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Friday Fun Thread for May 9, 2025

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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War subthread.

The entire interview-in English- of the German volunteer Freimann about Ukraine, conducted by a military historian & Col. Reisner of the Bundesheer- the Austrian Armed Forces, he leads their officer training school. Note it's 6 months old by now. Not sure why - first posted on Patreon? Excerpts have been posted earlier.

Reisner is notable for being one of the few Western analysts who was, while acting in an official capacity providing relatively unbiased information - probably because Austria is a neutral state. He is not pro-Russian - you quickly get the impression he doesn't like them, but unlike basically everyone and probably due to the neutral status he felt he was allowed to not be overtly partisan and not distort information.

If someone wants some more interesting war interviews, there's the 3:30 hour accidental Azov battalion Florida volunteer video from '23..

A British volunteer interviewed by Lindybeige. Fairly thorough.

Not gonna watch videos until I’m back at home, but thanks for the links.

How are you assessing Reisner’s reliability? If he were distorting numbers—or selectively reporting, or remaining conspicuously silent—how would you know? It’s easy to spot the most shameless partisans, but that leaves out a lot. I suppose I’m assuming that anyone who spends this much time covering a subject will develop something resembling an opinion.

He doesn't like Russians much you can tell, but I think he's simply one of the few professionals and is mostly fair in his reporting and analysis. What he says isn't too dissimilar, rhetoric/attitude to Ukraine aside from what I hear from certain anti-Ukraine/US westerners with military experience who take their time following the war.

These are people who deplore the senseless waste of life but have little to no sympathies to Russian state.