Comments by "Nicholas Conder" (@nicholasconder4703) on "Jake Broe" channel.

  1. Jake, glad you showed the map of Ukraine's untapped oil and gas reserves. It supports what I have said for over a year now, that the 2014 invasion of Crimea and Donbass was done to secure these resources and prevent their exploitation by Ukraine. Ukraine joining the EU and supplying them with cheap oil and gas (undercutting Russia) is Putin's nightmare.
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  2. 13:30 Just about choked on my drink when Peskov said, "Russia never attacked anyone". I think the Turks, Georgians, Ukrainians, Lithuanians, Latvians, Estonians, China, Poland, Sweden ...
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  3. Problem is that most people don't realize that in most cases the system is only sent once crews are trained on how to do use it properly. That was the delay on the GMLRS. As Jake stated, the Pentagon was waiting until they had the new missiles in production before releasing the ATACMS. At a rate of 20 missiles a month, the US has 2 years worth of ATACMS to send Ukraine.
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  4. Jake, I think the really interesting thing about the monument that was unveiled was the lack of people attending the ceremony. I doubt there were more than two dozen people there, including those unveiling the monument.
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  5. Wonder when the FBI is going to pick her up. As a former member of the US Navy, she would have recognized what the documents were. That places her in the same category as Teixeria, as far as I am concerned.
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  6. At this rate, Russia will clear out a large percentage of the Russian sympathizers that were living in Donetsk and Luhansk. Will help Ukraine reestablish control over these areas after the war.
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  7. The irony with North Korea is that they started the war by invading South Korea at the behest of the Kremlin. It was Stalin who convinced the North Koreans to start the war, and provided both tank drivers and pilots to help them. So again, Russia was behind this conflict.
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  8. "... if Russia is willing to negotiate in good faith." When has Putin EVER negotiated in good faith?
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  9. The last video confirms something that I had seen bits of pieces of over the last few months. The Ukrainian Army has sufficient troops to rotate their soldiers out of the front lines for R&R, which spells bad news for the Russians. It means that Ukraine has a fair number of reserves, but Russia likely has few if any reserves to throw into battle. It also means they can assemble a force of battle-hardened veterans for a massive counterattack, which I suspect may occur fairly soon.
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  10. What's really funny is that Russia can't even hit a bridge in Ukraine with a missile, let alone one in Germany.
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  11. Considering that Ukrainian pilots have been doing simulator training for around 6 months now, all they need is to have flight hours. They could be in action sooner.
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  12.  @lunos8776  At least the Democrats WANT to do something to take the country into the future, even if some of their policies and ideas are suboptimal or just plain wrong. They at least want to try to improve the health and welfare of all Americans. From my standpoint as an outsider looking in it appears that all the GOP wants is to be in control and give themselves and their supporters money and power, regardless of the consequences to the country. Which is why if I was an American I would hold my nose and vote Democrat as the lesser of two evils.
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  13. The entire process started with Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary BLACKMAILING President Clinton during his 1996 re-election campaign. Vlaclav Havel, Lech Walessa and Gyula Horn basically told Clinton that if he didn't back their accession to NATO, they would openly speak at Republican rallies to promote their cause. Given their popularity at the time, this would have torpedoed Clinton's re-election hopes. This opened the floodgates for the other former Eastern bloc countries to join once they met NATO requirements.
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  14. One issue with Russia using old ammunition is that the explosives in the shells and the propellants used to propel the round downrange are likely becoming unstable, and more likely to blow up while handling or in the tubes.
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  15. The two statistics that should really worry the Russians are: Truck production: -39.3% Freight Wagons: -51.8% (likely boxcars, tanker cars and flatbeds for railroads) That means they will have a very hard time replacing all the trucks they have lost in Ukraine, and more importantly, have an extremely difficult time moving large quantities of supply by rail to Ukraine. This is going to really bite into their logistics.
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  16. One problem. You are assuming that the Russians follow US and EU standards for their tank farms. Knowing how bad their maintenance can be, and their propensity for skipping minor things like watertight doors with proper seals (one reason Moskva sank), placings tons of ammo in the basement of a building where you are housing troops (Makiivka), or building tanks where the ammo is stored in the crew compartment (every modern Russian tank), I wouldn't want to place bets on how bad the damage to the tank farm is. You may be right, but this is Russia we are talking about.
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  17. It's also the reason why Canadian Peacekeepers spent over 20 years in Cyprus.
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  18. As a side note, both my parents served in WW2. My father was a navigator in the RAF, my mother was a radar operator.
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  19. I had little problem believing the 200,000 figure. So, I did a little math based on what I have put together from various sources over the last 15 months: 240,000+ Russians during initial invasion 60,000+ DPR and LPR troops 50,000+ Wagner TOTAL INVASION FORCE: ~350,000 soldiers. Then we have to add the following: 30,000+ during conscription cycle 1 30,000+ during conscription cycle 2 ~100,000 LPR and DPR 50,000 Wagner Prisoners 10,000 regular troops from Kaliningrad 50,000+ regular troops from other regions of Russia (Vladivostok and other locales) 300,000 recruited during the special mobilization between September and December 2022 TOTAL REPLACEMENTS WE CAN ESTIMATE: 570,000 soldiers Total estimate at least 920,000 Russians and allies fought in Ukraine Russian army in Ukraine is currently pegged at around 400,000. So where did almost 600,000 troops go? They don't appear to be in training bases. They haven't been given leave, they aren't being regularly rotated back to Russia, so where are they? Logic suggests, based on the accounts from previous wars that there are 200,000 dead Russians out there, and another 400,000 wounded and out of the fight (half of those permanently). Will be interested if my quick and dirty math will be verified in the future or not.
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  20. Well, the Russians weren't lying about the Moskva, they were just telling half the truth. A fire DID break out on board the Moskva. It's just that the cause of the fire was two Ukrainian Neptune missiles striking the ship. And because their damage control is the pits, they couldn't put out the fire.
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  21. The problem is that the African countries cannot let go of the past, and still complain about European imperialism while ignoring Russian imperialism. For these countries, the majority of their leaders were fed a constant diet of how wonderful Russia/USSR is, and ignore the fact that ANY imperialism is bad! As long as they aren't the ones being overrun by an imperialist, they think everything is fine. This is not to say the European imperialism was fine, I am not saying that. But pointing the finger at one lot of imperialists while ignoring a country that is arguably far worse than most of the European imperialists in an age when all world leaders should know better, strikes me as being hypocritical.
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  22. I really wonder about Trump. He wants Zelenskyy to stop saying nasty things about Putin. That would be like FDR asking Churchill to stop saying nasty things about Hitler in order to get Lend-Lease.
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  23. Jake, if the Russians are losing troops in the Kherson region to the tune of 200-300 per day, that equates to about 1500-2000 dead per week, or around 3000 to 4000 casualties incapable of further fighting per week. At that loss rate, without reinforcement, the Kherson pocket shouldn't last more than another 4-5 weeks.
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  24. One difference. The US announced they were leaving and did so more or less under their own timetable (the gear left behind was supposed to equip the Afghan National Army). The Russians were forced to leave and were kicked out so quickly they left all their stuff behind, stuff they would never have left if they had had time to remove it.
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  25. Fortunately, it appears the Russians only destroyed the sluice gates. It is bad in the short term, but should mean that the dam can be repaired.
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  26.  @flagmichael  Point is, the Republicans shouldn't be holding a country of 40 million people fighting for their survival hostage (plus two other nations for a further 34 million) for the sake of petty politics.
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  27. Of course, the US may NOT have supplied the longer-ranged missiles for the HIMARS. That wouldn't stop Poland or Slovakia or another NATO country from doing it.
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  28. I don't find it strange at all. They remind me of my classmates back in high school who always told me I should be an individual like they were, and wear T-shirts and jeans. I used to wear corduroy pants and plaid shirts (it was a cold climate where I was at the time). It boggled my mind then, and still does, that to be an individual was a "free thinker" as long as they were exactly like them. Or to use my favorite lines from "Life of Brian" where Brian speaks to the crowd and tells them, "You are all individuals". The crowd in unison responds, "We are all individuals", except for one guy who says, "I'm not."
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  29. Jake, the US may be holding off on allowing Ukraine to target these airfields so the Russians get complacent, keep using them, and then get clobbered while a lot of planes on the ground. It is a strategy that the US 5th Air Force used against the Japanese in New Guinea several times during WW2.
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  30. I think the Ukrainians are being a bit disingenuous. Yes, the attack in Kherson was announced, but the reason for that was not a diversion, but rather to draw the Russian reserves away from other, more vulnerable sections of the front. I think the attack at Kherson is also designed to succeed, but more along the lines of the reduction of the Stalingrad pocket. Whereas the attack in the Kharkiv region was always meant to be more of a blitzkrieg style attack based on maneuver, outflanking and surrounding enemy units. Now that the latter attack has succeeded, Russia has fewer reserves to use to plug holes in the lines. I expect that another offensive will start up shortly. Also, there are rumors that the Kherson Pocket may soon collapse or surrender.
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  31.  @RossRadical-zf5ug  The vast majority of NATO members do. Ever look at the figures for all the Eastern European states? The Baltic States? The UK? The Scandinavian nations? You might want to look at the math, because POLAND and ESTONIA beat out the US for % contribution to NATO, while LATVIA is 0.3% behind the US. Twenty-three, yes, 23, of the member states now contribute 2% or more of their GDP to defense spending. And that number is only increasing. Improvements have been made, and it is only getting better.
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  32. 6:52 Jake, just as important as the pilots, possibly more so, are the mechanics, armorers and other highly trained personnel who repair, service, refuel and arm these aircraft. They can be harder to replace than the pilots.
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  33. Any politician who discusses signing a peace treaty that hands over to Russia has obviously forgotten the lesson of Munich.
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  34. Visit Canada instead. We have scenery that is just as nice, and we have the same King.
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  35. I spent around a month in Ukraine back in the mid-1990s. Very nice people, great country, but in dire economic straits. Really want to go there again once they have recovered from the war.
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  36. I don't mind the concept of the filibuster. BUT the person who is speaking should be forced to speak on the topic at hand, and ONLY the bill that is being presented. Reading from Dr. Seuss or the New York phone directory should be prohibited, because allowing anything else makes a travesty of the democratic process. By the way, one attempt at a filibuster in Canada was done by Sir John A. McDonald in order to try and keep construction going on the CPR. He spoke for over 12 hours, drinking gin the whole time. But he only spoke about the political crisis and the CPR, nothing else (except to answer or reply to name calling).
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  37. Jake, glad you mentioned the North Crimean Canal. It is a very important strategic asset that seems to be overlooked by most news outlets.
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  38.  @KN-xl6lw  My sister, an ex-Air Force clerk, says she cannot believe the garbage that one of her former OFFICERS spouts, let alone enlisted personnel. From the news I also know that several members of the Canadian Armed Forces have been either discharged or even convicted for expressing support for radical groups. I suspect Bils was pretty good at concealing her beliefs/opinions, and deflecting criticism. If you don't make a big scene or blurt things out, how will anyone know? That's how serial killers avoid discovery for decades.
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  39. It was not just during Soviet times. Ever since the Russians coerced them into being occupied, Ukrainians have suffered under the Russian yoke.
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  40. There is no way you could have done that with the helmet I wore while I was serving in the reserves. It was the old WW2 style steel helmet, and you would have broken your fist or knocked yourself unconscious doing what that Ukrainian soldier did with a modern Russian helmet.
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  41. Jake, one other issue is that 500,000 soldiers is probably the maximum number of troops that Russia can keep supplied. It is the limit of their logistical support. That is why their numbers have not increased beyond this value, and likely won't.
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  42. Jake, the one thing I noticed in the US Dept. of Defense release is the phrase "include equipment ... such as:" Which suggests there are other items in the shipment that the Defense Dept. is not disclosing. That is fine by me - I really want there to be a few more nasty surprises for Putin.
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  43. I think that leaves only Joe Biden to vote for, since Trump and his advisors seem to be aiming for Munich Agreement Version 2.0. Except with Russia, not Germany, this time.
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  44. The US also fed the people in the newly founded USSR during the Soviet-induced famine of 1919-1922. Something I found very interesting when listening to the Revolutions podcast.
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  45. The funny thing about this truck (at 24:00) is that the Russians recovered the unit, attached it to another truck, and got it stuck underneath an overpass a couple of miles down the road.
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  46. The missiles hitting the power stations is just being done out of childish petty spite. Like a schoolyard bully who destroys something that he cannot have.
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  47. Don't forget the agreements they signed with Peter the Great, and with the Bolsheviks in 1918.
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  48.  @obriets  What annoys me more than anything else is that she very obviously feels absolutely no compassion for the Ukrainians just across the border who have been experiencing the same thing for 465 days! It reminds me of that line in the movie about Albert Speer, when during one air raid on Berlin his secretary exclaims, "What did we do to deserve this?"
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  49. Jake, another reason Ukraine hasn't gone on the offensive is because Russia hasn't committed all their reserves to the front yet. As long as Russia has reserves they can move into position to block or stall the offensive. Also, I think Ukraine wants to chew up the Russian army even more, and weaken them to the point the front line becomes brittle and breaks under pressure.
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  50.  @1stCallipostle  Considering that Finland had 1/50th the population of the Soviet Union, was outnumber 2:1 in soldiers, had 32 tanks versus 2,500 tanks, 114 aircraft versus 2,800 aircraft, almost no anti-tank guns and a fraction of the artillery, they did very well to hold out for 3 months.
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  51. 12:00 You can tell these soldiers don't have training for the parade ground. But in war, you don't need that, you only need to know how to fight to the best of your ability.
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  52.  @jamesbradley-l5f  In @wlhjr77's defense, I will say that the people of Ohio did vote this guy in. It is also your duty, if you don't like what he is doing, to try to vote him out of office. Same with MTG. That is how democracy works.
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  53. A youtube video I watched about the A-10 basically said that they don't use the gun nowadays. Instead they rely on their missiles to take out targets. That said, the gun might be effective against Russian trenches. And it is a plane that can take a fair bit of battle damage and is highly maneuverable. So it may be OK.
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  54. Jake, the real issue is that Russia has been educating lots of people from Africa and other countries who wind up becoming politicians, lawyers and doctors. This is how Russia has been making themselves out to be non-colonial.
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  55. @TroelsNybo1st Agreed. Problem is there are too many people in colleges and universities who still dream of the "Worker's paradise", and keep spreading Russian propaganda to naïve and pliable audiences.
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  56. Not quite the numbers to allow me to quote Churchill, "Never in the field of human conflict have so many surrendered so much to so few!"
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  57. Ironically enough, Girkin and Prigozhin were the only two podcasters who told at least some of the truth. In a sense it is a pity they are no longer broadcasting either because of jail, or death.
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  58. I liked "The Enforcer's" viewpoint on watching the interview. He said that it was 2 hours of his life he could never get back. I also liked all the memes that "Ukraine News TV" showed. One of my favorites was Putin rambling on about how the reasons for this war go back to when the asteroid killed the dinosaurs.
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  59. Trump had to meet Zelensky, because it would have looked worse if he did not. Imagine what the media and my voters would think if Kamala and Biden met Zelensky, and Trump did not.
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  60.  @dezmoto  Oh, you mean like the Kharkiv counteroffensive didn't happen? Or the Ukrainians didn't push back the Russians near Kyiv? Or they didn't launch several attacks during the Kherson offensive? Ukraine will attack, but they need to tie down or deplete the Russian reserves before they do so.
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  61. About Putin's 80% popularity. That is 80% of the 10% of people who responded to the pollsters. The other 90% didn't answer the pollsters. That means Putin has solid support of 8% of the population, not 80%. Polling using indirect means suggest that a month ago he had perhaps 40-50% support in the country. By the way, I know what you mean about Modi and many people in India. I have encountered a few rabid Putin supporters who hail from India. I suspect part of their reason for being so rabidly anti-western and pro-Putin is because they think back to the days of the British Empire. In this I don't entirely blame them, but that is also in the past. This attitude, however, blinds them to the very real threat of Russian imperialism, which is almost as racist in form as Nazism. It's just that the Russians do a better job of concealing it. If you don't believe me, you can check out "Russkiy Mir" and Dugin's "Foundations of Geopolitics" in Wikipedia. It's scary stuff.
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  62.  @buddy1155  I have said all along that the principle things that Ukraine needs to target are Russian supply trucks and artillery. Artillery is very important because the Russian offensive capability is based around its artillery. Without supply vehicles and artillery, Russia cannot launch an attack, and will have major problems defending.
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  63. Based on Zelensky's comments, that means Ukraine has suffered between 6,000 and 10,000 fatalities, and likely an equal number of critically wounded and no longer able to fight. That means that Russia is suffering either double (UK figures) or triple (Ukraine Defense Ministry figures) the number of casualties that Ukraine has. Given the amateurish way the Russians are fighting, I suspect the figure is somewhere in between the UK and Ukrainian figures for Russian casualties. So, at a guess, approximately 8,000 Ukrainian dead versus 25,000 Russian dead.
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  64. Now the Russians are shelling Shebekino with incendiaries and blaming the Ukrainians.
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  65. Jake, Ukraine has an infantry-heavy military, so they can cross in small boats, create bridgeheads, and continue shipping troops into the bridgehead. Rather like what Patton did at Oppenheim.
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  66. If the front line collapses as it did during the Kharkiv Offensive and their logistics hold up, Ukraine could win very quickly.
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  67. I love this. Russia, India and China (plus Brazil and South Africa) set up BRICS as a trading group to rival the EU, and two of the primary partners are now ripping off Russia. What was that saying about "honor amongst thieves"?
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  68. Maybe, maybe not. However, the GOP-created ammo shortage certainly didn't help.
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  69.  @BTinSF  You must have missed the video where Jake showed that the border issue has been around since it was "fixed" by Ronald Reagan! Problem is, the only way to fix the issue is to help raise the living standards in Mexico and Central America, and help support or create stable regimes. That way people won't want to migrate to the US. Of course, if that happens, it will mean that there won't be any cheap labor to pick all those high-value crops in California and other states.
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  70. All I can say about what McCarthy said is that "Actions speak louder than words". Be interesting to see if he changes his tune next time he is asked in the US.
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  71.  @pekkajarvinen69  Not to mention destroyed a lot of the logistical network. It's going to be hard for Russia to supply all those units north of the Dnieper once the attack starts.
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  72. Jake, someone commented on another stream that if the former Soviet republics "have no effective status in international law" and they are "not sovereign states", then neither is Russia! After all, Russia was formed using the same legal process that was used to form the 14 other sovereign nations. So, Russia is trying to declare that it is illegal?
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  73.  @lewisgreenway5065  They likely did. It takes at least one year to train on a new military aircraft type to learn how to fly it, and at least another 6 months of operational training to learn how to fly it in battle. So almost 2 years is about right for transitioning from Soviet era fighters to the F-16.
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  74.  @ILaunchNukes  Rather difficult to move when you don't have air superiority and have to push through minefields that are several kilometers thick. It is not their fault that they are dealing with 20th century weapons and battlefield conditions that the US hasn't seen since WW1.
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  75. Saw that meme this morning.
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  76.  @dennisconstantine624  Bullet wasn't that close. Had it actually hit his ear, he wouldn't have an ear. He probably got injured when the secret service jumped him, and claimed he was hit later.
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  77. Jake, two other reasons the Russians want Ukraine and their other former territories. First, Russian industry is old, inefficient and inflexible. They need Ukraine's factories to produce the tanks, aircraft engines, rocket motors, etc. for their war machine. They just can't produce it themselves. Second, they are still using the socialist/communist system of state run industry, which is horribly bureaucratic and inefficient. Most of the money in Russia is tied up in the bank accounts of oligarchs, leaving little to run the country with. So, like the Soviet Union, Nazi Germany and Revolutionary France, the only way they can avoid bankruptcy is to steal the wealth of their neighbours. The only reason the USSR stayed afloat for so long is because they leeched all the wealth out of Eastern Europe. You can see this from the fact that Poland, Czechia, and the Baltic States have all become wealthy since they regained their independence and statehood following the collapse of the USSR.
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  78. You overlooked the fact that Russia stole Romanian territory back in 1940. The USSR just marched in and occupied Bessarabia, Northern Bukovina and the Hertsa region on June 28th, 1940, one year before Operation Barbarossa. The reasoning for this invasion was that the Soviets "wanted to alleviate the suffering of the Bessarabian people". Sound familiar? This theft of Romanian territory is one of the primary reasons that Romania joined the Germans in their invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941.
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  79.  @tttttttt8482  To paraphrase "The Seekers" hit song, "He lives in a world of his own".
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  80. That Russian "pep talk" sounds a lot like what Hitler said about his troops in WW2. The more things change ...
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  81. I have a question. How are the Russians going to get their naval units back to friendly waters? Technically, they cannot go through the Bosporus, and I doubt NATO will allow them into the Baltic. This leaves Vladivostok or Murmansk. I doubt most of these ships have the range to make that trip. So, how will they get back home?
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  82. The Ukrainian train also shows what happens when people take pride in their work, not treating it like a 9-5 drudge to make money.
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  83. Jake, Britain has already said that if the nuclear power plant was destroyed, Britain would invoke Article 5. I think everyone has forgotten that. I just think they need to reiterate that.
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  84. Even if you believe (like a lot to bots and trolls do) that the Russian losses are exaggerated, even reducing the number by 1/3 to 1/2 gives staggering casualty figures.
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  85.  @AstroGremlinAmerican  One major problem the US had was lack of European support. Where would they base their troops? Their aircraft? If the US tried to go it alone there would have been issues. Regarding Hungary in 1956, how would the US have supported any troops they sent there? Hungary was surrounded on three sides by the Warsaw Pact countries. The only route to supply Hungary ran through Austria, which is a neutral state by international law. Was the US going to ignore international law, invade a neutral country and made themselves as bad as the USSR? And destroy NATO in the process? Czechoslovakia was in an identical position in 1968. The US didn't ignore them, they couldn't do anything to help! The US could intervene in Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq because they had allies or sea access to supply their troops stationed there.
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  86.  @stevemccarty6384  It is, but the biggest issue is that many voters don't read and think before voting. Or they ignore anything that doesn't support their own predetermined point of view. Most of the corrupt politicians would not be elected if the voters actually paid attention to what the candidates were actually like.
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  87. Jake, one just needs to recall that both the 2nd Battle of El Alamein and Battle of Normandy started slowly, but after a period of time (2 weeks for El Alamein, 2 months for Normandy) the German lines buckled and completely collapsed. In both cases the Germans were forced to retreat 500-1000km in just a few days. I think this is what will happen here as well.
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  88. That's part of the problem with many journalists. They write a story without understanding the nuances of what they are reporting on, and therefore make many mistakes. Like not understanding the difference between the terms casualty and killed (after all, many casualties end up going home after the war and living normal lives).
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  89. Your grandparents obviously never heard of Oradour-sur-Glane.
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  90. I always like to misquote Pyrrhus as, "We've got to stop winning like this!"
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  91. I have seen a couple of reports that Ukraine has launched a counterattack to the north of Bakhmut that may be on the verge of surrounding Russian advance units. This hasn't been reported by official sources yet, so it could be misinformation. However, one can hope.
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  92. Depends on your definition of fireworks.
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  93. Jake, how could you lie to us? Those aren't donkeys, they're Russian Staff Officers!
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  94. I think 2022 is the year Putin HAD to invade Ukraine. When Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, they forgot that Crimea's principle source of water for consumption and agriculture is supplied by the North Crimea Canal. This canal runs from the Donetsk River to reservoirs in the peninsula. When Russia stole Crimea, Ukraine blocked the canal, shutting off the water supply. Since 2014 Russia has reduced the land under cultivation in Crimea by a considerable amount, and imposed severe water restrictions. Even so, the reservoirs have gone from 100% capacity in 2014 to around 7% capacity just before the invasion in February this year. In other words, Crimea would have run out of water by mid-summer this year. All that money the Russians poured into Crimea for military bases and building that bridge across the Kerch Strait would have effectively been flushed down the toilet, and they would have been forced to talk to Ukraine about handing the territory back (or working out some other sort of agreement). So, rather than a diplomatic solution, strongman Putin invaded instead, gambling on the Ukrainian military being as weak and disorganized as it was in 2014. Now his hands are caught in a bear trap.
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  95. Regarding the F-16s, I wonder about the training and their arrival date. I have noticed with just about every other NATO weapons system that the weapon shows up within a couple of weeks of a NATO country indicating they will send it. I am hoping this has happened once again, and Ukraine will get the F-16s a lot sooner than expected.
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  96.  @Philip-hv2kc  Yes, Lord Cardigan, creator of the sweater style bearing his name.
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  97.  @TuckFrump-AAB463  Problem is that you are then left with JD Vance as President. He will probably be worse, and he doesn't have a federal charge that can be used to kick him out of office.
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  98.  @Eoin-B  I think the infatuation comes from the desire by a lot of these individuals to follow someone they perceive to be a strong figure. They want a dictator because that means power, and perhaps sometime in the future power for them to bully those around them.
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  99. Thanks for mentioning that, although you sorta stole my thunder. Jake is correct, though - the term Tzar/Czar originated from the Byzantine/Eastern Roman Empire. It was first used officially by a people other than the Romans/Byzantines around AD900, by the rulers of the First Bulgarian Empire. Its used migrated northwards and westwards out of the Danube Basin, being later used by the Serbs and then the Russians. The Holy Roman Emperors used the term Kaiser around AD900 as well, but probably got it from their affiliation with Rome and the defunct Western Roman Empire. The term Kaiser was later adopted by Austrians and Germans.
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  100. Remember that you took an oath to defend the Constitution, not the President.
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  101. Problem is that the Pope is basing his stance on his experience (and the collective experience of many people in the region) with American and European colonialism and history of dominating Central and South America, including overthrowing regimes and replacing them with oppressive right-wing military dictatorships. Many liberal thinkers in all those countries looked to the USSR as a counterpoint to the Western powers. Sadly, they all conveniently overlooked (and many left-leaning individuals still overlook) Russia's own, very bloody and repressive imperialistic history. A history, I might add, that is worse than any of the European's. They don't seem to realize the truth of the title of Erma Bombeck's book, "The Grass is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank".
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  102. If Ukraine says they are ready to attack, I would say they are ready to attack because they are prepared militarily. So far in this war, with the possible exception of some moves in the Kherson region at the start of the war, I have yet to see Ukraine make a military misstep. I think they know what they are doing.
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  103. The question is how much equipment can be supplied at the front lines. It is a logistical balancing act. You can ship all the equipment to Ukraine you want, but if you cannot get it to the front lines it is just a bunch of paperweights or live fire targets. All that equipment needs fuel and ammo. Unfortunately, we don't know how good Ukrainian logistics are, and if they could keep all that equipment operational if was sent.
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  104. Trump may get jail time, in particular because he ignored the gag order over 10 times. Hopefully the judge will take this into consideration when determining the sentence.
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  105. I can explain the F-16s in one word, TRAINING! My sister worked in an air force squadron, and she gave me a breakdown on how long it takes to train fighter pilots. It takes about 1 year to transition from one type of fighter to another, and half to a full year (at least) for operational flight training (i.e. air-to-air combat, ground support, evasion of missile defenses, etc.). Then you have to add extra time because of the language issues - pilots need to be able to instantly understand commands (plus read and instantly understand the electronic displays) and hit the right switches without hesitation or they're dead! Remember that NONE of the manuals or instructions for the F-16s are currently written in Ukrainian, so this too has to be done. Then there is maintenance. Good maintenance crews take 2-5 years to train, way longer than the pilots. Then you have to accurately translate all the ordinance, avionics, ari frame, engine and flight manuals. This is a herculean task. The pilot's flight manual for the F-16A is 400+ pages long (I know, I looked it up online and read portions of the manual as a PDF). Then you need the hardened facilities so a Russian Iskandar with cluster rounds doesn't take them out. One other likely reason for the delay in deployment is that for full effect Ukraine will need to activate at least 3-4 squadrons of F-16s almost simultaneously. This will give them enough fighters for flying standing air patrols, flying top cover AND launching ground attack SEAD missions to take out most of the remaining Russian air defenses. A mass of F-16s needs to be deployed all at once, not a few planes here and there. Using the latter option gives the Russians the ability to work out tactics to use against the F-16s. Flying 3-4 squadrons of F-16s for their first missions (especially if it is not announced right away) would give the Russians a nasty shock. It could deliver a lethal blow to their aviation, either through shooting down a large number of aircraft, by destroying the Russian pilot's morale, or both. Catching the Russians flat-footed and causing the Russian Air Force to have a "Donetsk Turkey Shoot" could cripple any chance Russia has to hold onto the territory they have stolen from Ukraine. I understand your frustration, I want to see them deployed in large numbers as well. However, training the pilots and maintenance crews, establishing well defended and protected air bases with hardened aircraft hangars and maintenance facilities, developing the logistical supply chains for keeping those planes in fuel (good NATO fuel, not the engine-destroying black-exhaust creating stuff used by Russia), ammo and spare parts takes TIME. And frustrating as it may be, we will have to wait patiently for the deployment of the F-16s. They are being delivered, and I trust Ukraine will decide wisely when to first use them.
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  106. I am not surprised that Russian planes are dropping munitions on their own or occupied territory. Their aircraft have been undertaking dozens of combat missions and likely have not received the maintenance they really require. There are no replacement airframes, and replacement parts are hard to come by. Essentially, the Russian Air Force is likely starting to fall apart due to equipment fatigue.
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  107. France just announced that Ukraine can use their weapons against Russians military targets in Russia.
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  108. Proves the old saying, it is not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog.
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  109. The other reason for the war is that when they stole Crimea in 2014, they didn't secure the North Crimea Canal, which supplies something like 85% of the water used in Crimea for just about everything. The reservoirs were full in 2014, but by January 2022 they were at 7% capacity, even with water use restrictions. This means Crimea would have been pretty much out of water by around July of 2022. Hence part of the reason for the war starting in February last year, which so far has been another invasion full of flawed assumptions. Shows what happens when you decide to invade a region without proper planning.
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  110. Jake, you might want to look at the short series that TimeGhost WW2 made about the Pope and the Vatican did in WW2. It was a real eye-opener, including the fact the Pope was helping in a plot to assassinate Hitler. It is a common misconception that the Papacy helped the Nazis, there was a lot more going on than people realize.
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  111. Actually, Putin is not a fascist. Fascism is socialism supporting military actions. Putin is an ultra-nationalist, and by definition socialism for nationalistic reasons is Nazism. This is further supported by Putin's belief in "Russkiy Mir" and adoption of parts of Dugin's "Foundations of Geopolitics". Reading the Wiki pages for both will give you part of the reason this war is happening.
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  112. Magadan is a great vacation spot for people who support Russia, I hear.
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  113.  @FrankBarnwell-xi8my  That is not quite true. German and Japanese civilians, as well as German soldiers, become demoralized with the war by 1944. However, they were too afraid of the secret police and their own neighbors turning them in to do anything about it. Rather like the Russians right now. But it is known that German and Japanese production did drop in the last year of the war in part due to low morale.
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  114. Give them time. It takes time to train the crews, train the mechanics, and train the officers who command the units. There are only so many instructors to go around. That is what is taking the time. We just have to be patient.
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  115.  @feloniousmonk3049  I was basically talking about heavy artillery and missile propellant. I know that, apart from the primers, small arms propellants are pretty stable.
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  116.  @JakeBroe  Latest word is that the pilot thought he had gliding bombs mounted on his plane (Russian equivalent to JDAMs), but they were ordinary bombs instead. My question is why are they releasing ANY ordinance over a populated area?
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  117.  @Funko777  Sometimes we Canadians wouldn't mind a buffer zone with the US. Might help prevent some of the idiocy seeping north (or east, in the case of Alaska).
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  118.  @Silveirias  His name isn't Jack, it's actually Ivan.
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  119.  @paulmakinson1965  What you say is true, but it is nowhere as easy as one might think. NATO countries can send all the heavy equipment you like, but you have to train the crews how to use them, then train the junior officers (lieutenants and captains) how to make the most out of this equipment. Then the mid-range officers (majors and lieutenant colonels) need to learn how to coordinate the various types of weaponry at the brigade level, and the senor officers (colonels and generals) need to learn how to maneuver all these units to have the greatest impact on the battlefield. You then have to remember that it is not enough to have the equipment - HIMARS or Abrams tank make great paperweights if you don't have the ammunition, fuel and spare parts for them (the Russian's lack of these is the reason why Ukraine's farmers are becoming one of the best equipped armies in the world). You also need to have people trained in how to repair this equipment. Then you need a sufficient number of trucks with fuel of their own to get all of these supplies to the front lines, plus the people to load and unload the trucks, and officers who can keep track of what shipment goes where by the most efficient means and route. Don't forget that you also need to ship food and small arms ammunition as well, plus replacement combat gear, rifles, etc. Ukraine's army has expanded probably 10-fold from its pre-invasion size. All those people need proper training if Ukraine is going to stand a chance against Russia. Interestingly enough, not all the equipment that was listed as being sent to Ukraine has been seen in videos. I suspect that some has been held back to create an armored fighting force for major offensives. It will be up to the generals to decide when they think they have sufficient forces to launch said counter-attack, and where they will attack. Ideally, they will want to conceal any buildup of forces until the last couple of hours before any offensive starts to have tactical and strategic surprise over the Russians.
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  120. I would also look up Russkiy Mir and "Foundations of Geopolitics". A lot of what Putin has said recently could have come directly from the pages of the latter.
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  121. Regarding artillery shell production. It took 2-3 years for the US, Canada and Great Britain to ramp up production to wartime levels. With regards to the US, America started ramping up production of military equipment and building factories as early as 1940, almost 2 years before Pearl Harbor. Even then, it took until 1943 for production to hit its peak. So starting production up takes time. It's not like flipping a switch and Voila!, you have huge numbers of shells.
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  122. We beat the Americans twice before, how about we make it a hat trick?
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  123. That's the problem when you have a cult of personality. People vote like zombies because they want to be told what to do.
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  124.  @KimYoungUn69  The complaint about ATACMS is somewhat justified, although the US wanted its replacement available in case they needed to use them against China. The complaint about F-16s is NOT justified, because it takes AT LEAST 6 months to a year for a trained combat pilot to transition from one aircraft type to another. And that is IF English is their first language. The fact that they Ukrainians will be receiving F-16s by December indicates they have been covertly training since last year. Don't forget that all the training manuals have to be translated (the flying manual for the F-16 is over 500 pages long - I looked it up online). Then the maintenance crews have to trained, and all their manuals (air frame, electronics, avionics, engine, weapons, etc.) have to accurately translated as well. This training then has to be sandwiched in amongst all your regular training and flight checks for your own pilots. All this has to be done properly and thoroughly, otherwise we would see the Ukrainian Air Force flying into the ground or losing aircraft due to poor maintenance on a more regular basis than the Russian Air Force is currently doing. It is NOT an easy task, but this is (understandably) not well known or understood by people who have no contact with modern air forces. It is why, if you watch things carefully, you will see it has taken YEARS for the US Air Force to transition from F-16s, F-18s and other fighters to the F-35 once production got underway. Same problem minus the language issue.
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  125. I thought MAGA meant Make America Grate Again. After all, it did grate a lot under Trump last time.
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  126. I would love to know how radar reflectors will affect a GPS-guided missile. Oh well, if it makes them feel better ...
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  127. Jake, something to add to your information about Charles Lindbergh. He also believed in eugenics and master race theory. There is a theory that he organized the kidnapping of his own son because the child had a genetic defect. He is also reputed to have had a child with someone to foster his own beliefs in eugenics.
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  128. If "The Enforcer" is right, it appears that Ukraine counterattacked at Mariinka and retook 1/4 of the town yesterday.
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  129. Jake, more recent news indicates the push in the south has expanded and possibly pressing towards Klishkiivka, while in the north Ukraine has started another offensive. So Bakhmut may continue to hold and never fall. In fact, it is the Russians who may be forced to retreat.
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  130. @Bella Cosmic Hound More important than just the survival of the free world, a message must be sent that will hopefully make future wannabe Hitlers think twice before invading another country.
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  131.  @linda9918  Yes, the technology was built because of Russia. In 1945-1947 the US Army "had decreased from eight million soldiers in 1945 to 684,000 on July 1, 1947" [Source: Wikipedia]. Meanwhile, Russia kept over 2 million men under arms, blockaded Berlin, etc. Russia, as the Soviet Union, became belligerent, and supplied North Korea with aircraft and tanks with crews to invade South Korea. They invaded Hungary in 1957, Czechoslovakia in 1968 and Poland in the 1980s when those countries tried to democratize. Russia continually threatened the West, sponsoring terrorist groups (Red Brigades and others) and trying to overthrow governments around the world. If you knew of a country that was determined to destroy your entire way of live and impose a dictatorial regime on your people, wouldn't you build technology to prevent them from doing it?
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  132.  @ruthwhall3020  That is pretty much what I figured based on some videos on prices in supermarkets in Russia.
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  133. Jake, just to put that in perspective, 30 km is the distance from Buckingham Palace to Windsor Castle in London, UK, or about the driving distance from the Golden Gate Bridge to UC Berkeley. Not a great distance at all.
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  134.  @sankaplays3098  Oh, you mean meeting people you know, and visiting places is exploiting the local economy? Gee, you mustn't have many friends!
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  135. Obviously Thomas Bach has forgotten what happened in the Olympic games back in the 1950s after the USSR invaded Hungary. The pool during the water polo game turned red. True story.
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  136. It is always possible that they were using the grinding facilities at this factory to clean up some of their rusty artillery shells, when a large number of shells objected to the process. Considering the state that many of the artillery rounds have been in, I wouldn't be at all shocked if this is what the Russians were doing - refurbishing partially corroded ammunition. If one takes into account how unstable old ammunition can be (reference USS Iowa turret explosion), I wouldn't be at all surprised if this is what happened.
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  137. Jake, "Reporting from Ukraine" youtube indicates that the next phase of the Kherson Offensive has started.
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  138. Caesar did lose a few battles, actually. Gergovia and Dyrrachium are two of them. Although when they did a statistical analysis of all the generals throughout history, he did come in as #2 (after Napoleon).
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  139. Very good additional comments.
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  140. One correction Jake. If the reactor is generating heat due to radiation, nuclear reactions are occurring. It may be innocuous alpha and beta particles, but alpha particles are still products of fission, and beta particles are created by neutrons degenerating into protons.
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  141.  @BadDadDodge  Agreed. NATO member countries often try to do the right thing, but often fall flat on their faces. Russia only acts in its own best interest.
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  142. As I said to people I know a while back, if the US wants to solve the immigration issue on the Mexican border, they need to find ways to improve employment and living standards in the Central American countries. Probably by investing in small and large business in those countries. If those countries are stable and prosperous, why would these people be trying to enter the US?
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  143. Even if Ukraine applied to NATO, it would take years for Ukraine to be accepted. I do agree with the idea of UN Peacekeepers in Luhansk and Dontesk, as well as Crimea. Although one cell phone transmission released by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry (not exactly reliable source unless it can be independently confirmed) suggests the people living in the LPR and DPR are sick and tired of the Russian presence in those oblasts. And I suspect those 10-15,000 people who stayed in Severodonetsk are beginning to regret it about now. Rape, looting, murder and abuse will tend to change people's minds.
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  144. Someone commented on another stream that if the former Soviet republics "have no effective status in international law" and they are "not sovereign states", then neither is Russia! After all, the current Russia was formed during the break-up of the USSR, so it shares the same international status as the other nations. Less so, because Russia never signed the UN Charter. The USSR did, as did all the other republics that are now countries, but not Russia. Hope this, and the law that Russia is trying to pass in their courts, comes back to bite Russia.
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  145.  @smartlucker4011  Canada!
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  146.  Steve Rockwell  I served in the artillery, and know about explosives. Do you?
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  147. At least the British learned their lessons after the first day of the Somme. They started to develop the tactics of the creeping barrage and night attacks during this battle. When combined with tanks and good counter-battery fire, these tactics helped the Allies win in 1918.
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  148. My guess is that not as many people flocked to Prigozhin's banner as he would have liked. I suspect most of the military officers sat the fence and were waiting to see what would happen. If the Russian military destroyed all the gas and diesel supplies enroute, he could not advance much further towards Moscow. Without fuel and assistance, I suspect he knew he couldn't win. But he could make his defeat incredibly messy for Putin.
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  149. One person in a thread figures the Russian could lose up to 100K soldiers in the next 4 months due to frostbite and hypothermia. Combat will result in the deaths of many Russians as well. Although I think his estimate is severely inflated, I still expect Russia to lose a ton of troops this winter, and for Ukraine to possibly capture huge swaths of territory before the spring Rasputitsa sets in.
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  150. Only way to send a message is to give the Republicans a complete drubbing in this year's elections. Every single one needs to be voted out of office. That is the only message the GOP will understand.
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  151. This reminds me to the Battle of Normandy, including the armchair generals complaining about the pace of the advance. I am hoping Ukraine can pull off their version of Operation Cobra and silence the critics.
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  152.  @leonieromanes7265  One reason the US did so poorly in Vietnam is because they relied on a conscript army, much like Russia is doing right now in Ukraine. However, even then, the US army was more disciplined than the current Russian army.
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  153. This recruiting is probably going to reach a breaking point fairly soon.
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  154. Regarding the GLSDB, is it possible for them to switch out the guidance packages to make the concept work? If that is the reason they are not being used, surely there are other methods of guiding the weapons to make them functional.
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  155. Denys Davydov indicated today that the munitions storage facility was at Mais'ke, near Azovskoye, in the Dzhankosky Region of Crimea. He showed a satellite image of the base before and after the attack. It is now a flattened burned out smoking husk. It appears a number of Russian rocket artillery batteries were at the base at the time of the attack. And there is a bountiful harvest of artillery shells the residents can harvest from the ditches and roads in the area now, too.
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  156. Still too early to tell what will happen. Kamala needs to pick a centrist male running mate to attract the moderate Republicans who don't like Trump.
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  157.  @bunzeebear2973  Ironically enough, all the infrastructure already exists in Ukraine. All Ukraine needs to do is modernize it.
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  158. One thing to clarify, it was 20% of the equipment SENT TO THE FRONT LINE. In other words, 20% of the equipment in the attacking units that engaged the Russians, NOT 20% of all the equipment Ukraine has. That is a very important distinction to make.
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  159. Jake, I don't think the Russians did this deliberately, it was more an act of willful incompetence and negligence. If you look at the water levels, it appears that the dam was being overtopped by the water from the reservoir. Since the Russians filled in the emergency sluiceway to replace the road bridge destroyed by HIMARS in September last year, there has been no way to drain large volumes of water generated by the spring runoff. The images I have seen suggest one of two mechanisms, overtopping or hydraulic uplift. I suspect the latter. It is what caused the collapse of the St. Francis Dam in California in 1928. I personally feel that the Russians likely ignored the engineers and didn't allow them to work on the dam, so they are culpable for this disaster. Thing is, Crimea will now lose the source of 85% of its fresh water, and there is no replacement for it. So this is another example of Russia shooting itself in the foot.
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  160. You forgot to mention cutting the Russians off from their ammunition resupply. I wonder how long it will be before they run out of everything they need to fight. Including morale.
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  161. I rather liked what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, which was more or less he will believe it when he sees it. Considering Russia's propensity for breaking agreements, I agree with him.
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  162. Headline: "Putin is being told, 'Everything is going according to plan'". I'm guessing that Gerasimov didn't tell Putin WHOSE plan is being successful.
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  163. The issue is logistics. The Ukrainian road and rail network can only carry so much stuff. Those roads and rail systems must be maintained, and there is a limit to the number of trucks and rail cars that can go into and come out of Ukraine. Don't forget that in addition to war materials, those systems also have to transport fuel, replacement generators and power generation equipment, humanitarian aid and food to the Ukrainian people as well. The situation is a LOT more complicated than just sending stuff to Ukraine. And, in case you haven't noticed, a lot of supplies sent to Ukraine don't get announced, like the GLSDBs (which have shown up in Ukraine) and several SPGs and AFVs. What often happens is the right hand waves in the air to attract our attention while the left hand is slipping stuff in under the table.
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  164. I think Elon missed the word "lies" after "manufacturing".
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  165. The somewhat nebulous statement gives NATO quite a bit of flexibility as to the when and how Ukraine joins NATO. As Biden said at a press conference, Ukraine could join NATO 1 hour and 20 minutes after the treaty is signed. It also helps prevent Russia using this as an excuse for general mobilization, reduces the propaganda impact, etc.
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  166. The question is whether he shot civilians deliberately, or broke other normally accepted rules of war. That would make him a war criminal. Otherwise, he has tried to do the right thing, and took the opportunity to tell the truth when he had the chance. What he has done is a brave thing.
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  167. Regarding what Andrey Gurulyov was saying and how the Russians are acting, they obviously never about read the exchange between Truman and Molotov on April 23, 1945. Either that, or more likely they don't like it when the shoe is on the other foot. "... the veteran Soviet diplomat [Molotov] stormed out of the meeting after Truman told him off “in words of one syllable,” as the president [Truman] later recalled, for breaking deals that Soviet dictator Josef Stalin had cut with his wartime Western allies. Molotov complained that he had never been spoken to that way in his life. “Carry out your agreements and you won’t get to be talked to like that,” Truman responded." (Source: Andrew Glass, Politico, April 23, 2018).
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  168. Why don't we spread the rumor that the Ukrainian command centre is hidden beneath the Kremlin?
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  169. 6:00 Jake, you photos of those posters tells me that the old saying is still valid, "The more things change, the more they stay the same".
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  170.  @veronicamaine3813  A Roman soldier posted at Vindolanda (at Hadrian's Wall) would agree with you. There is a 2,000-year-old letter that was found asking for the people back home to send him socks.
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  171. So, it is OK for Russia to arrest or toss Western journalists out of Russia, but they get annoyed when we don't allow their journalists into the US. Oh, the hypocrisy.
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  172. Jake, you need to remember that Elon Musk is a South African Boer by descent. The people who created Apartheid in South Africa. The people who suppressed the native African populations in the Orange Free State when it existed as an independent country. Anyone who knows the history of South Africa shouldn't be surprised.
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  173. Suchomimus released a video earlier today indicating there is damage, some on the bridge, the other portside aft.
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  174. Well, the Ukrainians will have to give him citizenship, because he is a marked man in Russia now.
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  175. Arresting people for playing football ... and Russia wonders why other countries don't like them!
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  176. Like almost all the major pro-Russian western bloggers out there, she appears to be someone who had her ego punctured because she did something illegal and was kicked out of her job. Indeed, if you look at the backgrounds of most of these characters you find 1) they have enormous egos and 2) they were either booted out of the service, arrested in Ukraine for passing information to the Russians, were charged and served time for pedophilia, disbarred from being a lawyer, fleeing the country because they were being investigated for real estate fraud, or passed over for promotion because they were misogynistic, racist and bigoted. ALL OF THEM have had run-ins with the law, which pretty much tells you everything you need to know about them. Most of their sites have very similar comments like, "Your site is the only one telling the truth!", which sounds suspiciously like bots praising them, or they are basically using pseudonyms to prop up the number of likes on their own channels. I also noted that every time I have mentioned their less-than-sterling pasts, none of the "commenters" or the channel hosts have replied (i.e. no one defends them, and they don't defend themselves either).
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  177. 4:00 The Russians recreate the Luftwaffe Stalingrad airlift ... with helicopters.
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  178.  @martijnstam6186  Self-inflicted wound. Well, I have read that Russian missiles have had a 50% failure rate so far in the war.
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  179. Of course, it is possible that this is part of a Russian hacking effort. They tried to demonetize "The Enforcer" last night as well.
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  180. The fact that Russian soldiers are often more willing to commit suicide rather than surrender says a lot about their brainwashing, and who the real fanatics are. Also how cheap they consider their lives are.
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  181. Seeing the final video clip, I wonder how much the Avostal and other Ukrainian troops know about the current state of the war. I bet they would be pleasantly surprised to hear about the counteroffensive.
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  182.  @mastoner20  The pace of the operation is fairly slow, which suggests to me that the Ukrainians are trying to force the Russians to expend all their ammunition and fuel. This will place the Russians in an untenable position, so they will hopefully surrender. Fighting this way will keep casualties on both sides to a minimum, and preserve the city of Kherson. At least that is my hope.
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  183. I agree with you analysis of her statement.
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  184. Jake, quick correction. The Germans originally planned to bomb London as part of their attack on England. It is because the RAF became so effective at defending their airfields that Germany decided to switch their campaign from airfields to London sooner than planned.
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  185. The theory that the Kremlin is using Bakhmut to destroy the Wagner group is not far-fetched. It is a standard technique used by dictators to get rid of rivals, like Castro had the Bolivians dispose of Che Guevara.
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  186.  @josephkenosky  More importantly you can replicate the results multiple times to confirm you thesis. And the results should (unless there is severe bias or fraud occurring) be similar across all replications AND be capable of being replicated by others. Because fields like economics, politics, psychology, etc., usually end up having a single data point (degrees of freedom = 0), and with the chaotic nature of human interactions, they cannot be considered sciences. They can be studied, yes, but it needs to be remembered that all the results from any such study will be extremely subjective and open to multiple interpretations.
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  187. There is a third option, Russian partisans. This strikes me as something that the NRA (National Republican Army) would do.
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  188.  @LemiBee  Which likely means that Trump get in. The only way to keep Trump out of the White House is to vote for Biden.
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  189. You have to really wonder about this idiots. Saying that the Ukrainian language doesn't exist would be like the Spanish saying that Portuguese is not a language.
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  190. 13:42 Regarding Putin's ceasefire comments, has Putin's nose reached the end of the known universe yet?
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  191. Problem is that Ukraine lacks the long-range missiles to reach out and knock down the Russian air patrols at over 100km range. And, they have to worry about the 300-500km range of the S-400 missiles. What is needed are missiles that can reach out to the standing Russian air patrols, and the ability to hit Russian AA missile systems inside Russia. I believe some of the US AA missiles have that capability, but to use them you need F-16s or other western aircraft. One thing I will say, I won't be at all surprised if the F-16s show up in Ukraine sooner than expected, like the M-777s, HIMARs, cluster munitions, ...
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  192. Can you convince other people you know to either refuse to vote or vote Democrat?
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  193.  @stargazer-elite Sadly a no-fly zone was off the table. The reason being is that the Russians could have pulled their air forces back into Russia, and just kept tossing AA missiles at the NATO aircraft enforcing the no-fly zone. So the NATO forces would have two options, neither good. First, declare war on Russia, but Russia could claim it is defending itself from a militaristic expansionistic NATO. Second, allow your planes to be shot down because you cannot retaliate against AA missiles fired from a foreign country.
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  194. I suspect the reason that Prigozhin stopped this rebellion is because he wasn't getting the political and military support he needed for this to succeed. In addition, Russia was starting to attack all the logistical infrastructure along the route, including their own oil depots, etc.
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  195. Russia is currently recruiting 1) industrial workers from factories and work places that have shut down, 2) prisons, and 3) people up to 65 years in age. This suggests they are really having manpower issues.
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  196. 8:30 That is the most pathetic "Urrah!" I have ever heard.
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  197.  @ros8737  More importantly to Russia is denying those resources to Ukraine. Russia doesn't need Ukrainian oil and gas per se, but hopes to play "dog in the manger" with them. By sitting on the oil and gas reserves in those regions Russia is effectively impoverishing Ukraine and preventing them from becoming a major economic player in Europe.
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  198. I think giving Ukraine the Storm Shadow makes more sense than providing them with ATACMs missiles. The Storm Shadow has some stealth capability, and is more likely to penetrate Russian defenses than the ATACMs.
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  199. I know of at least one of the people this sergeant and you are talking about, and quite frankly I get ticked off with him myself. I personally want to smack him across the side of the head.
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  200. Because 1) Western troops are not deployed in Ukraine, so they cannot operate the equipment, 2) It takes a long time to train operators from scratch on using this equipment, and 3) You have to decide what priority takes priority over the other priorities like ammo for the front lines, fuel for the trucks, etc. And if you put all the air defenses around the dams, Russia then just strikes the thermal power plants in eastern Ukraine. So, what do you choose to protect first, the dams not producing power or your few remaining power plants?
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  201. Jake, I cannot see you running for Congress. You are too HONEST!
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  202. Jake, you work as an economist, so you should be seeing signs that the US economy is likely going to crash into a recession or depression soon, courtesy of the American government under Trump. this might be a good thing, as the people who are likely to be hardest hit are MAGA supporters. Will they still support Trump when they are going hungry, lose their farms, have family members deported? The GOP right now is so stupid they are likely to destroy the US economy.
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  203. 3:45 Jake, the dark smudge at Vulhedar is the one section of the town (across the road from the high rises) that the Russians actually captured and held at great cost for about a day or two before the Ukrainians drove them back down the hill.
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  204.  @oldernu1250  However, neither Charlemagne nor the Hapsburgs were Orthodox. That is why Russia claims the title, as they consider themselves the heirs to the Orthodox church.
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  205.  @GCarty80  But that was rather like Queen Victoria being called "Empress of India".
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  206. The other way to solve the problem is to improve living standards in Mexico and Central America. If poverty levels drop in those areas, and governments become stable and cease being oppressive, the issue would go away. People would not be fleeing those areas for economic and political regions.
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  207. The GLSDB has the same sized warhead as the GMLRS, but can deliver that further. I can see it doing the same amount of damage to the Kerch Strait Bridge as the GMLRS did to the Antonovsky Bridge. Should do a real number on Russian logistics.
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  208. 4:15 I see that the soldier was hugging a liberated Kherson watermelon. Those watermelons are supposed to be really nice, and famous around Ukraine for their flavor. Someone must have kept that hidden from the occupying. After all, you don't want to toss melons before swine.
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  209. Problem is that Europe closed most of its arms factories. It will take 3-5 years to rebuild that industrial capacity. Until then, who else will you buy from? China? Russia? India?
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  210. What got me from the little I saw of this interview is that Fridman kept going back to this "I have this dream" comment over and over again. Frankly, it made him sound like a twit. At least when Martin Luther King uttered the statement, MLK was looking towards a better future based on peace and understanding, not to attempted negotiations with a psychopath. At best what Fridman seemed to be doing was seeing the world through rose colored spectacles (or rose coloured blinders). Like the people who thought they could negotiate with Adolf Hitler in 1938 and 1939. Or he is acting as a Russian shill.
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  211. The other reason why the Russians are targeting the Ukrainian power grid is because their smart munitions lack the accuracy to hit targets like bridges. So they have to hit large targets where precision is not as important as just getting close to the target.
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  212.  @DUCKDUCKGOISMUCHBETTER  According to Ukrainian GHQ, we should see something starting around mid-June to mid-July.
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  213. Sadly, I'm not surprised. If you read enough history you see these types of people showing up time and again. The really sad thing is that people fall for it time and again. Although I will say Putin did a fairly good job of hiding his real personality for 20+ years.
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  214. Jake, regarding the FAB500 in the last video segment. The combat engineers in northern France and Belgium are still destroying tons of ordinance from WW1 and WW2. France destroys about 900 tons of the stuff every year, while Belgium is till destroying 200 tons of unexploded ordinance per year. And that is, in many cases, over 100 years after it was buried in the ground.
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  215.  @canyonroots  Not fully. Remember that there are no US bases in Ukraine, so the US would have needed support from several NATO countries in order to move troops into Ukraine and keep them supplied with ammo and reinforcements, or the Turk's permission to send a fleet into the Black Sea. Sadly, I don't see either of those happening in 2014. It was the same issue in 2008 in Georgia. Without European support, it was always going to be a no-go. It is only because the US kept warning people for around 3 months that Russia was going to invade Ukraine that Europe finally listened.
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  216. I wonder if Edward Snowden has ended up on the front lines as well?
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  217. The Soviet Union tried for 80 years to convince Ukrainians they were part of Russia. It didn't work. Obviously Putin hasn't learned from history.
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  218. Jake, the real issue with tanks is not that they are susceptible to AT missiles (although that is part of it). The biggest issue for Russia is that they don't know how to use tanks as part of a combined arms army. When one watches videos of Russian wargames, it becomes apparent that their tank forces are being used like showpieces. There is no coordination amongst the various arms (tanks, infantry, artillery). What is happening is reminiscent of the British Army in the Western Desert in 1941 and first half of 1942. For both armies, the tanks were treated like cavalry units, charging into the enemy ranks and defeating them. This is not how tanks are supposed to be used. The Germans demonstrated this quite well during the first half of WW2, as did the US in Iraq. Tanks are part of a team, not solo players. And without infantry and artillery support, they will get picked off by NLAWs and Javelins en masse.
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  219. I like how the Kremlin told Jan Rachinsky to turn down the Nobel Peace Prize. Hardly surprising when Putin wants to emulate Josef Stalin.
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  220. Ironically, the increase in arms manufacturing created by the war in Ukraine may actually help stave off or lessen the effects of the recession that a lot of economists are predicting. Factories will ramp up production, re-open or start up to supply/restock all the weapons and ammo being used, so more people will be employed at well-paying jobs. Not that I particularly like this Russian-created method for averting recession because of the cost in lives. I only hope that the Russian economy crashes in the near future, and we can start fighting a recession by rebuilding Ukraine.
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  221. There other benefit these attacks have is reducing the domestic production of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. This will not only negatively affect Russia's foreign trade (and hence their economy, which is already suffering), but also threaten Russia's ability to fuel its war machine. After all, without these refineries and the products they produce, many of Russia's trains, and all their cars, trucks, tanks, IFVs, self-propelled artillery and aircraft are just heavy, expensive paperweights. Lack of fuel is one thing that killed the Wehrmacht in WW2, and it could do the same thing in Ukraine.
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  222.  @aaronbaker2186  You forgot to mention fully fueled and armed aircraft also make a nice Hollywood "Boom" when hit by high explosives.
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  223.  @MrJimtimslim  Jake did. And you should care about those who put their lives on the line for your freedom that you seem to take for granted.
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  224. Is it possible that Solovyov wants to nuke the UK BECAUSE his bisexual son lives there?
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  225. When I was in Ukraine back in the mid-1990s, the family I was staying with were saving to buy a flush toilet. They still has an outdoor commode.
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  226. Trump obviously doesn't realize that the Russian Empire LOST to JAPAN in 1905. Ukraine can win, and will win if we continue to support them.
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  227. Ukrainian sources seem to put that figure at around 120,000, if you use the WW2 math that one fatality is matched by one critical injury rendering soldier incapable of fighting.
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  228. Jake, I look at this like Ukraine's version of the 2nd Battle of El Alamein. We have had the end of the break-in phase, now is the crumbling phase. Eventually we will see the breakout phase. It's how Montgomery won 2nd Alamein, how he won the Battle of Normandy. And now Ukraine is doing this to Russia. What we need now is patience.
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  229.  @kidshelleen51  Alexander might have been a better general (maybe), but he fought far fewer battles than Caesar (8 versus 22 or more), so making a comparison is rather difficult.
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  230.  @scotttyson8661  Rather I would say, "Spiraling debt, possible bankruptcy, must show I am still a world superpower".
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  231. I see the Russian canal network is functioning well. Where are the gondolas?
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  232.  @teufelnabsterbennie8826  Trump cannot be a fascist, because he is not a socialist. Putin, on the other hand, is a socialist and ultra-nationalist, which makes Putin a Nazi (National Socialist). Don't believe me? Read the Wikipedia entry on Dugin's "Foundations of Geopolitics". Most of Putin's stance on Ukraine comes straight from that book.
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  233. Jake, you did get one thing wrong. Putin is not a fascist. He is a Nazi, a National Socialist. If you look at Russian economics nowadays, Putin's government is gradually taking control of all commerce and industry, a sure sign of hardline socialism. You can determine this quickly by looking at who owns the major shares of companies in Russia, and the megacorporations that own them. For example, a quick check of the aviation industry shows that all aircraft manufacturers are subsidiaries of United Aircraft Corporation, which, surprise surprise, currently has the current Russian Minister of Trade and Industry as Chairman, and the company President is the former Minister of Trade and Industry. The Kremlin government believes in "Russkiy Mir" and Russification, which is a nationalistic policy much like that held by Nazi Germany. They believe in the racial superiority of the Slavs, and that the Russians are the top Slavs. The also believe in cultural (if not actual) genocide. The sooner people realize that Putin and his cronies are Nazis, the more likely people will realize the huge threat they represent.
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  234. 12:30 You know, Putin's 90 minute rambling speech sounds like Hitler's final rant (sorry, "last will and testament") that he dictated to his secretary. In other words, just regurgitating the same old garbage.
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  235. It is rather interesting that everything Putin has done has strengthened the Ukrainian sense of nationhood, even amongst the Russian speakers. Putin is creating a united Ukraine.
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  236. Jake, quick question. Has anyone done an analysis on how much rolling stock the Ukrainians may have destroyed in the last 6 months of the war? Russia can no longer make the bogeys for their rail cars, they were getting them from Germany. If Ukraine is targeting the rail cars as they are unloading ammunition, Russia could be losing their ability to transport freight at an alarming rate. Has anyone investigated this, and how it will affect both the prosecution of the war and the Russian economy?
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  237.  @sabbasdsouza  Doesn't change the fact that Russia is no longer making their own.
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  238. In my opinion, the best target for ATACMS would be all the rail bridges that lead into Ukraine. Cutting off the Russian army from its major supply routes would do a real number on Russian logistics and offensive capabilities.
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  239. One of the questions I have is, "What does China think now that the Patriot system has shown that it can intercept hypersonic missiles?" After all, it now appears they have spent billions of dollars building a system that can be swatted out of the sky by US AA missiles. Wonder if this might make Xi sit back and rethink his Taiwan policy.
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  240. 3:30 Jake, you are partially right about the company grade commanders, but not completely. It is not that these officers lack the initiative or are incapable of making decisions. Rather, like the Red Army in 1939-1941, individual initiative is suppressed and is actually a chargeable offense. Company grade officers HAVE to follow the orders given by their superiors or they are guilty of insubordination. They have no flexibility or ability to carry out the overall objective of the attack while changing the details of how they do it. There is also a systemic culture of lying in the Russian military. Perun did a great video on this. "How lies destroy armies - Lies, coverups, and Russian failures in Ukraine" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fz59GWeTIik&t=2s
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  241. Jake, did you see Marjorie Traitor Greene giving a thumbs down to the vote? She's dead centre in the image, walking towards the camera, at the 0:59 mark. In contrast, there is a member of the GOP in the far right waving a Ukrainian flag.
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  242. Bet it was the Iranian attack that tipped him in favor of the vote. I think he suddenly realized that playing politics with Ukrainian aid was endangering the entire free world.
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  243. I like the question, "Is the US sending F-16s to Ukraine?" Biden says no, but that doesn't rule out backfilling other NATO countries' stocks of aircraft with F-16s, having NATO Allies sending F-16s, etc. And, as you said, this stance may change shortly. It is possible that the details haven't been ironed out yet, so the answer would still be "No."
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  244. I suspect the drone might have been flown by the "Freedom of Russia Legion" or "Russian Volunteer Corps". This fits the facts better fit than it being a Ukrainian operation. it would be great advertising for the anti-Putin forces.
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  245. Sounds like the Russian offensive got stopped when it approached or hit the first line of Ukrainian fortifications. After all, you don't put your fortification lines right on the border, but rather some way back along defensible geographic features like rivers, lines of hills or ridges. The region between the border and the line of fortifications then becomes a kill zone, because there is little or no cover for the invading soldiers. This is exactly what we are now seeing at Kharkiv. The Russians have advanced into an area with no fortifications (trenches or pillboxes), and being out in the open are being systematically wiped out. Let's not forget that the Russian general in command of this region is General Lapin, the same one who lost the whole region from Balakliya and Kupiyansk in September 2022.
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  246. Izyum and Kupyansk have both been liberated. They have raised their flags in both cities. Lyman may have been liberated as well. A twitter post suggests Ukraine is liberating (or has liberated) Vovchansk near the Russian border, and are possibly approaching Severodonetsk and Lysychansk. Appears the whole front line has collapsed. Plus the Russians have helped resupply the Ukrainians as a "goodwill gesture". This will certainly help resolve some of their logistics issues.
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  247. I love the fact that Putin said that Russia will start sending weapons to The West's enemies. As you rightly said, Jake, isn't that what Russia has been doing since 1945?
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  248. 4:50 Jake, this is nothing new. The press and many officers kept complaining about Montgomery's leadership over ALL Allied forces (American, British and Canadian) and the pace of Allied advances after June 7th. They kept complaining and bad-mouthing Montgomery, and Monty even had Churchill and Eisenhower coming to France to discuss the progress of the liberation of France and decide whether to relieve him or not. Indeed, this continued until the Americans broke through at Avranches at the end of July (which was according to the plan that Eisenhower, Bradley and Montgomery agreed to). Everybody expected a quick victory, and when it wasn't delivered in the time frame they figured it should be, they groused and complained. So, nothing has changed since 1944.
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  249. They are talking about nuking Alaska. But don't they consider Alaska as their territory? Haven't there been calls to take Alaska back from the US? Doesn't that mean that Russia wants to nuke its own territories? 🤔
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  250. Nice to see you on "The Enforcer" last night. Glad you decided to sit in on the live stream. Last year in February I had my doubts that Russia would invade Ukraine, mostly because I didn't think Putin was THAT STUPID! Obviously, one year of war has proven that Putin IS that stupid. Having watched shows like "The Caspian Report" and "Good Times Bad Times" I have come to the conclusion that Putin felt he HAD TO take Ukraine for multiple reasons, mostly economic with some imperialistic geopolitics thrown in for good measure. I think Putin has always dreamed of recreating an imperial Russia that occupies the same borders as the USSR, or perhaps even including the Slavic Warsaw Pact nations as well. He has been working towards this by fostering discontent, infiltrating agents to sow misinformation and distrust, and propping up puppets in places like Belarus and Ukraine. Everything was going fairly well, in spite of the westward leanings of Belarus and Ukraine, because he had corrupt pro-Russian rulers in both places (Lukashenko and Yanukovych). All the plans for a gradual takeover of Ukraine then flew out the window when large oil and gas reserves were discovered in Ukraine in 2012. Suddenly there was another country right next door with enormous hydrocarbon reserves that could sell these products to the EU that Putin did not directly control. Development of these reserves would do two things: 1) create a large dent in Russia's oil and gas revenues, threatening the Russian economy, and 2) undercut the political leverage that Putin figured he was obtaining by getting the EU hooked on Russian oil and gas supplies. Also, gaining these reserves would mean Russia would have access to hydrocarbons that were easier and cheaper to extract than their own reserves. At this point Putin may have panicked, especially because Ukraine was developing closer ties to the EU. He put pressure on Yanukovych to drop association with the EU, only to have the Euromaidan Revolution throw his puppet out of power. Now Putin really panicked, and went all in to gain control of Crimea and Donbass (where the bulk of these reserves are located). Unfortunately for Putin, he didn't have any real war plans concocted, and the operation appears to have been more improvised than planned. However, because Ukraine was still in turmoil politically and militarily, the insurgents were able to seize Donbass and the Russian special forces captured Crimea. Although Ukraine was able to stabilize the situation, they could not effectively counter it, especially because of the lukewarm reaction of Europe and, to a certain extent, the US. However, this did not resolve Putin's problem. He now sat on top of what he considered the biggest threat to Russia's economic future, but he had a major problem. In the course of their planning Putin and his generals had overlooked something that threatened to undermine their invasion of Crimea, the North Crimea Canal. As you probably know, this canal runs from the Dnipro River from just behind the Nova Khakovka Dam to reservoirs and irrigation ditches in Crimea. According to Wikipedia, "A 2015 study found that the canal had been providing 85% of Crimea's water ... 72% went to agriculture and 10% to industry, while water for drinking and other public uses made up 18%." Well, after Russia stole Crimea, the Ukrainians blocked this canal, leading to severe water shortages in the region. Putin went ahead and built up the military infrastructure so Russia could dominate the northern Black Sea Region, only to realize that everything would turn to naught because there was insufficient water. Ukraine had Russia over a barrel, a water barrel. Between 2014 and 2022, even with severe water rationing, the reservoir capacities in Crimea went from 100% to just 7% in January 2022. All attempts to create work-arounds for this problem failed. So Putin decided he must secure the water supply for Crimea from Ukraine, and to prevent this from happening again, install a puppet regime in Kyiv or just annex the country. This may also explain why he made a big fuss about annexing those regions back into Russia. Besides, I suspect part of the reason for this invasion in because Ukraine has had the temerity to stand up to Putin for 8 years. It must hurt his psychopathic ego.
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  251.  @AstroGremlinAmerican  Don't forget Izyum.
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  252. Jake, I think I know why Russia continues to attack. They know their army cannot respond well to attacks, and so they need to keep Ukraine on the defensive so they don't suffer a massive defeat from a Ukrainian counterattack. As long as they attack, in spite of the losses, they feel they can keep Ukraine on the back foot.
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  253. Basically it shows that Putin will try just about anything to win. He doesn't care about the human cost, as long as he stays in power and can dominate people.
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  254. Jake, I am not surprised with what happened. Trump is a malignant narcissist, and anyone who doesn't bow and scrape to him, or crosses him, or gets him into trouble, is his personal enemy. Full stop. Zelensky is the reason why Trump was impeached for the first time back in 2020, and I doubt Trump has forgiven Zelensky or forgotten about it. Trump has just been waiting to drop the hammer, like the petulant bully he is. Zelensky not selling half his country to Trump, when Trump figured he had the upper hand, was probably the last straw. Someone with a spine to stand up to him is something that Trump hates more than anything. If he wasn't going to do something against Ukraine, why did he pick J.D. Vance as VP?
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  255.  @knightofblood8855  Problem with that is that Trump and Elon aren't trying to spread a false religion. So they are not anti-Christ. Unlike Hitler and Napoleon, both of whom are considered potential anti-Christs.
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  256. Truth to tell, I think Ukraine has a couple of somethings up its sleeves that most people haven't even thought of. I will be interested to see if I am right. If Ukraine does what I think they might, things could get really wild pretty soon, and open up some really big mobile battles.
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  257. Jake, what effect do you think the general mobilization will have on the Russian economy? I know you said a while back that the war could only last about a year before Russia runs out of money. But what about now? They have lost over 100,000 wage earners fleeing the country, and tossed another 300,000-1,000,000 into uniforms. So how is losing this large a chunk of your workforce going to impact the economy? Will this accelerate the decline to bankruptcy?
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  258. 20:30 Big problem is that according to a family member who served in the RCAF and dealt with training, it will take TRAINED pilots around 6 months to a year to transition to a new fighter. So, unless the Ukrainian pilots have been training since last April on F-16s or other jets, Ukraine will have to wait for a whole year before the planes can be used. Mind you, I suspect there has probably been an ongoing training program, and the only thing stopping the transfer of jets to Ukraine is that the pilots are still not ready yet. Same with the A-10s.
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  259. Jake, if you look at FiveThirtyEight under their pollster ratings, you find that the company (SSRS) that conducted this poll for CNN is rated as C+, which is average at best. In other words, over the last 10 years, their polls have been right a little above 50% of the time. So, not a great source.
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  260. Great, send nukes to Iran. Russia is obviously reading the book, "How to P*** off Your Potential Middle-Eastern Allies in One Easy Lesson".
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  261. 9:30 One problem people have, Jake, is that evil often wears a friendly face. Most politicians and individuals don't know or cannot recognize evil when they see it. Psychopaths like Putin know how to mimic human emotion. They themselves lack any semblance of real emotions, so they mirror what people hope or expect to see. They know how to lie with their eyes and words, and con people into thinking they can't possibly be that bad. It's how Jeffrey Dalmers and Ted Bundys work. Also, most people want to avoid a war, knowing its cost. A psychopath like Putin doesn't care, because he considers everyone around him to be a tool to promote his own ambitions. They are people whom most of us cannot fathom because we actually care for others, and I think this is one reason why most politicians have no idea how to handle a Putin or a Xi Xiping - it is rather hard to know how hard to push a madman with a nuclear arsenal.
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  262. What's really funny when discussing these trolls is that they don't acknowledge that Russia is throwing more and more units into offensives that have more and more limited objectives. It's the military version of Zeno's Achilles and the tortoise paradox. The fact that Russia is throwing at least 20 BTGs (about one-fifth to one-quarter) of their remaining military strength to gain ONE CITY says a lot about their current capabilities. Added to this is the evidence that Russia is sending T-64s to the front, and you have a military that is truly scraping the bottom of the barrel. It's almost the equivalent of Britain starting WW2 with Centurion tanks, and within 2-3 years be shipping Shermans and Matildas, and finally sending Vickers light tanks to the front lines.
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  263.  @static2223  I find they often do, but they just keep spouting the same nonsense over and over again.
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  264. 8:30 So, you have a choice to get mobilized now, or wait until September to get mobilized. At least Henry Ford gave you a GOOD choice.
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  265.  @KevinAndaLocuaz-df9nz  You mean you won't vote for the president who over the last 4 years kept the US out of a recession (which both the UK and Germany suffered from), who created 500,000 jobs, who is honest, who isn't an indicted criminal? Seriously?
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  266. Russia can have a ceasefire anytime it wants, as soon as their troops leave Ukraine and restore its 1991 borders.
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  267. Staff Sgt. Black is the epitome of P.T. Barnum's statement about one being born every minute.
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  268. What, we don't believe Putin when he says Russia has no more territorial demands?
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  269. Children digging trenches - guess we are seeing the recreation of the Hitler/Putin Youth.
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  270.  @mayaram2411  I suspect that she probably has a fragile ego, and didn't like being called to task for DUI.
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  271. Ukraine wants mobile warfare, because they excel at it and can destroy Russian units at a much higher rate than when they can when the Russians occupy static defenses. It also enables Ukraine to destroy a lot of Russia's remaining armored forces and artillery. Russia is gradually degenerating to a 3rd world military, or worse. Russia is losing equipment faster than they can produce it or refurbish it.
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  272. The Russians in Toretsk are clearing city blocks. They are clearing out of the city at this time, and have cleared out of about half the apartment blocks they formerly occupied.
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  273. 14:00 Given that Putin has openly stated that Russia will not give up any of the occupied territory shows that peace talks would be fruitless. Putin wants all of Ukraine, and plans to hold onto any part of it for as long as he can.
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  274. Jake, just remember that the Great Lakes have tides. Not big tides, but they have tides.
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  275. I heard that the Wagner Group may have taken around 65% casualties taking Soledar. A couple of sources have indicated that the ex-prisoners who have been assigned to the Wagner Group have a 7% chance of surviving their 6 month contract. Makes me think that Putin is using the Wagner Group as a way to clear out his prisons, take territory in Ukraine without any regard for the lives of these people, and save some money at the same time. Pretty sick. Then again, as I said elsewhere, Putin and his cronies are all psychopaths anyway.
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  276. Ministry of Happiness. Sounds like that old saying, "The floggings will continue until morale improves".
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  277. Jake, watched an interesting video where the presenter figures that Russia is about 12 months away from a total economic collapse. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Er4Xs5fa5sI
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  278.  @felixungar2301  First, I did say "based on Zelensky's comments", so I am taking that with a grain of salt. Second, considering the amateurish way the Russians have been advancing, some of the intercepted cell phone transcripts, the documented armor losses, etc., I tend to think Russian losses are probably higher than the NATO estimates. Remember, those number represent their trained military, and conscripts, not untrained civilians. It also does not reflect the fact you need to double that number to include soldiers who have been injured so severely that they can no longer fight (based on WW2 statistics). The limited scale and scope of the recent Russian attacks also suggests that the Russian casualties are higher than NATO estimates as well. If they had lost only about one-eighth of their army, as the high end NATO numbers suggest, they would still be able to conduct much larger operations than they have been.
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  279. 7:45 Jake, Russian supporters do have an excuse for what is happening in the Kherson Oblast north of the Dneiper. It's very simple, Putin put his troops into a trap. The Ukrainians closed the door on the trap by blowing all the bridges and now the Russians are running out of supplies and cannot fight. It's simple, just blame Putin. In fact, you can do that for a whole bunch of stuff: Why haven't the Russians developed a good weapons system in the last 10 years? Just blame Putin. Why is the Russian army lead by a bunch of toadying sycophants who couldn't fight their way out of a wet paper bag? Just blame Putin. Why has the conscription gone so badly? Just blame Putin. Why are the conscripts so badly equipped? Just blame Putin. See, it works for everything.
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  280. Jake, just remember that anthrax is also called "foot in mouth disease" ... I mean foot and mouth disease.
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  281. I heard that a missile hit in the area of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Since Russia has placed missile systems near the power plant, I suspect that one of the missiles did what others have done, tried to return to sender. Rather like the one did near Belgorod.
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  282. Gotta love those new Russian "Bullet proof vests". Not only do they allow you to get shot, but you get wood splinters as well.
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  283.  @ericgrace9995  However, the Ukrainians want to free the people of Kherson, so it is not the same as the Courland Pocket. Leaving the Russians alone presents two problems: 1) If not pressured, the Russians won't use up their ammunition and fuel, so will be able to sit there as long as they want, and 2) If no movement is made, it might tempt the Russians to hold their referendum.
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  284. If they changed the horse he uses, would he be having hippo-replacement?
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  285. Well Jake, as far as lowering the enlistment age goes, just remember there were 12-year-old German soldiers who defended Berlin in the Hitler Youth in 1945.
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  286. Jake, I suspect he also wants to take Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro and Albania because they contain Serbs. And he wants Istanbul as well, as that would open the Bosphorus.
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  287. Well, since Russia seized the assets of Deutsch Bank inside Russia, why shouldn't the West do the same with Russian assets and use them for Ukraine?
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  288. I wonder how much these strikes will affect Russian trade through the Black Sea. The Black Sea is now the primary route for Russia to ship its oil to customers overseas. How many neutral shippers will decline sending their vessels to Russia now, either out of concern that they might lose their ships, and how much insurance for any ships transiting the Black Sea will increase?
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  289. It is difficult to know the mettle of a man until he is tested by fire. Zelenskyy has passed that test with flying colors and risen to the challenge. He is a man worthy of respect.
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  290. Jake, according to YouTube's policy, you cannot show the Parthenon in Athens. It was blown up when the gunpowder stored there was hit by an artillery shell.
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  291. Jake, I wouldn't be surprised if Ukraine launches an offensive this winter. The ground will be hard enough to support tanks, and Ukraine will have several advantages: 1) Ukraine has great winter gear courtesy of NATO, Russian's winter gear is, based on video evidence, bad. This will tend to keep the Russians in the villages and other buildings, while Ukraine will be able to easily move around the countryside, encircling and isolating said villages, 2) The nights are longer. Ukraine has night vision gear, while Russia does not. This means that Ukraine can launch night attacks of longer duration (up to 15 hours night, 10 of which is actual nighttime and a further 3 is considered "nautical twilight"), 3) Ukraine should be getting more heavy equipment, if it is not already in Ukraine, and 4) Russian losses means more conscripts, and more poorly trained men. In addition, the de-modernization of the Russian army means that Ukrainian attacks should be more effective. It should also be remembered that two of the most important Russian offensives during WW2 occurred during winter, the Battle of Moscow in 1941 and battles around Stalingrad (Operations Uranus, Little Saturn and the Voronezh-Kharkov offensives) in winter of 1942-1943. In both cases these battles started around November or December, and wrapped up around February.
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  292. Sadly there are too many "intellectuals" like Stian Jenssen out there who live in their own fantasy worlds filled with pink fluffy clouds and flying unicorns. Their biggest problem is they cannot understand reality, rearrange reality internally to conform to their fantasy world, turn away from reality any time someone points out that the real world is a nasty place that contains psychopaths and that appeasing dictators only makes them want more. The problem we have is that too many people listen to the Stian Jenssens of the world and take their advice, with catastrophic results. The line from the 1960s hit from The Seekers - "A World of our Own" , "And I know you will find there'll be peace of mind When we live in a world of our own" fits them to a "T".
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  293. It's really funny that Putin hates western economics and liberal democracy so much, yet is comparing himself to the Tsar who tried to westernize all of Russian society, Peter the Great. His comparison is even more ludicrous because he has been quoted as disliking Lenin because of his westernization, but admires Stalin. Of course, the fact that Stalin is one of his idols should come as no surprise.
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  294.  @davidcpugh8743  Conversely, I visited the ABC islands back in the 1980s. Many of the beaches were coated with asphalt (mixed oil and sand). Pretty awful.
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  295. Ah, yes. Using your cash reserves to buy your own currency. Isn't that similar to what happened with FTX, buying up its own FTT Bitcoin?
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  296. There is not much point in mobilizing 18-25-year-olds if there are no uniforms, no weapons and not enough logistics to keep them supplied! Is Ukraine going to use these people for meat wave attacks like the Russians do?
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  297. Jake, shame on you. That Duma member is using the same technique that Neslon used when attacking the Danish Fleet at Copenhagen (holding a telescope up to his blind eye and saying, "Signal? I don't see any signal!"). Except Nelson was only blind in one eye.
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  298. Hardly surprising, since Ritter is a convicted sex offender and MacGregor is someone who likes Nazi ideology and has appeared on Russia TV (a state-run propaganda station). Both seem to have lost most of their marbles. Reading their bios on Wikipedia makes me wonder about the screening process for American military officers.
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  299. He IS an angry child. Putin is a psychopath, and the people he considers to be pawns aren't doing what he thinks they should. So, like Adolf Hitler, Putin is throwing a fit.
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  300. Jake, this leak basically shows that the US REALLY needs to improve their handling of classified information. This was highlighted by the classified documents found in Donald Trump's, Joe Biden's and Mike Pence's residences. Why were they there? Who was responsible for ensuring that they were returned to secure locations? This is the real issue - a lack of understanding on how to handle sensitive information by ALL levels of government and the armed forces of the US.
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  301. Anna is quite right about Russian generalship. One can hear about this on TIK's Battlestorm Stalingrad youtube series, as well as following the history of WW2 on the TimeGhost channel.
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  302.  @SteelPorcupine  Also a question of figuring out how far you can push Putin. Perun did a very good video on this. It is better to slowly add the heat to boil the frog rather than shock it by adding the heat directly. Also, I think the western leaders have been hoping that with each escalation Putin might reconsider. Problem is that Putin is a psychopath, and standard political tactics don't work on people who are criminally insane.
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  303. GLSDB will be arriving soon - in other words, Ukraine has already received the first shipment.
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  304. Jake, regarding the prospect of nuclear weapons in Belarus. The deployment of nuclear weapons in Belarus it is specifically stated in their constitution that nukes cannot be deployed in Belarus. So, is "Uncle Luka" going to do this and potentially have the entire populace of Belarus rise up against him? Will the army allow him to do it? Guess we will see.
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  305. 17:00 I have been saying this for the last 6 months. Russia is a Nazi regime using Hitler's playbook.
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  306. Is this guy trying to recruit people for the Wagner Group, or scare them off?
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  307.  @Gopferteckel  The Ukrainians are so ticked off now that they won't accept anything short of total victory. And I don't blame them. To paraphrase one of my favorite lines from "The Battle of Britain", "Putin's guarantees guarantee nothing!" In other words, you can trust Putin about as far as you can throw Russia, i.e., not one bit.
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  308.  @pizzacutter5469  If that's the case, why are they still gaining ground? Besides, the Kherson region is basically a large bear trap for the Russian army, designed to tie down Russia's last reserves and destroy a large chunk of their army north of the Dnieper. So far it seems to be working extremely well. By the way, you usually don't capture enemy Lt. Colonels if your offensive has fallen flat. Ukraine captured a Russian Lt. Colonel yesterday.
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  309. I hate to say this, but John Sweeney is wrong. He is forgetting that the Kremlin is occupied by a bunch of psychopaths who only care about power. They don't care about the populace. Destroying non-military targets in Russia will only give them propaganda material to rile up the average Russian and make them support the war even more. I do agree that Ukraine should continue hitting Russian military airfields, the Black Sea Fleet and anything that helps the military. But here John is sounding like he wants retaliatory strikes on civilians. That will just make the situation worse, and give Putin and his cronies the opening they need to start general mobilization and put the country on a full war footing.
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  310. What's even worse is that a 2-star general can't tell the difference between a bacterial and a viral infection. Oh, wait, he's Russian. Never mind.
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  311. Based on the videos I saw relating to the first two weeks of this war on "The Enforcer" youtube channel, Russia's plan was to infiltrate special forces units into Kyiv and Kharkiv, take over key areas of these cities, kill or incapacitate the government and army command, and let the army roll in. The US was able to warn Ukraine about some parts of the plan, so Ukraine was able to put blocking units in strategic locations and blow bridges along main routes into these cities to slow or halt the Russian advance. Meanwhile, militia and regular units of the Ukrainian Army tracked down and eliminated the infiltrators in both Kyiv and Kharkiv. One battle took place a School #134 in Kharkiv (there is a video out on this battle that is very interesting if you can find it), where a Russian special forces unit tried to block the main route used for logistics to the front line. The school had been prepped with weapons and ammo before the Russians arrived. A second battle, that lasted several days, took place at the Kyiv Zoo. There is no direct video of this as far as I know, but there were definitely firefights in places in Kyiv during the first few nights of the war. It was the ability of Ukraine to block both the military advance and destroy the infiltrators before they could do any harm that saved Ukraine from being overrun by Russia. But as the Duke of Wellington said after the Battle of Waterloo, "It has been a damned nice thing — the nearest run thing you ever saw in your life."
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  312. Jake, the irony is that if the Russians destroyed the dam on the Dniester River, the area that would be most severely affected would be Transnistria, not Moldova proper. I just checked Google Maps, and the majority of Transnistria is built on low ground, while the land on the west (Moldovan) bank of the Dniester is up to 30-40m higher. Guess the Kremlin likes drowning its own people.
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  313. Took Macron and Scholz long enough.
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  314. 17:00 Or, all of the above. Personally, I could see the US and NATO taking out all the Russian submarines at sea. This would prevent them from targeting commercial shipping and they would lose a large chunk of their nuclear arsenal at the same time.
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  315.  @HaukeLaging  If they are attacking with nukes, where will they stop?
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  316.  @HaukeLaging  Quite possibly. I suspect it wouldn't get to that stage, because the military would likely prevent nukes from being used in the first place. But one response NATO could take would be to take out the subs to prevent Russia for disrupting international trade.
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  317. You also have to remember the distances the Russians are covering with these advances - they are a couple of kilometers over several days. It is WW1 trench warfare being waged with 21st century weapons.
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  318. Haven't these people even heard of the word "hygiene"? Then again, considering that the Russian trenches always look like they were built on top of a landfill, probably not.
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  319. That may have more to do with the US pilots than the plane itself. Let's face it, even with warnings and ROEs, they still bombed Canadian troops in Afghanistan.
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  320.  @ChucksSEADnDEAD  " ... four Canadian soldiers were killed, and eight injured, by a bomb dropped on them by a formation of two US Air Force F-16 fighter aircraft on the night of 17 April 2002 ..." You were saying?
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  321. Since everything that is being said here is likely scripted, it is likely some people in the government are "floating the idea" that Russia will lose the war so it doesn't come as an enormous shock to the general populace.
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  322. Love a recent video. In one of the Russian Oblasts someone put Army Rations on sale so the families could buy them and send them to the troops on the front. Talk about being crass!
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  323. Jake, this is hardly surprising. Putin believes in "Russkiy Mir", as presented in Dugin's "Foundations of Geopolitics". It is really scary stuff, and puts this war in a whole new light.
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  324. Even raising defense spending to 2.5% would be a big boost.
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  325. 3:40 Saw a video earlier today that suggests that Ukraine pretty much has control over all of Robotyne. The video showed a Ukrainian vehicle involved with evacuating civilians in the centre or southern part of the town.
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  326. Jake, just so you know, Georgy on Ukraine Matters was not so depressed about the trade deal that Putin and Trump are looking to sign. Apparently, this news has gotten out to the Russian milbloggers, and they are royally ticked off. They are asking questions like, "What was this war about if we are going to be victimized by American Imperialism?" and words to that effect. So this attempted deal could wind up being a poisoned chalice for both Trump and Putin.
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  327. I wouldn't mind a bipolar or tripolar world, but not one where the other powers are imperialistic expansionistic dictatorships. Nothing destabilizes the world like dictatorships.
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  328. Sadly, the only way you will be able to convince the GOP that they are heading down the wrong path is by voting the whole bunch of them out of office. A clear message has to be sent, and the Republicans punished for being only concerned with being elected rather than running the country.
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  329. The news about the Abrams tanks is great. It means that Ukraine will get much needed reinforcements after a hard summer of fighting. And no, I am not being facetious, Ukraine will undoubtedly lose Leopards and perhaps Challengers during the counter-offensive, and they will need to get replacements in a timely manner.
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  330. Stupid thing is that the bulk of the military aid money is being spent IN THE US. It is being used to backfill warehouses. The US is shipping its old, nearly expired ammo and older equipment to Ukraine, while building new equipment and making new ammo stocks. So all these questions about accounting by Republicans strikes me as being about trying to win the next election, not doing the right thing. It should also be mentioned that by spending this money in the US, the Federal government is actually helping to prevent a recession in the US (something that is affecting a number of EU countries, like Germany). Something else the Republicans either don't realize or don't care about.
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  331. "Reporting from Ukraine" is another good channel for looking at things at a more tactical level.
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  332. The biggest problem is that Europe, like Canada, relied too much on the US. It enabled us to spend money on our pet projects instead of on defense. We all became complacent. Those chickens are now coming home to roost. Hopefully there will be a few politicians in Europe and Canada who will have the wherewithal to do what must be done, regardless of the cost.
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  333. One thing that this would have achieved is to make the Russian people realize that all is not well in the Worker's Paradise.
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  334. Jake, it is a shame you didn't mention the other part of these statistics: 400,000 trucks and jeeps gave the Red Army the mobility it needed for their own version of "blitzkrieg" 14,000 planes = 1/6 (16%) of all aircraft used by the Red Air Force 13,000 tanks = 1/10 (10%) of the tanks used by the Red Army 2.7 million tons of petrol products includes high octane fuel that gave Russian aircraft a huge performance boost 4.5 million tons of food kept Russia from starving.
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  335. Don't know how accurate it is, but the Meduza News Site has indicated that 5 recruiters were set on fire in Russia, not recruiting stations but the recruiters themselves. Could be a rumor.
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  336. 16:25 This is something new? The USSR (and now Russia) has been arming terrorists around the world for decades, more or less since the 1920s. A fair number of wars that the US was involved with directly or indirectly over the years were caused by these Russian trained, equipped and supplied terrorists. The Communist Chinese under Mao, Communists in the Spanish Civil War, communist groups in Malaysia and elsewhere in SE Asia, Central and South America, and Africa. All this guy is doing is openly stating that Russia is a terrorist state, and his been since 1917.
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  337. So in Russia you can definitely say, "it fell off the back of a truck."
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  338. Regarding Prighozin, I think you are right, and there might be a window in his future.
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  339. As usual, I think the Ukrainians are probably fully trained on these tanks, they just have to get the tanks to Ukraine.
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  340.  @aurorajones8481  I think you are right. After all, the Soviet Union was all about planned economies and organization (albeit often bad planning and deliberate abuse). Putin's regime has been all about pillaging the country of its wealth so that a few individuals can profit from the nation's assets. No planning there, just larceny.
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  341. After listening to the "Revolutions" podcast, I can understand why the Russian Army ends up stealing from every country they enter. Like Revolutionary and Napoleonic France, the only way they can pay for their army and revolutionary government is by stealing everything they can from countries they occupy. France did that with the Netherlands, northern Italy and other areas they occupied, Nazi Germany did it throughout Europe in WW2, Imperial Japan did it in the Pacific, the USSR did that in eastern Europe, now Russia is doing that in Ukraine. They have to do it because their economy is not a free market system, and it is only by theft that they can stave off bankruptcy. It's the biggest problem with hard core socialism and militarism, it is unsustainable economically.
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  342. Jake, I loved the eye roll during the speech by the Russian Ministry of Defense spokesman.
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  343.  @Doom_Guy__  Well, you guys have the 2,000,000 plus people who didn't vote this cycle to thank for Trump getting in (the same number of people voted for Trump in 2024 as they did in 2020, but fewer people voted Democrat). People obviously forgot that you can always vote AGAINST someone you don't want in power. Either that or they forgot the circus the US experiences from 2016-2020. In any case, it is obvious that a lot of American voters forgot that voting is important, and are now going to pay the price for it.
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  344. Jake, regarding the US economy. Saw two videos this morning where both Walmart and Dominos Pizza are warning that the US economy is collapsing. I can't understand why. After all the only things that Trump and Musk have done is fire tens of thousands of Government employees, removed DEI initiatives that helped farmers, threatened Canada and the EU with tariffs (so they have gone looking for other markets or local products), cut Medicare and Medicaid so drug prices are higher, and stopped immigration so the cheap labor pool that supports farming in the US is drying up. Must be a coincidence.🤔 Sorry, but my sarcasm is showing.
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  345. As I said before, I think that ISIS did conduct this attack, but the FSB sat back and let it happen so they could film it.
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  346. Jake, regarding the leaked information. If you ever watched "Tora, Tora, Tora" there is a scene where the President, FDR, is removed from the list of people given access to deciphered Japanese communications. The reason being that an aide discovered one of these Top Secret documents in the President's wastepaper basket! So no big surprise some officer trainees did something this stupid with US nuclear secrets. Some individuals just don't have a sense of the importance of what they are reading or using.
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  347. Jake, you are right about the sanctions. Russia has had to reduced production at, or even close, their tank factory and missile factory. They are running out of modern electronic equipment.
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  348.  @daniellarson3068  Don't forget that Russia is planning, or has already stated, to conscript another 400,000 soldiers. Ukraine wants to hammer Russia before these new troops start hitting the front lines.
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  349. 16:00 Obviously the guy never learned about feudalism, the lack of ability to change social status and being almost literally chained to the plow. Really sad.
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  350.  @MrVillabolo  Ukraine evacuated all the residents who WANTED to leave Bakhmut months ago. Those who remain are people who, for whatever reason, REFUSE to leave. Ukraine, being a democracy, is respecting the rights of those residents who refuse to leave and letting them stay.
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  351. Also, all those soldiers are being paid by the government. They are already running a deficit. This is going to make them run out of money and go bankrupt faster !
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  352. I wonder if Russia is going to see a sharp decline in arms sales, as their sales pitch seems to be failing miserably.
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  353. Jake, your comment about the devaluation of the ruble enabling Russia to pay its troops more would make sense IF Russia's inflation rate is around 4%, as indicated in internationally listed figures. However, I have seen videos from people like 1420, Zack the Russian, Nikki Proshin and others that show that inflation in the grocery stores is running at 40%, not 4%. Prices for many essential commodities have doubled since the war began. So devaluing the ruble won't help the average Russian citizen at all.
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  354. I was taken off-guard by the invasion myself, mainly because I didn't think that Putin would be this STUPID. He had been trying to build an image of Russia being a reasonable neighbor, a nation you could trust and invest in. Then, as one youtuber put it, he completely torched over 30 years of diplomacy. And not just for himself - he also ended up tarring China with the same brush, much to Xi's annoyance. Now he has basically ripped the masks off both China and Russia, and shown the world what they are really like.
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  355. Russia also announced they are increasing their army by 137,000 troops. This could cause problems. For Russia.
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  356. Jake, those are NOT burst water and steam pipes. Putin is putting in effect his plan to create a whole bunch of open air Japanese-style spas and hot spring pools, only bigger and better.♨🎎🛀😁
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  357. You would think by now they would have caught onto the fact that Putin doesn't care.
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  358. Thing is, this place was deliberately targeted. The Ukrainian secret service located the Russian spy who told his superiors about the pizzeria. It is absolutely sickening to think that people like the spy and his superior exist in this world. I just don't understand how they can live with themselves.
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  359. Jake, I think you hit the nail on the head. All the best equipment that Russia has, or has ever had, was designed and built in Ukraine. Modern Ukrainian weapons show this is still the case. Guess that's why Putin invaded Ukraine - all the Russian engineers are producing garbage, and you can't fight NATO with rubbish.
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  360. Sadly, and speaking from a historical perspective, Russia has not changed the way it wages war in a long time. Just look at the casualty figures for the battles near Rzhev during WW2.
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  361.  @shiroamakusa8075  More than likely. But it also shows that this war is about Putin's ego and Russian imperialism, nothing else.
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  362.  @Lilyschild123  Not to mention causing a diaspora of many of Russia's best and brightest. No one has actually kept count, but somewhere between 200,000 and a million Russian citizens have fled Russia itself (best estimate is probably around 300,000). A lot of these people are doctors, computer programmers, etc.
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  363. Jake, the reason the Russians were using the ferry is because the Kerch Bridge is still damaged from the first strike back in 2022. The rail bridge can only take light loads across. They would likely have to shut the bridge down for a year or more to fully repair it to pre-war conditions.
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  364. Jake, don't forget that in actuality, by dictionary definition, Putin is a Nazi. He is a firm believer in Socialism (government control of all industry and business) and is an ultra-nationalist. This makes him a Nationalistic Socialists, which is Nazism (Nazi party = National Socialist [German] Workers' Party). This is what makes Putin's comments so ironic, because he is the very thing he is speaking out against (while Ukraine is a functional democracy with a free market capitalist society).
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  365. Uranium is also exceedingly HEAVY. They had an exhibit in the Ontario science centre where you could pick up ingots of iron, lead and uranium. You really had to struggle to pick up the uranium.
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  366. Also note how large the type is on the notes Kadyrov is reading from. His eyesight must be really bad, but doesn't want to use eyeglasses.
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  367. Sadly, any element heavier than bismuth is naturally radioactive. The larger the nucleus, the more unstable. A look at the periodic table reveals the most stable isotope of Muscovium (element 115) is 650 milliseconds, about 1/2 a second. This means that within 0.5 seconds you have lost half the mass of your Muscovium. This means that in less than a minute your Muscovium has pretty much decayed to other elements. It lasts for such a short time that very little or no chemistry can be done on it. It also takes enormous amounts of energy and a lot of effort to create just a few atoms of Muscovium, so you get less energy out of Muscovium than you use to produce it. Rather like the researcher at Berkeley who transformed lead into gold - he said the process was several thousand times more expensive than just going out to mine it! Also, any atomic physicist will tell you that the ODD numbered elements are more unstable than the EVEN numbered elements. This whole business is a bunch of bilgewater.
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  368. How? And with what? All five founding nations in the Security Council basically neutered the UN.
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  369. I suspect Russia shot down its own aircraft because in all the videos I have seen, NONE of the Russian aircraft are popping off flares or engaging in evasive maneuvers. None. They have systems on these aircraft to detect incoming missiles, identify the type of threat and the direction the threat is coming from. But there seems to have been no action taken by any of these pilots. This suggests they didn't perceive a threat because it was coming from their side of the border. Otherwise they would have popped flares and dived to the deck, zig-zagging all the way.
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  370. Problem is, you don't know how far to push someone like Putin. Should watch Perun's video on the escalation ladder ("Escalation Strategy & Aid in Ukraine"). Very informative, and gives a good insight as to why things are happening the way they are.
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  371. I suspect the new US policy is that Ukraine can use US munitions to strike targets in Russia, but Ukraine cannot send Abrams or F-16s into Russia proper. This policy makes sense. It enables Ukraine to hit bridges and troop concentration areas within the Russian Federation using unmanned weapons, but crewed vehicles and planes cannot. This means Ukraine can engage in an active defense, but at the same time demonstrate to the world they have no designs on any Russian territory. Isn't politics wonderful!🙄😵‍💫🥴
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  372. I think the Roman poet Juvenal would roll over in his grave at seeing Putin keeping his soldiers happy with "Sperm Banks and Circuses". You have to substitute something for bread, don't you?
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  373. I would love to go back in time about 40 years and show this to all the twits in the universities who thought the USSR was great and a worker's paradise.
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  374. Another good channel in "War in Ukraine". https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP2QApi8G2TKc8NZmeDWSUg
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  375. I wonder if that reinforcement convoy is the same one that had the vehicle marked with bullseyes.
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  376. I argue the US lost more from this meeting than Ukraine did. It is highly likely that the US will now be shut out of any tax breaks or sweetheart business deals in Ukraine. They also lost the trust of Europe and the vast majority of their allies, and probably won't be getting any favorable deals with the EU either. And this when the US is probably on the verge of an economic collapse.
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  377.  @Ukie88  Nor was the Scheldt Estuary, or Ortono.
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  378.  @runrau9275  Churchill asked the British Chiefs of Staff to plan for just such a venture (Operation Unthinkable). Their conclusion was that it would lead to a bloody stalemate in Europe with no victors. Ironically enough, Stalin asked Stavka to see if the Russians could defeat the Anglo-American forces, and their conclusion was the same.
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  379. You know, the Russians have obviously forgotten what happens when you don't kiss up to a malignant narcissist.
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  380. @Itwasfunwhileitlasted However, since Constantinople/Byzantium fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, that branch of the former Roman Empire has long since been extinguished.
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  381. @Itwasfunwhileitlasted The Byzantine branch was extinguished. The close relatives who escaped were not. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Succession_to_the_Byzantine_Empire
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  382. I think that this was a missile attack. The reason for that is that the four craters that appear in the image are roughly the size of those made by 500lb (250kg) to 1000lb (500kg) warheads (I did a comparison of crater sizes on the internet). It would be virtually impossible for Special Forces troops to sneak over 2 tons of high explosive in four or more discrete packages onto the base. This leaves two possibilities: 1) Special forces somehow had the run of the base for over an hour, weren't spotted in all that time, were able to move Russian bombs into strategic locations around the base, and attach explosives to the majority of the aircraft (or ordinance and refueling vehicles), then at random intervals set these off, or 2) The base was attacked with multiple rockets, some armed with cluster munitions, others with 500-1000lb warheads (although the impact craters could be where the main body of the missile landed after scattering the cluster munitions). I suspect option 2.
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  383. 11:45 First time I saw this video I thought the priest was Steven Seagal. Looks a lot like him.
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  384. Beavers aren't animals! They are Canadian Engineers!🍁😁
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  385.  @williamzk9083  Doesn't mean that someone else in NATO didn't still have them, or that the US decided to empty out their old stockpiles.
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  386.  @SpectreBGM  Would have been a great way to expend their old stockpiles.
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  387. If he is a general, it is possible he was visiting Balakliia at the time of attack, so didn't have those papers with him. However, it is still likely his HQ has been overrun.
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  388. In at least one case, the reason why the referendum was halted was because the warehouse containing the ballots got hit by a HIMARS. Would be interesting to know how many ballots marked "Yes" were blown up or burned. Oh, wait, the referendum hasn't taken place yet ...
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  389. Jake, you should see all the town hall meetings. It has gotten so bad that Republicans Representatives have been told to do their meetings online so they don't meet with their angry constituents.
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  390. The video of Putin's squad shows something else - these are not average Russians. They have champagne, western clothes and are in a house that doesn't look like an abode for a hoarder. Average Russians right now would be in a somewhat claustrophobic darkened room, drinking vodka, be wearing lots of clothes because they lack proper home heating, and would probably have more sullen, dispirited expressions.
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  391. One of the other channels talked about a Russian exhibit in Lysychansk of "captured" Ukrainian war equipment, including tanks and BMPs. Funny thing about the tanks and BMPs, they seem to have areas on the hulls with fresh green paint, and perhaps a faint "Z" underneath. I leave it up to you to decide if this is recaptured captured equipment, or another lame attempt by the Russians for propaganda purposes.
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  392. Ukraine is using Bakhmut in the same way they used Severodonetsk. They know the Russians want it, and are willing to pay any price in blood to take it. Therefore, it makes sense to hold it as long as possible to bleed the Russian army dry of manpower.
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  393. Russia may have issued the arrest warrant for one of Zelensky's comedy routines. There is a skit on stage where Zelensky drops his pants and is "playing" the piano with a certain unmentionable part of the anatomy. So, the charge is indecent exposure, maybe?
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  394.  @rejvaik00  Erdogan might get a drubbing in the next elections in Turkiye.
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  395. Based on the latest casualty figures released by the Ukrainians, the Russians appear to have lost somewhere in the neighborhood of one-quarter to one-third of their fighting strength. Latest Ukrainian figures give 20,000 dead. One can likely add to this a further 20,000 severely wounded and unable to fight anymore, plus likely 20,000 wounded but able to return to combat. Then you have to add in MIA and prisoners. So, Russia has likely lost around 40,000-50,000 troops out of around 225,000 invaders. Add to this 700-800 out of 2,500 tanks, probably over a thousand AFVs and IFVs, and one can see they will be hard-pressed to deliver major hammer blows. Given Ukraine's actions to date, I would suspect they will impale themselves on the Ukrainian defenses.
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  396. 21:00 Ukraine's answer to ABBA?
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  397. Rather than holding a land bridge to Crimea, what they really want is control of the North Crimea Canal. "The canal begins at the city of Tavriysk, where it draws from the Kakhovka Reservoir fed by the Dnieper river, which runs from the Dnieper River ... to supply the city of Kerch..." "...reports of a massive shrinkage in the area under cultivation in Crimea, from 130,000 hectares in 2013 to just 14,000 in 2017, and an empty canal and a nearly dry reservoir resulting in widespread water shortages with water only being available for three to five hours a day in 2021." (quoted from Wikipedia page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Crimean_Canal). Since the canal also supplies water to Simferpol and Kerch (and possibly Sevastopol as well), this is a major issue for Russia. They need to hold onto that canal in order to keep Crimea.
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  398. 11:00 I think the reason for the decline is that the Russian people are continually being told how well the war is going, night after night. By now I am sure the least propagandized viewers are probably asking themselves, "If the war is going great and we are winning, why are there major recruitment drives and why hasn't the war ended?"
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  399.  @at8630  Russian troll.
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  400.  @kungfreddie  I think the e-mails that were released show he is a "Tucker Carlson First" type of person. You don't say to people privately that something is a bunch of BS, then turn around and air that same BS message, passing it off as the truth, unless you are a self-centred hypocrite. If Tucker did not believe half the stuff he said on the air, he wasn't working for his vision of the US, he was working an audience for ratings. And obviously didn't care about the damage he was doing to his country by airing these statements.
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  401. The Ernst Rohm of Russia, Yevgeny Prigozhin, is now making his move to use his brown-shirts in place of the army.
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  402. I have seen videos of the interior of the prison following the attack, and many of the bodies are intact, some still lying on the remains of the cots, but horribly burned/charred. In other words, they were not blown up, but incinerated. This confirms the Ukrainian claims of a war crime.
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  403. Fortunately for the world it appears that, apart from Lukashenko of Belarus, all the other leaders are not putting the rings on their fingers, and are instead showing Putin their middle digits. Sometimes with both hands.
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  404. I don't mind if the US receives some of Ukraine's mineral resources, but in return the US must supply funds and materials to help Ukraine rebuild in return.
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  405. Jake, the internet community identified the Russian who tortured and mutilated the Ukrainian. They have even gone so far as to track down where he lives. Yikes. I recall he comes from the Kuban/North Caucuses area.
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  406. I, too, spent some time in Ukraine. Back in the mid-1990s I was part of a group helping some local communities with building structures in the area around Berehomet. Beautiful country and wonderful people.
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  407. Jake, ironically enough it was Poland, Czechia and Hungary that more or less held a re-election gun to Clinton's head to get the US to agree to those countries joining NATO in 1999. They wanted in, Clinton demured, so Vaclav Havel and Lech Walesa started feting the Republicans for support to join NATO. So Clinton had to bend or lose the election.
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  408. I wish more of the Republican base would take your stance. The biggest problem I see, as a Canadian, is that a lot of Republicans don't care about the future of the country, they just want to be elected to office. I have seen very few items on the Republican agenda since the days of George Bush senior about the future they want to create. They have left that to the Democrats, then find fault with everything the Democrats propose (some of which I disagree with, but some I agree with). I don't know how you can get the Republican party back on the rails, but the GOP leadership really needs to take the bull by the horns and clean house.
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  409. Of course Russia is winning. They are winning the race to the bottom of the list of most powerful militaries in the world. I'm just waiting for them to start training with bamboo spears.
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  410. I think Macron is doing what a lot of French Presidents have done since the time of Charles de Gaulle - trying to demonstrate that France still has its own identity and foreign policy. Personally, I think it is also a psychological issue. The French rue losing their empire and are trying to flex their international credentials. To me it seems like a form of inferiority complex where Macron feels he has to posture to show that France has a place on the world stage.
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  411. 23:00 That sounds about right. Two hours on, two hours force rest. I remember some of that during my basic training.
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  412.  @colincampbell767  Could be one of two things - the main body of the missile impacting and detonating, or Russian munitions being prepped for loading onto attack aircraft being hit (or cooking off due to fire). The Russians have been using 500kg bombs, after all.
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  413.  @colincampbell767  Normally, you wouldn't keep munitions in a maintenance area. However, we are talking about the Russians here, and it is anyone's guess if they follow the same safety protocols as most other nations. After all, who would have thought the Germans would build the Bismarck with the electrical generators placed outside the armored citadel? Or that the Japanese would have such bad damage control or poorly protected aviation tanks on their carriers? Or the British painting roundels on their Spitfires right where the control cables came together? The Russians have been fighting opponents who couldn't fight back for so long that many of the lessons about fueling aircraft and munitions handling may have been forgotten for the sake of expediency.
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  414. This is the second time Solovyov has lost it because of a technical glitch. You can tell he really likes to be the centre of attention, and if doesn't get it, he throws a hissy fit.
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  415. Other reason for moving to Canada - the climate is similar to Russia. From a Canadian.
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  416. Jake, to be fair, could the Allies have been able to get the Soviet Union to leave the areas they occupied in 1945? Both the British (Operation Unthinkable) and the Soviets looked at pushing the other side out of Europe, and both sides realized they didn't have the resources to do so. It is more or less the limit of the Red Army advance in Europe that determined where the Iron Curtain fell, and I doubt very much that any negotiation could have forced Stalin to relinquish what the USSR occupied in 1945.
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  417. Looks like the trenches on the Western Front in WW1.
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  418. I have seen some videos that suggest that the Deep State map is incorrect and Ukraine still holds parts of the city. Don't know if they are late posts, or Russia is exaggerating once again.
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  419. Jake, Ukraine probably wants to keep the pipeline so they can ship their own gas to Europe after the war. All Ukraine has to do is develop their gas fields.
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  420.  @Duke_Romilar_III  It exists. It's called Russkiy Mir. Look it up.
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  421. For those of you who know history, it is interesting how General Popov [Rommel] has been relieved for reporting to Putin [Hitler] and Chief of the General Staff Gerasimov [Heusinger] that the front in Zaporizhzhia [Normandy] is brittle and on the verge of collapse. As a result, General Popov [Rommel] has been relieved. History really does repeat itself. So, can Ukraine repeat Operation Cobra?
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  422. Under the Lend-Lease Act, the trucks were probably the most important contribution. It gave Russia the ability to supply their troops and support advances.
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  423.  @MysticalJessica  Your thoughts echo mine precisely. I even thought that since the US was telling everyone that Russia was going to attack, Putin would be stupid to carry it out even if they had planned to do so. We were wrong. However, in one way, Ukraine may have forced Putin's hand. When Russia stole Crimea back in 2014 they failed to capture the North Crimea Canal, which runs from the Dnipro River (just behind the Nova Khakovka Dam) to Crimea. It supplies something like 85% of the water used in Crimea these days for industry, agriculture and human consumption. Ukraine blocked the canal in 2014 and, even with severe water use restrictions, water levels in the Crimean reservoirs dripped from 100% in 2014 to just 7% in January 2022. At that rate, Crimea would have run out of water by mid-summer last year. Putin would have lost face because he would had to negotiate with Ukraine. So, like the imperialistic despot he is, he invaded instead.
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  424. One of the things that you didn't mention is that there is usually a lag between raising interest rates and a decline in rate of inflation. The FED is monitoring what is happening, and what we might be seeing is a small decline in the rate of inflation, and if the interest rates are frozen, it might spike again. I am sure that the FED is on top of this. I also think that this is not directly related to punishing Russia either.
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  425. Comrade, you were captured. We have a wonderful cottage for you in Magadan or another beautiful vacation spot in a Siberian Gulag.
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  426. Back in WW2, there was a standing joke during the Stalingrad campaign that the Soviet 4th Tank Army was an army with 4 tanks. Considering the losses they took early in the campaign, it wasn't far from the truth.
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  427. Correction: Russia (Soviet Union) didn't decide to switch sides, they were desperate for allies when Nazi Germany invaded them and threatened them with extinction. Prior to that they were doing what Putin is currently doing - invading and subjugating all their neighbors.
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  428. What do you think a psychopath who killed and injured close to 1,000 Russians in 2000 just so he could be elected would be like?
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  429. The Russians shouldn't be hiring penguins as engineers on their ships (Yes, Rico, Kaboom!)🐧🎆
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  430. The best trained, best motivated troops of Russia are in the Kherson region. Which is why Ukraine is trying to destroy them.
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  431. 22:30 Jake, I think the soldiers who surrendered were the remnants of a company, as they were lead by a captain.
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  432. Re-enacting the Battle of Kursk. I love how the Russians have only one tank here, where in reality they outnumbered the Germans 3:1 initially, then were reinforced to a 7:1 advantage. Likewise, even during the initial attack (Operation Citadel) the Germans were outnumbered in tanks 3:1. In other words, an inferior force was attacking a superior force in dug-in positions. Even so, Russia took 4-5 times the losses the Germans did, and lost 5-8 times the number of tanks. Pity they don't show that.
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  433. Given Russian tank losses at the front, I wouldn't bet on it.
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  434. 8:20 Jake, Russia may be incompetent, but Ukraine has been extremely competent.
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  435. Just saw online that the Senate overwhelmingly killed the filibuster, with 80 votes cast to stop it. So the vote on aid should go ahead tonight.
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  436. 21:00 With regards to nuclear weapons, the other issue is that the Russian military might balk at allowing Putin to use them. They have in the past, and I could see it them saying "no" again.
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  437.  @hendrikdependrik1891  I was wondering how good the cannon on the A-10 would be for trench clearing.
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  438. 13:30 Russia is carrying out the same tactics the Wehrmacht did in WW2 - destroy everything so that there is nothing left for the civilian population or liberating army to use. Both the Germans in WW2 and the Russians of 2022 have acted like the petulant bullies they were/are.
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  439. Jake, here is a video by Conor Clyne on this nutjob. He is a Chilean reporter who hates the West. Sounds like he has extreme socialist or communist leanings. He is supposedly anti-imperialist, so why is he supporting imperialist Russia? Conor just rips this guy apart. By the way, Gonzalo was arrested by the Ukrainians back in April of this year and later released. Surprising that in a supposedly totalitarian regime that he is walking free, and is not currently incarcerated. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jovS7-np8q4
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  440. Jake, Georgi on "Ukraine Matters" did a wonderful "burn" of this this proposal by China. He showed point by point how absurd this whole thing this "peace proposal" is. And notice how China at no point in this entire proposal says that Russia must remove its troops from Ukraine as part of the peace process.
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  441.  @DUCKDUCKGOISMUCHBETTER  There was a really good Frontline episode made about 7 years ago covering Putin from his childhood to becoming leader of Russia. It also tells you how much of a criminal he really is. It is scary stuff. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCzNPQsXX3I And what I mean is that Putin is an ultra-nationalist - he believes that whatever he does for Russia is right, and Russia has the right to do anything it wants. There is a difference in believing in a national identity, and thinking that identity gives a country carte blanche to do whatever it likes. Including committing cultural or ethnic genocide.
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  442.  @jaykolinsky6020  That's not true. There are Nazis in Ukraine, they just happen to wear "Z"s and fly a flag that has white, blue and red horizontal stripes. After all, under Putin Russia is rapidly becoming an ultra-nationalistic socialist state, i.e., National Socialist = Nazi.
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  443. This whole business with the 43 re-education camps smacks of the rebirth of the Gulag Archipeligo.
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  444. Putin obviously never listened to Kenny Rogers' "The Gambler".
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  445. I still maintain it is not a glitch, but rather a cyberattack.
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  446. I find it interesting that in the last week the Ukrainian military has pushed the Russians back about 5 miles towards Izyum from the Sloviansk area.
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  447. We now know that the Ukrainians have been armed with HARM missiles, which explains why the Russian AA system may not be functioning as well as it should, and why there seems to be less Russian anti-battery fire on Ukrainian artillery positions as well. Rather hard to find out where a shell or missile was launched from if you have lost your radar.
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  448. Last time an armored train like this was used was during WW2. Didn't work out very well. They were used effectively during the Russian Revolution, but not afterwards.
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  449. According to the latest video from Warthog Defense, the Russians (particularly the Wagner Group) are recruiting prisoners from St. Petersburg (and probably other places) to fight in Ukraine. If true, things could get scary. But it would be in line with your comment about Russia running out of cannon fodder. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-88Wsjprfs
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  450. 10:00 Like the water-filled trench they are in. Not only will they get to freeze, but one shell hit in the trench will wipe out everyone along the entire length of the trench.
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  451. It is hardly surprising that Putin doesn't want to renegotiate the deal. After all, he has been going against the grain for the last 16 months now.
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  452. 3:00 I think there are two reasons for this war. The first is oil and natural gas. If Ukraine joins the EU, and Ukraine's oil and gas reserves are developed, the EU will have another supply closer to "home". If Ukraine's economy takes off, it will cause people to question their regime. The second reason is Crimea. When Russia stole Ukraine in 2014, they were unable to acquire the entire length of the North Crimea Canal, which supplies the bulk of the water potable and irrigation water used in Crimea. Ukraine blocked the canal in 2014, and since then water levels in the reservoirs have dropped to 7% of capacity. They would have ended up being out of water by around July of this year. This would have meant abandoning Crimea, or attacking Ukraine to secure the canal.
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  453. I suspect Russia is making a ripoff of a bad comedy movie called, "Weekend at Sokolov's".
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  454. 4:00 The other issue that you did not mention was how many missile pods the Ukrainian logistical system can handle at a time (i.e. ship from Poland to the depot, then from the depot to the HIMARS). Each missile pod weighs about 2 tons, from what I can determine, so you can only transport so many by truck to frontline areas at a given time.
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  455.  @Crusnikusum  Perhaps, or perhaps not. Remember, the weapons are coming in, and the food is going out. It really depends on how they can balance the number of empty freight cars each way, as grain cars cannot easily carry weapons, and standard freight cars cannot carry loose grain. Perhaps they can work out a solution for this.
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  456. Jake, the words "thinking" and "Lukashenko" are an oxymoron.
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  457. I'm trying to remember if the UK is still paying for the South Sea Bubble fiasco. I know they were still paying for that one in the 1990s (over 200 years of payments).
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  458. One of the important things to consider when you are talking about aid to Ukraine is that a lot of that money is actually going to US Companies to manufacture new equipment to restock the US warehouses. So a fair bit of that money actually ends up in workers pockets, CEO's and company accounts, and returns to the government coffers. So, MTG is against Americans working and earning money?
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  459. Russia's A-50 was damaged because of BYPOLar disorder.
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  460. I know one way that Zelensky can get on Trump's good side. Offer sweetheart deals like tax breaks for US companies that invest in Ukraine, give US companies first dibs on projects in Ukraine. If Trump sees that the US can make money in Ukraine as a replacement for Russia, he will likely want to support Ukraine.
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  461. 12:00 Denys Davydov was saying that the area south of the Dnipro River is wide open and flat, so the Russians are going to have a hard time hiding their artillery in this region.
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  462. Jake, you neglected a second way that the immigration problem could be fixed, and again would not be implemented for different reasons. This second method would entail investing heavily in improving the living standards in Mexico and Central America, providing local jobs and making their economies stronger. This would mean that people living in those countries would be earning more, and would mean people from those regions would no longer have the incentive to move to the US. The poverty and political instability of places like Italy, Ireland and eastern Europe in the 1800s and early 1900s was the primary reason that people took the plunge and went to the US. You don't see mass immigration from those regions these days because they are politically stable and have relatively vibrant economies. If the US is really serious about taking care of illegal immigration, it should do it at the source. Anything else is a band-aid solution.
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  463. Jake, that helicopter was not decommissioned, it was an experimental helicopter testing a new Russian air conditioning system.
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  464. Jake, there is a video that suggests that at least one drone made it through to a target in Moscow near the Kremlin. The video was taken from a vantage point where smoke can be seen rising to the left of the dome of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Russian sources say it was a Lamborghini, but that is an awful lot of smoke for one car!
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  465. Vivek obviously has no clue as to what Nazi stands for. The main part of the definition is National Socialism, which means that Zelensky would have to be someone who believes in economic socialism (government owns and operates everything) and be an ultra-nationalist. However, Zelensky supports free market capitalism (the opposite of socialism) and although patriotic, is not an ultra-nationalist. But guess who is a Nazi - Putin. He and his cronies are gradually buying out and taking over all industry from manufacturing to coffee shops and restaurants. And we know they are ultra-nationalists because they are trying to commit genocide by either making everyone they invade into Russians or killing them.
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  466.  @AstroGremlinAmerican  It's amazing the number of trolls who show up when I was sending a message to Jake. Not to mention very ignorant responses too.
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  467.  @MrJimtimslim  Don't trolls like you have something better to do than insult people. I was sharing information with Jake, not you.
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  468.  @Rig0r_M0rtis  No, just continually dismayed at how childish and ignorant some people can be.
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  469.  @HWEspana  No. If we had done that, we would be as bad as they were. And the western Allies would have run into much the same problem as the Germans did, too much land, not enough troops.
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  470.  @BlackEpyon  Not really. Based on dictionary definitions, the Russians are also Nazis. Their economics are socialist, and they are ultra-nationalists who believe in genocide. So, they are National Socialists = Nazis.
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  471. Those poor people of Bucha. First suffering from Russian occupation, then having a McDonalds open there. Haven't these people suffered enough? At least open a Subways or Dominoes Pizza. Seriously, though, it is good to see the inhabitants of Bucha being able to get back on their feet following weeks of brutal occupation and start trying to live normal lives again in the midst of a war. My heart goes out to them. Their strength in the face of adversity is a powerful reminder of how indomitable the human spirit can be. I wish them and all the people of Ukraine a victory in 2023 and an end to this unprovoked, appalling war. Slava Ukraini, Heroyam Slava.
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  472. Hate to disagree with you Jake, but in actual fact what Putin and Co. want to do is create the Pan-Slavic union that was dreamed up by the Czars back in the 1800s. It goes further than what you showed. The Russian elites want to see is a Russian Empire stretching from the Pacific to the Aegean, and encompassing Finland, the Baltic States, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Bosnia, Serbia, Kosovo, Croatia, Slovenia, Greece, and the parts of Turkey bordering the Bosporus, including Istanbul (Constantinople, aka The Second Rome). Basically any country where you can claim people of Slavic origin have lived. This is the Czarist dream that Britain, France and Turkey (Turkiye) managed to thwart in the 1800s. This empire would also likely spill into Afghanistan as well, since the Russians have been eyeing that country for almost 200 years now as well. This is what we will face unless certain egotistical twits in the US Congress get turfed next election cycle.
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  473. Sea Baby Drones - coming soon to a Kerch Strait Bridge near you!
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  474. This youth movement is the latest in a long line of Soviet/Russian that started with the Komsomol. Putin is going back to his communist roots and adding a more militant bent to a program that has existed in one form or other since the Revolution on 1917.
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  475.  @nkuntroll247  Well, if you want to secure your boarders you need proper security systems for your renters. Oh, you mean borders. In that case, you need to hire more border control officers. A wall without someone monitoring or patrolling it is just a minor obstacle. The other thing that would help would be if the US would help raise the living standards in Central America. If the people are well off in those countries, why would they feel the need to come to the US? That would mean political and business investment in those countries, but that is what the US does anyway. Regarding accountability, you obviously have not been paying attention to the Pentagon or NATO telling everyone for TWO YEARS that they have been tracking all the aid sent to Ukraine. Or that the vast majority of funds are spent in the US manufacturing or refurbishing arms and ammo, then shipping it to Ukraine. The bulk of the money stays in the US and pays for US defense jobs. Please do some research before reposting Kremlin lies. By the way, the minor issue of the US border pales in comparison with Iran and Russia threatening to destabilize the world and plunge it into a permanent state of war. Read up on Russkiy Mir and Foundations of Geopolitics. You might be surprised at the scope of Russian imperial ambitions (like an empire that stretches from the Pacific to the Atlantic and Mediterranean).
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  476.  @antonystringfellow5152  AT least Biden makes sense 90% of the time. Trump makes absolutely no sense 90% of the time. And the remaining 10% is about destroying the US Constitution and eliminating anyone he considers to be an enemy.
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  477. Hilary lost in part because she insulted a large block of voters. You're not going to win by calling people "deplorables".
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  478. Jake, the train derailments may be happening because the bogeies that the freight cars ride on are wearing out. Russia stopped producing their own rail car bogies decades ago, and have been sourcing them from (in a cartridge form) Germany ever since. Like the Russian airline/aircraft industry, these crucial parts on freight and passenger cars may be wearing out and, because they are made as a single component (not individual parts), they cannot be replaced. Hence the increase in train derailments.
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  479. Jake, regarding Elon Musk, Donald Trump and Canada. There are currently over 350,000 signatures on the petition to remove Elon's Canadian Citizenship. It is only about a week old, and is gaining momentum. We have a second petition with tens of thousands of signatures that will ban Donald Trump from entering Canada because he is a convicted felon.
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  480. I always love how all these people complain about government interference, until they need assistance. Then they scream about the government not protecting them.
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  481. Jake, saw a video today of the Nova Khakovka dam. Aerial/satellite images show that the Russians blew the two bridge spans where they cross the over the sluice gates. I believe that is at the northern end of the dam. Like the Antonovsky Bridge, there is now a large gap where the roadway and rail lines used to cross the top of the dam, but the dam is intact.
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  482. From what I saw in Joe Blogs, SVB made the stupid mistake of placing all of its assets into the long-term bonds, rather than having a diversified portfolio. They ignored the old advice of "not putting all your eggs into the same basket".
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  483. This video by Suchomimus shows you the quality of some of the weapons the recruits are getting. I wouldn't touch them with a 10-foot pole. "The Rusty, Moldy Weapons That Russian Conscripts are Being Sent to War With" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8GCtqtiF88
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  484. 20:00 The Ukrainian growth in GDP is a bit of a mixed blessing. What it really shows is that Ukraine has switched to a war economy. However, like Russia's economy, in the long run this is unsustainable. It is a temporary improvement. Unlike Russia, Ukraine has a lot of backers and business interests that are interested in investing in Ukraine once the fighting stops. Russia cannot say the same thing, and it is possible their entire economy will collapse.
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  485.  @moxie591  Other reason Russia wants Crimea is so they can project power into the Black Sea, and control the northern half of that large body of water. Again, the ruling elites are only concerned about projecting power and dominance over everyone in the region, preferring to rule by fear than work in cooperation with others.
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  486. 3:00 yes, troop accommodations onboard the RMS Queen Mary during WW2 while transporting soldiers from the US to England.
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  487.  @mlo5083  Sadly, even civics classes don't help. Think of the number of idiots who vote for the Communist Party, or for fascist parties. Biggest issue is that many voters don't think, they just vote robotically ("I've always voted X, and always will" mentality) or vote for whoever tells them what they want to hear, regardless how stupid it is (i.e., "If elected I will halve you taxes and double your benefits"). One batch of people, when asked why they voted a particular way and if they checked out the candidates said, "Sure we did, we looked at all the news that agreed with what we think." Little wonder you get some weirdos and idiots in high office.
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  488. This whole thing is about Trump wanting Zelenskyy to grovel. Trump is a malignant narcissist, and he wants everyone to worship him. Anyone who stands up to him or doesn't do what he wants is an enemy to be browbeaten into submission. Trump is a sick man.
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  489. One commenter on one of the streams suggested that the drones may have been snuck into Russia by the Freedom of Russia Legion and/or Russian Volunteer Corps during the attacks on the border posts last week. This does make sense, as the confusion caused by that attack would allow stuff to be sent across the border into Russia. Then again, as you indicate, perhaps it was a Russian false flag. However, I do question that because one of Putin's bases of support are the oligarchs and wealthy, so why would you parade drones over their homes and bring the war to them? I would think they would be more likely to lose interest in supporting a war that is now directly threatening them, rather than suddenly become ultra-patriots. They are, after all, people who put themselves and their wealth above everything else.
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  490. Jake, I disagree. One of the biggest hurdles faced with supplying weapons to Ukraine is training. It isn't just training the crews of the tanks, HIMARS and AFVs how to use their equipment, but more importantly training the officers on how to coordinate all those moving parts to form a cohesive offensive package - a combined arms army. Remember that Ukraine has increased its army at least 5-fold. This means that at least 5 times the number of troops have to be trained on NATO equipment under NATO trainers. This is no mall task. Think of your old high school, and in the midst of your school year the teachers are suddenly called upon to organize classes for foreign students who have a marginal understanding, if any, of English. However, you have to use the same classrooms and gym, but they can't upset your school's class schedule too much, while attending school during the standard school day. Now add to this that Ukraine also now needs at least 5 times the officers to lead those troops into battle and coordinate all their activities properly. In NATO countries this is taken as a given, because our officer corps has been doing this for decades. Add to this the fact that Ukraine is used to Soviet doctrine, so now they are suddenly learning a whole new way of waging war. Think how much trouble you would have organizing the logistics, training and equipping of entirely new units. For a comparison on how difficult this is the best comparison is the dilemma faced by the US back in 1941-1942. The US Army had rapidly expanded, and green troops were sent into initial operations like Torch and the Battle of Kasserine Pass with a new officer corps. In both cases, especially the latter, the operations were near fiascos, even with the regular army divisions and a pre-war officer corps taking part. Ukraine's problems are even worse, because they haven't had the extra year to train officers. So I would disagree with John Sweeney. The real issues are bottlenecks caused by logistics and training. The equipment is being sent as soon as crews are available, but they cannot be sent before the training is complete. Otherwise all you do is present Russia with a wonderful target-rich environment of parked NATO vehicles and equipment.
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  491. I don't know why you expected better of Walz and Rubio. If they were selected by Trump, they were obviously willing to toss away any morals and ethics they had for positions of power.
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  492. 8:52 I wonder if he was sucking up foliage into his engines or mowing the grass, given how low he is flying.
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  493. The Russians are obviously not paying the penguins crewing their ships, like the Ursa Major (Yes, Rico, Kaboom!).
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  494.  @stoneageprogrammer432  Problem is that the tactics of the Napoleonic era differ a fair bit from those of the Roman era, so a direct comparison is difficult or impossible. But it is true that Napoleon won more than twice the battles that Caesar did (56 versus 22).
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  495. But Jake, according to Henry Higgins in "My Fair Lady", they haven't spoken English in America for years! 🤣
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  496.  @anonymousocsec2791  In a pig's eye. What Russia is doing is IN VIOLATION OF Article 51. They have been in violation since 2008 (Georgia), and most definitely in violation against Ukraine since 2014. Who are they defending against? Ukraine didn't attack Russia, Russian attacked Ukraine. You are obviously a Russian Troll.
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  497. Jake, I agree with your comments. The Ukrainians are doing a magnificent job of making the Russians pay for every inch of ground they take. And I concur that Denys is getting a bit anxious, which is hardly surprising. However, he should remember that the gains that Russia is making are a kilometer here, 500 metres there. The war in the Donbass resembles nothing less than the Western Front in WW1, where gains of a few hundred yards were considered a great success. It is hard to watch it unfold in real time. I can only hope the Ukrainians have been building up a strong, well trained force to counterattack the Russians and knock them out of their country
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  498.  @alhambrabiker1476  The side that realizes they have been lied to.
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  499. It is possible that Russia has only lost 5,937 Officers. Enlisted ranks don't count.
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  500. Amazing to see "Flight of the Bumblebee" played on the piano. The "Green Hornet" trumpet player must be envious.
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  501. The Russians are committing Hostel takeovers. Or is it Hotel takeovers?
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  502. I think Xi is deliberately snubbing Putin. By invading Ukraine, Putin has not only placed his own country in a situation where it will likely collapse either militarily, politically or economically in the next year. The Invasion also put the whole world on alert, and now most of the major players in the Pacific are eyeing China and keeping a close watch on what they are doing. I cannot remember the channel, but one youtuber said that Putin had torched 30 years of Chinese and Russian diplomacy with the invasion of Ukraine.
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  503. 18:20 The story was about the Ukrainians capturing a T-90 tank, but the vehicle in the image is a BMP troop carrier (not sure which version).
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  504.  @barryhamm3414  Here's a good video on this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHhgVrKJJoA
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  505. I saw this was likely coming down the pipe because Zelensky didn't help Trump back in 2020. Trump has been nursing this personal grievance for 5 years now. It is not the Americans who let you down, it is the GOP. Remember that. Having said that, it is still a betrayal of trust. But then again, how do you trust someone who has thrown everyone else he can under the bus just so he can escape the consequences of his actions?
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  506.  @asdklfalskdjflaskdjf  I think the Republicans have been moving in that direction since the days of Clinton. The formation of the Tea Party movement only made it worse. I commented at the lunch table once back when this clique formed in the Republican Party that I expected to see brown-shirted Republicans goose-stepping down the Mall in Washington in about 20 years. Given what has happened in recent years, it appears I wasn't far off.
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  507. That is a very good point. I doubt most people (myself included) considered the fact that the bulk of the "Reservists" are actually part of the State security apparatus. And you are right, if he mobilizes these people it is likely that the lid will pop off and his regime would be in danger of total collapse.
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  508. To be fair, the opening ceremonies in Paris were extremely odd, to say the least.
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  509. That's the real Putin. I can tell by the way he walked into the office. Definitely not one of his body doubles.
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  510. Russia decided to use the Luftwaffe strategy for defeating Britain - bomb London.
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  511. Jake, would I like to visit Ukraine? Yes, I would like to return to the region (western Ukraine) I visited in the 1990s and see how it has changed in the past 30 years. Ukraine is a wonderful country with so much potential. I only hope the people there can fulfill that potential.
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  512. Suchomimus youtube covered this issue. He indicated that the vast majority of evidence supports the fact that a Ukrainian AA missile went astray. "Missile Lands in Przewodow, Poland" Link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgObpujYHFQ&t=8s
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  513. Russia attacking NATO over Ukraine. That would be like trying to "cut off your nose to spite your face", and promptly slitting their own throat.
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  514. Ah, yes. Alexander Mercouris. The British lawyer who was disbarred for forging correspondence and faking his own abduction. Obviously a trustworthy source! (sorry, my sarcasm is showing). I have looked up the backgrounds of most of these clowns and you are right, they either have criminal records or were thrown out of their positions for racism, bigotry and anti-semitism.
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  515. Putin was traumatized by the images of Ghaddafi's death ... Obviously not enough, because he is committing worse crimes than Ghaddafi. He also forgot that Ghaddafi was killed by the people of Libya for his mistreatment of them. I guess Putin learned the wrong lesson from this episode of world history.
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  516. I guess the cemetery COULD be considered a military target if soldiers from WW2 were buried there.🤔
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  517. There is a major difference between mobilization in WW1 and WW2 and today. In the two World Wars there was an existential threat to Russia, but the war in Ukraine is an invasion. It is not defense of the Motherland, but naked aggression. It is not a war being fought for the survival of the nation. Thus, they have no motivation to fight this war.
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  518.  @tomas12912  France has a tendency to try to play both sides. It seems to have been a governmental policy since WW2 to avoid taking a stance that offends anyone (rather like India). This ignores the fact that by doing so you often offend everyone.
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  519.  @zyeet3243  More importantly, the current borders were remapped in cooperation with the governments of the newly formed nations, not imposed by force by external parties. This makes the current conflict a much greater breach of trust.
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  520. Notice the lack of energy or elan in the people heading off to Ukraine. They just look like mental zombies.
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  521. Jake, I should mention that I watched a program on the Russian nuclear power stations a few years ago, and it turns out that all the Soviet-built reactors are capable of being turned to weapons-grade materials. That is because, well, paranoid Communist USSR. So it wouldn't be that difficult for Ukraine to convert their reactors to producing weapons grade material.
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  522. You should also check out Putin's "Mein Kampf", Dugin's "Foundations of Geopolitics". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundations_of_Geopolitics The two together paint a really ugly picture.
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  523.  @JakeBroe  Don't forget that Trump is trying to siphon off election campaign money to pay his legal expenses.
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  524. One positive I can see coming out of this war is the Ukraine, if they can survive, will get extremely modern infrastructure to replace their old Soviet era equipment. Not the way I would recommend, but Ukraine could end up having a post-war boom like West Germany and Japan did.
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  525. I think the White House wanted to have something left to use as an escalation threat/bargaining chip. Given that Putin is a psycopath this was a flawed strategy. I think that Biden and Blinken want to have something left as a bargaining tool, but you cannot negotiate with Putin. Putin sees everyone in the world as a pawn for him to toy with, and the only way that one can deal with someone like that is remove them and their cronies from power.
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  526. I disagree. Trump is a symptom, not the disease. The disease is their desire to get elected and take control of the government AT ANY COST. It also means that the GOP has no real policies or desire to help the country, and realize they don't have a platform for the 21st Century. They know all their traditional policies are bankrupt. So all they can do is fall in line behind a somewhat charismatic demagogue and hope they can control him while they strive to alter things so they can stay in power. Much like the politicians thought they could control Adolf Hitler after the 1932 elections. And we saw what that lead to ...
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  527. Regarding the Pakistani T-80Us. Joe Blogs has said that Pakistan is getting close to financial collapse as well, so they are probably selling these tanks to Ukraine directly or indirectly to get some debt relief.
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  528.  @rahulkanthamenuni5446  Correction, the US and Britain may be member of NATO, but they are NOT NATO. Big difference. Also, according to what I have read the HMS Eagle's involvement is stated by the Russians, but I could see no other source referencing it. Basically it sounds like an unholy mess caused by the partition of India in 1947 and made worse by the meddling of Nixon and Kissinger, two people who have a record of bad policy decisions. After all, Nixon was only saved from impeachment for criminal activity by VP Ford's pardon. However, that has nothing to do with a Nazi dictatorship invading a proto-democracy that wants to westernize itself. You cannot use the "but they did this" argument to justify what Putin is doing. It's like saying that the Holocaust and murder of over 6 million people in cold blood is justified because the Allies bombed Germany. The two do not equate.
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  529. Problem is that Putin is a psychopath like Hitler. Hitler figured that Germany would win WW2 even when the Red Army was in the streets of Berlin. Putin thinks the same way. How do you deal with someone like that? Putin isn't rational, and neither are his toadying sycophants.
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  530. Jake, word is that the Ukrainians have already pulled out of that pocket near Prohres.
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  531. I'm guessing that if there wasn't a Russian National Republican Army before, there probably will be now. Watch for more acts of sabotage and assassinations.
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  532.  @chetpomeroy1399  Nope, it was agreed upon in 1991 when Ukraine declared its independence.
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  533.  @jollyjackass  That's rather like saying you cannot blame a robber for breaking into your house because the police didn't show up! It's a stupid argument.
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  534. As I have said before, these massed attacks strike me being done more out of desperation than for any tactical or strategic purpose. Given the state of Russian finances, I wonder if the country is on the verge of economic collapse.
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