For context, the average age of the mobilized in Russia, according to Shoigu, is 35 years old.

Posted by: Наш акул | Oct 2 2023 8:02 utc | 1

forty (40) for now.. in a few weeks average becomes 50 and up

Posted by: andreweed | Oct 2 2023 8:05 utc | 2

Have more than 100 Jewish Ukrainians served in the Ukrainian military since the start of the war? Are there more Jewish Ukrainians with net worths over $100 million than the number who have served in the military during the war?

Posted by: trainer | Oct 2 2023 8:06 utc | 3

Does this therefore verify the maxim that there are old soldiers and there are bold soldiers, but there are no old, bold soldiers?

Posted by: This Accountant | Oct 2 2023 8:20 utc | 4

Guess there are few 60 yr olds. So (very roughly) there are two 5O yr olds for every 20 yr old.

Yet at the beginning of the war numerous interviews of Ukrainians (then civilians) demonstrated that it was the young who were "pro-west" with a naive media-formed view of what it meant to be "European." Older people who knew the realities of industry, agriculture, & 30 years of living in a failed state corrupted by liberalisation, were less enthusiast, a division that cut across the blurred Russian/Ukrainian speaking line.

It used to be: "do you want to send your sons t die in a pointless war?" Now it's do you want to send granddad..?"

Posted by: geoff chambers | Oct 2 2023 8:26 utc | 5

No one of any age should be fighting for the diabolical plans of the grifters in Washington DC. Stop this madness.

Ben Wallace was sacked as UK defence (war) secretary. He falsely claimed to have arrested an IRA cell when he was in the British Army. He should stop being an accessory to murder by imploring others to join the senseless destruction, and if he feels so strongly about his class war on behalf of his neoliberal masters, he should go to Donbas himself and run headlong into the Surovkin line and meet Bandera.

Posted by: Lev Davidovich | Oct 2 2023 8:55 utc | 6

His exact meaning is unclear, but he seems to be suggesting that children be drafted into the war (which, obviously, would be monstrous).

I'm reminded of the Rotherham child exploitation scandal, which also seemed to be the feeding of children into a meat grinder for political ends.

Posted by: Boris Badenov | Oct 2 2023 8:59 utc | 7

Desperation of the waste in double-speak

Putin is desperately grasping at the final two things that can save him – time and the splitting of the international community. Should read: Putin has us by the short and curlies, time is on the Russians side and increasingly the RoW is taking their side.

Britain can do something about both. We must help Ukraine maintain its momentum – and that will require more munitions, ATACMSs and Storm Shadows. Should read: We have to give the impression that we are tough and dangerous.

And the best way to keep the international community together is the demonstration of success. Should read: So that we can continue to intimidate and cow the RoW to follow our rules.

Posted by: Lantern Dude | Oct 2 2023 9:01 utc | 8

@trainer Please stop with the antisemitism. It's what Azov and the like are all about. Shameful.

Posted by: Treehill | Oct 2 2023 9:02 utc | 9

It's safe enough for the EU foreign ministers to go for a meeting.
Funny old war!

Posted by: jpc | Oct 2 2023 9:06 utc | 10

Posted by: Treehill | Oct 2 2023 9:02 utc | 9

Jews are at the center of the events of the war. And Jewish influence in the US created this situation. Are Jews on the frontlines? There needs to be a lot more criticism of the Jewish community for starting the war and keeping it going.

Posted by: trainer | Oct 2 2023 9:14 utc | 11

I agree with B the big "tell" in this is the over 40 remark ... it's only a matter of time, and I'm not going to worry about that anymore. The other thing this excerpt shows is the pattern of "Putin is desperately..... and "Putin knows a.......". "Putin thinks X..." or "Putin is doing this because ....", These guys always (stupidly) believe they know Putin from the inside out. And they don't. I see it all the time with these "media commentators" and "think tank experts" how confident they are they know what Putin is thinking, what he wants, and what's going to do about X. As if they are all professional mind readers, trained Psychics that and know Putin intimately and personally in great detail. when they don't anything about him or what he's thinking - they don't even know what he has actually said repeatedly. They are all ignorant fools trying to tell the world they are brilliant. It's such a massive joke - and they keep plying it on themselves. They are clueless fools - all of them.

Posted by: Lavrov's Dog | Oct 2 2023 9:22 utc | 12

If I understand the law correctly in Ukraine those who are liable for conscription (18-27) cannot be mobilised. There was a draft proposal to reduce the conscription age down to 25 so that those 26-27 could be mobilised.

What Ben Wallace seems to want is that the age group 18-25 needs to be mobilised. Meaning the ranks of those 26 and up are depleted. Taking this into account and the fact that from 01 October women are being drafted, at the current rate of attrition The Ukraine will simply be a geographic expression by 2025.

Posted by: Down South | Oct 2 2023 9:24 utc | 13

Wallace needs to be sending 18-27 year old Brits to the slaughter - there's a good chap. 250,000 sounds like a good start.

Posted by: Lavrov's Dog | Oct 2 2023 9:28 utc | 14

"Let us not pause for one day. Let us see this through".

How very Churchillian! I am strongly reminded of Jim Hacker in "Yes, Minister".

"The world is watching to see if the West has the resolve to stand up for our values and the rules-based system".

That thicket of vague, emotionally loaded verbiage would be interesting to construe. What, exactly, are the West's "values"; what is this fabulous "rules-based system"?

People like Wallace are forever mouthing off about our wonderful values, while they wipe their feet on those values every single day. How about one of our most fundamental values - freedom of speech? Julian Assange, anyone? Craig Murray? All the decent, conscientious, capable doctors and scientists who tried to tell the truth about "Covid"? Those who try to explain that there isn't any "global warming" to worry about? People who try to find out what is being said and done in Russia, China, Iran and other countries, instead of treating them as political lepers? And above all those who understand that the fighting in Ukraine is utterly unnecessary and in the interests solely of ambitious politicians and businessmen?

Posted by: Tom Welsh | Oct 2 2023 9:31 utc | 15

Sadly it is quite premature to "end the war".

The lessons will otherwise have to be repeated until they are learned.

Of course it is a tragedy. Yet it has so much more to give.

Posted by: too scents | Oct 2 2023 9:37 utc | 16

From Russian frontline reporting, there's a preponderance of young boys serving in the regular forces and then in the volunteer battalions, officer corps, special forces etc you'll find exceptionally fit 40', 50' and even 60' year olds. I wouldn't say that 40 is some sort of threshold for physical prowess and military utility, and that it's all down-hill from there -- this isn't a football game or some 1 on 1 fight, not that age necessarily proves decisive there either.

Provided one keeps in shape, as one presumes career military professionals do, 50 might well be an optimal age for taking on 20 year olds who've recently been whipped into shape at bootcamp. There are certain reflexes that have more to do with work experience than natural reaction which can't be acquired in any other way, strength and toughness that has more to do with mental preparedness than physical aptitude and other factors which offset the objective reality of an aging body. That of course only applies to seasoned soldiers. If you're pulling 40 year olds off the street, who've only held regular civilian jobs since their mandatory service 20 odd years ago, if they even have that, it's unrealistic to expect that they can be turned into soldiers. But it still has less to do with age and more to do with time spent on civilian pursuits which cannot be recuperated -- maybe, if one is drafted at 40, 10-15 years of both non-stop training and active military service will net you a comparable result to 2-3 years of the same at 18 years old.

The People's Militia of DNR&LNR is a good case study of what you can expect from a soldier who enlists at an advanced age, but is then allowed to train and gets to see sporadic combat over a long period of time -- it's a mixed bag but not to be underestimated. Of course, the People's Militias included both young and old, experienced veterans and rookies and its essence can't be accurately described by a single snapshot of any time period or even frontline section.

Posted by: Skiffer | Oct 2 2023 9:42 utc | 17

@ 1

Further context, there's a difference between professional reservists. Called back into service, and press-ganged draftees.

Wallace of course is full of dogcrap. After all who is this "we" he speaks of?. Whatever you can say about the AFU they're the ones doing the fighting. They also should be doing the "training" for NATO troops, not the other way round.

As every Ukrainian who has served a single day on the battlefield, knows more about real conventional warfare than the entire officer & NCO corps of NATOland...

Posted by: Urban Fox | Oct 2 2023 9:48 utc | 18

RE: Posted by: Boris Badenov | Oct 2 2023 8:59 utc | 7

Agreed. “Unclear” is right. “Preserving” what youth? He may mean Universities. From what I understand, you can’t be drafted if your in University, so a whole lot of Ukrainians
Rush and went to schools.

Guess he means “empty the Colleges”.

I don’t know the population status, but in the every nation, you need to preserve Fireman, Policemen, Tow Truck drivers, Plumbers, Electricians, Construction crews, Truckers, Fork lift workers ect. These are usually younger male people.

All I can figure is he wants the Colleges and Universities emptied, what do slave plebs need an education for?
Send the bodies in!

Posted by: Trubind1 | Oct 2 2023 10:00 utc | 19

Given the wildly exaggerated estimates of the Paraguayan War casualties (corrected by John Hoyt Williams and Vera Blinn Reber), it makes little sense to compare to the present war in the Ukraine. The population of the Ukraine has been dwindling since 1991 and today may be around 25 million for the area still under NATO control. We will have to wait till the dust settles before any solid observations can be made about the demographic consequences of the SMO.

I realize that the studies on Paraguay by politically correct mrs. Potthast (hardly to be considered a serious scholar) are attractive because they appeal to the taste for a kind of "pornography of violence" (courtesy John Keegan) that is all too common, especially among the gullible public.

There is actually (mirabile dictu) a decent discussion of the issue on wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraguayan_War_casualties

Posted by: Hans Vogel | Oct 2 2023 10:03 utc | 20

It seems that only three months ago, while still UK Secretary of State for Defence, Ben Wallace chided President Zelensky for not showing enough gratitude for the weapons and equipment Ukraine had received. Wallace told Zelensky that Ukraine's international allies were not Amazon (the corporation, that is).

Now we hear that Wallace's successor Grant Shapps has visited Ukraine and discussed with Zelensky the possibility of Britian providing air defences for Ukraine and deploying British troops to that country to train soldiers.

British troops could deploy to Ukraine for first time to train soldiers, says Grant Shapps

That is, until UK PM Rishi Sunak nixed that idea of sending British troops over.

It seems that UK Defence Secretaries are so gung-ho about helping Ukraine that they end up blurting out things their Prime Ministers would rather the public didn't know.

Posted by: Refinnejenna | Oct 2 2023 10:16 utc | 21

"old bold soldiers"

Doge Enrico Dandolo (r. 1192-1205 CE, lived 1107-1205) was the Doge, leader of Venice. In 1204 leading the 4th Crusade stopped in Constantinople to plan with heir ally.

One thing led to another and Dandolo, 97 years of age and blind, sacked the city.

Old, bold and blind.

Posted by: canuck | Oct 2 2023 10:18 utc | 22

The west found a new form of cope by saying that Ukraine so far is only fighting with a fraction of it's power. It is "fighting with only it's old men" and there is a massive, untapped source of personnel, of brimming young men who could be far more skilled and talented as tactical commanders and finally unleash a stunning wave of armored mobility warfare.

Posted by: T6 | Oct 2 2023 10:20 utc | 23

Since Ukraine has mobilised all able men aged 18-60, it's natural that the average age of their soldiers is around 40 y.o. Whether casualties took a heavier toll in a certain age is something we do not know for sure, yet.

Posted by: Jimmy A | Oct 2 2023 10:20 utc | 24

The other thing this excerpt shows is the pattern of "Putin is desperately..... and "Putin knows a.......". "Putin thinks X..." or "Putin is doing this because ....", These guys always (stupidly) believe they know Putin from the inside out. And they don't. I see it all the time with these "media commentators" and "think tank experts" how confident they are they know what Putin is thinking, what he wants, and what's going to do about X. As if they are all professional mind readers, trained Psychics that and know Putin intimately and personally in great detail. when they don't anything about him or what he's thinking - they don't even know what he has actually said repeatedly. They are all ignorant fools trying to tell the world they are brilliant. It's such a massive joke - and they keep plying it on themselves. They are clueless fools - all of them.

Posted by: Lavrov's Dog | Oct 2 2023 9:22 utc | 12

To which I add....
The Russian's have a full blown government... With all major pieces pulling in tandem...
Shiogu...procurement
Lavrov... public relations
Mishustin... domestic economy
Putin.... strategy
STAVKA... operations

INDY

Posted by: Dr. George W Oprisko | Oct 2 2023 10:30 utc | 25

Lavrov's Dog | Oct 2 2023 9:22 utc | 12

The Western media not only know Putin's mind inside out, they know his doctor's mind inside out too, judging by the number of "Putin is dying of X" stories.

It's standard Rules For Radicals.

"Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it."

So it's never "Russia", it's "Putin".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rules_for_Radicals

Posted by: YetAnotherAnon | Oct 2 2023 10:30 utc | 26

Looks like there will be a new population in Ukraine by the conjugation between Ukrainian women and Russian soldiers.

That will effortlessly integrate the two nations.

Life expectancy of Ukrainian men in adulthood (not those born now) is 68 years. This makes matters worse for Ukraine.

Russia now knows how to attack Ukraine where it hurts most. Target young soldiers, training facilities, mobilization centres, special forces and foreign investments (nothing more than weapons factories), use fragmentation and pallet explosives.

Posted by: Jason | Oct 2 2023 10:44 utc | 27

When I read Wallace's comments the context of the words strongly suggested that he supported lower the age of enlistment to 16yrs old. Remember, Ukraine made a big public display a few weeks ago of barring children 16yrs and older from leaving the country although they didn't start enlisting child soldiers yet, because some defeatists in the West actually suggested that this was "wrong" somehow. So Wallace has come out in support of Ukraine's child soldier scheme, once Ukraine starts a mass mobilization of children I think the Ukrainian collapse will follow soon after, the Hitler Youth 2.0 plan is just more drowning man actions that blow back on the West even worse. As after victory the Russians will certainly arrest every Ukrainian figure involved in this latest horrific crime against humanity and make a big public trial over it. It wouldn't surprise me if Russia even put out some arrest warrants for westerners for crimes against children for their involvement in the plan.

Posted by: Kadath | Oct 2 2023 11:00 utc | 28

Posted by: Patience | Oct 2 2023 10:51 utc | 28

1) Ashkenazis are not of semitic descent as their very name says. Their ethnic origin is Turk.

You are mistaken. Search Wikipedia for "Ashkenazi". Some details:

Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim[a], are a Jewish diaspora population who formed in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium CE.

It is estimated that in the 11th century, Ashkenazim comprised 3 percent of the global Jewish population, while an estimate made in 1930 (near the population's peak) listed them as comprising 92 percent of the world's Jewish population. However, the Ashkenazi population was largely destroyed as a result of the Holocaust that was carried out by Nazi Germany during World War II, which affected almost every Jewish European family.

Posted by: Contrarian_Ed | Oct 2 2023 11:08 utc | 29

Before that Ben Wallace piece was published, Gilbert Doctorow also observed that those dying fighting in Ukraine are

Posted by: Brendan | Oct 2 2023 11:14 utc | 30

Sorry my previous post got messedup.

Before that Ben Wallce piece was published, Gilbert Doctorow also observed that those dying fighting in Ukraine are not as young as some people believe.

TThose who say this have obviously never looked closely at Russian or Ukrainian videos from the front. If you do so, you reach an entirely different conclusion: that this war is being fought by males aged 30 and over, with a very large contingent over 50.

As regards Ukrainian males, youth has fled the war to seek refuge in Western Europe. I see them, hear them with their girl friends or wives shopping near me in Brussels. The Ukrainian armed forces today have a very large contingent of males who are dragooned off the streets of Kiev and other cities and force marched onto the field of battle. These are the gaunt and worn faces I see among prisoners of war on Russian television.

Posted by: Brendan | Oct 2 2023 11:17 utc | 31

I’m not fully certain how to read this.

https://tass.com/russia/1682965
"Traffic restrictions are planned on October 2 at access roads to the Crimean Bridge with the complete closing of the motorway part of the bridge for the period from 09:00 p.m. to 06:00 p.m. on October 3," the press service informed.”

The Crimean Bridge is planned to be fully opened for the traffic by November 1.

Looks like plan to use service road. In any case, they definitely want limit bridge use for next 30 days. The “repairs” were unspecified, so either damaged more than we know, or a desire to slow civilian usage or both.
It’s probably nothing more than a repair.

Posted by: Trubind1 | Oct 2 2023 11:18 utc | 32

Benjamin Wallace is simply calling for young male Ukranian Citizens living in NATO countries to be press ganged. Around 10 million fled Kiev ruled territory since 2014 and moved to NATO countries.

BTW - A further 6 million fled the Kiev ruled territories and moved to the RF over the same period.

Posted by: Exile | Oct 2 2023 11:18 utc | 33

Ben ‘Full Tonto’ Wallace has wholly earned himself that racist title.

The effete , aristo , militaristic natzionists of England and Europe are emerging from behind their masks and showing their rusty poisonous claws - all pretences dropped - the snarling, murderous bastards final hand is forced.

So it’s to be another suicidal Charge of the Light Brigade into the Russian cannons in the Crimea ! This time the Admirals get to own the Fail.
The Senior Service leading this attempt.
Yes they really are that crazed.
A suicidal massacre to create another myth around which to build deluded future generations hatred of Russianism for the avaricious purposes of our Owners and Masters. The same as a 150, 200 + years ago and more.

My guess was that a seaborne flank was always the plan, to be launched as soon as the land attacks and river crossing had some success to isolate the peninsula before moving a naval base next to Sevastopol- to isolate and harangue the Black Sea fleet at its home.
To claim control over the Crossroads of the new world order.

The plan of the current generation of fools , brewed since the 90’s, waiting until the WW2 generations are dead, as their memory of the Russian allies who beat the Nazis gone, as much as the memory of the actual brutal Nazis, now our allies!!

An Orwellian predicted plan of how to completely turnaround perceptions.
Nazis Good . Russians Bad.
Rules good , Laws bad.
We always right, they always wrong.

So the only question is, will it be with a bang or a whimper?

These grain ships which have been travelling back and forth making strange circles on both sides of the Bosporous- it can only be because of the Naval gazers machinations. The James bonding SBS, submariners and marines. They’re ‘stealthy’ new subs and fast attack and landing craft , the super duper naval drones!

‘Oh look , the dumb russkies are not able to defend themselves against our superior British homemade secret weapons , huzzah , CHAARRRGE!!’

‘See Dmitry, the General was right, let’s pretend we can’t stop their crafty little genius toy boats and they really would be foolish enough to keep throwing themselves into our traps , they just never learn. No matter how many centuries pass, let me ask Xi if we can splat them this time otherwise they’ll come back in 50 years. “

A bang ? Or a silent and deadly whimper under the waves? With only floatsam and bits of bodies washing up on the beaches of Crimea to lay claim of conquest?

I really can’t eat anymore popcorn and champagne after the summer blockbuster disaster movies. And the Rugby World Cup beer and pizzas. South Africa again is my prediction, a new paradigm team full of South Africans of merit. The Apartheid era erased.

See history can be learned from and a new successful future can emerge, given the chance.

Maybe a healthy autumn salad and a nice cider as we head into the latest Halloween gore fest, a musical even -The Seaman’s Mince! 😂

Posted by: DunGroanin | Oct 2 2023 11:21 utc | 34

Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim[a], are a Jewish diaspora population who formed in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium CE.

Posted by: Contrarian_Ed | Oct 2 2023 11:08 utc | 30

---

Chinaman doesn't care.

Posted by: too scents | Oct 2 2023 11:22 utc | 35

"Provided one keeps in shape, as one presumes career military professionals do" - I suspect you don't live in a military city. I do. Our career military professionals are fat, fat, fat. Just look a Milley and Austin. They're fat.

Posted by: JDaveF | Oct 2 2023 11:23 utc | 36

My guess was that a seaborne flank was always the plan, to be launched as soon as the land attacks and river crossing had some success to isolate the peninsula before moving a naval base next to Sevastopol- to isolate and harangue the Black Sea fleet at its home. Posted by: DunGroanin | Oct 2 2023 11:21 utc | 37

The important battle was always the one in the Tokmak-Orekhov-Urozhaine axis. Simply because the river crossings can only act as support for the main assault which is Tokmak. Without succeeding in Orekhov (not to mention, with spending the main attack force there for few gains), the support attacks over river will turn only into isolated beach heads with no prospect to go anywhere, and no way to sustainably supply or support with any sort of heavier equipment. The beach heads will not have much artillery support, and no air support.

Once RU rolls over remainder of AFU main force in Rabotyne/Verbove etc. (they still maintain 4 or 5 brigades in that salient) they can simply pick a time at their convenience to finish off any isolated beach heads across the Dnepr AFU managed to create.

Posted by: unimperator | Oct 2 2023 11:30 utc | 37

"EU foreign ministers will consider Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s peace plan at a historic meeting in Kyiv this morning."

"The ministers, who rarely meet outside the confines of the territory of the EU, takes place amid concerns over cracks in US funding for the war and after a pro-Russian populist party won the most votes in an election in Slovakia on Saturday."
Posted by: Themanwhofelltoearth | Oct 2 2023 11:33 utc | 41

EU foreign ministers can consider Zelensky's peace plan all they want. It's the same as speaking with padded walls in the mental asylum. The walls may listen, but who's gonna reply?

Posted by: unimperator | Oct 2 2023 11:37 utc | 38

In ancient Macedonia they had the Argyaspides or the Silver Shields. These men were a special division and had enlisted in Phillip III's army.

When you volunteered to be a Macedonian soldiers you had to contract for 17 years. Many of the Silver Shields joined up 3 times!! or 51 years of service.

These soldiers, almost every day, marched 20 miles then bivouacked (no tents) on the open field. Such that they were in superb shape and some them were 70 years old.

Never lost a battle.

Age is subject to training .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argyraspides

Posted by: canuck | Oct 2 2023 11:40 utc | 39

wow, Putin is desperately trying to save himself from a ragtag 'force" of geriatric and poorly armed and trained conscripts, by a "stealth mobilization" that Russia has repeatedly announced. there is no difference between this fool and the trained seals in the Canadian Parliament, gaily clapping away.

Posted by: pretzelattack | Oct 2 2023 11:41 utc | 40

There are plenty of horrible Jewish people on the Ukrainian side . . . but also, some of the best, most honorable and most reasonable voices speaking out against this madness are also of Jewish descent and/or faith. Aaron Mate, Kit Klarenberg, Max Blumenthal, Jeffrey Sachs. My time is limited so I can't pull all up the "righteous Jews" on this issue, but they have done outstanding work.

Posted by: Hunsdon | Oct 2 2023 11:44 utc | 41

Benny the bald clown did simple math: for every 100 dead peasants (disabled people, old people, teenager nazis and whatever is in the so called Ukr army), about 10 Russian soldiers also die, according to Russian official numbers (I'm sure today, in many occasions, is better than 1/20 for Russia, but let's use their own numbers). And an unknown number of civilians die every week from the nato gifts that fall in the middle of villages or cities. Now Benny wants to increase both numbers so he demands from Zeli to collect more peasants. Simple solution

Posted by: rk | Oct 2 2023 11:52 utc | 42

You forget Ron Unz in your list of righteous Jews

Posted by: Exile | Oct 2 2023 11:53 utc | 43

Anyone wondering where all the Ukrainian youth are, they are partying it up in Lvov, Kiev, and Odessa. Lots of pictures and videos online if you want to look it up. They don't seem to be aware that a war is even going on.

Posted by: bored | Oct 2 2023 11:54 utc | 44

Posted by: canuck | Oct 2 2023 11:40 utc | 44

well then there shouldn't be a problem with sending a 98 year old to the Ukrainian front then, not to mention a number of well seasoned Canadian legislators.

Posted by: pretzelattack | Oct 2 2023 11:54 utc | 45

some of the ... most reasonable voices ... are also of Jewish

Posted by: Hunsdon | Oct 2 2023 11:44 utc | 46

---

Simple statistics.

The Jews as drivers of modern geo-politics must be acknowledged.

The Jews are well integrated into European culture. Their future challenge is influencing Asian culture where they have practically no foothold whatsoever.

Posted by: too scents | Oct 2 2023 11:56 utc | 46

https://www.npr.org/2023/02/22/1155943055/ukraine-low-birth-rate-russia-war

This subject doesn't get enough attention. I am also surprised that the West gets away with the phrase 'to the last Ukrainian' with no controversy in this hyper sensitive age. Openly advocating the extinction of the nation makes the Zelensky regime the worst government on earth, even worse than North Korea.
Ukraine is now firmly on the path of dodo birds and dinosaurs.

Posted by: Eighthman | Oct 2 2023 11:58 utc | 47

Ben Wallice & Grant Shapes are thinking ahead...
The Ukraine offensive has collapsid.
When Russia starts pushing west, so will the Ukrainian refugees push west by the million thats Europes main concern,
The young Ukrains have no loyalty to ukraine thats a media lie, they want to be westernised as seen on youtube.
which as we all know isnt real life.
To send the young to the front line would need obveously to be with a gun at their back.
The west are now desperate in defeat and need to fill the glaring media vacuim.

Posted by: Mark2 | Oct 2 2023 12:00 utc | 48

re Paraguayan War AKA Triple Alliance and the British imperial strategy there and elsewhere while the Civil War raged in America...no coincidence. An excellent perspective is found in Eduardo Galeano's book Open Veins of Latin America.

Posted by: chu teh | Oct 2 2023 12:00 utc | 49

hey b, for your entertainment:

Military economics Markus Keupp said on ZDF in April 2023, that Russia will lose all tanks and heavy equipment till October and will therefore lose the war.

"Es ist nicht so, dass ich ein Exot wäre mit dieser Meinung. Es gibt durchaus einen Konsens unter westlichen Militäranalysten, oder zumindest unter solchen, die den Namen verdienen"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7Xdqgwz_NQ

10min of pure entertainment, when one knows your blog.

Posted by: Ali | Oct 2 2023 12:05 utc | 50

Modern combat is not like hand-to-hand with spears - 40 years old should be fine. In fact, I would think that 40 year old soldiers could be a lot more effective in mechanized warfare than wet-behind-the-ears 20 years olds. If in fact the Ukrainians have a lot of 40 year olds, and Russia has a lot of 20 years olds, that could perhaps be one reason why the Ukrainian army has been giving the Russians fits even though outgunned.

Still, in the end Ukraine will be used up, and so what? The population will be replaced by third-world refugees, even as it is in the United States. So the Ukrainians will sacrifice everything for their country - only to realize that it's not their country any more, and they were lied to and swindled. But so often that happens...

Posted by: TG | Oct 2 2023 12:10 utc | 51

"Ben Wallace said..."
---
Given the lies out of this mans mouth over time, why is anyone assuming his comments are even factual? It could be,sure, but I don't give the benefit of doubt to that lunatic.

Posted by: knighthawk | Oct 2 2023 12:16 utc | 52

When I read that I was somewhat disgusted . Offering up children , other nations children , for the shady hegemony. To delay the empires inevitable collapse. After those generations are gone they just move on to the next nation. All I can say is China watches , they don't need to send 1 billion soldiers to Europe

Posted by: Hankster | Oct 2 2023 12:18 utc | 53

Posted by: Themanwhofelltoearth | Oct 2 2023 11:33 utc | 41
---
Strikes me as completely meaningless, since z's 'plan' isn't one, and has already been laughed off the table.

Posted by: knighthawk | Oct 2 2023 12:19 utc | 54

Posted by: Jusses | Oct 2 2023 12:01 utc | 55

The Azov were also financed by rich geriatrics of pristine anglo saxon extraction. a diverse group of dirtbags, to be sure.

Posted by: pretzelattack | Oct 2 2023 12:19 utc | 55

@ Posted by: unimperator | Oct 2 2023 11:30 utc | 40

Agree with that. I don’t think there is any need for them to rush into rolling up the front - mostly it’ll be about stopping the artillery attacks on the civvies in Donbass and then bunker down for some winter frozen meat grinding. Sorry but that’s what it is.

Am curious as to why Tonto Wallace and his replacement Shapeshifter are being pushed into declaring ‘U.K. boots on the ground’ ?
It seems if not allowed in Ukraine, then some ‘peacekeepers’ in some dangerous spot.
Kosovo, being flagged now by the turd Grant today.
I guess other spots will be considered Azerbaijan? Armenia? West Africa?

I suppose that there have been many actual deaths secretly in the Ukraine and some cover needs to be found - so their families can be given some story of ‘heroes’ and they can be awarded medals and compensation.
They would prefer if it was from the actual country they are killed in otherwise it has to remain secret from the family and friends.
There have been British forces there from well before the SMO.
People have already forgotten the stories of some youngster running away from the horror of the first missile that landed on the nato training base near Poland. A 20 year old kid soldier, who ran to his mother back here in the U.K. - on active duty supposedly gone awol to fight there! A very unlikely story.
I believe the kid was allowed to stay at home. Not arrested. Not charged … but told that they should not talk to the press and the press told not to write any such stories..

At which point one must just accept that only lies are ever told by our State and they are looking for a cover story for hundreds of U.K. casualties in a undeclared invasion a thousand miles across Europe where we have NO BUSINESS being.

Posted by: DunGroanin | Oct 2 2023 12:20 utc | 56

Posted by: DunGroanin | Oct 2 2023 12:20 utc | 62

to the last Tommy. got to get more contributions from the poodles, running out of grandpas in Ukraine.

Posted by: pretzelattack | Oct 2 2023 12:24 utc | 57

Posted by: TG | Oct 2 2023 12:10 utc | 57

uh if that's true, why did Ukraine not send the Geezer Force to begin with. copium, copium more copium needed in aisle 6. perhaps they were holding the elite grandpa brigades in reserve? i think combat is a wee bit more physically stressful than you think.

Posted by: pretzelattack | Oct 2 2023 12:27 utc | 58

What does "the average age of the soldiers at the front is over 40 really means"?

An estimate is not a count. An estimate is meaningless if the size (count, quantity) of the range of numbers (set, population) is unknown. A range calculated as the difference between two number values is...rentier math. A "rate" of change (slope, Δ, difference) is meaningless if the two number values (Q) are unknown and unrelated to the origin of a series of reporting periods (t).

"average" (arithmetic mean, λ): sum of "ages" in a range divided by total number of "ages" in the range. It is not an absolute value in the range of "ages".

median: mid-point "age" in a range of "ages" ordered from low (youngest) to high (oldest). It is an absolute value in the range of "ages". It does not describe the frequency of the mid-point value or any other value in the range.

mode: is the "age" that occurs most frequently in a range of ages. It is an absolute value in the range of "ages". Frequency is not a value in the range of "ages".

CASE: Ben Wallace implies an "average age" of a subset ("the front") of a subset (enlisted soldiers) of the total population of Ukraine whose average | median | mode age, incidentally, is not public knowledge either. Ben Wallace obviously derives this estimate from Ukraine's stated draft range: 18, 60. (18 + 60) ÷ 2 = 39. Ben Wallace "rounds up" to 40, because he is a star pupil of BBC rentier math. That the median or mode might well be higher, say 55, is an unattractive data point. That the average age at "the front" might well be lower in the mythical 4 hour life-span is best not evoked. That calculation of RUSSIA's "average age" (based on draft age range: 18, 30) results in a conventional—not deviant such as he notes—vital har har statistic invites comparison of military stratagems, administration, and uhh "resilience". So. In the first and final analysis of Ben Wallace's demographic intelligence, "the average age of the soldiers at the front" really means that Ben Wallace is a hostage of or accomplice in the Ukraine government's racketeering scheme. Formerly d/b/a "Advantage Ukraine", re-branded last week "Defense Alliance".

Posted by: sln2002 | Oct 2 2023 12:29 utc | 59

Anyone wondering where all the Ukrainian youth are, they are partying it up in Lvov, Kiev, and Odessa. They don't seem to be aware that a war is even going on.
Posted by: bored | Oct 2 2023 11:54 utc | 49

True. The party is uninterrupted in all western parts and no one cares about a little smo far away. For them there is no war at all, no one dares to disturb them.

Posted by: rk | Oct 2 2023 12:34 utc | 60

Posted by: Contrarian_Ed | Oct 2 2023 11:08 utc | 30

Askenazi is in fact the Jewish people's own term for Jews who came from Askenaz ie Turkey which then moved to Germany . Look up a map of the world according to tradition amongst Jewry.

The first Jews came to Europe via Greece in Alexander the Great's time. The next major lot came in via the Jewish Diaspora when Rome destroyed Jerusalem in the 67-70 AD.These Greek-speaking Jews were called Romaniotes and by the end of Greek Rule in Italy were only to be found in Greece and Turk-occupied Asia Minor.These people are introduced as they will become important later.

The Khazars ,a Turkic tribe who lived on the borders of the Modern Ukraine,Turkey and Georgia,Azerbaijan converted to Judaism and thus moved over successively to the West and were mainly settled in the Ukraine,Poland and Romania,Germany etc.Here they mixed with the few Jews who had come here already from Greece and Italy.All this before 1000AD.

A False Jewish Messiah- and Romaniote or traditional "Greek" Jew of Greece- called Shabettai Zevi, was then forced to become a Turk by the Turks. His followers then went on to become the Donmeh,such as Kemal Attaturk of Gallipoli! Those followers of his who were still Jews sought refuge amongst the above former Khazars in the above host countries. They became mixed and became Frankists and now known for Chabadists etc.Given these Jews came from Greece and Asia Minor which was by then the Ottoman Empire,they are also of course "Turkish" . Once again Askenazi comes to mind. All this in the 1600s AD . Jews who had come from Greece and Italy hundreds or a thousand years ago were still the minority in those Northern lands,so that is why Askenazim are always majority Khazars ,converted Turkic or latterly from Turkey.

I have not even discussed the Sephardim,Mizrahim,Karaites or Romaniotes in detail or even the Samaritans.All Hebrews .

All major Jewish personalities of today are almost wholly of the Askenazi. Ie mostly converts to Judaism . The only exception I can think of is politician Mayorkas of USA,who is almost certainly Sephardic ie Spanish-Jew of Ottoman occupied Greece. I know...a mouthful. P.S. Explorer Columbus is also thought to be such a Sephardic Jew before they went to Greece.In fact the purest Jews are likely NOT the Askenazi but don't tell them that ,they will have a fit.

Pls forgive my spacing and typing as I'm bad on phone screen typing.

Posted by: Wondrous | Oct 2 2023 12:35 utc | 61

Wallace and the others of the present regime are the ones who are flailing for survival. It's not that the UK official (alleged) "opposition" differs significantly in policy and ideology, just that there will soon be the usual UK establishment politicians' competition for the most lucrative places at the trough, foreign junkets plus the opportunity to drivel on a "world stage" whilst licking Yankee arse.
Ukraine is one diversion, but that's still a far away video-game, and a key indicator of UK government panic is that they are starting another war against the disabled and ill. Hunt the Chancellor announced it a couple of days ago. They always do that when they need to distract public attention from the politicians' own corruption, greed and incompetence. The mass media unquestioningly relays such government propaganda as if it is news -- and obligingly ignores the numerous suicides and other seriously harmful effects of the demonisation, lies and punishment.
The parliamentary "opposition" will as usual swear to be even more vicious -- and, like the government, easily find never ending billion of pounds (which otherwise *allegedly* cannot exist) to pour into NATO's wars and Zelensky's offshore bank accounts.
Same shite in the run up to every UK election except when Corbyn was leader of the Labour Party ... a pathetically weak and "pc" leader who basically sunk himself and his own supporters via appeasement of their enemies ... though there's also the fact that Pompeo had openly declared the USA would not *allow* him to become Prime Minister in any case (but somehow that's not interference in another country's election?).
Above all, along with NATO/US imperialism and perverted "values", there's the profits of the City of London extortionists to consider.
Overall, that's the Western way, and a key foundation of monopoly capitalism's rules-based order is that when the rulers and their top apparatchiks are in big trouble, they hang the tea-lady, since it's all her fault really.

Posted by: Cynic | Oct 2 2023 12:35 utc | 62

"So just as Britain did in 1939 and 1941, perhaps it is time to reassess the scale of Ukraine’s mobilisation."

1939. Britain relegated to defense. Only. The Spitfire and Hurricane produced by Private British money, because the British Government was going to invest in "reasoning" with Adolf.
1941. Britain, is handed 4 aces, when Japan plays it's Pearl Harbor hand as Roosevelt conveniently is blissfully unaware that Japan might attack the U.S. fleet closest to Japan. Honest...
So...per Britain's "Rules Based Order" others are assigned to die in a bloody meat grinder as Britain does the Minimum Necessary since after the millions of unnecessary deaths from the previous 2 World Wars, neither the Island nor the once-eager Colonies have young lives available for the slaughter.
Maybe Britain could re-assess that they will never, ever win in Crimea. Stick with Banking, Insurance and Tourism and retire your bloody muckraking.

Posted by: kupkee | Oct 2 2023 12:36 utc | 63

The entire remark by this clown is pure fiction, as well as the arrogance of claiming to know Putin's thought processes. But this one really got me:

". . perhaps it is time to reassess the scale of Ukraine’s mobilisation."

Not ". . perhaps it is time for Ukraine to reassess the scale of its mobilisation."

Who does the reassessing? Surprising that he didn't lecture the Ukrainians for being casualty averse. The imperial hubris runs deep with these people.

Posted by: Mike R | Oct 2 2023 12:46 utc | 64

Patience | Oct 2 2023 10:51 utc | 28
*** Better nobody will ask me what is jewishness.***

The bad Jews are really no more "Jewish" than the NATO/Israel sponsored jihadi terrorists are Moslem.
Both diverged from "genuine" a long time ago, into somethings ideologically and theocratically quite different.

Posted by: Cynic | Oct 2 2023 12:46 utc | 65

Contrarian_Ed | Oct 2 2023 11:08 utc | 30

"largely destroyed" --- bullshit.
On very political / ideological subjects, Wikipedia can not be blindly trusted.

Posted by: Cynic | Oct 2 2023 12:50 utc | 66

Posted by: Mike R | Oct 2 2023 12:46 utc | 71

iirc he did indeed criticise the Ukrainians for being casualty averse.

Posted by: pretzelattack | Oct 2 2023 12:53 utc | 67

Modern combat is not like hand-to-hand with spears - 40 years old should be fine. In fact, I would think that 40 year old soldiers could be a lot more effective in mechanized warfare than wet-behind-the-ears 20 years olds. If in fact the Ukrainians have a lot of 40 year olds, and Russia has a lot of 20 years olds, that could perhaps be one reason why the Ukrainian army has been giving the Russians fits even though outgunned. . .

Posted by: TG | Oct 2 2023 12:10 utc | 57

In Orekhov (Robotino) pocket where Russia has fire control over supply roads the infantry have to hike several kilometers to the front line with a full kit because it's too dangerous for an armored carrier to deliver them. The Ukrainian army is giving the Russians fits because it is willing to sacrifice large numbers of its soldiers to make small gains, the Russian army is not.

Posted by: Mike R | Oct 2 2023 12:54 utc | 68

The Ukrainian army is giving the Russians fits because it is willing to sacrifice large numbers of its soldiers to make small gains...

Posted by: Mike R | Oct 2 2023 12:54 utc | 75

---

Fits?

Posted by: too scents | Oct 2 2023 12:57 utc | 69

Exile | Oct 2 2023 11:18 utc | 36
*** Benjamin Wallace is simply calling for young male Ukranian Citizens living in NATO countries to be press ganged. ***

Perhaps he still hopes to succeed Stoltenberg, if the (US favoured) deranged harpy presently heading the EU trips herself up sufficiently.

Posted by: Cynic | Oct 2 2023 12:59 utc | 70

Posted by: Cynic | Oct 2 2023 12:50 utc | 73

next tell me about the anglo saxons. is Biden a real anglo saxon? how about Trump? the Clintons?

Posted by: pretzelattack | Oct 2 2023 12:59 utc | 71

I was thinking similar as a poster above. 40 is ok for modern warfare. Most shud b drone operatirs, logistics, artillery and high tech operators.

U dont really need thousands of Hussein Bolts out there. Sure 40 year olds are slower, could pull a hamstring or slower to heal. But they are also usually smarter, more disciplined and physically as strong or stronger.

Remember in the 30s and 40s a 49 year old was equivalent to a 55-60 year old of today.

That being said, Ben Wallaces diarreah of the brain makes zero sense.

Posted by: Comandante | Oct 2 2023 13:11 utc | 72

Negotiate, negotiate, negotiate!

Posted by: lester | Oct 2 2023 13:13 utc | 73

"next tell me about the anglo saxons. is Biden a real anglo saxon? how about Trump? the Clintons?"Posted by: pretzelattack

Trump stems from Bavaria. Bill Clinton, probably descended from some colonial era rabbit poacher. I don't know about Hillary or Biden.

Posted by: lester | Oct 2 2023 13:17 utc | 74

Unsure of where I read this, but it sure seems to apply:
Today's leadership in the west is composed of 1) peer diplomatic mediocrity, 2) egotistical stupdity, 3) the absence of competemce, and 4) the total abandonment of reality. The result is a toddler minsdset manifested in adulthood.

Posted by: Wiry | Oct 2 2023 13:22 utc | 75

Posted by: Comandante | Oct 2 2023 13:11 utc | 80

the 40 year olds i know are not physically stronger than 20 year olds. they also have less endurance, are slower, etc. how much weight does the average soldier carry in the field? that's the reason you see few 40 year olds in pro sports.

Posted by: pretzelattack | Oct 2 2023 13:24 utc | 76

>>next tell me about the anglo saxons. is Biden a real anglo saxon? how about Trump? the Clintons?
Posted by: pretzelattack | Oct 2 2023 12:59 utc | 78

The Anglo-Saxons were mainly German with perhaps some Scandinavian thrown in. England is around three quarters Celtic. The term Anglo-Saxon is used mainly to designate people who are culturally British.

Posted by: Jmaas | Oct 2 2023 13:26 utc | 77

Posted by: Jusses | Oct 2 2023 13:24 utc | 84

I'd put them in first place. that being said, there are many reasonable people of anglo saxon descent, even though they may have a genetic predisposition to goosestep. coming from a background of rabbit poachers of course.

Posted by: pretzelattack | Oct 2 2023 13:28 utc | 78

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ngo_Dinh_Diem#Coup_and_assassination

Zelensky ought to be wary of getting into an APC....

Posted by: Squeeth | Oct 2 2023 13:28 utc | 79

pretzelattack | Oct 2 2023 12:59 utc | 78
*** next tell me about the anglo saxons. is Biden a real anglo saxon? how about Trump? the Clintons?***

Why?
Biden claims to be of Irish ancestry, thus maybe not Anglo-Saxon.
Trump .... well, his mother came from Lewis, which certanly wasn't Anglo-Saxon.
As for the Clintons, her ancestry is partly from Wales; don't know about him.
(and, understandably, nobody seems keen to claim Bill)

Posted by: Cynic | Oct 2 2023 13:29 utc | 80

@ Posted by: Treehill | Oct 2 2023 9:02 utc | 9

Quite agree, down with antisemitic provocateurs!

Posted by: Squeeth | Oct 2 2023 13:32 utc | 81

"End this war now!" b.

Agree, we must all mobilize for cease fire and negociation now, if WE don't who will?

This could be a draft : "Ending the war by a negotiated peace - Legitimate self-defense and the quest for a just and lasting peace are not contradictory" - Negotiation proposal by Professor Dr. Peter Brandt, Professor Dr. Hajo Funke, General (ret.) Harald Kujat and Professor Dr. h. c. Horst Teltschik
https://zeitgeschehen-im-fokus.ch/en/newspaper-ausgabe-en/article-translated-in-english.html#article_1565

Posted by: Tak-Tik | Oct 2 2023 13:32 utc | 82

Ukraines epitaph will read:

Its leaders were so corrupt it sold its entire population into slavery. It's men were gladiators and its women spread randomly throughout foreign lands left to their fates.

Well, whatever. History it full of forgotten peoples and cultures. This one was going to be eliminated sooner or later anyways-that stretch of land is in the way of lots of people.

Posted by: War lord | Oct 2 2023 13:35 utc | 83

The thing about age in war is that the soldier has to endure being out in the environment for months at a time while in stressful conditions. Meanwhile optimal vigor for a man is around 20 years old. In an athletic sport where judgment and experience is worth a lot, some men are best at around 30. Beyond that for just about all of us vigor declines faster than skill. By my light the limit for drafting should be under 40, with men in their forties still useful, although that is kind of pushing it.

Posted by: Jmaas | Oct 2 2023 13:36 utc | 84

Here is some more (edited) guff from Wallace in the same article - which was placed in the opinion section btw. I won't pass comment on it save to say that we here must have completely misread the real situation over in Ukraine...

"Whisper it if you need. Dare to think it. But champion it you must. Ukraine’s counteroffensive is succeeding. Slowly but surely, the Ukrainian armed forces are breaking through the Russian lines. Sometimes yard by yard, sometimes village by village, Ukraine has the momentum and is pressing forward.

The men and women of the Ukrainian army are, once again, proving to us in Nato how much we have underestimated them. First, the Establishment doubted their ability to defend their nation from the initial Russian invasion. Too many states waited to see which way the wind would blow. The groupthinkers, with their computers and “Russia experience”, calculated that they could only hold on for a few weeks.

Having been proved wrong, they switched their pessimism to the counteroffensive. But they failed to grasp the importance of the human factor. They failed to spot in the Ukrainians the same spirit we possessed in 1939. They failed to recall Alan Turing’s quote that “Sometimes it is the people no one can imagine anything of who do the things no one can imagine.” They failed to understand that, in war, the most precious commodity of all is hope.

Since the summer, Ukraine has again been learning on the job. Its forces are adapting tactics, absorbing lessons, and making the best of the equipment we have all gifted them."

"They take UK equipment and achieve success rates far beyond expectations."

"When hope is combined with the right equipment, there is no stopping Ukraine. It is our duty to keep that hope going and to back it up with funding and equipment until the job is done." T

"We have a chance to help finish this. The Russian army is cracking. Ukraine has learnt new tactics to overcome horrendous minefields, and the Storm Shadow strikes are devastating Russian HQs. We are witnessing the beginnings of the battle for Crimea."

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/10/01/ben-wallace-ukraine-counteroffensive-succeeding/
Probably paywalled. This article got a lot of positive comments - mainly from Brigade 77 I'd say. A few doubters were badly trolled.

Posted by: marcjf | Oct 2 2023 13:39 utc | 85

Posted by: Cynic | Oct 2 2023 13:29 utc | 89

oh, i was just wondering about the thesis, first proposed by Admiral He i believe, that the goosestep was merely a stylized representation of the movements of a rabbit poacher carefully approaching his unsuspecting prey. but that's off topic.

Posted by: pretzelattack | Oct 2 2023 13:41 utc | 86

Posted by: Contrarian_Ed | Oct 2 2023 11:08 utc | 30

Lol Hasbara edited wikipedia?

Try this:
https://archive.org/details/arthurkoestlerthethirteenthtribe/mode/1up

Posted by: Greg Galloway | Oct 2 2023 13:45 utc | 87

>>Here is some more (edited) guff from Wallace in the same article ... Slowly but surely, the Ukrainian armed forces are breaking through the Russian lines.
Posted by: marcjf | Oct 2 2023 13:39 utc | 94

The pure level of lying we do is remarkable. Disconnected from reality. Perhaps I just never noticed before. By my lights, the press is no longer a source of useful information.

Posted by: Jmaas | Oct 2 2023 13:49 utc | 88

Ukrainians, it turns out, are fighting for their future in NATO

This was stated by Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Yevhen Perebeynos. According to him, the invitation to the Alliance at the summit in 2024 will depend on the situation on the battlefield.

"The more occupied territories Ukraine manages to liberate, the stronger its position in terms of integration into NATO will be. Therefore, our defenders are also fighting for our future in the North Atlantic Alliance," he explained the motivation.

@ukr_leaks_eng
https://t.me/ukr_leaks_eng/6362

There you have it. People are dumb enough to fight for gaining a slave status.

Posted by: unimperator | Oct 2 2023 13:50 utc | 89

Re: Western leaders knowing Putin's mind etc, I believe the shrinks call that projection.

Posted by: Morongobill | Oct 2 2023 13:50 utc | 90

In 1204 leading the 4th Crusade stopped in Constantinople to plan with heir ally.

It was the rapacious crusaders that sacked the city, not its leader.

Posted by: Doctor Eleven | Oct 2 2023 13:51 utc | 91

Our source in the OP said that the General Staff is asking the Office of the President to begin mobilizing Ukrainians from the age of 20.

Lowering the bar from 27 years to 25 does not allow the TCC to quickly recruit the necessary reserves, and the timing of the war is shifted indefinitely, which requires the General Staff to quickly replenish reserves.

Our source from the OP reported that the General Staff asked the Office of the President to begin mobilizing Ukrainians from the age of 20, now this information was voiced by one of the main lobbyists of Ukraine.

Former British Defense Minister Ben Wallace called on Zelensky to more actively mobilize young people into the Defense Forces, - The Daily Telegraph

“The average age of soldiers at the front is over 40. I understand Zelensky’s desire to preserve youth for the future, but Russia is secretly mobilizing the entire country.

Perhaps it’s time to reassess the scale of Ukrainian mobilization,” suggests the former head of the British Ministry of Defense.

Posted by: Down South | Oct 2 2023 13:54 utc | 92

The British minister's call to expedite Ukraine's self-induced genocide is a peculiar appeal. Leave it to the British; what horrid people, what a horrid legacy

Posted by: scottindallas | Oct 2 2023 13:54 utc | 93

Wallace :
**They failed to spot in the Ukrainians the same spirit we possessed in 1939.**

Most of the UK public didn't really want a war till Churchill effectively forced Gernmany to bomb Britain in retaliation for Churchill's airforce bombing civilians in German cities.
And massive lies about *not* wishing a war are what got Zelensky elected.

Wallace is a typical present day UK establishment politician.
the above observation is as big an insult as can be

Posted by: Cynic | Oct 2 2023 13:56 utc | 94

I read a piece yesterday by Gwynn Dyer saying that the offensive was succeeding in 'slow motion . So many people have compromised all integrity so throughly over this Ukraine debacle I'm not sure where they will go from here.

Who am I kidding? It goes in the memory hole. The stenographers who promoted the WMD conspiracy theory for Iraq war got promoted, not pilloried, and are still working in prominent positions. Pillory and exclusion is reserved for people who question Offical Truth.

It's untenable, however, even for thr skilled propagandists of the West, to continue calling up 'down' and white 'black' - people tend to notice such obvious lies.

Posted by: Doctor Eleven | Oct 2 2023 13:57 utc | 95

End this war now! should be directed to Putin. Saying this to Ukraine is comparable to the Third Reich demanding the UK "end this war now" in 1940.

Posted by: Inkan1969 | Oct 2 2023 14:13 utc | 96

Posted by: Inkan1969 | Oct 2 2023 14:13 utc | 105

wait, you mean the US took over Britain and was using it to threaten Germany? who knew?

Posted by: pretzelattack | Oct 2 2023 14:15 utc | 97

It's not as though an influx of younger troops will save Ukranazistan since the vast majority are killed or wounded by long range missile and artillery without ever seeing a Russian soldier.

Meanwhile, I nominate Ben Wallace and Inkanazi1969 to be compulsorily sent to the meat grinder, along with Sean Penn, Ben Stiller, and Stephen King, of course.

Posted by: Biswapriya Purkayast | Oct 2 2023 14:19 utc | 98

Posted by: Patience | Oct 2 2023 13:09 utc | 79

Mostly correct and yes Jews were outside of Palestine before 70AD but very few outside of Greece and Roman littoral lands. Yes,Simon of Cyrene was just such a Jew,a Greek -speaking one as Cyrene was was a Greek colony.

No,Judaism had very few converts in general over the ages. The Berbers were converted after the Sack of Jerusalem . The main conversions to Judaism were when the Maccabees ended Greek Rule of Palestine and force- converted Jews that had been Hellenised and also non-Jews of the land ,such as the Idumaens /Edomites and Greek settlers ie both called the Gentiles.Remember the Jews hated Herod because he was the descendant of converts ,yet Christians hate him as a Jew. Haha ironic.

Second time of mass conversion and slaughter was in Yemen in 500AD. When A Jewish king forced the whole kingdom to become Jews or die. Himaryote Kingdom sic .

Third and final mass conversion was of the Khazars in the centuries before 1000AD.

No, Jews had forgotten how to speak Hebrew by Christ's day. They spoke Aramaic and Greek. See St Paul: a Sadducee. Only the priestly caste could read Hebrew and even them very little,as in St Paul,most educated upper-class Jews spoke Greek almost exclusively. Of course the commoners spoke Aramaic and the Gentiles still spoke Greek.

The Talmud and all major books of the Jews were codified in Greek first as the Jews and Christians spoke Greek,as did educated Romans in that area.The Jews had forgotten how to speak Hebrew as they lived under the Greeks for 150 years then another 150 years or so under their culture-space till Rome's day. Even then the culture space was Greeks Under Roman rule and stayed that way in general till the Arab invasions. Relevantly,To this day,the only language religious Jews believe fully translates their religion was Greek.

You are right that the Askenazis are the majority of all Jews. Even in Israel to this day Sephardim encounter racism. Sephardis are slowly but surely getting more power in Israel.Sephardis of course feel the Askenazis are too "Germanic/Polish/Ukro" in their thinking. Just out of interest the first Jews in the USA were Sephardis and were the majority of Jewry there until swamped by the Askenazis coming to Ellis Island like the Blinkens,Nulands,Golda MeirS,Einstein,Netanyahius and Oppenheimers etc Emma Lazarus of "Bring me your poor etc" was originally Sephardic etc.

The above is a potted history of course, and I could add more detail about the Falashas or Ethiopian Jews,but ...anyway.

Posted by: Wondrous | Oct 2 2023 14:20 utc | 99

Inkan1969 | Oct 2 2023 14:13 utc | 105
*** End this war now! should be directed to Putin. ***

No, directed to NATO which from its start has inflicted a non-stop series of wars.
As was always the intent ...

And to the NATO proxy assholes in Kiev who did eight years of shelling civilians in Donbas.

Posted by: Cynic | Oct 2 2023 14:20 utc | 100