance that emerges.
We would not be seeing all this weeping and gnashing of teeth if the God of Mammon folk were not seeing this challenge to their hegemony. And they are going to lose or we are going to go almost extinct as a species for an eon or so.

Posted by: psychohistorian | Jun 3 2022 15:04 utc | 101

“running out of”
anagrams to:
Union of Grunt

Posted by: librul | Jun 3 2022 15:06 utc | 102

I think Peter AU 1 @74 nailed it with Russia has run out of patience.
Cemi- Thanks for the oatmeal cartoon post @ 78
And thank you Stonebird so much for your link @44
i have been looking for footage like that. lift the curtain to show the propaganda manufacturing aspect of this thing. Bizarre to see the production crew-sound, camera on a stabilizer walk into frame in the shot up set.
Gracias thank you obrigadо спасибо

Posted by: lex talionis | Jun 3 2022 15:07 utc | 103

ct | Jun 3 2022 13:51 utc | 73
Apart from Mariupol there has been no cauldron. Look to karlof1’s comments and quotes for the main game. Ukraine is a distraction. But it is also a pivot point. A catalyst for the major changes that are occurring in the world

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jun 3 2022 15:09 utc | 104

yeah lex – russia has run out of patience like peter au says.. that sums it up…

Posted by: james | Jun 3 2022 15:10 utc | 105

I’d be wary of overplaying the myth of sparing civilians. In many ways, Russian artillery is doing the exact same job the US gave to its Air Force.
Posted by: Et Tu | Jun 3 2022 12:34 utc | 48
Hardly anyone with some brains brings up myths. There is a difference when US bombers flatten whole blocks of buildings via the “Effects-Based Bombing” doctrine and modern day warfare with satellite imaging and drones pinpointing targets. It is the latter that makes the artillery strikes far more effective than mass shelling of areas where people and troops are affected. There is every reason to believe that civilians will be killed in house to house fights or shelling of places where troops dug themselves in or positioned themselves in multi-story buildings. Yet, I have not seen or heard any report on the allied forces mass-shelling residental areas and let God select who was of the guilty faction.
As for Stingers and Javelins … I reckon quite a few will work, yet the reports on failed equipment et al are also there.

Posted by: CM of Berlin | Jun 3 2022 15:10 utc | 106

… and now suddenly having to sing their praises in order to justify the slower pace of the war.
And how conveniently some decided to give up altogether on even being part of the conversation for ‘health reasons’ right during the one chance in a lifetime to make good of their life’s work and everything they ever professed to know about… yeah, reality must have affected their health alright… like being smacked in the face.
Posted by: Et Tu | Jun 3 2022 14:36 utc | 8
______________________________________________________________________
Ooh, look at the tuff-guy taking cheap shots! Wow! Quite the man there, Et Tu ! Slap him with your purse, when he’s down!
Oh, and on your “slower pace of war” crap …Do you even have insight as to who dictates and why the pace of war is dictated in this instance?
Or are you simply presuming an artificially-rapid pace as a “strawman” for your arrogant, “knowing” smirky little claim??
Face it, the UK/US/NATO crowd dictated a relatively slow pace with their defensive strategy of WW I trench warfare, combined with their “civilian hostages/human shield” tactics. But they were caught with their pantaloons down by the depth, extent and excellence of the RF battleground EW capabilities, which neutralized their “air superiority” (and thus their “Shock and Awe” strategy) , something the 3rd world armies they previously “defeated” (lots of Pyrrhic victories there) could never accomplish.

Posted by: Garry Owen | Jun 3 2022 15:12 utc | 107

not sure why anyone wastes time with et tu…

Posted by: james | Jun 3 2022 15:18 utc | 108

Posted by: Boomheist | Jun 3 2022 14:55 utc | 96
“All of this to say, in the grand picture, Russia is in maybe the strongest position of any nation or bloc on the earth right now…”
If you are right that we are in a decoupling or ‘bloc’ phase, then indeed Russia is perhaps the most important nation in the world. They don’t have the population to be the new Central Kingdom in Eurasia, but they do have the situation and history to serve as the Eurasian lynch pin, fulcrum point and possibly capital. Ideally Eurasia will include all of Europe, Arabia and India, Africa too perhaps. But the key to my mind is the friendly partnership of Europe with Russia and China with Russia being the natural bridge, both geographically and culturally, between the two. If they get it right, I believe we will have a Golden Age.
Unfortunately there are still many hangovers from the past and dark skeins which are always in human affairs in all systems and eras. The post industrial revolution Money Power which now has the West in its ruthless credit cartel grip seems to be the nexus of evil, as it were, so hopefully that will be broken somehow allowing a better way forward to be found. Improbably but increasingly indubitably Russia now stands as the guardian of traditional European culture given the West has lost its way.
Perhaps that is why so many of us wish Putin and Russia well even without having lived there and without really knowing whether or not we can believe all the high-falutin’ rhetoric. I personally go back and forth all the time between cynicism and hope. But just the fact that their senior officials regularly articulate a vision which is humane, dignified, intelligent and truly civilized is in such contrast to what the West has been producing since…. well all my almost seventy years … is something truly special.
But, yes, Russia’s role is Key. All they need know to seal the deal to my old eyes, is the return of the Tsars or some sort of equivalent to Royalty that can manifest the inherent majesty of their country, people and collective spirit.

Posted by: Scorpion | Jun 3 2022 15:26 utc | 109

The History of Unconditional Surrender in the Cold War.
This ‘Military Operation’ is, as promised the culmination of an examination, by Russia, of the US government’s real strategic objectives.
Russia, very much in accordance with Putin’s persistent and public calls upon Washington and its allies to end the Cold War and to construct, on the basis of multipolarity, a new security architecture discovered in Ukraine that it had reached the end of the line.
It is one thing to lean over the garden fence and ask the neighbour if he can just restrict those wild, noisy parties to the weekends, but when he starts breaking into the basement and his guests are parking their Harleys on the patio, it is time to get serious.
There have been basically two schools of thought in Washington since Truman’s days. One associated with George Kennan argues that Communism (which it is now clear always referred not to marxist socialists but to anyone who got in the Empire’s way) could be ‘contained’. Its growth curtailed, behind a cordon sanitaire, with all relations carefully controlled, it would wither away and, in the end, break up.
It was Kennan’s followers who saw themselves as having accurately predicted the fall of the Soviet Union in 1990.
On the other hand were the followers of Dean Acheson and Truman himself who believed that Communism could not just be ‘contained’ but ‘rolled back.’ These were the people constantly pushing subversive guerrilla wars in Ukraine and elsewhere in the Soviet Union. They were the people sponsoring the Death Squads in Latin America and Asia. Killing a million peasants in Indonesia and calling them Communists to deter anti-landlord politics was part of the ‘rolling back’ policy.
The neocons- aiming to identify, track down and liquidate all dissidents- inherited the roll back mantle, and are behind the current attempts to wipe Russia off the map and to reverse the revolution in China.
These are the people who want to re-run World War II so that , this time , Barbarossa comes off. And this time Japan rules China the way that the British ruled India, only more brutally. And the world is divided between Tokyo and Washington (standing in for Berlin).
All of which is to put this quotation from the State Department’s George Kennan into perspective. ‘Kennan saw the containment doctrine as “primarily a diplomatic and political task, though not wholly without military implications.”
‘Once the Soviets were convinced that more expansionism would not help them “then the moment would have come for serious talks with them about the future of Europe.”
(“Serious talks with them about the future of Europe” Isn’t that what Lavrov and Putin have been calling for?)
‘After Greece and Turkey, the Marshall Plan, the Berlin blockade and other measures, he thought that moment had arrived in 1950.’
‘However “it was one of the great disappointments of my life” wrote Kennan ” to discover that neither our government nor our western European allies had any interest in entering into such discussions at all. What they and the others wanted from Moscow, with respect to the future of Europe, was essentially ‘unconditional surrender.’ They were prepared to wait for it. And this was the beginning of the 40 years of Cold War.”
This is taken from Page 213 of Bruce Cummings’ marvellous essay The Korean War.

Posted by: bevin | Jun 3 2022 15:27 utc | 110

One thing that is a given.
The western media have an inexhaustible stream of BS.
Raw materials and commodities not so much.
Russia must be getting worried.

Posted by: Jpc | Jun 3 2022 15:29 utc | 111

Putin’s days are numbered – just as Assad’s were!
Posted by: Brendan | Jun 3 2022 8:07 utc | 3
The folks that make such declarations.
The same happened with Trump.
Do they even take a look at Joe Biden and wonder what the situation is?
Astonishing silence.

Posted by: Jpc | Jun 3 2022 15:36 utc | 112

I found this text which says that Russian forces fighting in Ukraine are “primitive”.
https://www.discoursemagazine.com/politics/2022/05/31/why-are-the-russian-forces-fighting-in-ukraine-so-primitive/

Posted by: Rodolfo | Jun 3 2022 15:40 utc | 113

On the subject of media/disinfo/propaganda, I was just looking at the Twitter feed for Canada’s Armed Forces. There’s this thread that starts with this:
“We’re working with international partners to detect, correct, and call out the Kremlin’s state-sponsored disinformation about Ukraine.”
https://twitter.com/CanadianForces/status/1532407876651819008
Groan, more BS… except Andrei Martyanov’s disparaging comments recently about RT and the English-speaking experts they feature came to mind…. Do you suppose there might be an actual Kremlin state-sponsored disinformation campaign about Ukraine? Not by Putin, obviously.
While it is painful much of the time, reading Canada’s Five Eyes department on Twitter is another way to source thought-provoking (and repulsing) details on disinformation.
@cse_cst
Agence France-Presse covers The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. La Presse covers AFP’s coverage.
https://www.lapresse.ca/international/europe/2022-06-03/jubile-d-elisabeth-ii/la-famille-royale-au-service-religieux-sans-la-reine.php

Posted by: Bruised Northerner | Jun 3 2022 15:44 utc | 114

@ Bruised Northerner | Jun 3 2022 15:44 utc | 113
the problem with looking at and considering disinformation is it is endless! a good question is how much does canada want to invest in disinformation?? it is kind of like asking how much canada ought to invest in csis and how cosy a relationship would should have wtih 5 eyes? of course 5 eyes will be providing plenty of disinformation and i am sure they will spread this intentionally, or unintentionally with each other too…. the whole zone is an endless empire of castles made of sand… very little of any of it is real… it is a psychological problem of those who either think they are being fucked over, or want to intentionally use to fuck others over.. all in all, not a pretty set up for any sincere and well intention-ed person to want to follow!! of course it is the same with all this propaganda which has increasingly become the main means of the intel agencies to communicate to the populace with…. i basically ignore most all of it… but being a canuck, i do still look at cbc, mostly to see how far off course the country has gotten… i will know when we are back on track when all this shit dies down..

Posted by: james | Jun 3 2022 15:51 utc | 115

I am sure B had fun writing this story! It reminds me of the yearly “China Crash” books for the past two plus decades. I haven’t heard any stories about baby formula not being available in China, Russia, Iran, or even Cuba.

Posted by: Roger | Jun 3 2022 15:52 utc | 116

How intelligent people were sucked in by the Clintons in the 90s and then fell in love with the first black president mystifies me. It happened.
Posted by: oldhippie | Jun 3 2022 13:42 utc | 71
Lol, my best friend talked me into voting for Obama in 2016, after not voting since ’92 after being burned by the corporate-plutocratic whore/thug Clintons, on the off-chance that Obama might mean it with “Obama Means Change,” and I knew from the glib treacherous sonofabitch’s very inaugural speech–“I don’t want to point fingers, I just want to move forward!”–that we had been betrayed by the corporate-plutocratic whores and thugs of the Democratic Party yet again.
Which I summarized as “I Voted For ‘Obama Means Change’ And All I Got Was Larry Summers.”

Posted by: John Kennard | Jun 3 2022 16:00 utc | 117

this is why legacy media is running out of viewers.

Posted by: the pair | Jun 3 2022 16:15 utc | 118

@ 116
In Canada, I fell completely for Obama and the hope and change message. After that, I stopped following American politics. I just don’t get it.
@ 114
Hi james, it’s true, everything you’ve said. But… with the SMO in Ukraine, and the universally accepted, at least at this bar, noble intentions of Russia (under Putin’s leadership) to correct a wrong, to make Russia, Europe and the world safer… this we accept as truth, right? Not as Russian or Putin propaganda? So if there is some authentic revival, some genuine movement towards a different and more secure world, I think there is more than just shit happening. What I’m trying to say is that the shift in the world, taken as fact with the proof being Russia’s SMO in Ukraine, maybe can’t be determined by whether the shit is or is not out there? It’s too complex for that. Or at least it will be for a long while… then actually maybe the shit will stop – which is the point you made. I talked myself full-circle.

Posted by: Bruised Northerner | Jun 3 2022 16:25 utc | 119

The U.K. government and media live their lies and propaganda. It soothes their pride as they are getting beat. I heard they are working with Ukraine to make combat movie scenes in Ukraine to tell themselves they are doing great. Life doesn’t end like a Hollywood movie and liberal democracies and weak constitutional monarchs aren’t guaranteed victory.

Posted by: Prometheus | Jun 3 2022 16:29 utc | 120

Which I summarized as “I Voted For ‘Obama Means Change’ And All I Got Was Larry Summers.”
Posted by: John Kennard | Jun 3 2022 16:00 utc | 116

Cornel West: “We thought we were getting Coltrane but all we got was Kenny G.”

Posted by: waynorinorway | Jun 3 2022 16:32 utc | 121

b? It sometimes feels like we are playing Scrabble – Empire Edition.
Naturally it has no ‘Z’ in the letters but you expected that. Nobody needs Z.

Posted by: David G Horsman | Jun 3 2022 16:40 utc | 122

In response to
”
Which I summarized as “I Voted For ‘Obama Means Change’ And All I Got Was Larry Summers.”
Posted by: John Kennard | Jun 3 2022 16:00 utc | 116
Cornel West: “We thought we were getting Coltrane but all we got was Kenny G.”
Posted by: waynorinorway | Jun 3 2022 16:32 utc | 120
”
LOL!!! Good ones, both of them. Some real snarky insight at this bar.

Posted by: psychohistorian | Jun 3 2022 16:42 utc | 123

here we are at 100 days. Russia is being maligned because they don’t destroy like the western nations would. Western nations always fight elsewhere than their home, so they destroy everything that moves as policy.
Mass murder and war crimes are de rigueur for Brits and Americans. Yet, historically, US/UK destroy everything that moves in their own countries as well. The armed forces of these nations have real issues that the rest of the world just doesn’t need any more to become a better place.
as to the NATO army and war and other such crap; NATO will bring the war to Ukraine because they don’t like it when they fail. By now I would suspect that they fail to protect their job, because they always fail. if you are only half useless, you can be used for cannon fodder because…. your half useless.

Posted by: Tard | Jun 3 2022 16:57 utc | 124

@ Posted by: Garry Owen | Jun 3 2022 14:49 utc | 95
@ Posted by: CM of Berlin | Jun 3 2022 15:10 utc | 105
For those requiring clarification..
Re: Stingers and Javelins altering the way Russia fights, look for example at how unguided rockets in helicopters were used in Syria, where they are fired pointing down to support infantry right above the battlefield vs Ukraine, where they are fired into the sky, hoping they hit something useful 5kms away..
Syria:
https://www.military.com/video/operations-and-strategy/air-strikes/russian-mi-24-fires-rockets-on-syria/4555702717001
Ukraine:
https://www.bitchute.com/video/47iyKPiQe8fA/
From just about all the videos i have seen, helicopters are nowhere near the battlefield and it’s fair to assume they are effectively being kept at a distance by the threat of manpads like the Stinger. It’s also fair to assume Russia prefers to pound positions with artillery first and not just send in their Tanks and BTR’s for fear of being Javelined.
No one is saying Stingers and Javelins are the ‘best and greatest’ or major ‘game changers’, but it would be fair to say they have had an affect in altering Russia’s tactics, which then makes me wonder about ‘experts’ saying they are totally useless and how partisan and biased they are in their observations. They also never explain all the videos where Russian/LDNR troops are quite happily using the weapons they captured, including those supposed useless Javelins.
As for Bombs vs Artillery debate:
1- I doubt your average Ukrainian will care too much whether his house was flattened or turned to a crisp by Rockets or Bombs. That was my point.
2- i doubt a barrage of rockets covering an entire village would do less damage than a precision guided bomb to the right building, though of course both would have their tactical merits depending on the specific scenario. The point remains: the place is getting wrecked even without aerial bombing.

Posted by: Et Tu | Jun 3 2022 17:02 utc | 125

@Debsisdead #89
Syria: not clear at all what this “vulnerability” is.
Russia has never been front line in Syria’s fight against ISIS/Daesh, it wouldn’t be front line should Syria contest Turkey’s land grab either.
Would Russia support Syria defending its land much as it supported Syria in its reunification fight? I’d say there’s a very strong likelihood.
If you mean: would Russia support Syria if Turkey did an all-out invasion – that would possibly be a different story. But again, there’s no evidence of this – only the usual Erdogan opportunism.
Gazprom bank: you have this totally flipped. The entire point of Gazprom bank is that it gives the West a face-saving way to pay for Russia gas without violating sanctions. Sanctioning Gazprombank would do nothing to Russia other than ending all Russian natural gas exports to Europe – which we have already seen that Europe needs more than Russia does.

Posted by: c1ue | Jun 3 2022 17:03 utc | 126

Any thoughts about the truth of this article ? https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/06/03/are-there-even-any-left-100-days-of-war-in-ukraine-for-an-elite-russian-unit-a77877 I recall early on seeing these fellows in some video or other and wondered what became of them.

Posted by: Anna Miller | Jun 3 2022 17:08 utc | 127

Et Tu @25
sean the leprechaun @32
It’s silly using random nouns to mock the West.
“The West is running out of cheese dip.”
See?
What’s next? Baby formula?

Posted by: David G Horsman | Jun 3 2022 17:13 utc | 128

These comments are largely Orwellian. Rabbit after rabbit referring to something called an SMO. Afraid to say the “w” word, scared rabbits? Afraid Big Brother will come and give you 15 years for wrongspeak? Pathetic.

Posted by: Rangewolf | Jun 3 2022 17:17 utc | 129

@Phil Espin | Jun 3 2022 12:33 utc | 47

Lex 39. I suggest you get out a map and study how far the nearest Ukranian military positions are to the Kersch Bridge and compare that to the range of the munition that is to be supplied by US. You may wish to re-evaluate your proposition.

I mostly agree. Yet, the arc from south Zaporoshye to Gulyaipole is within a 250 to 290km distance. The far ranging missiles from HIMARS like MGM-164 ATACMS 2000 could theoretically reach Kerch and the bridge, and the unitary 500lb HE warhead might cause damage on the bridge. But I doubt that this would be an option, and much of a chance for the missile to reach the target. Rather the mount would easily be destroyed at such an exposed location of deployment. Just to nitpick :).

Posted by: aquadraht | Jun 3 2022 17:18 utc | 130

@Pyewacket | Jun 3 2022 9:42 utc | 19

I recently heard a similar, speculative report stating that Mr Putin is actually already dead, as in deceased, and that this fact is being hidden from the Russian people by the use of Body Doubles. My question therefore is, what’s the likelihood of Russia running out of 70 year old males with an uncanny resemblance to VVP…RIP…or maybe not.

LOL!! If that’s true the body double must be doing even better than the orignal 🙂

Posted by: Norwegian | Jun 3 2022 17:23 utc | 131

Russia is slowly expanding their boarders as they move, they move the air support ,communication jamming equipment and anti aircraft systems as they go. It may seem slow but it is far from it.
While the first attack seemed like a disaster I am starting to doubt it was, the initial reports were shocking until you realize how much the Zelensky gang has lied about every battle.
If you remember the images of a large group of Ukraine’s soldiers being “hit by their own tank” the thought of that massive line of vehicles with the letters on them….removing the letters V,Z then running wild all over Ukraine while communications were jammed must have been a absolute nightmare.

Posted by: OhhCanada | Jun 3 2022 17:23 utc | 132

@ Posted by: Micron | Jun 3 2022 13:38 utc | 69
“LOL yeah, it’s amazing to see the same people who before February had for years denigrated both UAF & NATO, their tactics and weapons, how they were all a bunch of incompetent losers and no match to the mighty Russian war machine… and now suddenly having to sing their praises in order to justify the slower pace of the war.
And how conveniently some decided to give up altogether on even being part of the conversation for ‘health reasons’ right during the one chance in a lifetime to make good of their life’s work and everything they ever professed to know about… yeah, reality must have affected their health alright… like being smacked in the face.”
Agreed. It’s undeniable that many experts exaggerated a lot about the UAF. Of course we should factor in the sheer size of the Ukraine ; the point is that people claimed would Russia would totally obliterate in a few days the Ukrainians, and it hasn’t been the case. I would appreciate if said experts took the opportunity to honestly recognize where they erred.
Your interpretation regarding the saker is a bit mean, but can’t be completely brushed aside.. To be honest I have been disappointed by the coverage of the Saker himself. He dropped the ball a bit here, not really doing any detailed military analysis but rehashing some content from Intel Slava or open source info. The guest posts by Nightvision were good, but way too optimistic ; curiously Nightvision disappeared a few days after predicting that the famous phase 2 in the Donbass would proceed much more quickly than before. Hasn’t been the case also.
What rankles me the most is this story about cauldrons. I see that some people replied to me about this, but sorry ; the essence of a cauldron is to isolate a group of soldiers from resupply. This absolutely hasn’t been the case, the Ukrainian troops in the east seem to be resupplied without any issue, except maybe for the Severodonetsk-Lisichansk group, although the cauldron isn’t totally shut.
And the most glaring problem for me is that Donetsk is still being shelled. On 25th February many people optimistically predicted that within a week Donetsk would be safe. Three months later it’s still not the case;

Posted by: Micron | Jun 3 2022 17:25 utc | 133

It won’t settle the debate but instead render it untopical. The losers won’t acknowledge or realize their loss; they’ll just move on to the next Russia- or China-bashing opportunity.
Posted by: malenkov | Jun 3 2022 14:33 utc | 87
Agreed.

Posted by: vetinLA | Jun 3 2022 17:33 utc | 134

Posted by: migueljose | Jun 3 2022 13:29 utc | 67
This type of thing is why I seldom discuss foreign policy or events with friends. I don’t consider them stupid, but def ill informed to the point we cannot have a discussion – they have nothing to add.
Re The pedigree of Ukraine current events, most only started following after the real shooting started and only vaguely understood the run-up to Crimean referendum. Not a single acquaintence of mine knows that Crimea has had three referendums, that Yanukovich had been democratically elected, that a mass shooting event by the opposition on their own supporters was used to justify scrapping (early) elections entirely and pave the way for an appointed govt to pass all manner of legislation and policy that NEVER would have sailed under democratic governance.
For the truly hardcore Democrat I simply explain that the Maidan was what would have happened in the US if Jan 6 had succeeded in ousting Biden, followed by militarized Proud Boys being dispatched to Dem strongholds with intent to cow the populace into silent acceptance and removal of Democrats from key federal positions.
Keeping in mind I do not once need to bring up the fact that Right Sector are Nazis, rehabilitation of and explanation of who Bandera was, Korsun massacre, Odessa Trades Union Bldg, etc etc. If you speak the truth too much, you will create clinical levels of cognitive dissonance in the listener.

Posted by: Miller | Jun 3 2022 17:36 utc | 135

clinical levels of cognitive dissonance in the listener.
Posted by: Miller | Jun 3 2022 17:36 utc | 134
formerly-known-as (FKA) psychotic break

Posted by: sln2002 | Jun 3 2022 17:38 utc | 136

@16
Not Even original English Anglo Saxons!
Anglo Saxons are about as original as the house of Hanover, which is actually from Lower Saxony, which is made up of the remainders of the Anglos that ran away.

Posted by: PeterM | Jun 3 2022 17:42 utc | 137

“Afraid Big Brother will come and give you 15 years for wrongspeak?” Rangewolf@128
No. Whatever you call it it is not a war. If it were a war it would be easy to tell the difference: essentially Russia, which is much better armed, would be doing what Ukraine is doing.
And what is that? Attacking civilians and employing the-spectacularly unsuccessful but traditional -American Way of War (see carpet bombing) , which is aimed at killing and starving the most vulnerable in the hope that the enemy government will call off the army.
The difference between this “Military Operation” (named as such long before it began and identified as the alternative that a western refusal to engage in diplomatic negotiation must bring about) and, for example, the US onslaught on the great state of Panama, will become evident after the operation has ended.
The evidence will be in a truthful accounting of the casualties and the results of the referenda and elections that will be held in the “conquered” territory.
In the meantime, Rangewolf, you don’t have to believe everything that the TV tells you: this isn’t an all out war, Ukraine is not fighting back heroically and Russia is not committing war crimes by doing what Ukraine has been doing, in the Maidan and in the Donbas since 2014.

Posted by: bevin | Jun 3 2022 17:44 utc | 138

@Opport Knocks | Jun 3 2022 14:05 utc | 76

I have faced much the same experience and have been consistently told not to listen to “Putin’s Propaganda”. That is the essence of the problem, they don’t recognize that what their own government and media produces is propaganda.

The west’s propaganda is much superior to the Russian propaganda, it penetrates the minds of the victims completely.

Posted by: Norwegian | Jun 3 2022 17:45 utc | 139

Posted by: Micron | Jun 3 2022 17:25 utc | 132
“And the most glaring problem for me is that Donetsk is still being shelled. On 25th February many people optimistically predicted that within a week Donetsk would be safe. Three months later it’s still not the case;…”
This one gets me too. And am not aware of anyone having addressed this glaring issue in three months now and counting which also is puzzling…

Posted by: Scorpion | Jun 3 2022 17:45 utc | 140

CM of Berlin [15]
West Germany was largely Church of Rome and Axel Springer whereas GDR was if anything Protestant. I suspect that the Bonner Republik was Adenauer’s Rhenish Republic and he needed anti-Soviet focus to obstruct Stalin’s offer of Unified Neutral German State – and retaining US backing to paint SPD as dangerous because SPD-Ost was part of SED Block Party
Soviet Army obstructed Stasi from Tienanmen Crackdown which had been planned and Soviet Army deployed APCs in Leipzig and Dresden and Weimar and Erfurt to prevent any Stasi action
People in GDR have many reasons to thank Russians for safety and peaceful withdrawal

Posted by: Paul Greenwood | Jun 3 2022 17:48 utc | 141

The nearest area Ukraine could fire them from is around Orikhiv, at a distance of 256 km (160 miles). Anyway Russia regards Crimea as Russian territory …
Posted by: Ghost Ship | Jun 3 2022 14:18 utc | 81
The bridge has permanent defensive installations on both shores, and given the success of Russian air defenses when prepared and of key importance, I would drive on the bridge minding the traffic and with no other worries.
PS. Commenting is annoying here… timer, no post-editing 5 minutes, next fund drive should have an option to contribute to that cause, besides a new and better umbrella for the poor poet.

Posted by: Piotr Berman | Jun 3 2022 17:49 utc | 142

@Debsisdead | Jun 3 2022 14:36 utc | 89

The fact that it is gazprom bank who does the swap rather than the customer corporations means that the bank is stuck with a big mob of euros and eurodollars which they need to swap out of if they don’t want the coalition of western arseholes to seize that as well.

That is where the reverse mechanism comes into play: Payment to Russian bond holders. The US has prevented the Russians from paying the western bond holders. So, the solution is to require the bond holders to open 2 accounts in Gazprombank, an eurodollar account and a Ruble account. The Russans pay with rubles and the bank swaps them into eurodollars, paying the bond holders. This helps solve the problem you describe too 🙂
Added bonus: Gazprombank controls the exchange rates in both directions-

Posted by: Norwegian | Jun 3 2022 17:56 utc | 143

@John Kennard | Jun 3 2022 16:00 utc | 116

Lol, my best friend talked me into voting for Obama in 2016

Lol did a good job considering Obama wasn’t a candidate 🙂

Posted by: Norwegian | Jun 3 2022 18:06 utc | 144

@Piotr Berman | Jun 3 2022 17:49 utc | 141
Good points. Moreover, a missile flying over whole of Crimea would not have a lot of chances to reach the Kerch area at all. And Orekhov is very close to the frontline. The point of HIMARS was having a larger range to hit the front troops, and maybe some back front areas, from a distance, safer from artillery and aviation. Driving that close to the combat zone would be dangerous if not suicidal. Moreover, I am not aware whether the unitary HE warhead is produced or available at all, and is doubtful to be shipped to Ukraine.

Posted by: aquadraht | Jun 3 2022 18:06 utc | 145

The closer Putin and the RF gets to completing the SMO, the more frenzied the Western media will get on saying Russia is on the very of collapse. Sadly the majority of Western citizens will believe the propaganda.

Posted by: Republicofscotland | Jun 3 2022 18:07 utc | 146

It’s all speculation until the fiat goes away. The dollars are nothing but suggestion anyway, the most delicate slimy strand connecting the mouth of the slavering beast to the ground that will soon receive it carcass. The croaking from the emissaries of Babylon will count for nothing soon. Then we will see who has run out of time.

Posted by: The Older Brother | Jun 3 2022 18:08 utc | 147

Not just from the media, from random encounters with friends and neighbors I get the information that Russia is about to run out of everything. “I heard they’re running out of missiles” my buddy shared. Big sigh.
Parenthetically: There’s a popular faith in psychokinesis evidenced when US Americans so thoughtlessly wallow in wishful thinking. In so many domains of highly refined, civilized life, we’ve come to expect wishful thinking to rule the day — the central, so-called “stock-market” most glaringly. Clap for Tinkerbell, everyone believe fervently enough, and popular consensus moves the “market”.
Until it doesn’t. How do our wishes perform in the physical world — for instance, on a battlefield? Regarding Russia’s supply of missiles, I refer my friends to Andrei Martyanov’s “Reminiscence” blog. Should any of them ever do so (which is doubtful), they’d hear that Russia has all the raw materials, all the technological know-how, and all the manufacturing capacity they need. Because Russians plan things out in advance. Your typical Russian makes a plan to go to the bathroom, according to AM. And you know what? Those missile factories are running triple-shifts, if you know what I mean!

Posted by: Aleph_Null | Jun 3 2022 18:09 utc | 148

China has to take care lest the swap can be shown to have happened and those assets seized. Yep a tougher job than with Russia, but if amerika can demonstrate a particular money line and connect that to payments for Russian gas, amerika will go for it.
The better Russia does on the battlefield, the more likely it is that amerika + poodles will attack Russian vulnerabilities. I’m certain that the blokes in the kremlin are well aware of these potentialities, the only question is whether they have good counter strategies.
Posted by: Debsisdead | Jun 3 2022 14:36 utc | 89
Sizing Chinese account is a faster route to an economic depression than banning Russian oil. While Russia has considerable position as a producer of energy products, number of metals etc., China dominates production of a much larger number of minerals, starting from rare earths, that are crucial to modern industry. The way USA is using Taiwan to annoy China assures tight cooperation between Russia and China would USA escalate the way Debsisdead described. It is true that cordial relationship of Lavrov with his Chinese colleague does not per se assure than Chinese bank officers etc. are super cooperative, and other glitches, but China is well aware that if a financial war may succeed with Russia, they are next.
Actually, in theory so perhaps also in practice, India is the best financial destination for currency balances swapped for rubbles. Unlike China, India actually lacks current account surplus, so after booking rupees for rubles, it can use balances in Euros, USD etc. for import, so Russia gets a place to park trade surplus, and India has financial stimulus covered with goods. And macro-NATO (a.k.a. collective West) can hardly alienate third huge country in Asia.
The other issue is that Gulfies, b….d that they are, do not like the seizure of accounts — their exposure to such piracy is enormous.
My impression is that the sanction sword got some notches and dents, and reckless further use can break it.

Posted by: Piotr Berman | Jun 3 2022 18:11 utc | 149

Posted by: migueljose | Jun 3 2022 13:29 utc | 67
I hear you Migueljose. Even more I feel you. I’ve lost 2 of my 3 brothers that way and 3 of my 4 nephews.
My step-son stormed away when I mentioned Russia was doing the right thing. It hurts, and the reason it
hurts is because of love and friendship. It does no good to listen to advice not to talk politics. Life is politics.
I doesn’t help to hear that you can find friends here or other places. Those are the people you care about.
Until Covid my wife did not believe that the media was all that bad. I told her about your post and her
response was, ‘the narrative is just so strong’. She’s learning. Well, it may be small comfort to you but your
experience as a teacher may allow some hope that a seed or two was planted and you never know when they might sprout.
All the best for that!

Posted by: waynorinorway | Jun 3 2022 18:12 utc | 150

The west’s propaganda is much superior to the Russian propaganda, it penetrates the minds of the victims completely.
Posted by: Norwegian | Jun 3 2022 17:45 utc | 138
This comment is a perfect example at how sneaky propaganda has become. Definitely can’t agree with your comment. RF is winning on the propaganda front most just don’t see it. It’s very, very subtle. Which is perfect b/c it plants the seeds and people think it was their own idea all along.

Posted by: phi | Jun 3 2022 18:14 utc | 151

Ukrainian military service men forced to fight under the fear of death from other Ukrainian forces.
“Ukrainian nationalists have returned a group of about 150-200 Ukrainian military servicemen, who retreated from Severodonetsk to Lisichansk, back to Severodonetsk, Lugansk People’s Republic, under fear of death, says Apti Alaudinov, aide to head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov and commander of the Akhmat special operations unit.
“The group (of Ukrainian nationalists resisting in Severodonetk’s industrial area – TASS) cannot be called big: some 150-200 people have been forced back to the industrial area from Lisichansk. We detain people, and those captured say that they are being forced to remain on this territory under fear of death, that is – they are not being permitted to retreat,” Alaudinov said on Russian TV Thursday.
He noted that the residential area of Severodonetsk is currently 100% controlled by Russian forces, while the adjacent industrial area is right now only under partial control.”
https://tass.com/world/1459755

Posted by: Republicofscotland | Jun 3 2022 18:18 utc | 152

Posted by: Norwegian | Jun 3 2022 18:06 utc | 143
Lol, my bad, 2008 it was, nobody could’ve talked me into voting for him in 2016.

Posted by: John Kennard | Jun 3 2022 18:20 utc | 153

Interpol says many of the arms sent to Ukraine will end up on the black market. It won’t stop them being sent.
“The International Criminal Police Organization, or Interpol, has warned that many of the arms being sent by the West to Ukraine will ultimately end up in criminal hands in Europe and beyond.
Interpol Secretary General Juergen Stock sounded the alert on Wednesday, more than three months after Russia began a military offensive in Ukraine that prompted a raging flood of arms from the United States and its European allies into the ex-Soviet country.
“The high availability of weapons during the current conflict will result in the proliferation in illicit arms in the post-conflict phase,” he said, urging countries to start scrutinizing arms-tracking databases.
Interpol fears that such a huge flow of arms to Ukraine will only empower organized crime groups that have become increasingly involved in global operations, capable of exploiting the chaos created after the onset of the war in Ukraine.”

Posted by: Republicofscotland | Jun 3 2022 18:22 utc | 154

“I Voted For ‘Obama Means Change’ And All I Got Was Larry Summers.”
Posted by: John Kennard | Jun 3 2022 16:00 utc | 116
Cornel West: “We thought we were getting Coltrane but all we got was Kenny G.”
Rahm Emanuel was the first appointment, one of the sleaziest people to walk the planet.
Biden has made him ambassador to Japan.

Posted by: Duncan Idaho | Jun 3 2022 18:23 utc | 155

Boomheist @96; One excellent synopsis on the ongoing global struggle, to change the uni-polar status.

Posted by: vetinLA | Jun 3 2022 18:23 utc | 156

@Paul Greenwood | Jun 3 2022 17:48 utc | 140
The share of Roman Catholics in Germany is 26% of the populace, vs. 24% Protestants. Both numbers were higher in the past, but not so much, e.g. Catholics were 23m in 1950, 22m now (though there was an increase to 28m due to immigration from Southern, and later Eastern Europe with a maximum of 28m in 1990. Prostestants were more until 1979 (29m), but now below 20m. Historically, Germany had a protestant majority until lately. Both confessions are rapidly losing worshippers.

Posted by: aquadraht | Jun 3 2022 18:26 utc | 157

Good option for Russia would be to severe cable connections USA-Europe as retaliation for arms shipments to Ucraine.

Posted by: Condorpuma | Jun 3 2022 18:26 utc | 158

“The bridge has permanent defensive installations on both shores, and given the success of Russian air defenses…”
Hmmmmmmm….
The same air defenses like with famouse “BlubBlub” Moskva or of Russioan Belgorod or Donezk?

Posted by: Chessmaster | Jun 3 2022 18:28 utc | 159

Posted by: Debsisdead | Jun 3 2022 14:36 utc | 89:

The fact that it is gazprom bank who does the swap rather than the customer corporations means that the bank is stuck with a big mob of euros and eurodollars which they need to swap out of if they don’t want the coalition of western arseholes to seize that as well.

No worry! If the coalition of western arseholes seize the haul of Euros, Russia can take the coalition’s land in instead. How much of these land? Well, since the coalition wouldn’t say when or how much of the Euros they’ll seize, Russia don’t have to declare how large a swath along Danube and Rhine either, just take to heart’s desire.
Dollar is little different. That swath of real estate called Long Island is too far away across that pond called Atlantic for logistics to be easily arranged. May be that’s why no mention has been made of selling oil in dollars from Moskva.

Posted by: Oriental Voice | Jun 3 2022 18:29 utc | 160

Interesting to read guys of the etu variety, who must be really the same variety of pundits that predict the Russian running out of everything, I expect even running out of Russians.
I rather read from real experts who have a track record like Ritter
(https://consortiumnews.com/2022/05/30/scott-ritter-phase-three-in-ukraine/)
or Larry Johnson
(https://sonar21.com/wall-street-journals-latest-lame-propaganda/)
or Martyanov
They also seem to forget that the DUMA had limited the personnel amount that was to be engaged in the operation, (Russia’s actions are being implemented upon the limited legal authorities granted to Putin by the Russian Duma, or parliament. One of the most constraining aspects of these authorities is that it limits Russia’s force structure to what can be assembled under peacetime conditions. and therefore, in defiance of common military doctrine, engaged with the defender at a ratio of 1:1 instead the previously thought necessary ratio of 1:3 in favour of the attacker.
Despite those limits, Russia decapitated the air capabilities, cut off access to the Azov sea, established a land corridor to Crimea and now is in control of 20% of Ukraine.

Posted by: PeterM | Jun 3 2022 18:29 utc | 161

Despite those limits
yep

Posted by: Duncan Idaho | Jun 3 2022 18:38 utc | 162

Indian FM getting grilled on Ukraine, transhipment of Russian oil and choosing sides – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KwXJ-jlY44. TLDR – Europe told to take their wagging finger and stick it up some orifice. Diplomatically, of course.
I was one of the initiates to the BBC “news” cult and was almost an acolyte given a couple of decades of conditioning but something broke when the EU banned RT. It was the straw that made me wonder. Given that war is an egregious act and Putin was a baaaad man, no amount of propaganda would be able to whitewash that stain. So why the ban? That was the flowering of a seed that had been planted by the OTT reaction to COVID “misinformation”. I am ashamed to say that if not for the SMO or some such, that seed would have eventually withered away as I roasted my brain imbibing the drivel that passes for information/news in the MSM space.
It was just a question of prior priming and timing as well as a function of time. It is a process much like birth or in this case a rebirth of sorts. I still can’t believe how gullible I was.

Posted by: eyeswideopen | Jun 3 2022 18:44 utc | 163

For all of the people wondering why Russia uses the term “special military operation” rather than call it a war. it’s the same reason the US never declared war on Iraq, Afghanistan, North Korea, Serbia or all of the other countries they’ve bombed over the past 70yrs. Namely, that a “War” is a clearly defined legal state that imposes a whole bunch of restrictions on how OTHER countries have to deal with the belligerents. That’s the key, “if” the US declared War on say Iran, every country hosting a US military base or troops that wished to remain neutral would be obligated to seize those troops/assets and place them in interment until the state of war is ended. If they didn’t, they would be considered to be aiding one side of the conflict by allowing the movement of troops/assets in their territory and it would be completely legal for the other nation to target those forces. Using the example of the US declaring a war on Iran, Germany would be legally obligated to detain all of the US troops stationed in Germany, if it wished to remain neutral, obviously that would not happen, but the US would (presumably) not want to humiliate Germany by declaring war on Iran and openly showing that Germany is unable to enforce its neutrality (effectively when the US declares war, it would also be declaring war on behalf of all European countries). Likewise with Russia, declaring war on Ukraine would force China to cancel all of their join patrols with Russia in the East China sea and the sea of Japan. Russia declaring war would likewise also complicate their relations with Syria, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Armenia, etc… in short, in the modern post-WW2 era, when a major state declares war, it is a defacto declaration of World War since almost every state will be forced to pick a side since there are very few countries in the world that are strong enough to assert their neutrality (India might be strong enough to assert its’ neutrality, but Pakistan isn’t so even India could be forced into WW3 based on who Pakistan ends up joining)

Posted by: Kadath | Jun 3 2022 18:46 utc | 164

Aqudraht [156]
Your stastistics have no analytical value. I stated West Germany was predominantly Roman Catholic and that country existed 1949-1990. It was run by Adenauer for 14 years and the Catholic political party he created CDU
Roman Church detests Orthodox Church even more than Protestant Church
CDU built its power base around anti-Soviet orientation. Willy Brandt first SPD Kanzler opened up to Eastern Europe but was brought down by Stasi Agent in own goal
After Schmidt CDU in power under Kohl 16 years
Schmidt brought down by Left over Pershing II
That was how German experience was shaped East and West
Protestants are not anti- Orthodox

Posted by: Paul Greenwood | Jun 3 2022 18:52 utc | 165

I decided not to vote for Obama in 2008 when he announced in midsummer (late June or early July, I don’t remember exactly when, it was in connection with the Bilderberger meeting then taking place in Northern Virginia) that he would vote in the Senate for the so-called FISA Amendments Act that immunized the government and the telecoms for their illegal warrantless surveillance of emails and telephone calls. Which he then proceeded to do. This despite his promise during the preceding primary campaigns that he would not only not vote for the bill, he would filibuster it.

Posted by: Lysias | Jun 3 2022 18:56 utc | 166

Posted by: Phil Espin | Jun 3 2022 12:33 utc | 47
Depends on the munitions they get. They weren’t getting the system at all, now they are but only short range munitions. The long range missiles could make that flight from Ukrainian controlled territory.

Posted by: Lex | Jun 3 2022 18:57 utc | 167

Condorpuma[157]
Fortunately Russia is not as stupid as you would like her to be
The cables fro
Europe to USA are major trunking and armored with several cables not one. They carry the Internet and data and balance the global network. Russia could not cut them.
Russia wants to move and exchange data and needs those cables. The Pacific cables have high latency
Russia is technologically advanced and needs access to those cables

Posted by: Paul Greenwood | Jun 3 2022 19:00 utc | 168

@ Andrew S MacGregor | Jun 3 2022 8:16 utc | 4
“Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.” Love it!

Posted by: Rodrigo | Jun 3 2022 19:08 utc | 169

The 2008 Bilderberger meeting in Chantilly, Virginia was held June 5-8. So I guess Obama’s announcement of support of the FISA Reform Act would have been in June.

Posted by: Lysias | Jun 3 2022 19:09 utc | 170

On slow progress
I assume the limited Russian troops strategy might just be intended to limit the tendency of generals to throw soldiers at fortified lines and use their brains and artillery instead. All those fortified lines have fields ind front and sides and streets and parklands littered with mines.
Certainly the Russian army was fully aware of the fortification confronting them and would be well versed in NATO strategy. Seeing the immense de-mining efforts reported on utoob is sobering when viewed in light of a living footstep.
Russia can take as much time as it needs to annihilate every nazi and topple their leaders imo. This is a technology war as much as a soldier’s war and the the Russian side appears to have serious advantage.
Yes, the ‘experts’ were carried away with excessive exuberance and yet the initial knackering of air force and navy is cause for optimism for a good outcome. Seeing a demonstration of NATO ineptitude and weapons paucity is entirely worthwhile – these are the ‘experts’ whose poor judgement I will spend time condemning.
It is the West who will never run short of lies and two bit oligarchs.

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Jun 3 2022 19:16 utc | 171

Posted by: Chessmaster | Jun 3 2022 14:01 utc | 75
you probably are as bad at chess as you are at military analysis.

Posted by: pretzelattack | Jun 3 2022 19:18 utc | 172

“But, yes, Russia’s role is Key. All they need know to seal the deal to my old eyes, is the return of the Tsars or some sort of equivalent to Royalty that can manifest the inherent majesty of their country, people and collective spirit.”
Posted by: Scorpion | Jun 3 2022 15:26 utc | 108
HAHAHAHAH YOU ALMOST HAD ME BEFORE THAT YOU F***ER
Lol, what an abjectly ridiculous way to ruin a good post and every value you brushed upon in it.
For once you managed not to eulogize Nazis – but you had to eulogize royals of all fucking worms crawling over this cursed earth.
THE ONLY THING EVERY ROYAL DESERVES IS ABDICATION OR EXECUTION
These fuckers are usually: Perverse. Obstructive. Retrograde. Self-serving. Inbred
The only guaranteed “””virtue””” they have is having been born through a C*NT fucked by royal C*CK. Allegedly. Because they might as well be the son of a keymaster or a chauffeur. Sometimes, just being born through a royal C*NT which at least removes extra steps.
And in turn, the only guaranteed “””virtue””” that royal d*ck (or c*nt) had, was also being born through royal c*nt.
And so on upon the ages.
ohhhhh but they have a croooown they’re maaaagical meedieeeval
BULLSHIT.
Royalty is literally a fucking venereal disease.
Kings and queens and crowns belong only in tales.

Posted by: Arganthonios | Jun 3 2022 19:25 utc | 173

Just about everything they say can be turned right around and applied to them/their side in the conflict. One thing that concerns me is that I’ve seen statements in the media,I don’t recall where right now, something to the effect of, Putin in a last ditch, desperate effort to save a losing cause may resort to use of nukes. Which as it turns out, is actually somewhat the opposite of a comment by Oliver Stone on social media I saw recently where he warns that the neocons, in order to salvage the situation, might be plotting to detonate a tactical nuke in Ukraine — and then, of course, blame it on Russia. The idea being, of course, that this being such a horrible crime it would ensure European support for the cause in spite of whatever consequences they may face, and would raise world-wide condemnation. The corporate media would dutifully report this according to script — and there would be a rush to judgement –people having been weaned on the propaganda as illustrated in this post will readily believe it. This would be a true act of desperation that could only be undertaken by a desperate party to the conflict — which we here on MofA, (and other alt media) would know who that was — but the general public not so much. I find this to be a perfectly plausible scenario. I would certainly put nothing past the neocons — they have a long track record… their criminality knows no bounds. It also fits their MO in terms of the sheer shortsightedness/idiocy — failure to think things through… of a plot like this — since there is a very high probability this would lead to full scale nuclear war and the end of human civilization. Let us hope, and if you’re religious — pray, that sanity will somehow prevail — and if there is such a scheme — will never come to pass.

Posted by: Steve M | Jun 3 2022 19:29 utc | 174

@ Arganthonios | Jun 3 2022 19:25 utc | 172 with the rant about the opinions of commenter Scorpion
Thanks for pointing their bias out. I have noticed that they avoid my public/private finance reality and write of mythism this and mythism that as they remain unsure of the moral intentions of Russia and China.
I suppose they are better than the total zombies in our world but I question the purpose of their comments at this bar given their biases.

Posted by: psychohistorian | Jun 3 2022 19:35 utc | 175

Kane: You’re right. We did lose a million dollars last year. We expect to lost a million next year, too. You know, Mr. Thatcher -(starts tapping quietly) at the rate of a million a year – we’ll have to close this place… in sixty years. (Citizen Kane)

Posted by: James J O’Meara | Jun 3 2022 19:35 utc | 176

ct #68
There is truth in that. The real product Russia seeks is set out in its december 2021 treay proposals with NATO for mutual, indivisible, security. The end of the NATO threatening expansion. Getting the West to recognise that is the purpose but then negotiating with rational people is a long shot. I get the uncomfortable impression that the West is permanently incompetent and untrustwothy in its present leadership and political culture.
There is some logic in ‘the longer it goes on’ theory in that it could fracture the West. Certainly there is no fear that the West will end up hating Russia, they already do that very well.

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Jun 3 2022 19:37 utc | 177

Posted by: WBerliner | Jun 3 2022 14:42 utc | 91
“Unfortunately, I see nothing positive in the future of Western Europe, and advise younger people to be open to emigration.”
I almost persuaded my German son to bug out but he has wife and 2 kids so they bought a wood stove instead! That said, if kinetic comes to D-land they are ready to leave.
Its going to be a long century in Europe I trow….

Posted by: Scorpion | Jun 3 2022 19:47 utc | 178

Posted by: Lysias | Jun 3 2022 18:56 utc | 165
I didn’t vote for Obama simply because I knew he would not act on any of his campaign promises. I did vote for Biden but that was definitely an opposition vote against Trump. Truth be told I would have voted for any opposition candidate other than Hillary.

Posted by: Miller | Jun 3 2022 19:50 utc | 179

They might as well be the son of a keymaster or a chauffeur.
Posted by: Arganthonios | Jun 3 2022 19:25 utc | 172
“If there are any brains in that family it’s because they once had an ice-man who couldn’t be trusted.” (Anita Loos)
And which is why the elites always prefer servants of a different race, to make miscegenation apparent, although the real and ironclad apartheid is different, usually economic, as in the US.

Posted by: John Kennard | Jun 3 2022 19:55 utc | 180

If the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO, expands to the Pacific, won’t it become the Two-Ocean Treaty Organization, TOTO?

Posted by: John Kennard | Jun 3 2022 20:05 utc | 181

Posted by: phi | Jun 3 2022 18:14 utc | 150
RF is winning on the propaganda front most just don’t see it. It’s very, very subtle. Which is perfect b/c it plants the seeds and people think it was their own idea all along.”
Somewhat agree. With the caveat that propaganda is not directed at opponents but one’s own population. Although many in Europe may doubt the whole war business I bet most are persuaded that Putin is the new Hitler. That makes their side good and conflict choiceless so they accept sacrifice and lower living standards without complaint. Job done!

Posted by: Scorpion | Jun 3 2022 20:06 utc | 182

“No artist-geniuses can help us now. What’s needed is mass public demonstrations to stop the arms merchants, the fossil fuel profiteers, the corrupt oligarchs (Russian, Ukrainian and American), the propagandists, and their political accomplices “Every honest man is a prophet,” wrote Goya’s contemporary William Blake. “The voice of honest indignation is the voice of God.”” Stephen Eisenman, at today’s CP, comparing Franco’s Guernica to “Putin’s” ‘Bucha’.
so noble to be opposed to the whole shooting match, isn’t it? all parties in the conflict are equal, aren’t they? just look at how many water treatment plants Russia has destroyed! how honest and noble and honest this “no artist-geniuses can help us now” is.
the dishonesty of this “not artist-genius” is sickening. lots of interesting info and nice quotes in this article, all to reinforce in the reader’s mind this analogy:
Franco: Guernica:: Putin: Bucha.

Posted by: rjb1.5 | Jun 3 2022 20:27 utc | 183

uncle tungsten | Jun 3 2022 19:16 utc | 170
That fortified line would have run from Mariupol around the two republics to the Russian border.
Both ends simply vaporized as if they never existed when Russia came in behind them. There has been no move in the south to push up behind the fortified line, and in the north Russia appears content with securing a bridgehead at Izium. Remember all those maps from early on with arrows running north and south behind the fortified line?
US/UK wanted to pull Russia into a military and economic quagmire in Ukraine. Instead, it seems Russia has successfully pulled US/UK into their own quagmire trap.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jun 3 2022 20:30 utc | 184

@Posted by: John Kennard | Jun 3 2022 20:05 utc | 180
No, it will simply be Mordor. Those not under its auspices will be Gondor.

Posted by: Roger | Jun 3 2022 20:36 utc | 185

@181 scorpion
I have to disagree with the point that propaganda is solely directed at one’s own population.
As I have made clear my opinion many times here about the situation in Ukraine, the “Nazis” that Ru are clearing from Ukraine are deluded nationalists in the service of a greater globalism.
However, as there are many on the right here in the states that have an affinity for Russia and especially their actions in the Ukraine and recently in Syria, they have been propaganda cadets for the SMO’s chief task regarding denazification.
TPTB had hoped that the Soviet-revanchist story would grow legs, but it turns out that America has little to no interest in a new Cold War, especially now that a majority in this country detest their own government.
So what happened was instead Ru’s propaganda about “Nazis” in Ukraine has taken root here in the states, indeed only if due to the fact that us deplorables despise our homegrown puppets.
Although Ru is indeed fighting globalists, it only made sense for Putin to use the awesome leftist tactic of calling any opposition a Nazi, thereby beating the west to the punch…because there is nothing the colonized-goy hate more than a Nazi.
But please keep in mind…although it frustrates me that Putin and Russia have to cloak the true meaning of this war from the normies, it makes sense and will aid them as it grinds on.

Posted by: NemesisCalling | Jun 3 2022 20:50 utc | 186

Wagner… only appeared after the first volunteers that are formed into units and trained in Chechnya began arriving in Ukraine… fighting alongside Chechen units. Some serious Kadyrov trolling there.
The Russian side views and treats mercenaries as common criminals so I doubt Russia would be using PMC’s. Putin did say however that Russia would accept volunteers. The difference between them and mercenaries is pay. Perhaps some or all as Russian citizens can enlist in the armed forces of the Russian federation in Grozny, but if they are fighting purely as volunteers I would think they are supplied with all that is required for the job, but unpaid and without other benefits.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jun 3 2022 20:56 utc | 187

Soviet Army obstructed Stasi from Tienanmen Crackdown which had been planned and Soviet Army deployed APCs in Leipzig and Dresden and Weimar and Erfurt to prevent any Stasi action
People in GDR have many reasons to thank Russians for safety and peaceful withdrawal
Posted by: Paul Greenwood | Jun 3 2022 17:48 utc | 140
Well, I assume you have read or heard about it and write it in good faith. But forgive me when I would file it under one of the many Stasi myths that have appeared these last 30odd years, at least for the time being. No disrespect whatsoever, but neither the capabilities of the Stasi nor the will/mindset of the rank and file members were anywhere close to those scenes of Tienanmen, nor have I ever heard of Soviet APCs going into any town of the GDR during that period – unless you speak of 1953? And given the amount of trash being aired about East Germany by the West-German / United German Media on a weekly if not daily basis to this day, it could not have escaped my attention. That would have been food and drink for them.

Posted by: CM of Berlin | Jun 3 2022 20:57 utc | 188

BREAKING: “Journalists are running out of copies of Roget’s Thesaurus”

Posted by: Patroklos | Jun 3 2022 21:18 utc | 189

Re: losing friends and family to the propaganda.
In my personal experience, people are often negative-minded and stupid. The good ones always end up moving away, from the dearth of positive and intelligent people.
I’ve lost a bunch of friends and family, mostly because they’re psychotic, and I can’t stand their shit anymore. Whining half the time, and being irascible at the drop of a hat. Of course these people are the same ones to immediately obey the TV news. They were hysterical suckers over covid, and are now hysterical suckers over Russia. Same type of folks who would rant like crazy over Trump, but insist that Obama was a good president.
One thing I’ve noticed is my naive tendency to be positive, and think I can explain things to them, and a lightbulb will come on. Once in a while, a lightbulb does come on, but by the next time, they’ve already forgotten about it, and gone back to their same spiel, be it the tv propaganda, or their personal story of self-pity or whatever.
Anyhow, my point is a sad one. Most folks – and I attribute it to “the fish rots from the head” – are actually petty and stupid, and a drag. They want attention, and aren’t interested in truth or learning. Someone telling them something they didn’t know is not an opportunity for learning, but a pissing contest. As Asimov said : “democracy has come to mean that ‘my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.'”
In contrast, I come here, and many here are much more knowledgeable and probably more intelligent than me, but it doesn’t make me feel threatened, but mentally stimulated. Whereas I often find that in day to day life, I’m surrounded by brutish hicks. Or self-superior fascists. It’s depressing.
So I’m leaving the cozy room I have here, in a Montreal suburb, to go live outdoors in the sticks, around Gaspesie. Bus ride, backpack. Fuck it. Leaving tomorrow. Please wish me luck !

Posted by: Featherless | Jun 3 2022 21:33 utc | 190

This one gets me too. And am not aware of anyone having addressed this glaring issue in three months now and counting which also is puzzling…
Posted by: Scorpion | Jun 3 2022 17:45 utc | 139
There are a number of glaring and not so glaring issues I have been looking at and commenting on over the last weeks.
Russia sets the pace of this war. What you are seeing in Donetsk city is the reason Russia set up an open evacuation line for the duration.
In the first month or so most expected to see the encirclement of the Ukraine groupings in the Donbas. What is occurring is the economic encirclement of the Anglo/European west. Russia is going for a far larger and long lasting victory than just killing off a few nazi’s in Ukraine.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jun 3 2022 21:35 utc | 191

Most of the publications linked at the beginning of this article are far from trust worthy. Where are the independent voices?

Posted by: Randall | Jun 3 2022 21:46 utc | 192

There is a theme that I repeatedly raise here which is the embrace by “liberal” western society of philosophical idealism. Doubtless many here think I am waxing hyperbolic by suggesting that western populations from the middle class up are all a bunch of narcissistic, navel-gazing solipsists, but one should know that I an not the only one to have noticed this fundamental degeneration of western culture. Here is another Marxist analysis of the problem: The Poverty of Philosophy: Marxism vs Postmodernism. (Warning to Stalinists and other weirdos who think Trotsky was a secret Zionist agent of the Rothschilds: Article written by British Trotskyists). The article is pretty good and touches on how the contemporary faux left (including the Frankfurter Schule) is anti-Marxist (anti philosophical materialism… “delusional” is the term I frequently use). People who self-identify as conservatives might be somewhat surprised by what real modern Marxists profess and might even find some points of agreement. But I digress.
So what does western culture degenerating into an archaic philosophical rejection of objective reality have to do with stupid articles in the mass media wishcasting about Russia’s impending doom? Glad you asked! The fact is there is a kind of internal logic to these articles. In the worldview of the authors material reality is the product of ideas. Contemporary idealists believe that physical reality assumes the form it does due to a kind of consensus in the minds of the population. If most people believe a particular thing, then material reality will reconfigure itself to include that thing. In this particular case, if everyone believes that Russia’s supply of missiles is exhausted, then material reality with conform to that belief and Russia’s missile inventory will vanish.

The aide said that guys like me were ‘in what we call the reality-based community,’ which he defined as people who ‘believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality.’ […] ‘That’s not the way the world really works anymore,’ he continued. ‘We’re an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you’re studying that reality—judiciously, as you will—we’ll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that’s how things will sort out. We’re history’s actors…and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do’. –Karl Rove

Contemporary liberal ideology goes a step beyond this, though. Instead of just changing facts on the ground that alter the course of events in objective reality like what Rove was talking about, today’s liberals believe that what they perceive as reality literally arises directly from ideas and beliefs. This is why they believe weird things such as “microaggressions”, in which one laughs to oneself about a Black boy’s “radically sagged” pants or an obese girl’s fluorescent hair, are attacks on par with genocide and mass murder. They believe the thoughts in your head are what make those people appear as clowns.
These delusionals in mass media want to help the Ukraine, but how? They feel that if they can get an overwhelming number of people to “believe” that Putin has cancer or that Russia is running out of missiles or generals then that is what material reality will become.
Strange but true.
Being a Marxist is tough these days as you have to start off arguing really basic stuff, such as the material world being real.

Posted by: William Gruff | Jun 3 2022 21:47 utc | 193

One thing for certain: Mr. Putin has run out of PATIENCE with Kiev, Brussels, and Washington…

Posted by: IronForge | Jun 3 2022 21:49 utc | 194

Wait, that’s a RUSSIA TODAY article that says Russia is running out of easy oil. Written by a Russian. Not a CNN or Fox News piece. Which in my mind makes it immediately more credible than any Western news media source.

If what they’re saying is true, that’s bad news for Russia, they will be able to extract less oil in the future.
Of course USA has long since run out of easy oil, decades and decades ago. All the stuff coming out of USA now is hard-to-get fracked oil. So maybe Russians will adjust and everything will be fine. Here’s hoping.

Posted by: Knov | Jun 3 2022 21:50 utc | 195

@Paul Greenwood | Jun 3 2022 18:52 utc | 164
Sorry Paul, but what you tell is simply not true. West Germany (BRD) never had a catholic majority. The share of protestants in the German Reich was over two third of the populace, it dropped a bit with the “Anschluss” of catholic Austria. After the war the share of protestants shrank a bit as the 18m DDR citizens were predominantly protestant, but not so much as the expelled ethnic Germans from eastern and southeastern Europe, and the territories lost after WWII, were predominantly protestant, and, btw., until 1961 about 1.4m DDR germans went west.
Germany never was a catholic country. South German Bavaria was (except Frankonia), Saarland too, Baden-Württemberg in its majority, so were some parts of North-Rhine Westphalia, where the population was more or less evenly split. Northern Germany was fully protestant.
Anyway, Germany was a “Christian country” until the 70s or 80s. That is not the case anymore.

Posted by: aquadraht | Jun 3 2022 21:58 utc | 196

@ Micron | Jun 3 2022 17:25 utc | 132
@ Scorpion | Jun 3 2022 17:45 utc | 139
@ Peter AU1 | Jun 3 2022 21:35 utc | 190
I assume that the reason the Russians haven’t yet dislodged the forces near Donetsk is that it is probably a very well dug in position, whose actions are militarily worthless in any case. As Peter has already noted, Donetsk has been substantially evacuated in any case. Obviously this is not an ideal situation but other areas are being prioritised. I imagine that the Russians are particularly interested in bagging those bastards, most of which have been shelling civilians for years now. Doubtless they will be taking them from the flanks and the rear in a few weeks time and a large proportion of them will be facing war-crimes trials.

Posted by: MarkU | Jun 3 2022 22:05 utc | 197

Posted by: Arganthonios | Jun 3 2022 19:25 utc | 172
“Kings and queens and crowns belong only in tales.”
I quite understand that position given how things turned out the past few centuries, though of course a good deal of what one has heard about the aristos is slander written by the victors and a good deal no doubt more or less justified – hard to tell.
But forget about the stories, individuals and history and rather consider the following principle: let us assume that Putin, for example, is a great and noble leader of historical importance as many here seem to believe. Let us also therefore grant that he has greatly augmented the Russian peoples’ sense of their being a great and noble people, that their sense of collective ‘we’ has been uplifted considerably.
Now what happens when he leaves public office and, later, public life altogether, finally dying? How does that heightened sense of ‘we’ continue? Some might argue that it shouldn’t, or that it doesn’t matter. OK. Nothing more to be said. But to those who think there is some value in continuity – especially of a sense of national pride and solidarity – what means do we have to continue it. One of course is narrative in the form of books and movies. They are quite powerful. But not as powerful as living embodiments of the National Spirit which is what sacred monarchs are.
If you look at the admittedly antiquated and arguably not all that brilliant Windsors in Great Britain, one has to admit that a huge amount of pride and emotion is invested in them by large swathes of the British population. I suggest that although this is partly due to the Queen’s longevity and dedication to the role but mainly due to the fact that such a role fits a need, namely that of being a living, breathing symbol of the spirit of the nation moreover the uplifted aspects of that spirit. This is partly what is projected by the majesty of any given monarch (who can perform that role well) but mainly what is projected onto that majesty by the people perceiving this living symbol.
It’s a very advanced but also deeply natural cultural art form. I think Russia is ready to re-invoke some of the majesty in her past and suspect this cannot be done by a Chief Patriarch, a President, a priesthood or documentary series.
That said, if the Orthodox tradition well communicates a sense of sacredness, as I suspect it does, then that perception is already part of the Russian experience so it shouldn’t be too much of a stretch to find some way to embody it in the body politic without necessarily attaching it to one particular spiritual institution which excludes those who are not especially religious or practice other faiths.
The sacred living symbol of National Spirit needs to be universal for all feeling that strong sense of collective ‘we.’
Just sayin’

Posted by: Scorpion | Jun 3 2022 22:10 utc | 198

Posted by: Miller | Jun 3 2022 17:36 utc | 134

This type of thing is why I seldom discuss foreign policy or events with friends. I don’t consider them stupid, but def ill informed to the point we cannot have a discussion – they have nothing to add.

I’m in the same position. My friends aren’t stupid, but misinformed due to the pervasiveness of western propaganda/media. They don’t go beyond that, and believe those outlets are credible sources of news.

Posted by: bachac | Jun 3 2022 22:13 utc | 199

Hahahaha there are babies here crying:
“Dont call it a SMO :(!!!”
“Call it a war ;(!!! Whaaawhaaa!!!”
Poor babies.

Posted by: Comandante | Jun 3 2022 22:14 utc | 200

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