kanisatha

Yes indeed, definitely the climate as well. And since we're on this topic, even though it is off-topic for this thread, I just have to ask because I've heard it said so very often: Do you guys from Sweden and Finland believe that your society and your people are melancholy by nature because of the climate in which you live? That the way you are and the way you live your lives, and even the way you express yourselves, are all driven by a pervasive sense of melancholy that permeates your society? The social and behavioral scientist in me has long been very curious about this claim.

Well in Russia's case, the physical isolation of living deep inside a huge landmass also makes their people more paranoid and xenophobic, as has historically been the case with Russians.

A valid point, but I would argue almost entirely because the overall population sizes are so very small. People get along with one another and are nicer to one another in small groups (because having shared values and achieving consensus is sooooo much easier). They become downright onery when lumped into large groups.

I would definitely fall into the category of "don't believe" and also don't accept.

It's great to see someone say this, because to this day many people, even intelligent people, keep being stuck on this mindset that military invasion is the preferred way for countries to get resources. Military invasion is a stupid way to access resources, and buying/trading for it is sooooooo much cheaper.

Certainly. But there is always the option of asking, instead of jumping to a conclusion ... unless that jumped-to conclusion is what that person wants to push as their narrative.

Saw a wire service report that said not only are the Russians looking to make sure that in Mariupol (and I suspect other areas) their atrocities will not be revealed like in Bucha by burning bodies, they're also looking to stage a massive false flag op to divert world attention away from the Bucha Massacre because that massacre is actually resonating with people all over the world. People are beginning to refer to Putin as the Butcher of Bucha.

Yup. It also says something more fundamental about Russia as a country. Russia is already one of the world's richest countries in natural resources, and yet they want to attack and destroy a smaller, weaker neighbor to steal what little that neighbor has. There is a certain psychosis involved in having such a mindset. Plus, it also shows that Russia has no confidence in itself to build a real economy, based on manufacturing, services, and intellectual property, and instead only expects the sale of commodities to be its future.

Re. the competence of the Russian army, it's always hilarious that some people in this forum are so wound up in their ideology that they cannot even recognize humor and sarcasm in a post.

Yup. We can now add Bucha to the annals of the Russian army's most glorious "battles." A month?! You are being incredibly generous. Right now, if Russia's nukes were somehow taken away from them, Russia would cease to exist as a state because every single one of their neighbors would be able to carve out for themselves as much of Russian territory as they want. Heck the Finnish army could easily double their country's size!

Interesting new base builder game: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1284190/The_Planet_Crafter/

More and more observers inside and outside Ukraine are beginning to say what happened in Bucha was not the actions of rogue soldiers or even a rogue unit of the Russian military, but rather the deliberate and premeditated actions of the Russian military based on orders that any Ukrainians who did not warmly embrace the Russian troops were "dirt" that needed to be "cleansed." https://www.reuters.com/world/russia-waged-deliberate-campaign-commit-atrocities-bucha-blinken-2022-04-05/

This is an astute observation. For a very long time now, I've been arguing that if China wants to invade and/or occupy any territory from other states, the most logical territory to seize is the Russian far east. But now they don't have to, because they can just buy it all, and probably dirt-cheap too.

I've been reading about this new AAM black program too. From what little info is avilable it looks incredible. An F-15EX will apparently be able to carry at least 12 and possibly 16. And the budget shows 2026 being the last year AIM-120D's will be bought, so this new AAM is entering full-rate production very soon.

China's lessons from Russia's Ukraine invasion: https://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2022/04/what-lessons-china-taking-ukraine-war/363915/

This article provides the gritty, horrific details of what the Russian rabble did to civilians in Bucha, directly from the words of the people who got to witness these things being done to their loved ones: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/04/russia-bucha-killings-war-crimes-genocide/629470/?utm_source=feed

Yeah this is the fundamental difference here: anecdotal versus systematic crimes. In any war situation some individual soldiers will end up doing bad or criminal things. But that is a far cry from a situation where the government of a state involved in a war, as a matter of its official military policy and doctrine, deliberately and systematically commits horrific war crimes and atrocities. This is what Russia is doing in Ukraine. And it is documented fact.

And then there's this, which also came up as a story back in late February, and has been rumoured for some time. This may or may not be true, but is certainly very interesting to me: https://metro.co.uk/2022/04/03/putin-is-using-body-double-to-avoid-assassination-attempt-16396461/

Finland in NATO may get fast-tracked (as I predicted may happen): https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/short_news/finnish-president-says-nato-referendum-no-longer-necessary/ https://www.airforcemag.com/finland-reassesses-nato-entry-in-wake-of-russia-ukraine-conflict/ https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/why-putin-faces-more-nato-arctic-after-ukraine-invasion-2022-04-04/

I'm sure there must be some 'let's play' videos out there you could check out.

Here's more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/02/ukrainian-children-used-as-human-shields-near-kyiv-say-witness-reports Here's hoping someday soon we can identify these war criminals by name and face.

Yes exactly. Yesterday Reuters went to these villages and towns and took photos of everything, not just for news purposes but also for war crimes prosecutions. HRW, AI, and the ICC prosecutor's office are also on the ground documenting everything. The photos will tear your heart in two. Children burned to death in their mothers' arms. Young men and boys tied up and shot and buried in shallow mass graves, their hands and feet poking out of the earth. Bodies everywhere. And many bodies, along with streets, homes, and debris, boobytrapped with mines and bombs. In village after village after village. In Bucha alone 300 murdered civilians currently identified with more to come. These are not professional soldiers. These are cowardly psychopath rabble in uniform, the kind that would be groveling for their lives on their knees if they're ever confronted by NATO forces. https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/04/03/ukraine-apparent-war-crimes-russia-controlled-areas

Nice! And even in their denials, the Ukrainians should use the exact same words and phrasing the Russians use when they deny responsibility for attacks on Ukrainian civilian targets.

But the bottom line still remains, if it is the case that the Ukrainians did it, so what? Russia can attack and systematically destroy Ukraine, but Ukraine is not allowed to strike back at Russian territory?

All I can say is they have thus far been very aggressive in fixing bugs and issues with the game since release, and they have said a roadmap for feature updates is coming soon.