Politics

[Red Leg]

Germany to station 4,000 troops in Lithuania – DW – 06/26/2023

Vilnius has repeatedly called on Berlin to deploy permanent combat troops to the country, which borders the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad.

www.dw.com

Interesting. For most of the last sixty-five years, Germany wouldn't have dared put troops anywhere near Kaliningrad - both due to internal political concerns and international ones.

Most people today, at least in the West outside of Germany, have no idea that the area was Germanic for hundreds of years. The area became known as East Prussia after German unification in the late 19th century. Its capital was Konigsberg - now along with the region, Kaliningrad. It became a flash point leading up to the second WW when a corridor and the city of Danzig were given to Poland following Germany's defeat in 1918. East Prussia was thus an enclave, but very much a part of Germany. The elimination of the Polish corridor and reincorporation of Danzig (Gdansk) played a major role in Hitler's decision to invade in 1939.

The area was seized by the Red Army late in WWII, and was held and then incorporated into the Soviet State following the war. Renamed Kaliningrad, it would provide the USSR a convenient naval base on NATO's northern flank.

Putin has indeed changed the world dramatically in very short time. Finland, scrupulously neutral since WWII, has now joined NATO and Sweden is on the verge of doing so. Putin and the Russian Federation would have threatened war had Germany attempted to permanently station troops along the Kaliningrad border just 18 months ago. Indeed, due to domestic concerns, Germany would not have contemplated it.

As Wagner demonstrated, Russia doesn't even have the means to respond conventionally by increasing troops along the borders of the Baltic States.

I think we are just beginning to see the eventual fallout from the Special Military Operation.

 

[Red Leg]

Putin’s downfall is only delayed. It’s coming

Prigozhin’s attempted coup failed, but it still shows that the Kremlin regime is now a mere shell

www.telegraph.co.uk

 

[Scott CWO]

Recently read this and it’s very profound:

“You can come armed with all the facts in the world, but when you’re dealing with a conspiracist, there’s no real way to “win” an argument. For people whose views aren’t anchored to facts, winning is simply getting attention — and when you publicly argue with someone who is a conspiracist, you’ve already lost. The conspiracist cannot be convinced of a loss.”

Therefore, I will heed the advice I received from Kevin’s public post as well as PMs from other AH friends and I will stop arguing with conspiracists on this site. It is pointless.

 

[NE 7x57]

It's being reported by an independent Russian media outlet (do those exist?) that In the Mogilev region of Belarus a military camp is being constructed which will hold 8000 Wagner fighters, approximately 200km from the border of Ukraine. Apparently there will be several camps. It is said the PMC group will be disarmed and not allowed to fight in the war.

A tweet by Igor Sushko reports that all Wagner Mercenaries who participated in the coup attempt are headed to Belarus.

Declaimer..... It is important to remember this is coming from Russians and the only thing consistent about Russia is that they lie. The government lies to their people, the international community, each other and they pile one lie on top of another. They are skilled at it because they've been doing it for decades.

 

[WAB]

It's being reported by an independent Russian media outlet (do those exist?) that In the Mogilev region of Belarus a military camp is being constructed which will hold 8000 Wagner fighters, approximately 200km from the border of Ukraine. Apparently there will be several camps. It is said the PMC group will be disarmed and not allowed to fight in the war.

A tweet by Igor Sushko reports that all Wagner Mercenaries who participated in the coup attempt are headed to Belarus.

Declaimer..... It is important to remember this is coming from Russians and the only thing consistent about Russia is that they lie. The government lies to their people, the international community, each other and they pile one lie on top of another. They are skilled at it because they've been doing it for decades.

Actually centuries.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

It wouldn't surprise me if all the Wagner mercenaries herd up in Belarus and then are sent to a Gulag and never heard from again. It's happened before.

 

[Mark A Ouellette]

What we as westerners, all fat, dumb, and happy with our comfortable lives, is that Russians are survivors. They practice survival every day of their seemingly miserable lives!

 

[mdwest]

Wasnt sure if this was better suited in the politics thread.. or the lighter note thread...

 

[Boyd Brooks]

 

[Ray B]

I will heed the advice and stop arguing with conspiracists.

I recall the admonition regarding wrestling with pigs:
Never wrestle in the mud with a pig- all that you get is tired and muddy and the pig enjoys it.
But don't make any inference that I am referring to anyone on this site- as Sgt Shultz said: I'm bipartisan.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

Recently read this and it’s very profound:

“You can come armed with all the facts in the world, but when you’re dealing with a conspiracist, there’s no real way to “win” an argument. For people whose views aren’t anchored to facts, winning is simply getting attention — and when you publicly argue with someone who is a conspiracist, you’ve already lost. The conspiracist cannot be convinced of a loss.”

Therefore, I will heed the advice I received from Kevin’s public post as well as PMs from other AH friends and I will stop arguing with conspiracists on this site. It is pointless.

A shorter version: It's tough to have a battle of the minds with someone who is unarmed.

 

[bowjijohn]

Putin

Tyrannical leader of the world’s largest nuclear force?

Or the joker atop a house of cards ?

His latest speech appears illogical, contradictory and delusional

I give him 3 months

Less if Ukraine has any success on the battlefield

I’m wondering if he has dementia?

I bet NATO intelligence analysts are burning the midnight oil

 

[Red Leg]

As usual, anything negative with respect to Trump leaks. Regardless, it seems on the surface pretty detrimental to his case. I assume all the people in the group were easily identified and are now cooperating. I would guess it is equally likely not everyone had or still had the requisite clearances.

His defense would have to rest upon is ability to declassify. In other words, if the documents were in his possession and he shared them, that represented de facto declassification whether it went through the interagency process or not.

Will be curious to see how it plays with a jury.

As to the subject itself, I am a little surprised that Trump seemingly wouldn't be aware that we have contingency war plans with respect to Iran. His array of options for dealing with Iran then were broad and it would have been irresponsible of DOD to not provide him that option (and associated risks).

I have some doubts that DOJ will aggressively pursue their leaker.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1673498704681250816

 

[Foxi]

Interesting. For most of the last sixty-five years, Germany wouldn't have dared put troops anywhere near Kaliningrad - both due to internal political concerns and international ones.

Most people today, at least in the West outside of Germany, have no idea that the area was Germanic for hundreds of years. The area became known as East Prussia after German unification in the late 19th century. Its capital was Konigsberg - now along with the region, Kaliningrad. It became a flash point leading up to the second WW when a corridor and the city of Danzig were given to Poland following Germany's defeat in 1918. East Prussia was thus an enclave, but very much a part of Germany. The elimination of the Polish corridor and reincorporation of Danzig (Gdansk) played a major role in Hitler's decision to invade in 1939.

The area was seized by the Red Army late in WWII, and was held and then incorporated into the Soviet State following the war. Renamed Kaliningrad, it would provide the USSR a convenient naval base on NATO's northern flank.

Putin has indeed changed the world dramatically in very short time. Finland, scrupulously neutral since WWII, has now joined NATO and Sweden is on the verge of doing so. Putin and the Russian Federation would have threatened war had Germany attempted to permanently station troops along the Kaliningrad border just 18 months ago. Indeed, due to domestic concerns, Germany would not have contemplated it.

As Wagner demonstrated, Russia doesn't even have the means to respond conventionally by increasing troops along the borders of the Baltic States.

I think we are just beginning to see the eventual fallout from the Special Military Operation.

we would also have had trouble with the Poles.
With all of them, in fact.
War is the father of all things

Danzig was predominantly German.
The victorious powers of the First World War were not interested in that at all and it was assigned to Poland.
This was a seed for Hitler's rise.
Wilson was weak and had no Idea of the map of Europe.

 

[Red Leg]

we would also have had trouble with the Poles.
With all of them, in fact.
War is the father of all things

Danzig was predominantly German.
The victorious powers of the First World War were not interested in that at all and it was assigned to Poland.
This was a seed for Hitler's rise.
Wilson was weak and had no Idea of the map of Europe.

Not sure about the meaning of your first paragraph, but the Polish corridor absolutely was a major contributing factor to Germany's actions in 1939.

The most astonishing thing to me was the abandonment of Poland to the Soviet Union at the end of the war. The invasion of Poland was the casus belli for the British and French declarations of war on Germany in '39. And yet, in '45 Britain and the US were unwilling to force a true referendum which would have left Poland in the Western orbit. Of course, the overwhelming presence of the Red Army had more than a little to do with it. But it was a real betrayal of the Polish Forces who fought so bravely on the allied side throughout the war.

 

[Brent in Az]

 

[Red Leg]

As if neither is newsworthy?

The really sad thing is this sort of thing gets lots of clicks and attention in the nether regions of the web.

 

[steve white]

Not sure about the meaning of your first paragraph, but the Polish corridor absolutely was a major contributing factor to Germany's actions in 1939.

The most astonishing thing to me was the abandonment of Poland to the Soviet Union at the end of the war. The invasion of Poland was the casus belli for the British and French declarations of war on Germany in '39. And yet, in '45 Britain and the US were unwilling to force a true referendum which would have left Poland in the Western orbit. Of course, the overwhelming presence of the Red Army had more than a little to do with it. But it was a real betrayal of the Polish Forces who fought so bravely on the allied side throughout the war.

Tho not much worse than what we did to the Yugoslavian partisans...?

 

[Doug3006]

Tho not much worse than what we did to the Yugoslavian partisans...?

…and are likely to do to the Ukrainian’s. It’s tough being an American ally when we get tired of something and want to move on. Ukraine knows it has to prevail hugely in the summer counteroffensive or risk being forced into a country-ending treaty.

 

[Brent in Az]

As if neither is newsworthy?

The really sad thing is this sort of thing gets lots of clicks and attention in the nether regions of the web.

That's the whole point of his video.

"Pay no attention to the corrupt grifter POTUS and the evidence mounting against him, or his corrupt grifter son who was just gifted a get out of jail free card"

"Look over here, while we televise the imploded sub, 24/7, and the 5 dead people who were foolish enough to climb aboard"

The things going on in this country that are truly "newsworthy", are not being televised by the Democrats media lapdogs.

The video is about media's tactics of misdirection. Low information voters have short memories, and it is a tactic the media uses to great advantage.