I bet the ukrainians are just after the catalytic converter
(let me get my coat and show myself out)
I’m sure someone in our community can combine the video loop with Yakety Sax.
Ouch. 
Still fighting with the insurance company.
Saw this on Reddit. A Belarussian ex-military guy urging current Belarus military to not follow orders. Link to video (in Russian) and thread
Here’s a translation from the tread:
———
Translation until 2:08:
Best of health my dear defenders of the motherland. Making this address to you is a Lieutenant Colonel of the reserves Sahashik Valerij Stepanovich.
I’m introducing myself because I’ve quit quite a long time ago. Some of the current airborne forces may not know me, although everyone must have heard about the Black Hawk trials. All the current bravery and mastery has originated from there, and also you must have heard about how the 38th airbourne Briansk brigade used to run 10km and at the end in full personal would swim in a lake all year round, well I’m exactly the guy that for 4 years in a row would run at the front of the brigade and would be the first to jump into the lake. I am the Black Hawk number 1.
All of the most important things in life all happen impromptu and unexpectedly. It’s impossible to prepare yourself to be a hero. In the life of every person a situation may suddenly arise in which he must act here and now, and either get written into the history books, or wait for a more appropriate moment. Although usually fate gives you a chance to do a real hero deed only once.
I had served in the airbourne forces for a quite a long time. More than 10 years only in the Briansk brigade, from Kombat to the Brigade commander. Those who have met me won’t let me lie to you, I was one of the most fanatically devoted officers to the forces and a patriot of my motherland, I’ve never know anything but military service. Materialism has always been foreign to me, I’m saying this to counter any attempts at claiming that I sold out for this speech. My biography has zero cases that would allow to have any suspicion that I can sell out, and in my age people don’t change.
Airbourne force were everything in my life. All years after I quit I continued to help my brigade. In front of my house there’s always been a flag Not sure here, maybe Belarus flag with the flag of the VDV (airbourne forces). And the reason why I took it off is a different story related to the events of the 2020, we won’t talk about that for now.
For now I’ve decided to record the first video in my life because my comrades, guys in the blue vests, same as I wore all my life are sitting in the forest on the Ukrainian border. And its looking like shortly they can be accomplices in some very bad actions…
…which can have catastrophic consequences for our country, and fatally burry the glory and tradition of our forces, that were built up by many generations of Airbourne troops. It’s possible that a lot of them will not get back home alive.
Russian army, which has a huge combat experience is experiencing hell for 3 days straight The number of dead is counted in thousands, hundreds have been captured, the hospitals on the borders are filled with wounded, none of the missions of this operation have been accomplished, at the moment neither Kiev nor any other of the regional centers have been captured.
Russian army is quite run down, while Ukrainians who have endured the first most difficult days have successfully mobilized, organized themselves, polished of the logistics, got support of the whole world, moral as well as technical combat equipments, and most importantly saw, that the aggressor attacking them are just ordinary people, stoped being scared, felt the taste of victory.
This army won’t retreat and won’t surrender. Russians have become victims of their own propagandists that promised them, that the people of Ukraine will meet them with bread and salt, like liberators, but by now you know everything, although you’re prohibited from having smartphones, you’re still in your motherland, in contact with friends and relatives, you’ve had time to weight and analyze everything, do any of you have any doubt that your entry into Ukraine will be any better then the New Years offensive of Grozny of 1995.
Info wars is a scary thing. Propagandists in an agile way have learned to produce a bait and switch of values, learned to replace white with black and the opposite… I don’t want to get into politics, it has always been foreign to me, but to every thinking person, 3 things should be quite obvious. 1. Ukraine has never threatened Belarus and isn’t threatening it now 2. There are not Druggies or nationals in the Ukrainian government and if they were they were fairly elected in free democratic elections. 3. Belarusian forces have absolutely no right to enter the Ukraine, furthermore it is directly prohibited in the Belarusian constitution.
It’s not our war. You will not be defending your motherland, your home, your family. You won’t gain any glory in this conflict, only shame, humiliation, blood, death and the status of a hated outcast nation for centuries to come.
Brothers find a way not to take part in this dirty business. Father commanders, will you be able to live with the fact that you put down the boys for nothing, how will you look mothers into their eyes, that gave you their sons.
Separately, I’d like to address the people who have a lot of influence, to the war chiefs with big stars. For many of you I was a commander, a mentor, a friend. In my memory you are responsible, decent war commanders, who are able to quickly navigate in a difficult surroundings, smartly analyze the situation and calculate the consequences of different decision which are in front of you.
Guys, at the end of the day, those are your direct personal responsibilities. This is what the motherland has been nurturing you for, for so many years for. However hard you are pressured, be a real man and do a real manly thing, make the right decision, fill yourself with real civil courage, don’t send the boys to slaughter, sometimes the highest hero deed, is just to say no. And enter the history as a person who saved hundreds if not thousands of lives and relations with a brotherly nation. And even if you get fired believe me you will be heroes.
I salute you.
The BlackSea fleet may wonder if this is going to become the standard hailing call.
And if there’s one thing that pisses off these types of leaders and makes them see red it is being laughed at.
I was thinking there must be some Yakov Smirnoff joke that would go with the tractor towing the army vehicle.
In Russia, soldier drives steel tank. In Ukraine, Farmer steels Russian tank.
(FYI, he’s from the Ukraine)
Well someone’s not going to be invited to the Lukashenko BBQ this summer.
Belarus reversed course on being a non-nuclear state. Not ideal. I imagine Putin told them to make that announcement as a warning to the West to back off.
I honestly don’t see why it would make the west back off. It’s not like Belarus is going to be developing their own weapons, just moving weapons from Russia to Belarus. I mean, we already know Russia has X number of nukes…where they are stations is kind of a mute point. Then there is the fact that many of NATOs members have their own nukes, irrespective of what the US has.
Unless it’s a “Lukashenko BBQ”, if you get my meaning.
Because it’s a signal.
And urban fighting is exactly what your armored commander does not want to do.
A more likely strategy from a tactical point of view is to stand back and smash the city to rubble with artillery but that would put paid to the, “We’re just denazifying the country,” statements.
It would also insure that the city and country could never be brought into Russia again. The economy couldn’t take the hit of having to occupy a hostile nation indefinitely. Afghanistan wasn’t that long ago for them.
Well, by “many” you mean two, aside from the USA.
Yes. Perhaps ‘several’ would have been more appropriate. Or, just two as you indicated. 
while not part of NATO there’s France and Israel who would align against Russia
While the UK and France obviously have their own stockpiles, are there any American nukes permanently in Europe?
And I kinda have a hard time seeing Israel finally officially revealing it’s nuclear capable.
I mean, this would be like Michelle Obama announcing, after all these years, that she’s Barack’s wife.
France is in NATO.
And they were one of the two you mentioned. 
Say WHAT!?!?! When did that happen???
A friend likes to troll the local repubs in several local newspaper comments pages. She got really bored after the Fat Orange Baboon endorsed Putin and says that traffic has slowed so much that she thinks that avenue of entertainment is going to be gone for a while.