Here is what I see happening in the coming days. I am mostly just going off of vibes and not serious analysis, although I follow the Ukraine news very closely. These are random predictions that came to me that I just wanted to post in case they came to pass. Feel free to ignore this, there is likely not important information here and there are better things to read. I'm basically running off the same inspiration that the Qanon guy did, but I'm not going to pretend I have some secret knowledge. ::: spoiler My prediction Sometime this summer, I have plans to go offline for a while. While I am away, Russia and NATO will go to war. This was my vision. Ukraine will collapse in a matter of weeks and will be unable to resist full occupation. Russian troops race westward. Meanwhile, Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary use this collapse as an excuse to protect Western Ukraine from Russian occupation. That is their justification, and the area around Lviv and Lutsk is occupied by these countries. They are motivated by historical interest and also wanting a buffer with Russia. The problem is, with an indefinite border between these two occupied zones, there is bound to be trouble. Initially, an unoccupied area existed between both lines. In the chaos, either an accident or some kind of false flag occurs which allows the NATO bloc to declare war on Russia. These events happen very quickly, but Russia decides to wage a scorched earth war with no respect to international agreements. To them, this war is existential for the survival of there country and NATO are seen as invaders, so expect all type of carnage. In my vision, Russia had the most success in the Baltic theater. I don't know why this is without looking at what kind of fleet they have there. But quickly they move through the open terrain of Poland and into eastern Germany. This coincided with a powerful advance in Scandinavia, Russia might have occupied most of Sweden. In the southern front, around Romania, Moldova, the Black Sea, most things seemed to be at a standstill. Russia does not make significant gains here for some reason. Another interesting development is that North Korea and South Korea are at war in this timeline. Perhaps South Korea and Japan join against Russia in the pacific, and North Korea uses this as an opportunity for reunification with help from Russia. They are largely successful and capture towns all the way at the southern tip of the peninsula. China looks like it is still neutral for now, although not much time has passed. The speed of all these events will come as a shock because it goes beyond what anyone was expecting. ::: ::: spoiler What does my critical mind think of this? A week ago, I would have thought this was ridiculous, but since the Zolotoe encirclement and the Kaliningrad blockade, now I am not so sure. My thought was that the defense of Lisichansk would last into September, meaning the Ukraine war could go on into the winter. What has just happened in the Zolotoe area makes me reevaluate. Russia has clearly picked up the pace without risking casualties. Lisichansk may already be effectively encircled where there are UA 8,000 soldiers and an embarassing amount of western equipment. This may be the beginning of a phase 3 of the war. And yet it seems like Ukraine cannot negotiate or surrender everything. The government makes it clear they will fight to the end, but troops are of low morale. In addition, Zelensky is fighting with the head of the SBU. There is some kind of internal power struggle to the government and the state could see a transition of power or a collapse, which complicates the defense. So #1 I am now of the mind that this vision is not so extreme with regards to Ukraine. It could all be over by the end of the summer at the earliest. I don't know if that is most likely, but it is a possibility that this week has revealed itself. I think the ruling class of the NATO countries don't really appreciate this. They are high on their own supply of propaganda. So these leaders will be very shocked if a quick collapse of Ukraine's defense occurs, especially because many of these people think Ukraine is still going to win. By this time, winter will be around the corner, and Russia will have projected control of Ukraine's agriculture and natural gas resources and infrastructure, exacerbating these shortages on the globe. Many EU countries are already cut off from Russian gas. Every crisis that has been foreshadowed will then come to a head; the recession, shortages, inflation. Leaders will find a real dilemma where they face removal in some form. This has already happened in some countries. So #2 I don't think an erratic response from NATO would be too crazy either. Post war Russia will truly be a beast. Russia will have Europe by the balls with a battle hardened army to flex. The world now knows Russia does not make empty threats. Europe is in dire need of resources from Russia with only two options: get Russia to submit or strike a deal on mutually beneficial terms. By failing the first option, they have closed off the second option. So they can only double down on trying to get Russia under the boot. I think some already recognize that Ukraine is no longer a security threat to Russia, and does not work as a form of coercion. This is why the Kaliningrad blockade is happening. There must always be a front to prevent Russia's rise whether economic or military with a proxy war through Ukraine. In the event that these problems for Russia are solved, what will Europe do? Do they have any other option besides a hot war with Russia? My mind is now changed. I considered a broader war against Russia of low probability, but that low probability still being far too high. Like a car crash, it seems like it should happen constantly, but there are traffic rules and every driver has an interest to avoid accident even when one has to swerve erratically. Similarly, there are international laws, and every country wants to avoid world war despite conflicting concerns. But because of Russia's success of backing Europe and the imperial core into a corner, I now believe the possibility of all out war to be more likely than not. NATO also underestimates Russia militarily which increases this probability. So #3, what would happen next? I suspect in the event that this war begins, the structural integrity of NATO as a military block will be revealed, and I believe it will not completely hold fast. Would a country like Hungary or Turkey really risk the destruction of their country to fight an expensive war against Russia over some bullshit? I think not. I think NATO nations that are uncompromised will do what ever is in their national interest, and a handful of countries will break away in this event, choosing to stay neutral. War games in the past have revealed NATO would lose decisively to Russia in Europe. But now we have seen Russia's military in action. It is hard to know how that data qualifies that assessment because there are so many contradictory opinions about what Ukraine says about Russia's military. The chaotic nature of the necessary pre-predictions make the act of predicting the outcome of such a war pointless in my opinion. The conditions of that hypothetical war are downstream from too many undecided and unknowable events. I am agnostic about this, so for now, I will say the early outcome of my vision is possible, although Russia quickly succeeding against Finland seems implausible at the moment. What is missing from my vision is a new Cuba crisis, which I think would have to occur. :::

cross-posted from: https://feddit.de/post/255960 > First they force everyone on a microshit account, then ban you from your own server for drinking a beer... > > GODDAMNIT EVERYTHING MICROSOFT TOUCHES TURNS TO SHIT.

Lemmy version of r/deepintoyoutube on Reddit [!deepintopeertube@lemmy.ml](https://lemmy.ml/c/deepintopeertube)

I just heard KIDS are learning about PRONOUNS in school!!

How am I supposed to boost my k/d ratio if I don't know how to drive offensively?

I know there's the definitive editions, but I don't think it makes sense to pay $20 for a 25 year old game just for the better graphics when I prefer the simplicity of the old graphics. Any download I've found just doesn't work on newer graphics drivers. It's sad to think this game may just be dead and unplayable forever now, lost to time. Open source clones are appreciated too. I've heard of openage, but I don't think that one's finished yet, right?

How long did that take you? Why? Who hurt you? Was it me?

If it ever got to the point where someone exchanged real money for one, no matter how little, you could finally measure the exchange rate to real currency. There could be a major spike in the price in the future. I say INVEST. BUY BUY BUY

My analysis on the situation. I've spoken to liberal democrat friends and family who are generally very unskeptical of NATO and US imperialism. Having these conversations helps me get an idea of how some people are feeling about current events. I think a lot of people are disillusioned about how this will end in Ukraine. I hear from them that China is turning on Russia, and Russia is left alone in the world. This is total nonsense and wishful thinking. Even the democrat administration seems to be fooled. Biden reportedly sent their intel of Russian troop movements to China, hoping China would use this against Russia. Instead, China shared what the US knew to Russia. India is working on a system that would allow trade between India and Russia with rupees, as a work around to the West's sanctions. Saudi Arabia, which is supposed to be an American ally, is colluding with Russia to drive up oil prices. Turkey is refusing to close the bosphorous straits to Russian ships, despite being in NATO. All around the world, countries that have been victims of US imperialism are refusing to turn on Russia. Nicaragua, Bolivia, Venezuela, DPRK, Syria, are a few. NATO is powerless to intervene on behalf of Ukraine. Fuel prices in the West are extremely high right now. Russia cutting off gas to Europe would make the problem significantly worse. People will freeze to death. Military action against Russia will increase fuel demand significantly. Biden has already used much of America's fuel reserves to offset inflation. As Paul Cockschott observes, increased cost of fuel in the long term leads to more demand in biofuel, which leads to land that would be used for crops being converted. Increased food and fuel prices lead to extreme political instability. A direct war with Russia will lead the West into a new Arab spring. It is obvious to me that Russia will be able to decide the fate of Ukraine in the end. The best NATO can do to change these terms would be to offer incentives to Russia. Knowing the inevitability, Zelensky is using the Ukrainian people as cannon fodder to make things as hard for Russia as possible. He has placed military equipment in civilian areas and has armed civilians, placing them in danger while he flees. Zelensky is a war criminal and a dictator. In October, his approval was only 25%. He has jailed former president Poroshenko and banned opposition media. Ukraine is not a democracy. No people would democratically decide to throw away their lives in a vain struggle. Zelensky can't win on the ground. He is not a leader. He is the performer acting the leader. As a former comedian, his skill is understanding the audience. Ukraine has been posting anti-Russian memes on twitter to a English-speaking audience. He has tried to clean up the neo-nazi image of Ukraine. The result of his excellence in commanding optics has won big tech media to his side. Big tech, which already has its tentacles entrenched in countries around the world, is a fantastic tool of US imperialism. Zelensky does not think he can win this war. The longer the war goes, the less leverage Zelensky has to negotiate with. But Zelensky knows he has a shot to win the information war. In response to recent events, Hillary Clinton, the mother of US imperialism, has called on big tech to use its power against Russia. She has even called on individuals to take up arms in the information war. This is how propaganda replicates itself virally. Already, there are hundreds of examples of false information spreading on the web. For example, many have seen pictures of a woman bleeding from her head after a residential building exploded. These are from a gas explosion in 2018. The agenda will be to spread as many false claims of war crimes and horrendous acts as possible. They will also use this opportunity to ban anti-imperialist media once and for all. News sources which have long been a thorn in the side of the ruling class will be banned from platforms. Sedition laws may even come into play to legally ban dissent. Not only will the imperial propaganda be overwhelming, it will be impossible to find opposing information. They will be able to invent reality as they want it. Basically 1984, except it's the capitalists who are doing it. So the question is, how well will this work? Can they successfully turn the people of anti-imperialist nations against their leaders? Most of these nations have adapted to these pressures I think. Domestically, they can counter the myths and block foreign regime change propaganda. The people I have spoken to seem hopeful though that the world and Russian people will turn on Putin. I think this is wishful thinking. So this is it. The groundhog day for the American empire. Will the groundhog see its shadow? If Russia was successfully destabilized, the empire could last another six decades. Putin could be deposed, the Russian market opened up, Russian oil privatized, and the fuel crisis is averted for the West and stability restored. I think this is unlikely. And what if the groundhog does not see its shadow? Then winter is over. This is the official end of American unipolarity after the decline of the USSR. NATO will have failed to extinguish the flame of communism, and socialist states will be able to freely usher in a new era of prosperity and international cooperation without fear of imperialism. This is a week where decades happen. The dishonesty in the media needs to be countered. Communist parties need to stand with Russia and not NATO. This should go without saying, except many of these parties have been infiltrated. Keep an eye out for people who are challenging the narrative on Ukraine. This is how you tell the honest actors from the fake left. Also, talk to people in your life. Don't be afraid to challenge what they are saying. They are not bad people if they change their profile pic to Ukraine flag or whatever. It is understandable to have these concerns if you are not well informed about Ukraine and the world. You can agree to disagree sometimes. I think it helps that people know they have friends who think a certain way. If you set a good example in your life and others think you are a good person, they will hesitate before bad mouthing "those awful anti-NATO conspiracists" or whatever it is. My heart goes out to everyone who unfortunately find themselves on the front lines of American imperialism too. This will all be over soon

The video was originally posted by mayor of Gorlovka, Ivan Prikhodko on Feb 21 as DPR was evacuating children to Russia while Ukraine attacked. It was reposted and falsely captioned as "Ukrainian father saying goodbye to his daughter before he go to defend his country against the Russian invasion", with 15k likes and 3k retweets as of posting.

I found the source of the brigaders. Links to thread if interested. ::: spoiler spoiler https://boards.4chan.org/pol/thread/357761310 https://boards.4chan.org/pol/thread/357755957 Archive https://archive.4plebs.org/pol/thread/357755957/ https://archive.4plebs.org/pol/thread/357761310/ :::

This might just be a me problem, but I don't like that they use the word toot in Mastodon. When they chose that word, they probably were going for the sound an elephant makes with its trunk, because a mastodon is similar to an elephant. But I have always been aware that toot is another word for flatulence. So personally it makes me cringe. You can imagine what it's like for me if you replace "toot" with "fart" on mastodon. Now everyone is talking about liking the best farts, sharing someone's fart, etc. I'm not suggesting they change it on my account, I just wanted to share and see if anyone else had the same problem. Edit: Apparently they already did change the name https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26882318 Edit 2: Oh wow, apparently it was hbomberguys idea 6 years ago. https://mastodon.social/@Hbomberguy/146524

Statue of Unity in India