Russia

[dawg80]

MTG and four other "hardliners" are blocking passage of the spending bill demanding $300 million earmarked for Ukraine, part of the Pentagon's proposed budget allotment, be stripped out. McCarthy said he would pull that money out and have it stand alone for a vote separately. I stopped reading the article at this point, as the rest is a bunch of mumble jumble lefty crapola...the article was on Yahoo, a very left-leaning outlet.

Reading through the over 8K comments posted on that article (no, I did not read all the comments ) several folks pointed out some obvious flaws in the "we have spent too much on Ukraine already" line of thinking. First, $300 million is a mere drop in the bucket in defense spending and secondly, we have already spent $113 billion on the Ukraine war, so another paltry $300 million....????

Next, the Pentagon spends (wastes) many $billions and $billions annually on testing weapon systems that are not adopted, and [drum roll please] on stupid stuff like diversity training, climate change studies (really? is that the role of the defense department?), fabulous taxpayer-paid vacations for "higher-ups" and "dignitaries," etc... so please spare me the sudden concern over $300 million.

Finally, how much does it cost every single year maintaining our defense against Russia? I know the answer is $Tens of billions(many times over) so again, the $115 billion spent "defending against" Russia while not risking a single US serviceman's life seems like a reasonable expenditure. No, I can't/won't say that every dollar is justifiable, there probably is a lot of waste as a result of inefficiencies, and some unnecessary expenditures. But that is true in every single government program, so it is ridiculous to pick on this one small aspect of the hugely wasteful federal government budget measured in many $trillions.

Which brings me to this, what exactly is some folks' problem with helping Ukraine stand up to an international bully? When I try to reason how anyone can be against the aid/support I am left with, well, only globalist commies benefit from Putin taking Ukraine, then Poland, then the rest of eastern Europe. The Chicoms are supporting Putin. North Korea is supporting Putin. Cuba is supporting Putin. When someone stands against Ukraine maintaining their sovereignty, they align with those evil global commie regimes.

[dawg80]

Newly created Russian reserve unit, the 25th Army, a bunch of poorly trained, inexperienced, and poorly led conscripts walked/rode straight into a trap east of Bakhmut, in the northern half of the theater. The Ukrans have advised the 25th to surrender to avoid being slaughtered. There are 15,000 soldiers from the 25th that are in this predicament. One spokesman for the Ukrainian commander, north region/Bakhmut front, said the Russians have been given 12 hours to surrender or the artillery barrage will commence. This report is 4 hours old as of 1:00 CDT.

Ya know, there are those who pretend to care about the poor ole Ukranians who have died gallantly defending their home and standing up to an evil, criminal regime, but say very little to nothing about the conscripted Russians who are sent to certain doom, poorly trained and equipped. The life expectancy of a Russian conscript is 4 months. And that includes a month+ of "training," meaning they survive only 90 days, on average, once they are deployed. Oh, but one fellow expects me to believe that less than 100K Russians are KIA in the 19-month war, LOL!

[dawg80]

Charter flight carrying Wagner Group soldiers crashed in Mali. No details yet on numbers of killed/injured and a cause.

Armenians storm the Russian Consulate in capital blaming Putin for the loss of the Karabakh province to Azerbaijan. Poor old Putin, losing friends and allies all over the place, er, save for his buddies in China, North Korea, and Cuba. And, of course, one of our posters here...

[dawg80]

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergie Lavrov speaking at the UN acknowledged Ukraine's legal possession of Crimea. Citing the 1990 agreement when the USSR dissolved Lavrov stated they know that Crimea legally belongs to Ukraine. But...!!

Always a "but" with the Russkies. Lavrov stated Moscow has concerns over Ukraine's future alliance(s), namely NATO, and expects concessions. Really? The only concessions the world should afford the criminal thugs of Putin's inner circle is allowing them to choose the method of execution: firing squad or the gallows.

This is another indication of the failing Putin regime. They know they are losing the war, they know they invaded a sovereign nation in 2014 and again in 2022, and now that their criminal "empire" is crumbling they are seeking a soft landing. Bullshit! CRUSH 'em without mercy or remorse! And then round up and prosecute all those POS propagandists on YouTube and elsewhere who have served the evil Putin regime spreading lies in an attempt to undermine the righteous Ukrainians who have valiantly stood up to a bully.

That's not to say there aren't still some delusional idiots out there. Volodin, Speaker of the Lower Chamber of the Russian parliament, called on Ukraine to surrender or "cease to exist." Nice try Volodin, but the world knows better and ain't buying your BS.

[dawg80]

Just when you think the Putin propagandists can't get any stupider...they do. Some moron by the name of Mortar, a host of a Putin Network TV show, went on a rant about the attacks on Sevastopol and other UKRAINIAN cities (because they are in fact, Ukrainian cities) yelling "If they want war, we'll give them one!" Guess he's been living in a cave the past 19-months and missed the blatant Putin invasion i.e. a "war" and been sleeping through all the gallant counter-offensives of the Ukrans. His viewers must be as informed as the audience of "The View."

Putin ordered, actually threatened, a top-ranking general and gave him one month to reverse the gains of the Ukrans during their offensive. That explains the recent human-wave attacks and the tens of thousands of casualties, and all the losses of tanks, especially in the Bakhmut theater. A leak from an intercepted telegram revealed the order. Why is Russia still using telegrams...oh, that's right, they just disbanded their Pony Express and all their carrier pigeons got smart and defected to Ukraine.

In a somewhat related story, kind of, tribes in Mali (West Africa) turned on the Wagner group and attacked a HQ and base. This less than 2 days after a charter flight carrying Wagner members went down in Mali. Still no confirmed information about the plane crash, but it does look suspicious.

[dawg80]

A 60 Minutes report on tax dollars in Ukraine:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkGJw5wUZI0

[dawg80]

Putin-friendly politician is leading in the polls for Slovakia's prime minister election coming up. Robert Fico served twice as PM for Slovakia and both times was removed and/or voted out due to extreme corruption and the last time, he and his equally corrupt wife were indicted, but not convicted, for the murder of a journalist who was investigating the power couple for their well-known corruption. Now Fico, and his corrupt cronies in their party, are leading in the polls. Fico has been very vocal against Slovakia's support for Ukraine, and he advocates allowing Russia to win so the war will end. He accuses Ukraine as being a haven for Nazis, a stupid notion that has been debunked already by multiple sources. Slovakia is a NATO nation, and while Ukraine is not, it would not be good for a NATO nation to break ranks in this war to stop Putin's evil aggression. Even Erdogan, Turkey, who tried at first to play both ends against the middle, came around in support of Ukraine as a loyal NATO nation should.

Current PM Matovic, a self-made millionaire businessman, won the last election with promises to clean up the corruption, but the opposition, especially the SMER Party (Fico's) has used smear tactics to paint Matovic as corrupt based on his pre-election business practices, none of which have been proven, but a segment of the media has continued to harp on, driving down Matovic's approval ratings. Also, among the Slovakian populace there has been, and continues to be, a healthy pro-Russian sympathy based on the USSR's liberating the country from Hitler's Nazis in 1944. There is also a strong anti-Hungary sentiment, and Hungary is vocally anti-Putin/anti-Russian.

I have been accused of not understanding complex geopolitical realities. That is laughable. It is just that after careful consideration I dismiss some of these geopolitical nuances versus the bigger picture, or more accurately, the current urgent situation with not only short-term, but long-term ramifications, that will ironically directly impact those same geopolitical realities I am supposedly unaware of.

Bottom line is this, the people of Slovakia will be making a huge mistake to elect Robert Fico as prime minister. It will adversely affect them and also negatively impact Europe, and by extension, the world.

[dawg80]

After laying low and regrouping for several months, the Russian partisan group, the "Russian Freedom Legion (RFL)" is back! They carried out attacks against Putin thugs in the Belgorod region. Fighting was reported as sporadic except in one village where heavy combat is on-going. After the surprise attacks began the RFL released a statement on social media calling on all good Russians to join them to "rid Russia of Putin's filth."

Russian artillery units on the frontlines near Verboze finally received much-needed ammunition. Only, the shells were empty, no TNT explosive. Hollow tubes, with fuses, but nothing to make the shells go kaboom! LOL! One of the Russian officers shot video with his phone and posted it saying, "look at what they send us to fight with...blanks!"

Russian elite paratroopers are bogged down around Bakhmut. That was a strategic trap the Ukrans set, suckered the Russians in, allowed them to get comfortable in their trenches, and then spent the past 3 months avoiding direct confrontation with them, instead systemically destroying supporting units on their flanks. Now if the elite paratroopers try to move, they will be in the open and Ukran drones and artillery will smash them to pieces. It is reported that 10,000 Russian paratroopers were trucked in to help defend Bakhmut, not the role of paratroopers, and now their services are needed in the Verboze region. The Ukrans are not stupid, and no way were they going to try to assault the elite paratroopers, dug in, with artillery support, anti-tank weapons, and plenty of machinegun nests overlooking minefields. But now those elite troops are stuck there.

[dawg80]

A Polish army helicopter strayed 300 meters inside of Belarus' border, prompting the scrambling of jets, and having some moron proclaim this violation of Belarussian air space will start WWIII. Only, the Poles apologized for the mistake as the helicopter quickly returned back across the border.

500 Wagner soldiers departed Belarus early this morning for the front lines around Bakhmut. They are expected to reinforce Russian troops dug in around the city. There are reports of 8,000 Wagner troops in camps in Belarus. Well, 7,500 now.

The Wagner plane crash in Mali is being called pilot error. The large IL76 Russian jet transport overshot the runway and couldn't stop in time. The plane is a total loss as is all the personnel and equipment it was carrying.

[dawg80]

Putin formally appoints his successor. No election to be held in Russia, eh. Sounds like a dictatorship to me. Yet, there are those who support Putin and hail him as some kind of legit world leader...amazing.

Anyway, the next dictator in line to be is Andrei Troshev, a former Russian army officer who served in Afghanistan during the 10-year occupation and who was hailed as a hero in the brutal put down of the Chechen "rebellion." Presently he is a member of the Russian Ministry of Defense, which is nothing more than a "yes man" panel of Putin inner-circle thugs. And, he is now the overall leader of the Russian Wagner Group chapter since both Prigozhin and Utkin (Wagner) are now dead. Troshev has to be a piece of shit too else Putin wouldn't have selected him as heir apparent.

Would be nice for Russia to become a democracy and hold real elections. Maybe then they will join the world community as a peaceful member. That would be nice for a lot of reasons, not the least of which are personal reasons for me; my daughter is a Russian citizen, holding dual citizenship. She still has a Russian passport, and a US passport too. We adopted her when she was 4, she is now 31, and wants very much to travel back to her home province, Novgorod, and just visit. Not a good idea right now, and somewhat risky as Russian law frowns on those adopted returning. She could be arrested the moment her feet touch Russian soil. That law is sometimes waived if permission is secured prior to traveling, but as one person learned, the Russians have been known to change their minds about such permission.

[SicemDawgz]

https://fb.watch/nmUIAsCcv3/?mibextid=GpiG5r

Interesting take on the war

[Blue Dawg]

https://fb.watch/nmUIAsCcv3/?mibextid=GpiG5r

Interesting take on the war

I often wonder what the world would look like today had Col. McGregor been named Defense Secretary from Trump Day 1.

[dawg80]

https://fb.watch/nmUIAsCcv3/?mibextid=GpiG5r

Interesting take on the war

Utter bullshit and so easily debunked. There is video of the battles...oh, I know don't believe your lying eyes, believe this kook!

[dawg80]

Russian Foreign Minister Sergie Lavrov said today, that's TODAY! that Russia is open to discuss ending the war...provided they get most of what they want, which includes keeping the Ukranian territory they have invaded. To that Ukraine quickly replied, no thanks, we have no reason to discuss anything but continuing the expulsion of the invaders ("occupiers" is the term most often used).

Now, little Tucker Carlson, please explain why the side that is overwhelmingly winning wants to negotiate an end, while the side being slaughtered wants to continue this uneven contest. Makes total sense, Russia is winning the war, so they wish to talk. Ukraine is losing which is why they want to continue fighting.

Stooooooooooooooooooopid!

[FriscoDog]

A Polish army helicopter strayed 300 meters inside of Belarus' border, prompting the scrambling of jets, and having some moron proclaim this violation of Belarussian air space will start WWIII. Only, the Poles apologized for the mistake as the helicopter quickly returned back across the border.

500 Wagner soldiers departed Belarus early this morning for the front lines around Bakhmut. They are expected to reinforce Russian troops dug in around the city. There are reports of 8,000 Wagner troops in camps in Belarus. Well, 7,500 now.

The Wagner plane crash in Mali is being called pilot error. The large IL76 Russian jet transport overshot the runway and couldn't stop in time. The plane is a total loss as is all the personnel and equipment it was carrying.

Wagner troops are safer on the ground being shot at than riding in airplanes these days. ����