Topic: Russia

[Libertas]

A Kerry link while he was US SOS. As SOS he knew what the US was up to.  ISIL had US weapons for sure.

https://www.dailysabah.com/syrian-crisis/2017/01/07/us-watched-daesh-gaining-power-kerry-admits-in-leaked-audio

Here is the Wesley Clark link
https://youtu.be/jWxKn-1S8ts
General Wesley Clark - "We're Going to Take Out 7 Countries in 5 Years"

Well, nothing Kerry said there said "support Daesh" directly or indirectly...did he hope they would topple the national socialist dictatorship of Assad, sure, lots of people probably did and I wouldn't have given a frack either...but Hitlery and her gross negligence in the Benghazi Affair and her boss were looking to use nefarious folks to funnel weapons to Syria...but who ends up getting them in the end is a crapshoot when you deal with scumbags...just look at the "aid" to Gaza!  And obviously any ploy in Syria using proxies failed miserably...otherwise we would never have had to enter it via Northern Iraq.  Should have let the silly Russians deal with the whole mess.

As for Clark that clip just reinforces my opinion he is a gigantic egomaniac strutting around like he is the most beautiful and wise peacock in the universe...

Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan & Iran.

Uhh huh.  OK, Iran hated us once we went into Iraq?  BS, they hated us from the start of their Mahdi Death Cult reign of terror.  Talking with Iran?  Like The Kenyan's appeasement, that's fracking insane.  He's a Code Pink Leftist...who now is out of touch with that crowd because these are the idiots under The Kenyan & FJB that are hardcore interventionists because of the moronic bleating of "democracy" which is code word for "retain our political power".

Clark is such an old fool...  He must be in Hell not being able to bloviate for mush heads any more...

Gen Clark just said what he heard from an old friend at the Pentagon. Was he being truthful or not? That was shortly after 9/11. Goals changed in the time since then.

Someone from CIA said that 1 dollar of 13 of CIA's budget went to Syria. Someone was paying for all the Jihadis in Syria. Who?

Well, don't expect the MFM to investigate, if it leads to an inconvenient truth or confirms somebody else they don't GAFF...

[patentlymn]

There is a subreddit  /Askarussian
Mostly boring non-political like visa questions and how to send money and travel. Some are silly questions like "I am gay. What will happen to me if I travel to Russia" from people who believe US propaganda. Russians love to troll on occasion.

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskARussian/comments/1dcxmud/will_dual_citizen_receive_draft_notice/
 Will dual citizen receive draft notice
Travel

Had US/russian dual citizenship as a kid to be able to visit my grandparents. Still have it as far as I know. Also renewed my passport. Not planning on going back any time soon, but out of curiosity would I have a draft notice or summons despite not being in the country since I was 12? I am 20 now btw
...


Yes, you will be drafted for sure.

Right from the airport terminal you will be sent to Chasov Yar and forced to steal washing machines and executing POWs and civilians. If you would manage to survive - you will be sent to Zauralsk-88 to work at plutonium factory till the end of your days.

And - /s

But to be honest, none of the drafting offices (voenkomat) know about your existence, and if you are permanent resident of another country - they have no mechanism to draft you.



...


Also I notice different answers from people having flags indicating Russian residence and those without. Not 100 pct consistent.

Dagath614
•
15h ago
Moscow City

Daily "will i get drafted" question got. Waiting on "visiting as a citizen of X" one.

Long story short: you left the country prior to 16 years old, so you probably were taken off residential registration and did not sign yourself at recruitment office. Thus the Ministry of Defense knows nothing about your existence.

[Libertas]

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/death-toll-dagestan-terror-attack-rises-20-killed-russians-fear-more-come

Jihadists.  What's the big deal?  Iran is basically run by Jihadists...where's the love, man? 

[patentlymn]

I find this strange. YT took down some channels reporting on Russia. I thought I posted from one of these here.
The Sasha channel was very sweet. Another pretty girl blogs from Russia video blog.
A recent video on YT reported that she had moved back to Russia with mom and dad months ago  and she gave her reasons. Mostly not political but quality of life for her.

She was born in Hong Kong I think to US dad and Russian mom. Later moved to US NH with parents for his work. Later went to college in US. Worked in US.

Pretty girl.
https://www.tiktok.com/@sashameetsrussia

She reports on getting banned.
https://www.tiktok.com/@sashameetsrussia/video/7382142498032045358

Reddit post on the bans.
https://www.reddit.com/r/UkraineRussiaReport/comments/1dp0c56/ru_pov_youtube_has_closed_two_channels_that/
Ru pov: YouTube has closed two channels that focused on the positive aspects of living in Russia.
Civilians & politicians

The other day, the channel Sasha Meets Russia was blocked, the author of which talked about her impressions of moving to Russia. Recently, Sasha, whose father is American and mother is Russian, was invited to the SPIEF along with other bloggers. In one of her videos, the girl criticized life in the United States and talked about the advantages of living in Russia, although she stressed that there is no freedom of speech either there or here.

[patentlymn]

I never did a deep dive into the Ukr famine. Kotkin is said to be the leading Stalin scholar. I had heard the below summary before.
https://www.thepostil.com/of-collective-security-an-interview-with-michael-jabara-carley/

...
TP: Then, there is the notorious year, 1932, with its Great Famine, in which 5 to 7 million died. Was this famine “political strategy,” ethnic cleansing (Holodomor), a natural disaster, or something else?

MJC: I only deal in passing with this issue in my work because the famine did not affect foreign policy, but the best recent treatment of the famine is in the second volume of Kotkin’s biography of Stalin. Kotkin argues that the famine was the result of various factors, political, economic, weather, and insect infestations. It was not aimed at the Ukraine as a form of genocide or “ethnic cleansing.” The famine affected the entire Soviet grain belt with Kazakhstan being the hardest hit.
...

[Syzygy]

I never did a deep dive into the Ukr famine. Kotkin is said to be the leading Stalin scholar. I had heard the below summary before.
https://www.thepostil.com/of-collective-security-an-interview-with-michael-jabara-carley/

...
TP: Then, there is the notorious year, 1932, with its Great Famine, in which 5 to 7 million died. Was this famine “political strategy,” ethnic cleansing (Holodomor), a natural disaster, or something else?

MJC: I only deal in passing with this issue in my work because the famine did not affect foreign policy, but the best recent treatment of the famine is in the second volume of Kotkin’s biography of Stalin. Kotkin argues that the famine was the result of various factors, political, economic, weather, and insect infestations. It was not aimed at the Ukraine as a form of genocide or “ethnic cleansing.” The famine affected the entire Soviet grain belt with Kazakhstan being the hardest hit.
...

That horse shiite does not get Stalin off the hook.  Talking with a Ukrainian friend of mine some time ago,  he said that Stalin raided Ukraine,  taking what little food they had in order to feed his Russians.  So yes,  Stalin is directly responsible for starving millions of Ukrainians.

[Libertas]

I never did a deep dive into the Ukr famine. Kotkin is said to be the leading Stalin scholar. I had heard the below summary before.
https://www.thepostil.com/of-collective-security-an-interview-with-michael-jabara-carley/

...
TP: Then, there is the notorious year, 1932, with its Great Famine, in which 5 to 7 million died. Was this famine “political strategy,” ethnic cleansing (Holodomor), a natural disaster, or something else?

MJC: I only deal in passing with this issue in my work because the famine did not affect foreign policy, but the best recent treatment of the famine is in the second volume of Kotkin’s biography of Stalin. Kotkin argues that the famine was the result of various factors, political, economic, weather, and insect infestations. It was not aimed at the Ukraine as a form of genocide or “ethnic cleansing.” The famine affected the entire Soviet grain belt with Kazakhstan being the hardest hit.
...

That horse shiite does not get Stalin off the hook.  Talking with a Ukrainian friend of mine some time ago,  he said that Stalin raided Ukraine,  taking what little food they had in order to feed his Russians.  So yes,  Stalin is directly responsible for starving millions of Ukrainians.

Yup.  Stalin decided what the greater good was...and sane people call this the classic socialist practice of "picking winners and losers"...

[patentlymn]

The famines were due to natural reasons (drought, insects), incompetence, and evil intentions (destroy the Kulaks). As I said, I never did a deep dive into this. My impression is that the west pushes the evil intentions as the main reasons. Historians have/had access to historical records mostly after the USSR fell. IMO they are not finding much to support the evil intentions. The USSR kept massive records on their planning of their 'scientific socialism.'

[patentlymn]

The subreddit AskaRussian is good. Here is an answer to one question.



    IN GENERAL, WHAT IS YOUR ATTITUDE TOWARDS STALIN? (respondents were presented with a card with a list of possible answers from which they could choose only one)

    Admiration: 7%

    Respect: 47%

    Affection, fondness: 9%

    Indifference: 23%

    Enmity, irritation: 4%

    Fear: 2%

    Revulsion, hatred: 2%

    I don’t know who Stalin is: 1%

    It is difficult to say/no answer: 5%

[Libertas]

The famines were due to natural reasons (drought, insects), incompetence, and evil intentions (destroy the Kulaks). As I said, I never did a deep dive into this. My impression is that the west pushes the evil intentions as the main reasons. Historians have/had access to historical records mostly after the USSR fell. IMO they are not finding much to support the evil intentions. The USSR kept massive records on their planning of their 'scientific socialism.'

 

[Libertas]

The subreddit AskaRussian is good. Here is an answer to one question.



    IN GENERAL, WHAT IS YOUR ATTITUDE TOWARDS STALIN? (respondents were presented with a card with a list of possible answers from which they could choose only one)

    Admiration: 7%

    Respect: 47%

    Affection, fondness: 9%

    Indifference: 23%

    Enmity, irritation: 4%

    Fear: 2%

    Revulsion, hatred: 2%

    I don’t know who Stalin is: 1%

    It is difficult to say/no answer: 5%

Respect & Admiration are the majority...

 

Scary

[patentlymn]

When I first heard Bald and Bankrupt interviewing people in former USSR about then vs now  my first reaction was that they were nostalgic for former USSR and I knew more than they did. They lived through it and I have never even been there so my first thoughts were very stupid.

Maybe at least half of what I was taught about USSR history is crap. Same for Stalin.

 If Stalin and the communist party had not forced the rapid industrialization of the USSR Hitler would have starved most there to death as planned. IMO that skews opinions of him to more positive.

[Libertas]

Well, Hitler got their economy back from Weimar horsesh*t to powerhouse and his people adored him despite his bad actions too...

I'm sure the few victims overreacted and need to get over it...

/

[patentlymn]

I read a very interesting book on Germany and Hitler mostly about the 1930s and early 1940s. "Hitlerland." If you had visited Germany and even met Hitler in 1930s what would you have thought? Several mostly US and other westerners did. Mostly diplomats and journalists. Some military. They wrote down their impressions. There was no later hindsight allowed based on later learned facts.

[Syzygy]

I read a very interesting book on Germany and Hitler mostly about the 1930s and early 1940s. "Hitlerland." If you had visited Germany and even met Hitler in 1930s what would you have thought? Several mostly US and other westerners did. Mostly diplomats and journalists. Some military. They wrote down their impressions. There was no later hindsight allowed based on later learned facts.

OK,  you have successfully resurrected the images of Stalin and Hitler to the point of their needing to be canonized for their contributions to all of mankind.  /s

Please do Mussolini or Pol Pot next. 

[patentlymn]

My impressions of Soviet history as understood in the US? Every bad thing we learned really happened but not as much or consistently or recently. I knew a Siberian exchange student who knew all about US bad treatment of blacks. Police dogs attacking blacks trying to vote. Similar thing. It did happen but not everywhere and not recently. The USSR show trials peaked in 1938 and the breadlines were long ago.

The Hitlerland book was not pro Hitler. People think they would have seen Hitler as evil back then but this  book shows how westerners actually saw him and wrote down their impressions.   People were impressed by Germany by the modern efficiency and cleanliness.  they noticed an undercurrent of creepy.

I only remember how many women saw Hitler. Shy and effeminate. They said he was a "neuter."  They doubted he could have a normal sexual relationship with a woman.

There was a cool part in the book. The US military attache in Germany wanted to see the latest warplanes. No chance of that happening ..... until Charles Lindberg showed up. The Germans loved him and showed him everything and the attache tagged along,.

The leading US book on Stalin was by some US  Prof as I recall. He is working on the third volume last i heard.


https://youtu.be/2a7CDKqWcZ0
https://youtu.be/oCkkjnpS2f8


Stephen's Website: https://history.princeton.edu/people/...
Stalin: 1878-1928 (Vol 1): https://amzn.to/3NvokpC
Stalin: 1929-1941 (Vol 2): https://amzn.to/3wIYqsT

[patentlymn]

So, there was an old Russian movie Scarlet Sails. Real cheesy. like some old Disney movie. This got turned into an annual festival celebrating recent HS graduations in St. Petersburg.

https://youtu.be/m8R7m4L-050

St. Petersburg's Scarlet Sails Festival: A Spectacular Celebration

667 views  Jun 30, 2024  #BreakingNews #StPetersburg #LatestNews
St. Petersburg celebrated the Scarlet Sails Festival, featuring a grand concert at Palace Square and the iconic appearance of a ship with scarlet sails on the Neva River. The annual event, marking school graduations, attracted hundreds of thousands of spectators with its cultural activities, spectacular fireworks, and performances by popular artists.

#ScarletSailsFestival #StPetersburg #NevaRiver #SchoolGraduations #GrandConcert #CulturalCelebratio

Here is the cheesy Russian movie. About a girl with some unrealistic dreams.
https://youtu.be/Mhz-bn1ys4Y
Based on the story by A. Grin. Longren and her daughter live as hermits in a small fishing village. An experienced sailor left the service and raises little Assol alone. One day, the old storyteller predicts Assol that the day will come when she will be taken away by a handsome prince on a ship with scarlet sails. The whole village laughs at Assol, but the time will come, and the fairy tale will become a reality.

[Libertas]

Yeaaaaaah....sends a tingle down my...trigger-finger!   


PS - Ever see a happy Russian?



Ha!  Gotchya, trick question, there are no happy Russians!

[patentlymn]

A good news item on cars in Russia. This reporter must have a knack for language as he spent his whole life in Russia yet speaks English vert well. He used to work on Russian TV.

In short, after sanctions, western auto makers pulled out. Chinese makers entered and most Russian taxis are Chinese now and the drivers like them. There is a gray market for used western autos for rich people. The second biggest seller in Russia is still the Lada.
I want a Lada Niva! I am a simple man who likes simple things.

https://youtu.be/b295TjtXR68
 This is How Sanctions Changed Russia's Car Market
Real Reporter

[patentlymn]

Eli went to Kazakhstan. I had to look it up.It is a separate country now. I will never travel  there so I like this stuff.

The main city then in the second video some falconry.
https://youtu.be/wSAqcOVw_5w
First impressions of KAZAKHSTAN : Earthquake, Soviet sauna and sincere talks with locals

https://youtu.be/n_nNwfyuHeI
What do people eat in KAZAKHSTAN?