Lostwingman

Wanted to do this post 2 days ago after digesting new events, but was too exhausted after workshifts to do effortposting, i was coming back to home during night time. My thoughts on this war, noise surrounding it, strategical implications and expectations, for those who care.
 
 
What i think.
   After 2017 it was obvious Ukraine will not do anything from Minsk agreements as Ukr politicians were publicly shitting on them and were doing nothing to make it real. DPR and LPR fate became obvious - they are not wanted in Ukraine. Putin's decision to recognize republics was constatations of situation. I expected thing to go slowly but deliberatly towards something i will describe later. But events went in very different way from what i thought would happen. Now, i'm not going to spit in the back of our soldiers executing orders, as Army should be this way, but politicians and other higher ups are free game im my eyes.
 
   Decision to start a full scale war in my opinion was stupidiest thing our political leadership have done in past 22 years. I'm not sure why or what triggered it, but looks like a plan was being worked on for long time, probably even before last year. Putin usually was carefull, but this is rackless decision.
   Our PR can scream about this operation being against nazis and nationalists, but the fact is this war is against Ukraine and everyone inside of it, as effects of war are going to touch nearly everyone who lives inside directly or indirectly.
 
   I don't have hard feelings about it, as i "burned down" during 2015, but this was wrong call. Not because war is bad, but because net result is not going to be what i would like to see.
 
 
   Good vs Evil
   Now, in medias narrative is that Good Democratical Ukraine is fighting Evil Russian dictatorship, in my view both states are dogshit.
 
   Ukraine is highly corrupted country that was run by oligarchs before coup in 2014 and now sort of run by oligarchs together by nationalists with piece of sovereignty outsorced to US foreigh policy makers, a country that effectively suppressed opposition in 2015-16 and where you have less rights than even in Russia, if you are not following "main course". One time per few years population needs to go to specific places where they instal another politicain as a leader who will became highly unpopular by the end of his term.
 
   Russia is highly corrupted country that was run by oligarchs before Putin and now sort of run by oligarchs together with Putin and his "clan", a country that sort of suppressed opposition in 2000s and where you have some rights, but there are workarounds, if you really want to. One time per few years population needs to go to specific places where we approve prolongation of power of our leader.
 
   Personally, i fail to see who is here an actual good guy. Both, in grand scheme of things, are kind of assholes. Maybe reason for people far away to see this conflict differently than war between Azerbaijan and Armenia is mix of agressor vs defender and Goliath vs David situation, and the fact that what they see on videos is a country and people more relatable than some Middle Eastern Arabs that are getting democracy delivered to their homes. But that is how i see it.
 
 
   Why this war is in such way it is (copy pasted from Discord): 
 
   I think we started this war with soft boxing gloves on, for some fucking reason. Maybe they expected less resistance, which may show how much attention they gave to situation on Donbass and how well they took into account 8 years of nationalistic propaganda and having armed conflict in 2.5 regions.
 
   Note absolutely no videos coming from our MoD, nothing about combat. Also note how for several days we used no artillery, very limited cruise missile strikes and no airstrikes (like in Syria with 100+ sorties per day from small base in Hmeimym). All this led to major units not being destroyed, equipment partially left in working condition. Internet was not turned off, mobile phones working. They did jack shit on this front. They did half measures and got half results.
 
   Thanks to that UAF was not destroyed. Convoy routes left undefended. No use of CAS, no proper AA coverage. Big units in bypassed cities left without serious blocking formations. They can orginise by using just mobiles phones. Thanks to ability to film and upload videos to the internet, net is now flooded with videos of Russian equipment destroyed and soldiers killed. Uplifting material for other side. All this instead of getting moral collapse of enemy faster and destruction and murder to minimun turned 180. Ukrainians are fighting back harder that what was anticipated is my expectation.
 
   Another boggus decision was using such small number of forces for operation. I saw claims of ~50k in initial phase. 100k is possibly going to be total number of forces. Ukraine is 40+ mln country. Not sure how they will hold it. Even with Rosgvardia there is not enough people to hold whole country.
 
   In the end results will be same on grand scale, but path to that result will be bloodier and longer. I guess thats why Putin fired that big star commander. But i guess they had plan B for bloodier route, which is why we now see MRLS used to bombard enemy.
 
   You can't "half-fight" the war, trying to look friendly on tv. What was supposed to be public flogging of Ukraine starts to be 1939 Soviet war with Finland, where USSR technically won, but Germans, looking at how it was won, thought Red Army was umm.. "incompetent" and decision to invade USSR was taken with taking into account poor results of that war. 
 
 
   Expectations, future
   After declaration of recognition of republics i thought we will start to help rebels in taking back 2 oblast', and this will be the end of hot-ish phase of conflict in Donbass region after quick strike against main forces of UAF in this region (which are most of their forces) and enforcing some sort of political comma in a conflict and moving to next phase.
 
   Reality went in different direction.
   I suspect this war will continue for a week (optimistically), 2-3 weeks if Russian command will not unfuck their plans, or turn into strange military stalment for a month or 2 when most of Ukraine is going to be technically captured, but vast territories and many towns/villages will not have any occupation forces to keep an order, so motivated people will have space to continue strategically unorginised conflict until we will pump necessary amount of internal troops to put it down enough for law enforcements to handle situation.  
 
   After that expect new government, neutral status and Russian troops leaving, with scars of stupidity of leadership. And after some time - nationalists will rise, again, maybe even at bigger scale. Reason - they were screaming about Russian invasion for 8 years and now it is a reality. Their voice was heard by people in Ukraine before, but and now it have big and firm foundation to stand on thanks to this war happening.
 

10 years to get this baby ready! 
 

HOT TAKE
 

You know, you can summarize that whole list up instead with "people who have the same interests". 

Here's my tinfoil hat take on this bomber. He's a result of the FBI,  he'd been egg'd on and pushed by an agent into acting so that he could be intercepted. I think the FBI does this kind of thing regularly, trying to infiltrate groups or locate weirdos to push them forward and get them to do something they wouldn't otherwise do. 
 
Another thing to note is that almost all of the people targeted have security details that check incoming mail. Didn't some of them get into the offices buildings where the person was? This whole event looks rotten.

Here's my tinfoil hat take on this bomber. He's a result of the FBI,  he'd been egg'd on and pushed by an agent into acting so that he could be intercepted. I think the FBI does this kind of thing regularly, trying to infiltrate groups or locate weirdos to push them forward and get them to do something they wouldn't otherwise do. 
 
Another thing to note is that almost all of the people targeted have security details that check incoming mail. Didn't some of them get into the offices buildings where the person was? This whole event looks rotten.

I've changed my mind. This is a 4chan prank.

Once again, children are spewing their alternative history fanfiction because the truth doesn't validate their own obtuse notions of how the world operates. 

They are terrified because of their country's state-controlled media were reporting on that much violence at home, they really would have something to worry about.
 
It's the Florida Man effect. The US is one of the safest, most open places in the world, but it also has some of the best transparency policies, and in the big scheme of things it's one of the least corrupt places in the world. So the picture people see is not as polished as it would be elsewhere.

Democrat Party: Why did 6.7 to 9.2 million Americans who voted for Obama suddenly decide to vote for Trump?
 
Vox: THEY'RE RACISTS!!!!!!!
 
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/10/16/17980820/trump-obama-2016-race-racism-class-economy-2018-midterm

I love how Trump conned Sen Warren into paying for a test to prove definitively to the world that she lied about her Indian heritage.

What I love more is how Warren thought it was a 'gotcha' moment and decided to roast herself.

SO MUCH WINNING!!!!
 
https://www.npr.org/2018/10/15/657653080/federal-judge-rules-in-favor-of-trump-in-stormy-daniels-defamation-lawsuit
 
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit against President Trump by adult film actress Stormy Daniels, who claimed the president had defamed her earlier this year on Twitter.
The lawsuit was filed over a tweet Trump sent in April suggesting Daniels was lying about being threatened in 2011 not to go public with her story of an alleged sexual encounter with Trump.
"A sketch years later about a nonexistent man. A total con job, playing the Fake News Media for Fools (but they know it)!" the president tweeted.
 
https://www.kjrh.com/news/local-news/cherokee-nation-issues-statement-on-sen-elizabeth-warren-s-dna-test-results
 
Warrens DNA test shows maybe some south American in her so far back it doesn't matter, but she still claims she an Indian! 
 
"A DNA test is useless to determine tribal citizenship. Current DNA tests do not even distinguish whether a person's ancestors were indigenous to North or South America. Sovereign tribal nations set their own legal requirements for citizenship, and while DNA tests can be used to determine lineage, such as paternity to an individual, it is not evidence for tribal affiliation. Using a DNA test to lay claim to any connection to the Cherokee Nation or any tribal nation, even vaguely, is inappropriate and wrong. It makes a mockery out of DNA tests and its legitimate uses while also dishonoring legitimate tribal governments and their citizens, whose ancestors are well documented and whose heritage is prove. Senator Warren is undermining tribal interests with her continued claims of tribal heritage."
- Cherokee Nation Secretary of State Chuck Hoskin, Jr.
 
 
 
 

Time to unban plastic straws in California! Take that Drumpf!

The President signed legislation to provide funding for ocean trash cleanup. 
 
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2018/10/12/Trump-signs-Save-Our-Seas-Act-to-boost-clean-up-efforts-in-worlds-oceans/6911539318914/
 
 

It was better than ensuring that the Republicans go out to the polls. Also my fucking sides are in orbit:

Oh no, he lives rent free in the minds of millions.