Off-Topic / American Special Military Operation in Venezuela [338]


This has been addressed numerous times in the press. I believe it was the Prime Minister of Israel that spilled the beans on what exactly was agreed.

Bottom line, Putin promised Biden (via the Israelis) that he would not kill Zelensky. Several hours later, Zelensky emerged from hiding and gave his famous "I don't need a ride, I need ammunition" speech.

Here, I found the quote:

He gave me two great concessions," Bennett said of his March 5, 2022, meeting with Putin, when he flew to Moscow in an effort to mediate shortly after Russia began its invasion.

"I knew Zelensky was under threat, in a bunker... I said to [Putin], 'Do you intend to kill Zelensky?' He said, 'I won't kill Zelensky,'" Bennett recalled in the interview, which was published on his own YouTube channel.

"I need to understand. Are you giving me your word that you won't kill Zelensky?" Bennett said he asked Putin.

Bennett said the Russian president repeated: "I won't kill Zelensky."

Bennett said he called the Ukrainian president immediately after the three-hour encounter with Putin, and told him, "I've just come out of a meeting - [Putin] is not going to kill you."

"[Zelensky] asked me, 'Are you sure?' I said 100 percent. [Putin's] not going to kill you."

Bennett recalled: "Two hours later, Zelensky went to his office, and did a selfie in the office, [in which the Ukrainian president said,] 'I'm not afraid.'"

Source: timesofisrael.com/bennett-putin-assured-me-at-moscow-meeting-he-wouldnt-kill-zelensky/

News / Will Poland help defend Greenland against US Imperialism [530]


Forget about Venezuela - will they at least stand up for Denmark - their own member state?

I just read Trump's statements on Greenland that you are referring to - so now I'm curious what Kaja Kallas and team will say.

News / Poland's aid to Ukraine if Russia invades - part 27 [1110]


Again - why? Why do this?

Russians are pretty paranoid and conspiratorial in their thinking by nature - so you hear a lot of this inside the country as well... but it just doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. Just lying for lying's sake - with no practical dividend. Putin could be 80 - and what difference would it make to his power?

Another favorite thing for Russians to discuss is the alleged Jewish mothers or grandmas of its leaders. Every single Russian leader is alleged to be some crypto Jew - Putin included. It's believed by a big part of the population that you can't really be a leader of Russia unless you possess some measure of Jewish blood. Again - I don't understand why this would be necessary to conceal...

We have a country, which was openly led by Georgians (who spoke Russian with a thick accent), Germans (who didn't speak Russian at all), Ukrainians, Tatars, Jews (as in full Jews who were open about their Jewishness, not some secret Jews) - and yet the few Russians that did actually make it into power have to be playing at some secret game where they hide their Jewishness.

We already practically never have Russian leaders - but people will still believe that they are Jews - even when there is zero reason to think so.

Off-Topic / American Special Military Operation in Venezuela [338]

@GefreiterKania

After Putin was done smirking and rolling his eyes during the press conference, his spokesman Peskov proceeded to dip Medvedev's face in sh*t a few more times.

Quote:

Commenting on Medvedev's statements, Peskov said that "in every country, members of the leadership may hold different views on current events. There are people in the US and European countries who are very hardline, so this is always the case."

Peskov stressed that what matters most is Putin's position: "In our country, foreign policy is defined by the head of state - President Putin."

Peskov was asked whether the Kremlin intended to advise Medvedev to tone down his statements on foreign policy.


It's hard not to feel sorry for him.

I still remember vividly his speech where he tried to sell us all on the idea that he had "always planned" to leave after a single term in order to allow his patron to return to power. The pain in his eyes and in his voice was palpable.

His presidency was also full of humiliations - like instances where ministers would tell him to go f*ck himself, while they would go and ask Prime Minister Putin what they should actually do.

Off-Topic / American Special Military Operation in Venezuela [338]


It got so out of hand, that Putin had to publicly scold him last year after Trump asked if America should take seriously Medvedev's threats of nuking the country.

That was quite awkward, and I'm sure resulted in some hurt feelings on Dmitry Anatolyevich's part.

He is only drinking so much because of his tragic life arc - used like a condom and then discarded into the rubbish bin.

For the person responsible to then scold him for his unparalleled patriotism just adds insult to injury.

News / Poland's aid to Ukraine if Russia invades - part 27 [1110]


Well that's what I was thinking - and this is certainly true.

That is - if Putin only does super carefully stage managed appearances - why does he then need a double for security purposes?

Further - Putin doesn't strike me as someone who does anything he doesn't want to do. It's hard to imagine him thinking in categories like: "those poor factory workers have been waiting for me - I cannot disappoint them! Send the double instead."

If Putin wanted to, he could sit at home all year without coming out - and literally nobody would say a thing or think any worse or better of him.

He does what he wants, when he wants.

The facial differences seem to be related to Botox. If he got the shot just recently - then he's all puffy. If it was a while ago, his face starts returning to normal.

I think it's very strange that he gets Botox injections, but then politicians are usually vain people.

Off-Topic / American Special Military Operation in Venezuela [338]


No, I can't imagine this.

But we do have a certain gentleman named Medvedev - that used to occupy a high post - that likes to get properly liquored up in the dead of the night and then write long posts directed at "fascist pigs" and "globohomo scum".

Off-Topic / American Special Military Operation in Venezuela [338]


Hahaha!

Yes, that statement was a little out of line, but perhaps they could be forgiven... given the heinous things the Japanese did in China?


The world was dominated by China for many centuries - and nothing terrible happened - that's sort of my point...

However, I appreciate your point that this is a Communist country - with all that entails. Perhaps that does make this China different and more aggressive than all the Chinas before.

News / Poland's aid to Ukraine if Russia invades - part 27 [1110]


I never understood the conspiracy theories surrounding Putin's alleged doubles.

For what purpose would this be done?

The only true "doubles" that I had ever read about were used in WW2 - and the intent there was to convince the enemy that a certain so and so was in one place, rather than another.

Western audiences seem to have some fetish with Russian leaders and doubles. Stalin allegedly had doubles, Brezhnev supposedly had doubles, and Putin is supposed to have an entire stable of doubles - but no one ever bothers to explain why.

Off-Topic / American Special Military Operation in Venezuela [338]


Well, we border both China and Poland - how are we supposed to feel then?

Off-Topic / God and Religion Talk [451]

Once, when I was a teenager - I was sitting in front of my grandparents house in the evening, and suddenly noticed a faint glowing silhouette moving through the forest across the field. It seemed to hover slightly above the ground, as it weaved in and out between trees. Just as suddenly as it appeared it vanished.

Needless to say I was sh*tting bricks, and when I came home nobody believed my story.

About a week later I was sitting in the same spot, and saw the same thing again - only this time it emerged from the forest and started moving in my direction.

Right before I had a heart attack, I finally realized that this was a forest ranger wearing a headlamp that was shining down onto his body, and the floating was only a result of the texture of his boots which did not reflect any light.

Off-Topic / American Special Military Operation in Venezuela [338]


Russia would not know what to do, with some France or Italy - even if it managed to somehow swallow them.

It would cause an internal immune response, and the body would reject it. So you are right to talk in terms of digestion.

Russia can only absorb what it "knows".

Off-Topic / American Special Military Operation in Venezuela [338]


Why does China deserve this?

They only ever started one war - and they lost it quickly (to the Vietnamese).

They mind their own business and don't tell anyone how to live their life, while at the same time providing billions of dollars of needed investment. Contrast this to the West, which reads many lectures about values and institutions - but then hands over only some pennies. Look at Africa. Look at South America. Decades of American aid - and the effect was zero. China comes and builds ports, railroads, hydroelectric dams, cellular networks - you name it.

-//-

You are a close student of history - has China not played a historically benevolent and non-interventionist role in its neighborhood?

China is more often on the receiving end of invasions: Mongols, Manchus, Central Asians, Japanese, Europeans, etc.

It is a (1) big, (2) powerful, (3) and ancient country - and it wants to be treated as such. Is that so strange?

Off-Topic / American Special Military Operation in Venezuela [338]


THANK YOU!

Off-Topic / American Special Military Operation in Venezuela [338]


I think it's plausible, but not likely.

People are saying - "Oh, now an attack on Iran will be much simpler, because America will not have to worry so much about global oil supply disruptions."

or:

"Trump will flood the world markets with Venezuelan oil - and this will crash Russia's economy".

These are facile arguments. One has to look closer at the details to understand what is possible and what is not.

-//-

The facts are:

1) The Venezuelan oil industry has been starved of capital investment for the best part of twenty years. It will take a long time for it to even reach the levels of production they had in the early 2000s. We are talking years - not months.

2) Venezuelan oil is notoriously difficult to extract and to process. This is why despite having the world's largest oil reserves, it was never in the "top" of countries by oil production. It would take truly gigantic investment and a great deal of time to get Venezuelan production to even Iranian or Iraqi levels. We are talking about more than a decade.

3) So, if Iranian oil production is knocked out in the near future (during Trump's current term, say) - for example - then Venezuela will certainly not be able to replace it in any possible way.

4) Russia's economy and its structure has changed significantly since the early 2000s. The argument Bild is making regarding the critical role of oil exports to the state budget is... only partially true.

5) Even with low oil prices, Russia runs a budget deficit which would make most European countries envious (around 2%). If oil prices fall through the floor, Russia has PLENTY of room to borrow. Russia should be able to tap tens, if not hundreds of billions of dollars from the debt markets (internal, and Chinese).

6) In the end - I will tell you a Russian joke:

Father: Son, I lost my job and money will be tight for a while.

Son: Dad, does this mean you will drink less?

Father: No son, it means you will eat less.

The moral of this joke is that Russia will always have enough money for war, because it will simply cut other things... like healthcare, education, infrastructure investment, etc.

Off-Topic / American Special Military Operation in Venezuela [338]


1) Did Venezuela have the combined intelligence apparatus of America and Europe reporting on every Russian movement by the minute - as Ukraine did (see NYTimes and other reports)? That is, were the Venezuelans surprised/shocked to see helicopters over their capital city, or were they prepared and firing at them from MANPADS and anti-air batteries?

2) Did Venezuela receive state-of-the-art weapons that even America did not possess? Because Ukraine had Javelins, for example, which were a generation ahead of anything the Russian army fielded.

3) Did Venezuela receive billions of dollars in aid from the EU, and US, and international organizations like the IMF and World Bank - or did it spend much of the last 15 years living under sanctions?

4) Did Venezuela's neighbors make their communications arteries and transport infrastructure available to them, or did they instead close their borders with Venezuela following American threats?

5) Did Venezuela receive non-stop, round the clock favorable coverage from every Western media outlet, or was it instead subjected to a concerted effort of demonization by the same?

6) Did Venezuela possess a massive industrial economy (larger than that of most European countries, if we look at heavy industries) and a sprawling defense sector, or was it a third world country living primarily off oil exports?

-//-

Look I get it - Russia is weaker than America.

I can repeat this - Russia is much weaker than America, by nearly every possible measure.

But please stop pretending that the target of America's bullying is just the same as the target of Russia's bullying.

This is disrespectful towards your Ukrainian allies. Knowing what racists they are - they would genuinely be upset at a comparison with Venezuela. This is a country that as recently as 1991 thought it would soon have an economy larger than France (look it up), but instead - and unfortunately - ended up being 3 times smaller than Poland.

Off-Topic / American Special Military Operation in Venezuela [338]


Well that's refreshing. Good on you for owning it, and not engaging in fruitless mental gymnastics.


Precisely.

If you told somebody in 1980 that in ten years the USSR would fall apart, they would consider you a fantasist - but it happened - no nukes or large armies were necessary (just inept leadership).

Similarly, if you told a person in the United States in the 1980s, that in 2025 American politicians would become fearful of even appearing at the same social event as a member of the opposite party - they would think it's a fanciful joke. But here we are - in a situation where it is normal for a Democrat politician to refuse to shake hands with a Republican, and each side daily accuses the other of being "traitors", "Nazis", or best of all "foreigners".

KGB gurus driving influence operations could never have dreamed of creating the political polarization present in America today.

-//-

Big countries you have to bring down from the inside. Like the Roman Empire or Ming Dynasty China.

Off-Topic / American Special Military Operation in Venezuela [338]


What other world leader can come to Congress and give a speech trashing the sitting US president?

This is what happened in 2015 when Netanyahu came and gave a speech to Congress without ever notifying Obama.

Source: politico.com/story/2015/03/democrats-react-benjamin-netanyahu-speech-115705

What other country - has members of its military serving in the US Congress? In America, there is a gentleman that went and served in the IDF, after a 12 year career in the US military, and now he sits in Congress - how about that?

Even I didn't believe this story when I first heard about it, but it's true.

Source: thehill.com/homenews/house/4254384-brian-mast-israeli-military-uniform-capitol-hill/amp/

Off-Topic / American Special Military Operation in Venezuela [338]


The world didn't go to fight Japan and Germany because they were led by dictators. They went to fight because those two countries declared war on them.

On the victorious side you had dictators. You had Chiang Kai Shek and Stalin, and others.

-//-

It's actually very hard to think of a good example of a successful regime change from the outside.

Apologists for American imperialism claim Japan, Germany and South Korea as examples of the "virtue" of American occupation, in contrast to Soviet and French occupation leading to stagnation and poverty.... but this does not stand up to scrutiny.

Germany and Japan were industrial giants long before America occupied them. Germany and Japan were already leaders in research.

South Korea's success - if it belongs to anyone (rather than to the Koreans themselves) - is owed to Japan which occupied it for decades and built up its industries.

Off-Topic / American Special Military Operation in Venezuela [338]


They ended Saddam's regime, and then what happened? Half a million civilian deaths, and the rise of the Islamic State. Very peaceful indeed.

They removed the Taliban, and what happened? Again hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths, and... the eventual return of the Taliban.

They removed Mossadegh and installed the Shah - a thief who robbed his country blind - eventually leading to the Islamic Revolution.

"Ending dictatorships" doesn't necessarily lead to good things - especially when done from outside.

In Russia we gained freedom from the Tsar in an abrupt and spectacular fashion (through outside interference by you Germans), and got instead 70 years of non stop fun.

-//-

Probably the better way to achieve regime change is the South African example, or the Spanish example (I mean the transition from Franco).

Chile is a good example - where Pinochet lost a plebiscite he himself allowed. Taiwan... Czechoslovakia... AND OF COURSE POLAND.

-//-

Change has to come from inside. When it is forced from the outside, it leaves a very messy and hard to clean up situation.

-//-

Please no references to the Nazis or Imperial Japan. Completely different bag of goods.

Off-Topic / American Special Military Operation in Venezuela [338]


I was just joking about FIFA, which seems to bend over backwards to make Trump happy.

-//-

Also - in what universe is bombing Iran and bombing Venezuela a "peaceful" move?

Don't peacemakers usually achieve their goals through dialogue and forgiveness?

Off-Topic / American Special Military Operation in Venezuela [338]


He actually has - claiming she won't have any role to play - because nobody respects her. Go figure.

I think he doesn't like her because she got a Nobel Peace Prize, while he only got a FIFA Peace Prize.

By the way - is FIFA now gonna make a FIFA War Prize?

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Off-Topic / American Special Military Operation in Venezuela [338]


It feels very strange, when one begins to agree with Marjorie Taylor Green...

If somebody told me a year ago, that I would begin to view MTG as one of America's most promising politicians - I would have assumed this would be a result of some massive brain hemorrhage. But here we are...

Her post on Twitter regarding the situation around Venezuela (attaching below) is not perfect - but a damn sight better than what most European and American politicians have put out over the past 24 hours.

-//-

For people in Europe unaware of who she is - she's a Republican Congresswoman from Georgia - who for a long time was Trump's staunchest ally. At one point she was even considered as a potential VP pick by Trump.

She was the most unhinged MAGA demagogue on the national stage - believing in the QAnon conspiracy, Pizzagate, and Bill Gates making people gay and sterile through vaccinations.

But for the last two months she has been at war with Trump - the reason being the Epstein files.

Trump has cast her out, branded her a lunatic, and called her Marjorie Traitor Greene. In turn, she's announced that she will be vacating her seat in Congress this January.

When MTG says that Trump doesn't honor his promises - you should listen.

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Off-Topic / American Special Military Operation in Venezuela [338]


Wow!

This Brussels style speech feeds my paranoia that this invasion was not quite what it seems.

Russia gave some 60 second response, and China followed up with a 30 second one.

These are two countries that invested billions in Chavista VZ.

What did Trump offer them?

A new Monroe Doctrine (as the recent National Security paper laid out in language even a Down Syndrome child could understand)? You can do what you want where you live, but don't even think of messing around in our neighborhood?

-//-

In general... this new American war has dropped my respect for the EU to ZERO.

America will be America, and Russia will be Russia - but the EU will simply always:

1) "Monitor the situation closely"

2) "Express grave concern"

3) "Insist on close following of international law"

Disgusting. Vomit-inducing. Pathetic. Impotent.

Really. It's not a joke anymore....

When you condemned us - it tickled and made us laugh...

Now when you "express grave concern", all it does is evoke pity.

A Continent of Pygmies. A land of Hobbits.

Off-Topic / American Special Military Operation in Venezuela [338]


I have already cancelled my Netflix account, and I promise to never open my Gmail inbox ever again.

News / Poland's aid to Ukraine if Russia invades - part 27 [1110]


Yes, in fact - I am. My well being measurably increased knowing you have this decency.

Now I will do just as you advised.

News / Poland's aid to Ukraine if Russia invades - part 27 [1110]


You just can't help yourself, hmmm?

For appearance's sake - you could have pursued some coherent line here, but you couldn't resist the temptation of giving the Boss a big wet one...

I knew it was total BS when you would begin your song of: "Well, when it was Iraq - I was against it too - but that's ancient history - while Ukraine is happening now."

Now you have a case which is even more muddled than Iraq from the point of view of legal justification (what the hell is a narcoterrorist?) - but the first thing you do is of course fap away to the "quick and decisive" nature of America's military operations.

-//-

You people were never against wars, or murder - you just don't like Russia and Putin. Have the decency to at least admit it.

News / Poland's aid to Ukraine if Russia invades - part 27 [1110]

On a more serious note - I think this was a big mistake, and a great betrayal of the things Mr. Trump campaigned on.

He was already in terrible relations with the leftist governments of Brazil (where he pressed them to free Bolsonaro) and Columbia (the president of which called Trump a murderer for his fishing boat campaign), but now he's almost certainly united the rest.

Scheinbaum is a leftist politician - sympathetic to places like Cuba and Venezuela (viewing them to some extent as victims of American imperialism).

The combined size of these economies is much, much larger than that of MAGA-friendly Argentina under Milei (who is, incidentally very happy with what happened).

Brazil and Mexico each have economies about $2T in size, and a combined population between them of 350M people.

They are the ones America should really be focusing on "owning" - but with this move it made it much more likely they will rush into the embrace of Russia, China, India and the rest.

News / Poland's aid to Ukraine if Russia invades - part 27 [1110]


I hope America and Venezuela will become famous friends!


Claudia Scheinbaum must be sh*tting bricks.

If Maduro can be branded a "narco trafficker" and thus - magically stripped from the sovereign immunity that he should enjoy (based on common federal law, international law, and executive practice)... then what stops America from declaring her as an even bigger drug peddler and similarly kidnapping her and depositing her in a Manhattan prison cell?

Unlike Venezuela - Mexico is a truly huge supplier of narcotics into America. There have been numerous reports of collusion between Mexican officials and the many cartels operating within their country.

This is probably why, despite the overarching need to maintain good relations with America - she issued such a message haha!