[DailyReckoning] Here Mish cites all eight Russian actions explaining the rocketing ruble:
Russia escaped Visa and Mastercard.
Russia still trades oil and gas with Europe.
Russia halted currency trades.
Russia enacted stock market restrictions.
Of Russian exporters, Russia demanded 80% of euros and dollars be traded for rubles.
Russia threatens to stop exporting key commodities including aluminum, natural gas, fertilizer, rare earth minerals, etc., driving up prices and the need to stockpile.
Sanctions cannot take away Russia’s natural resources.
The Fed can print dollars, it cannot print commodities. Likewise, the ECB can print euros, it cannot print commodities.
Is Mr. Shedlock correct? Is the consensus accounting correct? Is neither correct? Are both correct?
We do not know. In our untutored and unprofessional opinion, each side scores its points. Yet we are fairly certain of the ruble’s future — and the dollar’s future.
#1
Is Mr. Sherlock correct?
He is certainly correct. Let us count the (eight) ways:
1. Russia escaped Visa and Mastercard.
Yes. Russia has had over a decade to prepare for this. V and NA have a simple business model: it's called extortion. They get away with it in the West because of regulatory capture. Doesn't work in countries where the state is not the lapdog of the Tier 1 banks, as in the West.
2. Russia still trades oil and gas with Europe.
Duh. You'd have to be a "professional military analyst" not to see this central fact.
3. Russia halted currency trades.
4. Russia enacted stock market restrictions.
Duh, again. States matter. Governments > markets. Foolish western neoliberals have forgotten this.
5. Of Russian exporters, Russia demanded 80% of euros and dollars be traded for rubles.
Why? Because they can. Russia is not a weak, shitty little patsy like Iran or Iraq. (In case you forgot.)
6. Russia threatens to stop exporting key commodities including aluminum, natural gas, fertilizer, rare earth minerals, etc., driving up prices and the need to stockpile.
As every trader large or small on the planet knows--but shitheads in the Biden administration have never understood.
7. Sanctions cannot take away Russia’s natural resources.
Yes, Virginia: The world is not digital and still relies on things pulled out of the earth: stuff that feeds, shelters, warms, and powers the transport of physical human beings in a physical world.
8. While the Fed can print dollars,it cannot print commodities. Likewise, while the ECB can print euros, it cannot print commodities.
Hey Obama: you shit for brains, you genius who claimed that "Russia doesn't make anything the world wants": the world is now desperate for all the shit Russia creates and ships.
Oil and gas: the world's desperate for them, you stupid fuck. Look at a price curve, you shitheads.
Coal: soaring. How the fuck do you expect Mutti Merkel to avoid freezing in the dark when there's no alternative fuel and you've shit down nuclear and stiffed Gazprom?
Wheat: let's count the bodies on the starvation path, shall we, now that you've shut down Russian wheat exports that half the world depends on. You complain about "mass graves" in Ukraine. Well, you stupid hypocritical assholes won't be able to dig a big enough grave for the *** MILLIONS *** whom your retarded policies will cause to starve in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. So who's the war criminal now?
Fertilizer: see above-- apply it now to the West. Hey Joey: remember food scarcity during the Depression? Remember when Roosevelt got on the television and talked about how to make a sugar sandwich? Ask CornPop, there's a good boy.
Aluminum. Nickel. Platinum. Palladium. Titanium. Yeah, all those things your batteries and airframes and electric vehicles and semiconductors and a zillion other manufactured goods depend critically upon: THEY COME FROM RUSSIA.
Sanctions are the biggest blowback from arming the mujahideen. Epic fail. Stupidest US foreign policy ever
Riddle me this, "Nero": Which is a greater crime, killing civilians in a war zone -- clue: the US, Ukraine, Israel, Russia, every major nation on the planet has been guilty of this -- or deliberately causing food scarcity for hundreds of millions of keilke, and starvation and death of up to 10 million innocent people around the world as a way to "punish" a nation those innocents have fuck all to do with?
Awaiting your sober and judicious, well-reasoned answer, "Nero." Try not to set anything on fire.
#8
Those are good and sufficient reasons. Another potential reason is India's progress in creating a trading mechanism for sourcing necessary imports from its Russian ally using rupees exchanged for rubles. India has significantly increased trade with Russia in the past month and will continue to draw closer to Russia, despite Biden's efforts to strong arm us.
We have endured decades of American attempts to bully us and will no longer suffer fools such as Biden telling us we need to join the West in pointless and hypocritical displays of "virtue."
India is also increasing its purchases of rubles. The ruble-rupee trading mechanism will be finalised shortly -- Lavrov was just here and met with Modi.
As everyone sees, a country whose share of international trade is tiny relative to its currency's share of payments must depend upon goodwill and trust. If one uses the dollar as a weapon of war, that goodwill evaporates. The trust is shaken, and countries will seek alternative mechanisms so that they are not vulnerable to American blackmail.
The other reason that the dollar will lose reserve currency status is the hyperinflation that Biden has provoked through his foolish sanctions. It's extraordinary, really, that a country with such extremely weak financials -- enormous external debts and a huge current account deficit -- would deliberately pursue the one policy guaranteed to destroy confidence in its currency. Perhaps it is Biden, not Trump, who is the Kremlin's man in the White House.
#11
Whineque Glaviling2795 might be right, but...
The West will buy what it need thru 3rd partys. Iran has been doing it for years. The West will adapt.
Better to decouple from China and Russia than send them money.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
04/04/2022 9:14 Comments ||
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#16
I'm insignificant, but right out in the open. I'm not hard to find.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
04/04/2022 9:16 Comments ||
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#17
"Putinist claims"
This is absurd. The "claims" you refer to are careful and thorough economic analyses done by economists at Goldman Sachs and other Wall Street firms. Also by former and current top economists at the IMF.
#19
Russia also restricted currency trades. People who wanted out of the ruble could not get out. In addition, Russia banned foreigners from selling Russia stocks.
This does not create value; it suppresses it. Why buy rubles or invest in Russian companies if you can never profit from them? So the international market for rubles and Russian stocks will shrink, not grow.
This isn't the action of a policy of becoming a major international player -- it's purely protective, nearly nationalization, and a sign of disengagement.
You can let Putin's puppets blow smoke up your nethers all you want -- but don't expect everyone else to join in.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
04/04/2022 9:38 Comments ||
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#20
"Sarc" as in, sarcastic? Why would I do that? Goldman Sachs has the best economists on Wall Street. Jim O'Neill's analysis has consistently been on the mark. They call it straight and do exceptional work because they're a prop trading house with their own money on the line.
Gina Gopinath, Chief Economist at at the IMF, is a superb macroeconomist. Gina was a rising star in India. We knew she would go far. Our loss is Harvard's and the world's gain.
#21
If I'm going to read fiction this morning I would prefer that it be high-quality fiction.
Chapter 1
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in
possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.
However little known the feelings or views of such a man may
be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well
fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered
the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters.
"My dear Mr. Bennet," said his lady to him one day, "have you
heard that Netherfield Park is let at last?"
Mr. Bennet replied that he had not.
"But it is," returned she; "for Mrs. Long has just been here, and
she told me all about it."
Mr. Bennet made no answer.
"Do you not want to know who has taken it?" cried his wife
impatiently.
"YOU want to tell me, and I have no objection to hearing it."
This was invitation enough.
"Why, my dear, you must know, Mrs. Long says that Netherfield
is taken by a young man of large fortune from the north of
England; that he came down on Monday in a chaise and four to
see the place, and was so much delighted with it, that he agreed
with Mr. Morris immediately; that he is to take possession
before Michaelmas, and some of his servants are to be in the
house by the end of next week."
"What is his name?"
"Bingley."
Posted by: Matt ||
04/04/2022 9:39 Comments ||
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#22
Correction: Gita Gopinath, not Gina. (Silly auto-correct function!)
Gita गीता is a lovely girl's name that means sacred song or poem.
#24
Interesting that the RussoNazis will more or less blame Biden for spending two weeks attempting to sanction Russia for their genocidal shit but never look at the fact that Biden and his party are treasonous piles of shit who spent 30 years making sure the sanctions wouldn't work by tearing down the west's industrial base.
Their job is to push the half truth: "It's your fault for wanting to fight Russia" when Obama and Biden and their fellow running dogs have spent the last thirty years being Xi's and Putin's Collaborators in preparing for the current killings. It's distraction. They'll talk about how brilliant Putin was but NEVER acknowledge that Biden was his collaborator. That's what they need to cover up.
#25
^ True, while Gita's at the IMF she must take care not to offend her paymaster, Uncle Sam. But Goldman's economists do not need to pull their punches. Perhaps Gita will work for Goldman next.
Putin's policy is one of withdrawal and impoverishment, not of becoming a world economic power.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
04/04/2022 10:00 Comments ||
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#27
#2 Paid to push this article today?
#3 Brilliant comeback -- assuming you're not a bot.
Think traffic analysis. Sometimes the interesting part is not the particular message, but who is repeating it and when. Example: all those simultaneous Trump stories about "the walls are closing in" or more recently, the feeding frenzy over the "7 hour gap". If you stand back a bit, you can see these things.
If Rob is bot, my compliments to whoever trained his language model.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
04/04/2022 10:06 Comments ||
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#29
Not sure she agrees with every part of the above thesis however.
Gita uses the word "fragmentation," a subtle distinction but not a really important one. The material point is that the dollar will become like the pound: an important currency but not the dominant one, and thus useless as an economic weapon for bullying nations such as India that want to pursue their own policies without being dictated to by the West.
#38
My favorite thing about the bots is they announce they know all about my politics and sex life and they are totally wrong.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
04/04/2022 13:44 Comments ||
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#39
I have never mistaken Vladimir Putin for Mother Teresa.
Having said that, all the economic warfare that the US and Europe rushed into will only hurt ourselves in the end. We are encouraging Russia, China, India, and who knows who else to abandon all of our financial and economic systems and set up their own.
The dumbest businessman knows you don't go out of your way to encourage and support the competition.
Posted by: Tom ||
04/04/2022 14:01 Comments ||
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#40
The most powerful fulcrum in modern geopolitical terms for regional hegemons and superpowers is triangulation. The motive in opening up to China by Nixon/Kissinger was the beginning of the change pattern in the Cold War.
I am no Russian apologist and the Ukraine disaster has displayed the very worst in their character, Stalinesque of late, and despicable. Having said that, the West is driving Russia into a vassal connection with China, a far greater threat and frankly, enemy, than Russia has been for decades. Huge swathes of Western economic, cultural and political system successes are being destroyed, and instability is rampant in ways undreamed of even five years ago. The deviation from this descent into this decline was paused by Trump, and the vehemence with which has was assailed, almost always dishonestly, is staggering. Our public policies are insane, the border, energy, debt, Covid waste, racial disunity, crime, etc. Behind every aspect, in the macro perspective, who plays the long game? China, who seemingly owns enormous influence across the spectrum of corporate, media and political power today. Hyperbolic pressures in the media and the posturing of the administration do little to dissuade me from this suspicion. It makes me only wonder....
#41
Something I think the trolls don't get: Antifa says I'm a nazi. I'm not a nazi. Antifa says I'm a fascist. I'm not a fascist. BLM / corporate media / democrat party (but I repeat myself) says I'm a rayciss white supremacist. Actual rayciss white supremacists would have nothing to do with me, and I like it that way. I don't / won't / wouldn't do any sexual favors for Putin or Zellensyyy (or however he spells his name this week.)
Call me whatever turns you on. I know what I am and am not. You don't know me at all. You just know you hate me for not seeing it your way.
I don't actually give a crap which side loses the most. The "winner" will mostly get bombed-out crap half occupied by resentful occupados. Oh, one side or the other will have leftists and gerbilists rushing to suck(cor) them. Better them than me.
The crap about how sanctions are ruining the dollar? That was already well on the way, this is the WEF's excuse to accelerate the end of the job. Do you really think people won't find other places to put their wealth (as opposed to holdings) when they see the writing on the wall?
As Tom Robbins said in Even Cowgirls Get The Blues, "The situation was the same as always, desperate as usual..."
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
04/04/2022 15:29 Comments ||
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#42
I am not a bot though I learned yesterday I may aspire to be a "gullible twat".
#43
"Gullible" is rooted in the term "to swallow." If it's going down my gullet, I, or someone I esteem as a pitmaster, carved it, gripped it and put it on my plate.
I do not have a twat. I could easily be called a c*nt in any land where British slang rules, but the caller better be ready take a pounding.
At the end of the day, I have been called worse by my own mother than any creepy Putinite or Zellllleeeeeennnnnssssskkkkyyyyite (is that how it's spelled right now?) can call me.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
04/04/2022 15:41 Comments ||
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#44
Grilled it. No idea where gripped came from...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
04/04/2022 15:45 Comments ||
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#45
Murcek-- leftists have called me Nazi, fascist, Klansman and Jew. None of those are true. The far-right seems to be taking their turn now.
"Lies aren't true and the truth can't hurt me."
I'm for the values that created America -- inalienable individual rights backed by the Reason our Creator gave us. Seems like a vanishing set of values these days.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
04/04/2022 16:38 Comments ||
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#46
I have always said, "Call me this or that long enough and I might take you up on it. You really don't want that, so just stop now."
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
04/04/2022 16:43 Comments ||
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#47
The most dangerous person is the one who wants to be left alone. See: Rambo.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
04/04/2022 16:44 Comments ||
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#48
I'm for the values that created America -- inalienable individual rights backed by the Reason our Creator gave us. Seems like a vanishing set of values these days.
That's well said, Rob.
Posted by: Matt ||
04/04/2022 16:50 Comments ||
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#49
John McCain would have lovede Zelllennnnssssskkkkyyyy. Schaysssssschs it all...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
04/04/2022 17:17 Comments ||
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#50
*shrug* Paul Krugman is so brilliant he got a Nobel Prize in economics.
Amusingly for the argument, Goldman Sachs has an entire Wikipedia page just for the financial scandals their brilliant people caused. See here to refresh your memory. Bottom line, their job is to entice investment in whatever bit of cleverness the quants just came up with; each week they’re trained in whatever the hot new thing is, then turned loose on their client lists. So if their people are pushing it, I’d be concerned enough to investigate more deeply than otherwise — what they really do is create black swans.
As an aside to Vespasian Ebboting9735 — I’m very sorry you had problems as a result of using your real name here.
Matt: Pride and Prejudice! Austen is a personal favourite — I even have her collected juvenilia. :-)
If the dollar does end up losing its position as the world’s dominant currency, it will be the natural consequence of our politicians choosing deficit spending for almost the entire post-World War II period, coupled with the recent fad for driving manufacturing and mining offshore. And so it will be a learning experience for all involved. On the other hand, a variant on Churchill’s "Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others" comes to mind. In this case, if the Republicans can rein in President Biden’s team at the national level after the November election as they’ve been increasingly doing in the states, I don’t see either Russia or China being attractive beyond the short term for all sorts of structural and cultural reasons, leaving the U.S. as the safest refuge regardless of the clearly apparent problems.
#51
One more top Wall Street economist is predicting the end of Bretton Woods II. Credit Suisse's Zoltan Pozsar was one of the smartest people at the US Treasury and he expects another break, similar to the end of the original Bretton Woods regime when President Richard Nixon took the dollar off the gold standard.
"Bretton Woods III" will be based on commodities instead of the dollar. The Russian central bank officials are already thinking three steps ahead, stockpiling gold and preparing to make the ruble into a hard currency backed by Russia's very large gold reserves. Russia is effectively arbitraging the sanctions.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
04/04/2022 19:24 Comments ||
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#53
And currently, your rible will buy you some borscht in Mocow, but not a dollar (inless you pay the black market rate).
We've seen this movie in Venezuela.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
04/04/2022 19:28 Comments ||
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#54
The Eagle Who Crowed Down the Sun
"For gawd's sake, don't make Putin pay f--"
"For the dollar is going away!"
"So shake a leg, Kamalot--"
"And make us an omelet!"
"We're gonna be trolling all, uh, day!"
[imperial Heckle and Peckle]
Posted by: European Conservative ||
04/04/2022 19:28 Comments ||
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#56
EC, I walked past my bank in the US today, and to my surprise there was not a long line of Americans trying to exchange their dollars for rubles. I suppose we're just ignorant.
Posted by: Matt ||
04/04/2022 19:43 Comments ||
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#57
And from our fine line of budget tombstones...
Economists are awful smart
And so to them I prayed
Instead of gawd's all-knowing heart.
Go tell them how I paid!
#58
No one here understands basic monetary or macroeconomics. The key is debt relative to gold reserves and the value of those gold reserves relative to money supply.
The US has a fiat currency and a wildly inflated money supply, which imply that the dollar is poised to lose significant value and decline in world usage over the next several years.
Russia's currency and money supply are backed by the gold ratio that is about 9x greater than the dollar's.
Russian external debt: $400 billion
Russian debt to GDP ratio: 17%
US external debt: $30 trillion
US debt to GDP ratio: 125%
Russian gold reserves to Russian money supply
$140b:$170b = 83% coverage with real gold
US gold reserves to US money supply:
$550b:$6 trillion = 9% coverage with real gold
^ This is why every economist, banker and major investor is preparing for an end to Bretton Woods II.
[FoxNews] Dozens of current and former service members spoke to Fox News about extremism within the ranks.
The Pentagon’s most recent search for extremists within the ranks was just the latest failure to find evidence that the military is a breeding ground for violent radicals, a Fox News review has found.
The Department of Defense identified fewer than 100 instances of confirmed extremist activity in 2021, the Pentagon reported in December. Despite significant rhetoric from Democrats, media pundits and activists, the finding was unsurprising to more than 30 current and former service members who spoke with Fox News.
Continued on Page 49
#2
Odd. There were reports of communist extremists at West Point, and a steady stream of reports of extreme woke stances in the higher ranks. Or do those not count?
Posted by: James ||
04/04/2022 10:26 Comments ||
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#3
...the head of the Pentagon’s anti-extremism working group, Bishop Garrison, said supporting former President Trump is supporting racism and extremism...
Don't be surprised when the CWII goes kinetic that these troops drag you out of your nice comfortable HQ and hang you in the street.
#6
I notice there have been no glowing stories about what Rapone is up to these days.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
04/04/2022 14:05 Comments ||
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#7
How about investigate all the gang members in the military and their offspring. Even back in the 90's I visited my brother on the airforce base in Sumter SC, and there was plenty or gang graffiti all around the base then. Oh wait, I guess those would be black gangs so no worries.
Posted by: Chris ||
04/04/2022 14:47 Comments ||
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#8
I served on two with a bunch of sailors who were extremely likely to be part of a liberty incident. If that is not the type of extremism we are talking about, then maybe would need to define terms. They don’t seem to like servicemen that are extremely patriotic.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
04/04/2022 15:29 Comments ||
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#9
Extremist, like taking your briefcase full of notes, ignoring the Commander in Chief, and playing ball for China?
What about literally cutting your balls off for a promotion; seems a bit extreme.
[DailyWire] Correction: A previous version of this article stated that Spenser Rapone was hired by the University of Texas as a professor. It has been corrected to note that he is attending the university’s graduate program. The article has also been corrected to note that The New School is based in New York, and is not part of the university.
The University of Texas accepted a man known as the “commie cadet” as a graduate student in the university’s history department.
Spenser Rapone, also known as the “commie cadet,” was removed from the U.S. Army on an “other-than-honorable” discharge after he posted photos praising communism during a West Point graduation ceremony. Rapone has since started attending the University of Texas as a graduate student.
During a May 2016 graduation ceremony, Rapone was photographed opening his dress uniform to show a T-shirt with a red image of socialist icon Che Guevara. Guevara is a Marxist revolutionary who played a major role in the Cuban Revolution. In a second image, Rapone is seen raising his fist and showcasing the inside of his hate which reads, “Communism will win.”
Rapone echoed this sentiment on Twitter.
According to Army Times, an investigation into Rapone’s online behavior uncovered that the former cadet used his online presence to advocate for a socialist revolution and disparage high-ranking military officers. Rapone was reprimanded for “conduct unbecoming of an officer.”
West Point released a statement after Rapone’s photos caused an uproar on social media. “In no way [do Rapone’s actions] reflect the values of the U.S. Military Academy or the U.S. Army.”
Speaking to The Associated Press, Rapone said that he considers himself a “revolutionary socialist.” He encouraged members of the armed forces to stop fighting on behalf of the United States, or as he calls the country, “the agents of imperialism.”
“I consider myself a revolutionary socialist,” Rapone said. “I would encourage all soldiers who have a conscience to lay down their arms and join me and so many others who are willing to stop serving the agents of imperialism and join us in a revolutionary movement.”
In an interview with Jacobin, Rapone said that he does not believe that the U.S. military fights for “freedom,” “truth,” or “justice.”
“I was always told growing up that the U.S. military protects the innocent, that we fight for freedom, truth, and justice,” Rapone said. “It didn’t take me long to realize that my experiences did not reflect that in the slightest… We were just persecuting and terrorizing some of the most exploited people on Earth with one of the most technologically advanced militaries in history.”
Rapone’s University of Texas biography states that he has a continued interest in socialism and conducts research on the subject. In particular, he researches “Ba’thism,” which is a fusion of socialism and Arab nationalism.
“[Rapone’s] research is primarily concerned with the question of the spirit and soul in modern thought,” his biography reads. “Specifically, he seeks to reconstruct and historically situate politico-theological ideologies such as Ba’thism and similar thought-forms in the Arab World and beyond.”
His biography fails to mention his military service or his “other-than-honorable” discharge.
Rapone’s interests are in “Modern Arab intellectual history, Modern Middle East and North Africa, metaphysics, consciousness, political theology, decolonization, [and] violence.”
[IsraelTimes] Kyiv’s messaging and communications resonate in the West, experts say, while Russia focuses inward and on India, China, Africa
The words "I need anti-tank ammunition, not a ride," and "Russian warship, go f*ck yourself" are likely to go down in history as some of the most memorable phrases from the Russian war on Ukraine in the winter of 2022.
The first was uttered by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky just a day into the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24 in response to a US offer to help him leave the country. The second was the defiant response of a Ukrainian border guard stationed at Zmiinyi, or Snake Island, in the Black Sea, on the first day of the war, after he and his fellow guards were ordered to surrender.
Continued on Page 49
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Alexander Kots
[KP] Ukraine is dispersing a new "crime against humanity". Entering the cities of the Kiev region, which the Russian troops left as part of the regrouping, the nationalists from the terbats suddenly found the streets littered with the corpses of civilians. Traces of torture, bound hands, scarlet blood - footage from the city of Bucha chills the soul.
Ukrainian propaganda paints a terrible picture of the "Russian occupation," under which real sadists bullied the locals. Here it is, Ukrainian Srebrenica. By analogy with the "massacre" of Bosnian Muslims in Yugoslavia, in which the Serbs were accused. Although their version, which was significantly inferior in scale to the official one, no one took into account.
Now I will explain why Srebrenica in Bucha is a lie. I will not analyze the position of bodies relative to the road and look for similarities of corpses in different locations. Many have already done this for me. There, the hands of the “corpses” move, and in the rear-view mirror, the “killed” are resurrected.
The tactics of video dramatizations ceased to amaze me even in Syria, where, based on the productions of the White Helmets, a decision was made to launch massive missile strikes. And here the teachers of information-psychological operations are the same - with brightly protruding British ears.
I'm talking about something else. I have been to cities like Bucha in the Kiev region. And under Bucha was. I saw how the attitude of the locals towards the Russian military was changing.
At first they were feared - the result of in-depth brainwashing on TV. Then the attitude was wary, when curiosity won, and people crawled out of the cellars. Then - business: the locals established a natural exchange with the military. For example, we changed gasoline for the generator for milk and cottage cheese. Moreover, we did not demand milk, giving fuel free of charge. But the neighbors considered it their duty to "pay back." The military gave dry rations, brought medicines ... And if they forced someone to go down to the basement, it was only for their own safety.
But this, of course, is not the main argument in favor of the fact that the Ukrainian "Srebrenica" is a fake. Russian troops did not completely control Buch for a single day during the month and a half. And the situation there was not conducive to "persistent" communication with the locals. Constant battles, shelling, head-on collisions - not before.
The truth is that Russian troops left Bucha as part of a regrouping a few days before the "victims of the occupation" were discovered. The Armed Forces of Ukraine did not immediately realize this and for almost three more days they covered the city with artillery, under which civilians could well have fallen.
And when they came to their senses, as usual, they began a "witch hunt" in search of those who, in their opinion, collaborated with the "occupation forces." In the fever of wartime, no one bothers to prove themselves, bodies thrown into the wells with their hands tied appear.
Only the condition of these bodies suggests that they were killed yesterday at the latest. I know what corpses look like after lying on the street for several days. Here is a completely different picture.
My arguments, of course, are unlikely to be considered by the President of the European Union, Charles Michel, who launches the hashtag "Buchan massacre" and announces new sanctions against Russia. Although it is not difficult to verify what I say. It is enough to conduct an examination that will indicate the time of death of the unfortunate.
And to correlate with the data of NATO objective control, which will clearly indicate the date of the withdrawal of Russian troops. But this is if you look for the truth. And who needs it in the West.
Aleksandr Kots is prior service Russian airborne and a writer for Komsomol Pravda
#1
Russia stooges now stink of desperation. Like their predecessors who worked for Goebbels.
Do they actually believe their own garbage? I imagine this was mainly for internal consumption in Russia to bolster the illusions built on lies - and one that Putin has used to play upon Russian cultural biases. Everyone is a N4zi, don't cha know.
Both sides are heavily pushing propaganda. I say treat all reports with skepticism until independent verification.
But the obvious lies are piling up on the Russian side. The previous war criminal acts of the 331 Regiment are well known by people who are paying attention, and they were at Bucha. Same goes for the Chechen animals the Russians employ. So accusations are plausible, and in the presence of evidence, are believable.
Given the Russian penchant historically for looting and pillaging, as well as rape and deliberate killing of civilians to incite terror (Grozny), these accusations are credible in the face of the satellite and photographic evidence coming to light.
In this case, independent and international news sources have verified many of these things that look like summary executions done by the KGB/GRU back in the day. Interrogated, beaten, then hands bound, one shot to the head.
Pravda, the irony is too much. It now has the same reputation for "truth" as to when it was a Soviet mouthpiece.
#2
"Hey, Hitlerite Whites, would it kill ya
To die in a fire?" inquired Ilya.
"Lie back and relax
As I fill ya with facts
Till ya parrot polite Russophilia!"
#5
Hey, wait! Does this mean badanov is stooging for Imperial Japan now?
One of the most fascinating subjects of WWII, IMMHO, is the Imperial Japanese Army ground operations in China, 1941-1945.
I recommend: Soldiers of the Sun by Meirioin and Susie Harries which is the most thorough description of Imperial Japanese Army ground operations in China during WWII available.
And The Rising Sun by John Toland which is a less than satifying treatment of the grand strategic aspects of Imperial Japanese Army ground operations during WWII.
And if you're wondering why I find the Imperial Japanese Army ground operations during WWII so fascinating, I often pause and wonder that myself.
#6
badanov-sama, I've read zilch about the army in Asia, but I find the Combined Fleet fascinating for some reason. So I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree :-)
Posted by: Matt ||
04/04/2022 18:51 Comments ||
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#7
Thank you again; Japanese mainland operations has been a hole I've tried to fill and couldn't find decent material.
#8
badanov-sama, I've read zilch about the army in Asia, but I find the Combined Fleet fascinating for some reason. So I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree :-)
#10
That one I haven't read. My fav about the naval battles is Neptune's Inferno, which is so well written that I was in suspense about the outcome of battles I could already diagram. "My God! They're going to sink the Sterett!"
Posted by: Matt ||
04/04/2022 19:03 Comments ||
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#11
#10 That one I haven't read. My fav about the naval battles is Neptune's Inferno, which is so well written that I was in suspense about the outcome of battles I could already diagram. "My God! They're going to sink the Sterett!"
Until I read The Imperial Japanese Navy, I did not realized just how desperate things were for the US Navy in 1942.
#12
#10 That one I haven't read. My fav about the naval battles is Neptune's Inferno, which is so well written that I was in suspense about the outcome of battles I could already diagram. "My God! They're going to sink the Sterett!"
Now I knw what I'm getting for my birthday present. Thanks!
#13
You're welcome of course. A particular point of fascination is the impact of Halsey replacing Ghormley. Halsey had his flaws (the turn north, the typhoons) But I don't think even Spruance would have pulled out a victory in the Solomons.
Posted by: Matt ||
04/04/2022 19:22 Comments ||
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#14
I'm fascinated by the British Indian Army and the campaign in Burma during WWII
A couple of more about about the IJN:
Japanese Destroyer Captain by Capt. Tameichi Hara
The Japanese Navy in WWII edited by David c. Evans, it's a collection of essays by senior Japanese naval officers.
Fading Victory: The Diary of Admiral Matome Ugaki 1941-1945.
Here are two about the Japanese Army, although I haven't read either:
Four Samurai by Arthur Swinson
Tales by Japanese Soldiers by Kazuo Tamayama and John Nunneley
#15
Thanks for those, Chantry. I've thought about the Ugaki diaries but never picked it up.
One advantage the later historians have is being able to talk in detail about the contribution of Allied intelligence.
Posted by: Matt ||
04/04/2022 19:37 Comments ||
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#16
Chantry -- Do you know Quartered Safe Out Here, by George MacDonald Fraser (of the Flashman series)?
Posted by: Matt ||
04/04/2022 19:55 Comments ||
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#17
Hornfischer:
Ship of Ghosts (half about The Houston/Java Sea, half POWs of Japan in Burma)
Neptune's Inferno
Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors
The Fleet at Flood Tide
Chronologically. All are fantastic. Did all of them in Audio as that was the best block of time I had - driving. Had to pause them during traffic because they are that intense. Picked up hard backs for the library and future reference.
*looks like in a month, he has a book covering US Navy during Cold War.
#19
And if you're wondering why I find the Imperial Japanese Army ground operations during WWII so fascinating, I often pause and wonder that myself.
It is amazing what they accomplished through 41-42 in the Pacific. It was like they were playing with all the cheat codes on. Pure aggression and a lack of giving a shit beat major European armies despite being outnumbered and under supplied.
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