Bucky
Bucky's JournalThree videos to watch to understand Russia's motives without your western biases
I recommend watching in reverse chrono order (the order presented here in this post) because the commentator (Vlad Vexler) begins but reminding you that you mostly think about Russia through western eyes and western frames of reference. And by you, of course, I mean me.
Apr 17, 2022 - The soul of Russia. Also, it's important for you to understand that, in Putin's mind, this isn't a Russia-vs-Ukraine war. (Bonus Content: Francis Fukuyama is an idiot)
March 16th, 2022 - The mind of Vladimir Putin, how he thinks a nuclear war won't be such a much, and why his target will probably be in Poland or Bulgaria
March 13th, 2022 - About the power blocs in the Kremlin and why the people are still important under a tyrant
What do Russians think 2 months after the "special military operation"? (posted April 23)
this "What Russians think now" video is a series of "average Joe" interviews on the streets of Petersburg, which is a relatively western-looking part of Russia (a Russian friend once told me St Petersburg is their Manhattan while Moscow is their Detroit).
I'm intrigued both by how many people cautiously distanced themselves from the invasion, most declared themselves as apolitical, and how a brave few said on-camera how they thought it was a bad or pointless military operation.
This vid couples nicely with this previous survey of Muscovites reacting to the news of Finland joining NATO
20-something Russian aspiring ex-pat vlogger speaking candidly about politics & culture in Russia
I found this very informative
"The number of Russian vehicles that have been abandoned intact but without fuel is striking"
in case you wanted some encouraging news:
The casualties caused by Ukraines harassing attacks hampered Russian attempts to build up enough forces to assault Kyiv. Though the Russians tried to advance on three different road systems, from Sumy, Chernihiv, and the northwest, Ukrainian resistance ensured that they never built up enough force to surround, let alone assault, Kyiv. All three lines of attack have now been shut down, and Russian forces are in retreat.
Instead of assaulting heavy Russian formations of large tanks and artillery directly, the Ukrainians used light, maneuverable forces to take advantage of Russian vulnerabilities and achieve victory. Using handheld weapons operated by small groups, the Ukrainians have regularly disabled Russian tanks and trucks. This has not only weakened the Russian forces in the field but also kept their logistics lines stretched, limiting Russian access to the fuel and ammunition required to keep up a constant attack. (The number of Russian vehicles that have been abandoned intact but without fuel is particularly striking.)
In using light forces this way, the Ukrainians have shown that even in a conventional war between statesas opposed to an insurgencya smaller force can engage the conventional forces of a larger and more technologically advanced enemy and fight them to a standstill. The Ukrainians have also reminded everyone that the American military, with its lavish logistical support and ability to dominate the air war and the electronic battlefield, is unusual. The Russian military is not some smaller, less-efficient version of the U.S. military. It is a significantly less advanced and less capable force that struggles to undertake many of the operations that the U.S. handles with relative ease. The Ukrainians did not make the mistake of overestimating the Russians, and were able to deal a huge blow to Russian power.
Ukraine, however, has not yet won the war. With their defeat in the Battle of Kyiv, the Russians have started to concentrate in the east and south of Ukraine, hoping to set up a defensive perimeter that the Ukrainians will have to attack if they hope to regain lost territory. The Ukrainian way of war will have to adapt. The Ukrainians, having witnessed the Russian failures in heavy assault, may decide to avoid making the same mistakes and instead continue their light, attritional warfare. This will probably not result in a swift end to the war, but it offers the possibility of draining Russian military and political will, allowing Ukraine to achieve many of its aims in negotiations. The Ukrainian way of war could yet achieve what once seemed all but impossible: victory.
read the whole thing
War in Ukraine tests American evangelicals' support for Putin as a conservative leader
What kind of Christian sides with a bully? It's not like Ukraine was a dramatic turnaround for Putin. He's been murdering journalists and has attacked Chechnia, Georgia, and Syrian freedom fighters over the past 2 decades. They like him cause he's a bully. They're on the side of Pontius Pilate.
https://theconversation.com/war-in-ukraine-is-testing-some-american-evangelicals-support-for-putin-as-a-leader-of-conservative-values-180638
War in Ukraine is testing some American evangelicals support for Putin as a leader of conservative values
Published: April 6, 2022
theconversation.com
In February 2022, evangelical leader Franklin Graham called on his followers to pray for Vladimir Putin. His tweet acknowledged that it might seem a strange request given that Russia was clearly about to invade Ukraine. But Graham asked that believers pray that God would work in his heart so that war could be avoided at all cost.
The backlash was fast and direct. Graham had not solicited prayers for Ukraine, some observers commented. And he had rarely called on believers to pray for U.S. President Joe Biden.
A significant subset of the U.S. evangelical community, particularly white conservatives, has been developing a political and emotional alliance with Russia for almost 20 years. Those American believers, including prominent figures such as Graham and Jay Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice see Russia, Putin and the Russian Orthodox Church as protectors of the faith, standing against attacks on traditional and family values. At the center is Russias spate of anti-LGBTQ laws, which have become a model for some anti-trans and anti-gay legislation in the U.S.
Now, with Russia bombing churches and destroying cities in Ukraine, the most Protestant of the former Soviet Republics, American evangelical communities are divided. Most oppose Russias actions, especially because there is a strong evangelical church in Ukraine that is receiving attention and prayers from a range of evangelical leaders.
Oh Look, Yet Another Former Trump Official Seems To Have Done A Voter Fraud
Source: Talking Points Memo
Matt Mowers, a former State Department official under the Trump administration whos now running against Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH) as a GOP challenger, cast ballots in two states in the 2016 GOP presidential primaries, records obtained by the Associated Press reveal.
Mowers first voted in New Hampshires primary via absentee ballot when he was working for ex-New Jersey Gov. Chris Christies (R) presidential campaign.
Then Mowers re-registered with his parents address to vote in his home state of New Jersey during the Garden States GOP primary four months later, according to the AP, in the face of a federal law that prohibits double-voting...
Like other pro-Trump Republicans running for office, Mowers has been trying to sow doubt about the legitimacy of the U.S. elections process by baselessly suggesting if not loudly claiming that elections are in danger of being corrupted by fraudsters.
Read more: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/matt-mowers-trump-official-candidate-vote-twice-2016-gop-presidential-primaries
Keep your feathers away from me. They might knock me over.
How bad a governor is Greg Abbott? The Texas National Guard is unionizing
He's put them in such shitty conditions that a branch of the military is trying to form a union.
What complete disrespect and disregard for the men and women who serve our state in moments of crisis. Even a made up crisis like the undocumented immigration at the border requires having a capacity to carry out normal organizational duties, like decent housing, food, and living conditions.
This man is so pathetic.
https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2022/02/16/texas-guardsmen-on-border-start-unionizing-to-combat-difficult-conditions/
Reuters: Trump sues Hillary Clinton over 2016 Russian collusion allegations
I would just love to a paralegal on a case like that--gathering bit by bit all the evidence showing the factuality of Clinton's claims against Trump. It's like Trump wants to keep walking into the bear traps of reality.
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/donald-trump-sues-hillary-clinton-others-over-russian-collusion-allegations-2022-03-24/
WASHINGTON, March 24 (Reuters) - Donald Trump on Thursday sued his rival in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Hillary Clinton, and several other Democrats, alleging that they tried to rig that election by tying his campaign to Russia.
The lawsuit covers a long list of grievances the Republican former president repeatedly aired during his four years in the White House after beating Clinton, and comes as he continues to falsely claim that his 2020 election defeat by Democratic President Joe Biden was the result of widespread fraud.
"Acting in concert, the Defendants maliciously conspired to weave a false narrative that their Republican opponent, Donald J. Trump, was colluding with a hostile foreign sovereignty," the former president alleged in a 108-page lawsuit filed in a federal court in Florida.
The suit alleges "racketeering" and a "conspiracy to commit injurious falsehood," among other claims.
A Clinton representative did not respond to a request for comment.
The suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages. Trump said he was "forced to incur expenses in an amount to be determined at trial, but known to be in excess of twenty-four million dollars ($24,000,000) and continuing to accrue, in the form of defense costs, legal fees, and related expenses."
I would not want to be a lawyer on that case, however, cause I believe they can get in trouble with the judge for guffawing in open court
Mounting Deaths Make Russian Censorship Of Ukraine War Harder To Maintain
Source: MSNBC
Joshua Yaffa, correspondent for the New Yorker, talks about how Russians would react if they knew the truth about the war happening in their name in Ukraine, and the question of whether Vladimir Putin can continue to keep Russians in the dark
Read more:
Russian casualties (including KIA, WIA, and MIA) might be 26,000 (Russian media accidental release of data) or might be 40,000 (NATO estimate). But official sources say fatalities total less than 500
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Name: Mister ReaGender: Male
Hometown: Houston
Home country: Moon
Current location: afk
Member since: 2002
Number of posts: 54,068