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Posts by Bobko  

Joined: 13 Mar 2017 / Male ♂
Last Post: 19 Dec 2025
Threads: Total: 28 / Live: 24 / Archived: 4
Posts: Total: 3029 / Live: 2953 / Archived: 76
From: New York
Speaks Polish?: A
Interests: reading, camping

Displayed posts: 2977 / page 77 of 100
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Bobko   
1 Jun 2023
Off-Topic / Terms of Russian Surrender [116]

@GefreiterKania

Let's discuss the Ottoman Empire - as neutral ground for both.

Then - the people there killed each other, at a rate far, far lower than in the present - when almost each nationality has its own borders. Arbitrary lines drawn in the sand by English and French politicians that had often not even visited the territory they were carving up, are now important enough to the locals that they are willing to kill countless numbers to preserve/alter them.

Commerce thrived, as merchants prefer to deal with as few barriers as possible.

Science advanced - because there was enough of a "domestic" critical mass to be able to skim the "cream" off many millions and gather them in one place.

International prestige was higher, leading to all sorts of mundane but important benefits for the empire's travelling citizens.

And so on, and so forth. How have the majority of the countries of the Middle East, except for those isolated tribes that were fortunate enough to be born atop an ocean of oil, benefited from being free of Turkish or Persian control?
Bobko   
1 Jun 2023
News / Polish Parliamentary Elections 2023 [933]

Korwin-Mikke wants an alliance with Putin

This is great, however I'm not sure if Putin wants an alliance with Korwin-Mikke.
Bobko   
1 Jun 2023
Off-Topic / Terms of Russian Surrender [116]

@GefreiterKania

I'll take imperialism over nationalism, any day of the week. In fact, I think the world lost a lot with the passing of most historical empires.
Bobko   
1 Jun 2023
Life / Getting a Polish Heritage tattoo - how would Poles react? [26]

B.B. King, the famous Blues musician, had a wife. One year she decided to present him with an unusual birthday present. She went to a local tattoo parlor, and asked the artist to place two letter "Bs" on each of her buttocks.

Later that evening, the doorbell rings. B.B. King's wife cracks the door open, bends over, and lifts her skirt to reveal her new tattoo.

B.B. King - puzzled - asks her, "Who's Bob?"
Bobko   
1 Jun 2023
Life / 60th birthday in Poland [38]

60 is the new 30...

My dad is in his early 60s, and seems quite depressed about this fact. I tell him the above, and he just waives it away.

I think this is foolish

Who expected ChatGPT? Who expected SpaceX to land dozens of rockets perfectly on their "feet", onto a small platform floating in the sea? Who thought there would arrive a drug that can truly cure Hepatitis C?

Organs will be 3D printed, cancers will be carefully excised by nanobots, memories will be saved on neural chips... and so on and so forth. This is why actuarial models at modern insurers project some current workers to live to 120 years old.

My only hope is that medical science advances fast enough that we have Novichok with us still in 2063.
Bobko   
31 May 2023
Off-Topic / Terms of Russian Surrender [116]

@Miloslaw

Was being a bit facetious, but also... not really. Not just Russians, but Ukrainians, Belarusians, Kazakhs etc have all been trained by life to expect that those in charge are constantly lying to us. This led to the formation of all sorts of coping mechanisms. The archetypical reaction is simply to ignore whatever the government is doing. The logic being, if I don't participate in their games, then I am not tainted by their stench.

Rallying behind our governments during a time of war is another thing entirely.
Bobko   
31 May 2023
Off-Topic / Terms of Russian Surrender [116]

you Russians are just prepared to accept all the nonsense and lies that you are fed

Russians are the most critical consumers of information there are. We see a conspiracy behind every event. We believe nothing! Not even our eyes!

Judging Russian information hygiene based on polemics with Bobko and Velund on PolishForums is not a good idea.
Bobko   
31 May 2023
Off-Topic / Terms of Russian Surrender [116]

independent People Republic of Texas

They would be so incredibly rich. At 5M barrels per day in crude oil production - Texas would be 3rd behind Saudi Arabia and Russia, and above Canada and China. Not having to split those tax revenues with sh!tholes like New York and Illinois, will mean Norwegian-style infrastructure and Emirati-level services.

Also, Texas will be free to implement its own immigration policy - which will probably consist of digging a half-mile wide trench filled with alligators along the entire length of its border with Mexico.
Bobko   
31 May 2023
Off-Topic / Authoritarians of the World - Unite! [4]

Much ink spilled on this forum regarding the impending collapse of PiS.

In the same way - very few observers in the West believed that Erdogan could secure the election in Turkey. After all -

1) Turkey's currency had collapsed from less than 8 lira to the dollar, to 20

2) A devastating earthquake revealed systemic corruption and incompetence

3) The incumbent had been steering Turkey away from integration with the West, and instead towards a more Islamized and Ottomanized version of Turkey which would make Mustafa Kemal spin in his grave.

Yet Erdogan won all the same.

In the same vein, people predicted that Fidesz and Orban would come crashing out of power in Hungary. Instead, as Orban said, "We won a victory so big that you can see it from the moon, and you can certainly see it from Brussels."

In America, people are anxiously waiting to see if Trump can stage a comeback. In Egypt, Sisi is as secure as he's ever been. In China - Xi has secured an unprecedented third term.

My question is - is it time to cast our silly differences aside and create a new global alliance of autocrats?

Europe can be represented by Fidesz, PiS, and United Russia. Three parties that have much more in common, than what sets them apart. These could be some of the key tenets around which they will rally:

1) Death to gays
2) Death to transformers
3) Death to Soros
4) Death to Donald Tusk
5) Increase global temperatures by 7 degrees, by 2050
6) Ban abortion with the exception of instances of gang rape (pending paternity test)
7) Germany must contribute 40% of budget expenses, for each country, under pain of nuclear annihilation
8) Brown people, black people, gypsies, Muslims, to be deported to the Novaya Zemlya archipelago in the far Arctic, to mine nickel with their bare hands
Bobko   
31 May 2023
Off-Topic / Five or more years of Erdogan! [32]

if it came to using nuclear or non-conventional weapons in Europe, they would come out far worse

This is a stupid discussion, so it will get a stupid continuation:

1) Russia is heavily urbanized, yes, but also very large. There will remain lots of areas that were untouched by the effects of the blast. We will move to those areas and plant potato plots.

2) Just 4 explosions in Cornwall, Essex, Yorkshire, and Powys would be quite sufficient to make all of the southern half of Great Britain uninhabitable. Enjoy setting up camp in Glasgow.
Bobko   
31 May 2023
Off-Topic / Terms of Ukrainian Surrender [67]

You do realise that he's not serious.

Ehhh? Are you saying Kania is pulling my leg, when he's soliciting opinions regarding an Ukrainian surrender? That would be cruel and unusual punishment, not to mention very rude.

I post here in earnest, and expect the same from others.
Bobko   
30 May 2023
Off-Topic / Terms of Russian Surrender [116]

it's written in the American constitution that no states can secede.

The Articles of Confederation pretty clearly state that the Union is supposed to be perpetual. Furthermore, the Constitution itself declares as one of its main aims the "creation of a more perfect Union". In its capacity as arbiter of these types of questions, the Supreme Court has always ruled in favor of the Union being indissoluble.

Then of course, there is that precedent when 11 states decided they would no longer like to be part of the Union. I may be mistaken, but I think the US lost 2% of its total population then, or about 25% of the South's male population between the ages of 18-24.

The Union kicked the South's teeth in so hard, that they are still complaining about Yankees down there. Very free, very democratic secession - yes.
Bobko   
30 May 2023
Off-Topic / Terms of Ukrainian Surrender [67]

"NATO hasn't arrived yet".

Sit down and take a deep breath.

Ukraine has the strongest military in Europe at this moment - by far. Russia destroys a Germany-sized stockpile of weapons every few months, and maybe a Spain or Netherlands-sized one every single month.

Europe is naked through stripping itself for Ukraine. If you had even a little bit of decency, you would admit there's nothing in Europe that could challenge the Russians as much as Ukraine.

Ukrainians are unfortunately similar to us in their seemingly endless capacity for suffering. I doubt a France or a Germany could endure many Bakhmuts before collapsing.
Bobko   
30 May 2023
Off-Topic / Terms of Ukrainian Surrender [67]

So you think you can't win referendum without bribes?

Not that we can't win without bribes, but simply the people living in contested territories are not idiots.

EU/USA can come with their media there, "exert financial influence" and offer EU passports and other benefits, then why not

If you care about them, and you are not indifferent to their fate - then do it. We might complain, but that will be fair, at least.

They deserve an award for you killing half a million of their best men for your collective egos.
Bobko   
30 May 2023
Off-Topic / Terms of Ukrainian Surrender [67]

@GefreiterKania

I'm somewhat skeptical of what "internationally supervised" referenda mean. If it means muzzling Russian media, not allowing Russia to exert its influence through finance (a form of expression), and not allowing Russia to offer passports or other benefits - then their worth is at best questionable.

We came with a plan. To see if it makes sense, you must let us see it through.
Bobko   
30 May 2023
Off-Topic / Terms of Russian Surrender [116]

And Królewiec must go to Lithuania and Poland

Haha! I would love to see this fight.

'Abkhazia' and others must be de-orced and returned to the countries they were seized from

I see. The appetite for ethnic cleansing has not abated since the 1990s.
Bobko   
30 May 2023
Off-Topic / Terms of Ukrainian Surrender [67]

Are you sure you thought this through, Bobi?

I'm not Putin, I'm Bobko. It's not my fault points 1-4 represent a regression to the status quo.

Also, you ignored # 5. An important point, in my mind.
Bobko   
30 May 2023
Off-Topic / Terms of Ukrainian Surrender [67]

@GefreiterKania

Very well. I will bite.

Here is my list:

1) Ukraine totally and completely demilitarizes - to such an extent that they can in no way pose a credible threat to Russia.

2) Ukraine forswears ever joining NATO

3) Ukraine agrees to never host nuclear weapons on its territory.

4) Ukraine agrees to pursue parallel integration tracks with both the EU and the Eurasian Economic Union (thus acting as a bridge between our two hostile camps)

5) Ukraine either cedes the contested territories to Russia wholesale, or agrees a certain type of condominium where we both have a vote over how the provinces develop.

6) Ukraine agrees to never cut the water supply to Crimea, or otherwise enforce economic embargoes on newly acquired territories.

7) Ukraine waives all right to compensation.
Bobko   
30 May 2023
Off-Topic / Terms of Russian Surrender [116]

@GefreiterKania

I don't imagine that the Russia haters here are in any way competent to judge Russian policy, but I thought even they must know where the limits of reason lie. In this sense, such an exercise could be quite fruitful.

P.S. Also, for purposes of completely domestic consumption - it may be good for a Russian that stumbles upon this forum, to understand just what the West has prepared for him. This is not to scare him/her back into the Kremlin's embrace, but simply a call to be a little more clear-eyed re: what "compromise with the West" may yield.
Bobko   
30 May 2023
Off-Topic / Terms of Russian Surrender [116]

Bobko, what possessed you to feed these idiots like this?

A naive hope that once they see these things written in print they would recognize how fantastically absurd these notions are.
Bobko   
30 May 2023
Off-Topic / Terms of Russian Surrender [116]

I'm curious, if the members of PF can lay out their expectations of what Russia is to do if it loses this war. It would be good for us Russians to prepare for this type of eventuality.

I will sketch out some general parameters for you to debate:

1) Russia withdraws all forces from Ukraine
2) Russia relinquishes control over Crimea, and returns it to UKR jurisdiction
3) Russia returns occupied territories of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporozhye, and Kherson oblasts.
4) Russia pays reparations amounting to the total cost of reconstruction, plus then some.
5) Russia disarms, and creates a demilitarized zone stretching 150Km deep into our side of the border.
6) Russia relinquishes its Security Council veto, and agrees to a new framework where India and Brazil replace Russia as permanent security council members.
7) The United States is allowed to create military bases in St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Krasnodar, Novosibirsk and Vladivostok.
Bobko   
30 May 2023
Off-Topic / Five or more years of Erdogan! [32]

One is Turkey, the other is Belarus

There is also:

1) Armenia
2) Kazakhstan
3) Mongolia
4) Kyrgyzstan
5) Azerbaijan
6) Tajikistan
7) Uzbekistan
8) China
9) Iran
10) South Africa
11) India
12) North Korea
13) Egypt

... and so on, and so forth. It's surprising how many countries hate the West's guts.
Bobko   
30 May 2023
Off-Topic / Five or more years of Erdogan! [32]

among the industrial proletariat, Erdogan's Anatolian farmers, the even more traditional east, an intellectual left wing and sadly, a significant and violent far-right

Where is the allowance for nuance when discussing Russia?
Bobko   
30 May 2023
Off-Topic / Five or more years of Erdogan! [32]

Russians are cautiously excited.

1) It means our sanctions loophole will likely stay open for the time being.

2) We hope he will continue to delay Swedish accession to NATO, or at least bargain something out for it which will effectively dent Western unity. Perhaps Russian intelligence should prod some nationalistic Swedes into burning another Koran, to help events along.

3) It seems Erdogan once again feels that the West attempted to prevent his re-election. On top of their previous support for the coup against him, and the support offered for the Syrian PKK - this may finally convince Erdogan that the West are not his friends.

4) Erdogan is currently weak. His economy is a shambles (worse than ours, despite absence of sanctions). As mentioned above - he feels alienated. A perfect time to swoop in and cement Russian influence in this important region.

P.S. - Erdogan is in the end a sneaky Turk, and he may very well wrap all of us around his finger for his own little games - so it may be foolish trying to control him.
Bobko   
29 May 2023
News / Chechen Congress in Poland, Russia frowns [90]

The Beslan families for example.

Huh? Are you talking about the incident where a crazed Chechen warlord captured a school on Sept. 1st - the first day of school - and then killed 200 kids, plus one hundred adults?

I ask because the way you are talking about it makes me think you either are referring to another event, or have suddenly decided you want to abandon the good side of the human race.


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Bobko   
29 May 2023
News / Chechen Congress in Poland, Russia frowns [90]

since the Gurkhas are highly trained and observe the rules of war.

Haha - the Ghurkas are savages, just like the Chechens!

I mean this in the best possible way
Bobko   
29 May 2023
News / Chechen Congress in Poland, Russia frowns [90]

Many have tried, few have succeeded.

The price Putin pays to ensure Ramzan's loyalty, is considered by some to be more than we can afford.

He will remain Putin's dog of war, while Putin is in place. For one reason, or another, he is terrified of Putin. Who can manage him or talk to him after the "Big Man" is gone, is a big question.
Bobko   
29 May 2023
News / Chechen Congress in Poland, Russia frowns [90]

ISIS? The Taliban? You forget that there are fewer than a million Chechens left.

A bit more than a million.

One Chechen is worth ten Afghans, and twenty Tunisians. They are given leadership roles wherever they go, and the other mujahideen treat them as nothing less than Gods walking the Earth.

You Brits have the Gurkhas, and we have the Chechens.

They're made of different material.