#Distributed. Pluralist. Fork the System. COYS
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tkpearson retweeted
The plane was seconds from hitting the ground so I fought impossible g-forces, broke into the cabin, tackled an armed man, tied him up with headphones, and remembered what I'd learned from Air Craft Investigation to fly the plane. If you don't believe this, you're an antisemite.
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The Atlantic writes that Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are transforming their borders with Russia and Belarus into a fortified defensive line, digging anti-tank trenches, installing concrete “dragon’s teeth” and preparing areas for potential mass mining.
Lithuania is also restoring wetlands and planting forests along parts of the border to funnel any attacking forces towards predetermined routes.
The three Baltic states plan to deploy networks of infrared cameras and acoustic sensors based on a Ukrainian early-warning system, and have ordered HIMARS capable of firing missiles with ranges of around 300 km.
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tkpearson retweeted
Since missing the point and moving the goal posts appears to be a favourite pastime for folks, let me reiterate the main point I was making once again.
For about thirty years, Moscow kept reaching out and kept hitting a closed door.
In 1990, Gorbachev agreed to let a reunified Germany join NATO. US Secretary of State James Baker told him the alliance wouldn't move "one inch eastward." By 2004, NATO had added ten new members across Central and Eastern Europe, three of them former Soviet republics sitting right on Russia's border.
Yeltsin wrote to NATO in 1991 floating the idea of Russian membership. Russia joined Partnership for Peace and signed a founding agreement with NATO in 1997. Enlargement went ahead anyway. Russia's own membership was never seriously on the table.
In 1999, Russia wanted the Kosovo crisis handled through the UN. NATO bombed Yugoslavia without UN approval. Russia's prime minister got the news on his way to Washington and turned his plane around over the Atlantic.
Then came Putin, who was very much pro-West if we wish to point at missed opportunities. He reportedly asked NATO's secretary-general when Russia might join. He addressed the German parliament in German. After 9/11 he was the first world leader to call Bush, shared intelligence, and didn't stand in the way of US bases in Central Asia. What came back? The US walked out of the ABM Treaty, invaded Iraq over Russia's objections, and NATO took in the Baltics.
In 2007, Putin offered to share a Russian-run radar in Azerbaijan instead of the US building missile defence in Poland and the Czech Republic. No deal. US systems went up in Romania and Poland anyway.
The next year, America's own ambassador in Moscow warned Washington that Ukraine joining NATO was Russia's brightest red line. Weeks later, at the Bucharest summit, NATO announced that Ukraine and Georgia would become members someday.
Medvedev proposed a new European security treaty in 2008 and published a full draft. It was politely shelved.
Then came the "reset." Russia signed New START, opened a supply route into Afghanistan, backed UN sanctions on Iran, cancelled a missile sale to Tehran, and abstained on the Libya resolution instead of vetoing it. The no-fly zone turned into regime change, and Congress followed up with sanctions on Russian officials.
In 2013, Russia brokered the deal to remove Syria's chemical weapons, sparing Washington a war it didn't want.
A few months later, a European-mediated agreement in Kyiv fell apart within a day, and the West recognized the new government almost immediately.
Merkel later said the Minsk agreements bought Ukraine time to get stronger. Moscow took that as proof the deal was never meant in good faith.
And in December 2021, when Russia put written security proposals on the table, the central demand was rejected outright.
Tell a country long enough that it will never be a partner, and eventually it stops trying to be one.
This is such a cynical and frankly ignorant take. Russia did open up to the West in the 1990s. It took Western advice only to see the GDP fall by roughly 40%, life expectancy plummet and the parasitic oligarchs plunder the state resources. This was the peak of oligarch power not the cure for it.
Putin was keen on building bridges with the West, equitably. He was the first world leader to call Bush after 9/11, he backed the Afghan campaign and he spoke of partnership to the Bundestag amongst other things. The response was exit from the ABM Treaty by the US, NATO expansion to the Baltics in 2004 and a 2008 pledge that Ukraine and Georgia would join.
Meanwhile the economy grew ~7% a year in 2000–08, poverty fell from 29% to about 11% by 2012, foreign debt was paid off early, and life expectancy hit a record by 2019.
The West is only comfortable with Russia when she is broken and compliant. It has never accepted a Russia that set her own course. The only way she was welcome at the table was if she sat by the service exit and was grateful for the scraps while others gorged themselves at her expense.
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The stupidity... try paying your debts in imaginary PPPs.
Tucker is correct, btw. When adjusted for PPP*, Russia's economy is significantly larger than Britain's.
*PPP is a better measure than nominal GDP for Russia, as Russia's economy is export-based and, as a result, having a weak currency is in its interest, so the Russian government periodically weakens the ruble. This makes nominal GDP a worthless measure of the Russian economy
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This is such a cynical and frankly ignorant take. Russia did open up to the West in the 1990s. It took Western advice only to see the GDP fall by roughly 40%, life expectancy plummet and the parasitic oligarchs plunder the state resources. This was the peak of oligarch power not the cure for it.
Putin was keen on building bridges with the West, equitably. He was the first world leader to call Bush after 9/11, he backed the Afghan campaign and he spoke of partnership to the Bundestag amongst other things. The response was exit from the ABM Treaty by the US, NATO expansion to the Baltics in 2004 and a 2008 pledge that Ukraine and Georgia would join.
Meanwhile the economy grew ~7% a year in 2000–08, poverty fell from 29% to about 11% by 2012, foreign debt was paid off early, and life expectancy hit a record by 2019.
The West is only comfortable with Russia when she is broken and compliant. It has never accepted a Russia that set her own course. The only way she was welcome at the table was if she sat by the service exit and was grateful for the scraps while others gorged themselves at her expense.
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tkpearson retweeted
This is such a cynical and frankly ignorant take. Russia did open up to the West in the 1990s. It took Western advice only to see the GDP fall by roughly 40%, life expectancy plummet and the parasitic oligarchs plunder the state resources. This was the peak of oligarch power not the cure for it.
Putin was keen on building bridges with the West, equitably. He was the first world leader to call Bush after 9/11, he backed the Afghan campaign and he spoke of partnership to the Bundestag amongst other things. The response was exit from the ABM Treaty by the US, NATO expansion to the Baltics in 2004 and a 2008 pledge that Ukraine and Georgia would join.
Meanwhile the economy grew ~7% a year in 2000–08, poverty fell from 29% to about 11% by 2012, foreign debt was paid off early, and life expectancy hit a record by 2019.
The West is only comfortable with Russia when she is broken and compliant. It has never accepted a Russia that set her own course. The only way she was welcome at the table was if she sat by the service exit and was grateful for the scraps while others gorged themselves at her expense.
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Reminder for the retards: no one forced russia or the soviets to invade another country. Not in 1939 when the soviets invaded Poland and Finland. Not in 1940 when the soviets occupied and annexed Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Not in 1956 when soviet tanks crushed Hungary. Not in 1968 when soviet-led Warsaw Pact forces invaded Czechoslovakia. Not in 1979 when the soviets invaded Afghanistan. Not in 1992 when russian forces directly intervened in Moldova’s Transnistria conflict. Not in 2008 when russian forces went deep into Georgia and occupied Georgian territory. Not in 2014 when russia seized and annexed Crimea and intervened militarily in eastern Ukraine. And not in 2022 when russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
And spare me the bullshit about russian “security guarantees” and promises.
In 1975, the soviets signed the Helsinki Final Act, committing themselves to the non-use of force, the inviolability of borders, territorial integrity and non-intervention.
In 1991, russia joined the Alma-Ata Declaration recognising the territorial integrity of the former soviet republics and the inviolability of their existing borders.
In 1994, russia signed the Budapest Memorandum, explicitly promising to respect Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and existing borders and to refrain from the threat or use of force against it. Then it seized Crimea in 2014.
In 1997, russia signed the Treaty of Friendship with Ukraine, recognising the inviolability of their existing borders, renouncing territorial claims and committing itself to non-use of force.
In 1999, russia committed at the OSCE Istanbul summit to withdraw its remaining forces from Moldova by the end of 2002. It did not.
In 2003, russia signed a treaty formally establishing and recognising the russia-Ukraine state border.
In 2008, russia accepted the six-point Georgia ceasefire requiring russian forces to withdraw to the positions they held before hostilities. The Council of Europe subsequently documented delays and failures in implementing those obligations.
If you believe anything russia says, you are either paid by russia, retarded, or both.
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Napoleon tried and almost made it to Moscow, the Germans who made it to the outskirts of Moscow, was it the English in the Crim.
When the wall fell the deal was nato wouldnt move east. After reunification, the Germans moved east. Then Poland, and lots of other former Eastbloc.
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🇳🇴Norway’s oil & gas revenues in 2022-2026 are €404bn.
Before Russian invasion of 🇺🇦Ukraine, €115bn was expected.
Due to energy turbulence, Norway earned additional €289bn.
Since 2022, 🇳🇴provided 🇺🇦€11.2bn in aid.
It is 3.9% of 🇳🇴's windfall profits from oil & gas.
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About 25-30% of the UK's economy comes from Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate. The Russian economy is based in oil, heavy industry (including weapons), food and chemicals.
In other words, heavily manipulated and often fraudulent numbers on a spread sheet that only benefit a minority of people in the UK versus tangible things that make the world go around. GDP is a terrible measure for economic success in the financialized parasitical post fordist capitalist sphere.
No. Rees-Mogg is the one that got schooled.
Pretending Britain would be able to solo Russia or China on the field of battle because of "muh GDP" is ludicrous.
The British GDP is fake and over financialised. Outside of London, much of the UK is on par with Belarus.
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No. Finland had no particular alliance in 1939. Russian attacked it for imperialist reasons. Obviously in 1941 Finland wanted revenge.
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tkpearson retweeted
Praying for the people of France. I'm hearing that 100,000 peaceful protesters have now been killed by the French police. Surely it's time for us to liberate them by blowing up their bridges and power plants and maybe a girls' school?
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🇺🇦🇷🇺 Many people became anti war, because the war is lost, not because of humanitarian reasons … if Ukraine would be winning they would cheer from the first row.
But now, Russia takes the famous “gloves” off and stars smashing Ukraine to pieces after 4 years of restraint.
Sadly most people did not believe these “gloves” even exist until now, and were just mocking and cheering like it’s football match.
Now that Ukraine is being broken apart they scream for peace …
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tkpearson retweeted
The former British home secretary and buddhist daughter of a Kenyan descendant of Goan Catholics, and a Mauritian Hindu descendent of Tamil, born in Harrow, studied in New York, married to a Jewish South African who lived In Israel says multiculturalism has failed.
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tkpearson retweeted
Endelig har en norsk avis snakka med ukrainske menn om tvangsmobiliseringen og korrupsjonen som preger dagens krigssituasjon.
Reportasjen må leses av alle nordmenn som vil fortsette å sende ukrainske menn til kjøttkverna i en krig som ikke kan vinnes. klassekampen.no/artikkel/202…
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Remember that secret Molotov-Ribbentrop agreement everyone goes bananas over? Well, here’s another secret agreement. In December 1917, Britain and France divided parts of Russia into their spheres of influence.
Britain got the Cossack territories and the Caucasus, including Armenia, Georgia and Kurdistan. France got Bessarabia, Ukraine and Crimea.
And look where their forces subsequently operated during the Russian Civil War: the French intervened in southern Russia, including Odessa and Crimea, while the British became heavily involved in the Caucasus and supported anti-Bolshevik forces elsewhere. The agreement was originally made in the context of the war against the Central Powers, but after Germany surrendered, Allied intervention continued and became increasingly tied to the Russian Civil War itself.
And was Lenin bravely defending Russia from these foreign powers? Nope. At Brest-Litovsk, his government surrendered Russian control over vast territories and accepted German domination across much of the former empire. Some anti-imperialist hero.
But you thought the Civil War was a war of good versus evil, where the role of evil varies depending on your preferred ideology.
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Trying to frame Russia as the hero against Germany when in fact they allied with Germany is just not going to work.
The fact that Germany then stabbed them in the back does not excuse their decision making.
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Another interesting fact: Russia’s economy (US$2.2trn) is only slightly larger than Australia’s (US$1.9trn) in nominal terms, despite having a population which is over five times the size.
This is absolutely priceless.
Tucker just states as fact that Russia has a much larger economy than the UK, is completely wrong and gets schooled.
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Brent, before celebrating somebody being schooled, it's generally advisable to establish what subject is being taught.
Yes, Britain has a larger economy when GDP is converted into US dollars at current exchange rates, but Russia has a substantially larger economy when measured at purchasing power parity (the IMF’s 2026 projections put Russia at approximately $7.53 trillion against Britain’s $4.72 trillion) and, globally, Russia ranks fourth on that measure (above Japan and Germany), and Britain only tenth (above Turkey and Italy).
Russia uses rubles (which are deliberately devalued) and Britain sterling (long overvalued), and PPP adjusts for differences in domestic prices, allowing a comparison of the volume of goods and services produced, i.e. Mr Putin isn't buying his rockets in dollars or sterling, he's buying them in rubles.
The schoolmaster might therefore postpone the applause until he has finished reading the table.
This is absolutely priceless.
Tucker just states as fact that Russia has a much larger economy than the UK, is completely wrong and gets schooled.
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