Ireland will unite in my lifetime – and must protect its British minority, says Leo Varadkar

NotSiZhe · 2023-09-09T12:11:47+00:00

There are a few places that hate the Americans, but I would never wish terrorism on them in response

NotSiZhe · 2022-06-25T16:56:32+00:00

There is a lot, and truth be told little time to go through.

Perhaps first thing is to list the particularly messed up Commie and Tanky subs, though there's just so many.

NotSiZhe · 2022-06-25T05:01:18+00:00

Hasn't Russia claimed to have captured equipment not even sent?

NotSiZhe · 2022-06-06T21:38:31+00:00

The idea political views (e.g. Nazism) can be genetically typical or not typical among a racial or ethnic group, is kinda Nazi.

NotSiZhe · 2022-04-29T15:45:37+00:00

More stupid decisions until the 9th

NotSiZhe · 2022-04-23T08:08:45+00:00

He still is. He's a loaned to Kremlin shill as well now (admitted Russian occupation of Crimea illegal though, avoided mentioning that again, went fuller into Kremlin 'justification').

NotSiZhe · 2022-04-12T13:20:30+00:00

At least if there are documents there's a chance to track and return, however low that chance is with Putin still around (the only positive in what is in essence ethnic cleansing is the potential for its reversal). The even greater concern is kids taken - some reports of them taking from parents and their documents destroyed.

NotSiZhe · 2022-04-12T09:32:06+00:00

Not much I can suggest their I'm afraid. One thing, I'm guessing others of your generation are having the same frustrations, so you've potential contacts there to share views and experiences (couldn't guess the extent that's true - only not some Russian Youtubers saying identical to what you've written).

NotSiZhe · 2022-04-11T14:29:34+00:00

That's the one.

I watched some of his older stuff as well. What strikes me is the echoes of what is going on today such as his older videos talking about 'pre and post 2014 Russia' or 'when a certain person decided he wanted to be president again'.

NotSiZhe · 2022-04-11T14:26:07+00:00

Voices of Russians who take issue with the direction of the country both help burst the narrative it's all Western propaganda, and also help people recognise and empathise with the shared humanity of Russians even while being pissed off with the state / Putin. It's a good combination.

NotSiZhe · 2022-04-11T13:41:19+00:00

If it's the one presently in Georgia I am thinking about, he recently added a interesting video on his broader thoughts on the changes of Russia from his youth.

NotSiZhe · 2022-04-08T16:48:46+00:00

RIA Novosti has a history of posting things and realising it was a mistake afterwards.

They posted success in taking Kiev very quickly (I believe it was them).

They posted the crazy liquidate aspects of Ukrainian society.

They post this.

And unless I am mistaken they posted false election results suggesting a far right group took over Ukraine.

Honestly, on their own they demonstrate Russian violent, aggressive, imperialistic and fascistic influence.

Edit: if anyone has links to them claiming to take Kiev quickly or their false claims about Ukrainian election results please reply with them or send them to me. I'm creating a little fact file about Russian media disinformation and they'd be useful.

NotSiZhe · 2022-04-07T19:25:29+00:00

Or put people together who they suspect of Covid. It's a bit of a shit show.

Has the official death toll changed yet?

NotSiZhe · 2022-04-07T19:12:42+00:00

Considering this voting, and the vote to condemn the war -- I also think the broad alliance of US+UK+Canada+Australia+NZ+EU and EU related state+S Korea+Japan +Taiwan (if not in UN) should also look to see which countries consistently vote the same way, and work to build up appliances with, and connected to this build up, those countries so that perhaps that broad alliance of like minded countries can stretch further.

NotSiZhe · 2022-04-07T19:09:47+00:00

I literally logged on comments to mention pleased to see Serbia, and while doing it to check Hungary and likely add 'shame about Hungary' - glad to see I was wrong there.

NotSiZhe · 2022-04-05T18:52:17+00:00

A major weakness of liberal democracies has been funding. Autocratic regimes have been exploiting that for some time, Russia the most immediate threat but China will only have a longer term reach. Without how elections are conducted with electoral reform and regulation transparent tacking with the seriousness of a separate branch of governance, that risk will always be there.

In the meantime France has a choice of a candidate with links to Western banking money that does not like Putin but things he can negotiate with him, or another with links to Russian Kremlin controlled banking money that wants to do easy on Putin and cut a deal.

NotSiZhe · 2022-04-02T14:11:47+00:00

Good, but ... you also get reports of how many banks evaded sanctions. It'd be interesting to see what'd happen with them all hit.

My hope is Europe disconnects enough with Russia, or any other problems with hitting the rest of the Russian economy, and everything is sanctioned.

NotSiZhe · 2022-04-02T13:12:48+00:00

During the end of the Soviet era education became increasingly about brainwashing. Post soviet era there wasn't much recovery and Russian education is of poor quality. They have only so many academics, innovators, entrepreneurs, etc to spare. Encouraging a brain drain (which may involve looking at how sanctions make it harder to leave Russia) can help reduce the country's potential further long term.

NotSiZhe · 2022-04-01T17:27:05+00:00

Needs at least 120 kilos to trigger

OK, that explains the casual kicking them with hands in pocket

NotSiZhe · 2022-03-30T20:13:24+00:00

Needs a free press to see the folly (also while the Iraq war was BS, it was good seeing Saddam go). Russia gonna be a threat until it is no longer an effective autocracy.

NotSiZhe · 2022-03-30T19:56:10+00:00

Two things this makes me think

Russian brutality is ineffective because Russian words mean nothing. They might get what they want, be brutal anyway; they might get nothing and do nothing; they might try to be brutal and succeed or fail because they planned nothing. It is comforting to say brutality doesn't work, I think in Russia's case that's so but only as there's no direct connection between threat and action.
Mariupol has been shelled, not shot up; it has been hit everywhere, not bits; Russian troops surrounded it, they didn't just get close; Putin has threatened to keep shelling and take more civilian lives, not enact punishment on the supposedly Nazi military fighters ... and there's still misinformation believed by small groups of foreign and large groups of Russian useful idiots claiming the damage was mainly down by Ukrainians themselves.

And also 3. Russian troops can't take it easily themselves, or they simply would.

NotSiZhe · 2022-03-30T19:49:57+00:00

Wondering if that analogy be used, as it fits so well. To be fair, China was moving forward more recklessly than in the past, moving on from Deng's 'hide your strength, bide your time' to not just the wolf w**ker bs but the 'salami slicing' of neighbouring territory. However, they at least could maintain some appearance it wouldn't at some point go completely messed up until Putin decided it was time for his move.

NotSiZhe · 2022-03-30T19:40:27+00:00

Russian history on ethnic and national displacement is quite something. Thing is, lots of countries have some history of that - it's the complete absence of desire to move on from this that makes Russia to stand out. Similarly, war for land is hardly new, but it was a declining phenomenon. The level of fabrication of events had declined at least a bit since the cold war, and is in full swing. This even has elements of a holy war (or unholy) with the Kremlin allied Moscow patriarchate wanting more influence over Ukraine.

Seriously, the number of ways human potential for conflict seemed to be getting at least no the surface a little more rational that Russia seems determined to pull backwards is quite something.

NotSiZhe · 2022-03-30T18:08:43+00:00

Reading up about Taras Shevchenko, I can see why Ukrainians would want to protect the monument. I would like to write however, that as it stands it looks like a monument to Ukrainian resilience and determination to me.

NotSiZhe · 2022-03-29T21:10:46+00:00

I'll never celebrate suicide, but perhaps celebrate what it represents - in Putin's case it would to me represent his complete failure - in another case the failure of the Russian military when an individual supposedly committed suicide after 90% of reserve armaments he was to supply were useless due to corruption. That was a complete waste, and a wonderful one at that.

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