ok what the fuck is happening in ukraine

Attack ships on fire off the coast of Ukraine

Looks like the Corsairs of Umbar aren't going to make it.

Also, with regards to Ukrainians calling Russian soldiers "orcs," here's what Russians portray them as:

(the crossed out sign on top there says "people")

https://i.imgur.com/9Z8k9nO.jpg?1

Please like, retweet, and subscribe to stop Russian Russophobia against Russians. This is a serious and important issue and we must not shy away from covering it during this difficult and complicated situation.

I watched the NY times video piece just now and I'm wondering - what is the Russian term that translates to "motherfucker"? Is it a calque, or some other Russian term with a completely different meaning that serves the same role as the standard worst thing you can call someone else?

On March 1st, a week after the war to "denazify Ukraine" started, the last independent talk radio in Russia – Echo of Moscow – was shut down.

Now it's former EIC, @aavst20551, a Jew, had this plastered on his Moscow apartment door. "JUDENSAU" is German for Jewish pig (sow). pic.twitter.com/mS7nYRmgnf

— Sergey Sanovich (@SergeySanovich) March 24, 2022

I am beginning to be concerned about the status of the free press in Russia, as well as an increasingly permissive atmosphere where right-wing nationalism and anti-semitic attacks are allowed to happen. If this continues, it could have a chilling effect on leftist politics in Russia for many years, turning it into a mirror image of the fascist, warmongering autocracy that is Zelensky's Ukraine.

Oh yeah, they also left a severed pig's head in a wig on his doorstep. Picture not included, find it yourself if you want.

Maybe we need monthly threads for this now. Not that I plan to post much in any.

Hey MoominTrollin, you contacted me through ILX mail but you didn't include an email address.

So this Times reporter, says that putting pressure on the oligarchs was a time-honored joke, because it just meant putting names on a list, names that in practice were well-hidden behind shell companies---Russian nesting dolls are the appropriate cliche, he adds---also

I mean, let’s take the U.K., for instance. People have been warning for years and years and years that these oligarchs were buying up property — really, really expensive property — all around London. And when our colleague Jane Bradley and I were reporting this story out, she spoke with Phil Mason, who served for decades as a top adviser to the British government on international corruption. And he just said flat out, lawmakers in Britain saw Russian money as a source of jobs and investments.

It was like a willing blindness.

Credit where credit is due

ABC reporter asks Biden if he was too quick to rule out world war 3 pic.twitter.com/OEjl9ijWhu

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 24, 2022

War Reddit was quick to spot that the Alligator-class landing ship that sank in Berdiansk was one of 2 still active after being initially commissioned in... 1964

Also, the sunken ship is now blocking the port.

As tempting as it is, I'm pretty leery of mocking Russia's creaky military capabilities... Putin might just be "Oh yeah? Well check this out!" and start launching chemical, biological, tactical nukes.. like a cornered rat lashing out

That said, BBC had a couple Ukrainian soldiers showing the reporter what the Russians were eating... stolen chickens and MRE's that had expired in 2015

Just sad all around

Yeah I mean...I'm not saying truly world-shattering shit can't still happen, but my feelings a month ago are rather different than now. That ship being sunk is definitely part of it; whether here or elsewhere someone was saying that this was about all the 'victories' they could show on Russian TV, that they were bringing in supplies that way, and now, pfft.

You know, Groucho Marx predicted all this:

"The pay of the common soldier is also reduced to a minimum — determined purely by the production costs necessary to procure him. But he exchanges the performance of his services not for capital, but for the revenue of the state. for Ukrainian carpets, blenders, toasters, TVs, iPhones, and fur coats."

https://i.imgur.com/KtCrMAD.jpg?1

I thought that was Zeppo tbh

I think home court advantage is seriously at play here

Judensau is worse than "Jewish pig." It actually means "Jewish pigfucker."

No? Sau is German for swine.

See also: Lou Castel cursing people out in his role as the doppelgänger of the director in a certain German film about making a film.

Part of an interesting thread about a book re: nationalities and the collapse of the USSR, but this page stands out in light of current events:

The rhetoric from Yeltsin’s office about Russian claims to Ukrainian territory is honestly indistinguishable from Putin’s: pic.twitter.com/TpVScZ5Jtw

— Casey Michel 🇰🇿 (@cjcmichel) March 23, 2022

Another interesting bit is Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's ideas about a "Slavic core" of the Russian/Soviet empire apparently influencing Yeltsin with his idea that Russia/Ukraine/Belarus should all be one Slavic state, on the solid ground of "historic Russian lands."

xp https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judensau

(NFSW--there are some ugly, ugly images in there.)

Ugh. Thanks. Just looking at the summary text now through google, not looking at the images yet.

Any validity to this? Or hot air?

International hacking collective Anonymous claims to have exploited Russia's Central Bank - and is threatening to release 35,000 files which include 'secret agreements' in the next 48 hours.

The bank is responsible for protecting and ensuring the safety of the ruble, the Russian currency which has plummeted in value since the invasion of Ukraine began last month.

In a post on Twitter late last night by one of the group's accounts, Anonymous revealed its latest hack, though details were limited..

pfft you're an anonymous hacking group, if you have 'secret agreement' documents just fucking release them or shut up

Has Anonymous lived up to their boasts even once?

not that I know of!

Some of Anonymous' data dumps over the past couple of weeks have been interesting but I'd hesitate to say that any of it had strategic value. It does makes for good propaganda though and seeing assholes contort themselves into the most ridiculous statements ("Nestlé denies it was hacked by Anonymous, claiming it accidentally leaked data dump itself") is great. I think the ICIJ, OCCRP, Bellingcat, and Ukrainian Radio Watchers are doing far better work though.

The Squad 303 group's "message a Russian" script was interesting to run for awhile. I'm pretty sure most didn't go through but I did get a couple of failed callback attempts.

Has Anonymous lived up to their boasts even once?

― papal hotwife (milo z), Thursday, March 24, 2022 7:28 PM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

although it's phrased as a question, OTM

As tempting as it is, I'm pretty leery of mocking Russia's creaky military capabilities...

I dunno. I know I keep mentioning this, but back in 2011, Russia itself was saying that 20% of its entire military budget was stolen (can we presume that the actual amount is much higher?). Then in 2018, Russian military expenditure dropped for the first time - presumably scrapping whatever modernization programs were happening.

Where that money went:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKYL0H0lgqg

fair warning: homophobia in some lyrics, sarcasm in the refrain; song is from 2009, but at minimum selling half of your diesel is still considered "a human right" in the army. Make of it what you will.

Look, that wasn’t so hard. H/t @owenhatherley pic.twitter.com/SEj1ZgcPjh

— Keith Gessen (@keithgessen) March 25, 2022

Focusing on the issues!

Putin is making a live address. He's currently whining about how Hollywood refuses to make movies about the Russian contribution to defeating Nazi Germany and claiming "progressives" are trying to "cancel Russia".

— Jimmy (@JimmySecUK) March 25, 2022

Putin doing a live speech and just did a bit on "cancel culture" in the West focusing particularly on J. K. Rowling being cancelled. I wish I was joking.

— Sam Freedman (@Samfr) March 25, 2022

Positively (or negatively) Trumpian

Will he pull the troops out if the West promises to uncancel JK Rowling

It appears another general is gone

Ukrainian military confirm the elimination of LTG Yakov Rezantsev, Russia’s 49th CAA commander, in Chornobaivka near Kherson.
Russia is unlikely to confirm — but if he’s alive, let them just show the general verifiably alive and well. pic.twitter.com/B9OfqDHc4f

— Illia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦 (@IAPonomarenko) March 25, 2022

Focusing on the issues!

🐦[Putin is making a live address. He’s currently whining about how Hollywood refuses to make movies about the Russian contribution to defeating Nazi Germany and claiming "progressives" are trying to "cancel Russia".
— Jimmy (@JimmySecUK) March 25, 2022🕸]🐦

🐦[Putin doing a live speech and just did a bit on "cancel culture" in the West focusing particularly on J. K. Rowling being cancelled. I wish I was joking.
— Sam Freedman (@Samfr) March 25, 2022🕸]🐦

"Putin is winning because we care about pronouns" has been a popular right wing take since this whole thing started, this is just him playing into that; might convince some morons in the West, helps establish the West as decadent and Other at home.

I thought better of Putin but now I find out he is online idk what to think..

pic.twitter.com/lT2XwsFe3b

— Ben Walker (@BNHWalker) March 25, 2022

Brave opponent of "woke" nonsense such as gender neutral pronouns, proper tank maintenance

it's only a tank if it has a turret

aand it's gone.

https://i.imgur.com/5wjPMnX.jpg?1

decadent western supply lines keeping soldiers "fed" and vehicles "fueled"

I've pointed this out before but this war has unfolded in a very Trumpy fashion. just seems to be a lot of general incompetence and self-owning on Russia's side stemming from some misguided idea that everything was gonna be easy

Russia's defense ministry effectively admits their attempt to conquer Ukraine has failed, and they're going to focus on taking and holding territory in the east where they were already backing separatists.
If followed through with action, it'll be a big walk back of war aims. https://t.co/4FDIfViC4g

— Nicholas Grossman (@NGrossman81) March 25, 2022

Oh and apparently the count of generals who have died is seven plus the Chechnyan one, it seems. Insane.

Putin's exact quote: "It was always our intention to fortify the People's Republics of Donbas and Lughansk before they, too, were taken offline like Joe Rogan."

— Michael Weiss 🌻🇺🇸🇮🇪 (@michaeldweiss) March 25, 2022

Russia cancels the teaching of sociology, cultural studies and political science in all pedagogical universities of the country https://t.co/F2UUxNTLON

— Olga Irisova (@IrisovaOlga) March 25, 2022

"Pedagogical universities are moving to new curricula based on the “Core of Higher Pedagogical Education”. Instead of separate disciplines there will be modules. Within the framework of the social and humanitarian module, the teaching of philosophy, history, economics and law is preserved. And the teaching of sociology, cultural studies, the MHC (world artistic culture) and political science is excluded. Fully.

Take that, wokeness.

Nobody had to bomb them into the stone age, they went there of their own accord