13:09 – MatsExtrude
👍
Hard to know when it comes to the USA and China. As you mentioned, it is not so smart if you already now go full throttle with sanctions, then you have used up that card for later.
I hope, and believe, that they are smarter than that. I think it is important to do something already now.
Otherwise, it will be like with Russia. As long as nothing happens and no one seriously resists, one can continue and even escalate.
By imposing sanctions, you show China that you actually mean business, while at the same time you can do much more if they still do not behave (both regarding deliveries to Russia and hostilities against Taiwan).
The West must get its act together and realize that the only right thing is to end the war as soon as possible and the only way to solve it is by providing everything that is needed!
16:49 – Johan No.1
Yes, the fastest way to the goal must be to throw out RU.
Sitting and wondering if the USA wants to break China economically and if that is their hidden motive in all this?
12:16 – Johan No.1
Now that the conqueror of the Kertj Bridge and Gagarin’s nemesis have honored us with a visit, one has to make a bit more effort; there were many (embarrassing) reasons why the Russians were forced to send dogs and monkeys into space that the history books have concealed.
Why is the FSB involved in so many activities in Europe, they keep coming up as the ones behind subversive operations?
Either it’s because the media doesn’t understand better and everything is FSB, but it should reasonably be the SVR or possibly the GRU if the subversive activity can be considered military in nature?
I have the impression that it’s because Putin trusts the FSB the most?
Then this is a bit of market economy, a lucrative market for the offices, and there is surely competition, and whoever comes up with cool sabotage and influence operations gets to run them?
And as mentioned, if you have Putin’s ear, you get everything and can enrich yourself by destabilizing the West?
It’s also approaching the monthly closing, and Russian Losses Inc. has made record profits during the month; a couple of items we can already freeze today;
-barbarians, soft vehicles, and artillery are at the highest ever in a single month throughout the entire war – take that!
-IFVs are in the top five (5) and climbing fast, so an exciting item to keep an eye on.
A couple more also look promising, but we have to wait until the press conference on June 1.
However, one can already comment on the trend that losses in several weapon categories are the highest in the entire war and what that does to the willingness to wage a war of extermination for the country of Russia when their rapid smash-and-grab coup totally collapsed into this swamp of unbearable losses.
As an adult, I think “it can always be worse” and try to resolve work conflicts, but that doesn’t mean you accept anything forever, and above all, it means you save the dirt that flies by so that the magazine is full in case of an unsolvable work conflict, and if you enter that, you are prepared to leave yourself since the colleague has probably done the same and saved everything 😀
This war is a bit like that, you choose the least bad, and no option is perfect like sunflowers, it can always get worse, and if it crosses a certain line, the glove is thrown.
I’m starting to come to a point where I question Germany’s and the USA’s dominance. Both countries enjoy enormous advantages as the USA as the world police and Germany as the EU’s powerhouse and strongest voice with a dialect that countless comedy shows have been made about.
But when it really mattered, they folded immediately, and now, over two years later, I can see nothing else than that they have chosen a line to profit from something the rest of the West loses heavily on.
The Baltics, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Romania don’t have much choice, and the same goes for Moldova, but “it can always get worse” for them is that they fall under the Russian umbrella again – we must not take their fighting spirit for granted and must support them. Not do like Scholz and deny Kaja Kallas as NATO chief…
Ukraine could implode any day now; there are many who want to take over after Zelensky, and the slightest public opinion for a negotiated peace will be jumped on and pushed. And then the West will be left with the whole mess in its lap.
To be very clear, the West must have a consistent, straight line and high integrity. Besides Eastern Europe and Finland, Sweden and the Netherlands have had that, and in the final stretch, Macron came and ran ahead of everyone.
Now there will be French troops in the form of instructors in Ukraine.
https://x.com/NOELreports/status/1795115023947153829
And the Baltic states have allied with Macron
https://x.com/jayinkyiv/status/1794061625625805018?s=46&t=Vah3JXV31B9lXwZOK5gF7w
The least bad here might be to stop putting Germany and the USA on a pedestal that you worship and do everything they demand?
The EU is a de facto strong power player with democratic basic principles that are guarded, so we can absolutely take responsibility for our own damn eastern border and then we should assist Africa in their difficult time.
What is happening right now in Africa is that many criminal corrupt dictators are taking over countries by force, and with Russia’s help, it spins into a freedom fight against the colonizers in the West. The only positive thing in this mess is that Angola has not fallen for it as they are quite street-smart.
I have a lot of sympathy for Eastern Europe and Finland and see it as our damn duty to assist them here.
I also see it as our damn duty to ensure that Ukraine wins this war without having a lot of hidden motives, which the USA and Germany obviously have.
It is very positive that France has thrown out the script and openly challenges the USA and Germany, but the rest of Western Europe should follow.
We don’t need the USA’s or Germany’s blessing to have a no-fly zone, an air defense umbrella in western Ukraine, or to send troops, right?
If enough agree on this, it will happen regardless of what the USA or Germany say.
French troops seem to be coming anyway, which is nice.
Since the West has allowed the global escalation to reach step two (2), steps 3,4,5,6… will also come if we don’t act, isn’t that likely?
China is naturally the party the West must try to balance right now, but for me in my parents’ basement room, the smartest thing is to smash Russia in Ukraine as soon as possible because then it is no longer an open conflict to drive. What does the USA do – they impose sanctions that are economic warfare against China while not smashing Russia in Ukraine.
The result CAN be that over time China is forced into the conflict, which is still open.
If I have understood the recent sanctions against China, they are quite harsh, and so far we have not seen Chinese advanced aircraft or tanks operated by the Russians.
They contribute with intelligence gathering and then small-caliber weapons, drones, and ammunition, which in context is considered okay. Then they try to help the Russian war industry get back on its feet, but they flatly refuse the Russian gas pipeline, they deny 80% of Russian payments to avoid upsetting the USA, and all support happens covertly.
A worst-case scenario would be if Russia manages to freeze the fronts while China undertakes to resource the Russian army with all missing weapons – tanks, IFVs, artillery, aircraft, missiles, small-caliber – and then sends volunteers extensively. THEN Europe has a serious problem on its hands.
If the West has already fired its economic nuclear weapons against China, which they probably have started, then there is not much more to threaten with, right?
If I were China, I would see this as an attractive option IF I were already subjected to economic warfare and started to suffer from it.
Taiwan is a suicide, and China probably knows that, but guess if the USA has done well there – their military support to Taiwan is severely delayed.
Now I know nothing sitting here in my parents’ basement playing Rise of Nations, but to me, it looks like the best strategy would be to win the war in Ukraine as quickly as possible while stroking China the right way until the war is won, not the other way around, which the USA seems to be doing.
If we are to continue on the topic that politicians are elected by the people and work for us but sometimes really mess things up.
A politician who did not pursue a policy for the majority society was the First Minister of Scotland who took over after Nicola Sturgeon, who took over after Alex Salmond, which is always equally amusing. 😀 In an area of the UK that is 97% Caucasian, he gave a controversial speech in 2020 where he believed that the parliament and all services had too many whites (whites was the word). A campaign for “equal 3%” probably would not have been opposed by anyone, but now the aim was higher and there were clear ethnic markers and blame.
I have lived 7 years in Scotland and if there is a population that is even more tolerant and friendly towards everything and everyone than the Swedes, it is the Scots. Scotland also feels colonized by England and has a difficult history – they see themselves as a colonized people with a strong identity.
https://youtu.be/W8tNgAIh-TI?si=iTD602v1oFPCtDG3
Now that was not the point, but the First Minister had also pushed for a rather draconian and subjective HMF law in Scotland where one can get a prison sentence of up to seven years, which is quite high on the penalty scale as the justice system imposes about our penalties for rape, assault, and others where a third party is exposed.
The Scots were not worse than that they immediately mass-reported the First Minister for his 2020 speech using this new HMF law, which was quite expected and very Scottish – justice must be done 😀
The First Minister then chose to accuse those who reported him of being racists; he could not manage to foresee the consequences of this issue as the country’s prime minister.
https://x.com/visegrad24/status/1777820960424350077?s=46&t=Vah3JXV31B9lXwZOK5gF7w
It went as it went for him and the example was thus a prime minister who completely lost his way in his elected role and job description, and I think we have seen more of that in recent years. Those who win the people’s trust to work for the citizens begin to pursue a policy that is not the best for the majority society. In my two posts I linked to yesterday, I brought up the climate crisis as an example and then that they ignore our traditions as elected representatives, but of course, there is much more to draw from if one wanted, but the really hot topics are almost pointless to discuss as you get permanently moved to the economic councils.
Same as yesterday, while the West is a constant problem child, things are going quite well for Ukraine in the war.
The airport in Luhansk got a tungsten cloud over it and died. I say it again, airports or other staging areas and ATACMS are made for each other.
https://x.com/noelreports/status/1795205023275655246?s=46&t=Vah3JXV31B9lXwZOK5gF7w
The protests in Hungary and Georgia are actually continuing and increasing in strength even though the media seems to have lost interest. There is also an election in Georgia in October, so there is a high probability of a Maidan.
https://x.com/jayinkyiv/status/1794925792754839725?s=46&t=Vah3JXV31B9lXwZOK5gF7w
TOS-1 against a UA position but despite that, they won the battle, immortal ✊
https://x.com/gerashchenko_en/status/1795082905217097960?s=46&t=Vah3JXV31B9lXwZOK5gF7w
The 300 Bradleys and hundreds of M113s have now arrived in Ukraine and are probably being distributed among units. The vehicle has proven so good that 300 is positive.
https://x.com/togajano21/status/1794915447588164034?s=46&t=Vah3JXV31B9lXwZOK5gF7w
Blinken keeps going – no geographical restrictions on US weapons. Sullivan is probably unfortunately also continuing and this is in broad daylight…
https://x.com/captcoronado/status/1794516052451447244?s=46&
We now know that RU moved units from Africa to UA – lots of planes in the air when it happened.
Apparently, they have also emptied Syria of units now – does it feel like they are projecting strength by pulling home everything they can to the fronts in Ukraine?
For Africa, this is very good.
https://x.com/samramani2/status/1794113210917720342?s=46&t=Vah3JXV31B9lXwZOK5gF7w
The Russians have also started forced mobilization in Moscow and parents are protesting – good development.
https://x.com/jayinkyiv/status/1794619483602219195?s=46&t=Vah3JXV31B9lXwZOK5gF7w
Zelensky confirmed that RU lost 8 times more than Ukraine in their Kharkiv offensive.
https://bsky.app/profile/johanno1.bsky.social/post/3ktk4ogq6q52i
58 CAA and 20 CAA possible order refusal.
https://x.com/secretsqrl123/status/1794466041021485356?s=46&t=Vah3JXV31B9lXwZOK5gF7w
Here you have a vision of hovering ammunition, a step up from Bonus, Excalibur and Strix I think. Apparently, it can also only be fired from a Toyota truck.
https://x.com/trenttelenko/status/1794050211523768762?s=46&t=Vah3JXV31B9lXwZOK5gF7w
The Russians are starting to run very short on T72B now.
https://x.com/highmarsed/status/1793762380515852380?s=46&t=Vah3JXV31B9lXwZOK5gF7w
We will see how slow the West is with delivering all support, Bradleys showed up quickly and in green so presumably taken from stockpiles in Europe?
France has probably already sent its fragmentation protection.
If you remember my discussion that the West has sent 8,500 fragmentation-protected vehicles, I have lately had the feeling that not everything has arrived and that many have had technical faults in workshops.
Otherwise, they would not have needed these Bradleys directly when they came off the train.
But that means it is even worse for the Russian side.
Anyway, Ukraine has carried out counterattacks up at the northern front and at Krashnohorivka (whichever one that is?) so they do not lack offensive capability.
I support the West sending troops into western Ukraine because it frees up a few hundred thousand for the fronts.
Looks as usual -positive-positive except for the really tiresome problem children USA and Germany.
If you have your memory intact, you also remember how precisely the USA and Germany have slowed down the entire war and historically they have had no problem starting wars directly.
It is simply sad when Ukraine has the audacity to defend itself and Scholz was also one of those who just waited for Ukraine to capitulate in the beginning – for peace in our time, he was directly upset that they fought so that their children would not be tortured-raped-murdered.
End of May 2024 and there are still leaders in the West who are slowing down Ukraine – it is directly astonishing.