The conflict in Ukraine may have reached an important inflection point.

I have just finished watching a two hour plus Roundtable Discussion about the current situation in Ukraine, hosted by Gonzalo Lira, Larry Johnson, Andrei Martyanov and Alexander Mercouris. If you are interested enough in coming to a better understanding of Russia’s Special Military Operation in Ukraine to spend 2+ hours with a well qualified group of analysts exchanging their perspectives, I can not think of a more thought provoking venue.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLCLb37xxmA]

We appear to be on the cusp of a significant shift in the scope and context of Russia’s SMO. Recent high level meetings in Russia suggest a significant realignment in military resources and personnel. I am just a gobsmacked tyro and will not likely have anything significant to add to the many ideas and opinions brought by the Roundtable participants. There is much to think about and discuss among ourselves, should we be so inclined.

Interesting times, indeed!

(Please be considerate and thoughtful in your exchanges.)

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I can find 2 hrs. some time this weekend.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

Gonzalo Ángel Quintilio Lira López (born February 29, 1968) is a Chilean-American novelist,[4] film director,[5] financial blogger, YouTuber, and commentator in the manosphere known as Coach Red Pill. A resident of Kharkiv, Ukraine, he started vlogging about the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine from a pro-Russia perspective, which has been described as mirroring Russian propaganda.[6][7] In April 2022, Lira alleged that he had been detained by the Security Service of Ukraine but provided no details to support his allegations, and continued to vlog shortly thereafter.[8]

Andrei is a former Russian military officer, one of his recent books or articles was about how superior Russia's missile capabilities are and that the US military is about to implode on itself, yada yada yada,

Alexander Mercouris, a British barrister debarred for falsely claiming to have been kidnapped and for attempting bribery, was described in Sputnik coverage as a "London-based expert on international affairs. Sputnik is the official Russian disinformation news web site.

Should I keep looking?

Jesus Christ on a cracker - crackpots and Russian propagandists.

I watched 4 minutes of the first you tube. They sling tons of BS about Ukraines army numbers etc. 3 old has beens who never actually were much of anything. My local Conoco has one table where retired guys sometimes meet in the morning, and they make more sense. Not one substantive statement from anyone in 4 minutes.

Is this where you get information from? These guys make Fox look like Pulitzer winners.

I should add.. I redacted most of this, too many 4 letter words. Use good sources, Russian propaganda while Russia is in a war, is just not a very good source. We have access via the internet to just about every information source in the world, there's no reason to watch some propaganda you tubes.

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CB's picture

@ban nock
It is no wonder you are so ill informed about the Ukraine conflict if you only read the "approved" MSM soundbites.

The Western media still touts the Russian "failure" to secure Kiev. But this Russian feint around Kiev allowed the Russians to take the entire south ensuring a land bridge from Crimea all along the Sea of Azov as well as majority control over the Russian speaking oblasts in the east with a minimum of forces in less than two months. At this time there was well over a 3 to 1 margin of Ukrainian vs. Russian forces. The western press are still stupidly lauding this Pyrrhic "victory" - fools!

Show me any area in the following map where Ukraine is making any headway:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUnc496-PPmFZVKlYxUnToA/videos
Description: This channel provides objective information about the military conflict between Ukraine and the Russian Federation. We condemn any aggression in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainians are slowly and surely being degraded despite increasing financial and military support from the US, UK and EU. Keep in mind that Ukraine was/is one of the most corrupt countries in the world and you can assured that the leaders of the corrupt single party Ukrainian government are stuffing their foreign bank accounts with untold millions.

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snoopydawg's picture

@CB

when they are constantly begging for more powerful weapons and losing over 100 troops a day to death and 3x that number injured and Russia keeps getting control over more territory weekly. Russia just took a mini pause after taking control of the last city. And they almost have Mariupol back to regular living. Also before the conflict had started Ukraine had the biggest army in Europe and had been trained by American and NATO troops and intelligence agencies and had built lots of bulwarks around the Donbas area and yet Russia pretty much walked in and took the area from them. So many regular troops have been killed that Ukraine is taking men and women off the streets and sending them to the front line. I find that abhorrent because they have no chance against Russia’s artillery. They just become cannon fodder and for what?

Most of the people who support Ukraine don’t know that Ukraine is using American weapons to attack civilians in the Donbas, but they haven’t cared about them since 2014 so why change now?

I’ve been reading kos' pro Ukraine essays and the comments are full of how poorly Russian troops are doing and how old and broken down their equipment is. It’s actually funny reading people who think that Russia is just a gas station with nukes as McCain once said. Twit nits wants Americans to take out Russia’s subs and patrol the skies with drones and piloted jets. "We can end the war in 2 weeks if we’d go in and helped Ukraine." Smile 20 years later we left Afghanistan with our tails between our legs, but sure we can beat Russia in just 2 weeks.

I will admit that the pro Ukraine propaganda is pretty good and I can see why some people believe it. But it doesn’t match the reality of what Russia has done.

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

CB's picture

@snoopydawg
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8irsSCl6Co]

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@CB @CB Just challenge any doubters to name one area where Ukraine has fought Russia for territory, owned the territory, and then kept it....

We can all wait.

Meanwhile, Russia has secured vast swaths of the Donbas and the South Coast of Ukraine.

Facts on the ground.

Plus those guys got it right on the timing. Each capture of an area happens more rapidly than the last one.

Now finishing up in Seversk.

On to Kramatorsk. And Slavyansk

Plus---
The Pause from Russia seems to be ending. Both the NY Times and the Daily News have covered Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu's instructions, "to further intensify the actions of units in all operational areas, in order to exclude the possibility of the Kiev Regime launching massive rocket and artillery strikes on civilian infrastructure and resident of settlements in the Donbas and other regions."

In other word, We are fed up and we will not take it anymore.

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NYCVG

CB's picture

@NYCVG
says that the US will stop supporting Ukraine militarily if they can't hold the line in Donestk. It will signal the collapse of Ukrainian forces in Ukraine. He also discusses the Ukraine losses of more Himars.

I've cued it where he discusses this:

[video:https://youtu.be/OZ21n0UFJ_E?t=767]

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@CB @CB @CB @CB a trifle optimistic, imho.

But I certainly hope that he is right and that I am wrong.

NYC has released a PSA on How to Prepare for a Nuclear Attack. Not kidding and I will post it here in a jiffy.

At the same time, the USA has advised all US citizens to leave Kiev and the US Embassy in Kiev is closed.

https://t.me/IntelRepublic/1965

I see these 2 things as connected.

Before you laugh at my paranoia, please recall that I live a few blocks from where the Twin Towers stood. The PSA sounds more like the instructions we got to protect ourselves from the toxic ash then and from what a poison gas release would do now.

It has been a while since i posted from other sources here, but I'm going to give it a try:
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rg8f0WpAMKY]

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NYCVG

snoopydawg's picture

@NYCVG

that every city that Russia takes control of isn’t very important to the scheme of things. The last big city that both sides fought for wasn’t important. Russia has control of the eastern part of Ukraine, but sure its not important. And they swallow it whole. Democrats spent 5 years ramping up Russia phobia and too many people have bought into it. It will be interesting to see how that narrative falls if America ever enters direct conflict with Russia.

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

@snoopydawg @snoopydawg until his final breath, no doubt.

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NYCVG

Pluto's Republic's picture

@snoopydawg

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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato

@ban nock
emanating from your ‘trusted’ news sources and opinion pieces?

Ad hominem attacks are no substitute for substantive critiques of the material being discussed. You haven’t even listened to the material, but pass judgement regardless. What could there possibly be for us to discuss if your sources are to be trusted and all others are wrong, or worse?

I know your time is important to you, as mine is also to me. Perhaps on this we can agree.

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Capitalism is the extraordinary belief that the nastiest of men for the nastiest of motives will somehow work for the benefit of all."
- John Maynard Keynes

@ovals49 No propaganda sources. Sorry. Ad homs, yup, for bozo Russian propagandists. Those guys have made their life's work pushing Russian propaganda. Why don't you suggest a source we can agree is factual, and we can begin from there.

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Lookout's picture

@ban nock

it is a common tactic of distraction.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

@Lookout Never got to the content because the source wasn't legit. I'll listen to or watch any good source. Known Russian Propagandists don't get to be watched. They should turn to selling cars or nutritional supplements or try bilking old ladies out of money, but I consider everything coming out of their mouths to be dog doo doo.

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snoopydawg's picture

@ban nock

It matches your own thinking. One brave soul said that this conflict was easily avoidable if Biden had just sat down and talked with Putin about his demands that Ukraine never joins NATO. All the anti war folks dawg piled on top of him, but here’s the best response.

Pray tell, what deal was available?

Putin has made very clear this was never about NATO enlargement, but about the recreation of the Soviet empire. So what deal do you suppose was available beyond simply handing Ukraine and its people to Putin?

I swear to fucking god, Biden worked his ass off trying to prevent the war, even begging the Chinese to intervene (they didn’t think Putin would be this stupid and actually invade). Macron prostrated himself in front of Putin begging for a deal. Germans tried to buy a deal.

So what deal was available?

I wish I could ask him just what it was that Biden did to try to derail Putin because I’m pretty sure that giving Ukraine the green light to do a major assault on the Donbas wasn’t a possibility of derailing the conflict. Or how Obama coup in 2014 and then arming and training Ukraine’s army was a step towards peace. But maybe you’d like a shot at answering these 2 simple questions?

And giving someone 30 seconds to tell you they are legitimate in your eyes sure doesn’t seem very open minded. Good grief. You ought to be looking into your own sources a little harder and see if they are actually doing journalism or just repeating what the intelligence agencies are telling them to tell you.

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

@ban nock I only read the first sentence of your comment. Why should I spend even 4 minutes on a goof ball vid. Those guys had 30 seconds to establish themselves as serious, I gave them an extra 3.5 minutes.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

studentofearth's picture

for anyone who feels they need a little more background material to today's events. Larry Johnson the fourth panelist in the group offered this suggestion July 9th.

You can’t ask for better than this. My old friend (and I do mean he’s really old but sharp and pithy as ever), Ray McGovern, provides an engaging and stimulating hour briefing on the current situation between Russia and Ukraine and, more importantly, gives you the critical history essential to understand what is going on today. The video lasts a little more than an hour and you will be happy you took the time to watch.

Ray was the CIA briefer for the first President Bush during the dissolution of the Soviet Union and helped President Bush understand Mikhail Gorbachev. Watch the video and you will appreciate why President Bush listened to this man (sort of).

[video:https://youtu.be/sY9KAp97z58]

ps thanks for the links to the Blog sites. Written archives are available to evaluate the quality of information and analysis presented over time.

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Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

@studentofearth
hour I’ve listened to. It explains how US/NATO broken promises and abandoned arms limitation treaties in addition to aggressive NATO eastward expansion has inexorably provoked Russia to push back both for its own national security and the security of the ethnic Russian population of Ukraine.

[Edited for clarity, now that I’ve had a morning cup of coffee!]

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Capitalism is the extraordinary belief that the nastiest of men for the nastiest of motives will somehow work for the benefit of all."
- John Maynard Keynes

CB's picture

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CB's picture

Jun 16, 2022
Free Lugansk where destroyed infrastructure is already being restored. Inhumane shelling of peaceful Donetsk city blocks by the Ukrainian army. Work in the Mariupol port and mine clearance of the shore line. Ruins of the steel mill Azovstal, which became the last stronghold for the Nazi battalion Azov. Stories of eyewitnesses and a conversation with a woman, who has been fighting for freedom for eight years, with explosions in Donetsk in the background. Berdyansk and Melitopol, which have volunteered to become part of Russia. A BelTA reporter saw all of that and more than that with his own eyes during a trip to Donbass where the Russian army is carrying out a special military operation.

“Life in Donetsk goes on even under non-stop shelling of peaceful city blocks. It amazes me to the bottom of my soul. The woman we were talking to during particularly strong shelling, did not pay any attention to the deafening noise. I am afraid to put it into words: people are accustomed to shelling and have learned how to live with it. One cannot but admire the strength of spirit of these people, the courage, and selfless love for their own home,” BelTA’s Andrei Voropai said.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OKjQWpeRuU]

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orlbucfan's picture

This old lifelong peacenik threw up her hands in disgust at the whole affair cos of the neo-Nazis and Chernobyl. I'm used to the MICC propaganda; and such aholes as Nuland and the Kagan cabal, a bunch of stupids calling the usual shots. Chernobyl finished me off. There was NO military advantage to either country sending innocent young men into that radioactive hellhole. There were credible reports of buses taking victims of radiation poisoning out of the area. The lucky ones died of bullet wounds/shrapnel hits. And the usual BS of our tax dollars helping neo-Nazis aka the Azov Battalion? Spare me the usual corrupt stupidity, please. Rec'd!!

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Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.

Malcolm Nance says that Ukraine is going to win.

And that Ukraine is only one front in the crusade for freedom and democracy.

The other is back home where you should be preparing to fight the white supremacist (even the black, Hispanic, Asian ones, presumably) Trump supporters who want to kill you and destroy the American institutions we all hold so dear.

Anyone else get the impression that the PTB are getting a bit desperate to keep the peasants divided and fighting among themselves?

Wish I was making this shit up. However:

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PcI_Vw05I8]

and:

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