Quality Of Ukraine Reporting Continues To Deteriorate
The news about the war in Ukraine is getting so fake that even an amateur can debunk it no time.
Consider this from the Washington Post:
Across the river from Ukraine nuclear plant, shelling adds to fear
In Nikopol, just two miles across the Dnieper River from the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the threat of imminent nuclear catastrophe is compounded by daily shelling from Russian forces near the plant.
The real distance between the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and Nikopol is 15 kilometers (9 miles) not "just 2 miles".
Source: LiveUAmap - bigger
Nikopol is too close to the plant for sirens to be of use — there’s no time to switch them on. Instead residents on the other side send warnings if they see artillery batteries being rolled out.
The well protected six reactor blocks of ZNPP can be seen in the upper left of the picture. The next civilian settlement is on the right side, some 2+ kilometers away from the plant with several big buildings between the two.
bigger
How anyone would see "artillery batteries being rolled out" at the plant is beyond me. The Russian side of course insists that there is no artillery at the ZNPP and that the Ukrainians are shelling the plant. Which makes sense as the plant is, since early March, under complete control of the Russian side.
This misreporting by the Washington Post comes after it published a big fake story about an alleged Russian intelligence failure at the beginning of the war:
Russia’s spies misread Ukraine and misled Kremlin as war loomed
Just consider this circular sourcing of the story:
In the final days before the invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s security service began sending cryptic instructions to informants in Kyiv. Pack up and get out of the capital, the Kremlin collaborators were told, but leave behind the keys to your homes.
...
The communications exposing these preparations are part of a larger trove of sensitive materials obtained by Ukrainian and other security services and reviewed by The Washington Post.
...
Ukraine’s security services have an interest in discrediting Russia’s spy agencies, but key details from the trove were corroborated by officials in Western governments.
...
Ukraine’s security agencies have scored notable victories. Early on, a Ukrainian nongovernmental organization published what it described as a roster of FSB operatives linked to the war effort, posting the identities and passport numbers of dozens of alleged spies in a move meant to disrupt the agency’s plans and rattle its personnel. A person connected to the NGO, which is called Myrotvorets, or Peacemaker, said the data was obtained by Ukraine’s security services. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing threats to his security.
...
Details published by Peacemaker and confirmed by Ukrainian security officials describe Kovalenko as a 47-year-old veteran of the spy service who in recent years was responsible for managing the agency’s clandestine ties to Ukraine’s parliament and main pro-Russian party.
The extremist rightwing 'NGO' Myrotvorets is not independent but run by the Ukrainian secret service. It is known for publishing 'kill lists' of alleged 'enemies of Ukraine':
The site reflects the work of NGO "Myrotvorets centre", led by a person only known with the alias "Roman Zaitsev", former employee of Luhansk Security Service of Ukraine office. The website is allegedly curated by the government law-enforcement and intelligence agency Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and was promoted by Advisor to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Anton Gerashchenko. The identity of the staff is secret, and a hidden panel sifts through information, often collated from Open-source intelligence, as well as information provided by individuals on a confidential basis.
...
On 24 May 2016, Committee to Protect Journalists wrote an open letter to then Ukrainian President Poroshenko urging him to "condemn the unfounded and damaging allegations published on Myrotvorets, and to clarify publicly that the Ukrainian Interior Ministry is dedicated to protecting journalists and apprehending the people responsible for threatening them, in contrast to Interior Minister Avakov's previous statements".On 2 June 2016, G7 ambassadors to Kyiv released a joint statement expressing deep concern about disclosures of journalists' personal data on the Myrotvorets website and called on the Myrotvorets team to withdraw personal data from public access.
Other such lists put out by the Ukrainian government accuse U.S. political scientists and journalists of pro-Russian disinformation.
The Myrotvorets, says the Washington Post, used "data" [that] "was obtained by Ukraine’s security services". Details published by it were then "confirmed by Ukrainian security officials". This was "corroborated by officials in Western governments" and "reviewed by The Washington Post".
That still means that the only source of that alleged 'data' are "Ukraine’s security services" which, as the Washington Post notes, "have an interest in discrediting Russia’s spy agencies".
That make the whole story about the alleged FSB failure a garbage in-garbage out product based on a sole source, the fantasies created by the Ukrainian secret services.
Which altogether tells you something about the 'quality' of Ukraine war reporting by the Washington Post.
Posted by b on August 20, 2022 at 11:12 UTC | Permalink
next page »"confidential source", code name for "our imagination"
Posted by: jean passant | Aug 20 2022 11:26 utc | 2
Here's something to ponder about; when Russia wins this SMO and the fight with unipolarity, your country loses, that is, if you are living in one of the unfriendlies. Can you stand that?
Posted by: rp | Aug 20 2022 11:27 utc | 3
It's an insult to actual journalists and news reporters to continue to call propaganda 'news' or 'reporting'.
Posted by: fairleft | Aug 20 2022 11:29 utc | 4
Actually, what the use of reading western MSM, or any MSM from the unfriendly countries? They would always lie!
Sure, I too look at the headlines of BBC, CNN, FoxNews, DW, EuroNews, Politico and few other language ones too. But, I won't read them, as their "news" is created news. In a way, they are Nazis.
Posted by: rp | Aug 20 2022 11:38 utc | 5
Posted by: Z | Aug 20 2022 11:31 utc | 5
-
Isn't there something called American jokes? On their dumbness...
Posted by: RK | Aug 20 2022 11:40 utc | 6
Has anyone ever seen Russian or Ukrainian steppes in winter? You have to continuously keep the diesel engines heated up. The temperature might be officially -30 degrees Centigrade, but feel like -50. Machines/engines get frozen up. You stand too long, your boots get frozen to the ground. If you touch something without gloves, the skin might get stuck. The minimum temperature, I've felt was -47°C. Your face feels like hit with thousand needles. And, that's without a slightest wind.
SMO started at the end of February, that is practically at the end of winter. By November, winter will be fighting for the RF forces. The western MSM was showing frontline trenches on the Ukie side last year, even in the winter. Let them go there and show it this winter.
Posted by: rp | Aug 20 2022 11:55 utc | 7
I dont see any sense in reading any of the traditional western newspapers any more. The only reason to do so, is to learn what is the parole of the day. It doesnt even make sense to read in between the lines any more, as it was the case with pravda, izvestija etc. In the latter case there were attempts by some journalists to package little truths without writing them obviously. And most journalists in the late USSR hated the censorship that was going on. Its totally different now. We are in a different stage of totalitarian rule. The revolution hasnt come for its kids yet.
Nevertheless:
The key to turn things around is attitude towards the traditional media. Once people grasp that they cant trust the media, the tide turns. All the money and the power in the world cant get anywhere if they cant get the message through.
The more obvious the lies, the better it is.
Posted by: orgel | Aug 20 2022 11:56 utc | 8
Well, if mentally deranged serial killer breaks to your house, do you try to talk him out of killing you by pointing out his deranged world view that has no truth in reality, or do you physically disable him use bruth force?
Because trying to change western peoples point of view at this moment amounts to #1 in description above.
Posted by: Abe | Aug 20 2022 11:58 utc | 9
Even the BBC, Biased Broadcasting Corporation, says that both sides accuse each other of shelling the NPP but omit the fact that Russia controls the NPP, and ukrainian statements that they are firing at Russian troops at the NPP also gets left out of the news.
Posted by: Kaiama | Aug 20 2022 12:04 utc | 10
The point of shooting at Zaporizhe NPP? Now some British MP says that it will trigger Nato article 5. That's not what at all Article 5 says but eh, "what the heck".
This is a diversion out of desperation, loss rates on the ground are what counts, looking rather bad for NATOistan.
Posted by: unimperator | Aug 20 2022 12:04 utc | 11
The laundering of false intelligence through official sources to give it credence in the media is also how they handled the Trump-Russia dossier. They even had to create a special prosecutor office for that purpose.
Posted by: alek_a | Aug 20 2022 12:12 utc | 12
@orgel... I used to read the London "Times" every now and then, because my favourite supermarket (Waitrose) was giving copies away free.
I would go straight to the rather good Sudokus and the easy crossword (the Times cryptic is scary unless you are Inspector Morse). Then I would scan through from the front page, partly for laughs and partly to see what the enemy was up to.
Took about 10 minutes (after the Sudoku and crossword).
Unfortunately Waitrose withdrew the offer, which annoyed me slightly for about 20 seconds.
Posted by: tom welsh | Aug 20 2022 12:20 utc | 13
Just read a piece in the Miami Herald about Latin Americans being alarmed about the Russian led war games in Venezuela. Did not quote a single Latin American who said that. Just a U.S. think tank. I know journalism pays crap for most but what happened to the schooling that journalists have gotten so pathetic?
Posted by: GS | Aug 20 2022 12:28 utc | 14
How do these drones get to strike targets in Crimea without being detected and shot down? Crimea should be one of the most protected places in Russia. They should have the EW capability and air defense capability to deal with this threat.
The strikes on the ammo dump and airfield did some genuine damage, and this strike on the HQ of the Black Sea fleet is great for propaganda, and will have a psychological impact on the population.
Posted by: bachac | Aug 20 2022 12:33 utc | 15
At least one hopes that the Ukrainian creative-story writer got paid by The Washington Post for scribbling down and passing on whatever fevered scenarios popped into his/her head. Doing all the thinking and making up fiction for Western MSM to swallow surely deserves some sort of grubby reward.
Posted by: Jen | Aug 20 2022 12:34 utc | 16
Gilbert Doctorow seems to agree. His latest piece is a critique of Mearsheimer's afticle in Foreign Affairs
"..this does not excuse Mearsheimer from basing himself on the same restricted and distorted sources of information as are used by mainstream media and mainstream academics, while ignoring other sources of information that would give greater depth to his analysis and possibly change his conclusions substantially. To be explicit, I believe he has been listening too closely to Washington and Kiev’s rosy forecasts of a counter-offensive that will result in a stalemate, possibly in a Russian defeat, and he is not listening to Russian reporting on the progress of their campaign on the ground, which points to a slow and steady grinding down of all in their path to conquest of the Donetsk oblast, meaning the capture of the entire Donbas...."
Posted by: bevin | Aug 20 2022 12:42 utc | 17
There is a thing called an editor. No editor read the featured paragraphs from the Washington Post article. The quoted copy might as well be grunts, moans, yells, and farts.
This is to be expected. Education has been outlawed in US. There is no one left who can read, there is no one left who can write. As Ukraine is defeated, as the US crumbles, it will only get more apparent. We have Joe Biden and Kamala Harris leading us. Biden speaks fragments of middle school English. Harris is stuck in fourth grade. Anyone who does better is prima facie a Russian spy.
Posted by: oldhippie | Aug 20 2022 12:44 utc | 18
@unimperator
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2022/08/quality-of-ukraine-reporting-continues-to-deteriorate.html?cid=6a00d8341c640e53ef02a308dbd771200c#comment-6a00d8341c640e53ef02a308dbd771200c
>> "some British MP says that it will trigger Nato article 5."
Given that it is Ukraine that's doing the shooting at Zaporizhe NPP,very likely using NATO-supplied weapons and NATO-trained operators, that sounds like a very interesting scenario. Hollywood Material!
Posted by: Marvin | Aug 20 2022 12:47 utc | 19
Jean Passant no. 2
That's a good one. 😂
Posted by: ThusspakeZarathustra | Aug 20 2022 12:47 utc | 20
@Alice Liddell | Aug 20 2022 12:10 utc | 13
.. I saw a thing this morning where the Ukrainians said that Russia had failed to destroy even one of those HIMAR thingies. I immediately translated as Russia having destroyed every last one of them. I might be wrong about that but at least I’m avoiding the Gell-Mann effect.
Well, I do not read Wapo either, but appreciate when b does it for me :). As to the HIMARS launchers, there have been 16 of them in Ukraine, 12 initially shipped, and 4 in addition. The Russians claim to have shot 6 or 7 of them, additionally one was reported to have been sold to them. Especially the latter is unconfirmed. For the destructions, the Russians provided video footage from UAV only in one case.
Yet, HIMARS attacks have widely subsided, but some launchers and ammo certainly do exist. Only yesterday, 12 HIMARS projectiles have been shot down when aiming at Nova Kakhova HPP, that means two full missile salvoes, or 1 salvo each from 2 launchers. HIMARS seem to employ an aim. fire, run tactic to escape destruction which is not overly productive.
These missiles, while fairly pinpoint exact (if they do not fail and land unexploded as in a few cases the Russians proudly showcased), are no more powerful than an ordinary 152 or 155mm artillery shell. Of those, over 25,000 are fired everyday in the theatre of operations, 5k of them from Ukraine. Of M31 missiles, 40k have been produced by Lockheed so far, and they may produce at most 7-8k per year, given the supply chains allow it (some of the pre products and raw materials stem from Russia and China).
My estimate (recall to have read it somewhere) is that about 5k of the GMLRS missiles have been shipped to Ukraine. The Russians claim to have destroyed about 1000 of them in several warehouses and depots. About 2-3k have been fired already, maybe more. And the US do not seem extremely eager to further deplete their stocks. But we shall see.
Posted by: aquadraht | Aug 20 2022 12:49 utc | 21
"when Russia wins this SMO and the fight with unipolarity, your country loses, that is, if you are living in one of the unfriendlies. Can you stand that?"
Posted by: rp | Aug 20 2022 11:27 utc | 3
As a Brit, I've been watching the "Special Relationship" go from bad to much, much worse for decades, really since Iraq. The current regime is railroading the country into a neofeudal hellhole of Brexit, Covid, Ukraine and Tory corruption. There is no functional Opposition. People are dying unnecessarily and will do so in droves, in unheated homes or on the street, this winter. What truly frightens me is that UK, a prime instigator in Ukraine Nazism since 2014, could "win" in some way. It would accelerate the power dive into the US economic cesspit. It would encourage a British regime with no standards, no unions, no security, no health, no prosperity. So let's have defeat. Preferably, defeat in spades, with a resounding failure for the establishment stooges who think they have nothing to lose. Let's have a great reset that takes us back to a representative parliamentary democracy that actually thinks of the public from time to time. Victory for the West leads only to human misery and suffering on an inconceivable scale. Ask Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Iran, Yemen and all the rest who have benefitted from Western compassion.
Posted by: TPaine | Aug 20 2022 12:51 utc | 22
Tom Welsh no. 15
I use the free papers to put on the floor in case my dog pees.
(But i get your "20 seconds" point.)
Posted by: ThusspakeZarathustra | Aug 20 2022 12:52 utc | 23
How to treat elderly patients: "Start low, go slow".
It seems the Russian way for Ukraine war.
May be too slow for supporters.
My take is that, Putin and Shoigu are piling up hypersonics, Sarmats and Poseidons first, after the hasty SMO was imposed on them by the Ukrainian bellicism in Donbass - with a bad timing for Russia.
Hypersonics by the thousands will (would) give Russia first strike capacity on NATO assets, UNDER NUCLEAR THRESHOLD.
Sarmats + Poseidons would allow for quick US vaporization and very little retaliation ability from surviving US nuclear forces - probably only a few formidable SSBNs, of which only about 4 are at sea at any time, and even less close enough to Russian targets to harm for real, moreover they are shadowed by Russian nuclear attack subs as soon as they leave harbors: underwater cruising targets.
Posted by: Greg Galloway | Aug 20 2022 12:53 utc | 24
"sensitive materials obtained by Ukrainian and other security services and reviewed by The Washington Post."
Info so sensitive, that it should be leaked to Bezos Rag for propaganda purposes!
Posted by: Hope they paid well | Aug 20 2022 12:57 utc | 25
If anyone wants to watch the Russian MSM live, have look here, https://rutube.ru/live/video/b068c4afa5860b85ea7d038e604dedbd/
It is Russia 24 in Russian.
Posted by: rp | Aug 20 2022 13:03 utc | 26
About 'sources'. The Grayzone have published some excellent articles in the past 3 weeks about journalists quoting sources. The main article was re Carol Caddwallador and Paul Mason from the Guardian. It was a Court Trial where a friend a friend of Farage was suing them for libel. Under strong questioning they had to admit that yes they had stated confidential sources had provided the information but they wished to remain anonymous. However, under further scrutiny from the Judge they were forced to admit they had no sources at all so just stated they hadon't in order to lend weight to the article. A source is a source and cannot and should not be allowed anonymity if they are talking to a newspaper. The other related articles are also great. Investigative Journalism at its best. Well worth reading
Posted by: Jo Dominich | Aug 20 2022 13:07 utc | 27
@aquadraht | Aug 20 2022 12:49 utc | 23
Those weapons were not sent to win any war. It's not possible, not even with 300 himars. Most weapons sent are purely for terrorism, all sent these days have no other usage (don't look only at US, Macaron has sent banned mines too). And they use them, frequently shooting at apartments and houses, including from himars.
According to Russian MoD message from today, Ukr are using chemical weapons now. Botulinum toxin and another chemical I've never heard before. They notified OPCW, which will surely ignore everything.
Posted by: rk | Aug 20 2022 13:09 utc | 28
As a Brit, I've been watching the "Special Relationship" go from bad to much, much worse for decades, really since Iraq. The current regime is railroading the country into a neofeudal hellhole of Brexit, Covid, Ukraine and Tory corruption. There is no functional Opposition. People are dying unnecessarily and will do so in droves, in unheated homes or on the street, this winter. What truly frightens me is that UK, a prime instigator in Ukraine Nazism since 2014, could "win" in some way. It would accelerate the power dive into the US economic cesspit. It would encourage a British regime with no standards, no unions, no security, no health, no prosperity. So let's have defeat. Preferably, defeat in spades, with a resounding failure for the establishment stooges who think they have nothing to lose. Let's have a great reset that takes us back to a representative parliamentary democracy that actually thinks of the public from time to time. Victory for the West leads only to human misery and suffering on an inconceivable scale. Ask Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Iran, Yemen and all the rest who have benefitted from Western compassion.
Posted by: TPaine | Aug 20 2022 12:51 utc | 24
I am WASP USA-ian as can be, born and raised here and noplace else I plan to call home, and I just want to agree; I've been waiting 40 years now for this, win or lose, just to get rid of these economic and "national security" parasites we've been infested with. Our doctors make us sick, and our military makes our lives precarious, our media make us uninformed, our jobs make us poor, our insurance bankrupts us, our food leaves us mal-nourished, our goverment want to govern everywhere except here, and badly. It just goes on and on.
Posted by: Bemildred | Aug 20 2022 13:10 utc | 29
orgel - Pravda, Izvestiya etc. were often pretty accurate about the West, even if they suppressed much info about events in the USSR itself. For example, I was in the USSR in the summer of 1984 and Pravda had an article about the treatment of Leonard Peltier, treating it as a human rights abuse in the West. Peltier had been in jail for a little under a decade at that point. He is still in jail.
Posted by: Waldorf | Aug 20 2022 13:16 utc | 30
As a Brit,
Posted by: TPaine | Aug 20 2022 12:51 utc | 24
As a Brit, do you acknowledge the present prosperity of Britain is from hundreds of years of stealing from Asian, African and other countries? While the stealing was going on, hundreds of thousand natives of those countries were murdered, more or less genocide. Do you think, it is time for Britain to payback? But, has the British government learnt something from its genocidal history? Or, the British citizens?
No! It is continuing it again in Ukraine!
Do you think, it is alright for the Brits and Britain to just forget the former pirate/stealing/murderous past? You have the same "royal" family. The same Whitehall. The same mental attitude.
Posted by: RK | Aug 20 2022 13:21 utc | 31
Botulinum toxin that Ukraine is using. IIRC Shoigu was speaking about chemical warfare in December 2021 and mentioned they would be using it to provoke incidents and deaths. It can be spread in aerosolized form.
Posted by: unimperator | Aug 20 2022 13:32 utc | 32
Grayzone writes: "Andrey has been picking up extra work as a fixer, arranging interviews and translating for foreign journalists in Ukraine to cover the war. “I have worked with about a dozen journalists from different countries in Europe,” he said. “All of them have been shocked. They left Ukraine shocked. They said they could not believe the situation here. But this shock did not make it into any of their articles about the war. Their articles said that Ukraine is on the road to victory, which is not true.” (AUGUST 18)
https://thegrayzone.com/2022/08/18/ukraine-veterans-us-aid-soldiers-war/
Posted by: Mikkael | Aug 20 2022 13:36 utc | 33
Posted by: RK | Aug 20 2022 13:21 utc | 33
And how is your average Brit in any way responsible for the historic and present crimes of their government?
Drivel.
What's your nationality so I can scour through your country's history and blame you personally for things you have had nothing to do with.
Posted by: evilsooty999 | Aug 20 2022 13:47 utc | 34
The WaPo article on the nuclear plant doesn't even make the effort to establish facts on the ground that would shed light on the shelling. Like, the Russians control the area on the south side of the reservoir, where the plant is, and Ukrainians the area on the north side. So, Russians are shelling a site in their own territory from another site in their own territory, which could result in turning the Donbass and much of Ukraine into a radioactive wasteland, because they want to kill thousands of their own troops along with Russian speaking people in Donetsk?
"Nikopol is too close to the plant for sirens to be of use — there’s no time to switch them on. Instead residents on the other side send warnings if they see artillery batteries being rolled out." This doesn't even make sense. Nikopol is on the north (Ukrainian) side of the reservoir. So residents on the other side, the Russian side, see artillery batteries rolled out, but where do the see them rolled out, on their side, or across the reservoir, on the Ukie side? The nearest south (Russian) shore to Nikopol is only a few miles away, so people on the Russian side could certainly see artillery being rolled out near Nikopol. In addition to the reporting being incredibly sloppy, it doesn't come close to passing the smell test, no surprise when the reporter used the anal extraction method to produce this piece. Bezos' rag is nothing more than a propaganda outlet.
Posted by: Mike R | Aug 20 2022 13:53 utc | 35
I'm sure most of you are aware but for those who are not you can get all the Russian news in English uncensored on Telegram at t.me/rtnews
Posted by: Joe | Aug 20 2022 14:04 utc | 36
@rp | Aug 20 2022 11:55 utc | 8
Has anyone ever seen Russian or Ukrainian steppes in winter? You have to continuously keep the diesel engines heated up. The temperature might be officially -30 degrees Centigrade, but feel like -50. Machines/engines get frozen up. You stand too long, your boots get frozen to the ground.No they don't. The only way it could happen is if something melts and then refreezes. I can guarantee you that does not happen in -30C, everything is bone dry. I did military service in -37C, we had bottomless tents and kerosine heaters causing fingers drying out so they started to bleed, it was very painful.
The russians will be prepared and have few problems over the winter. Ukrainians will be devastated due to lack of equipment, proper clothes and food.
Posted by: Norwegian | Aug 20 2022 14:11 utc | 37
The point of shooting at Zaporizhe NPP? Now some British MP says that it will trigger Nato article 5. That's not what at all Article 5 says but eh, "what the heck".
This is a diversion out of desperation, loss rates on the ground are what counts, looking rather bad for NATOistan.
Posted by: unimperator | Aug 20 2022 12:04 utc | 12
Now that idiot Adam Kinzinger in the US has brought up Article 5 re: NPP also.
Coincidence? I think not. The US/NATO scum are looking for any excuse to go after Russia directly, even if they have to create the excuse themselves.
Posted by: Michigan Dude | Aug 20 2022 14:12 utc | 38
MSM reporting is wack, that's not a mystery. The mystery is why Russia cannot stop the shelling of the plant?
I have another related question - recently there was a Alexander Mercouris vid on fighting near Kharkov and Mercouris emphasized that it was being fought by 'Russian regular army soldiers' as opposed to militia, as if this were a rare thing. And I've seen numerous reference to the DPR doing the bulk of the fighting for the Russians, so, my question is what percentage of the fighting for the Russian side is being done by the Russian army, as opposed to the DPR militia, the Chechens, and the Wagner group?
"Journalism" and the "news" these days is what somebody said, not what actually happened. On Ukraine it's usually the comedian Zelensky. Other attributions include "experts" and "officials who can't be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter" and so forth. . . .So we rely upon b and friends to describe what actually happened. . . .As Sgt. Joe Friday said: "All we want are the facts, ma'am.”
Posted by: Don Bacon | Aug 20 2022 14:19 utc | 40
@TPaine | Aug 20 2022 12:51 utc | 24
Well said. I will go with that for my own country as well.
Posted by: Norwegian | Aug 20 2022 14:19 utc | 41
I dont see any sense in reading any of the traditional western newspapers
Posted by: orgel | Aug 20 2022 11:56 utc | 9
How else do you propose to "know the enemy", if not by the faults of their stars? Contrary to popular beliefs in "truth", to know the enemy is not to become the enemy.
Posted by: sln2002 | Aug 20 2022 14:22 utc | 42
#36
Well coming from the US the answer to your question is easy. DO SOMETHING
Do you see anyone in the streets day after day fighting against these wars of choice to steal what is not ours? Do you hound your government? Do you educate yourself and others about the crime committed by your government? Demand reparations for those crimes? I see the Brit’s are still torturing Assange are you screaming about this? Are you screaming about your wondrous M-16. We are responsible for letting our governments get away with this crap and doing nothing about it. Start fighting to rid yourself of the witch and her spawn then throw the rest of your government out. All we have to do is the Government. Yet american are dumb and ignorant so it is a battle.
Posted by: SUSAN | Aug 20 2022 14:25 utc | 43
Coincidence? I think not. The US/NATO scum are looking for any excuse to go after Russia directly, even if they have to create the excuse themselves.
Posted by: Michigan Dude | Aug 20 2022 14:12 utc | 40
Only if they have filled their emptied ammunition depots to sustain a war for longer than a week. And wee speak of British and US depots, not those of big punchers like Poland, Latvia and Co., or even Germany.
Posted by: CM of Berlin | Aug 20 2022 14:29 utc | 44
Posted by: evilsooty999 | Aug 20 2022 13:47 utc | 36
--
Of course, you do!
You live off what you Brits have stolen from countries in Asia nd Africa.
Posted by: RK | Aug 20 2022 14:30 utc | 45
Interesting. Every day we hear of up to a thousand plus motorists using dirt farm back roads fleeing the conflict. All heading eastward. The local Ukraine officials are pocketing between USD$400 to $500 greenbacks per person.
Then again, if I was part of the SBU/AFU country 404 sabotage brigade commander. Since there is a plentiful supply of Toyota AWD SUVs and Lada Niva 4WD SUVs. All of which are available at gunpoint in Western Ukraine. Being a deviant knowing that border police would be highly suspicious. Of any Toyota fallover SUV with a crew of four military-aged males.
I would send them as a male/female pair. In a Toyota Tacoma cab(back tray can be retrofitted with bolt-on weaponry) fallover/Lada Niva 4Dr/other SUVs. All are equipped with electric winches. Inside under the baggies full of household trinkets visible on the top. Would be assorted war toys/suicide drones. Hidden underneath. For the unfortunate border police on the Eastern side will be less vigilant given the volume of interlopers arriving daily. Perhaps the border police should also be equipped, with trained explosive sniffer dogs, too.
All of those fleeing to freedom from Country 404. Are seeking that elusive fast-track Russian Federation Passport/ID docs? There are bound to be a number of ringers(spies/saboteurs). Within the convoy fleeing country 404 militia draft for the next batch of cannon fodder troops sent on a one-way trip to boot hill.
With the arrival of the Autumn rains. Thus the second season of mud begins again, in country 404.
Posted by: Bad Deal Motors On | Aug 20 2022 14:31 utc | 46
No they don't. The only way it could happen is if something melts and then refreezes. I can guarantee you that does not happen in -30C, everything is bone dry. I did military service in -37C,...
Posted by: Norwegian | Aug 20 2022 14:11 utc | 39
You don't have steppes in Norway, do you? Have played war in Norway? Living in trenches, crawling in snow and ice under live shelling? Have you seen vehicles/engines etc getting frozen? When was the last time Norway was at war in cold weather areas?
Posted by: rp | Aug 20 2022 14:34 utc | 47
No idea about the source of this - Focus Online - but I was struck by the content of the article. This 'anger'(y) letter could have been written by ordinary citizens of almost any European country. Less so by U.S./Canada, but our natural gas prices haven't gone up 10x (yet). We'll also write some angry letters when it does, provided there's any standing government left in the U.S. or Canada to receive such a letter. Winter is coming - the food riots are going to be brutal.
Craftsmen call for the end of sanctions
Anger letter to Scholz: "Do you really want to sacrifice your country for Ukraine?"
[in German - Google translated below]
The most important * The Halle-Saalekreis district trade association in Saxony-Anhalt has written an open letter to Chancellor Olaf Scholz. * In it, they call for an end to all sanctions against Russia and to start negotiations to end the war against Ukraine. The letter is available to the editorial network Germany and has 16 signatories from all guilds."We would like to begin by emphasizing that Russia's attack on Ukraine is a clear violation of Article 2 of the UN Charter and is viewed and criticized by us as a serious crime," the letter said. However, this war did not start on February 24, 2022. In addition, the district craftsmen's association is "justifiably concerned. Concerns about the future of our children and grandchildren, worries about the continued existence of our businesses, worries about our country.”
"We know that the vast majority is not willing to sacrifice their hard-earned standard of living for Ukraine"
It goes on to say: “We as craftsmen know from many discussions with our customers that the vast majority is not willing to sacrifice their hard-earned standard of living for Ukraine. It's not our war either!"
According to a publication by Transparency International Deutschland eV, Ukraine will be 122nd in terms of corruption in 2021. "No other European country does worse here," say the signatories. And under no circumstances can one speak of a flawless democratic state in the case of Ukraine. The signatories therefore ask: "And you want to put Germany at risk for this?"
“Do you want to be the chancellor who ruined Germany”
It's rumoring in the country. Prices rose at such a rate that "average earners" would soon no longer be able to make a living. Then even normal, necessary manual work would become unaffordable, which would lead to layoffs and the closure of companies."Do you want to be the chancellor who ruined Germany?" It reads. "Do you really want to sacrifice your country for Ukraine?"
Craftsmen make three demands on Scholz
The district craftsmen's association therefore raises three demands: "1. Immediately stop all sanctions against Russia. 2. Immediately begin diplomatic negotiations to end the war. 3. All political decisions are to be checked for the benefits for the German people - as you have sworn."At the end of the letter it says: "We are not talking about 1 or 2 degrees less room temperature or whether swimming pools have to lower their water temperature. We're talking about Germany's death here! Many people in our country recognize that, why don't you?" And: "Change your course. In the interests of our homeland.”
Posted by: PavewayIV | Aug 20 2022 14:38 utc | 48
Bezos would never allow 'untruths' to be published or admit to running the largest prison service with parole for good behaviour on Amazon Plantation Inc.
We reside in Big Brother territory attempting to make sense of the nonsensical.
Still, the walls of their ivory towers, built on shaky ground, are showing all the hallmarks (cracks) of crumbling, much like Building 7 on 9/11, albeit without the insurance comps.
Posted by: WTFUD | Aug 20 2022 14:38 utc | 49
When was the last time Norway was at war in cold weather areas? Or Finland, or Sweden? Or, the 3 Balts or Poland?
Posted by: rp | Aug 20 2022 14:38 utc | 50
Or, France or Germany? They are very brave fighting poor/weaker countries in warm/hot areas in the world.
Posted by: rp | Aug 20 2022 14:40 utc | 51
Our doctors make us sick, and our military makes our lives precarious, our media make us uninformed, our jobs make us poor, our insurance bankrupts us, our food leaves us mal-nourished, our goverment want to govern everywhere except here, and badly. It just goes on and on.
Posted by: Bemildred | Aug 20 2022 13:10 utc |
Well said!
Question: do you think if the Republic were restored that things could become good or was it too flawed to pass the reality test over time?
TPaine is suggesting the same thing for Britain, a Reset involving restoration of parliamentary democracy to set things right.
But I suspect modern technology has changed the terrain of societal relations and logistics. Like it or not, and especially once CBDCs are soon in place we will be in a no privacy 100% surveilled world - globally. Probably ownership of property norms will change once money is no longer a privately held asset.
I have no pet theory to offer but suspect that traditional western democracy is too messy and antiquated. Probably we need a more Chinese style in which case the entire governance systems including functions of elected representatives and multiparty systems will need substantive rethink.
We Do need a Reset. But we might mess it up if we let oligarchs lead the process.
As a Brit, do you acknowledge the present prosperity of Britain is from hundreds of years of stealing from Asian, African and other countries? While the stealing was going on, hundreds of thousand natives of those countries were murdered, more or less genocide. Do you think, it is time for Britain to payback? But, has the British government learnt something from its genocidal history? Or, the British citizens?Do you think, it is alright for the Brits and Britain to just forget the former pirate/stealing/murderous past?
Posted by: RK | Aug 20 2022 13:21 utc | 33
As a descendant of Brits living in Canada, I have moved on and suggest you do so as well. My ancestors had nothing to do with the actions of the Empire and were, in some cases, also victims of bad government and financial policies, like conscription and usury.
The real story is excesses of the rich and powerful vs the rest of us, not of particular nation states. As many here regularly point out, polling indicates citizens are routinely opposed to the foreign policies of their governments, but unable to effect change.
Compared to the excesses of imperialism by other European countries, the British were relatively mild. They left behind quality infrastructure plus judicial and government structures that have greatly benefited the citizens of former colonies. What would India or Hong Kong be today without their intervention?
As for North America, recall that the serious genocide happened south of the border after the Revolutionary War. Recall that the Six Nations native tribes who fought with the British were relocated to Canada, rather than be left to be slaughtered.
You are free to feel guilt or advocate for reparations (too who?) it you so choose. I support native businesses near me when the opportunity arises. But I will never support the class of native leader grifters who live off guilting the government into giving them more money.
Posted by: Opport Knocks | Aug 20 2022 14:49 utc | 53
We Do need a Reset. But we might mess it up if we let oligarchs lead the process.
Posted by: Scorpion | Aug 20 2022 14:43 utc | 54
I don't think there should be any oligarchs. It is always the case with such people that many others live in want so that the big shots can party and prance about. Up until Raygun was selected, I still thought we could reform, but not since.
The problem is not the system, it is the corruption. We have plenty of laws, they are ignored except when convenient. No system will "work"
in that manner, it must actually be performed, or you have the gang style politics that we see. What does one like about Putin, that he follows the Russian political system, or that he performs his nominal job, looking out for his country and his people, very well? And what does one dislike about politcians in the USA? That they do spend their days with their nose in the corporate trough, while pretending to serve other people.
The only way out is through.
Posted by: Bemildred | Aug 20 2022 15:03 utc | 54
To prove that in the WaPo and many other Relotius media concerning Ukraine exclusively war propaganda is published - which does not mean that it is only about lies, rather the art lies in mixing truth and lie for the own purposes optimally - is meanwhile a boring business, because too obvious.
The central topic seems to me to be the originator of the shelling of the nuclear power plant, in which almost all Western sources, even the more critical ones, indulge in absurd agnosticism. This is highly outrageous, which must be said clearly. Of course, it is the Ukrainians who are engaged in nuclear terrorism, which is also indirectly legitimized by their leadership, which repeatedly makes it explicitly clear that the Russian attack entitles them to everything, really everything, regardless of the law of war and international law.
Shelling an active nuclear power plant is clearly a crime against humanity and should be condemned in the strongest possible terms and the perpetrators denounced.
Posted by: Pnyx | Aug 20 2022 15:06 utc | 55
Here's something to ponder about; when Russia wins this SMO and the fight with unipolarity, your country loses, that is, if you are living in one of the unfriendlies. Can you stand that?
Posted by: rp | Aug 20 2022 11:27 utc | 3
My country, Canada has already lost and Canadians' lives will continue to deteriorate under the WEF regime to foppery and serfdom.
Any other oprtion is better than slavery.
This is the hill to die upon.
Posted by: ld | Aug 20 2022 15:10 utc | 56
Shelling an active nuclear power plant is clearly a crime against humanity and should be condemned in the strongest possible terms and the perpetrators denounced.
Posted by: Pnyx | Aug 20 2022 15:06 utc | 57
Zee German Deutsche Welle published an article where they say the shelling of the npp is ok because the npp provides power to Russian army so it's a valid target. No problem with international law. Go for it zely!
Posted by: rk | Aug 20 2022 15:15 utc | 58
Zee German Deutsche Welle published an article where they say the shelling of the npp is ok because the npp provides power to Russian army so it's a valid target.
Posted by: rk | Aug 20 2022 15:15 utc | 60
-----
There you are. Nothing changes. It is the same old Nazi Germany.
Posted by: rp | Aug 20 2022 15:20 utc | 59
Not sure what to say.
And if sky are conditioning for national suicide.
And who the "we" is.
I don't think it's the Ukrainian people.
https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-wed-take-a-nuclear-attack-over-being-a-part-of-russia-12675791
Posted by: Jpc | Aug 20 2022 15:22 utc | 60
#8, #39, #49
You guys should invest in two clicks and see what the weather is like in Ukraine in winter. It is not Siberia.
Posted by: oldhippie | Aug 20 2022 15:35 utc | 61
[email protected] more than 10/15%. Kharkov is not in the LDNR, which is where most of the Militias, Chechens and Wagner fight. They fight to free their land, if Russia is to take Kharkov it will be with Russian regs. Fairly sure the Chechens will want to go there too and depending which gets liberated first, Wagner will send a Conductor and some horns.
Cheers M
Same with Odessa, it's outside the LDNR, that'll be Russians supporting the likes of the Odessa Brigade. Should it get that far. The LOC in the Kherson region has been static for months.
Posted by: sean the leprechaun | Aug 20 2022 15:40 utc | 62
One doesn't need to dig at all to refute WP's trash. One question suffices: If Ukies and their collective Western's intelligence agents were so good how come Russia's invasion caught them all by surprise?
I think what is happening, as it has been since the start of the Russia's SMO in Ukraine, is a case of projection. We all still remember how "Russia is losing" headlines in all Western corporate and major media not long ago. And all the usual 'anonymous sources' and western military experts predicting the end of Russian's missiles within two weeks.
I sympathize with the wannabe rulers of the world. This thing has not gone the way they wish and hope it would go. So it's understandable that they would like to prepare some false history for their children to read in the future. I'm sure some hacks are already busy writing the history of the war, giving the narratives all the false glories for their prefered side. And quoting NYT, WP, The Guardian, BBC, MSNBC and FOX News to support their narratives.
Yeah it's wonderful to live in interesting times.
Posted by: Steve | Aug 20 2022 15:43 utc | 63
To rk @60 and rp@61
Do you know that the supposed German Deutsche Welle has been run since 1945 by the US. Which means it is not a truly German news agency. They took it over in 45 and have not given it back
Germany truly are a captive nation
DeGaulle kicked the Americans out lock stock and barrel back in the day, but Germany remains enslaved. I actually have sympathy for them. This would not have happened under the former Mdme Chancellor. She actually had a bit of a backbone, but the US waited her out.
Posted by: DaVinci | Aug 20 2022 15:45 utc | 64
Posted by: evilsooty999 | Aug 20 2022 13:47 utc | 36
I love how Brits and Americans love to babble on about democracy but manage to also hold the belief that democracy does not confer responsibility. They actually conceptualize their systems of government as limited liability stock corporations, but won’t admit it. “Don’t blame me, I’m just a shareholder.”
Other nations are supposed to throw off the shackles of authoritarianism or be starved until they do. Maybe the Americans and Brits can try that if the leaders of their democracies are not representing the will of the common people. If the common people of those lands don’t change their leadership, even with the benefit of democracy, does that mean they actually approve of their leaders’ behavior? If they can’t effect their will, then logically they don’t have a democracy. That would require them to either obtain one in the manner prescribed to all those toiling under authoritarianism or shut the hell up.
I don’t believe in western democracy. I still know that I am responsible for what is done in my name to some degree. How can it be otherwise?
Posted by: Lex | Aug 20 2022 15:45 utc | 65
Re MoA’s quote of WaPo:
“ In the final days before the invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s security service began sending cryptic instructions to informants in Kyiv. Pack up and get out of the capital, the Kremlin collaborators were told, but leave behind the keys to your homes.”
This could have indeed happened as a part of the RF MoD’s feint toward Kiev to lock up Ukranian forces and/or for RF to discern which of their agents in Kiev were playing both sides.
All effective propaganda has a glimmer of truth amidst the lies in order to make it believable. The WaPo article may be no different.
Posted by: Ciaran | Aug 20 2022 15:48 utc | 66
You guys should invest in two clicks and see what the weather is like in Ukraine in winter. It is not Siberia.
Posted by: oldhippie | Aug 20 2022 15:35 utc | 63
Ever been to Russian or Ukrainian steppes in winter?
Posted by: rp | Aug 20 2022 15:50 utc | 67
The other circular confidence trick the MSM employ is quoting each others` fake stories. They all broadcast the same BS at the same time and it becomes then gospel....the primary source is usually some email from the 3 letter agencies. Journalism died early at the turn of this century when every outlet was begging to be "embedded" in the core of the military escapades
Posted by: DaVinci | Aug 20 2022 15:52 utc | 68
As a descendant of Brits living in Canada,...
Posted by: Opport Knocks | Aug 20 2022 14:49 utc | 55
Have you heard of the Oath Allegiance? Who do you swear allegiance to?
To the same old pirate family chieftain of Britain?
Posted by: RK | Aug 20 2022 16:00 utc | 69
@DaVinci | Aug 20 2022 15:52 utc | 70
Yes, they quote each other and often they "quote" Ukr. Basically all info comes from what Ukr "says". And the always present unnamed politician or general or whatever.
Posted by: rk | Aug 20 2022 16:07 utc | 70
considering one of the asian countries that court the elderly. since i don't live in a democracy and i can't speak my mind here anyway (job)
and the cost and standard of living is much better in some of them and they have ex-pat communities...
Posted by: polarbear4 | Aug 20 2022 16:09 utc | 71
rp @ 69
No. I live in Chicago which is similar but colder. We have a large Ukrainian population here and they tell me Chicago is colder. You won't search or make one click to verify.
Posted by: oldhippie | Aug 20 2022 16:10 utc | 72
Why occupy a nuclear plant and make a target out of it until control of surrounding area out of artillery range, is established? Yet more 5D chess or plain incompetence?
Posted by: NewWorldDisorder | Aug 20 2022 16:11 utc | 73
@oldhippie | Aug 20 2022 15:35 utc | 63
You guys should invest in two clicks and see what the weather is like in Ukraine in winter. It is not Siberia.Sure, I know that. I was just replying to nonsense about feet getting stuck to the ground in -30C.
That said, there is historic precedence for the weather getting really cold in Ukraine/Belarus whenever some European army marches on Russia. The famous diagram by Charles Minard shows among other things the temperatures as Napoleon's army retreated in 1812. It was -30C at one stage. This was during the Dalton Minimum, one of the historic Grand Solar Minimums, explaining the low temperatures.
During WWII it was also particularly cold, but no Grand Solar Minimum. However, we are now in Solar Cycle 25 and NASA’s forecast for the next solar cycle (25) reveals it will be the weakest of the last 200 years, so the conditions are right for another repeat of these historic events.
Posted by: Norwegian | Aug 20 2022 16:12 utc | 74
The nuclear plant is located in the city of Enerhodar … oblast Zaporizhzhia
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62432873
I know perfectly well what it is like to be outside at -33C in a 90kph wind. Know what it is to spend a day shoveling a meter or more of snow off the roof. And I know what it is like to fall off that roof. Ukrainians I used to know (they are all insufferable and currently out of my life) told me this never occurs in Ukraine.
Posted by: oldhippie | Aug 20 2022 16:19 utc | 76
As noted during the whole Russia-gate blow up; the FBI leaks to the NY Times. The CIA leaks to the WaPo.
Admin "officials" leak to the AP and CNN. DNC leaks to whoever will listen.
And I recall a US poll from earlier this year, (hope I have this correct) that only 11% trust news print, and only 23% trust news broadcast. The two are probably not mutually exclusive, so in general, over 75% of US doesn't really trust (or worry) about what is being reported.
Posted by: BroncoBilly | Aug 20 2022 16:22 utc | 77
Posted by: Norwegian | Aug 20 2022 16:12 utc | 76
-
Even though you are a Norwegian, you've never been in steppes, either Russian or Ukrainian. And, you've never been in trenches in the steppes under live shelling. None of the brave countries -- the 3 Balts, Poland, Finland, Sweden or Norway had ever been in a war situation in cold areas for last 77 years, the last one being 1945 or just before.
Come to steppes and sit in a trench (or in a unheated vehicle) with just -10 Centigrade and with just 10km/hr wind without any hot food, or tea, or even vodka. Winter is coming. Ukraine has until November.
Posted by: rp | Aug 20 2022 16:24 utc | 78
I watched the video with Ze's expressions; what it brought to mind was watching Ms Freeland listening to Trudeau speak her words, nodding along, during the trucker strike, totally not self-aware.
Posted by: Bemildred | Aug 20 2022 16:28 utc | 79
Some news from UkrMoD
I hope it is Russian trolls' fake.
Must not be real...
https://t.me/ukraineneveragain/15126
Posted by: Arioch | Aug 20 2022 16:29 utc | 80
Posted by: Bemildred | Aug 20 2022 16:28 utc | 81
If i guess what video you refer too, then there is undying classic fer ya
Posted by: Arioch | Aug 20 2022 16:30 utc | 81
Jpc | Aug 20 2022 15:22 utc | 62
better glowing red than being red. Western policy since August 1945.
Posted by: rjb1.5 | Aug 20 2022 16:33 utc | 82
@rp | Aug 20 2022 16:24 utc | 80
You are debating a strawman.
I repeat: "The Russians will be prepared and have few problems over the winter. Ukrainians will be devastated due to lack of equipment, proper clothes and food."
Posted by: Norwegian | Aug 20 2022 16:33 utc | 83
james headline - moa comment section continues to deteriorate..
we lost ostro but got rk and rp instead.. either way it is annoying... rk/rp = ostro?
@ Bemildred | Aug 20 2022 13:10 utc | 31 quote :
"I am WASP USA-ian as can be, born and raised here and no place else I plan to call home, and I just want to agree; I've been waiting 40 years now for this, win or lose, just to get rid of these economic and "national security" parasites we've been infested with. Our doctors make us sick, and our military makes our lives precarious, our media make us uninformed, our jobs make us poor, our insurance bankrupts us, our food leaves us mal-nourished, our goverment want to govern everywhere except here, and badly. It just goes on and on."
hear, hear! from this canuck to the north of you...
Posted by: james | Aug 20 2022 16:36 utc | 84
@ PavewayIV | Aug 20 2022 14:38 utc | 50
thanks for the translation of that letter from yesterdays thread...
Posted by: james | Aug 20 2022 16:37 utc | 85
LOLOL... it is 100% symbolic. I admit it is bizarre to swear allegiance to what is now only a taxpayer subsidized tourist attraction. It would be like Americans swearing allegiance to Mickey Mouse and Disney. Though that might be a better reflection of current reality.
Posted by: Opport Knocks | Aug 20 2022 16:51 utc | 86
The kit Russian soldiers are outfitted with is #1. The current military show displays the very wide assortment of kits depending on where the soldiers are working. And there's a vast difference between Russian and American contract soldiers related to Esprit de Corps and Patriotism, the latter having very little of either. And then there's the existential factor of defending your nation and family that greatly alters the level of morale upward. Some of that existed at the SMO's outset within the UAF but has been utterly destroyed by Zelensky and his NATO bosses complete lack of concern for line soldiers. Many more would break and run if not for the fear of being shot in the back. I recall the reports about the effects of the Iranian missile assault on the US base after Soleimani's assassination and suggest readers assess how much worse constant artillery bombardment is in comparison. No one gets paid enough to endure such punishment, and reports are Ukie soldiers are seldom paid.
I review all that because the talk now has the war escalating to a direct Russia-NATO confrontation, which is a conflict NATO will lose badly. That's why Macron was told to call Putin. But Macron's just a toady and isn't who Putin wants to get a call from; Biden isn't that person either. Putin wants to talk to those who outrank the Commander in Chief.
moa comment section continues to deteriorate..
Posted by: james | Aug 20 2022 16:36 utc | 86
So get lost then. Too much free time?
karlof1 | Aug 20 2022 16:52 utc | 90
Macaron is building a new nato base for 1k happy men in Romania but I don't think is as profitable as Mali was.
Posted by: rk | Aug 20 2022 17:03 utc | 88
@ rk | Aug 20 2022 17:03 utc | 91
you are a fucking shit... you will be getting lost before i do..
Posted by: james | Aug 20 2022 17:05 utc | 89
Come to steppes and sit in a trench (or in a unheated vehicle) with just -10 Centigrade and with just 10km/hr wind without any hot food, or tea, or even vodka. Winter is coming. Ukraine has until November.Posted by: rp | Aug 20 2022 16:24 utc | 80
The weather in Ukraine is milder than in Southern Ontario or upstate New York.
Please review the past drone footage of Ukrainian trenches in urban areas between the basements of houses. In any case, you are right that the ground and artillery phase of the war is almost over and all that is left is a sustained guerilla campaign of sabotage and assassinations.
Posted by: Opport Knocks | Aug 20 2022 17:07 utc | 90
Arioch | Aug 20 2022 11:24 utc | 1
excellent point. We want "Bayhem." just look at how the Chinaman loves loves loves his/her Transformer movies, despite all that STEM exposure in schools. how does 'the Straight Story' rate in China to any one of the F&F series? because they can't relate to people sitting on lawn mowers in Beijing? (I haven't seen any of these 10 movies, btw.)
Anyway, like Mephistophiles checking in with the Old Man upstairs from time to time, it's good to review the NYT and the like, the headlines. you get the flavor of the crap they are shoveling just from the homepage. remind yourself who they work for, w/all the product placement and sports news. see the rhetorical strategery at work, esp here in the US, where Ukraine might as well be Mars. like Mikey, we'll eat anything in the US.
also, where do the ideas come from that they scribble? we can learn something about the real Enemy from the spittle their bootlicks manage to froth up and sputter against official fiends. e.g., the fact that the shelling of the NPP is even in the Western media should warn us that there is the possibility of an attack upon the facility. it's called predictive programming, right?
Posted by: rjb1.5 | Aug 20 2022 17:08 utc | 91
Jpc | Aug 20 2022 15:22 utc | 62
from the article you linked:
"All money we spend, together with my wife, is to support our army, to support the guys who we know... it's the main purpose of still working." gee, i bet this guy is the life of the nazi party.
I think of the sanctions regimes imposed on Iraq and numerous others when I think of the artificial misery the EU gov'ts are creating intentionally for their own peoples. Are the gov'ts coercing people into a war mentality thru deprivation? hmmmm...what will the outcome be? nothing will be allowed to exist outside of Big B's conflicts. if grandma wants to keep warm, she can pick up a flaming freedom cocktail.
no one should be surprised that the Western powers will create a nuclear disaster if they think it's in their interests. But lots of Math majors who call themselves leftists also want a nuclear holocaust as well, as long as Brussels and London and DC get it. no fallout from these policies, is there? why leave out Sydney and Tokyo and Sao Paolo?
I lived in Washington DC for far too long and regularly found myself quoting "Aliens" re that bottomless cesspool on the Potomac:
"nuke the site from orbit. it's the only way to be sure." not actually a good plan, on planet earth.
Posted by: rjb1.5 | Aug 20 2022 17:15 utc | 92
hear, hear! from this canuck to the north of you...
Posted by: james | Aug 20 2022 16:36 utc | 86
Thank you James, appreciate your support.
Posted by: Bemildred | Aug 20 2022 17:16 utc | 93
rjb1.5 | August 20, 2022 at 17:15
"My wife and I no longer make love. Instead, we perform our 'duty to the Party'."
"We had a butterfly garden, but now my wife and I use the garden to teach local children how to plant landmines."
Posted by: rjb1.5 | Aug 20 2022 17:21 utc | 94
No they don't. The only way it could happen is if something melts and then refreezes. I can guarantee you that does not happen in -30C, everything is bone dry. I did military service in -37C,...
Posted by: Norwegian | Aug 20 2022 14:11 utc | 39
.
That's nonsense what they say!
You freeze if you don't move...
Ever worked in Siberia at -43 degrees?
Welded pipes welded standing on one spot for a long time?
Then you would know how quickly they can no longer move their feet from the spot.
Our trucks and cars ran 24/7 around the clock, but the diesel often froze without adding premium petrol or Spititus when the engine was running! 3 minutes without gloves and your fingers were gone!
In the Ukraine (east) it almost never gets that cold, dangerous because the winds or storms can kill any living being that has no oven no protection over its head! And Russians will then still be able to fight, BUT Russia has long-range weapons in quantities, is probably preparing them in masses!
Weekends no longer exist in Russian armaments factories Production has increased by 70%. But certainly not because of Ukraine!
The West (NATO) makes a huge mistake to provoke Russia so close to winter! A mighty one!
.
But haughty as you are do you make this one it seems?
Also because you have to, otherwise the Ukraine will be finished!
.
Posted by: mac998 | Aug 20 2022 17:22 utc | 95
Posted by: rp | Aug 20 2022 14:38 utc | 52
"When was the last time Norway was at war in cold weather areas? Or Finland, or Sweden? Or, the 3 Balts or Poland?"
Are you stupid or just on meds? Norway fought in 1940 against the Nazis in the snow; Finland fought against the Rooskies in 1939-40 (there is a clue in the name of that war, wanna try and guess?).
Posted by: GimpDetector | Aug 20 2022 17:26 utc | 96
The weather in Ukraine is milder than in Southern Ontario or upstate New York.
Posted by: Opport Knocks | Aug 20 2022 17:07 utc | 93
--
Milder maybe in British Columbia, where is some areas snow doesn't fall in winter, if at all only for a week or so. But in the neighbouring Alberta or Saskatchewan, its completely different story. Anyway, Ukraine has until November to "win" the war.
Posted by: rp | Aug 20 2022 17:27 utc | 97
@ karlof1 90
Putin wants to talk to those who outrank the Commander in Chief
Perhaps I pick on you too much but it's just because I want you to be perfect.
The president is commonly and mistakenly referred to as the US Commander in Chief when he is actually, constitutionally in Article II, restricted to military commandership and not to foreign political decisions.. "The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States. . "
Biden IS NOT the Commander in Chief of you and me. . .just wanted to make that clear.
Posted by: Don Bacon | Aug 20 2022 17:28 utc | 98
The other circular confidence trick the MSM employ is quoting each others` fake stories
Posted by: DaVinci | Aug 20 2022 15:52 utc | 70
in re: circular references
yes, as if the Yella Cake caper were not the "free press" business model for the century forthcoming, I would be remiss not to remind the gullible of the "stories" with which the US House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI, formerly known as HUAC) and Senate Foreign Relations Committee furnished their minority then majority reports of "investigations" into Trump-Russia collusion, in turn employed by the US DOJ to warrant FISA wiretaps of DNC opposition party functionaries, 2016-2020, and Rbt. Mueller speshul counsel.
Schiff pumped out volumes of this "unclassified" trash, which few hi- and low-info eligible voters read in their entirety (ranging 100 - 300 pp/ea) preferring instead to trust the shear repitition of headline DOSSIER Cliff's Notes. But if they had either the time or a device display large enough to accommodate a pdf reader, the footnotes suffice on the truth of allegations made. Always read the footnotes.
Posted by: sln2002 | Aug 20 2022 17:31 utc | 99
@ rk | Aug 20 2022 17:03 utc | 91
you are a fucking shit... you will be getting lost before i do..
Posted by: james | Aug 20 2022 17:05 utc | 92
Thank You James
Overdue.
b needs to weed out these 'folks'
Have a nice Sunday Sir
Posted by: ld | Aug 20 2022 17:33 utc | 100
The comments to this entry are closed.
Look, when you watch soap operas about lost brothers and kidnapped sisters like the famous Santa-Barbara, do you demand them to represent mundane life facts accurately? Do you demand them to have multiple, overlapping and crosschecking sources?
No! You demand them to be entertainijg and addictive, that's all.
Your treating Ukraine and WaPo with different standard is not fair.
Posted by: Arioch | Aug 20 2022 11:24 utc | 1