Russia - threadbanned users in OP

What makes you think the killing would stop if Ukraine surrendered tomorrow? We've seen plenty of evidence of the rape, torture and mass murder that the Russian army have done and are still doing in areas they occupy. Russian state TV even openly discuss wiping the very notion of Ukraine from history, i.e. they are openly talking about genocide.

If Ukraine acceed to them, the killing will keep going, it'll just be in a larger area than if Ukraine manages to hold them back.

fascism and communism are completely different ideologies. What Stalin and Hitlers regimes had in common was authoritarianism. They were both authoritarian states. So you could say that they started going in different directions but, in one very important aspect, ended up in the same place.

Editing to say: If there's a comparison with modern russia, it's Fascism. I wouldn't say nazi's just yet. In Nazism, there were particular internal groups who were enemies of the state. They were enemies just by existing. i.e. jews, gays, roma etc... Additionally the nazi party and the state were indivisible. They were the same thing essentially. The One Russia party isn't the state. It's Putin who's the state.

So although it's nazi adjacent, it's not quite there and has for more in common with the fascist dictatorships. "Strong" leader, nationalism, paranoia etc...

All of this is just semantics though. It might matter in a post war world but right now, he's still a **** who's invading a neighbour.

Listening to ATC.

It is possible to listen in to Air Traffic Control at most airports. J-town is offline, as expected, but Warsaw isn't. Burgas, in Bulgaria is active and is probably the return destination for the AN-124 mentioned in my post above and the staging post for many "humanitarian" flights.

Here is the link to listen in. You enter the Code of the airport you wish to listen to and then have a little patience! Most of the exchanges are in the language of aviation, English, and using this together with Flightradar or ADS-B and tonnes of patience, it is very possible to form your own Open Sourse Intelligence picture of what is occurring in realtime. I could write reams about the stuff I've discovered using this method, but I've got to work!

Mess around with different airports with lots of NATO traffic. Look up the frequencies for Centres, or Control centres too. They cover aircraft transiting from one controlled airspace to another.

For example, when I fly from Roscommon ( Tiobhain airstrip) to Weston, I contact Shannon Control, low level after Takeoff so they can squawk-ident my aircraft using my transponder. I'm with them on that frequency until they hand me over to Weston Approach/Tower for approach and landing.

Here's the link to Burgas. Press play if it does nor start automatically. Enjoy.

https://www.liveatc.net/hlisten.php?mount=lbbg2&icao=lbbg

So incredibly naive.

The quite astonishing thing is that no political questions have been raised or inquiry held as to exactly "why" Russia would need or want to conduct "exercises" so far from their own waters, and in such a sensitive area.

Irish defence issues aside, if this had happened in UK waters then there would have been uproar in Parliament.

You may laugh but Nazi Wiccans are a huge threat to the world order.

There w big difference between allowing conscripts to show they are alive to there relatives and raping and butchering women and children.

It takes two to tango. Putin want to dance by himself. He has given no concessions to any world leaders that tried to negotiate a settle before it started or since.

The real funny part is Zelenski has been calling for talks with Putin for the last month.

https://www.dw.com/en/zelenskyy-calls-for-direct-peace-talks-with-putin/av-61207865

Putin bots should think about what they are posting

Do the Americans want this to be known ?

I would say it's common sense to assume this has happened, that they received military help in the form of supplies, equipment and intelligence, right from the start. I'm only surprised that it hasn't been confirmed officially until now.

There is an argument that the nazis practiced black magic in the last century.

@fly_agaric how ironic is the last line from that article....

".....we have to ensure the security of Hungary ... that we are not getting involved in that war," Szijjarto said after meeting Kosovo Foreign Minister Donika Gervalla."

...in light of recent reports of their preparations to attempt to hive off some Ukranian teritory for themselves at the very start of the invasion.

Would be funny if true, but I don't believe that story (unless you've seen something more certain about it than me?).

I find it unlikely Russia would do that, and effectively tell them this invasion was going to happen.

I don't think Hungary is that important to Russia, or that close to them/allied with them either (to be made a sort of accomplice or accessory to their invasion plan), even if they are not being good + helpful/trustworthy members of EU/NATO during this.

That story may not be true but NATO and the EU certainly have a trojan horse in their midst and they'd want to be very careful with the info they make Hungary privy to. Orban will take the western shilling but cosy up to authoritarian Russia to ensure his own survival. The EU model doesn't assure him of power for the rest of his days. The Russian model does. Their feet really need to be held to the fire in terms of choosing a side. He can't run with the hounds and piss with the pups.

If the rumour that the operation is for cancer, I doubt he's got more than 3-4 months to live. He will without the slightest doubt, have put it off until it's way too late due to him being a control freak and worrying about the opportunity it presents to others and the impact on his image.

Steve Jobs was an 'I'm too important' type also. Conventional medical treatments were too inconvenient so he convinced himself that alternative approaches that were more accommodating to his work life were the way to go, until of course it was very clear they hadn't worked.