OV9

Regarding the sanctions and financial impact on Russia, my gf's family have an attitude of so what, most Russian people don't have much money and are tough because we've been through so much shit as a country that a collapsed economy doesn't really matter. They're not having to grow their own potatoes to survive, yet, but even if they have to go back to doing that, it's familiar territory. I guess the aim is to hurt Putin and his cronies, but at the same time, I'm not sure Putin cares that much either. Essentially, their opinion is that those sanctions aren't really going to hurt Putin or Russia in the way that US or Europe perceive them to.

I don't know why I'm surprised because that's how its always been, but hearing the false news reports from Russia which are taken as the gospel truth by their population is still a real wakeup call as to how things work over there.

Same here, internet etc has always been freely available in Russia hasn’t it so it’s not like China or North Korea which makes it ever more surprising when you get a young person who also believes all the crap. They had access to pretty much everything 2 weeks ago!

Remember, half the population only has state controlled news (not the same as state *funded* news like the BBC - the government doesn't directly control the BBCs editorial stance), and most of those are adults who aren't exactly 'from the internet' and used to sleuthing out propaganda.

And also remember, you can be damned sure the vox pops being done are being cherry picked to suit the narrative (much as though I hate that phrase, it's valid) of the audience - be that the BBC or Russia Today. Any opinions coming out of Russia in the mainstream media these days are now all from the state controlled media too, as almost all western media has got out, upon threat of 15 years in jail for reporting accurately.

Also, bear in mind there are fuckpuppets in the US who are literally pushing russias propaganda uncritically - see Tucker Carlson on Fox News reporting the Ukranian biolabs, where there is an agreement to work with and to the US goal of reducing the proliferation of chemical and biological agents, as 'American controlled bioweapons labs', and how the AMERICAN PEOPLE DESERVE AN EXPLANATION AS TO WHY AMERICA IS BUILDING BIOWEAPONS IN UKRAINE AND WHAT HUNTER BIDEN HAS TO DO WITH IT.

And a lot of Americans believe him.

According to something I've just seen, there's only 59% support for war, in Russia. And even that support is couched on the basis of Russian state propaganda i.e. we only support war on the basis of what we're currently being told.

My heart rate went up just watching

Our GoFundMe is live, if you can contribute anything it would be a massive help

https://gofund.me/7affec86

Interesting - some Russian state TV talking heads (and their guests) are cooling the rhetoric around Ukraine.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/even-russ ... ia=desktop

There had to be a state hand in there somewhere, even if it's simply that they can't deny reality when hackers are wardialling hundreds of thousands of Russian mobile ranges, SMSing info about Ukraine, offering hotlines to military families with lists of the dead, literally breaching state TV and broadcasting footage from Ukraine on the major state channels, etc...

The past hoc analysis of independent actors (anonymous, 303group? etc) actions in this conflict is going to be extremely interesting from an information warfare standpoint, because they basically act purely on personal/group ethics, not necessarily aligned with one particular nation states point of view.

I mean, shit, if Zelensky kicked a cat on camera, the shitposting elements of Anonymous would turn on him without even stopping to take a breather

God, I hate linking to the Mail, but China has just said, publically, "calm the calamities that are your mammaries" to Russia.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... mailonline

It's a subtle, but important adjustment in stance apparently, but also bear this in mind....



China is one of Russia's few significantly relevent strategic partners, and they're dry fucking them up the arse as it is.

I'd expect that various conversations about allowing Chinese fabrication pants to continue supporting Intel, AMD, Qualcomm etc are going on in the background, and China are no fools. They like dollars, and are prepared to set aside the ideology in a way that Putin appears not to be....


That whole thread by Kamil is worth a read, as always.

There's some batshit stuff coming from Russia in today's UN meeting. Extremely serious allegations against Ukraine with - apparently - zero evidence apart from Russia saying it's definitely true Guv, I'd never lie to you.

And utterly bleak reporting here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-60693166

Lying in the snow, are a dozen or so frozen Russian corpses. The men lie like wax figures, some with hands reaching out, their matted beards frozen stiff in the cold.

The guts of one are spilled across the forecourt. There are blood-red footprints around his corpse. Their weapons have been taken, and I ask Uta, one of the officers, what will happen to the bodies.

"What do you think will happen, we will leave them for the dogs," he says with a shrug.

Sundayjumper wrote: Fri Mar 11, 2022 10:38 pm There's some batshit stuff coming from Russia in today's UN meeting. Extremely serious allegations against Ukraine with - apparently - zero evidence apart from Russia saying it's definitely true Guv, I'd never lie to you.

And utterly bleak reporting here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-60693166

Lying in the snow, are a dozen or so frozen Russian corpses. The men lie like wax figures, some with hands reaching out, their matted beards frozen stiff in the cold.

The guts of one are spilled across the forecourt. There are blood-red footprints around his corpse. Their weapons have been taken, and I ask Uta, one of the officers, what will happen to the bodies.

"What do you think will happen, we will leave them for the dogs," he says with a shrug.

I watched the accompanying video to thus article today as it was posted on twitter. Harrowing stuff.

Yeah, given that anonymous have gotten into state TV repeatedly now, how well do they think this will go for them?

Everything Putin has his foreign ministers say is for the Russian populace, a lot of whom will have noticed that any other press have been knocked off the air.

Russians are not stupid, and are in fact, quite individualistic by all accounts.

This can only go on so long.

Gavster wrote: Thu Mar 10, 2022 10:25 am Regarding the sanctions and financial impact on Russia, my gf's family have an attitude of so what, most Russian people don't have much money and are tough because we've been through so much shit as a country that a collapsed economy doesn't really matter. They're not having to grow their own potatoes to survive, yet, but even if they have to go back to doing that, it's familiar territory. I guess the aim is to hurt Putin and his cronies, but at the same time, I'm not sure Putin cares that much either. Essentially, their opinion is that those sanctions aren't really going to hurt Putin or Russia in the way that US or Europe perceive them to.

While I'm by no means an expert on Russia's domestic financial situation, my understand was Putin, like a feudal lord, takes money from the oligarchs he has enabled in order to finance wars. So by cutting off the money stream, you damage their ability to wage war.

Calling @Alex88

Vague stories coming out that Russia have asked China for "assistance", but apart from the Belarusians, is anybody even pretending to be on the side of Russia on this one? I know there's the usual scare-mongering, but is a lot of China's power and wealth not based on their exports to the rest of the world, even at a consumer level with companies like Apple who have huge manufacturing capability based there?

I think the Chinese are smarter than the Russians, commercially speaking. They know which side their bread is buttered and can see where Russia’s economy is heading right now. That’s not the right horse to bet on.

Sundayjumper wrote: Mon Mar 14, 2022 4:13 pm I think the Chinese are smarter than the Russians, commercially speaking. They know which side their bread is buttered and can see where Russia’s economy is heading right now. That’s not the right horse to bet on.

I watched an ex MI6 bloke on YouTube this morning at the Oxford Union who pretty much said this.

And if anything, any invasion of Russia would likely come from China rather than the West!

Mito Man wrote: Mon Mar 14, 2022 3:21 pm Calling @Alex88

Mine doesn't have that option

Mito Man wrote: Mon Mar 14, 2022 3:21 pm Calling @Alex88

The supra z4 joint development relationship worked so the next 6 series will be built on a hilux chassis

So it turns out that 'Arnold' is quite an extraordinary communicator.



Who knew?