xzar_monty

This may lead to an even fiercer Ukrainian resistance than before. The resistance will ultimately prove to be futile, given Russia's vast superiority in numbers, but until then, the resistance may well be fierce indeed. I've already read reports of Ukrainians saying how the invasion has united the country like nothing else. Of course I understand that this is not the whole truth, but there are historical precedents to this: an invasion can give a country and its citizens tremendous strength of character, which may translate to surprising military success. But still, all this is such a waste, of course. And Ukraine looks doomed unless something surprising happens in Russia.

By the way, someone (sorry, can't remember how it was but I think it was a historian) has pointed out that WW3 has already begun -- but because it's still in its earliest stages, we the ones living it right now cannot know it yet. This is a possibility. Let us dearly hope that it is not true.

...than oligarchs, was the question. I am not sure whether this is intended as satire, irony or something, or whether it's simply foolish. These are simply extraordinarily rich people -- but the means by which they have acquired their wealth is totally different from that of the Russian oligarchs, and their relations with the leaders of their respective countries are also totally different. It takes a lot more than just an awful lot of money for one to be an oligarch, but I suppose that obfuscation was the aim here anyway. Please note that in saying this, I am in no way expressing any kind of support to these people, Murdoch least of all.

Btw, Russia has now admitted that it has used conscripts in the invasion. Again, that is cynical and cruel beyond belief. Putin has denied this, of course, but a Russian ministry has admitted that it's true. Must be great when you start your military service, have no experience whatsoever, get driven somewhere in what you're quite possibly told is a drill and then find yourself against people fiercely willing to protect their country from your invasion. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-acknowledges-conscripts-were-part-ukraine-operation-some-taken-prisoner-2022-03-09/

It is, of course, impossible to predict stuff like this, but I also think that Putin's removal is the only way to end this quickly and without a terrible death toll.

That's actually a fair point. We have to keep in mind that Putin is almost certainly surrounded by a group of yes-men and nothing else, which means that for years, he has been told what he wants to hear. Thus, his initial grasp of the situtation may have been extremely poor, and who knows, maybe it still is. As for what the future holds, no idea. This is such a terrible waste, because Russia has all the resources to be an extremely strong and wortwhile country, but it chooses not to be. It has chosen this throughout its history: there has never been a time when Russia has been a trustworthy player on the international stage. For example, in the early 2000s, there were some projects near Moscow that aimed at improving enterpreneurship in Russia, but they were ditched rather quickly. The "Russian mentality" was so strongly opposed to it: the reliance on the use of force was so strong that once anything got going, Russians just declined to co-operate because they were so certain that the other side was out to exploit them in some way. The idea that co-operation would be the best way for mutual benefits just couldn't take hold. There is a really good way to measure a country's attraction. See who lives outside that country and check whether they want to get there to pursue a better life than is available in their homeland. Here, Russia fails miserably. People don't want to go there or invest there. There is a flood of people getting away from Russia right now: they are the young and well-educated Russians who'd be best equipped to build a much better country than they have now. And so many of them are leaving. Trains and buses going out from Russia are full of Russians.

There is little reality in the whole camp, it appears. According to Sergei Lavrov, Russia "did not attack Ukraine". So there doesn't seem to be a whole lot than can be achieved through diplomacy.

With all the boosts and buffs that you can give, where do you think PD's AC becomes essentially "you can only hit on a natural 20"? Surely that point is a lot lower than 94, but I'm not sure where it is, so I'd like to know if you have an idea.

The thing that baffles me the most is that the Russian army seems to have absolutely no regard for life or decency -- not caring for the enemy is fair enough in a war, but there's no regard for their own, either. Numerous sources report that they are not taking back or minding their own dead. The troops don't appear well informed at all. And so on. It's astonishing. It's madness. However, there is ample precedent for this, dizzyingly well documented from previous wars. It may have something to do with an imperial attitude: we've got plenty of soldiers, we can sacrifice as many as we please, the enemy will have fewer than we do. But it's astonishing beyond belief.

Let us keep in mind that according to the Red Cross, the evacuation route offered to Ukrainians fleeing from Mariupol was mined. Russian brutality and cynicism is off the scale.

No mods, never had any. This is why I'm particularly puzzled.

Sheesh. I wonder if there's anything that can be done about this.

With 1.2 installed, the game has slowed down considerably, in two places: when my armies move on the campaign map, and when my group moves on the regular map during combat. Anyone else suffer from this?

<ignore this, too. sorry folks. will stop posting in this thread. such a shame that you can't just delete your comments.>

I have also been thinking about this quite a lot. I share your pessimism, unfortunately.

<ignore this.>

You will also have to consider that the whole situation may well be a result of Covid in the first place. I am not privy to what Putin is experiencing, but two years of near-hysterical isolation will not do you any good at all if you are inclined towards paranoia. Both of our comments are speculation, of course, and should be regarded as such. However, absolutely terrible historical ironies are a well-known fact, and this might be one. Who knows. Here's probably the most terrible historical irony: Adolf Hitler's anti-semitism saved the world. The exodus [sic] of Jewish scientists from Germany began in the 1930s, and was substantial. Without that, Hitler would probably have had the Bomb in 1942 or 1943. And we all know what he'd have done with it. Albert Einstein himself noted sometime around 1937/1938 that Hitler's anti-semitism will do his forthcoming war effort an awful lot of damage, which it did. But you're not likely to make people smile when you say, "By the way, Adolf Hitler's anti-semitism saved the world".

That's pure Orwellianism. What a waste this all is. Let us remember that Kyiv has an awful lot more history than Moscow does. Kyiv was around, and a major center, for approximately half a millennium before Moscow even existed.

No freezing here, but certainly performs worse, and I think I already noticed some new bugs.

The terrifying thing is that we've got no idea how he might react to this blow. It could go so many ways, including something truly destructive.

Wow! To me, this is the most interesting piece of game content related news in some two years. I never knew this was there.

It is possible, for example, that Putin's inner circle will lose morale and intervene in some capacity. I agree that this is not a probable scenario, at least not now, but it is also not impossible. So saying that "There is no prospect" is going a bit too far, in my view.

A minor point but interesting nonetheless: Shoigu is not an ethnic Russian. One look at his personal palace will bring this fact home to anyone with eyes to see. This somehow appears to parallel the confusing fact that the recent immigration crisis has given voice to some very strong anti-immigrant people in my country, and it's fascinating to note that many of these people do NOT represent the ethnic majority of my country, i.e. they are the equivalents of immigrants themselves. Some material for psychologists right here.

This is an absolute treasure. Boris Johnson blatantly lying about cameras, on camera. This is a classic.

Most things? That seems like astonishing naivety or ignorance to me, I'm sorry to have to say. He's an inveterate liar, which has been demonstrated many times over -- after all, remember how he got fired from a newspaper job for inventing quotes. And that was just the beginning.