View Full Version : Less than 1,000 miles from Kiev.....
gimmethesimplelife
4-3-22, 8:28pm
My Austrian relatives are worried. The older ones are absolutely stunned that the Post WW2 order seems over - and are not sure of what will replace it. Something else interesting - If Russia does not pay back various Western Banks - Austrian banks are owed more than American. That stunned me. The EU is pulling together so far in it's stance towards the unprovoked War. Only Hungary seems weak there. Astrid told me she would send regular emails so we know all in Vienna are OK.
Posting this is bizarre for me - I never believed there would be another War in Europe in my lifetime. I grew up on WW2 aftermath stories and would like to believe human beings understand that no one truly wins a war. Rob
ToomuchStuff
4-3-22, 8:48pm
I grew up on WW2 aftermath stories and would like to believe human beings understand that no one truly wins a war. Rob
LOL good one.
Teacher Terry
4-3-22, 11:28pm
The targeting of civilians today was heartbreaking. Especially sad were the dead children.
"In 2006, the United States Board on Geographic Names, a federal body that standardizes geographic names, adopted “Kyiv” as the preferred spelling. In 2019, the board retired “Kiev” as an alternative."
I just assumed the first was transliterated from Ukrainian and the second was transliterated from Russian.
Posting this is bizarre for me - I never believed there would be another War in Europe in my lifetime. I grew up on WW2 aftermath stories and would like to believe human beings understand that no one truly wins a war. Rob
Post WW2 -
There was a war when Yugoslavia broke apart.
There was a war in Crimea and the Donbass region.
If you consider the Caucasus part of Europe not Asia there have been many more wars in Georgia, Chechnya, etc.
Ditto if you consider Cyprus part of Europe.
You might not have believed it, but it happened.
gimmethesimplelife
4-23-22, 4:18pm
Just received another email from Astrid. More Ukranians are arriving. Costs are going up every week - gas, food, and energy are the biggies.
Here's a stunner coming from an upper middle class Austrian. She sends that she thinks I'm wise stocking up on clothes (but not bedding I noticed) at the sold by weight Nogales Goodwill. Apparently clothing is getting more expensive now.
There is fear in the air - but not extreme - of Russia moving on to destroy Moldova and move West from there. Astrid is thinking of starting a YouTube Channel regarding changes in Austria/Vienna since February 24th. She says nobody really knows what to expect and thanks us for being happy to put them up - though she believes a nuclear war would take place before things went that far - but she also realizes due to paperwork signed in 1955, Austria is not in NATO. I like how she closed. Of course we are full Austrian and you have the blood.
Translation:. We'll figure it out. Rob
gimmethesimplelife
4-23-22, 4:25pm
Post WW2 -
There was a war when Yugoslavia broke apart.
There was a war in Crimea and the Donbass region.
If you consider the Caucasus part of Europe not Asia there have been many more wars in Georgia, Chechnya, etc.
Ditto if you consider Cyprus part of Europe.
You might not have believed it, but it happened.One of the strangest travel experiences I've ever had was in Salzburg in May 1987. I went to the Yugoslavian Consulate in Salzburg for a visa for Riyeka (so) and I was called to the counter before masses of waiting Yugoslavs - and no resentment on their part either. If only they knew more Americans than they ever thought knew struggle and fear. I was treated as if I lived in what they thought America was. It was so bizarre. I ended out getting a visa for Hungary instead. Rob
gimmethesimplelife
4-23-22, 4:49pm
Post WW2 -
There was a war when Yugoslavia broke apart.
There was a war in Crimea and the Donbass region.
If you consider the Caucasus part of Europe not Asia there have been many more wars in Georgia, Chechnya, etc.
Ditto if you consider Cyprus part of Europe.
You might not have believed it, but it happened.About these wars -yoy are correct, they did happen. I'm talking of an invasion of this sweeping extent reigniting a new Cold War. Rob
iris lilies
4-23-22, 4:55pm
…shd says no one really know what to expect..l.…
Astrid can expect severe food shortages since the Ukraine feeds all of Europe. If Astrid doesn’t have a garden she had better get one, and plant it.
gimmethesimplelife
4-23-22, 5:00pm
Astrid can expect severe food shortages since the Ukraine feeds all of Europe. If Astrid doesn’t have a garden she had better get one, and plant it.Sometimes you do hit right on what's going on. Her and her husband are planting a food garden in a few weeks. And it's good advice, too! I can't grasp how expensive food is becoming, (here) - it's good advice for all who can do it. Rob
gimmethesimplelife
4-23-22, 5:07pm
I just wanted to add - I'm growing what I can. Citrus and figs and this Summer, sunflowers, Armenian cucumbers, and okra. Hopefully we will have a good monsoon - such is predicted by NOAA - and there'll be water for everyone planting. Rob
gimmethesimplelife
5-9-22, 7:01pm
Astrid sent another email. She drove to Salzburg this past week and was stunned at what petrol cost. A lunch with a mutual friend was 75% higher than last year. Stopping for a quick bite on the way back to Vienna at a non-touristy place - 50% more than her last memory.
Everything is getting more expensive and no one is talking about food insecurity - it would be socially incorrect to do so (this is an Austrian quirk I find highly annoying). Her and her husband are putting together a garden - but for food. More Ukrainians are arriving and housing costs are soaring and it's hard to get a medical appt unless crossing into Hungary and paying cash.
Rob
... and it's hard to get a medical appt unless crossing into Hungary and paying cash.
Some good friends of mine for 30+ years, who live only about 20 miles away, have been over in eastern Europe the past month or so doing aid work for the immigrants.
They submitted their Hungarian citizenship application just this last Friday, and intend to remain, along with their children. (To be fair, they both speak the language, and several others, fluently, and have family there.)
Came out of a ward meeting and people are afraid to speak up and challenge the status quo on camera, but were all saying afterwards our needs at home are so great, we shouldn't be spending billions of dollars on Ukraine.
The war could go on for years. It's an endless money pit.
Ukraine sure got a good return on their investment hiring Hunter I'm a crackhead with no experience in energy Biden for a mere $1 million per year.
....
Ah, and up pops our Russian troll.
Ah, and up pops our Russian troll.
Yeah, everyone in my city is a Russian troll. I live in Trollville, USA.
I thought the moderators told you before to stop calling me a troll?
Oh, but you're an elite, and drop names of other elites, and fly to the UK during a covid surge while scolding other people, flaunting your pandemic privilege. So the rules of moderation or rules in general don't apply to you, do they?
...
You might want to get your blood pressure checked.
You might want to get your blood pressure checked.
No kidding. The mRNA vaccines can mess with blood pressure. Last time I'll ever get a vaccine.
Last time I'll ever get a vaccine.
So you finally admit to having converted to being an anti-vaxxer?
Came out of a ward meeting and people are afraid to speak up and challenge the status quo on camera, but were all saying afterwards our needs at home are so great, we shouldn't be spending billions of dollars on Ukraine.
The war could go on for years. It's an endless money pit.
Ukraine sure got a good return on their investment hiring Hunter I'm a crackhead with no experience in energy Biden for a mere $1 million per year.
Sounds like we need a medieval border wall or two instead.
Ukraine sure got a good return on their investment hiring Hunter I'm a crackhead with no experience in energy Biden for a mere $1 million per year.
So what do you think about the $2 billion investment that Saudi Arabia made in trump’s son-in-law?
We've been wasting billions for years on "defense" budgets that were wasted on all kinds of pointless adventurism. IMO, joining with NATO and other countries to help defend Ukraine from a brutal invasion seems to me to be a clear investment in Europe's security.
So what do you think about the $2 billion investment that Saudi Arabia made in trump’s son-in-law?
Same thing, and it's why the war in Yemen drags on.
You really are fixated on Trump.
Same thing, and it's why the war in Yemen drags on.
You really are fixated on Trump.
To rational people it just seemed odd that you would mention hunter Biden, who has nothing to do with his father’s presidential administration and got a small amount of money but ignore trump’s idiot son in law who was very much a part of his administration’s foreign policy efforts and got a drastically larger amount of money from the saudis. Choosing to use the former when the latter is a much worse (better?) example makes you look incompetent at best. But I’m not surprised. You’ve gone full on Q for a while now. Logic and honesty aren’t Q follower strong suits.
To rational people it just seemed odd that you would mention hunter Biden, who has nothing to do with his father’s presidential administration and got a small amount of money but ignore trump’s idiot son in law who was very much a part of his administration’s foreign policy efforts and got a drastically larger amount of money from the saudis. Choosing to use the former when the latter is a much worse (better?) example makes you look incompetent at best. But I’m not surprised. You’ve gone full on Q for a while now. Logic and honesty aren’t Q follower strong suits.
Can I get $1 million a year for working in the energy sector? I actually worked for a utility company for 7 years so I have experience and Hunter had none. It's not "a small amount of money" to me. Your affluence is showing.
Oh yeah, I'm not related to someone who can pay back that $1 million with billions in aid. Won't happen for me.
I try’s not my affluence that’s showing, it’s my math skills.
I could easily see an endless loop of whataboutism concerning presidential progeny influence peddling. What I don’t get is the media’s impulse to provide top cover for some kids but not others. You would think it would be a legitimate story regardless of pedigree.
iris lilies
5-10-22, 10:28am
I could easily see an endless loop of whataboutism concerning presidential progeny influence peddling. What I don’t get is the media’s impulse to provide top cover for some kids but not others. You would think it would be a legitimate story regardless of pedigree.
I can see Hunter Biden‘s laptop not being much of a story, but it is a story. The real story is the concentrated effort by mainstream media to ignore it. When will they do a story on themselves? This is facetious because I know there’s plenty of discussion in plenty of places about the lack of coverage, but it is a problem.
I can see Hunter Biden‘s laptop not being much of a story, but it is a story. The real story is the concentrated effort by mainstream media to ignore it. When will they do a story on themselves? This is facetious because I know there’s plenty of discussion in plenty of places about the lack of coverage, but it is a problem.
Trying to quash or cover up a story is one thing. Ginning up an alternative story about Russian Intelligence planting it is another. Then pearl-clutching about disinformation becomes the final stomach-emptier.
gimmethesimplelife
5-10-22, 11:34am
Some good friends of mine for 30+ years, who live only about 20 miles away, have been over in eastern Europe the past month or so doing aid work for the immigrants.
They submitted their Hungarian citizenship application just this last Friday, and intend to remain, along with their children. (To be fair, they both speak the language, and several others, fluently, and have family there.)Though I don't care for Hungary's leader, this is a wise move as far as I see it. Best wishes to these new Hungarians/EU citizens.
Rob
gimmethesimplelife
5-21-22, 1:02pm
Another email from Astrid. She says there seems to be a sense that the war may not last much longer due to Putin's (alleged) health issues. Austrians are looking more towards the economic fallout of this insanity now. She says every time she goes to Billa (an Austrian supermarket chain) she notices price increases and out of solidarity, Austrians are cutting back on meat. She says the fear of the Russian military appearing at Austria's border is dwindling. Not much else to report - at the moment. Rob
I hope the fact that Russian morale is in the tank--they're forced to fight with woefully inadequate supplies (like 1943-era weapons) against an army of well-equipped and totally dedicated Ukrainians--and many are trying to figure out how to legally get back home--will help bring an end to this atrocity. Reports indicate that 30% of Russian troops are casualties now.
ToomuchStuff
5-21-22, 4:02pm
I hope the fact that Russian morale is in the tank
Interesting pun there Jane, since they seem to be blowing up and hauling off their tanks.
Interesting pun there Jane, since they seem to be blowing up and hauling off their tanks.
Haha! Inadvertent humor. There's some kind of design flaw that makes Russian tanks particularly likely to go up in flames, if they don't just bog down in the mud or suffer the all too common mechanical breakdown.
I don’t think outdated equipment is their major problem. Others, the Israelis for instance, have worked wonders with jury-rigged castoffs. The bulk of the Ukrainian arsenal is very similar.
Their primary failures have been in staff planning, logistics, doctrine and training. Their military culture makes no allowance for initiative at the junior officer/NCO level, which is essential for combined arms operations. The Ukrainians learned from their defeat in Crimea. The Russians learned nothing. I think that has made a bigger difference than some Javelin missiles and M777 howitzers.
The Russians could still win through attrition and sheer brutality, but it won’t be through military professionalism. It could well mean they end up as a minor partner to the Chinese.
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