It’s not that hard to do. It’s very difficult to get away with doing. There is no contradiction there. They are two very different things.
A moderately skilled diver and a small work boat could do the job. They couldn’t get away with it.
Ahh the race card. I believe Russian is a nationality, and the Russian population includes many races not just Slavs, many in common with Ukraine. Which race is being singled out for racism ?
It seems, however that the conscription in Russia may have an ethnic bias with reports of regions containing ethnic minorities, particularly Muslims, having larger quotas.
Putin likes a racist approach himself, claiming that it is the Anglo-Saxon world trying to crush Russia. I don’t know if the Germans, French, Dutch and Scandinavian countries will feel relieved knowing that their contributions are not being seen as an attempt to crush Russia as they generally do not belong to this racial description.
I don’t think NATO is an ethnic identity either.
More on the new “open border” problem:
Not entirely new problem. Crossing the “northern border” to escape conscription has happened before, (but not this far north and not in this direction) IIRC.
Don’t worry, it is not likely that the Alaskan Governour will fly Russian refugees/asylum seeker/migrants (make your pick of term) to Martha’s Vineyard anytime soon:
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My sincere apologies to users of tiny handies, who may collapse from exhaustion by scrolling or get irritated .
I am a visual speaker unfortunately. I am sorry. Feel free to ignore this post entirely then or switch to 70 inch screen. .
Mini audit of collective west sanctions against Pukein as reported by woke media " RUBEL DESTROYED"
Exhibit 1.
Modus operandi - replication/cloning of the lie and ramping up the hype. Tested successfully with Covid
Exhibit 2.
(145) How media is controlled - YouTube
Results as expected, when using GARBAGE IN = GARBAGE OUT tactics ( source IT )
Exhibit 3.
a)
b)
c)
Above a), b) , c) are a tiny extract of the tsunami of dire scenarios.
Meantime : facts on the ground
Exhibit 4
Meantime on the battle ground:
Collective west media are ecstatic and bragging about recent Ukrainian gains ( what is a fact) :
“Snihurivka, a city of 12,000, is a strategic railway hub in the Mykolaiv region” and an important stronghold . Likewise LIMAN or Krasnyi Liman has risen from nonexistence to huge Russian fortress -also retaken.
Can anybody quote any source in which Ukrainian Generals were bemoaning the loss of this " strategically important" spots/regions or Russian Generals bragging abt grabbing them in previous/earlier stages of SMO. ?
Further milking of taxpayers money beyond staggering 60-70 bln usd and valid questions of concerned folks -what are the results of our sacrifices and suffering need indeed " spectacular victories"
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Received an e-mail from Barents Observer today:
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I am not criticizing the authors or anybody.
It is not my beeswax what they think or how they think and their deck of so called “values” .
Do not want enemies here.
But
I have found two gems worth looking at by our distinguished panel of moderators.
1.
- " illiterate drunken conscripts who are nothing more than subhuman orcs (Because it’s currently ok to be racist, but just against Russians),"
Above is juxtaposed against :
" Your post was flagged as inappropriate : the community feels it is offensive, abusive, or a violation of our community guidelines. "
Well I am not offended , having no warts and hating cabbage , preferring filet mignon instead but having seen the movie Heaven’s Gate starring Kris Kristofferson makes me wonder if this bias and contempt is systemic or endemic or…both
Cheers
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Russia did it…
lets have a poll
Why would the Russians blow up their own pipelines? They control the end where the gas goes in, so they don’t need to destroy their own pipelines to stop the flow of gas to Europe.
Come to think of it, they could also be letting more gas into the pipes to keep the gas bubbles going, if they so wish.
No, I think the Aussies did it. They have BIIIG plans for their LNG export and China may not want to deal, so they are looking for new markets.
OK they may not have sent some scuba diver to the Baltic to do the deed, but money can buy you friends (and mercenaries)
IF they did, the reason would be as a false flag operation to justify “retaliating” against the entity they allege did it. In this scenario, Putin feels the EU will sanction or otherwise limit the gas flow anyway so what’s to lose?
I don’t advocate this theory (or any other) as I have no idea, I’m just saying that would be a reason they would have done it.
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Most gas suppliers struggling to keep up with contracted supply, nobody got spare ( except Russia)
There is a tactic called “burn the boats”.
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Because it was never about stopping the flow of natural gas to Europe.
Considering how by the time Europe would be ready to buy anything from Russia again there may no longer be much need for fossil natural gas, the probability of either of the Nord Streams opening ever again was pretty low to begin with.
However, blowing up your own pipeline gives a powerful message about your capabilities and readiness to use them without risking direct conflict with the West in the same way attacking an active pipeline or undersea cable would do. It could also be a variation of the “madman theory” or just a bully breaking his toys when the other kids no longer want to play with him…
However, I doubt it was a false flag to justify further military action. In public, the Russians may be looking for a culprit, but behind the scenes everyone knows who did what and why.
Who profits from higher gas prices caused by fear of the breach?
Putin. The loss of revenue from the temporary breach will be more than made-up for by the higher fuel prices instigated by the act itself.
Who profits from the terror that another breach will happen in winter, causing Europeans to freeze in their homes?
Putin. He threatens cutting off the gas all the time, but can’t make good on the threat because his weapon (gas) is also his source of cash. So, he resorts to terrorism. Putin breaches the pipeline and says, “I didn’t do it.” Knowing full well the Swedes will repair it quickly, ensuring the gas flows, at the same time as energy commodity prices rise.
For Putin it is a two-for. He drives up fuel prices, and he terrorizes Europe.
Who had the motive?
Putin. He is losing the war. His only hope is that the citizens of Europe will lose support for it. The best way to do that is to drive fuel prices up in winter so they can’t afford to heat their homes, and then to terrorize them into thinking the gas supply can be shutdown at any time by terrorists.
Conversely, the last thing NATO and P46 want are high gas prices and a terrorized populace. They need high popular support for the war, and bombing pipelines works against that.
Who had the method and oppotunity?
The Russians have plenty of subs and mini-subs. They have their version of the Navy Seals. It isn’t the first time the Russians have penetrated Swedish waters and got away with it, even with the Swedish Navy looking for them. Look at the article below, from 2014.
The Swedes would have no special reason to believe the Russians would breach the pipeline, hence no reason to provide special protection for it, just as Americans had no reason to think planes would be flown into the World Trade Center. You can’t protect against every possible threat. Moreover, the Swedish military would have their attention diverted to Ukraine and the Black Sea, not their own backyard.
Who profited? Who had the motive, the method, and the opportunity?
Putin. He drives up fuel prices and terrorizes Europe, in a campaign to erode popular support for the Ukraine war. He has the subs and the divers. The Swedish military had no reason to think the pipeline was in danger, providing an opportunity to breach it.
Bonus: Putin gets the Useful Idiots in the USA and the NATO countries further on his side. His troll farms immediately spin conspiracy theories blaming P46 on the act. Or maybe it’s the other way around, and Putin’s trolls just amplify the bat-shit nuttiness of the Qanoners.
The fact that NATO/P46 breaking the pipeline makes no sense doesn’t matter. The QAnon crowd don’t thrive on reality. They pick up on the nonsense, amplify it on internet and cable news, brewing up vast quantities of outrage meth eagerly smoked by addicts always Jonesing for the next high, which profits both cable news and Putin.
I thought we weren’t allowed to say midget anymore?
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…just senseless… history will tell as what really was… maybe… It is certainly not our present problem.
It is well possible that somehow the presence of ‘scientific ships’ or ‘peaceful submarines’ were detected in the region.
However, who could announce what they really did there?
To me it seems to be normal, that some means follow the pipelines from time to time to detect oncoming problems.
When the ‘things’ exploded, all enemy ships were certainly far away…
Asking now for detailed information is just stupid. The only favored party would be the potential enemy, he would learn how precise the detection abilities are!
His “present” from the Norwegian Nobel Committee has been announced today:
Awww no, we’re busted mate, quick hide the Black and Decker !
Stash the Rota-Roota too, they may work out it was done from inside the pipes.
Call the Iranians and North Koreans and tell them the the barby is off.
Cut pipes with a record??:
Or did you mean Rota Rooter??:
PS> I hear both Iran and North Korea is plum out of Rota Rooter because of sanctions.
You spilled the beans
Use of a chemical weopon
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The Ukrainians continue the classic strategy of cutting off supply lines, forcing their opponents to consider fighting on without resupply, or retreating. Now they’ve blown up a major bridge between Russia and the Crimea.
Putin can still re-supply by air and water. Maybe he will fix the bridge. But now Putin has to devote precious troops and armor to protecting infrastructure far behind the lines, rather than putting them on the front lines.
When winter comes the lines will likely stabilize, and any troops cut off from supply lines will be in deep trouble.
From the article:
…The bridge is the only direct road and rail connection to Crimea from mainland Russia. The crippling of such a key artery will affect Russia’s ability to reinforce and resupply its troops as Ukraine presses a counteroffensive to reclaim occupied territory in the southern Kherson region…