Just another afternoon in beautiful Moscow...

[Pluvious]

The Ukraine has begun a 40 day campaign of influence effort to push Putin to end his war...

Life is becoming a bit difficult in Russia lately

Heh

Just another afternoon in Moscow...

Link to tweet

Citizens are becoming a bit frustrated...

Link to tweet

[GoCubsGo]

1. "I just can't live like this."

Get your country the fuck out of Ukraine, and you won't have to live like that. Boo. Fucking. Hoo.

[Polybius]

50. I hear your frustration, but what can she do?

She can't protest, they may imprison or kill her. Maybe she can move, but it's not always that easy for everyone.

[UpInArms]

2. The second video

was a bit strange

Can’t replace the battery in her key fob
Can open the hood of her car

Puts on makeup and does her nails to wait in the queue for gas?

[TeaLeaves]

3. Maybe she has an actual life outside of waiting in line for gas.

Puts on makeup and does her nails to wait in the queue for gas?

[niyad]

53. I am certain that she has a life. But part of the observation is what appears

to be an expensive nail job, and extreme collagen filler on her lips, so possibly not hurting for money (until all the bank accounts are frozen and stolen, at any rate). Not a great deal of sympathy here, because we know what Ukraine has been suffering for the last four and a half years. As Dr. Anna Danylchuk says, many ruzzians cheered the Special Military Operation against Ukraine, and are now not happy that they are experiencing consequences. Be careful what you wish for, as some say.

[Pluvious]

4. My speculation...

I know the the wealthy class have continued to visit The Crimea for their vacations,
as the State has not warned the public about the conditions there lately

And throughout Russia and the Occupied Territories fuel is scarce

The state chat app the public has been forced to use is now blocking any chatter about tracking where gas is available

Things are getting worse there

[marble falls]

12. I know dudes who are as clueless about their cars, too.

[paleotn]

33. Do you have a spare bat for your key fob on you?

Right now? Didn’t think so.

[UpInArms]

37. actually,

yes

[paleotn]

38. Well planned and well played.

My better half told me her fob has a key in case of battery failure. I'm old school and won't give up my actual key.

Still, most folks don't plan for this. In our modern society, even the least bit of inconvenience paralyzes them.

[UpInArms]

40. my key fob

has the actual key and the buttons for locking and unlocking (or I can just use the key) and I do have a spare battery

[AloeVera]

5. Does she not know how Ukrainians have lived for years?

This feels almost like parody of the entitled, sheltered and priviledged.

[marble falls]

16. Whatever it represents, I also know the average Russian is not getting the truth about what is happening in Ukraine.

[AloeVera]

34. Very true. The censorship is extreme. N/T

[DFW]

26. Actually, probably not, for real.

A German friend of ours is a former news correspondent who was stationed in Moscow for years. He had met a Russian girlfriend (30 years ago!) who never moved here to live with him because she only speaks Russian. For four years, due to embargoes, they have only talked on the phone. He is careful not to tell her anything she might not have heard from Putin’s media, since the FSB monitors phone traffic to the west. But she is free to tell him what she “knows,” which is what Putin’s propaganda factory is churning out. She is now in her 70s, holding down two (or more) jobs to survive. She talks to a news correspondent, and still has no earthly clue what is going on. She still thinks the Ukraine attacked Russia, and the whole line of BS that Putin is feeding to his people. Imagine the USA if the ONLY source of news was Fox Noise. She is not entitled, privileged or sheltered. She just has no way, as an average working class Russian, to be better informed.

[yardwork]

28. This is what the billionaires want all over the world.

A disinformed public who have no idea what's really going on, but toil ceaselessly for the good of the ruling class.

[DFW]

44. Leave out the "billionaires" jargon, and you have the last 500 years of Russian history

From the early Tsars and their serfs to the socialists and their “heroes of Soviet labor,” the common citizen has never been more than a commodity to the rulers.

[yardwork]

45. Tim Snyder's books should be required reading in the U.S.

It's probably too late now.

[DFW]

47. I'd be thrilled if they substituted his "On Tyranny--20 lessons from the 20th century" for the PoA being read in schools

Imagine our children learning this every morning instead of "I Spread The Peaches."

1.) Do not obey in advance. (Anticipatory obedience gives authoritarianism most of its power before a regime even demands it.)
2.) Defend institutions. (Courts, ethical boards, and democratic structures cannot protect themselves; citizens must take their side.)
3.) Beware the one-party state. (Support and defend a multiple-party system and active, fair elections.)
4.) Take responsibility for the face of the world. (Symbols of hate enable the reality of tomorrow. Remove them and set a positive example.)
5.) Remember professional ethics. (When leaders set a bad example, professional commitments to truth and justice become critical.)
6.) Be wary of paramilitaries. (When armed groups acting outside the law begin wearing uniforms and marching, the end of normal politics is near.)
7.) Be reflective if you must be armed. (If you carry a weapon for public service, recognize the gravity of your responsibility.)
8.) Stand out. (It can feel strange to do or say something different, but without that unease, there is no freedom.)
9.) Be kind to our language. (Avoid adopting clichés and mass-appeal phrases. Think for yourself and speak with individual clarity.)
10.) Believe in truth. (To abandon facts is to abandon freedom. If nothing is true, criticism of power is impossible.)
11.) Investigate. (Spend time reading long-form journalism and figure things out for yourself rather than just consuming information online.)
12.) Make eye contact and small talk. (This is not just polite; it breaks down social barriers and builds trust within your community.)
13.) Practice corporeal politics. (Get out from behind the screen. Put your body in unfamiliar places with unfamiliar people and march.)
14.) Establish a private life. (Maintain parts of your life that the government cannot easily monitor or track.)
15.) Contribute to good causes. (Be actively involved in political or non-political organizations that align with your values.)
16.) Learn from peers in other countries. (Keep friendships abroad and realize that democratic struggles are a global trend, not an isolated local problem.)
17.) Listen for dangerous words. (Be alert to language meant to manipulate, such as the constant use of "emergency," "exception," "extremism," or "terrorism." )
18.) Be calm when the unthinkable arrives. (Modern authoritarians consolidate power by exploiting sudden tragedies. Do not fall for panic-driven power grabs.)
19.) Be a patriot. (Set a good example of what your country and its values should mean for future generations.)
20.) Be as courageous as you can. (If you do not stand up for freedom, you will lose.)

[yardwork]

48. It would be banned.

[DFW]

49. By both right AND left. n/t

[AloeVera]

35. Yes, important to realize they are in the dark mostly about Ukraine.

Worse, told things like Ukraine has suffered 20 million casualties etc. The censorship is bad and so is the propaganda.

I really feel for this elderly lady in Russia - 2 jobs or more just to stay alive - and for so many others. Since the beginning, I've felt bad for the Russian soldiers, most of them poor boys from the backwoods used as cannon-fodder.

I think what I have a problem with is the imperialistic, supremacist bent prevalant among ethnic Russians in particular. That outlook does not lend itsrlf to empathy or understanding toward the Ukrainian perspective. So instead of being aghast at 20 million Ukrainian casualties, it is celebrated and cheered. Or at least comfort is found in it. So I wonder how strong an anti-war movement would be, even if allowed to develop.

Maybe I've been influenced in my views by the fact I lived behind the Iron Curtain as a child. Listened to many stories from my elders about what the USSR did to Hungary and how my relatives suffered.

Thank you for sharing this, very important to know.

[Deuxcents]

39. Exactly AloeVera..the Ukrainian people have been inconvenienced a whole lot more and longer than this princess

[FakeNoose]

6. I have to wonder who made this film, he seems to be on a high floor (or the roof) of a skyscraper

Wouldn't they be afraid that the drones are dropping bombs close to them? I'd be getting out of that building very quickly, and looking for some place else to hide.

[wnylib]

11. Maybe the building they were in was not likely to be

a target so they felt safe to observe the drones?

I'd be leaving that area too.

But, Ukraine is targeting oil supplies. Maybe there is, or was, an oil storage supply that the drone was heading for and the filmer knew it?

[marble falls]

17. Ukraine does not seem to be targeting civilian blds at all. Might be a very safe place to watch drones as long as ...

... Russian AA don't fall on their heads.

[Tetrachloride]

7. i thought x was unwelcome here

[h2ebits]

9. My Firefox browser blocks ads and trackers from X. . . .

so, while I can unblock X for Democratic Underground--I won't. I read the comments but can't see what anyone is talking about in the comments. DU doesn't block X and we have a number of users here who feel the same as I do and would prefer not to use X in any capacity but communication is what it is.

[marble falls]

18. Gray area, a lot of Democrats and progressives still post there.

[ret5hd]

52. if their audience leaves, they will follow.

trust me.

[marble falls]

55. No doubt. They seem to be hanging in, pretty much.

[Wednesdays]

8. Cripes! London had better defense against Nazi "Buzz Bombs"

And that was 82 years ago.

[Gato Moteado]

10. what kind of a payload can a strike drone like that carry?

[The Madcap]

15. If napalm weren't against the rules of war,

I'd like for them to include a batch in every drone in case it was shot down. That would serve Russia right.

[LudwigPastorius]

19. 165 pounds of high explosive,...

resulting in destruction in a 50 foot radius.

[marble falls]

20. 10# plus of high explosives. They can do a serious damage.

[charliea]

21. Wikipedia

The entry for the Ukrainian AN-196 ‘Lyutyy' drone claims a 75kg payload. Not enormous but with precision delivery, on an oil storage tank for example, quite effective.
I wonder what was burning in the background on that video?

[electric_blue68]

41. I noticed that smoke!

[The Madcap]

13. Keep on buzzing them.

Regarding the key fob, maybe Russian cars don't work like others where you can put the fob in the glove box (Kia) or place it near the on-off button to start. Either way, knowing how to replace the battery in the fob is covered in the owner's manual. But that would require taking the time to actually look it up.

Blame Putin and tell your friends. It is 100% his fault you can't get gas.

[Wicked Blue]

14. I remember the gas lines of the early 1970s

You could only buy gas on odd or even days depending on the last number on your license plate.

I ran out of gas while waiting on a gas line. Luckily my little Datsun was light and it wasn't hard for me and a couple of others push it all the way to the pump.

These Russians are too soft.

[SergeStorms]

30. Datsuns....

we're great little cars. I had a 1972 240Z, and people would tease me about buying, "Jap Scrap," or a "rice burner," or "how often do you have to stop to twist the rubber band," and all the similar "quips."

I wish I still had it. It would be worth around $75K now.

[electric_blue68]

42. Tangential story ...

While on a Gray Line tour in a car (pretty sure) in the high AZ desert - Navajo or just inside The Hopi Nation (July 1980) memory's a bit fuzzy... I think the water pipe burst, I'm pretty sure we didn't run out of gas...
Anyway the four of us had to get out and push it ?4 blocks or so to the small town. We sat in restaurant for 2-3 hrs till it was repaired. Then our guide took us on the rest of our tour.

[orthoclad]

22. What happened?

I block Musk.

[Ars Longa]

23. I had read somewhere that the Russian defence Forces

had run low, or "out" of drone interceptor devices. The Moscow drone vid makes
sense of that allegation...

[Sneederbunk]

24. Buzzbombs over London?

[AverageOldGuy]

25. Is Russian language Voice of America still broadcasting?

Or did DOGE kill off VOA?

[wcmagumba]

27. It's not "The Ukraine", it is Ukraine, a sovereign nation...

[xuplate]

29. A 19 yr old landed a plane in Moscow in 1987

Blew through the vaunted Soviet defense system and landed on a bridge close to Ref Square.

[Mysterian]

31. The Russian people need to depose their madman dictator by whatever means necessary

and stop being cowards.

[SamuelAdams]

32. Good.

It's about time Russians experienced what life has been like for Ukrainians for years. Maybe they will pressure Putin to end his illegal war in Ukraine.

[CanonRay]

36. The sound of those drones sounds remarkably like a WWII fighter

[purr-rat beauty]

43. Why not drop pamphlets informing the russians

While enroute to blow up putin's stuff?

[csusan]

46. Checkout those finger nails

They tell you a lot about her life. No wonder she can't deal. It's so sad.🤪

[Goonch]

51. ;-{).....

[Norrrm]

54. That's embarrassing.