"All of Vlad's forces and all of Vlad's men, are out to put Humpty together again."

[GrauGeist]

I actually put a great deal of effort into being civil.

 

[Dimlee]

I wonder what Russians think of the peaceful (POTUS45's nonsense aside) transition of power in the US. Since Putin came to power in 1999 the USA has had five Presidents. Do Russian's see this as weakness or strength?

As nonsense, as political theatre. As something unnecessary and potentially dangerous for their country. I don't remember polls with exactly this question, but other polls make me think so.

 

[Dimlee]

Which hypersonics are you referring to? Because they have used Kh-47s against Ukraine.

Yes, when Kremlin's propaganda outlets brag about the hypersonic weapon in service, usually they mean Kinzhal - ballistic Iskander modified for aerial launch. They call it hyper-sonic because it exceeds Mach 5... As the original Iskander, as most, if not all, other ballistic missiles, starting with German A-4(V-2) and including Tochka-U which is still being used by Ukrainian Army.

 

[Admiral Beez]

What is a militarily exhausted and prestige-weakened Russia going to do when China starts pushing its claims on Vladivostok and area?

'This is our land,' China now claims Russia’s Vladivostok as part of its territory

The claims of China over Vladivostok in Russia are not limited to the state-owned media. Even Chinese diplomats have jumped in. Zhang Heqing, a.............

tfipost.com

 

[Glider]

I think that guy is sweating bullets 'cause he's gonna' be eating one soon.

I think I would be more concerned about the coffee and biscuits

 

[GrauGeist]

Polonium Tea aparently has a bitter aftertaste...

 

[SaparotRob]

So, I read somewhere that Kazakhstan seems to be livening up a bit. How's it hanging in Georgia? I think some folks there are watching the Kherson offensive with interest.

 

[at6]

Compare and contrast Ukraine's leadership with "bravery" of the Russian-appointed lackeys in the captured regions:

In an interesting turn of events, the Russian-appointed deputy leader of occupied Kherson appears to have left the city and is working from nearly 500 miles away in Russia.

Hawk-eyed social media users noted video updates posted to Kirill Stremousov's Telegram account in recent days appeared to have been taken from the Marriott Hotel in Voronezh.

View attachment 684485

The BBC has not been able to verify why or when he left Kherson, but has been able to confirm his presence in the western Russian city.

The videos also clearly indicate they were filmed from the five-star hotel, given the height of the building it was shot from and the positions of several buildings in the background - including the impressive five-domed Annunciation Cathedral.

Voronezh is about 120 miles (200km) from the border with Ukraine and more than 460 miles from Kherson itself.

In his most recent update earlier today, Stremousov criticised Western and Ukrainian media coverage of the fighting around Kherson.

Perhaps the scum sucker will get to taste Putinaide.

 

[at6]

Olga Skabeyeva has been saying that NATO is the reason why the Ukraine has been naughty and the west should be nuked punished for encouraging Ukrainians to look away from their masters.

Olga should go suck a horse sausage.

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

To the "true believers" in Russia, democracy is inherently flawed and weak. Dissent and disagreement slow down decision-making, which offers advantages to centralized autocracies which can make decisions faster. In addition, the political divisions within democracies are fracture points which can be (and are) exploited by those autocratic governments that seek to disrupt democratic nations.

On the other hand, you don't have the diversity of opinion that might save a country from an "oops" moment.

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

What is a militarily exhausted and prestige-weakened Russia going to do when China starts pushing its claims on Vladivostok and area?

'This is our land,' China now claims Russia’s Vladivostok as part of its territory

The claims of China over Vladivostok in Russia are not limited to the state-owned media. Even Chinese diplomats have jumped in. Zhang Heqing, a.............

tfipost.com

That's rather a loaded piece of rhetoric there.

 

[at6]

If the Russians do go nuclear, I would like to at least die knowing that every single inch of Russia would be incinerated.

 

[WARSPITER]

That's rather a loaded piece of rhetoric there.

China has put in 'historical' territorial claims against around 21 different countries including Russia (140,000 sq km's including Vladivostok), all of Vietnam,
both North and South Korea, Northern Laos, North Eastern India, the Spratley Islands, Taiwan of course, Islands off Japan including at one stage, Okinawa
and so on. There is also the claim to the whole of the South China Sea which goes against all international treaties, agreements etc.

The real problem for China now is economic. All the major tech companies are moving out as fast as they can. Heavy industries are moving out as well.
The buying and selling of property where no one lives has created a huge increase in prices which cannot be sustained and is not a bursting bubble but
more like a balloon that has so many holes it leaks out faster than the air can go in.

All this is the stuff that can create a panic in the upper controllers leading to irrational moves. I hope it evens out before it gets that far.

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

China has put in 'historical' territorial claims against around 21 different countries including Russia (140,000 sq km's including Vladivostok), all of Vietnam,
both North and South Korea, Northern Laos, North Eastern India, the Spratley Islands, Taiwan of course, Islands off Japan including at one stage, Okinawa
and so on. There is also the claim to the whole of the South China Sea which goes against all international treaties, agreements etc.

The real problem for China now is economic. All the major tech companies are moving out as fast as they can. Heavy industries are moving out as well.
The buying and selling of property where no one lives has created a huge increase in prices which cannot be sustained and is not a bursting bubble but
more like a balloon that has so many holes it leaks out faster than the air can go in.

All this is the stuff that can create a panic in the upper controllers leading to irrational moves. I hope it evens out before it gets that far.

I'm not arguing that China isn't being grabby. I'm suggesting that the loaded language of that article seems to be strong indicator of bias.

 

[WARSPITER]

I'm not arguing that China isn't being grabby. I'm suggesting that the loaded language of that article seems to be strong indicator of bias.

Absolutely but here in Australia I have also heard on radio and television from Australian journalists that China categorically has only one claim
and that is Taiwan. No mention of the others.

It's a real push and pull in India as I have friends from there who have explained the complex state system and how there are some who support socialist views
so they support China and others who are opposites. Vive la difference ?

 

[MiTasol]

Absolutely but here in Australia I have also heard on radio and television from Australian journalists that China categorically has only one claim
and that is Taiwan. No mention of the others.

It's a real push and pull in India as I have friends from there who have explained the complex state system and how there are some who support socialist views
so they support China and others who are opposites. Vive la difference ?

True but Aus media is really parochial much of the time so I also look at US and European media to get a better view. Until about a year ago I also looked at an NZ site but they have gone all waka and now insist on putting as many neoMaori words in every article as they can get away with and that just makes their articles unreadable.

Was a great site before that and often covered Aus stories that the Aus media refused to cover or hid where search engines could not find them.

 

[Admiral Beez]

That's rather a loaded piece of rhetoric there.

True, and I couldn't find a more reputable, mainstream media source for China's aims on Russian territory. But it only makes sense that a weakened Russia will present an opportunity for China, especially if Taiwan is denied them.

 

[Snautzer01]

Top Russian oil official falls to death from hospital window - sources

Ravil Maganov, the chairman of Russia's second-largest oil producer Lukoil , died on Thursday after falling from a hospital window in Moscow, two sources familiar with the situation said, becoming the latest in a series of businessmen to meet with sudden unexplained deaths.

www.reuters.com

 

[Admiral Beez]

The real problem for China now is economic. All the major tech companies are moving out as fast as they can. Heavy industries are moving out as well. The buying and selling of property where no one lives has created a huge increase in prices which cannot be sustained and is not a bursting bubble but more like a balloon that has so many holes it leaks out faster than the air can go in.

I do wonder how China is affording its massive military expansion. It's not as if they can sell debt to the West, and we're pulling a lot of offshore consumer goods manufacturing to elsewhere.

But I'm clearly taking us off topic. So I'll say no more on China outside of Ukraine war context.

I'll conclude by saying that if through its abject failure to defeat Ukraine and its new reputation for shoddy military kit and prowess Russia is perceived as weak, China will become more grabby. Likely before 2030.

 

[SaparotRob]

Olga should go suck a horse sausage.

That's how she keeps her job.