Ukraine / Russia

[SAJ-99]

Zelenskyy has been the best leader since a heck of a list of corruption. However, war or not, he needs to take a step back and affirm this crap will not continue and will be addressed immediately.

I suspect it is more true than not, but how do you stop this? When a far larger and well-armed military invades your country, I would think they destroy your military targets first. It's not like the Ukrainian military can just stay on bases that have been shelled into oblivion. When they scatter to regroup the definition of a military and non-military target blurs. I just wonder how avoidable it is, but I'm also sure Russian doesn't ask the % of civilian targets. War is hell for everyone.

 

[TOGIE]

So, you have financial docs emailed to you and your nosy brother-in-law who is a server admin at google takes a look. They can’t do encryption at rest like better email providers because they need to read it to push their ads so thousands of employees and contractors can access your stuff. Or they take personal emails that may indicate financial stresses and you get flagged on a future googleFICO product? FBI getting a loose judge to give subpoena list of folks googling a politician before an attack on that politician and you are now on a person of interest list even though you were just curious about their trip. Some of your email exchanges with a friend suggest you have honest concerns about vaccines and the search engine skews all your inquiries towards anti-vaxxer sites and you don’t get needed vaccines for your kids. Internet companies become “mandatory reporters” and out of context emails or searches are flagged for referral. And on and on.

I have largely accepted that privacy has become an illusion held by the uninformed so I am not overly paranoid and generally accept that if somebody wants to know they will find out anything, but Google’s reach, attitude, arrogance, and culture (I have done deals with them and they lack any shame in my experience) put them on a risk platform all their own in my opinion.

vg this might be the first time i've ever read something you wrote and thought maybe this goes a little beyond the rational lol

though i can't exactly say i disagree.

 

[Sytes]

I suspect it is more true than not, but how do you stop this? When a far larger and well-armed military invades your country, I would think they destroy your military targets first. It's not like the Ukrainian military can just stay on bases that have been shelled into oblivion. When they scatter to regroup the definition of a military and non-military target blurs. I just wonder how avoidable it is, but I'm also sure Russian doesn't ask the % of civilian targets. War is hell for everyone.

According to AP News they have cleared civilians out of the areas in the past and that is what became an unusual set of situations that matched amnesty internationals observations.

 

[noharleyyet]

Our populace is used to feel good blusterous platitudes...not Putin's FAFO bluntness. We are weary of feeling helpless and inconvenienced....and it shows.

 

[Sytes]

What's FAFO?

@SAJ-99 This is the same as U.S. complaints to NATO and allied forces (and the world) when Libya placed military in civilian areas.
Just this time it's on, "our side" of the fence.

More Gaddafi forces hiding in civilian areas -- NATO

NATO accused Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi on Tuesday of hiding army installations in civilian areas making those locations valid military targets and misleading international journalists by showing them bogus strike areas.

www.reuters.com

Or

 

[VikingsGuy]

What's FAFO?

 

[Rhcuam]

If you remember back to Ukrainian mall that was hit by a Russian missile strike. And there was a TikTok video of Ukrainian military assets in or around the mall prior to that attack. Russia claimed Ukraine was using part of the mall to store weapons. Not saying it was right for hitting the mall with a rocket, but if you think the US would’ve done anything different if roles were reversed, your flipping nuts.

I think a good start would be not storing weapons or conducting military operations out of an occupied Ukrainian mall. That would be a good example of what not to do.

TikToker arrested after posting clip of Ukrainian military vehicles parked near a mall that Russia later blew up

Officials have urged Ukrainians not to share footage of military equipment or checkpoints on social media.

www.businessinsider.com

 

[SAJ-99]

What's FAFO?

@SAJ-99 This is the same as U.S. complaints to NATO and allied forces (and the world) when Libya placed military in civilian areas.
Just this time it's on, "our side" of the fence.

More Gaddafi forces hiding in civilian areas -- NATO

NATO accused Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi on Tuesday of hiding army installations in civilian areas making those locations valid military targets and misleading international journalists by showing them bogus strike areas.

www.reuters.com

Or

I understand. I just think that the general expectations for war might be a little too civilized, if you know what I mean. This whole concept of making "rules" in a conflict where one party wants to take over at best or annihilate at worst, another country seems odd. I also understand that there are things that constitute "war crimes" which I can more easily accept. I just don't know where that line between acceptable and unacceptable is drawn.

 

[Rhcuam]

If you believe what the news says joe will be announcing another deposit of $1 billion into the money laundering scheme that is Ukraine. I believe that is the 16th deposit into that account since the start of the conflict.

 

[Cornbread]

If you believe what the news says joe will be announcing another deposit of $1 billion into the money laundering scheme that is Ukraine. I believe that is the 16th deposit into that account since the start of the conflict.

Exactly. The most over-used phrase these days is: "Ive done my research". Oh really! You've used Dr. Google to inform ya. One of the articles I read in the CFA exams was about the "World's Smartest Man". You are deluded into thinking that because you did a google search, you now have the Holy Grail. YOU are the one that has been granted the sacred information that makes you smarter than all the other....hence The World's Smartest Man. Right, Rhcuam?

The Ukraine is the most corrupt country in Europe, although with the Bidens in charge, I think we have them beat. They are going to screw up big time. What if China decides to nuke one of our cities over this Taiwan shit. Hey, shit happens. Something you NEVER expected. All over this toilet. Just stayin'. Crazy things happen. The world's Smartest man jumps outta the plane with the other guy's lunch, not a parachute. Ooooppppps

 

[EKYHunter]

How much more does the American taxpayer have to give? Seriously, what’s the limit? How long do we keep doing this?

https://twitter.com/x/status/1555701550319898625

 

[Sytes]

Pretty sad though $$$ is the key to war and nothing slips by those who know how to capitalize on such. Wish I knew a fraction of the LEGAL means to reap a fraction of the cream from the top. The mass amount to be made legally is <Insert HT opinion> a fraction to be made as crafty congressmen/women make off war. Far too many contracts, etc... set trust for children / grand children and great grandchildren... well beyond the 6' under representative's time on earth.

 

[willy]

The Ukraine is the most corrupt country in Europe, although with the Bidens in charge, I think we have them beat. T

"The Ukraine is the most corrupt country in Europe" What do you base this on? What, google tells you and all the other social media folks saying it's true, so it's true? The US is the greatest country in the world but we have a whole lot of corruption going on in our own gov to be pointing fingers, It's been thrown around that Ukraine is so corrupt but I believe that is because of it being associated with Russia. Many throw it out there because everybody says its true but what has been used for evidence isn't any worse than what is in our own country.

Flame away.

 

[VikingsGuy]

"The Ukraine is the most corrupt country in Europe" What do you base this on? What, google tells you and all the other social media folks saying it's true, so it's true? The US is the greatest country in the world but we have a whole lot of corruption going on in our own gov to be pointing fingers, It's been thrown around that Ukraine is so corrupt but I believe that is because of it being associated with Russia. Many throw it out there because everybody says its true but what has been used for evidence isn't any worse than what is in our own country.

Flame away.

Sorry to add facts to this part of the discussion, but both you and cornbread are just making it up.

A Transparency International summary of over a dozen different studies graded 180 countries on a scale from 0-100.

The top score was Denmark at 88 (#1). The worst score was South Sudan at 11 (#180).

USA scored 67 (#27)
Canada scored 74 (#13)
Ukraine scored 32 (#122)
Russia scored 29 (#136)

So, Ukraine scores three times higher than the lowest and less than half of the US. You both could have found this data in under 2 minutes, but why let facts get in the way of a good rant.

 

[willy]

Thanks Viking, is transparency international anything like amnesty international?

Also, one knows what they say about statistics.

 

[Sytes]

Yo Rocky!

 

[noharleyyet]

I think we’ve all been jaded with fact exchequers VGuy, especially the ones extolling gubment veracity.

 

[SAJ-99]

I think we’ve all been jaded with fact exchequers VGuy, especially the ones extolling gubment veracity.

Most just want to believe what they believe and don’t want anything that might not confirm their belief. Anything that doesn’t is written off as coming from a bad source. It isn’t a R or D thing, because all politicians have told us what they think we want to hear, even if it means straight lying, for decades. Social media has just made it easier to spread information- both correct and incorrect- and it let everyone broadcast their opinions. This is where we are in this country. We have difficult problems we can’t fix because we don’t want to talk about them. It’s a societal problem that we want someone else to fix for us.

 

[noharleyyet]

Dig deep enough & you won't find a pony in either camp...predates social medai

 

[SAJ-99]

Dig deep enough & you won't find a pony in either camp...predates social medai

Not sure what "pony" means in this situation. Granted, I'm on my first cup of coffee.