Ukraine

[Gordon_4]

Okay I've been reading this back and forth about 'Ukrainian Nazis' and 'local Nazi battalions fighting for Ukraine' and it just leads me to a pair of inescapable conclusions. The first is that that of course there were Nazis in Ukraine; Eastern Europe is fucking neo-nazi central. Second is that when you're invaded you go to war with the army you have. And in Ukraine yeah that means a few swastika fans are gonna end up trading lead with the enemy: hell if you're lucky at some point both problems will solve themselves but otherwise, Nazis and white supremacists in Ukraine are Future Ukraine's problem. Because present Ukraine would like the Imperialist wang removed from the pudding that is its sovereignty; and once that's done, that can remove the peanuts.

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

skinhead

Don't make me waste time educating you.

 

[Gordon_4]

Don't make me waste time educating you.

You might have to.

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

You might have to.

Short version: not all Skinheads are racists.

 

[Gordon_4]

Short version: not all Skinheads are racists.

Fair enough.

 

[Hades]

Turns out its Zelensky and not Putin who's Time's person of the year.

 

[Dalisclock]

Interesting discussion of Winter Warfare in Ukraine.

TLDW Gen Winter doesn't pick sides and the unprepared will suffer more. We'll see some fighting once the ground firms up but in the meantime keeping people from starving or freezing will be super important.

 

[Bedinsis]

Turns out its Zelensky and not Putin who's Time's person of the year.

Well deserved.

 

[Silvanus]

The US and Russia have completed their prisoner exchange.

Russia returned Brittney Griner, a WNBA player who had been sentenced to 9 years in Russia for bringing cannabis oil cartridges into the country.

The US returned Viktor Bout, an arms trafficker who had been sentenced to 25 years (12 of which have already been served). Bout trafficked weaponry to a lot of different groups, including the Taliban, Charles Taylor, FARC, and American military contractors in Iraq.

 

[Dalisclock]

The US and Russia have completed their prisoner exchange.

Russia returned Brittney Griner, a WNBA player who had been sentenced to 9 years in Russia for bringing cannabis oil cartridges into the country.

The US returned Viktor Bout, an arms trafficker who had been sentenced to 25 years (12 of which have already been served). Bout trafficked weaponry to a lot of different groups, including the Taliban, Charles Taylor, FARC, and American military contractors in Iraq.

*Slow Clap*

Good job, State department and Biden.

 

[TheMysteriousGX]

I mean, we haven't kidnapped any Russian nationals on spurious claims for an equivalent trade, and it's likely Russia wouldn't give a shit if we did

 

[meiam]

This has been the worse trade deal ever.

But really, I don't even understand why they'd bother. There's plenty of US prisoner in Russia, some on much more spurious charges than something that's still illegal in federal USA (is gonna go to jail for weed possession when she land?). And, as far as I know, there wasn't much pressure on freeing Griner, whose a virtual unknown person outside of getting arrested in Russia.

I guess maybe they got all info out of Bout they needed and his connection are probably all gone since he was in jail and nobody would be stupid enough to work with him anymore, so they save some cash with not having to hold I'm in prison anymore? But maybe at least ask for a bunch of people in return or something.

 

[CM156]

I think Americans should all just agree to not go to Russia for the time being.

 

[Dalisclock]

This has been the worse trade deal ever.

But really, I don't even understand why they'd bother. There's plenty of US prisoner in Russia, some on much more spurious charges than something that's still illegal in federal USA (is gonna go to jail for weed possession when she land?). And, as far as I know, there wasn't much pressure on freeing Griner, whose a virtual unknown person outside of getting arrested in Russia.

I guess maybe they got all info out of Bout they needed and his connection are probably all gone since he was in jail and nobody would be stupid enough to work with him anymore, so they save some cash with not having to hold I'm in prison anymore? But maybe at least ask for a bunch of people in return or something.

CIA pulling a 5d chess move or State/Biden wanting to get a PR win and they figured.....maybe he can't do any more damage?

Who am I kidding? It's the latter. CIA isn't that competent .

 

[Chimpzy]

Don't make me waste time educating you.

I wonder if red/shite shoelaces is a thing with eastern skinheads.

 

[Gordon_4]

I wonder if red/shite shoelaces is a thing with eastern skinheads.

I’m gonna need some further education on the shoelaces thing.

 

[Silvanus]

I’m gonna need some further education on the shoelaces thing.

I'm not completely certain, but I think it's related to how white-and-red together evoke the English flag. The English flag doesn't have the same popular usage as the US or Union flag, except during football tournaments, and has become (to some extent) associated with English nationalism. Sometimes fairly, and sometimes unfairly.

 

[Chimpzy]

I’m gonna need some further education on the shoelaces thing.

Used to be that in punk subculture, you had this thing called lace code, i.e. you could identify what kind of skinhead you were dealing by the color of their shoelaces. Black was neutral. Yellow for anti-racist skins. Purple for gay pride. White or red for white supremacists. Blue meant they killed a cop.

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

Used to be that in punk subculture, you had this thing called lace code, i.e. you could identify what kind of skinhead you were dealing by the color of their shoelaces. Black was neutral. Yellow for anti-racist skins. Purple for gay pride. White and red for white supremacists. Blue meant they killed a cop.

In Oz, we kept it simple. Black was if you couldn't find coloured laces 180+cm long or you couldn't be arsed playing silly shoelace games. Red was for Old school/Traditionalists (Trads)... White was for white nationalist dickbags. Any other colour would get disapproving frowns.

 

[Mister Mumbler]

This has been the worse trade deal ever.

I keep seeing this sentiment, and I just don't understand how it's a bad deal for the US here. Even if there are probably others held up, she was still a bit famous enough for it to make the news at least (for whatever that's worth). Plus, now the US can go around and say that Russia held one of our national sport athletes on trumped up charges for the sole purpose of organizing a trade for a black market arms dealer.

Which, on the flip side, what is Russia really getting here? He's been in American custody for over a decade now, even if he had some sort of hidden bunker where he's been hiding all of Russia's T-90s (which is funny enough in and of itself), it's all either a big rusted heap on the ground, or his partners sold them all off when he got arrested. Besides, he wasn't sprung out of the kindness of poutine's heart, it's because he is the symbol of why airsoft players and milsim LARPers are better equipped than most of the Russian armed forces. Once they get everything they can about the others that helped him (you know, contacts from about 15 years ago), he's either getting sent straight to the frontlines to hunt for landmines with a hammer, or he's going for a tour to see all the new windows and staircases that have been built around the kremlin since he's been in prison.