Russia Attacks Ukraine - 23 Feb 2022 #15

[Niner]

I was thinking about you when I posted that, Niner! How’s things in Latvia, what’s the general feeling?

- well no panic here as far as I can tell
- but the Parliament (or Saeima) are putting more money into defense for Ukraine - joining the EU. And more border guards on the R border...

 

[Niner]

I am sure I have posted this here before... still applies...

 

[nhmemorymaker]

Trump’s envoy Witkoff deemed the coalition “a combination of posture and pose”

Are the above words a real estate tycoon or what??

We really do have to hope that wiser strategists do speak out.

Just THINK about it--- a "Real Estate" mindset is never never ever going to be a "future thinking" mindset that involves peace an independence.
A "Real Estate" mindset is always just looking on what to build next. A win-win is always and only the $$$.

Putin knows what he has on Trump.
Putin knows he has the Maga crowd in footstep---believe anything the Trumper says, rather than thinking about the welfare of the country that was the United States.

 

[nhmemorymaker]

I am sure I have posted this here before... still applies...
View attachment 573231

God, @Niner , you really had me there---thinking about how to identify my headaches.....

I am sorry you are such a total redhead...

 

[PommyMommy]

Ukrainian National Guardsman, captured in Mariupol, lost 40 kg (88.1lb) after three years in Russian captivity.

Ivan Petrovsky, who turned 30 just two days before his release, was among 175 Ukrainian defenders returned during a prisoner exchange on 19 March.

"I prayed for my son every day," his mother told Ukrinform.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1904153800912556303

Fire at Russian oil depot in Krasnodar Krai continues for 5th day after drone strike, authorities claim.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1904091572792148172

China denies considering participation in Ukraine peacekeeping mission.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a press briefing that the claims in the media were completely untrue.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1904105328666427538

 

[PommyMommy]

US-Ukraine talks in Riyadh concerned halt on strikes against ports, official says.

The U.S.-Ukraine talks in Saudi Arabia on March 23 focused on infrastructure and shipping safety, said Serhii Leshchenko, a Presidential Office advisor.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1904121795990466795

Romania, Bulgaria concerned about possible US-Russia Black Sea deal, FT reports.

Romania and Bulgaria are wary of a possible deal between the U.S. and Russia that could restore Moscow's position in the Black Sea, the Financial Times reported on March 24, citing undisclosed officials from the region.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1904137571094941741

Russia is deliberately prolonging peace talks on Ukraine to seize more territory and strengthen its negotiating position with the U.S., the Moscow Times reported on March 24, citing undisclosed sources.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1904157511281738049

 

[PommyMommy]

U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance stated that the Trump administration intends to gain control over Greenland and will do whatever it takes to achieve that.

“Denmark, which controls Greenland, is not doing its job and is not a good ally. We need to ask ourselves: ‘How do we solve this problem that affects our national interests?’

And if that means we need the territory of Greenland, then President Trump will get it. He doesn’t care about Europeans yelling at us. He only cares about American national interests,” said J.D. Vance.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1904064979881578908

Greenland Still Haunts Trump

A U.S. delegation — including Congressman Mike Waltz, the Secretary of Energy, and J.D. Vance’s wife — has landed in Greenland.

They reportedly plan to make the islanders “an offer they can’t refuse.”

Meanwhile, Danish MP Rasmus Jarlov responded to J.D. Vance’s territorial claims against the Kingdom of Denmark:

• Greenland has been part of Denmark since 1380, and its residents are Danish citizens.
• Only 6% of Greenlanders prefer the U.S. over Denmark.
• Not a single elected Greenlandic official supports joining the United States, and the only pro-Trump party received just 1% of the vote.
• There is no Chinese threat in Greenland — the only concern is growing pressure from the U.S.
• Denmark will not sell Greenland and will not allow any bribery attempts, despite threats from the U.S.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1904096912921231518

 

[PommyMommy]

Thanks to the coordinated combat work of our defenders, more than one and a half thousand (1,609) enemy armored combat vehicles and 748 tanks have been neutralized since the beginning of the year.

Thank you to our soldiers!

The Ukrainian Defense Forces continue to destroy the occupiers and their equipment.

Glory to Ukraine!

https://twitter.com/x/status/1904106817438777504

 

[Rita7]

No, most Europeans definitely do not count Russia as part of Europe! Wishful thinking, on their part.

European borders include the three Baltics, Poland, Finland, Norway, Ukraine (and Belarus but the less said about them the better, frankly)

Fun fact: Russia is the only country separating Norway and North Korea, a gap of almost 5000 miles.

I have to respectfully disagree, as the western (the most populous) part of Russia is geographically located in Europe, covering roughly 40% of European landmass and making Russia the largest country in European continent.
In addition, Russia is the most populous country in Europe. Furthermore, Russian is the most spoken language in Europe with 120 millions of native speakers, following by German, French, and English. Moreover, Russian is the second most common language for scientific publications and one of the six official languages of the United Nations.

 

[CoverMeCagney]

I have to respectfully disagree, as the western (the most populous) part of Russia is geographically located in Europe, covering roughly 40% of European landmass and making Russia the largest country in European continent.
In addition, Russia is the most populous country in Europe. Furthermore, Russian is the most spoken language in Europe with 120 millions of native speakers, following by German, French, and English. Moreover, Russian is the second most common language for scientific publications and one of the six official languages of the United Nations.

You can disagree, but you’ll be hard pushed to find a European who thinks Russia is one of the gang! Never has been, never will be, there has always been a mutual distrust.

I speak as someone who studied Russian at university and has visited the country, they have always been an outlier. There was a glimmer of hope with Gorbachev but it’s never come to fruition.

 

[Vern]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1904179525786689824

Putin is Still Stealing Ukrainian Children

Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine over three years ago with the intent, among other things, of stealing its children. Putin launched his imperial conquest to first and foremost dominate the Ukrainian people, and he recognized that to deprive Ukraine of its children would be to...

www.understandingwar.org

-

 

[Rita7]

You can disagree, but you’ll be hard pushed to find a European who thinks Russia is one of the gang! Never has been, never will be, there has always been a mutual distrust.

I speak as someone who studied Russian at university and has visited the country, they have always been an outlier. There was a glimmer of hope with Gorbachev but it’s never come to fruition.

I am talking about officially recognized academic scientific concepts and definitions, according to which
Russia was and is the largest European country regardless of the biased opinion of some people.
IMHO

 

[sds71]

The account identified as “JD Vance” addressed a message at 8:45 to @Pete Hegseth: “if you think we should do it let’s go. I just hate bailing Europe out again.” (The administration has argued that America’s European allies benefit economically from the U.S. Navy’s protection of international shipping lanes.)

The user identified as Hegseth responded three minutes later: “VP: I fully share your loathing of European free-loading. It’s PATHETIC. But Mike is correct, we are the only ones on the planet (on our side of the ledger) who can do this. Nobody else even close. Question is timing. I feel like now is as good a time as any, given POTUS directive to reopen shipping lanes. I think we should go; but POTUS still retains 24 hours of decision space.”

The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans

U.S. national-security leaders included me in a group chat about upcoming military strikes in Yemen. I didn’t think it could be real. Then the bombs started falling.

www.theatlantic.com

 

[Teche]

The account identified as “JD Vance” addressed a message at 8:45 to @Pete Hegseth: “if you think we should do it let’s go. I just hate bailing Europe out again.” (The administration has argued that America’s European allies benefit economically from the U.S. Navy’s protection of international shipping lanes.)

The user identified as Hegseth responded three minutes later: “VP: I fully share your loathing of European free-loading. It’s PATHETIC. But Mike is correct, we are the only ones on the planet (on our side of the ledger) who can do this. Nobody else even close. Question is timing. I feel like now is as good a time as any, given POTUS directive to reopen shipping lanes. I think we should go; but POTUS still retains 24 hours of decision space.”

The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans

U.S. national-security leaders included me in a group chat about upcoming military strikes in Yemen. I didn’t think it could be real. Then the bombs started falling.

www.theatlantic.com

This should open America’ eyes.

 

[tarabull]

This should open America’ eyes.

Should Could Would but....

 

[tarabull]

Obama’s Defense Sec. Says Heads Should Roll Over Leaked War Plans

“It has to be investigated, and somebody, frankly, needs to get fired,” Panetta told CNN Monday afternoon.

www.thedailybeast.com

 

[Arkay]

I have to respectfully disagree, as the western (the most populous) part of Russia is geographically located in Europe, covering roughly 40% of European landmass and making Russia the largest country in European continent.
In addition, Russia is the most populous country in Europe. Furthermore, Russian is the most spoken language in Europe with 120 millions of native speakers, following by German, French, and English. Moreover, Russian is the second most common language for scientific publications and one of the six official languages of the United Nations.

In a biography I read long ago of Peter the Great, I recall that his entire goal was to modernize Russia, and to do that he wanted to be part of Europe.

Therefore he literally hand-shoveled the first load of dirt to create St. Petersburg and move away from Moscow and its mores.

He also ordered all his soldiers to shave their beards so as to emulate the European soldiers.

I know that my three grandparents who were born in turn-of-the-century Poland and the Russian Empire did consider themselves to be Europeans, although the instant their ships docked in NYC they were 1000% in on becoming “real Americans.”

To my mind the western part of Russia is much more European than the vast East and the isolation of places like Siberia.

I’ve never been there, though; so unlike many of you I am not qualified to opine on European or not. Here in NYC the immigrants from the former USSR are habitually referred to as Eastern Europeans, for better or worse.

I view Ukraine as unambiguously European.

One of my dreams for retirement was to go to the Hermitage in St. Peterburg to see the rest of the Fabergé eggs, but then came Covid, along with Putin arresting Americans on pretexts such as being a spy, so to this point, that’s a dream unfulfilled. (I did get to see a brilliant display of Fabergé eggs in the Forbes Museum, but that feels insufficient).

JMO and experience.

 

[keek]

This should open America’ eyes.

They will mostly not see this, nor know what it means. I mean his followers mainly.

 

[SouthAussie]

Obama’s Defense Sec. Says Heads Should Roll Over Leaked War Plans

“It has to be investigated, and somebody, frankly, needs to get fired,” Panetta told CNN Monday afternoon.

www.thedailybeast.com

They certainly broke some important laws. As well as revealing actual operatives and operations, which the journalist (editor-in-chief) was astute enough not to reveal.



"Conceivably, Waltz, by coordinating a national-security-related action over Signal, may have violated several provisions of the Espionage Act ....

The Signal app is not approved by the government for sharing classified information. The government has its own systems for that purpose.

Normally, cellphones are not permitted inside a SCIF, which suggests that as these officials were sharing information about an active military operation, they could have been moving around in public. Had they lost their phones, or had they been stolen, the potential risk to national security would have been severe.

Waltz set some of the messages in the Signal group to disappear after one week, and some after four. That raises questions about whether the officials may have violated federal records law: Text messages about official acts are considered records that should be preserved.

Intentional violations of these requirements are a basis for disciplinary action."

The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans

U.S. national-security leaders included me in a group chat about upcoming military strikes in Yemen. I didn’t think it could be real. Then the bombs started falling.

www.theatlantic.com

 

[keek]

They certainly broke some important laws. As well as revealing actual operatives and operations, which the journalist (editor-in-chief) was astute enough not to reveal.



"Conceivably, Waltz, by coordinating a national-security-related action over Signal, may have violated several provisions of the Espionage Act ....

The Signal app is not approved by the government for sharing classified information. The government has its own systems for that purpose.

Normally, cellphones are not permitted inside a SCIF, which suggests that as these officials were sharing information about an active military operation, they could have been moving around in public. Had they lost their phones, or had they been stolen, the potential risk to national security would have been severe.

Waltz set some of the messages in the Signal group to disappear after one week, and some after four. That raises questions about whether the officials may have violated federal records law: Text messages about official acts are considered records that should be preserved.

Intentional violations of these requirements are a basis for disciplinary action."

The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans

U.S. national-security leaders included me in a group chat about upcoming military strikes in Yemen. I didn’t think it could be real. Then the bombs started falling.

www.theatlantic.com

The expected absolute ineptness of those choices made to be in charge....SIGNAL?? I was instantly horrified when reading how these messages were SENT, not in a closed meeting, it seems all things 'sent' are easily hacked by the brilliant tech minds of the bad guys as we know. Ready and waiting.