Off-Topic / Random Chat Thread [187]

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News / Poland's aid to Ukraine if Russia invades - part 25 [235]

Lukashenko cannot be purported to harbor some elaborate plans for preservation of Belarusian sovereignty and his personal power.

He is a puppet - nothing more.

If we stop supporting him, EU forces will quickly swamp the regime and destroy it.

He owes his very existence to the Kremlin's benevolence and strategic calculus. He is a clown, a useful idiot, whom we can rely on to be a dog against Europe.

He has some measure of independence, but largely in economic affairs. Not when it comes to security or foreign policy.

A large reason of why he is not trusted - is that he is simply incompetent.

News / Poland's aid to Ukraine if Russia invades - part 25 [235]


That's funny.

Why would the EU spend 50 years building a trading bloc and currency union, to then just throw it all in the bin and join some half baked upstart organization that is literally decades behind on that front?

The idea is to promote the use of the Euro over the dollar. But how?

There is always a lot of talk in Europe about how they are going to switch to paying for oil and gas imports only in Euros - for example. But that's not how the real world works. Why?

1) The guy that sends you the invoice, decides how he wants to get paid - 99% of the time. This is probably because their costs, debts, and accounting are already in USD. In addition to this, they likely don't want to deal with the currency exchange risk inherent when you get paid in euros, while your costs are in dollars.

2) All the global oil benchmarks are priced in dollars. Figuring out each and every day how much more or fewer euros you gotta send is a pain in the ass. Eventually you will start hedging that risk, and then you're back to where you started, and may as well have been using dollars all along.

So what you have to do, is to convince the Arabs, and the Russians, and the Angolans, and Algerians, etc that it is in their interests to get paid in Euros. For that - you will need at least a few decades of work.

To be interested in getting paid in Euros, you have to be interested in holding Euro assets. That's how the so called "Petrodollar" came to be. America paid the Arabs enormous amounts of dollars, and the Arabs promptly recycled them back into US Treasuries and US stocks (largely bank stocks). The dollars left the US, but only for a second, before coming right back.

There are not enough quality Euro assets to absorb the tens of trillions in demand for US assets that you seek to replace.

You don't have a singly stock market. Meanwhile, the US has the widest and deepest markets in the world. Next - the US owes the whole world a crazy amount of money (US Treasuries), whereas you kinda don't. First of all you don't print enough of that kind of debt, and second you owe it mostly to yourselves. Because the Germans are in charge of your Union - I don't think you'll ever get to those kinda levels.

News / Polish-Russian war? Drones entering Polish airspace. [157]


Oh God...

I gave so many better suggestions...

-//--

They also basically stole one of my names for another mission, to rotate 3 (3!!!) French Rafales into Poland: "Eastern Sentry".

Sourced abcnews.go.com/amp/International/eastern-sentry-natos-response-russian-drones/story?id=125576971

I think Baltic Sentinel sounds much more grandiose than Eastern Sentry.

News / Poland's aid to Ukraine if Russia invades - part 25 [235]


Poland is indeed a more just and free society.

Ukraine's government - meanwhile - has not once admitted that it had been its own anti-air missiles which had slammed into apartment blocks and other civilian infrastructure. Even when the evidence was incontrovertible - being reported on by the likes of the NYTimes and El Pais.

This regime of constant denial and lies, has done more damage to Ukrainian morale than anything we had ever done as overt enemies. The simple result is that the population increasingly distrusts their leaders, and in consequence avoids mobilization at all costs.

Not saying that our government is much better when it comes to lying, but it definitely is better. These past six months especially. Our Ministry of Defense has stopped spreading ridiculous press releases daily that no one takes seriously, and now produces much more conservative ones - but that give a more accurate idea of what is happening.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainians are still insisting that they shot down 99 out of 100 Shahed drones, and that regardless of weather, combat intensity, or other context - Ukraine kills 1,000+ Russians daily.

Lies will be the end of us - either the Ukrainians or the Russians.

Belousov - when he came into power - promised that lying would be punished, and honesty rewarded. Let's see if it comes to be - so far, big improvement.

History / Poles should apologise to Ukrainians first [487]


You are one brave son of a b*tch.

Relying on Putin's reasonability, is not a bet I thought many people would want to make nowadays.

Off-Topic / Random Chat Thread [187]

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Off-Topic / Random Chat Thread [187]

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Genealogy / Do you consider Gorals, Lemkos, and Silesians Poles? [77]


Probably not.

If one were to base his arguments on modern Russians - then definitely not.

Russians disappear into whatever culture they are immersed into.

Then, when they see Russians on the street, they change the language, and speak in whispers - lest they be identified by their former compatriots.

Of all the diasporas in America - the Russian-American diaspora is probably the weakest and most impotent one - especially when compared to some of our neighbors like Armenians or Jews.

Russians don't like being around other Russians, for some reason.

One of my acquaintances in New York is a Russian, that once complained to me that he stopped going to one Russian Orthodox Church, because it "had too many Russians in it". Now he goes to a Ukrainian church, but is similarly unhappy - for other reasons.

Genealogy / Do you consider Gorals, Lemkos, and Silesians Poles? [77]


I don't know enough Turkish history to argue, or whatever concerns the caliphates. But I do know Roman/Byzantine history rather well, and there I can say you are wrong.

The major Arab client of the Romans were the Ghassanids. Later they became Byzantine foederati.

There is nothing in the histories regarding them being consumed by intra tribal conflict.

Their main conflict was with the Lakhmids, who were Persian clients. In essence, a proxy conflict between the Byzantines and Sassanid Persia.

There was constant Bedouin raiding, but these were neither aligned with the Byzantines or the Persians. They made incursions in border areas, raiding frontier settlements and caravan routes - but never anything that was significant enough for much ink to be dedicated to it.

So this does not support your argument that Arabs were always fighting each other, unless you want to make the argument that Bedouins represent a significant slice of the global Arab population - which they do not.

Genealogy / Do you consider Gorals, Lemkos, and Silesians Poles? [77]


Not so.

They didn't do that while living under the Turks for five centuries.

They didn't do it earlier, under the Abbasids, Umayyads. They didn't do it under the Byzantines, or the Persians, or the Romans.

They do it now, because British boffins drew up ridiculous maps for new countries, where no countries previously existed. This, without taking into account how the rivers flow in the region, who depended on what marshlands, and on what fisheries, or where old tribal divisions lay.

Ditto for Africa.

Now Kuwaitis think themselves to be infinitely superior to Iraqis. Jordanians feel they owe nothing to the Palestinians. Bahrainis hate their own Shia population, etc, and so on.

Nationalism infects the human mind rapidly after the creation of arbitrary borders.

Only empires are able to keep those demons bottled up, and keep everyone focused on working for the greater good - rather than grabbing the fattest piece of the pie for their group.

Genealogy / Do you consider Gorals, Lemkos, and Silesians Poles? [77]


Then they should live with the Poles.

That half, that is on the Right Bank of the Dnieper - they can go and become chłops again to the Poles.

The Left Bank, which was always loyal to Moscow, should be allowed to rejoin with their kin.

Maybe the Galicians would prefer to go back to sucking Austrian dick, instead of groveling before the Poles. That's their problem - who's dick to suck.

Especially all the Greco-Catholic idiots - they can go and join whomever they want.

But it is strange to have Orthodox people live under a Catholic government.

Genealogy / Do you consider Gorals, Lemkos, and Silesians Poles? [77]


I know it may sound funny, but it's what we believe.

One good indicator of some "brainwashing" going on, is what percentage of Ukraine's citizens self report as Russians. In the 1990s, it was around 40%. Now it's less than 10%.

Can you go from being a Pole, to being an American - in under thirty years? I suppose Novichok would say - yes, you can.


Whichever history I am reading - Ukrainians are unable to reply to a simple question:

"Where was Ukraine in the period between the 9th century AD and 1991?"

Was it located underground, or in some heavenly kingdom which us mortals cannot see?

Maybe Ukraine was a state of the soul?

-//-

Smart Ukrainians, who recognize this "problem" with their narrative, claim instead that they are true Russians, while we are some Tatar/Mongol mutants. This at least makes a little bit more sense, but still leaves many issues outstanding.


With a heavy heart, I must admit this is true. You British people have proven this in my mind.

For the Arabs, you drew up all sorts of stupid and imaginary countries like Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan, etc... and now they are ready to kill each other over invisible lines in the sand.

When a local elite forms, and begins to feel that they "own" their people, all sorts of stupid nationalisms can arise.

Nobody wants to give the wheel up back to Istanbul or Moscow, after they've had 30-40-50 years of juicing their own people for rents.

Instead - they start spending hundreds of millions of dollars on year round celebrations of "2,000 years of Iraqi Statehood", or building museums around some collection of rocks they identified in the desert - and to which they attach themselves too.

Leave alone, that their grandparents would have thought them very strange for doing such things.

Genealogy / Do you consider Gorals, Lemkos, and Silesians Poles? [77]


We must be reading different histories, because Russia's argument that Ukrainians are a synthetic people is largely based on historical proof.


Of course, because it is 50% borrowed Polonisms.

All the маю рацию, розмовление, дякую, тыждень, рок, шукати, робити, шкода and страва - all these words which we Russians don't understand they learned from the pan overlords.

All a result of the collapse of the Rus state, and Poland's occupation of its former Western territories.

We can't really blame the Mongols for the collapse, because it happened nearly a century earlier than their arrival.

Genealogy / Do you consider Gorals, Lemkos, and Silesians Poles? [77]


... then you turn around, and throw accusations of Russian chauvinism when we say the same about the Ukrainian language.

Imagine you elected some Gorbachev/Yeltsin style morons, that would promise people as much freedom and self determination as "they can grab" (genuine Yeltsin quote).

The Silesians would then rapidly separate - thinking to themselves - "We've got the coal and the industry, we've had enough of feeding Poland B."

Thirty years later, they'd be ready to die to defend their independence, when some Polish Putin invaded.

Some new Jon, and new Maf, will be here accusing you lot of being 19th century troglodytes.

History / Poles should apologise to Ukrainians first [487]


It's literally an ocean away, and as you may have gleaned from the news - not exactly free of problems of its own.

The fact they saved you twice, can only be chalked up to familial piety.

But now that America is more beige/brown, that fundamental loyalty to Europe is quickly eroding. By the middle of the century, America will no longer be majority white - and then the politics may become very unpleasant for you dying Euros indeed.

History / Poles should apologise to Ukrainians first [487]


Somehow, European politicians think America will send something.

I think the only rational response, is that every European bureaucrat who has some impact on policymaking vis-à-vis the United States, should be able to prove that he lived at least 5 of the past 10 years in the US.

Any person who spends 100 days living in this country, would quickly see how the idea of giving help to Europe is "dead".

History / Poles should apologise to Ukrainians first [487]


They do the dick-sucking in a way which is transparently exploitative of the United States.

Like some bimbo you meet at the bar, and who cares not what sort of trouble it will land you with, in terms of your family.

That is - they don't suck American dick because they enjoy the taste, or truly feel passionate about America. They do it, in the hope that America will then cover them with its ass - receiving the Russian dildo of consequences along with them.

Such a friend - is no friend at all.

And it does not matter how many times Nawrocki comes to crawl around the floor of the Oval Office, or how many times Tusk swallows his pride and says something nice about Trump.

It is clear to everyone that- that the Poles are being nice, because they expect you to spend 50,000-100,000-200,000 lives protecting their independence.

Otherwise they don't respect you at all. They hate even their closest neighbors, who gave them the most money.

If you are not useful to Poles - their interest in you will evaporate in a moment. These are a profoundly wounded people, like Russians, who see even hundreds of billions of EU transfers as "just reparations".

Good luck to both of you, in finding perfect marriage harmony.

History / Poles should apologise to Ukrainians first [487]

@Korvinus

My point was - that big uncle from across the ocean does not scare us.

Appeals to his authority - only makes you look pathetic in comparison. Have you no agency? No will of your own - to resist?

Russians don't rely on anybody for protection. We don't beg for help, on our knees, like the Ukrainians. We don't need handouts. We chart our own fate.

Russia's only permanent allies are its navy and its army.

It would be good if you Poles too, could practice independent thinking.

News / Polish-Russian war? Drones entering Polish airspace. [157]


Do not stop a man from achieving catharsis from reading his own words on paper.

History / Poles should apologise to Ukrainians first [487]


We have more nukes than them - do you remember this?

History / Poles should apologise to Ukrainians first [487]


Excuse me?

America cannot wipe out Iran, or Yemen - instead always pushing for talks after dropping some token Tomahawks on their head.

America has never, in its entire history, fought an enemy like Russia. Not Germany, not Japan, or Great Britain can compare - as far as American historical enemies go.

There is no historical precedent to show that America can fight a war like the hypothetical one against Russia.

No American politician who is sane, would ever propose such an idea. This is a bipartisan consensus - and remains the same whether it's Biden or Trump in the White House.

If you have the richest country in world history, with seemingly impossible wealth, good climate, fertile land, and most importantly peace - why the hell would you gamble it all on a war with Russia - of all countries?

What does America stand to gain from fighting with Russia, other than jeopardizing its blessed existence?

Russia is the only country in the world, which has the military potential to erase the United States - this is why the two will never risk anything serious. It just doesn't make sense. The game is not worth the candles.

History / Poles should apologise to Ukrainians first [487]


Yes maybe you should learn from the Italians, who always seem to be on the winning side regardless of where they started?

Russia switched sides once, but only after the Kaiser sent us Lenin on a train.

The Kaiser's man, made us sign the terrible treaty of Brest Litovsk, where Poland, Finland, the Baltics, and Ukraine were all lost.

Our "great" allies, a year later - when they defeated Germany finally - didn't give us back any of these spaces.

No... instead they invaded us from all sides (after wrapping up with Germany), and made our civil war last three times as long as it could have.

It's a miracle that Russia emerged alive from that experience.

History / Poles should apologise to Ukrainians first [487]

It's too bad Paw is not here to witness Kania's miraculous metamorphosis...

He would be proud!

I do hope he's okay out there, sleeping on his sumo mat, and planting squashes.

History / Poles should apologise to Ukrainians first [487]


Germany protecting Poland against Russia - is something I need to see.

Catherine and Alexander will be spinning in their graves. Ribbentrop and Bismarck will be doing somersaults.

History / Poles should apologise to Ukrainians first [487]


Thanks for the dictionary entry, Fritz. Now go back to polishing your sandals with mustard, Hans.


Make peace with the Ukrainians - fine! But to forgive the Anglos their perfidy - never.

Off-Topic / PF Poster Polonius3 - Sad news [21]

@jon357

I always thought he had something to do with the owners of the forum, was that the case?

@Novi

I think it's two different people. He wrote differently from the Poloniusz which is still around, and had entirely different interests.

Off-Topic / PF Poster Polonius3 - Sad news [21]

RIP Polonius

News / Polish-Russian war? Drones entering Polish airspace. [157]


Tell this to a Polish soldier, and see if he feels happy about it.

In the same way, in Ukraine there is a huge divide between civilians (who love to talk about mobiks, orcs, and slaves)... and soldiers (who have to fight mobiks, orcs, and slaves).

-//-

As a rule, a soldier anywhere on the planet wants a few simple things:

1) Competent commanders.
2) Adequate opportunity for rest.
3) Confidence that he or his family will be taken care of in the case of a wounding or death.
4) Sufficient supply.

He doesn't need so much, a Korvinus sitting in the rear, telling tall tales about how he can fight 49 Russians off with his bare hands.

News / Polish-Russian war? Drones entering Polish airspace. [157]

@Korvinus

What's this kind of homeopathic dose of soldiers supposed to do?

If Russia doesn't invade (99.99999999% probability) - then you wasted several hundred million zloty for a PR stunt.

If Russia does invade - these 40,000 will end up in a rapid encirclement - faster than you can say "Bialowieza".

-//-

Conclusion - action was performed for retarded reasons like "European Readiness" and "Demonstration of Resolve" that only people in Brussels can comprehend...

To be honest they are geniuses in Brussels, when it comes to the art of inflating some token force rotation into something that sounds instead like Caesar's legions moving into Gaul.

To help them and you Poles, I will come up with some potential "Brussels-approved" labels for the next time you send a 200 person contingent to some Lithuanian airbase:

Security themed:

1) Shield of Unity
2) Operation Eternal Guard
3) Forward Freedom Facility (alliteration!)

More geographically focused:

1) Baltic Sentinel
2) Danube Watch
3) Nordic Horizon
4) Carpathian Resolve

Values oriented:

1) Operation Democratic Shield
2) Guardian of Liberty
3) Lawful Dignity Deployment

Poetic and Wistful:

1) Aurora Spear
2) Praetorian Presence
3) Eagle's Watch

This way... while your soldiers may still feel very stupid, and utterly unprotected by their irresponsible governments - they will at least have nice shoulder patches to gift to their kids.

BB, as talented artist, can handle the graphic design. I suggest a liberal use of eagles, lightning bolts, and that part of the world map which shows the North Atlantic Ocean.