For Those Who Might Be Wondering Why We Might Be In Ukraine

[Lazaran]

I chose this one specifically because its your shortest post.

I appreciate your knowledge and deep dives into how and why this is going the way that it is. I am obligated every once in a while to point out I was one of those idiots who was sure Ukraine would crack in weeks not months. I think my original over/under was 2-6 six weeks. I think I slid it once and then just admitted those bastards are made of tough stuff.

Um, you do know that Chloe cuts and pastes analysis from others and neglects to cite them, right???



I honestly believe Chloe has never had a deep original thought / take in their life…but I could be wrong…but I’m probably not…



We. Told. Them. So.

 

[Sean Renaud]

Um, you do know that Chloe cuts and pastes analysis from others and neglects to cite them, right???



I honestly believe Chloe has never had a deep original thought / take in their life…but I could be wrong…but I’m probably not…



We. Told. Them. So.

Knowing where to copy past from is still research.

 

[Lazaran]

Knowing where to copy past from is still research.

Fair enough; though I wouldn’t credit Chloe with doing a “deep dive” on anything beyond selecting pro-Ukrainian analysis. Chloe is basically the anti-Russiaguide (Rightguide), as Russiaguide only selects pro-Russia analysis to post.

Chloe also voted for DonOld Trump, so…



We. Told. Them. So.

 

[Sean Renaud]

I can cede that point. I don't know how much of the writing they do themselves and mostly don't care on that front. I don't know if I've paid enough attention to Chloe on other topics to have an idea for their voice.

 

[ChloeTzang]

I can cede that point. I don't know how much of the writing they do themselves and mostly don't care on that front. I don't know if I've paid enough attention to Chloe on other topics to have an idea for their voice.

LOL Laz has a point - I do a lot of cutting and pasting and mostly provide links to the source(s), as well as following quite a few podcasts and bloggers and half a dozen of my own military or ex-military contacts as well who point me at stuff. I'm no expert - more of a consolidator, but I do discard the dipshit sources and there are a LOT of those. I do follow a few Russian sources as well but I am no expert on Russia and I have a hard job filtering out the bullshit so I tend to rely on others interpretation of Russian sources. I find this whole war fascinating - it's like a front row seat to the SPanish Civil War as a prelude to WW2, but being aware of the historical rhyming that's going on - and add in a cyclic take on history and this is a turning point in history that we are following.

 

[ChloeTzang]

RUSSIA’S TOP MANAGERS KEEP DISAPPEARING​

Anna discusses Russian business, disappearing managera at the top level of Russian industry and the economy

The Kremlin is hiding real statistics about the business, though there is one number they cannot hide.

Lots of russian top-managers disappeared since the beginning of the failed blitzkrieg. Most of them represented oil and gas business (mainly Gazprom and Lukoil), construction and real estate, banking and finance, logistics, minimg and metallurgy.

 

[dmallord]

Um, you do know that Chloe cuts and pastes analysis from others and neglects to cite them, right???



I honestly believe Chloe has never had a deep original thought / take in their life…but I could be wrong…but I’m probably not…



We. Told. Them. So.

You're hedging your bet—maybe wrong, but probably not. That way, no matter what, you can claim you were right. It’s a neat trick, but it hardly gains any traction, like on slippery ice, when denigrating someone. Declaring that someone has never had an original thought is less a judgment about them and more a confession about how little thought you’ve given your own words.

I'm puzzled over why some claim Chloe is male. Maybe there is some history hidden in the rabbit hole about past dialogues. I don't detect any nuances in current writings that indicate she isn't female. And, it shouldn't matter as all are anonymous here.

Shouldn't one be judged on their content and by the convictions they support?

Many post here without citations. That she does so is clear to readers, even you picked up on that. Most recognize that the posts are slanted, but in a good way, toward news I don't get via local news sources. I'm okay with positive news out of Ukraine and bad news about Russians. I'm rooting for the good guys... not invaders without provocation.

CAlL Me GuLibLe, but I FiNd Chloe likable and despite her grating dark humor here. I can live with that. So should we all.

I'd even root for Greenland when the Felon gets around to that invasion, even though I am an American.

 

[Sean Renaud]

LOL Laz has a point - I do a lot of cutting and pasting and mostly provide links to the source(s), as well as following quite a few podcasts and bloggers and half a dozen of my own military or ex-military contacts as well who point me at stuff. I'm no expert - more of a consolidator, but I do discard the dipshit sources and there are a LOT of those. I do follow a few Russian sources as well but I am no expert on Russia and I have a hard job filtering out the bullshit so I tend to rely on others interpretation of Russian sources. I find this whole war fascinating - it's like a front row seat to the SPanish Civil War as a prelude to WW2, but being aware of the historical rhyming that's going on - and add in a cyclic take on history and this is a turning point in history that we are following.

View attachment 2563117

Interesting. It feels instinctively wrong to me on a few levels but not because I doubt the data entirely more that this seems to be America Centric and at least two of these conflicts are primarily European. I think once we get our egos out its not TOO hard to throw the Revolutionary War as part of a nearly continuous French/British conflict but I'm American so lets be egocentric.

The other thing that strikes me as worth observing is that I would expect waves to either contract or expand (no idea which though contracting seems unlikely for a few reasons) that from basically all of history until the 19th century word and travel moved at give or take the same speeds. Yeah we had birds but mostly word, goods and people traveled by horse. Then BAM steam engines, trains, Morse Code. 20th we went from flight being impossible to. . .be honest with me for a second. If we discount Bezos, Musk and Katy Perry when was the last time the public as a whole gave a shit about us putting something in space? I'll tell you when it wasn't. It wasn't when we pulled off bringing a piece of an asteroid back a few years back. It was probably when we put a probe on Mars. We went from depending on your age our parents/grandparents thinking Nixon was a better debator and other people thinking 'Damny that Kennedy boy is fine! I can't judge just because I can't (and won't ) attempt to listen then watch then pretend I'm unbiased. Those same people were AWED by The Wizard of Oz being in color to fuck these really good deep fakes. Even ten years ago you had to double take to make sure that was actually a video game not the NBA finals on tv.

My point is the nature of the world has changed more in the last two hundred years than most of human history and I would expect that to disrupt patterns that seem to largely have been set by "All the young people died, the survivors got rich and had kids. Oh crap a glut of kids I got an idea lets pull a reason out of a hat and throw a bunch of them into a meatgrinder! Worked for grandpa!" Again I'm aware its more complext than that but damned if doesn't seem like war has been populuation control.

 

[ChloeTzang]

Burning Refineries, Empty Tanks: Russia’s New Reality ​

 

[Rebel5soul]

RUSSIA’S TOP MANAGERS KEEP DISAPPEARING​

Anna discusses Russian business, disappearing managera at the top level of Russian industry and the economy

The Kremlin is hiding real statistics about the business, though there is one number they cannot hide.

Lots of russian top-managers disappeared since the beginning of the failed blitzkrieg. Most of them represented oil and gas business (mainly Gazprom and Lukoil), construction and real estate, banking and finance, logistics, minimg and metallurgy.

Play that out over the long term. Replace competent individuals that may be a threat to your power and replace them with barely competent sycophants and eventually you end up with a barely functional nation. And the very same thing is happening in China as well.

 

[ChloeTzang]

Interesting. It feels instinctively wrong to me on a few levels but not because I doubt the data entirely more that this seems to be America Centric and at least two of these conflicts are primarily European. I think once we get our egos out its not TOO hard to throw the Revolutionary War as part of a nearly continuous French/British conflict but I'm American so lets be egocentric.....

I'd suggest reading Strauss and Howe's "The Fourth Turning." They make a pretty good case - far better than I ever could


https://www.amazon.com/Fourth-Turni...+how+the+fourth+turning&qid=1757376209&sr=8-1

 

[ChloeTzang]

Ukraine Special Forces troops walked 600km into Russia to blow up a Russian Tu-22M3 Bomber!​

 

[ChloeTzang]

Putin's failures in the east laid bare by Russia's frantic assault on Kyiv ​

Russia has made it plain that their demand is Ukrainian surrender
Russia won't achieve a breakthrough on the frontline
Donestk - since May 2023, Russia has taken 4 towns.....
Nov 2022 - Russians have 18% of Ukraine under occupation
August 2025 - Russians have 19% of Ukraine under occupation
"If Vlad and the boys thought they were winning on the frontline of Donetsk, they wouldn't be running the record drone and missile attacks on the rest of Ukraine." He keeps doing this and doing this, like Groundhog day
Are they affecting Ukraine's ability to operate - they are not causing much devastation to Ukraine's infrastructure

Ukraine is stepping up it's damage to Russian infrastructure - railways, pipelines, refineries, military industry

This is a pretty good summation of where we are with sanctions and the politics of these too

 

[Lazaran]

You're hedging your bet—maybe wrong, but probably not. That way, no matter what, you can claim you were right. It’s a neat trick, but it hardly gains any traction, like on slippery ice, when denigrating someone. Declaring that someone has never had an original thought is less a judgment about them and more a confession about how little thought you’ve given your own words.

I'm puzzled over why some claim Chloe is male. Maybe there is some history hidden in the rabbit hole about past dialogues. I don't detect any nuances in current writings that indicate she isn't female. And, it shouldn't matter as all are anonymous here.

Shouldn't one be judged on their content and by the convictions they support?

Many post here without citations. That she does so is clear to readers, even you picked up on that. Most recognize that the posts are slanted, but in a good way, toward news I don't get via local news sources. I'm okay with positive news out of Ukraine and bad news about Russians. I'm rooting for the good guys... not invaders without provocation.

CAlL Me GuLibLe, but I FiNd Chloe likable and despite her grating dark humor here. I can live with that. So should we all.

I'd even root for Greenland when the Felon gets around to that invasion, even though I am an American.

I respect your opinion, but you may want to read Chloe’s "thoughts" on race & immigration / deportation - and their sentiments on a potential "Purge" of anyone who isn’t "them"… Chloe is downright sadistic, impo (I have ZERO doubt that Chloe was a fan of “Dexter”, even though that fictional character was a fucking psycho).



I would add:

Chloe looked to be making some strides in personal and general awareness when they realized what a traitor DonOld Trump is / was when it came to Ukraine, etc (Democrats were totally right about DonOld & Russia / Putin), but Chloe is a typical MAGAt ("conservative") who only changes their opinion on an issue when they are / feel personally affected / impacted by the actions of their dear leader(s). MAGAts are TOTAL sociopaths (Chloe feels personally connected to Ukraine through her heritage).

Chloe also continues to misrepresent President Biden’s (and President Obama’s) policies when it comes to: Ukraine; Afghanistan, Israel -Gaza; immigration (especially deportation and "open borders"); inflation & the economy; energy; DEI, and pretty much every other significant issue.

Other than that ^, Chloe is alright…I guess…but probably not…



We. Told. Them. So.

 

[dmallord]

Play that out over the long term. Replace competent individuals that may be a threat to your power and replace them with barely competent sycophants and eventually you end up with a barely functional nation. And the very same thing is happening in China as well.

Duh, man! MAGA SEES EYE TO EYE WITH DEMS/LIBS/and Me on your astute points. Hell, Common Ground, finaLlY!

It's happening in MericcA!

Damned straight, the felon's appointments are incompetent sycophants and suck ups. Did you see that last cabinet meeting and the billion-dollar dinner with the felon, too? Praising him and telling him how, without him, we'd be so screwed. Damn straight up deserves that Nobel Peace Prize. I sure hope he gets that Cracker Jack box with it fEr sure. [We ARE so screwed; he's the reason why if you listen to farmers.]

The barely functional MAGA supporters are startin' to wake up and feel the pain. Just ask those Razorback farmers battlin' crop issues, costs of equipment, and such. They're holding town halls begging for some relief. Nearly 50% are on the edge of dire destruction or going under on mortgages. No more second-, third-, or fifth-generation farmers left to till the soil. Bacon is gonna get mighty pricey, not to mention those egggGs again.

Where are we now with those tariffs? Canada is kickin' his ass over them submarines, steel, aluminum, lumber for the failing US housing market, and those farmers' potash. EU is killin' his mighty jet fighter purchases by the dozens. And the penguins in Antarctica are boycotting US products already and aren't shipping us any eggs!

Jesus on a Cracker, as one here has said recently, the economy is like an iceberg, we're on the Titanic, and a crypto scamming felon is at the GD helm! [I like that expression. Sounds so... southern.]

$0.02 for you thoughts.

 

[dmallord]

I respect your opinion, but you may want to read Chloe’s "thoughts" on race & immigration / deportation - and their sentiments on a potential "Purge" of anyone who isn’t "them"… Chloe is downright sadistic, impo (I have ZERO doubt that Chloe was a fan of “Dexter”, even though that fictional character was a fucking psycho).



I would add:

Chloe looked to be making some strides in personal and general awareness when they realized what a traitor DonOld Trump is / was when it came to Ukraine, etc (Democrats were totally right about DonOld & Russia / Putin), but Chloe is a typical MAGAt ("conservative") who only changes their opinion on an issue when they are / feel personally affected / impacted by the actions of their dear leader(s). MAGAts are TOTAL sociopaths (Chloe feels personally connected to Ukraine through her heritage).

Chloe also continues to misrepresent President Biden’s (and President Obama’s) policies when it comes to: Ukraine; Afghanistan, Israel -Gaza; immigration (especially deportation and "open borders"); inflation & the economy; energy; DEI, and pretty much every other significant issue.

Other than that ^, Chloe is alright…I guess…but probably not…



We. Told. Them. So.

I appreciate your effort to catalog this in a well-thought-out response.

She's said in a couple of other posts that posting here is a 'social release valve of sorts' and one isn't to take her words literally as she wades in to stir the pot. She's got that kind of humor. I take what she says in this forum with two grains of salt. Though, not all the time. I mutter about a talkin' to her over some of it, but know that you can't expect to have 'Leftist sheep' bleating in unison like the other side. People, sometimes, get wiser as they age. Then somethings they don't.

I credit her with a change of opinion on the Felon. No one else here, on that side of the fence, has even acknowledged one iota of wrongdoing by that guy. But she did, apologized even, and 'came into the light.'

If we all thought alike.... naw, not going down that 1984 road.

 

[Lazaran]

Duh, man! MAGA SEES EYE TO EYE WITH DEMS/LIBS/and Me on your astute points. Hell, Common Ground, finaLlY!

It's happening in MericcA!

Damned straight, the felon's appointments are incompetent sycophants and suck ups. Did you see that last cabinet meeting and the billion-dollar dinner with the felon, too? Praising him and telling him how, without him, we'd be so screwed. Damn straight up deserves that Nobel Peace Prize. I sure hope he gets that Cracker Jack box with it fEr sure. [We ARE so screwed; he's the reason why if you listen to farmers.]

The barely functional MAGA supporters are startin' to wake up and feel the pain. Just ask those Razorback farmers battlin' crop issues, costs of equipment, and such. They're holding town halls begging for some relief. Nearly 50% are on the edge of dire destruction or going under on mortgages. No more second-, third-, or fifth-generation farmers left to till the soil. Bacon is gonna get mighty pricey, not to mention those egggGs again.

Where are we now with those tariffs? Canada is kickin' his ass over them submarines, steel, aluminum, lumber for the failing US housing market, and those farmers' potash. EU is killin' his mighty jet fighter purchases by the dozens. And the penguins in Antarctica are boycotting US products already and aren't shipping us any eggs!

Jesus on a Cracker, as one here has said recently, the economy is like an iceberg, we're on the Titanic, and a crypto scamming felon is at the GD helm! [I like that expression. Sounds so... southern.]

$0.02 for you thoughts.

I honestly was going to respond to that comment with a nearly identical retort.



Are MAGAts truly that unaware of / clueless about their own sycophancy and the sycophancy that pervades this administration???



We. Told. Them. So.

 

[Rebel5soul]

Duh, man! MAGA SEES EYE TO EYE WITH DEMS/LIBS/and Me on your astute points. Hell, Common Ground, finaLlY!

It's happening in MericcA!

Damned straight, the felon's appointments are incompetent sycophants and suck ups. Did you see that last cabinet meeting and the billion-dollar dinner with the felon, too? Praising him and telling him how, without him, we'd be so screwed. Damn straight up deserves that Nobel Peace Prize. I sure hope he gets that Cracker Jack box with it fEr sure. [We ARE so screwed; he's the reason why if you listen to farmers.]

The barely functional MAGA supporters are startin' to wake up and feel the pain. Just ask those Razorback farmers battlin' crop issues, costs of equipment, and such. They're holding town halls begging for some relief. Nearly 50% are on the edge of dire destruction or going under on mortgages. No more second-, third-, or fifth-generation farmers left to till the soil. Bacon is gonna get mighty pricey, not to mention those egggGs again.

Where are we now with those tariffs? Canada is kickin' his ass over them submarines, steel, aluminum, lumber for the failing US housing market, and those farmers' potash. EU is killin' his mighty jet fighter purchases by the dozens. And the penguins in Antarctica are boycotting US products already and aren't shipping us any eggs!

Jesus on a Cracker, as one here has said recently, the economy is like an iceberg, we're on the Titanic, and a crypto scamming felon is at the GD helm! [I like that expression. Sounds so... southern.]

$0.02 for you thoughts.

I figured some stupid SOB would go there. Because ONLY democrats appoint qualified people.............right? Congratulations on putting together a long winded string of bullshit.

 

[ChloeTzang]

I respect your opinion, but you may want to read Chloe’s "thoughts" on race & immigration / deportation - and their sentiments on a potential "Purge" of anyone who isn’t "them"… Chloe is downright sadistic, impo (I have ZERO doubt that Chloe was a fan of “Dexter”, even though that fictional character was a fucking psycho).

rotflmao - I LOVE Dexter

I would add:

Chloe looked to be making some strides in personal and general awareness when they realized what a traitor DonOld Trump is / was when it came to Ukraine, etc (Democrats were totally right about DonOld & Russia / Putin), but Chloe is a typical MAGAt ("conservative") who only changes their opinion on an issue when they are / feel personally affected / impacted by the actions of their dear leader(s). MAGAts are TOTAL sociopaths (Chloe feels personally connected to Ukraine through her heritage).

Hmmmmmmmm. Yes, Trump has indeed been inimical to Ukraine, to the extent that one suspects he is in Putin's pocket and I'e been more than disappointed by him

Chloe also continues to misrepresent President Biden’s (and President Obama’s) policies when it comes to: Ukraine; Afghanistan, Israel -Gaza; immigration (especially deportation and "open borders"); inflation & the economy; energy; DEI, and pretty much every other significant issue.

Other than that ^, Chloe is alright…I guess…but probably not…

 

[dmallord]

I figured some stupid SOB would go there. Because ONLY democrats appoint qualified people.............right? Congratulations on putting together a long winded string of bullshit.

Thank you for the recognition. I do have some degrees, the one I'm most proud of is the 'PhD' [piled higher and deeper] study and thesis on 'Mastery of Long-Winded Bullshit.'

Yes, your masterstroke — call it 'bullshit,' and ignore the fact your Felon filled a cabinet with drunks, wife beaters, Fox rejects, and lawyers who couldn’t win a traffic case.

Sure, Democrats appoint their share of loyal hacks, but at least none were ridiculed by their own mothers, mistook AI for steak sauce, or got laughed out of court by their own judges.

If dictatorship-by-clown-car was the plan, your guy nailed it. Flashing selfies with Putin during comical pressers doesn’t scream 'leader' — it screams 'groupie.' Thanks for proving my point.

 

[Sean Renaud]

I honestly was going to respond to that comment with a nearly identical retort.



Are MAGAts truly that unaware of / clueless about their own sycophancy and the sycophancy that pervades this administration???



We. Told. Them. So.

They are that unaware. They genuinely believe that we worship the Clintons and Obamas. Instead of often openly disliking the Clintons or at least Hillary. Whether or not she deserves the Hate-On she gets isn't the topic, just whether we flock to her defense the way the Right does Trump.

I figured some stupid SOB would go there. Because ONLY democrats appoint qualified people.............right? Congratulations on putting together a long winded string of bullshit.

You have to try pretty hard to find someone a Dem has pushed at the federal level that are as uniquely unqualified for their stations as we've seen recently. For most jobs we can debate what is or isn't qualified but some relative experience should be a must and more than we are seeing. There is no excuse for RFK jr or Linda McMahon being in the positions they are. NONE.

 

[Lazaran]

rotflmao - I LOVE Dexter



Hmmmmmmmm. Yes, Trump has indeed been inimical to Ukraine, to the extent that one suspects he is in Putin's pocket and I'e been more than disappointed by him

Did I mention that I made a career in forensic psychiatry, and that assessing / “profiling” some of the worst psychopaths and sociopaths society has on offer was part of my regular day to day activity / responsibility.



I was also tasked with spotting the insidious machinations / gaslighting of those psychopaths & sociopaths, and interdicting / interrupting them before they metastasized into something truly harmful.



The “Dexter” assessment / profiling was practically rote. Soooo obvious and on brand for Chloe…



Also:

Chloe’s misrepresentation of facts / reality and slandering when it comes to their domestic "enemies" (President Obama, President Biden, etc) is standard psychopathic / sociopathic behavior. Chloe may want to work on correcting that behavior.



We. Told. Them. So.

 

[Hel_Books]

I'd suggest reading Strauss and Howe's "The Fourth Turning." They make a pretty good case - far better than I ever could

In their book Generations, Strauss and Howe discussed a predicted "Crisis of 2020" when things would go crazy.

How we doin?
Pandemic, war in Eastern Europe, missiles flying all over the Middle East, 6 January insurrection, Orange Julius Caesar . . .

 

[ChloeTzang]

Did I mention that I made a career in forensic psychiatry, and that assessing / “profiling” some of the worst psychopaths and sociopaths society has on offer was part of my regular day to day activity / responsibility.

This is actually pretty funny, Laz. I'm in the middle of writig a story for Lit where the lead character is a totally sociopath. I must be channeling my inner-Chloe LOL

And now, enough me. Back to Ukraine!

 

[ChloeTzang]

In their book Generations, Strauss and Howe discussed a predicted "Crisis of 2020" when things would go crazy.

How we doin?
Pandemic, war in Eastern Europe, missiles flying all over the Middle East, 6 January insurrection, Orange Julius Caesar . . .

They really nailed it IMHO.