Talk:Main Page/Archive index/216

Please add this to the news "Personal gun registration soared almost 500% under Bolsonaro's government" [1] --CatolicoAustral (talk) 14:11, June 29, 2022 (EDT)

After supreme court rule to overturn Roe V. Wade, Tesla along with other liberal corporations decide to pay workers’ abortion travel costs after moving HQ to Texas.

Tesla to pay workers’ abortion travel costs after moving HQ to Texas --Alex Kosh (talk) 20:56, June 29, 2022 (EDT)

Elon Musk is a libertarian. He is not a conservative. Conservative (talk) 00:16, June 30, 2022 (EDT)

No he isnt, he consider himself as moderate, he also want some measure of gun control. Liberatarians dont support any measure of gun control --Alex Kosh (talk) 00:40, June 30, 2022 (EDT)

You are right. He is a moderate who claims to be for free speech. Conservative (talk) 00:58, June 30, 2022 (EDT)

Musk is not a conservative, a libertarian, or a moderate. He's a corporatist and perhaps a closet National Bolshevik. That's the only possible explanation for him supporting both Ron DeSantis and the CCP. That may sound contrarian on the surface, but trust me, it isn't.--Geopolitician (talk) 15:28, July 12, 2022 (EDT)

Another Homosexual disease outbreak happened now after Monkeypox in Florida between gay and bisexual men who infected by meningococcal in Florida. 26 infected in Florida and 7 died because of disease. It seem also the mainstream media try to cover this diseases by pretending that disease transmitted by coughing not by sodomy.

Florida meningococcal disease outbreak: Here are symptoms to watch for

Florida meningococcal outbreak among gay and bisexual men is one of worst in US history: CDC --Alex Kosh (talk) 21:11, June 29, 2022 (EDT)

Marvel is introducing its first gay Spider-Man, a character named Web-Weaver, in the upcoming “Edge of Spider-Verse #5,″ out in September 2022

Where is Putin when you need him? Like Spider Man wasn't gay enough as he was. Yes, they've finally gayed up Spider Man. They are already working on the next episode, Spider-Man versus Monkeypox. PeterKa (talk) 23:40, June 29, 2022 (EDT)

They will never gay up Moses. "Fear not. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord." - Charlton Heston playing Moses in Cecil D. Mills movie The Ten Commandments. Conservative (talk) 00:14, June 30, 2022 (EDT)

• American mercenaries. I don't believe their excuse, "I listened to American news media and decided to pick up a gun and fight Russia" will save these guys from a death sentence. First of all, no Deplorable would believe American news media (except User:Conservative), and secondly no non-Deplorable has guts to pick up a gun, let alone be willing to die for strangers (granted, there are psycho-killers among non-Deplorables who kill out of anger and for pleasure, but they are among the criminal class and are not generally the soldierly type). These guys need to do a better job in their lying, cause Russians aren't stupid and blaming the American MSM for bad decisions in life won't fly. They need to come clean in their consciences, i.e. that they believed Hillary Clinton and were motivated by hate, and ask for forgiveness. RobS^Z+ 01:33, June 30, 2022 (EDT)

Last time I checked, I am not in Ukraine fighting Russia. Also, for all their faults, the Ukrainians have more of a fighting spirit than the Russians because they are fighting on what they view as their home ground (But their morale is less than what it used to be as the artillery war slugfest has dragged on and Russia made some territorial gains). Russia has a troop morale problem, but it is compensating with stronger heavy artillery so it is slowly making gains. How long and to what degree the West supplies the Ukrainians with arms is unknown. But Trump is less pro-Ukraine than Biden and Trump will probably be reelected in 2024. Conservative (talk) 12:19, June 30, 2022 (EDT)

Unfortunately for the Ukrainians, the Ukrainians do not have a pillar of fire to protect them against the Russians. They have to rely on Biden which is always a dangerous thing to do. Conservative (talk) 12:29, June 30, 2022 (EDT)

Man, you do a good job of memorizing liberal (as opposed to realist) talking points, unless you are directly cut n pasting propaganda. RobS^Z+ 13:54, June 30, 2022 (EDT)

Brian Berletic (who is a very good military intelligence analyst whom I disagree with some of his base motivations) did a post weeks back aptly demonstrating where you get your Western, liberal propaganda from. It comes from the ISW (Institute for the Study of War) at WestPoint. ISW is headed by the sister brother of Robert Kagan, godfather of neoconservatism and husband of Victoria Nuland, who organized the Maidan coup and empowered the Nazis. MSM & Congressional committees get their war information from ISW. And ISW gets its information from the Ukrainian General Staff, which works hand in glove with the CIA on the third floor of SBU headquarters at 33 Volodymyrska Street in Kyiv. Links available upon request. RobS^Z+ 14:05, June 30, 2022 (EDT)

Here it is. Found it (time activated). The first 6 minutes (beginning about 15:50) looks at some of the personalities involved, including the Kagan brothers. At about 21:00 he gets into specifically where and how you get your information. At about 28:00 he discusses supposed war crimes, etc. It's worth watching as much as you can absorb, and it will save you further embarrassment for being a liberal parrot. RobS^Z+

So, how does this work? ISW publishes daily crap & propaganda; AP, Reuters, CNN, NYT, WaPo, NBC, Bloomberg, etc, and various alleged scholars and pundits, including User:Conservative, swallow it and spew it back at the public daily, while believing every word of it. RobS^Z+ 15:11, June 30, 2022 (EDT)

I'm reliably informed by the Russian MOD that the garrison on Snake Island has been withdrawn as a gesture of goodwill after having completed its objectives. Guess they've done feinting there, eh? ConwayIII (talk) 16:01, June 30, 2022 (EDT)

And just as an aside re. sources, your fan fiction still contains bonkers guff like this:

The cities of Severodonetsk (pop.110,000), Kramatorsk (pop. 150,000), and Slovyansk (pop. 107,000), south of the Izium front, formed the heart of the cauldron.

On March 7, 2022 Russian state media announced that half of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) - 120,000 soldiers - were trapped in the Donbas cauldron.[82] The Donbas cauldron was confirmed closed on March 14, 2022.[83]

ConwayIII (talk) 16:19, June 30, 2022 (EDT)

Reverse order: both statements stand. Granted, there was a delay created six weeks ago on the northern pincer caused of the failed river crossing, but that problem is being alleviated right now. The Russians have about 43,000 of their own troops making the pincer movement right now. Severodonetsk, Kramatorsk, and Slovyansk - all within the Republic of Donetsk - will be fully demilitarized.

And yes, it is difficult to estimate the size of AFU forces in the cauldron right now, attributable to (a) destruction of the original contingents sent there; (b) desertions and injured; and (c) the actual number of untrained, mobilized reinforcements now deployed there. The Russians would rather they surrender rather than having to destroy them, but Ukrainian political commissars (the SBU) are executing Territorial Defense reinforcements attempting to surrender.

Now, to your first point: we're getting information. However I theorize it is related to the deployment of the 101st Airborne to the Polish border. RobS^Z+ 16:39, June 30, 2022 (EDT)

If you take this map and expand, you will count no less than 6 mini-cauldrons versus one larger cauldron that is developing. And the 8,000 AFU troops retreating from Lysychansk at this moment are likewise actively being encircled. That's good, cause they will killed/captured outside an urban environment. RobS^Z+ 16:45, June 30, 2022 (EDT)

One final note related to your criticism of a slow moving advance: some AFU troops retreating from the Zolote cauldron in panic blew themselves up in their own minefields.

For serious students, tomorrow at Noon EDT, I highly recommend this live stream panel discussion with youtubers Military Summary, Defense Politics Asia, New World Atlas, and New World Econ. RobS^Z+ 16:52, June 30, 2022 (EDT)

Analysis of Snake Island withdrawal

The withdrawal from Snake Island answers a few questions regarding the timeline of operations. Sloviansk and Kramatorsk are next on the table, which could take several months into the autumn (or fall in 72 hours like Lysychansk). When cleanup operations are finished, the question has always been will the troops turn north to Kharkiv or south to Odessa. Taking Odessa and leaving the Kyiv regime a landlocked rump state would essentially be a regime change operation, which was not an original war objective.

Much is said about a "negotiated settlement". Negotiated with who? It is extremely doubtful the Russians would negotiate for a ceasefire with the Zelensky regime to even arrange a peace settlement. Just as doubtful is negotiating with NATO or the US State Department.

To ratify an official change of borders, and the conduct of international relations going forward, that leaves only one body - the UN General Assembly (UNGA). NATO, the EU, and United States State Department likely cannot win in the UNGA. RobS^Z+ 16:43, July 2, 2022 (EDT)

• Update: Here's the guy who is widely considered to be giving the best daily analysis and reporting (among about a half dozen) on YouTube. I can attest to at least three significant events in just the past two weeks where his analysis and predictions were dead on. RobS^Z+ 17:22, June 30, 2022

In defense of Russophobic propaganda

|content=:The Russian progress is slow in Ukraine because they are not good at airpower being combined with the ground forces like blitzkrieg type warfare that the Germans did in WWII or the fast progress the USA made in first Iraq war.

Duh, did you ever hear of a minefield? RobS^Z+ 16:46, July 2, 2022 (EDT)

The Russians are not good at taking out surface to air missile defense systems used against air power because that takes a lot of pilot training which Russian pilots do not get compared to Western pilots. The Russian way of warfare is heavy artillery combined with siege type warfare.

• Russians are not good at taking out surface to air missile defense systems used against air power

As Brian Berletic points out in debunking the July 1, 2022 Pentagon propaganda briefing, while US invested heavily in air superiority in the post-WWII period, Russia invested heavily in air defense. Consequently, as Berletic cites the RAND Corp., Russia has the superior aerial defense system to anybody in the world. IOWs, Ukraine's aerial defense system was built by the Soviets, it is not inferior NATO junk. If NATO wants to intervene in Ukraine with its superior air power, bring it on. RobS^Z+ 22:46, July 3, 2022 (EDT)

• The Russians shot down the vaunted U-2 in 1959, two years after it entered service.
• Rinky-dink little Serbia shot down the glorious Stealth fighter, costing $500,000,000 a copy and under development for a dozen years, just six years after it entered service. That's why the stealth fighter is obsolete and being phased out (in addition to being a colossal waste of money). And Serbia did it with a ten-year-old Russian missile defense system that was in service before the stealth entered service (IOWs the stealth fighter was obsolete before it was even built. It never performed what it was intended to perform. By being shot down, the Russians exposed another scam of the military industrial complex.)
• When Trump ordered the cruise missile attack on Syria, it was a real time, combat test of the effectiveness of the Russian version of Reagan's Star Wars (you know, the ability to shoot down a missile with a missile - the thing that bankrupted the USSR); turns out Russian missile defense is 63% effective, compared to the US which is only 57% effective.

So the Pentagon, like the CIA, DC think tanks and the Ukrainian regime, is guilty of giving out false information to the press. Only the Pentagon is the least offender of all the propaganda factories manufacturing misinformation for the Western public. RobS^Z+ 23:08, July 3, 2022 (EDT)

Russian defense update: Several items. (1) Ten days after delivery of the super secret German built Panzer 2000 Wunderwaffen, the Russians have captured one and begun reverse engineering (According to Bild magazine, the Russians captured the tank by using the German built Panzerfaust-3 grenade launchers captured from the courageous and fleeing Ukrainian military; "Weapons that fall into the hands of Russia, will weaken NATO and the West. If Russia studies the types of advanced weapons of the west and NATO, this will be very dangerous for the continuation of the western military defense system and NATO.") (2) For the first time in recorded human history, a much vaunted American built HIMAR missile attack was shot down by an unknown type of missile; just a thought, but maybe if NATO put boots on the ground and could cause Russian forces to abandon weapons and surrender or flee, maybe the US and NATO can figure out what type of missile the Russians developed to destroy HIMARS. Absent that, it could be years or decades stumbling around in the dark trying to figure out what kind of weapons the Russians have. (It should further be noted, the number of Panzers & HIMARs was never enough to make a difference. They were essentially donated to Russia so that the MIC in Germany & the US can scam the public and taxpayers for more defense research and development funding.) RobS^Z+ 13:13, July 4, 2022 (EDT)

Analysis of Russophobic propaganda: In the 45 years of the Cold War after 1945, thank God the war was limited to the use of words, and no Russian or American soldiers killed each other. It was a war of words with bluster and bravado, such as "Russian pilots bla bla bla" and "American soldiers bla bla bla". Fortunately, it was never put to the test to find out whose propaganda was prophetic and whose were just the lies of Satan.

But here in 2022, we're raised generation of idiots like Jake Sullivan and Lloyd Austin who really believe all that bluster, that Angelo-American pilots and soldiers are a superior breed, and the Russian sub-species are no match and deserve to die. And they plainly have stated their intent to kill Russians, including civilians. RobS^Z+ 13:31, July 4, 2022 (EDT)

And it's just common sense that the home team advantage gives the defenders an advantage in terms of troop morale. That is one of the reasons why the USA had so much trouble in Vietnam and Afghanistan.

Finally, Russian logistics are a weak point of their army. Conservative (talk) 22:29, June 30, 2022 (EDT)

Logistics (a 4 syllable word). HA! Are you talking about the logistics of delivering ammunition for Howitzers and HIMARs, or the Russian logistics of delivering humanitarian relief and medical services to the citizens and victims of the Ukrainian regime? RobS^Z+ 16:58, July 2, 2022 (EDT)

• pilot training which Russian pilots do not get compared to Western pilots

Tell your bigoted Russophobic propaganda sources to stick this where the sun don't shine. RobS^Z+ 17:26, July 4, 2022 (EDT)

Please, stop with your ISW bullcrap. It makes me wanna puke. RobS^Z+ 23:24, June 30, 2022 (EDT)

Everything you say, you think you know and believe, comes directly from here, which comes directly from the Ukrainian General Staff and CIA in Kyiv; by contrast, you can track daily the GRU assessments here. In two weeks' time we can compare for accuracy and honest reporting. RobS^Z+ 23:52, June 30, 2022 (EDT)

Russia has a fertility rate of 1.50 births per woman and a replacement fertility rate is 2.1 births per woman. Key points: 300,000 Russian citizens and residents are estimated to have left Russia by mid-March 2022 as political refugees and economic migrants, due to a desire to evade criminal prosecution for exercising free speech regarding the invasion. More than 400,000 Ukrainians have been 'forcibly displaced to Russia', according to Ukraine's ombudswoman for human rights Lyudmyla Denisova on March 30 2022 so this might be a high number due to propaganda. In addition, you have Russian soldiers dying in Ukraine and many of them will never marry and have children.

My guess is the poorest Ukrainians have been forcibly relocated to Russia because they did not have the means to leave the areas of Ukraine being attacked by Russia. On the other hand, the people leaving Russia have transferrable skills and money.

Between Russia's below replacement level of births; the Europeans diversifying away from Russian oil and gas long term; Russia's brain drain; the cost of a war that drags on; the long-term effects of the Western sanctions; and an inefficient authoritarian/kleptocrat government, Russia does not face a bright future. Conservative (talk) 08:06, July 1, 2022 (EDT)

You're out of the loop; Denisova was canned for inventing rape stories. 140 investigative journalists & NGOs could not verify a single story about Russian rapes. She made it all up out of whole cloth. She had to be canned. Of course, that doesn't stop you or you vaunted sources from continuing the lies you've committed yourself to. RobS^Z+ 23:53, July 1, 2022 (EDT)

I posted the story of Denisova's firing on MPR a month ago. If you need a link, look there. This shows how much you pay attention to anything. 23:59, July 1, 2022 (EDT)

An Amazon description of the book What Soldiers Do which deals with American soldiers in France in WWII can be found below (The book was written by a woman history professor in Wisconsin):

"How do you convince men to charge across heavily mined beaches into deadly machine-gun fire? Do you appeal to their bonds with their fellow soldiers, their patriotism, their desire to end tyranny and mass murder? Certainly—but if you’re the US Army in 1944, you also try another tack: you dangle the lure of beautiful French women, waiting just on the other side of the wire, ready to reward their liberators in oh so many ways.

That’s not the picture of the Greatest Generation that we’ve been given, but it’s the one Mary Louise Roberts paints to devastating effect in What Soldiers Do. Drawing on an incredible range of sources, including news reports, propaganda and training materials, official planning documents, wartime diaries, and memoirs, Roberts tells the fascinating and troubling story of how the US military command systematically spread—and then exploited—the myth of French women as sexually experienced and available. The resulting chaos—ranging from flagrant public sex with prostitutes to outright rape and rampant venereal disease—horrified the war-weary and demoralized French population. The sexual predation, and the blithe response of the American military leadership, also caused serious friction between the two nations just as they were attempting to settle questions of long-term control over the liberated territories and the restoration of French sovereignty.

While never denying the achievement of D-Day, or the bravery of the soldiers who took part, What Soldiers Do reminds us that history is always more useful—and more interesting—when it is most honest, and when it goes beyond the burnished beauty of nostalgia to grapple with the real lives and real mistakes of the people who lived it."

And then there is Mass rape and the Soviet Union's army in Germany.

Call me a cynic, but I don't think men have super radically changed their behavior during war since WWII. I suspect there are cases of Russian soldiers raping Ukrainian women. How many I do not pretend to know. Conservative (talk) 00:15, July 2, 2022 (EDT)

Bla bla bla. Bottomline: you were duped. And now you're acting like a dupe. You extrapolated a whole theory ("My guess is the poorest Ukrainian bla bla bla") on what has been universally condemned as a false information - even by Western propagandists and propaganda institutions. This whopper was too big to deny, but you should study how the BBC admitted to, and buried her firing.

And wanting to debate rape now only makes you look like a fool.

You were misled by a criminal regime, with criminal intent. You need to own up to this fact before attempting to discuss anything. RobS^Z+ 01:08, July 2, 2022 (EDT)

Let me illustrate the pathetic absurdity of trying to justify your error in judgment of accepting any statement from the Ukrainian government as fact: you defend yourself, and not even the liars who are the source of this propaganda, with "Yah but Red Army soldiers engaged in mass rape 77 years ago;" okay we accept your defense at face value. Now, do Red Army soldier sing the praises and read the writings of Joseph Stalin? Ukrainian children and teen rappers sing the praises of Stepan Bandera. His writings are taught to soldiers and in schools. Hia slogan is the official, AFU slogan, Slava Ukraine - the Ukrainian equivalent of "Heil Hitler". The AFU is for all intents and purposes the renamed OUN and UPA - that's where its roots lay.

So, you wanna talk about Red Army rapes more than 70 years ago. Fine. There have been reforms and changes. These Polish survivors wanna talk about Ukrainian Nazi mass murders of Poles more than 70 years ago. But NATO would have you believe Ukrainians and Poles are blood brothers.

You need to know when to let sleeping dogs lie. You still haven't retracted your stupid NATO talking point "Putin underestimated Ukrainian nationalism". Yah right. Putin was totally ignorant of Ukrainian nationalism and its Nazi background when he launched operation Denazification.

Try thinking for yourself for once, and not just parroting MSM BS. RobS^Z+ 01:45, July 2, 2022 (EDT)

Not once did I ever say that Russian soldiers raped Ukrainian women (Although I suspect a certain percentage have. How many I have no idea). I merely said that Russians have committed war crimes.

Yes you did. You cited Denisova as an authority, and proceeded to spin wholesale your own theory and motivations for alleged Russian human rights violations based upon Denisova's influence on you. RobS^Z+ 13:52, July 2, 2022 (EDT)

Also, before this war, I overestimated Putin's political skills. Nevertheless, he is a shrewd politician in some ways (Shaking hands with Marine LePen and a Russian-Czech banks financing part of her campaign, RT.com, etc. etc.). But from a strategic point of view, this war is bad for Russia long term. But Russia will muddle through (For example, sell its oil to China and India, but at a lower price).

Next, throughout this war, I have maintained that Ukraine is a corrupt country with problems with authoritarianism. I also said that it is not a democracy but a hybrid nation ("However, the Economist Intelligence Unit, which recently released its 2021 Democracy Index, doesn’t even consider Ukraine either a full or flawed democracy. Rather, Ukraine falls into the “hybrid regime” bucket, tied for 86th place with Mexico in the democracy rankings."[2]).

Lastly, I have repeatedly said it is better that this war end as soon as possible which is at variance with the Ukrainian position of getting all their land back. My guess (and it is only a guess) is that Ukraine will never get back Crimea and it will lose the parts of Ukraine with Russian speakers in Eastern Ukraine. It may also lose parts of southern Ukraine. Also, it is likely that Russia will be a bulldog in this war and not easily give up its aims/ambitions. Russia can cause a lot of pain to Europe (Higher gas and oil prices in Europe. Food shortages in the Middle East and Africa causing a flood of poor migrants to Europe. And many of these poor migrants could be Muslim migrants who will not assimilate into European countries and cause increases in terrorism and/or crime). Conservative (talk) 08:15, July 2, 2022 (EDT)

Name dropping Mearsheimer or Denisova highlights your methodology; just admit you are 2 for 2 in the dupe column for the last two major international events - covid and the Ukraine war.

And stop acting like a dupe; vomiting up the rationalizations and thoughts in your head all over this page makes you look more of a dupe. RobS^Z+ 13:28, July 2, 2022 (EDT)

I'm not a partisan absolutist on the Ukraine vs. NATO issue or the coronavirus pandemic. I just endeavor to go where the evidence leads. For example, I wrote the Vladimir Zelenko's coronavirus treatment, but I also have been pretty pro Covid-19 vaccine as far as the vaccines that were brought to market partly as a result of Donald Trump's Operation Warpspeed. But I was also indicating that diet/exercise/weight management play an important role in prevention. As far as the origin of the pandemic, I have said that there is no absolute certainty about the origin, but there are different theories that have various probabilities of being true (see: Fischer's 7 habits of sound historiography).

On the Ukraine vs. Russia issue, I am not a fan of either country and I am not a fan of their respective leaders. I have mixed feelings on NATO and its past history, but I was not for Ukraine going through the process of trying to get NATO membership as it was a key factor in sparking the war.

It doesn't matter if your fan or not. You support Ukraine with your tax dollars and with vile lies and propaganda. RobS^Z+ 14:15, July 2, 2022 (EDT)

On the other hand, you are clearly a Putin/Russia partisan - despite the good evidence that both have significant problems with their degree corruption and authoritarianism. Conservative (talk) 14:02, July 2, 2022 (EDT)

What did the Israelite say when he saw Moses kill the Egyptian? Who made you a judge over us? RobS^Z+ 14:38, July 2, 2022 (EDT)

<Note on methodology>As soon as you spend more time and column inches defending yourself and justifying your thoughts, ("I used to think before the war" "I overestimated Putin" "I have maintained throughout") you are no longer qualified to speak on the issue at hand.

Nobody cares what you think, and nobody is interested in listening to your ham-handed efforts to rehab yourself, other than yourself. RobS^Z+ 13:40, July 2, 2022 (EDT)

Pointing out that historical investigations are probabilistic is not defending my thoughts. It is just a reflection of reality.

And I have no regrets on my statements about the coronavirus pandemic or the Ukraine vs. NATO conflict which have both changed over time. For example, at first the Russians were underperforming in the Russian vs. Ukraine war given the resources at their disposal, but they have adjusted their military strategy and are now doing better. Conservative (talk) 14:12, July 2, 2022 (EDT)

"I have no regrets", That's cause you're a dupe. RobS^Z+ 14:15, July 2, 2022 (EDT)

Seriously, you need to stop. And attributing to yourself ("My guess is Ukraine will never get its and back") talking points you pick up in MSM is the height of folly. "My guess is Ukraine will never get its land back". Oh yah? So now you are saying Hitler was justified in attacking Poland and Saddam justified in taking Kuwait. Are you ready to defend the idiotic positions you preface with "My guess" that you garnered from elsewhere? RobS^Z+ 14:09, July 2, 2022 (EDT)

I get my news from a variety of sources and take into account their partisan/ideological biases. As far as predicting the future of wars, pandemics, political trends and other future events, it is always good to have a certain amount of humility because unexpected events can happen. For example, it looked like Trump was going to be reelected and then the pandemic hit which made it harder for an incumbent to be reelected. Conservative (talk) 14:22, July 2, 2022 (EDT)

Yah, sure. You took into account Denisova's partisan bias, and Mearsheimer's too. And being able to spell four syllable words 'Mearsheimer' or 'historiography' not only makes you look informed to speak on subjects you don't know, it makes you look intelligent, as well. Keep telling yourself that. RobS^Z+ 14:31, July 2, 2022 (EDT)

One of the reasons I get my news from a variety of sources is that the left/liberals have spent far more money on news reporting than the right side of the political spectrum which often merely comments on the liberal/left news organizations' reporting. That is an unfortunate reality. But I am grateful for people like the politically right-leaning James O'Keefe who does investigative journalism. In addition, the internet has made news organizations less profitable so there is an incentive for all news organizations to do less investigative reporting because investigative journalism is expensive.

I don't know who Denisova is. On the whole, I like Mearsheimer's work as he comes from the realist school of international relations scholarship which reflects how international politics often works (World politics often involves conflict among actors pursuing wealth and power). On the other hand, I don't always agree with Mearsheimer which is not surprising as he is self-described liberal. Conservative (talk) 14:41, July 2, 2022 (EDT)

Duh, do you even read the idiotic crap you post? Above you posted Mearsheimer is a realist, not a liberal. That's why you jumped on the Mearsheimer bandwagon, while at the same time attributing all sorts of liberal crap to Mearsheimer, like Putin is a kleptocrat (another 4 syllable word), which Mearsheimer never said. RobS^Z+ 14:48, July 2, 2022 (EDT)

I never said Mearsheimer said Putin is a kleptocrat. Nevertheless, Putin has a long history of being a kleptocrat.

As far as Ukraine likely never getting all its land back that merely reflects the current military/political reality. The NATO countries have varying levels of commitment to Ukraine, while Putin is gung-ho and resolute in his commitment and his country is still a major power (In addition, Putin has some leverage in the short term such as gas/oil/food/fertilizer supplies). For example, I can say that it is very likely that the Native Americans will very likely never get all their land back, but that doesn't mean that Native Americans were always fairly treated by the European descendants in America (Nor does it mean that the Native Americans were paragons of virtue). Conservative (talk) 15:26, July 2, 2022 (EDT)

By the way, I have never been Russianphobic. For a while, I took in a Russian immigrant, older lady who was homeless. In addition, I recently gave a Russian-born historian a significant amount of free publicity. I also like Russian cuisine, Russian literature and Orthodox Russian music. Your Russiaphobic charge against me is a desperate Hail Mary pass! Conservative (talk) 15:38, July 2, 2022 (EDT)

Let's stick with what we know here. International relations & history is what I know, making cheese is what you know. Let's stick with what we know here. RobS^Z+ 15:46, July 2, 2022 (EDT)

Are you confessing to predatory crimes against refugees now? [3]

Your repeated mistake is personalizing the Russophobic liberal bias. You make statements like, "My guess [fill in the blank with the latest liberal MSM Russophobic talking point]." RobS^Z+ 15:59, July 2, 2022 (EDT)

You want to focus on facts and knowledge. Putin is a former KGB agent. Russia has a long history of corruption that exists to the present day. It is not a stretch to believe Putin is an authoritarian kleptocrat - especially since there is good evidence that he is. Conservative (talk) 15:57, July 2, 2022 (EDT)

You don't know Putin. This is not the place to discuss Putin. Talk:Vladimir Putin is the place. RobS^Z+ 16:03, July 2, 2022 (EDT)

You don't want to have a good-faith discussion. Deleting my material on Putin and a link on the history of Russia corruption is evidence of this. So was your lame claim that I am Russiaphobic.

I am going to retire from this discussion in protest. Conservative (talk) 16:30, July 2, 2022 (EDT)}}

UNHCR report

According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees pgs. 26-27:

100. Out of 108 allegations, OHCHR verified 23 cases, including cases of rape, gang rape, torture, forced public stripping, threats of sexual violence and other forms of sexual violence.⁴⁵ 9 cases of CRSV [Conflict Related Sexual Violence] were against women, 13 against men, and 1 against a girl (threat of sexual violence). OHCHR has not yet verified any allegations of sexual violence against boys.

101. Eleven acts of CRSV were committed by Russian armed forces and law enforcement, including rape and gang rape. . For example, in the evening of 9 March, two Russian soldiers came to a house in Kyiv region where a woman lived together with her husband and a child. They shot her husband in the yard, and when she asked about him, one of Russian soldiers said: “You don’t have a husband anymore. I shot him with this gun. He was a fascist.” Then another soldier put a pistol to her head and told her to undress. They gang raped her while holding a pistol to her head. They came to her house three times. Each time they gang raped her again

102. Five acts of CRSV were committed by Ukrainian armed forces, including territorial defence, or other law enforcement bodies, which consisted of forced public stripping and threats of sexual violence. Seven cases committed by unidentified actors and civilians (five in Government-controlled territory and two in territory controlled by Russian armed forces) were related to forced public stripping of alleged male and female looters, which may amount to CRSV.

fn 45 As of 15 May, 30 allegations were not possible to verify because of the lack of any specific information, ten were found false or highly unlikely to have occurred, '23 were verified and confirmed or found to be highly likely to have occurred, and 45 were being verified.

Summary: Of 23 verified cases out of the 108 alleged by Denisova, 12 were committed by Ukrainians against their fellow citizens whom they supposedly are there to protect, including "Seven cases committed by unidentified actors and civilians". What a joke that language is - not "unidentified actors or civilians". IOWs, "committed by employees of the Ukrainian government." The Russians account for less than half the cases, 11 incidents by 9 actors, two of them being repeat offenders accounting for six of 11 incidents. That's why Denisova was fired. None of the actual rape cases were against children, with one verified threat against a girl, and the report doesn't even tell us if the threat was made by a Russian or Ukrainian. RobS^Z+ 02:11, July 11, 2022 (EDT)

Note: "other law enforcement bodies" and "unidentified actors" are the Nazi Brown Shirts, documented on the SBU page, drawn from soccer hooligans and in the pay of the Ukrainian Ministry of the Interior. RobS^Z+ 02:33, July 11, 2022 (EDT)

Analysis: Of the 23 cases, all 12 cases committed by Ukrainians essentially were taping someone to a tree with their pants down. Of the 23 cases, 9 were women, yet we have no idea how many women Ukrainians taped to trees. Anyway, let's look at what Denisova posted on an official Ukrainian government server, which is still there, and Western MSM reported as fact without retraction even after Denisova's firing [4]:

Vladimir Putin personally ordered the Russian occupiers to rape Ukrainian children and women. This was stated by Lyudmila Denisova, Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, in an interview with Blick. She stressed that violence against Ukrainians is a direct weapon of the enemy against the civilian population and sexual violence plays the central role here, because it was tactically aimed by Putin.

“They want to deprive women of the opportunity or desire to have children again. This is a clear genocide. Soldiers rely on Putin’s orders to destroy the entire country,” Denisova said.

After the liberation of Kyiv region from enemy’s occupation, people began to report rape by Russians. Subsequently, the psychological support hotline received more than 400 calls with stories of Russian sexual violence against Ukrainians.

The "After the liberation of Kyiv region" should have been your first clue it was all propaganda bs, being that Kyiv region was vacated, not "liberated". And this woman doesn't have a clue what's happening in her own country, her own government, or her own job, let alone the Kremlin. But don't let facts spoil your MSM comemierda if you enjoy it so much. RobS^Z+ 03:10, July 11, 2022 (EDT)

More Ukrainian soldiers refuse to serve as canon fodder

• Soldiers of the Ukrainian 24th brigade refuse to serve as cannon fodder. RobS^Z+ 20:15, July 7, 2022 (EDT)
• AFU GROUP COMPLETELY GIVES UP - THROWS AWAY THEIR WEAPONS & ARMOR - that's what demilitarization is all about. RobS^Z+ 21:37, July 7, 2022 (EDT)
• UKRAINIAN POWs FORCED TO CLEAN UP AND BURY CARCASSES OF COMRADES.
• Things not going well for Ukrainian female conscripts - that's cause Zelensky already sent all the men to their deaths. RobS^Z+ 21:56, July 7, 2022 (EDT)
• MORE NORMAL BEHAVIOR IN UKRAINIAN SOCIETY - CIVILIAN TORTURE IS "EUROPEAN VALUES". RobS^Z+ 00:58, July 9, 2022 (EDT)
• Russians organize public exhibit for the people of Lysychansk to show off captured foreign equipment. RobS^Z+ 02:22, July 9, 2022 (EDT)
• Will Republicans Cut Off Ukraine? If control of Congress flips, a small but growing number of America-first lawmakers could derail American support for the war against Russia. Defense One. RobS^Z+ 21:30, July 11, 2022 (EDT)
• The Judgement of Nations. "this is above all a battle of world views and ensuing realities. This battle is political and economic, spiritual and moral. Why else did the Johnson regime ban the Russian Orthodox Patriarch from visiting the UK? Here we understand President Putin’s words of 7 July 2022 before Russian parliamentarians that Russia ‘has not even started anything in earnest in the Ukraine yet’, that the military operation in the Ukraine signifies ‘a cardinal break with the US world order, the beginning of the transition from the liberal globalism of US egocentricity to the reality of a multipolar world….the march of history is unstoppable and the attempts of the West to foist its New World Order on the world are doomed to failure’." RobS^Z+ 17:08, July 12, 2022 (EDT)
• The End of Western Civilization – Why It Lacks Resilience, and What Will Take Its Place. "The United States through its New Cold War is aiming at securing precisely such economic tribute from other countries. The coming conflict may last for perhaps twenty years and will determine what kind of political and economic system the world will have. At issue is more than just U.S. hegemony and its dollarized control of international finance and money creation. Politically at issue is the idea of “democracy” that has become a euphemism for an aggressive financial oligarchy seeking to impose itself globally by predatory financial, economic and political control backed by military force."
• The Kool-Aid' On The War In Ukraine. "What does drinking the Kool-Aid mean today? It signifies that the person in question has given up personal integrity and has succumbed to the prevailing group-think that typifies policymaking today. This person has become "part of the problem, not part of the solution. What was the "problem"? The sincerely held beliefs of a small group of people who think they are the "bearers" of a uniquely correct view of the world, sought to dominate the foreign policy of the United States in the Bush 43 administration, and succeeded in doing so through a practice of excluding all who disagreed with them. Those they could not drive from government they bullied and undermined until they, too, had drunk from the vat." RobS^Z+ 17:49, July 12, 2022 (EDT)
• VICE NEWS PROPAGANDISTS HUMILIATED AND RAN OUT OF DAGESTAN FOR DISRESPECTING WAR WIDOWS. White racist scumbag thinks "third worlders" are brainwashed into not believing "Russian aggression." RobS^Z+ 23:10, July 12, 2022 (EDT)
• Breaking: Major broadcast with key Ukraine war analysts: SITREP Ukraine w/Military Summary & Gonzalo Lira. RobS^Z+ 01:47, July 13, 2022 (EDT)
• Russia and China haven’t even started to ratchet up the pain dial. "The Suicide Spectacular Summer Show, currently on screen across Europe, proceeds in full regalia, much to the astonishment of virtually the whole Global South: a trashy, woke Gotterdammerung remake, with Wagnerian grandeur replaced by twerking. Decadent Roman Emperors at least exhibited some degree of pathos. Here we’re just faced by a toxic mix of hubris, abhorrent mediocrity, delusion, crude ideological sheep-think and outright irrationality wallowing in white man’s burden racist/supremacist slush – all symptoms of a profound sickness of the soul. To call it the Biden-Leyen-Blinken West or so would be too reductionist: after all these are puny politico/functionaries merely parroting orders. This is a historical process: physical, psychic and moral cognitive degeneration embedded in NATOstan’s manifest desperation in trying to contain Eurasia, allowing occasional tragicomic sketches such as a NATO summit proclaiming Woke War against virtually the whole non-West...." RobS^Z+ 17:32, July 13, 2022 (EDT)

Why has the media turned against Biden? So Michelle Obama can run in 2024. See "Michelle Obama Is Running for President in 2024." Update. Its hard to see Biden running for reelection, whatever he might be telling people these days: "71 percent don’t want Biden to run for reelection: poll." PeterKa (talk) 21:12, July 2, 2022 (EDT)

refs

Corruption in Russia: A Historical Perspective. Russia has a long history of corruption. Putin's corruption is not some surprising fact of history.

• Putin's palace. The story of the world's biggest bribe

The conservative thinktank, the Hudson Institute, has a good video on Putin's kleptocracy: Putin's Kleptocracy: Who Owns Russia?

Vladimir Putin: The Former KGB agent and the Modern-day Tsar of Russian Corruption!

NATO agreed on Wednesday to put over 300,000 troops at high readiness from 2023, up from 40,000 previously, a new military line-up designed to better counter Russia, the country the alliance has designated as posing the greatest threat.[5] Finland and Sweden are going to join NATO.

"As Russia spent much of 2021 amassing troops on its Ukrainian border, an important headline almost escaped notice. While Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened Ukraine, Russia suffered its largest natural population decline since World War II, losing 997,000 people in the yearlong period between October 2020 and September 2021. Although coronavirus casualties in Russia were severe—and probably highly underreported—this wasn’t a one-time anomaly. Instead, it was the opening shot of a longer-term trend that will manifest in earnest over the next decade. Russia is about to enter a prolonged and painful period of demographic decline at home—complicating its expansionist ambitions abroad."[6]

The biggest challenge facing Russia is it's trend of demographic decline:

• Russia's Demographic 'Crisis'. How Real Is It?

• Russia's rapidly approaching demographic crisis

This war, which causes the death of Russian soldiers and diverts massive resources to the military, only makes this demographic crisis worse. Conservative (talk) 18:21, July 2, 2022 (EDT)

What you do not seem to understand is the human and emotional impact. It is precisely because children are so rare, that Russians are so determined to fight NATO ethnic cleansing of Russians.

• Ukraine Continues Killing Children in The Donetsk People's Republic, Including With Western Weapons, Eva K Bartlett. RobS^Z+ 16:37, July 13, 2022 (EDT)
• Spanish War correspondent reports from the Alley of Angels in the center of Donetsk.
• UKRAINIAN NAZI TERROR SHELLING KILLS ANOTHER CHILD IN DONETSK. RobS^Z+ 16:58, July 13, 2022 (EDT)

Biden's idiotic Green New Deal, combined with oil sanctions on Russia, could provoke a backlash from non-US, non-European nations and the formation of an economic "BRICS" alliance. The obvious step after that would be for BRICS to create a mechanism to get around SWIFT and America's dollar dominance. Sundance is on this one. See "Massive Implications, Saudi Arabia in Discussion to Join BRICS Coalition – The Outcome Would be Global Energy and Economic Cleaving." Biden was never prouder than when he pulled out of Afghanistan. Losing wars is his thing. Why would he care more about Ukraine than he did about Afghanistan? He doesn't. The real purpose of these sanctions is to crash the American economy.

If China, India, and Russia are all opposed, there is little chance that the Green New Deal is going to make much progress in terms of reducing carbon dioxide output. Despite his pledge to defend Taiwan, its hard to see Biden standing up to the Chinese. This is from today's New York Post: "Hunter Biden’s laptop had contacts for Google execs, US officials for China policy." China is now by far the largest emitter of CO2. What we need are policies that focus on lower oil prices. That way we benefit ourselves while sticking it to Putin. PeterKa (talk) 18:55, July 2, 2022 (EDT)

BRICS has viability only as an economic alliance. The fact that both China and India are fellow members renders it impossible to function as anything beyond that. That being said, if the Saudis renege on the petrodollar, it would be a very positive development. As it would end the days where Wahhabists can make puppets out of our government officials.--Geopolitician (talk) 17:57, July 3, 2022 (EDT)

It's the dawn of a new era, the genuine post-colonial era. Countries like India aren't allowing themselves to be pushed around now. And they have allies and trading partners in Africa and Asia who view the world from the same perspective. Western threats, blackmail, and aggressive military action is all the West has to offer. Nobody buys the "liberal democracy" spiel anymore.

To thwart the SPFS system, threats, blackmail, and sanctions is all the West has. And they can't sanction the entire planet (although the idiots in Brussels & Washington think they can or would like to do it. They learned nothing from the Russian sanctions, which backfired and destroyed Western economies.) RobS^Z+ 19:02, July 3, 2022 (EDT)

China is the Saudi's biggest customer, and growing. All China has to do one day is say to Saudi Arabie, "We've been the victim of Western sanctions, and we ain't payin' in dollas no mo. You're going to have accept yen or rubles or what the SPFS comes up with." Saudi Arabia will say, "okay."

It's a controlled demolition of the Western economy and civilization our masters, overseers, and oligarchs are putting us through to attain the liberal world order (where everybody's gay and there is no more transphobic bigotry). RobS^Z+ 00:16, July 4, 2022 (EDT)

The KSA and the CCP are natural allies to begin with, as they are basically “co-parents” to their “baby” Pakistan. Which is yet another reason why we should be making nice with Iran. Eventually, the CCP will discard Iran in favor of the KSA.--Geopolitician (talk) 10:40, July 4, 2022 (EDT)

Good observation. And good transition. I was wondering how to draw the contrast between India & Pakistan, and how they each reacted to American threats and blackmail earlier this year when the US was imposing the sanctions regime against Russia. India told the US kiss off, whereas the US was able to force a regime change in Pakistan when Imran Khan tried to tell the US & EU to kiss off. RobS^Z+ 17:03, July 4, 2022 (EDT)

Keep in mind that Narenda Modi and Imran Khan told the US to kiss off for different reasons. Modi needs Russia as an ally against China, so he's unwilling to do anything that would jeopardize Russo-Indian relations under any circumstances. Khan on the other hand had no love for Russia, but he may have assumed that siding with Ukraine would anger China, who he needs as an ally against India. If that's the case then that assumption was wrong, because China's reaction (or lack thereof) to Khan's ouster indicates that it doesn't care who's in charge in Islamabad as long as the regime is pro-Chinese and anti-Indian.--Geopolitician (talk) 00:10, July 6, 2022 (EDT)

The SPFS system is already in the works. Iran and Argentina are asking to join. So far, it has 70 large banks in 12 countries competing with 11,000 financial institutions in virtually every country of the world. The banks and institutions joining are given anonymity, cause most are members of the SWIFT network and they will be added to the sanctions list if their names are made public. So it's a race against the clock in the next front of WW III. All 55 members of the African Union and their banks are expected to join, as are most of Latin America. This should help alleviate somewhat the Western directed plan to exterminate people in the Third World this winter though famine. Through the SPFS system, they can buy Russian grains and fertilizers. Additionally, the drying up global demand for US dollars to conduct international transactions means those excess petrodollars can only return home to add more fuel to the inflationary fire. RobS^Z+ 19:35, July 2, 2022 (EDT)

After Jimmy Carter, there were 3 consecutive GOP presidential terms. After Biden is out of office, maybe there will be 4 or more consecutive GOP presidential terms since he is even worse than Jimmy Carter. In addition, the Democrats have shifted leftward and have a more shallow bench. Conservative (talk) 20:49, July 2, 2022 (EDT)

Here is a Reuters report on SPFS. The system doesn't sound very impressive at the moment, but I suppose that could change if Saudi signed up for it. PeterKa (talk) 20:57, July 2, 2022 (EDT)

The Saudis are unlikely to make bold moves since they realize that Biden is pretty much a lame-duck president at this point. In a couple of years, Trump will probably be president and the Saudis liked Trump. Conservative (talk) 21:01, July 2, 2022 (EDT)

In the "setback for posers" article, "dioxide" is misspelled as "dioxice". Quidam65 (talk) 20:38, July 2, 2022 (EDT)

Thanks. I fixed it. Sorry for not responding sooner. Conservative (talk) 14:56, July 4, 2022 (EDT)

Former Conservapedia editor User: TheAmericanRedoubt, who was a survivalist, was mocked by various people.

Given the food shortages and skyrocketing cost of food due to the Biden Administration's inflationary policies and its poor dealing with the supply chain crisis, User: TheAmericanRedoubt is beginning to look darn right insightful! A borderline genius or genius perhaps! Well, maybe not a genius, but he was intelligent in some ways.  :) Conservative (talk) 16:41, July 4, 2022 (EDT)

From the Gateway Pundit:

MUST SEE: Hot Dog Eating Champ Joey Chestnut Chokes Out Animal Rights Protester and Takes Him to the Ground with a Mouth Full of Weiner Before Winning Contest (includes video)

Northwest (talk) 20:56, July 4, 2022 (EDT)

A leading YouTube news channel based in India says "Russia-Ukraine War - Biden’s US Misrepresenting Kyiv’s Success In The Battle Against Putin’s Forces?"

The video made some good points. The Indians are the closest thing to a neutral observer. And lately, the Ukrainians haven't been doing so well in the war and I am not seeing a unified and strong Europe as far as a full commitment to the Ukrainians. Conservative (talk) 03:14, July 5, 2022 (EDT)

What success? A country with 1/5 the population of the U.S. lost as many people in 4 month as the U.S. did in Vietnam in 10 years. But you wouldn't know that listening to MSM. You're talking about WION, I presume. The whole planet knows what's happening in Ukraine - except the Ukrainian and American people. We're being spoon fed same garbage the Ukrainian media puts out domestically - only there they can't cover up the scale of the slaughter anymore. RobS^Z+ 17:16, July 5, 2022 (EDT)

Basically, all the war news and sources on both sides, and civilian observers, is on Telegram. Ukraine, the CIA, and its media network use Twitter. English language MSM reporters only report from behind Ukrainian lines, and only what the Zelensky shows them or allows them to see. Western media is one massive psyop.

The sources on Telegram report from the front. There are only about six English speaking independent journalists reporting from the front. RobS^Z+ 17:33, July 5, 2022 (EDT)

We are beginning to see the outlines how peace can be achieved, inflation checked, and famine mitigated. Biden et al, Boris, and Zelensky must go. This can take up to 2 1/12 years, but there are ways with a bi-partisan consensus that can speed up the process. In 2 1/2 years, Putin will still be there. The plague of humanity - the Biden regime, Boris, transgender activism and its chief spokesman Zelensky, must all be removed first for there to peace, and for prosperity to return. The WEF agenda - to use the War in Ukraine as the way to implement the Green agenda, is backfiring. So we can defeat transgenderism, the climate agenda, and the NATO warmongers. And NATO needs a choke collar if Putin allows it to survive the war. RobS^Z+ 18:53, July 5, 2022 (EDT)

Back in the real world, of course, the Ukrainians are now picking off your ammo dumps for fun and pro-Russian Telegram channels are freaking out. ConwayIII (talk) 18:59, July 5, 2022 (EDT)

I think you way overestimate the power of LGBTQI/transgender activists in the world. A rash of US states and an international body banned transgenders from competing in women sports and/or swimming. China is cracking down on "girly men" in their county. The Islamic countries have little to no tolerance for the homosexuals and transexuals. Reuters reports: LGBT+ murders at 'alarming' levels in Latin America - study. The gays are unpopular in many places in Africa and Africa as a whole. And as far as the future, the gays, liberals, leftists are having sub-replacement levels of kids which will affect the voting population in the future. In addition, conservative and moderate voters are pushing back against public school indoctrination and school choice advocates won a major victory in the SCOTUS court. Conservative (talk) 19:10, July 5, 2022 (EDT)

I overestimate the power of LGBT activists in the world? Didn't you just post, "A University of Carolina study in 2015 found there were more openly homosexual members of parliament in Britain than anywhere else in the world" on MPR? These are the same guys who voted to send arms to Ukrainian Nazis to kill children. Make up your mind. RobS^Z+ 16:19, July 7, 2022 (EDT)

(ec) Oh, wow. The Russians must really be stupid then, to keep stockpiling in the same amounts, huh?

The gift of HIMARs, in the real word, is not intended to make a difference. It is simply to combat test the weapon's vulnerabilities against who the weapon was designed to be used against. Using HIMARs against goat herders and camel jockeys armed with Toyota pick-up trucks, Russian AK-47s and RPGs was a bit of an overkill. But is was fun while it lasted. So the HIMARs smoked out a weapon that the vaunted US intelligence community (probably suspected) but didn't know the Russians had.

<digression> Since the 1980s, the emphasis has been on missile defense - the ability to shoot down on incoming ICBM with as missile. The Israelis have furthered the technology by scaling it down to shoot smaller Iranian built rockets fired from Gaza, Lebanon, or Iran. The drone swarm attack on the Saudi refinery a few years ago has presented new problems: (a) radar to detect low flying drone swarms, and (b) a lower level, multi-missile defense system to hit, not just surveillance or kamikaze drones, but low-flying, beneath the radar drone swarms which are just a couple of inches in length and can fly 10-30 feet off the ground (the NATO drone attack on the refinery at Rostov a few weeks ago was probe of Russian missile defense on critical infrastructure.)

So now we know the Russians have the ability to shoot down an artillery shell - something you probably never heard or dreamed of. And it's not any secret that the Russians don't fear American artillery cause the cost of delivering ammunition to battlefield in the requisite quantities is impossible. (Alternatively, the US could subcontract out the deal to Krupp Works and Skoda, but I doubt the Russians would take kindly to that.)

In the larger scheme of things, the Ukraine war will be known as the first drone war, the widespread use of drones on both sides for many purposes. Shooting down a drone is kinda like shooting down an artillery shell, only rockets and artillery travel mush faster. Looks like those stupid, drunken, demoralized Russians have technology NATO is lusting to get its hands on. RobS^Z+ 19:45, July 5, 2022 (EDT)

(ec) <footnote>A US Navy destroyer fired on a drone swarm off the coast of California in 2019. The source of the drone attack is supposedly unknown. Take your pick of conspiracy theories: (a) it was an act of war by China; (b) it as a live fire exercise conducted by the Navy (without informing the Captain and crew) to test their reaction and training and the effectiveness of the ships radar and weapons in defense; (c) it was a bunch of California techies just screwing around. This third choice seems unlikely, as FBI hasn't given much priority to investigating it. RobS^Z+ 20:46, July 5, 2022 (EDT)

I am not a military strategists, but at this phase of the war, it appears to be an artillery slugfest and the Ukrainians are currently outgunned and outmanned. I have my doubts that the West will provide the Ukrainians with parity or above over the long term. Conservative (talk) 20:33, July 5, 2022 (EDT)

Artillery slugfest? What a joke. Ukraine has no artillery left (other than the NATO experimental donations).

Now you hear all the same propagandists spouting the same BS: "This is the Russian way of war bla bla bla". No it's not. Artillery is being used because of all Javelins. (Milley said, "We sent 97,000 anti-tank weapons to Ukraine - more then the number of tanks in the world.") So what are Russians suppose to do? just drive headlong into the Javelins? Just like the HIMARs - they knockout one dump. So instead of piling 100 tons in one dump you spread it around in 5 dumps with 20 ton.

So who is being an idiot here? Like the Pentagon didn't know that if you can't drive over them with tanks, you're going to have to sit back and destroy them with artillery. RobS^Z+ 21:00, July 5, 2022 (EDT)

Now, let's address the use of this term "parity", which I've seen you use twice now, and is only the second time I've heard or seen the word in the context of the Ukraine war this year. That is to say, I'm assuming you picked up the term somewhere from some Ukrainian or Western propaganda source.

I'm assuming by "parity", you are referring to having an equal number of pieces on the playing board. In proxy war, of course, parity does not exist or has no meaning at all. Parity refers to the belligents' ability to manufacture the weapons, supply spare parts, replace lost equipment, and deliver the goods to the battlefield. Parity refers to manufacturing ability, economic condition, maintaining equipment, having the workforce, etc. It is not just the number of pieces on a chess board. RobS^Z+ 03:33, July 11, 2022 (EDT)

Ask yourself this question: Did the 400,000 man Afghan National Army proxy force (cause that what it was) have "parity" with the Taliban goat herders? Seriously ask yourself that, cause you are getting your information and talking points from the same idiots who manufactured that disaster. RobS^Z+ 22:13, July 12, 2022 (EDT)

Another example: Ukraine now is talking about fielding a 1 million man (and woman) fully mobilized army. How will a bankrupt economy keep a 1 million person armed service in logistical supply of fresh water, food, medical services, fuel for evacuation, etc. with "parity" to Russian armed forces? Ultimately, the Ukrainian survivors will be dependent upon Russian medical treatment, food, etc. RobS^Z+ 00:45, July 13, 2022 (EDT)

Cons: your posted link says "Some experts alleged that senior US military leaders have consistently misled the American public on the true state of affairs." While I'm flattered, I don't consider myself expert. I'm just an informed citizen and observer reporting facts without bias. RobS^Z+ 22:10, July 5, 2022 (EDT)

I don't trust the casualty rates given out by either side. In war, it is commonly said that the first casualty of war is truth.

The crazy thing is Americans going to Ukraine to defend Ukraine militarily while America's southern border is porous. An the icing on the liberal/leftists cake is Biden complaining about the USA during Independence Day. Do you think the French presidents bad mouth France on Bastille Day? Do the Aussies bad mouth Australia on Anzac Day? I can hardly wait until Biden and his degenerate son are largely out of the picture.

I hope there is a huge red wave and the Democrats don't recover for years to come. Time will tell.

Regardless, the so-called "liberal world order" championed by Francis Fukuyama and others is a fantasy. We live in a multipolar world with clashing civilizations which is what Samuel Huntington predicted. On one hand, you have a Biden official talking about the "liberal world order", while Biden is begging the conservative, Muslim Saudis for oil. The liberals tried to turn Afghani Muslims into people who loved feminism and the gay agenda which was a fool's errand. I could go on, but you get the picture. Conservative (talk) 22:20, July 5, 2022 (EDT)

The reason I called it an artillery slugfest at this phrase of the war is that I expect NATO to up the ante and provide the Ukrainians with a lot more artillery. Conservative (talk) 06:19, July 6, 2022 (EDT)

There's an old adage, "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day....". The same thing happened to the South Vietnamese Army, the Afghan National Army, and now the AFU. All three governments have disappeared (Zelensky claims it costs $5 billion a month to pay Ukraine's civil service system, which the US took over paying with its $53 billion aid package.) Ukraine is a failed state, kept alive on a heart-lung machine by the US, and pushing people into combat at gunpoint. RobS^Z+ 16:35, July 6, 2022 (EDT)

Professor John Mearsheimer said provoking a major power on your border when you are a small power state is akin to provoking a big gorilla. Ukraine's biggest first big mistake was riling up Russia when it repeatedly said that Ukraine joining NATO was a bright red line that it would not tolerate being crossed. And it's second biggest mistake was giving up its nukes and depending on the undependable West.

NATO/USA funding a failed state with a deep history of corruption and a history of authoritarianism so the war in Ukraine can continue while the Russians level city after city in Ukraine with artillery fire and cause a lot of civilian/military deaths is not a good use of money - especially since the war could cause massive food supply shortages to the developing world at a time it can ill afford to be in such a situation. Difficult ethical decisions sometimes require choosing between the least bad alternatives.

Right now, NATO countries would rather fund the Ukrainians because they would rather see Ukrainians die and possibly see the people from developing countries die due to hunger rather than risk having the people in NATO countries die. Personally, I don't think the Russians are dumb enough to attack a NATO state. Conservative (talk) 16:56, July 6, 2022 (EDT)

(ec) As to casualty figures, this entry at Conservapedia proven right outlines what the Ukrainian regime has admitted to (do the math: 500 x the number of days between May 5 and June 16 = 21,000; that doesn't count the days and weeks leading up to 500 per day. Recently, the 500 per day has been upped by official Ukrainian sources to 1,000 per day. IMO, Zelensky is re-enacting Hitler in the bunker, delusional and oblivious to the reports coming in. Same with Biden. Same with Jens Stoltenberg. Same with the MSM. And there is no change in strategy, rather this relentless cheerleading for doom and destruction continues.) RobS^Z+ 17:00, July 6, 2022 (EDT)

Don't blame Ukraine. Blame NATO. NATO installed Nazis in power. RobS^Z+ 17:05, July 6, 2022 (EDT)

Prideful NATO lead the Ukrainians down a primrose path. The Biden administration might have been able to prevent this war - Trump certainly did. Anyways, I blame Ukraine, NATO and Russia for this war. I am a proponent of Just War Theory and this war does not seem just. Conservative (talk) 17:10, July 6, 2022 (EDT)

(ec) You sound like a Quaker; Ambrose Bierce calls a non-combatant in war "a dead Quaker". RobS^Z+ 17:16, July 6, 2022 (EDT)

I am not a pacifist. But looking back, an argument could be made that my online criticisms of New Atheism and atheism was time that could be better spent promoting Christianity - especially given the current growth of religion and desecularization going on in the world. On the other hand, most of Western Christendom largely ignored the atheism worldview if you compare this to the amount of effort that Western atheists spent attacking Christianity. Conservative (talk) 17:26, July 6, 2022 (EDT)

Most wars are fought due to greed, power, pride and unforgiveness. So being an advocate of Just War Theory is very defensible. Conservative (talk) 17:28, July 6, 2022 (EDT)

RobS, you wrote: "I overestimate the power of LGBT activists in the world? Didn't you just post, "A University of Carolina study in 2015 found there were more openly homosexual members of parliament in Britain than anywhere else in the world" on MPR? These are the same guys who voted to send arms to Ukrainian Nazis to kill children. Make up your mind. RobSZ+ 16:19, July 7, 2022 (EDT)"

Post 2015, the worldwide searches for the Google keyword word "gay" has been going down after a period of 5 year gains (But there was a small gain recently). Maybe Trumpism and the corresponding rise of the populist right in the world helped cause the number of Google searches in the world for the keyword "gay" to go down. Regardless, the liberal global world order is getting weaker over time (not stronger) and the amount of atheists in the world is going down now or very soon according to work done by scholars. So secular liberal values in the world do not have a bright future. Conservative (talk) 16:54, July 7, 2022 (EDT)

How have searches for "non-binary" fared since 2015? A younger generation has been schooled with a different lexicon than the outdated 1960s lingo. RobS^Z+ 17:12, July 7, 2022 (EDT)

I see. So you are saying the word "gay" is too "gay" now. :) The bottom line is the liberal global order is dying and there is lots of signs to confirm this. In addition, the USA's population is merely 350,000,000 people out of 7.7 billion people. But even in the USA there are signs the liberal order is coming apart (Trump, Roe vs. Wade being overturned, SCOTUS making a pro school choice ruling recently, etc. etc.). Bin Laden was wrong about a whole lot of things, but he was right about “When people see a strong horse and a weak horse, by nature they will like the strong horse.” Conservative (talk) 17:33, July 7, 2022 (EDT)

If Russia loses the War in Ukraine, the liberal world order survives and wins. RobS^Z+ 17:36, July 7, 2022 (EDT)

I doubt that. Lots of religious immigrants with conservative views are migrating to Europe. Plus, the native religious populations in Europe are having more kids. France is 1-2 national elections from voting in a right-wing presidential candidate (3-4 national elections tops).Conservative (talk) 17:53, July 7, 2022 (EDT)

In April 2010, professor Eric Kaufmann, who is an agnostic, declared "the rate of secularisation has flattened to zero in most of Protestant Europe and France."[7]. Conservative (talk) 17:56, July 7, 2022 (EDT)

HERE is a great video on the liberal global order and its gay agenda. Step by step it is happening. :) Conservative (talk) 18:13, July 7, 2022 (EDT)

(ec) BoJo was a conservative; BoJo was a prime mover against Trump and NATO warmonger. God save us from another conservative like that.

The Left-Right, Liberal-Conservative paradigm is a limited yardstick to measure every issue on. In fact, ideology (or at least ideology you can apply a label on) plays a limited role in the events of history.

Before you quote Kaufman, you need to deflate his figures on the "rate of secularization declining" because of Muslim immigration.

P.S. I've heard at least 50,000 times that Kaufamn is an agnostic; you don't have to spam your posting with redundant material. I'm not stupid and do not have a problem retaining information, and just makes your postings boring and time consuming to read. RobS^Z+ 18:19, July 7, 2022 (EDT)

Muslim's are anti-gay for the most part. As a Muslim population grows in a European country, there is an attendant rise in violence against gays caused by Muslims. Reuters: "Gay men have been murdered in Sweden and the Netherlands, while a homeless transgender woman was killed in Portugal, it said. Lesbian, bisexual and transgender women in El Salvador, Kyrgyzstan and South Africa have experienced gang rapes, family violence and murder."[8] Conservative (talk) 18:32, July 7, 2022 (EDT)

"Nonetheless, families, communities and authorities have subjected LGBTQ people to acts of intimidation, humiliation and brutal attacks. Thus, in many parts of the world, they have been beaten, stabbed, raped and illegally detained (Lee & Ostergard 2017, p.39). Rahman and Valliani (2016) state that the existing research on LGBTQ Muslim's experiences and identities is limited to a small number both within the Muslim majority countries and Muslim minority populations in Western countries. They argue that this limitation testifies to the difficulties of researching a hidden population but also reminds us that LGBTQ Muslim identity remains a controversial social position. Thus, there is a contemporary discourse of fundamental cultural opposition between Islam and sexual diversity, whereas both Western political, religious/ethnic Muslim cultures and LGBTQ cultures use this framework of understanding to emphasise the assumption of mutual exclusivity between sexual diversity and Muslim cultures (Rahman and Valliani 2016)."[9] Conservative (talk) 18:38, July 7, 2022 (EDT)

(ec) You wrote: "In April 2010 Prof. Kaufman...", yah, before the Arab Spring and mass migration to Europe of Muslims (which further desecularized Europe.) Using outdated information invalidates your research (or at least whatever point you were trying make without the necessary qualifiers that you are not speaking about the current situation). RobS^Z+ 18:42, July 7, 2022 (EDT)

As a Muslim sub-population grows in terms of their percentage in a population, they become more and more aggressive in advocating the Muslim ways via laws and via rioting/terrorism/violence.[10] We see this happening in Sweden and in France. This is why the right is growing in France. Conservative (talk) 18:47, July 7, 2022 (EDT)

France and Sweden currently have the largest percentages of Muslims in Europe as far as countries.[11] And in both countries, the political right is growing. Research shows there is a positive correlation between the growth of populist right-wing parties in Europe and the growth of Muslims in a European country.[12] Conservative (talk) 18:53, July 7, 2022 (EDT)

Some right-wing European political parties are anti-gay and others are pro-gay. Conservative (talk) 18:55, July 7, 2022 (EDT)

Friend or Foe? The LGBT Community in the Eyes of Right-Wing Populism.Conservative (talk) 18:56, July 7, 2022 (EDT)

If you want contemporary news citations/research of secularization stalling in Britain, please see the 2017/2018 sources at: A sign of desecularization and/or the ending of secularization in Britain. Conservative (talk) 19:05, July 7, 2022 (EDT)

For example, The Guardian published an article in 2017 entitled Nearly 50% are of no religion – but has UK hit ‘peak secular’? which declared: "But, Bullivant told the Observer that the “growth of no religion may have stalled”. After consistent decline, in the past few years the proportion of nones appears to have stabilised. “Younger people tend to be more non-religious, so you’d expect it to keep going – but it hasn’t. The steady growth of non-Christian religions is a contributing factor, but I wonder if everyone who is going to give up their Anglican affiliation has done so by now? We’ve seen a vast shedding of nominal Christianity, and perhaps it’s now down to its hardcore."[13]

Also, On December 2018, The Times indicated: "The number of atheists in Britain has fallen in the past year, according to a survey suggesting that more people are attending church, albeit irregularly."[14] Conservative (talk) 19:10, July 7, 2022 (EDT)

It's interesting; how do you count whole congregations and churches that have adopted gay marriage and have gay pastors? religious or secular? RobS^Z+ 19:47, July 7, 2022 (EDT)

Those liberal churches die out. That is why the mainline churches are dying out. In Europe, the immigrant evangelical/pentecostal churches are growing. In the USA, I do know that the Hispanic evangelical/pentecostal churches are growing, the Amish are growing, the conservative Mennonites are growing; and the Assemblies of God are growing. But I don't know the particulars in other areas. It doesn't make sense to follow it now due to the pandemic. The pandemic probably makes church attendance figures less meaningful due to some people not attending church during the pandemic.

But this is what I know about a previous time:

Michael Brown wrote:

"Several decades ago, church statistician and demographer David Barrett began to report the surprising news that around the world, the most rapidly growing faith was Spirit-empowered Christianity, marked by clear gospel preaching, belief in the literal truth of the Scriptures, and the reality of God’s presence. (The data were compiled in the prestigious “World Christian Encyclopedia,” published by Oxford University Press.)...

This is confirmed in the new Pew Forum report, which showed that evangelical Protestant churches in America grew by 2 million from 2007 to 2014 whereas the so-called mainline (liberal) Protestant churches declined by 5 million, meaning that evangelical Protestants now make up the largest religious group in the nation. (Although this is not part of the Pew Forum survey, my surmise is that the evangelical churches that are most Bible-based and make the most serious, grace-empowered demands on their congregants are, generally speaking, the ones that are growing rather than declining.)"[15]. Conservative (talk) 20:25, July 7, 2022 (EDT)

Actually, if you want the most recent credible data (in terms of sample size) on religion in the USA read: The 2020 Census of American Religion. If you want to know what is projected to happen to religion in the USA, read: United States, irreligion vs. religion and demographics. Conservative (talk) 20:35, July 7, 2022 (EDT)

I'm guessing, in hard numbers, Pew counts gay pastors & "gay tolerant" (for lack of a better term) congregations as "religious", which skews the whole theory. Back to the drawing board. RobS^Z+ 20:43, July 7, 2022 (EDT)

I really don't know what you are talking about. But liberal churches are dying and they accept homosexuality as being acceptable. Evangelical/pentecostal churches generally see homosexuality as sinful and evangelicalism/pentecostalism are growing rapidly in the world. Conservative (talk) 22:59, July 7, 2022 (EDT)