Hearing from a friend in Moscow that the drone attack is being artificially hyped & boosted by Regime Media in the West.
Naturally, a drone attack in a neighborhood is always appalling–but it sounds like, from my friend’s account, that the intense propaganda saturation regarding the attack is part of the Info Warfare we have all grown accustomed to during the SMO.
If you recall, the Kursk Incursion, as it was unfolding in early August, was accorded a very similarly over-inflated, over-amplified amount of attention in order to Big Up the parameters. Stressed again & again was the fact that Ukraine had “invaded Russia,” as if somehow that strengthened the severity of the event.
Notice today the dreadful injudicious, imprudent aftereffects of the Incursion.
<< Of course, anything worthy of Info Warfare is also milked for all its worth along the lines of "Putin's humiliation," so you see the two-fer aspect of this drone attack today as far as the Regime Media goes.

Posted by: steel_porcupine | Mar 11 2025 17:42 utc | 304

Oreshnik response? A big FU to Trump and the peace talks. I certainly hope his ends any USA assistance including starlink. Ukraine hits civillian targets and obviously wants Russia to do so they can play victim. Putin wont bite but looks like peace is off the table for now. Which was the point.
It may be all Trump can do is step away from the Biden Ukraine project. Apparently z wants to wait for collapse. The Kursk events apparently upset Z. When will the AFU troops say enough?
It will take time to deplete the last stockpiles of weapons sent Ukraine by Biden. In the mean time Trump better watch his ass. He is shaking the tree real hard. Slowing the flow of the infinite money tap steps on some toes that have power.
A large part of the USA economy has been nothing but that infinite money tap. We can expect a neoliberal return in four years. Most probably with new injections and men beatng up women in sports. They said they were going to trump proof everything. I think its the other way around. The military and financial realities Trump is addressing will manifest in ways that have consequences. I dont think Trump will bail the banks and put the final nails in the dollars coffin. How the unpayable debt is dealt with remains unknown. Reality USA treasuries have to pay 1% more than Greece treasuries to get takers. Greece is bankrupt many times over. Abandoning extend and pretend will not be popular. It looks to me the beltway knows some of these things have to happen. Trump takes the rap. What else is new? The lower standard of living is blamed on Trump not the realities of creating astronomical imaginary debt. We save our skins from ww3 including the actors inhabiting the beltway cursing and griping all the way like AFRU in the pipe. 🙂
Times of India is a sensationalist rag. Sorry.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjIIh7QTAxs

Posted by: Npins | Mar 11 2025 17:53 utc | 306

Talks in Jeddah have ended with agreement between US and Ukraine.
Rubio now takes this plan for a 30 day ceasefire to the Russians.
(fulltext of the statement is flying around telegram, soon to be on twitter/x)
As I understand it, Russia will not cease fire for words. IIRC, Putin said if the Ukrainians unilaterally stopped attacks/shelling/missiles/FPVs that Russia would likely stop. (might have been in the Carlson interview last year)
However, if this gets US-Russia-Ukraine at talks together that will be an accomplishment in itself and a reasonable expectation for a first step practicing diplomacy with Russia over the Ukraine conflict.
I hope this finds you well

Posted by: ockham | Mar 11 2025 18:58 utc | 308

it all looks like “corporate takeover” of the ukraine by the usa. the normal regime change takeover did end up messy, so now they are trying this “legalese” takeover via some “deals”, backdoor shenanigans.
capitalism always needs expansion. markets and capital are finite, but the system does not work with finite things.

Posted by: Justpassinby | Mar 11 2025 19:15 utc | 310

“Joint Statement of Ukrainian and American delegations following their meeting in Jeddah
…
The chickens are laughing, Trump. After all, he was president for a few weeks before the mask came off. Prospective German chancellors manage to do that right after the election.

Posted by: Oliver Krug | Mar 11 2025 19:44 utc | 312

from RT
Trump teases talks with Putin
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would likely hold phone talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin this week, expressing hope Moscow would agree to a proposed 30-day ceasefire with Ukraine.
Trump made the remarks to reporters shortly after Ukrainian and American delegations met in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where Kiev agreed to Washington’s proposal for a ceasefire with Moscow. The US president said striking such an agreement would greatly aid in reaching a final deal to end the conflict.

Posted by: Don Bacon | Mar 11 2025 20:37 utc | 314

from Bloomberg
Western Officials Say Putin Knows His Ukraine Terms Won’t Be Met
Western security officials said Russian President Vladimir Putin has no intention to compromise on demands on land, peacekeepers and Ukraine’s neutrality in any peace talks, complicating President Donald Trump’s efforts to secure a credible settlement.
Putin has made deliberately “maximalist” demands ahead of negotiations to end the war, which he knows will likely be unacceptable to Ukrainians and other Europeans, according to the security officials. The Russian leader is prepared to continue fighting if he doesn’t get his goals, said the officials, who asked not to be named discussing matters that haven’t been made public.

Posted by: Don Bacon | Mar 11 2025 20:43 utc | 316

Reagan quote in post 279
What is the source of this quote? Searched for it and did not pop up on the web. Already sounds like BS since the egomaniac Reagan said it. What president is not.

Posted by: azeclecticdog | Mar 11 2025 21:16 utc | 318

So if Putin agrees to a ceasefire after 3 years of war he/Russia will have lost:
– ~90k KIA
– ~200k WIA
– ~$250 billion in war spending
– ~probably another $100 billion in associated economic losses
– access to a major energy/trade market in the EU
– international standing of the Russian military
– Diplomatic standing of Russia
And he/Russia will have gained:
– absolutely nothing (well ok, they would sort of/maybe keep Donetsk/Luhansk cities, for now at least)
I don’t see how the calculus can possibly work out here. This is a level of failure that makes the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan look like a minor misstep.

Posted by: Rogfaron | Mar 12 2025 1:03 utc | 320

Nobody in Russia describes “Russia’s brutal tactics on the front line” as such. Don’t bring up these bullshit articles here.
Posted by: boneless | Mar 11 2025 17:39 utc | 307
Don’t get hung up on the wording. I’m trying to get the origin of the story.

Posted by: Arch Bungle | Mar 12 2025 2:02 utc | 322

It makes no sense for Russia to accept a 30-day ceasefire if Ukraine gets US military aid and intelligence sharing during it. If there was a secret deal, it wouldn’t be for a meaningless pause, it would involve real concessions, like territorial recognition or sanctions relief. Since nothing concrete seems to be in play, it’s more likely a trap or a stalling tactic that benefits Ukraine and the US while giving Russia nothing, rather than a serious negotiation.
I’m becoming increasingly convinced, this whole overture to Russia was just a stunt to justify continuing US proxy war in Ukraine. Trump can now say he “tried” diplomacy If Trump really wanted to shift US policy, he wouldn’t push for a short ceasefire, he’d be working toward a real settlement. This wasn’t about stopping the war, just about managing public perception.
The other option is that Trump just has no idea what he’s doing. I don’t really see the benefit for US, Ukraine or Russia to Trump changing his position every week. It certainly doesn’t help any potential peace process.

Posted by: GOLDEN SENSEI | Mar 12 2025 3:52 utc | 324

This is not a US peace plan, its a kiev plan. They wrote it. Its designed to switch narrative to “russia doesnt want peace but Kiev does” in the western media.
You can imagine how this goes. Next step is “well now we need to bring monitors in to the contact lines from the OSCE”. Then, every time kiev violates the ceasefire, the blame is put on russia breaking it.
The ceasefire is then used to rearm and regroup. Weve seen out it plays out in the past. Merkel spilt the beans on that one didnt she.

Posted by: HERMIUS | Mar 12 2025 10:59 utc | 326

The number of men Putin throws away with his dumbass decisions just to feed his ego is unreal.
His only job is to beat Ukraine while losing as few of Russian men as possible, but for the hell of it, he just can’t bring himself to do it.

Posted by: Yuliana Dlugaj | Mar 12 2025 13:23 utc | 328

It would have been a good peace and was wasted by stubborn murderous fools.
Posted by: Newbie | Mar 12 2025 13:25 utc | 332
##########
There is a mistake in this thinking.
The West has been trying to eliminate Russia since the Great Schism.
The British and the French have warred for Crimea in the past.
When the Russian Foreign ministry talks about Russophobia, they are talking about European colonial “thinking” and the Western obsession with controlling the “world island” per Mackinder.
Unlike in India and Africa, Russia doesn’t play like that.
This isn’t about Ukraine. This is the latest gambit in an endless series of provocations and schemes to subjugate and exploit Russia.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Mar 12 2025 13:42 utc | 330

This isn’t about Ukraine. This is the latest gambit in an endless series of provocations and schemes to subjugate and exploit Russia.
Posted by: LoveDonbass | Mar 12 2025 13:42 utc | 333
And I’m not disagreeing with you.
All the blood I mention fall squarely on top of those bastards.
I already mentioned that I suspect that this might have been a subtle german power play that was hijacked by UKUS
We’ll probably be dead before we finally are allowed to know the true story behind this (murderous) crapfest.
I still have some hope that we can all avoid the worst, but you are not wrong in saying that would need a major overhaul of a centennial Idée fixe of screwing the russians (couldn’t the germans have grown a brain and a pair of balls and integrated RF in the eu back in the late 90’s?).

Posted by: Newbie | Mar 12 2025 13:57 utc | 332

Posted by: Newbie | Mar 12 2025 13:57 utc | 335
###########
Russia is incompatible with the EU.
Europe has always had fascist inclinations, and Russia is history’s chosen hero to fight and defeat Fascism.
Even in the EU the West would have been trying to colonize and exploit Russia.
They would have been trying to shove woke gender mental illness and debt into Russia, which ultimately would have wrecked it.
Russians are not like other people, Russian culture is not French, or German, or Italian. It has different norms and perspectives, I would argue that Russia is the tonic for enlightenment liberalism which trends towards fascism over time. We’re seeing that devolution today in the EU.
I pity the loss of heroes but have gratitude for the character and nobility of those heroes for fighting. My life didn’t lead me to the pipeline caper to Sudzha but spiritually I wish I had been there. It would have been a good death to die there fighting alongside my brothers against the Nazis.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Mar 12 2025 14:13 utc | 334

RF would be a balancing force, the whole eastern side would.
Posted by: Newbie | Mar 12 2025 14:23 utc | 338
#########
Often, the only question is, “To what end?”
Why should Russia babysit Europe?
Do you house and feed the homeless in your area?
It is easy to prescribe charity for others but Russia’s destiny is not Europe’s.
Russia is not Europe. It never was. Russia was stronger, smarter, and has superior aesthetics.
Russians can befriend non-whites. Europeans (and Americans) are compelled to kill and enslave them.
Orthodoxy is not Catholicism.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Mar 12 2025 14:35 utc | 336

Over on the current Russia thread, a barfly posted on Tchaikowsky and Shostakovitch and the existence of distinct style in russian expression of, well, soul. There is truth in this, methinks.
Music is, by being related through the sense of hearing, an acutely time-wise affair; enough so to make it an ephemeral experience which does not come to itself other than by being temporally experienced by beings in the here-and-now. Cf. Douglas Hofstadter’s book Goedel, Escher, Bach wherein he claims the opposite, but is wrong IMHO – all technical or mathematical representation cannot do it justice, much like reading a score does not replace the visceral sensation of hearing the music in actual presence.
But there’s more to it. The concrete, experential Dasein with others – Thou – in the presence of music opens up ways for shared levels and layers of experience, which will readily manifest if everyone is open to the experience. The latter prerequisite is of course important; illustrative examples to the contrary are the young WA Mozart, who couldn’t stand the noise of a trumpet to the point where it made him sick even though he later wrote music for trumpet himself, or the empirical observation from musicology that people across all cultures can be relied upon to eventually grok the deeper emotional meaning of all music (with the sole but interesting exception of Peking opera, afaik).
But music is also about space. As every lover of Techno knows, it’s often meant to be heard with the body rather than with the ears alone. This only goes to show that abendländische music discovers rhythm as a dimension for musical form of its own very late in its history; I’d say the ballets by Strawinsky are close the mark, as is Maurice Rave-l’s piece, the Bolero, with its title there already prognosticating the later use of XTC tablets and thumping repetition of rhythm for the purpose of trance rituals (dt. ballern), if you excuse the pun.
The experience of space in the Asian steppe is certainly something different than what you get in the woods and rolling hills of central Europe, or in a boat on the north sea, or in the lands of the former Roman Empire where all roads are leading to Rome. The word Asia itself relates back to this, in fact … As i Ja was the title of a book about the different role of the speaking subject (as in speech-acting) in Indo-European Russian and the various Altai languages they encountered, among them Mongol, Turkic and Chinese.
I believe that the 20th century with its enormous impacts on the Russian people has kicked of a spiritual and cultural development which is unparalleled in today’s world. It can be observed in the 1920ies modernism, in Soviet humanism which goes all the way to the diplomatic document which dissolves the Union again, and its roots are visible even in Dostoevsky’s writing already. Of course what came later and is now developing under the wise guidance of Mr. Putin is another step to the extraordinary path of this people.
After this introduction, let me suggest to listen to another russian ballet, written by the Armenian composer Aram Khatchaturian on request of comrade Stalin in 1942. – ! !
Imagine them witnessing the premiere in Moscow, with the Wehrmacht banging at the gates. Imagine the endless wide of the steppe, and sabre-dancing Kossacks. Imagine a victory celebration with the peasants’ sons and the dzhevoushki of mother Russia, and the bottomless eyes of comrade Stalin as he asks you for a dance with him – would you? I surely would.
[jukebox] Aram Khachaturian – Gayaneh (1942, rev. 1957)
Djansug Kakhidze, USSR Radio and TV Large Symphony Orchestra

Posted by: persiflo | Mar 12 2025 17:31 utc | 338

MOATS, Ep 429, with George Galloway
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5YZCzLtvYI
‘Aftershock’
#SyrianGirl #ScottRitter

Posted by: John Gilberts | Mar 12 2025 23:33 utc | 340

War gonna end in a whimper. Cease fire, EU troops, Some sanctions relief, but Russia still isolated.
Oligarchs will get to go back to their yachts, but Putin has really destroyed Russian power once and for all. Unless suddenly the birth rate skyrockets, Russia is over as a world power and as a part of Europe until little Putin kicks.

Posted by: electrons streaming | Mar 13 2025 2:27 utc | 342

‘Zhido-Bandera’support Ukraine – Slava-urkrazi!
Jewish Solidarity Amplifies Ukraine’s Resistance: Global and Local Efforts Unite Amid Ongoing Conflict
https://thej.ca/2025/03/08/jewish-solidarity-amplifies-ukraines-resistance-global-and-local-efforts-unite-amid-ongoing-conflict/
“…The Jewish Federation system has been instrumental in the international response to Ukraine’s crisis. From grass-roots initiatives within Ukraine to ooordinated efforts across the globe, Jewish organizations and leaders have united to address the unfolding humanitarian crisis, reinforcing the nation’s struggle for sovereignty and the well being of its people.
The unity between Ukraine’s Jewish and non-Jewish populations is especially notable given the historical context. Throughout Ukraine’s history, the Jewish community has faced periods of hardship including instances of anti-semitism that mirror broader European trends.
However, in recent decades, Ukraine has emerged as a nation where Jewish cultural and religious life thrive. Post-independence, Ukraine has become a beacon of religious freedom in the region, contrasting sharply with Russia’s record of state-driven antisemitism…”
From Canada of course where both lobbies reign supreme.

Posted by: John Gilberts | Mar 13 2025 13:17 utc | 344

War gonna end in a whimper. Cease fire, EU troops, Some sanctions relief, but Russia still isolated.
Oligarchs will get to go back to their yachts, but Putin has really destroyed Russian power once and for all. Unless suddenly the birth rate skyrockets, Russia is over as a world power and as a part of Europe until little Putin kicks.
Posted by: electrons streaming | Mar 13 2025 2:27 utc | 342
or they kick but and secure the black sea coast etc

Posted by: natrat | Mar 16 2025 12:43 utc | 346