Russia is using less % of gdp on this war than we did in Korea

There is still a lot we can do to get those numbers higher

Serbia is Russia lite. Not that Kosovo is that great but by now Kosovo should do better against the Serbs for a real war again.
They need to fight every 15-20 years to get it out of their system.
Russia can only do so much for Serbia this time.
That is one fight that will never have a winner. Kosovo is the lesser of two evils, just because Serbs are basically the same thing as Russians.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You had me until you said there was nothing bad about Russian food. Russian food is horrible. All the good stuff is Polish or Georgian. The rest is just cabbage and dill.

I'm counting Beef Stroganoff, Pelmeni, Syrniki, Pirozhki, Blini, Shashlik... I know I know, you're gonna say it's "not Russian", but that's like saying tandoori isn't mainstream English food.. the fact is that without tandoori, I probably would've starved in London..

Stroganoff yes, but inspired by other cuisines. Pelmeni came from Siberian people. Syrniki has Ukrainian etymology rather than Russian творог. And certainly Russia can't lay unique claim to pancakes. A lot is borrowed/appropriated from other people and cultures.

Appropriated! No credibility for you
-DP

Debating the cultural value of a country, any country, is detrimental to freedom. As soon as you decide which countries are "worthy" you imply which countries are less worthy of their territorial integrity. This is in part what Putin did in the run-up to the invasion of Ukraine. Doing it back to Russia only legitimizes the idea of judging a country's worthiness for self determination.

I was talking about Russian food for Pete’s sake! Once you start debating whether it’s Russian or “Siberian” and use the term appropriation you lose credibility sorry

Siberian culture is not Slav Culture. Siberian history is not Russian history. Not even all these years after Russia came along colonized them in the 17th century.

Sure Jan.

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You had me until you said there was nothing bad about Russian food. Russian food is horrible. All the good stuff is Polish or Georgian. The rest is just cabbage and dill.

I'm counting Beef Stroganoff, Pelmeni, Syrniki, Pirozhki, Blini, Shashlik... I know I know, you're gonna say it's "not Russian", but that's like saying tandoori isn't mainstream English food.. the fact is that without tandoori, I probably would've starved in London..

Stroganoff yes, but inspired by other cuisines. Pelmeni came from Siberian people. Syrniki has Ukrainian etymology rather than Russian творог. And certainly Russia can't lay unique claim to pancakes. A lot is borrowed/appropriated from other people and cultures.

Appropriated! No credibility for you
-DP

Debating the cultural value of a country, any country, is detrimental to freedom. As soon as you decide which countries are "worthy" you imply which countries are less worthy of their territorial integrity. This is in part what Putin did in the run-up to the invasion of Ukraine. Doing it back to Russia only legitimizes the idea of judging a country's worthiness for self determination.

Ehh, I'm fine with delegitimizing Russia because they don't care about the worthiness or self-determination of other countries, like Ukraine.

No one really knows what self determination is or how it works. It has never been applied to countries equally or fairly. It’s mostly driven by his favored the country is. Like, I bet if a part of Russia suddenly voted to join Finland, they’d get a serious hearing. Artsakh wants to be a part of Armenia? Or be independent? Bubkes for them. Kosovo ? Now you’re talking.

With places like Finland, it pays to have friends.

As for some of the others, what meaningful friends do they have now? Armenia was for years basically a Russian client state, and they counted on Russia for protection. But now they know Russia is no longer there for them, CIS/CSTO etc have pretty much become a joke. Serbia may wake up to the same realization

You’ve just confirmed that there are really no rules about that thing called self determination, it’s all a farce.

It's not at all a farce. Countries have a right to sovereignty and self-determination. But if you are a tiny weakling of a country without any friends trying to stand up against a bigger bully, like Russia or whoever else, then you are going to have a harder time doing it.

All countries or parts of them?
All countries or the ones you approve of?

Anonymous wrote:It has been fun watching Ukraine gradually break down Russia's capabilities. In Bakhmut, they broke Prigozhin and Wagner PMC, they left the battlefield. Between Wagner and Russian Army they lost at least 23,000 troops and thousands of pieces of equipment - tanks, artillery, armored personnel carriers, and others. On the Ukrainian side they only lost a little over 3,000 troops. Also, many of Russia's most modern tanks and other systems have been getting destroyed, along with many of their elite fighting units - Spetsnaz, VDV and others have been decimated - it will take Russia years to replace them. And now, Russia is hauling out antiquated and extremely obsolete tanks and equipment out of storage, what little of it hasn't rusted out and is still functional.
Whereas, Ukraine's tank losses have been more than fully replenished with a combination of modern Western tanks and equipment which is better than the best Russia ever had, along with many captured Russian pieces of equipment. While Russia has been grinding itself to heavy attrition, Ukraine has been building up, stockpiling, training and readying.

Lol

It has been fun watching Ukraine gradually break down Russia's capabilities. In Bakhmut, they broke Prigozhin and Wagner PMC, they left the battlefield. Between Wagner and Russian Army they lost at least 23,000 troops and thousands of pieces of equipment - tanks, artillery, armored personnel carriers, and others. On the Ukrainian side they only lost a little over 3,000 troops. Also, many of Russia's most modern tanks and other systems have been getting destroyed, along with many of their elite fighting units - Spetsnaz, VDV and others have been decimated - it will take Russia years to replace them. And now, Russia is hauling out antiquated and extremely obsolete tanks and equipment out of storage, what little of it hasn't rusted out and is still functional.
Whereas, Ukraine's tank losses have been more than fully replenished with a combination of modern Western tanks and equipment which is better than the best Russia ever had, along with many captured Russian pieces of equipment. While Russia has been grinding itself to heavy attrition, Ukraine has been building up, stockpiling, training and readying.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You had me until you said there was nothing bad about Russian food. Russian food is horrible. All the good stuff is Polish or Georgian. The rest is just cabbage and dill.

I'm counting Beef Stroganoff, Pelmeni, Syrniki, Pirozhki, Blini, Shashlik... I know I know, you're gonna say it's "not Russian", but that's like saying tandoori isn't mainstream English food.. the fact is that without tandoori, I probably would've starved in London..

Stroganoff yes, but inspired by other cuisines. Pelmeni came from Siberian people. Syrniki has Ukrainian etymology rather than Russian творог. And certainly Russia can't lay unique claim to pancakes. A lot is borrowed/appropriated from other people and cultures.

Appropriated! No credibility for you
-DP

Debating the cultural value of a country, any country, is detrimental to freedom. As soon as you decide which countries are "worthy" you imply which countries are less worthy of their territorial integrity. This is in part what Putin did in the run-up to the invasion of Ukraine. Doing it back to Russia only legitimizes the idea of judging a country's worthiness for self determination.

I was talking about Russian food for Pete’s sake! Once you start debating whether it’s Russian or “Siberian” and use the term appropriation you lose credibility sorry

Siberian culture is not Slav Culture. Siberian history is not Russian history. Not even all these years after Russia came along colonized them in the 17th century.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You had me until you said there was nothing bad about Russian food. Russian food is horrible. All the good stuff is Polish or Georgian. The rest is just cabbage and dill.

I'm counting Beef Stroganoff, Pelmeni, Syrniki, Pirozhki, Blini, Shashlik... I know I know, you're gonna say it's "not Russian", but that's like saying tandoori isn't mainstream English food.. the fact is that without tandoori, I probably would've starved in London..

Stroganoff yes, but inspired by other cuisines. Pelmeni came from Siberian people. Syrniki has Ukrainian etymology rather than Russian творог. And certainly Russia can't lay unique claim to pancakes. A lot is borrowed/appropriated from other people and cultures.

Appropriated! No credibility for you
-DP

Debating the cultural value of a country, any country, is detrimental to freedom. As soon as you decide which countries are "worthy" you imply which countries are less worthy of their territorial integrity. This is in part what Putin did in the run-up to the invasion of Ukraine. Doing it back to Russia only legitimizes the idea of judging a country's worthiness for self determination.

Ehh, I'm fine with delegitimizing Russia because they don't care about the worthiness or self-determination of other countries, like Ukraine.

No one really knows what self determination is or how it works. It has never been applied to countries equally or fairly. It’s mostly driven by his favored the country is. Like, I bet if a part of Russia suddenly voted to join Finland, they’d get a serious hearing. Artsakh wants to be a part of Armenia? Or be independent? Bubkes for them. Kosovo ? Now you’re talking.

With places like Finland, it pays to have friends.

As for some of the others, what meaningful friends do they have now? Armenia was for years basically a Russian client state, and they counted on Russia for protection. But now they know Russia is no longer there for them, CIS/CSTO etc have pretty much become a joke. Serbia may wake up to the same realization

DP but I am afraid you are are confusing cause and effect here. “The west” was always pro Azeri and anti Serbia which made Armenia and Serbia move to the other side

Armenia never moved anywhere. Since 1991 they were still under the Russian umbrella, member of CSTO et cetera. But that said, now would be a good time for them to move, since Russia is no longer there for them.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You had me until you said there was nothing bad about Russian food. Russian food is horrible. All the good stuff is Polish or Georgian. The rest is just cabbage and dill.

I'm counting Beef Stroganoff, Pelmeni, Syrniki, Pirozhki, Blini, Shashlik... I know I know, you're gonna say it's "not Russian", but that's like saying tandoori isn't mainstream English food.. the fact is that without tandoori, I probably would've starved in London..

Stroganoff yes, but inspired by other cuisines. Pelmeni came from Siberian people. Syrniki has Ukrainian etymology rather than Russian творог. And certainly Russia can't lay unique claim to pancakes. A lot is borrowed/appropriated from other people and cultures.

Appropriated! No credibility for you
-DP

Debating the cultural value of a country, any country, is detrimental to freedom. As soon as you decide which countries are "worthy" you imply which countries are less worthy of their territorial integrity. This is in part what Putin did in the run-up to the invasion of Ukraine. Doing it back to Russia only legitimizes the idea of judging a country's worthiness for self determination.

Ehh, I'm fine with delegitimizing Russia because they don't care about the worthiness or self-determination of other countries, like Ukraine.

No one really knows what self determination is or how it works. It has never been applied to countries equally or fairly. It’s mostly driven by his favored the country is. Like, I bet if a part of Russia suddenly voted to join Finland, they’d get a serious hearing. Artsakh wants to be a part of Armenia? Or be independent? Bubkes for them. Kosovo ? Now you’re talking.

With places like Finland, it pays to have friends.

As for some of the others, what meaningful friends do they have now? Armenia was for years basically a Russian client state, and they counted on Russia for protection. But now they know Russia is no longer there for them, CIS/CSTO etc have pretty much become a joke. Serbia may wake up to the same realization

DP but I am afraid you are are confusing cause and effect here. “The west” was always pro Azeri and anti Serbia which made Armenia and Serbia move to the other side

Azerbaijan gets more of its help from places like Turkey than from the west. And Serbia still carries a stain from its prior genocide, and is full of pro-Z idiots.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You had me until you said there was nothing bad about Russian food. Russian food is horrible. All the good stuff is Polish or Georgian. The rest is just cabbage and dill.

I'm counting Beef Stroganoff, Pelmeni, Syrniki, Pirozhki, Blini, Shashlik... I know I know, you're gonna say it's "not Russian", but that's like saying tandoori isn't mainstream English food.. the fact is that without tandoori, I probably would've starved in London..

Stroganoff yes, but inspired by other cuisines. Pelmeni came from Siberian people. Syrniki has Ukrainian etymology rather than Russian творог. And certainly Russia can't lay unique claim to pancakes. A lot is borrowed/appropriated from other people and cultures.

Appropriated! No credibility for you
-DP

Debating the cultural value of a country, any country, is detrimental to freedom. As soon as you decide which countries are "worthy" you imply which countries are less worthy of their territorial integrity. This is in part what Putin did in the run-up to the invasion of Ukraine. Doing it back to Russia only legitimizes the idea of judging a country's worthiness for self determination.

Ehh, I'm fine with delegitimizing Russia because they don't care about the worthiness or self-determination of other countries, like Ukraine.

No one really knows what self determination is or how it works. It has never been applied to countries equally or fairly. It’s mostly driven by his favored the country is. Like, I bet if a part of Russia suddenly voted to join Finland, they’d get a serious hearing. Artsakh wants to be a part of Armenia? Or be independent? Bubkes for them. Kosovo ? Now you’re talking.

With places like Finland, it pays to have friends.

As for some of the others, what meaningful friends do they have now? Armenia was for years basically a Russian client state, and they counted on Russia for protection. But now they know Russia is no longer there for them, CIS/CSTO etc have pretty much become a joke. Serbia may wake up to the same realization

You’ve just confirmed that there are really no rules about that thing called self determination, it’s all a farce.

It's not at all a farce. Countries have a right to sovereignty and self-determination. But if you are a tiny weakling of a country without any friends trying to stand up against a bigger bully, like Russia or whoever else, then you are going to have a harder time doing it.

These incursions into Russia are taking a toll already. They are making a bad Putin look worse, a bad Russian defense look worse and best of all, distracting resources from Donbas etc back into Russia.

Add to it the missiles that are taking out Russian stores of ammunition etc. One can only get the feeling that the ongoing campaign by Russia will not be sustainable for much longer, particularly as the internal unrest grows.

Anonymous wrote:Where is Zelensky big offensive? We see big mouth demanding more money.

No progress on battlefield.

How do you ask man to be last man to die for Donbas?

Did you see his last interview in WSJ? “Let’s not compare who should be grateful to whom.”

Nice. Send more money!

Anonymous wrote:"A wave of looting has reportedly hit a border zone in Russia as Vladimir Putin's authorities lose control of the Belgorod Oblast region.”

They don’t lose control. It’s as if there was an earthquake or a tsunami - looting there too.
And no I am a not a pro Russian bot and I think Russia will lose in the end. But let’s not misunderstand what’s going on.
There is no lost control (to who?!) and there will be no Russians turning on Putin. It will all come from the outside.

Hmm. Not sure about that. You're not thinking like a Soviet-trained Russian. There's a hypothesis I have based upon things I'm reading, but I don't want to post it here since if I'm right someone might think it's plausible and decide do house-cleaning back in Moscow.

The Cheka, NKVD and KGB were exceptionally efficient at ferreting out anyone with different opinions or political leanings. After years of Soviet rule, ordinary Russians adapted and developed the means to resist. These means could be passed off as accidents or incompetence (a common occurrence when you have a brainwashed population who can't think logically or rationally, since they're expected to believe any lie told to them as coming from higher-ups).

Remember back in April when Gurulyov said the “enemy of the people” designation should be used on not only those in the military who give “moronic orders,” but also ordinary people'?
https://t.me/astrapress/25462

Remember when the Russian Federal Protective Service did "sociological surveys"? "The Kremlin tasked the Federal Protective Service (equivalent of the USSS) to conduct "sociological surveys" of the Risk of Worsening Conditions for the Ministry of Economic Development, to determine potential sources of unrest. 54 "mono" (factory) towns were considered borderline for unrest with another 105 closely following."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-1n-05Xu6Y

I believe this was a direct reference to this phenomenon. More and more, I'm seeing evidence of this happening in very visible areas. This is a pattern similar to what happened in the Former Soviet Union just before its breakup. This is why I think Russia may re-disintegrate within about 2 1/2 years. However, unlike before, there is a stronger chance of anarchy developing since, as a former KGB agent himself, Putin has been exceptionally efficient in identifying and neutralizing out strong opposition.

But overall, I do believe it's more likely an inside pressure that could unseat Putin. The War in Ukraine is more of.. a lid on a boiling pot?

Where is Zelensky big offensive? We see big mouth demanding more money.

No progress on battlefield.

How do you ask man to be last man to die for Donbas?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You had me until you said there was nothing bad about Russian food. Russian food is horrible. All the good stuff is Polish or Georgian. The rest is just cabbage and dill.

I'm counting Beef Stroganoff, Pelmeni, Syrniki, Pirozhki, Blini, Shashlik... I know I know, you're gonna say it's "not Russian", but that's like saying tandoori isn't mainstream English food.. the fact is that without tandoori, I probably would've starved in London..

Stroganoff yes, but inspired by other cuisines. Pelmeni came from Siberian people. Syrniki has Ukrainian etymology rather than Russian творог. And certainly Russia can't lay unique claim to pancakes. A lot is borrowed/appropriated from other people and cultures.

Appropriated! No credibility for you
-DP

Debating the cultural value of a country, any country, is detrimental to freedom. As soon as you decide which countries are "worthy" you imply which countries are less worthy of their territorial integrity. This is in part what Putin did in the run-up to the invasion of Ukraine. Doing it back to Russia only legitimizes the idea of judging a country's worthiness for self determination.

Ehh, I'm fine with delegitimizing Russia because they don't care about the worthiness or self-determination of other countries, like Ukraine.

No one really knows what self determination is or how it works. It has never been applied to countries equally or fairly. It’s mostly driven by his favored the country is. Like, I bet if a part of Russia suddenly voted to join Finland, they’d get a serious hearing. Artsakh wants to be a part of Armenia? Or be independent? Bubkes for them. Kosovo ? Now you’re talking.

With places like Finland, it pays to have friends.

As for some of the others, what meaningful friends do they have now? Armenia was for years basically a Russian client state, and they counted on Russia for protection. But now they know Russia is no longer there for them, CIS/CSTO etc have pretty much become a joke. Serbia may wake up to the same realization

You’ve just confirmed that there are really no rules about that thing called self determination, it’s all a farce.