Ukraine war mega thread

[sabang]

Jeez AO, it's gotten a bit ridiculous out there- did you fail to notice? Hope you don't have a Russian Blue.

[aging one]

Jeez AO, it's gotten a bit ridiculous out there-

Exactly how I have been feeling about your posts on the Russia/Ukraine situation.

[Switch]

This is one hell of an article. Here' one part. Its a must read. And the "sources bros" will have a field day.

In post-Maidan Ukraine one could see an anticipation of the fate that awaited the rest of Europe, almost as if Ukraine had been not only a laboratory for colour revolutions, but also a testing ground for the kind of cognitive warfare operations that are leading to the rapid destruction of whatever vestige of civility, logic and rationality is left in the West.


Social media play a central role as a force multiplier and are a powerful tool for exploiting emotions and reinforcing cognitive biases. Unprecedented information volume and velocity overwhelms individual cognitive capabilities and encourages “thinking fast” (reflexively and emotionally) as opposed to “thinking slow” (rationally and judiciously). Social media also induce social proofing, wherein the individual mimics and affirms others’ actions and beliefs to fit in, thus creating echo chambers of conformism and groupthink. Shaping perceptions is all that matters; critical opinions, inconvenient truths, facts that contradict the dominant narrative can be cancelled with a click, or by tweaking the algorithm. NATO uses machine learning and pattern recognition to quickly identify the locations in which social media posts, messages, and news articles originate, the topics under discussion, sentiment and linguistic identifiers, pacing of releases, links between social media accounts etc.


A polarized, cognitively disoriented population is a ripe target for a type of emotional manipulation known as thought-scripting and mind-boxing. A person’s thinking comes to congeal around increasingly set scripts. And if the script is arguable, it is unlikely to be changed through argument. The well-boxed brain is impervious to information that doesn’t conform to the script and defenceless against powerful falsehoods or simplifications that it has been primed to believe. The more boxed a mind, the more polarized the political environment and public dialogue. This cognitive damage makes all efforts to promote balance and compromise unattractive, in the worst cases even impossible. The totalitarian turn of Western liberal regimes and the insular mentality of Western political elites seem to confirm this sad state of affairs.


With the ban on Russian information outlets, the exclusion and bullying of anyone who seeks to explain Russia’s position, the equivalent of ethnic cleansing of public discourse has been achieved and its cheerleaders have a mad grin on their face that doesn’t bode well.


Examples of irrational mob frenzy are too many to list, those who have fallen victims to this pseudo-religious fervour demand that Russia and Russians be cancelled. For that matter you don’t even need to be human or alive to become a target of mass hysteria: Russian cats and dogs have been banned from competitions, Russian classics banned from universities, Russian products taken off the shelves.


The relentless manipulation of people’s emotions has unleashed a dangerous whirlwind of mass insanity. As in Ukraine, so in Europe citizens are supporting decisions and calling for measures against their own interests, prosperity and future. “I’ll freeze for Ukraine!” is the new epitome of virtue-signalling among those who access only U.S.- approved information, the kind of script compatible with a frame of reference that excludes complexity. In this fictional, parallel universe, a sort of safe, reassuring, compensatory metaverse that has broken free from the messiness of reality, the West always occupies the moral high-ground.


By and large international media coverage of the war in Ukraine has been not only fictional but also completely aligned with narratives provided by Ukrainian propaganda units that were set up and funded by USAID, NED, Open Society, Pierre Omidyar Network, the European Endowment for Democracy et al.


Dan Cohen in an article published by Mint Press News described in detail how the system of Ukrainian strategic information works. Ukraine, with the help of foreign consultants and key media partners, built an effective network of PR-media agencies that actively churn out and promote fake news. In NATO countries whoever dares to question the correctness of this information is accused of being a “Putin’s agent”, attacked and excluded from public debate. The information space is so heavily guarded that it resembles an echo-chamber.


Ukrainian disinformation campaigns affect the judgment of both Western audiences and lawmakers. On March 8 when Ukrainian President Zelensky addressed the British House of Commons remotely, many members of parliament had no earphones to listen to the simultaneous translation of his speech. It didn’t matter. They liked the show and applauded enthusiastically. In their boxed-minds Zelensky had already been framed as “our good guy in Kiev”, and any script, even an incomprehensible one, would do. On March 1 diplomats from Western countries and their allies walked out during a video link address by Russia’s Foreign Minister Lavrov at the UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva. Boxed-brains are cognitively incapable to engage in discussions with those who hold different views, making diplomacy impossible. That’s why in lieu of diplomatic skills we see theatrics and media stunts, empty suits who deliver script lines and project moral superiority.


These “solutions” require the suppression of pluralism, the curtailing of freedom of information and expression, the widespread use of violence to intimidate critical thinkers, disinformation and emotional manipulation, in short, the destruction of the very foundations of modern democracy, public discourse, rational debate and informed participation in decision-making processes. The cherry on top is that it is cynically packaged and marketed as a “victory of democracy against authoritarianism.” To project democracy first they had to kill it and then replace it with its simulation.


But a global communication and information space that doesn’t respect the principle of pluralism and mutual respect inevitably produces its own gravediggers. We already see how this global space is fragmenting into heavily defended information spaces along the lines of geopolitical spheres of influence. The U.S.-led globalization project is unravelling and that’s mainly due to its overambition.


The U.S. might be winning the information war in the West but any victory in the parallel universe created by the media could easily turn into a Pyrrhic one when reality reasserts itself.


Recent history tells us that carefully crafted narratives, disinformation and demonization of the opponent radicalize and polarize public opinion, but victory in the information battlefield doesn’t necessarily translate into military or political victory, as we have seen in Syria and Afghanistan.


While the collective West revels in its success after the nuclear option of banning all Russian media from the global infosphere it controls, it’s too blinded by hubris to even notice the inevitable fallout. Total control over the narrative is achieved through authoritarian measures and the repression of dissenting voices, that is a reversal of those inclusive democracy and universalist values that the West hypocritically claims to defend and is actively projecting in the Global South. In the ideological confrontation with countries it defines “authoritarian” the West is losing the edge it claimed to possess.


The current conflict in Ukraine shows that restoring a sense of reality exacts a heavy and bloody toll. Unfortunately in matters of national security painful decisions cannot be postponed indefinitely.

Is Russia Losing the Information eWar? — Strategic Culture

You have already been advised that both sides do it. These explanation work well for Russia and China also. The difference is, you never fully understand your posts, or fail to read and filter them. This mostly results in you looking very stupid and childish.

Is it relevant?
Do I understand it? I
Have I analyzed it properly?
Is it worthy of posting in support of my narrative?

The problem here is that you usually skip the first three stages, and jump head first into your narrative. It makes you look like a gullible teenager at best.
Do get a grip of yourself, or use an alternate means of testing your level of stupid.

Thoughtless posting of dumb shit on here should see you jailed if the mods had any backbone.

[sabang]

^^ You are entitled to your opinion but just to remind you, I am entitled to mine too- and we both, in a liberal democracy, have equal rights of free speech. Or used to. No, I do not like this totalitarian trend in our democracies, or this censorship streak- cancel culture gone mad. P.s- the author is Italian, and lives in HK.

[bsnub]

Do ya think it would have been published in the Washington Post?

No because it is utter tosh.

[panama hat]

I'd like to know opinions on my opinion that the Ukranians should start making Russia feel some pain by using guerilla tactics to target infrastructure in Russia.

Like blowing up the fuel tanks just on the Russian side of the border - good on them, they are only there to feed the war machine

Considering I want to see a peace deal arrived at sooner rather than later, I don't reckon that's the way to go Cujo.

Like shit you do. You don't like Ukraine defending itself. Russia has invaded - nothing says Ukrainians have to fight only in Ukraine

[hallelujah]

^^ You are entitled to your opinion but just to remind you, I am entitled to mine too- and we both, in a liberal democracy, have equal rights of free speech. Or used to. No, I do not like this totalitarian trend in our democracies, or this censorship streak.

Yet in the next post, you'll tell us all how great it is in China and Russia.

Are you sniffing glue?

[sabang]

I think you are sniffing something strange- or maybe it's just the Kool aid.

[bsnub]

maybe it's just the Kool aid

Are you just that big of an idiot? Apparently you are. You are the deepest into the Kool-Aid of anyone on this forum, aside from the other Three Stooges.

[sabang]

Congratulations, you are TD's most boring, childish and repetitive poster. Now that really took some doing- have a smartie.

[Hugh Cow]

News from NaGastan is in another thread.

Gun violence in the United States

"The rate of firearm deaths per 100,000 people rose from 10.3 per 100,000 in 1999 to 12 per 100,000 in 2017, with 109 people dying per day."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_violence_in_the_United_States daily


Slightly more than the NaGastan domestic, daily carnage, and it's not even summer yet.

Including NaGastan caused deaths around the world, I'm pretty sure NaGastan is still number 1.

You are off topic and should be jailed for posting off topic shite.

[bsnub]

You are off topic and should be jailed for posting off topic shite.

All the Three Stooges engage in constant whataboutism in a feeble attempt to justify the crimes of the dictators that they worship. Despicable cretins.

[Hugh Cow]

^^ You are entitled to your opinion but just to remind you, I am entitled to mine too- and we both, in a liberal democracy, have equal rights of free speech. Or used to. No, I do not like this totalitarian trend in our democracies, or this censorship streak- cancel culture gone mad. P.s- the author is Italian, and lives in HK.

Yet you are happy with a totalitarian dictator in Russia. BTW how much time have you spent in Russia? You see to have quite a pro Russian narrative. Is it based on your personal experiences in Russia or just Russian TV or newspaper clippings?
I am amazed how you are willing to believe Russian propaganda that has no critical scrutiny at all yet talk of western propaganda as if there is only a state controlled narrative. You seemed to be totally unconvinced by the number of countries that are against the war despite video from multiple credible resources showing the deaths of innocent civilians. In short you are an apologist for a war criminal.
You talk of cancel culture yet you uphold a country that can jail its citizens (and worse) for just stating the obvious that it is an invasion. Then you post your russian propaganda shite safe in the knowledge that you live in a democracy.
I am all for freedom of speech providing it is truthful and factual. Something you have demonstrated on many occasions that you are incapable of.
I would love you to test your version of reality with some of the millions of refugees that have fled Ukraine.
Of course in your Russian narrative they are not refugees at all. Just more western propaganda. They are just 4 million Ukrainian women and children who quite coincidentally, decided to take a holiday in Europe without their husbands all at the same time.
To consider you as just being naive is too simplistic but you are certainly wetter than a mermaids minge.

BTW. You are another one that should be jailed for posting shite.

[sabang]

M'ehhh boring- can't be arsed repeating myself, it's all been said before.

Probably the main News is that Ukraine's last remaining fully operational oil refinery got wiped out yesterday. So we need snubby to come along and remind us how Russia is getting it's ass handed to it on a plate.

Russia hits key Ukrainian oil facilities in Odesa and Kremenchuk | Russia-Ukraine war News | Al Jazeera

[bsnub]

So we need snubby to come along and remind us how Russia is getting it's ass handed to it on a plate.

All they have are airstrikes and artillery. They can not bang heads with the Ukrainians because they lose. If they are doing so well, why did they retreat? So much for the lighting strike on Kyiv.



Why did they lose a large portion of their most elite airborne brigade?

[Hugh Cow]

All they have are airstrikes and artillery. They can not bang heads with the Ukrainians because they lose. If they are doing so well, why did they retreat? So much for the lighting strike on Kyiv.



Why did they lose a large portion of their most elite airborne brigade?

Obviously because their troops along with their crucial battlefield NCOs are shite and thats even before you get to operations and logistics.

[bsnub]

Obviously because their troops along with their crucial battlefield NCOs are shite and thats even before you get to operations and logistics.

Absolutely. Their military is total shit from top to bottom, NATO would absolutely decimate them. The US and NATO trained the Ukrainians well and that is why on the ground they are dominating. The reason they are asking for a no-fly zone is because that is the only way the Russian can really do damage at this point, either lobbing missiles or artillery.

Now during this retreat we are also seeing that the Russians are total cowards on the battlefield. Running over people in tanks and shooting unarmed civilians, and the evidence is indisputable.

Yet the despicable Three Stooges bleat on with the propaganda. It makes me sick.

[sabang]

You do not know the difference between news, opinion, and propaganda snubs.

[bsnub]

You do not know the difference between news, opinion, and propaganda snubs.

Oh, please do fuck off. I am the first to point out the differences, you swallow it piecemeal. Everything in my last two posts is easily confirmable by numerous sources. But reality does not fit your narrative, so you choose to live in an alternative universe detached from the real world.

[Switch]

^^you complain about losing freedom of expression in the west, but still laud the two most corrupt and propaganda riddled nations on the plant.
Not helped by your casual and irritating flippant demeanor!

[Reggie]

The descendants of the Russian people who were sent there to repopulate and work the farms after Stalin starved the Ukranians to death. Those people?

So you agree with me that the Scottish in Northern Ireland placed there by England should be ignored and Ireland reunited into one country again? Because clearly where you are born and raised matters not. Perhaps the white skinned fellas should be told to feck off our of Aus and New Zealand as well?

this war started in 2014.

Eastern Ukraine: Humanitarian disaster looms as food aid blocked - Amnesty International

Eastern Ukraine: Humanitarian disaster looms as food aid blockedPro-Kyiv volunteer battalions are increasingly blocking humanitarian aid into eastern Ukraine in a move which will exacerbate a pending humanitarian crisis in the run up to Christmas and New Year, said Amnesty International.


“As winter sets in, the already desperate situation in eastern Ukraine is being made even worse by the volunteer battalions preventing food aid and medicine from reaching those in need. It is no secret that the region is facing a humanitarian disaster with many already at risk of starvation,” said Denis Krivosheev, acting Director of Europe and Central Asia for Amnesty International.


“These battalions often act like renegade gangs and urgently need to be brought under control. Denying food to people caught up in a conflict is against international law and the perpetrators must be held to account.”


Amnesty International has received information that the pro-Kyiv battalions, which include Dnipro-1 and Aidar, have blocked aid entering territories controlled by the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics (DNR and LNR).


The Dnipro-1 volunteer battalion, along with members of Donbass battalion and Pravyi Sector militia, are reported to have blocked 11 roads leading into the DNR-controlled territory. They have refused to allow most aid convoys through, because they believe food and clothing are ending up in the wrong hands and may be sold instead of being given as humanitarian aid. They also insist on the release of prisoners held by the separatist forces as a condition for granting access to the humanitarian aid to the east.


At least four convoys sent by the humanitarian foundation of Rinat Akhmetov, one of Ukraine’s richest men, were blocked on the roads leading to the separatist-controlled territory by the Dnipro-1 battalion last week.


After stopping one of the convoys Vladimir Manko, deputy commander of the Dnipro-1 battalion, told the Ukrainian media:


“We don’t have any control on the other side. It turns out that we’re at war with them and we’re spilling our blood, but in the same time we’re feeding them.”


Over half of the population in these areas are now entirely dependent on food aid as wages, pensions and social benefits are not being paid regularly as a result of the conflict that began in May. The decision of the Ukrainian authorities in Kyiv to essentially cut off the region from the Ukrainian financial system in November is also contributing to the hardship of the local population.


An aid worker from the Luhansk Region has informed Amnesty International that Aidar battalion is also stopping and searching cars that travel from Starobil’sk to Luhansk and vice versa. Members of the battalion, which was previously implicated in arbitrary detention and torture, are reportedly stopping food and medicines getting through to the region.


The aid worker recalled a particular case when medicines for four elderly people in Krasnodon, who are suffering from heart and blood pressure conditions, were snatched from a bus at a checkpoint.


“Checking the content of humanitarian convoys crossing frontline is one thing. Preventing it is another. Attempting to create unbearable conditions of life is a whole new ballgame. Using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare is a war crime,” said Denis Krivosheev.


The population of the region has suffered from six months of fighting between Kyiv-controlled and pro-Russian separatist forces. More than 4,700 people have died and thousands more live in fear of being caught in the crossfire or being entirely cut off from vital food and medical supplies.


Amnesty International reiterates its call for the Ukrainian authorities to reign in the volunteer battalions and to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches those who desperately need it.

Your Nazi mates have been killing thousands of people in Eastern Ukraine.

[pickel]

Ohoh and Sabang probably think the cameraman in the opening of this video is very brave to risk his life for getting the Russian story out. The rest of us see it for what it is. A real staged video.

[Reggie]

A real staged video

Like the one released by the Nazis where the "genocide" and "decapitated" bodies are all seen getting off the floors in the mirror of the car driven by the Ukraine White Helmets charade?

Suckers

[pickel]

^
Already been debunked in this thread. Do keep up.

[Backspin]

Ohoh and Sabang probably think the cameraman in the opening of this video is very brave to risk his life for getting the Russian story out. The rest of us see it for what it is. A real staged video.

So they picked a demined area to shoot a video. Wow. Mind blown. Russian sappers are the most experienced in the world. They have been demining Syria for years now. And they are demining the Armenia/Azgerbaijan war too.