Russian invasion of Ukraine | Fewer tweets, more discussion

I know nothing of the current Syrian situation and various factions tbh, but this seems good?

 
OmgTheyKilkenny said:
I'd say it's subjective. Many people consider Democrats and Labour left wing which I don't. Some of our media even call Biden a communist or Starmer a socialist.

You can read about their ideology more here - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideology_of_the_Chinese_Communist_Party

The views on capitalism section is quite interesting.
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This is amazing level of ignorance.

China is far closer to a Hjalmar Schlacht Germany than a Marxist Leninist country.

They’re a communist country the same way the democratic Republic of Korea is a democracy.
 
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OmgTheyKilkenny said:
I'd say it's subjective. Many people consider Democrats and Labour left wing which I don't. Some of our media even call Biden a communist or Starmer a socialist.

You can read about their ideology more here - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideology_of_the_Chinese_Communist_Party

The views on capitalism section is quite interesting.
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Their Gini coefficient is even higher than that of the UK after 14 years of Tory rule (and many decades of neoliberal economic policy prior). They might believe in a different way of being right wing but the inequality tells the same story.
 
AfonsoAlves said:
This is amazing level of ignorance.

China is far closer to a Hjalmar Todt Germany than a Marxist Leninist country.

They’re a communist country the same way the democratic Republic of Korea is a democracy.
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As I said Alfonso it's a subjective topic and it really comes down to what you perceive as left wing. In the grand scheme of things in the world right now I consider them more left leaning.

I think their growth over the last number of decades is incredibly impressive and eventually I think they'll take over from US hegemony.
 
TwoSheds said:
Their Gini coefficient is even higher than that of the UK after 14 years of Tory rule (and many decades of neoliberal economic policy prior). They might believe in a different way of being right wing but the inequality tells the same story.
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I'm not saying they're perfect and I'm also not particularly knowledgeable on China with any depth. Its just my opinion which may be wrong.

A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) estimated that China's Gini coefficient increased from 0.30 to 0.55 between 1980 and 2002.[2] At this time, the Gini coefficient for rural – urban inequality was only 0.16. As of 2019, the official Gini coefficient in China was 0.465; inequality was at its highest in the 2000s, with numerous sources reporting a significant decline in the 2010s
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I'm not sure how true this is, it's a copy and paste from Wikipedia. Anyway its the Russia thread so we should probably stop derailing this now?
 
OmgTheyKilkenny said:
As I said Alfonso it's a subjective topic and it really comes down to what you perceive as left wing. In the grand scheme of things in the world right now I consider them more left leaning.

I think their growth over the last number of decades is incredibly impressive and eventually I think they'll take over from US hegemony.
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Some elements of wing politics is subjective but what isn’t subjective is:

State sponsored enterprises generating billionaires

Government projects always going to buddies and mates of government officials

Almost no meaningful social programs to speak of

The largest VC funds and business entrails being local governments

Incredibly high state intelligence and security apparatus spending

Systems dependent on your ethnic background and birth place (Hukou system)

Revolving door between state and industry.

Gigantic urban and rural divide

Shadow banking system in the form of local government investment vehicles.

Seriously this is describing both current china and hjalmar schlacts fascist Germany it’s uncanny. Even the investment mechanisms (MEFO bills) are practically identical
 
nimic said:
Are there any sources for this?
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This appears to be true, there was a big offensive yesterday by Syrian opposition forces towards Aleppo (and still ongoing). In the process they overtook a Russian SOF/Wagner position.



I don't know many Russian soldiers were taken out, but they are now conducting air strikes against the rebels. Russia may need to send some reinforcments to Syria but unless this escalates to something bigger I don't think it'll have much effect on Ukraine. It is an interesting development though and worth keeping an eye on.
 
I hope the Russian economic crisis is for real this time, but considering how much this world sucks, i don't have high hopes, ruble will probably recover again.
 
B20 said:
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That’s… interesting. That editor better avoid elevated windows for the foreseeable.

This is the kind of story that causes people start panic withdrawing their savings/deposits to exchange them for something more likely to hold value. That kind of thing creates a cascading effect that’ll lead to a total banking collapse.
 
The interest rate in Russia is already at 21%, the cost of food and consumer goods way up and no international trade to save the ruble. This is Russian economy basically starting to crack.
 
B20 said:
The interest rate in Russia is already at 21%, the cost of food and consumer goods way up and no international trade to save the ruble. This is Russian economy basically starting to crack.
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If there's no international trade, then exchange rates don't matter and the value of the ruble falling a bit isn't a problem.
 
NotThatSoph said:
If there's no international trade, then exchange rates don't matter and the value of the ruble falling a bit isn't a problem.
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Depends what it represents. Is it an indicator of inflation way outpacing interest rates? It’s a big problem. Is an indicator Russia has run out of foreign reserves to prop it up? It’s a very big problem.

Also, there is international trade, Russia is still a large importer. Whenever a product is being sold in a shop in rubles, that has been purchased in not-rubles, a currency translation has to take place somewhere in that supply chain which is adding ever more cost that gets passed on to the consumer.
 
Short interview with Keith Kellogg on Fox, it's rather superficial ofcourse but he talks sense and feels that approving ATACMS strikes in Russia improves Trumps/Ukraines position in the upcoming negotiations.

 
Desertion threatens to starve Ukraine’s forces at a crucial time in its war with Russia
Facing every imaginable shortage, tens of thousands of Ukrainian troops, tired and bereft, have walked away from combat and front-line positions to slide into anonymity, according to soldiers, lawyers and Ukrainian officials. Entire units have abandoned their posts, leaving defensive lines vulnerable and accelerating territorial losses, according to military commanders and soldiers.
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“It is clear that now, frankly speaking, we have already squeezed the maximum out of our people,” said an officer with the 72nd Brigade, who noted that desertion was one of the main reasons Ukraine lost the town of Vuhledar in October.
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https://apnews.com/article/deserters-awol-ukraine-russia-war-def676562552d42bc5d593363c9e5ea0
 
VorZakone said:
Desertion threatens to starve Ukraine’s forces at a crucial time in its war with Russia


https://apnews.com/article/deserters-awol-ukraine-russia-war-def676562552d42bc5d593363c9e5ea0
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and this:

"If there’s no end term to military service, it turns into a prison – it becomes psychologically hard to find reasons to defend this country,” Hnezdilov said.
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probably a stupid question, but how come they're facing men shortages yet they are leaving their national leagues intact and active? I mean, why draft youngsters and old men but not athletes?

and another thing... year or two ago Ukr. forces attacked base/building/whatever and apparently killed an important admiral, only for him to appear at some live video meeting couple of days later. everyone suspected it was a fake picture from older meeting, but I'm not sure whether it was ever concluded.

anyone remember this? is he alive or dead?
 
Bole Top said:
and this:



probably a stupid question, but how come they're facing men shortages yet they are leaving their national leagues intact and active? I mean, why draft youngsters and old men but not athletes?

and another thing... year or two ago Ukr. forces attacked base/building/whatever and apparently killed an important admiral, only for him to appear at some live video meeting couple of days later. everyone suspected it was a fake picture from older meeting, but I'm not sure whether it was ever concluded.

anyone remember this? is he alive or dead?
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I think you refer to Viktor Sokolov who is still alive.
 
Carolina Red said:
It’s wild how frequently you do this. Make a claim, get push back from people who know better, then claim innocent ignorance as a defense.
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Just reading through this thread. You are 100% right. It’s so transparent, and great that he’s being called out on it.
 
Simbo said:
I know nothing of the current Syrian situation and various factions tbh, but this seems good?

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This has actually turned into a pretty significant event as rebel forces are now within Aleppo for the first time since 2016 and are on course to take the city. Assads forces have mostly fled and Russia has not been able to respond adequately except for some limited airstrikes. I don't think there have been many more losses on Russias side though, and I don't really know how strong their presence there is currently.

There is probably a better thread to track these events but this could mean that Russia needs to put in more resources there, or retreat if things continue to go badly (for them).
 
Mavs said:
This has actually turned into a pretty significant event as rebel forces are now within Aleppo for the first time since 2016 and are on course to take the city. Assads forces have mostly fled and Russia has not been able to respond adequately except for some limited airstrikes. I don't think there have been many more losses on Russias side though, and I don't really know how strong their presence there is currently.

There is probably a better thread to track these events but this could mean that Russia needs to put in more resources there, or retreat if things continue to go badly (for them).
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I am a bit surprised that rebels still have enough strength to mount such an attack, but I've not followed that war for a very long time.
 
The Firestarter said:
I am a bit surprised that rebels still have enough strength to mount such an attack, but I've not followed that war for a very long time.
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They have apparently been building up for this for a long time, training, equipment, etc. Assad is supported by Hezbollah/Iran, and Russia, which are now very weakened. The rebels are backed by Turkey with equipment and even military support. They've also now captured a lot of stuff that Assads forces left behind in retreat - tanks, ammunition, rockets, etc. At the moment they won't be stopping anytime soon it looks like. Bad news overall for Russia, to keep in context with this thread.
 
Mavs said:
They have apparently been building up for this for a long time, training, equipment, etc. Assad is supported by Hezbollah/Iran, and Russia, which are now very weakened. The rebels are backed by Turkey with equipment and even military support. They've also now captured a lot of stuff that Assads forces left behind in retreat - tanks, ammunition, rockets, etc. At the moment they won't be stopping anytime soon it looks like. Bad news overall for Russia, to keep in context with this thread.
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I hope Assad (or Putin) don't go chemical again.
 
VorZakone said:
Desertion threatens to starve Ukraine’s forces at a crucial time in its war with Russia


https://apnews.com/article/deserters-awol-ukraine-russia-war-def676562552d42bc5d593363c9e5ea0
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I've also been reading this week that manpower shortages are leading to serious issues at Eastern fighting hotspots, where Russia have made big advances recently and are close to broken through Ukrainian lines at a few tactically important places. Ukraine seems to be at a very fragile place in the war right now.
 
Mr Zelenskyy said NATO membership would have to be offered to unoccupied parts of the country in order to end the "hot phase of the war", as long as the NATO invitation itself recognises Ukraine's internationally recognised borders.

He appeared to accept occupied eastern parts of the country would fall outside of such a deal for the time being.
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Mavs said:
This has actually turned into a pretty significant event as rebel forces are now within Aleppo for the first time since 2016 and are on course to take the city. Assads forces have mostly fled and Russia has not been able to respond adequately except for some limited airstrikes. I don't think there have been many more losses on Russias side though, and I don't really know how strong their presence there is currently.

There is probably a better thread to track these events but this could mean that Russia needs to put in more resources there, or retreat if things continue to go badly (for them).
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There's footage of a fair few dead & captured Russians. Special forces types too. though the 8 or so I've seen don't account to "many" in the scheme of things.

Well damn, it appears Aleppo has been taken. Assad has already fled?
 
Simbo said:
There's footage of a fair few dead & captured Russians. Special forces types too. though the 8 or so I've seen don't account to "many" in the scheme of things.

Well damn, it appears Aleppo has been taken. Assad has already fled?
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I think most of the Russian forces have fled from Aleppo without much of a fight, and they are asking that Syrian forces restore order:

https://www.reuters.com/world/kreml...-restore-order-after-rebel-attack-2024-11-29/

So I don't think they are too interested in getting involved in a potentially grinding conflict there. They won't have the capacity for another siege thats for sure. And yea there are indeed reports that Assad has fled to Moscow.
 
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