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Like the country that has been waging an online psy-ops on us for the last decade and a half and literally bribing our elected officials?
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If you speak Russian, call Russia and tell them what is happening in Ukraine
141–150 of 233 posts
Re: If you speak Russian, call Russia and tell them what is happening in Ukraine
#142Earlier quoted context omitted.
I also kind of wonder how effective it would be. Put yourself in their shoes. What if you received a random phone call from someone claiming that all the media coverage of the war in Ukraine is actually fake and that there is no war at all and it’s all a peace keeping in response to Ukrainian atrocities. Would you believe it? Given what I’ve seen in the news, I’d just write the person off as crazy personally. I’d exp…
I would listen to the person's arguments and say what I don't like about those arguments. I find the symmetrism you represent ridiculous. How do we know the Earth isn't flat? Maybe flat-earthers are right? How do we know if santa claus exist? Well, we gather data and apply reasoning to that data... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epistemology
Just like you listen to the persons arguments and engage with them when someone calls you and says "Hello I am federal tax Marshall john Smith, and there is a warrant for your arrest. Or you can buy gift cards and send money to us to settle your debt."
I'm certain you spend a while evaluating and debating those arguments.
Re: If you speak Russian, call Russia and tell them what is happening in Ukraine
#143I would probably advise against doing this. There have been rumors of Russian police looking through citizen's phones for indications that they are engaging with western viewpoints on the "special operation". And the penalty for such activities is quite high right now. A random phone call from a U.S. citizen might look suspicious, and I don't imagine Russian police are giving much benefit of the doubt right now.
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Re: If you speak Russian, call Russia and tell them what is happening in Ukraine
#144Earlier quoted context omitted.
Must Russians don't even know there's a war. Even a bad call could trigger some to look up what's happening.
> Must Russians don't even know there's a war. How can you know this?
Re: If you speak Russian, call Russia and tell them what is happening in Ukraine
#145Why aren't russians telling eachother? At least a fraction of russians read and trust trustworthy (international) news sources, but if their peers won't believe them, why would they believe me if I called them? Russia isn't North Korea. Yes there has been a tightening lately and all easily accessible media has been propaganda for a long time. But that doesn't mean any Russian can't - with some effort - consume a wide…
> Russians have a responsibility to protest the regime now, carrying the personal risk despite perhaps having little to no personal responsibility. Else they have the blood of Ukrainians on their hands. Back in 2003, Americans had a responsibility to protest the Bush regime. And hundreds of thousands of us did, but it didn't do a damn bit of good. We still have the blood of over one million Iraqis on our hands. Russi…
> Russia's invasion of Ukraine is illegal and unjustified, but what moral grounds do Americans have to say anything about it?
The same moral grounds as when we condemned and protested the US's invasion of Iraq? Yes, we were a minority. The majority was hopped up on state propaganda about WMDs and 911 etc. Basically the same as Russia's "denazification" message or whatever it is today, only the US establishment is much better at it.
I'm sure many of the people who supported attacking Iraq are condemning Russia's war on Ukraine right now, but I'd rather support their current positive stance rather than take them to task over past views and seeming nationalist hypocrisy.
Re: If you speak Russian, call Russia and tell them what is happening in Ukraine
#146Do you really claim to be against disinformation and then spread it like this?
Like, really?
What is this thing doing on HN?
Re: If you speak Russian, call Russia and tell them what is happening in Ukraine
#147Earlier quoted context omitted.
Are you okay with getting individuals possibly arrested in the name of a purported common good? You are no better than the FSB itself then.
Yes, we’re at war. The rules have changed.
If we are at "war" right now, then what is it called when US troops roll tanks into Russia... "super war"? Words have definitions. The definition of war is "a state of armed conflict between different nations or states or different groups within a nation or state."
Re: If you speak Russian, call Russia and tell them what is happening in Ukraine
#148What a silly plan. Consider the reverse situation. You are a US citizen, and your phone randomly rings. On the other line, there is a guy speaking English with a heavy russian accent: "Hello. I call from Russia. This website I find ask me to call and inform you of real happenings in Ukraine. Your media full of lies. Trust me. Look. I have pen." Yeah I can totally see Americans taking up arms against their government…
To be fair, Russia _does_ do a version of this extensively, with bots on social media. It still only manages to have some (maybe?) effect on ~30-40% of Americans, so your point stands, the tactic has limited effectiveness.
Re: If you speak Russian, call Russia and tell them what is happening in Ukraine
#149Re: If you speak Russian, call Russia and tell them what is happening in Ukraine
#150Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Russians have a responsibility to protest the regime now, carrying the personal risk despite perhaps having little to no personal responsibility. Else they have the blood of Ukrainians on their hands. Back in 2003, Americans had a responsibility to protest the Bush regime. And hundreds of thousands of us did, but it didn't do a damn bit of good. We still have the blood of over one million Iraqis on our hands. Russi…
Well, both Putin and Bush started their terms roughly at the same time. I see only one of them ruling today. America is by no means perfect, but Russia is entirely different thing.
Obama came to power on a wave of optimism - he was going to close gitmo and stop the drone strikes.
Years after he left the scene gitmo is still open and drone strikes still happen.
GWB is gone but his policies endure. Turns out US leadership likes it that way.