WWIII? Or just a little fuckery?

[MajGenl.Meade]

IF Putin doesn't pay one hell of a price for Ukraine, there's going to be real trouble in the future, especially as he gets older and starts becoming more concerned about his legacy. We really could hurt Russia by ramping up our domestic oil and gas production. And targeting the Russian oil and gas exports business. We need to destroy the Russian oil export business; even if we have to sell the oil and gas at a loss, it is either World War III or slavery if we don't. I still say that if I had to choose a master, I would select Russians over the Chinese because my children and grandchildren look a lot more like the Russians than they do to Chinese it would be easier to hide in the herd.

Russian exports of oil to the USA are negligible. "We" could not "really hurt" Russia either by increasing domestic supply or embargoing imports. We should of course place such an embargo as a matter of principle (look it up) whether or no it really hurts the fascist Putin.

Europe on the other hand relies more than 60% on imported oil. For them to join the embargo would be extremely painful and even destructive of their own economies. The US cannot replace that stream for the Europeans. It's a tougher decision for them than for the USA.

And in relation to the German/Russian embassy spat previously reported, Zapiro nails the ANC once again:

[Bicycle Bill]

A man in Moscow buys a newspaper, glances at the front page, and then throws it straight out.  Next day — same again.  And again the third day, and the day after that.
Eventually, the news vender asks, "Why DO you do that?"

"Oh, I'm just checking for an obituary," the man replied.

"But obituaries aren't even on the front page!"

"Not to worry — the one I'm looking for will be."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The instructor is teaching a journalism class in Russia:
"Class, when may a headline use the word 'tragedy'?"

"A bus crash?"

"No, that would be an 'accident'."

"A building collapse?"

"Also incorrect. That would be a 'great loss'."

"How about if President Putin were to be poisoned with Novichok?"

"Yes!  Then, you would use 'tragedy'!  And do you know why?"

"Well, it's no accident and no great loss…"

-"BB"-

[Gob]

Visa and Mastercard have suspended Russian operations. That will hurt. Good.

[Guinevere]

We're currently buying oil from Russia.

It's probably one-a them thar liberal ideas that make no kinda sense!

Less than 5% of US oil comes from Russia. We could make up for that with efficiency in a snap. Aren’t those “silly” electric and hybrid cars looking good right now. And how about those “windmills” as LJ always called wind turbines MA is well on its way to full on reliance on renewable energy - the gas is expensive, but so far electric and natural gas prices don’t seem to be jumping (at the consumer level).

[ex-khobar Andy]

I'm not always on the side of the US military but we do ask these guys to put their lives on the line to protect a way of life.

If the sacrifice demanded of me is that I pay a bit more for gas/petrol I'm fine with that. As it happens there are probably people alive now, whom we know and maybe love, who will at some point be paying $20 or more (in 2022 dollars) a gallon for gas because we are using it all up and 'supply and demand' is a cruel and unrelenting master.

[Econoline]

You know what happens to the price of domestic energy produced by wind and solar here in the United States when some asshole bombs an oil well in a foreign country?

Nothing.

(-- Jim Wright, on Facebook.)

[BoSoxGal]

I saw a report Friday night on CNN where the correspondent was covering refugees coming into Poland and she noticed a bunch of guys headed toward the border to go into Ukraine - they were American British and Canadian men going to join the Ukrainian resistance, a few were military veterans and others were not.

Apparently a lot of veterans are answering Zelenskyy’s call to fight with Ukraine for freedom and democracy. It’s the Spanish Civil War all over again - but I hope they have better results. https://www.boston.com/news/national-ne ... aturestack

Made me cry I’m not ashamed to admit. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

[liberty]

I still say that if I had to choose a master, I would select Russians over the Chinese because my children and grandchildren look a lot more like the Russians than they do to Chinese it would be easier to hide in the herd.

You don’t have to choose a master, you could fight to the death as many Ukrainians are doing right now. I know that’s where I’d be - I’d rather die on my feet than live on my knees.

Nice to know that you’re Vichy, liberty. And of course I don’t mean sparkling water.

When I was young, that was the plan, but those days are long gone. Like they say, that ship has long since sailed, rusted, deteriorated, and sold as scrap and now serving as beer cans. I am in good shape for a man of my age, but I still would be more impediment than anything else. The best thing I could do would be to stay out of the way or be a suicide bomber.

If there are people in Europe who could fight off the Russians, it would be the Ukrainians and the Finns, but we are neither. And if you think the western Europeans could, you have to be kidding me; they’re pathetic; however, we’re not much better. And, I don’t think the Russians will ever invade the United States, at least the lower 48. They wouldn’t have to invade; they could control this country through surrogates. There was reporting that came out some years ago that stated that 80% of America’s young people were unfit for military service; that sounds about right. And whose fault is it?

[BoSoxGal]

I have been doing very well for the last couple of months so I let my card lapse and my stock all gone.

The outbreak of Putin’s atrocities has left me with a lot of heightened anxiety so tonight on the way home I stopped here for some adult use.

I drive by this place every weekend to and from work for the last six months and kept saying I gotta stop in - so tonight I did. I looked up a couple of strains online while cooking my client’s dinner and picked a couple to try - Nuke’Em because it’s half Chernobyl, and Eran Almog because the reviews on Leafly make it sound like a divine strain. I’ve just smoked some Nuke’Em and I’m feeling so much less like crawling up the walls.

The place is gorgeous outside and in - they made an architecturally interesting and lovely space to sell their beautiful herb in, and the system for choosing and purchasing was super efficient and smooth. Security is very tight but also unobtrusive, brilliantly done. I couldn’t help thinking that it should have always been like this. This is the one thing that’s gone right in the world over the last 5 years.

Grassachusetts.

(Also, we are raking in the revenue for our civic infrastructure. WOOT! https://www.marijuanamoment.net/massach ... -millions/)


Next: Is the Russian military really this incompetent outdated and low morale, or is the military leadership possibly intentionally sabotaging the effort?


Next: Isn’t anyone else here actually anxious about the potential of this blundering into a nuclear exchange, or are y’all just not comfortable talking about your anxiety?


Next: I never thought I’d be impressed by Bethany Frankel, but I just saw her talking on CNN about her aid organization Be Strong and the work they are doing to assist and transport Ukrainian refuges to places outside the bordering countries when they have options and helping house and feed those staying in bordering countries. https://bethenny.com/bstrong

I made a sizable donation at Job Lot the other day they have a charity and are providing aid to Ukraine presently, but in need to set up a monthly donation to some aid organization that is doing long term aid to Ukraine and the refugees. Doctors Without Borders is doing work there but I’m not sure if they are active during the crisis. Anyone donating somewhere they know to be reputable?



Will Putin trip out and call to Nuke’Em?!

[BoSoxGal]

I wish I could murder Vlad myself. I would enjoy it very much, I’m not ashamed to say.

[Bicycle Bill]

There was reporting that came out some years ago that stated that 80% of America’s young people were unfit for military service; that sounds about right.  And whose fault is it?

I'm not going to assign fault or blame; but I am going to point out that there were probably a lot of people who answered the call after Pearl Harbor who could also be considered "unfit for military service".  That's why they went through PT, additional basic training in the care and treatment of weapons and how to use them, and advanced training to qualify them as pilots of multi-engined bombers or fighters, or commanders and members of crews of of ships ranging from PT boats to submarines to Iowa-class battleships and Yorktown or Essex-class aircraft carriers.

But thank you for acknowledging that you, personally, are over the hill and ineffective.  Go back and dream your dreams of being a dog-whisperer.  We have, however, noted your mention of possibly being qualified as a suicide bomber, and we'll let you know if the time comes when you can provide that useful service.

-"BB"-

[Bicycle Bill]

I have been doing very well for the last couple of months so I let my card lapse and my stock all gone.

The outbreak of Putin’s atrocities has left me with a lot of heightened anxiety so tonight on the way home I stopped here for some adult use.

I drive by this place every weekend to and from work for the last six months and kept saying I gotta stop in - so tonight I did. I looked up a couple of strains online while cooking my client’s dinner and picked a couple to try - Nuke’Em because it’s half Chernobyl, and Eran Almog because the reviews on Leafly make it sound like a divine strain. I’ve just smoked some Nuke’Em and I’m feeling so much less like crawling up the walls.

The place is gorgeous outside and in - they made an architecturally interesting and lovely space to sell their beautiful herb in, and the system for choosing and purchasing was super efficient and smooth. Security is very tight but also unobtrusive, brilliantly done. I couldn’t help thinking that it should have always been like this. This is the one thing that’s gone right in the world over the last 5 years.

Thank you, BSG, that goes a long way in explaining your attitude and mood swings.
But I must commend you on your candor and frankness.

-"BB"-

[Gob]

[Joe Guy]

Putin is very intelligent, very brave, and very ruthless, and to say otherwise is just lying to yourself. He might not have been much of a student in school, but he learned his lessons in the KGB Academy.

Why would an intelligent man invade another country and claim it was done in order to undertake "denazification" of that country? How is that intelligent or brave?

[Big RR]

I agree; the skills necessary to be a good spy or intelligence officer (or warden or torturer) are hardly thr skills needed to lead a nation, especially in the time of war.

[ex-khobar Andy]

Putin is very intelligent, very brave, and very ruthless, and to say otherwise is just lying to yourself. He might not have been much of a student in school, but he learned his lessons in the KGB Academy.

Why would an intelligent man invade another country and claim it was done in order to undertake "denazification" of that country? How is that intelligent or brave?

Reminds me of a 'leader' who invaded another country and claimed it was done in order to eliminate WMD. But that's classic whataboutery and does not reduce Putin's terrorist act.

Edited to corect a typo.

[BoSoxGal]

It may be whataboutery, but I have been thinking about it a lot just the same. I was one of the tens of millions who protested in the streets before that illegal invasion and can’t help but recognize the parallels. Of course Iraq wasn’t a functioning democracy but that’s true of many countries who pose no threat to us.

[TPFKA@W]

So McDonalds is closing all its Russian restaurants but will continue to pay the workers.

I think this not an example of critical thinking.

[Burning Petard]

I am remembering the siege of Sarajevo. You know, the event that was getting mentions in the last week's news for having the record for holding out the longest in a modern siege of a capitol city. The place where they should've put up a sign "On this Spot the Peace Loving Nations of the World Did Nothing."

Putin and Russia is attacking Ukraine in a strategy/tactic consistent with Russian history and character. Peasants are canon fodder. Minefields are cleared by marching over them. There is no such thing as killing non-combatants, they are all enemy (particularly when the public leader of Ukraine proudly displays how all Ukranians are prepared to throw Molotov Cocktails.) Eventually there will be no living Ukrainians and they will be a relic of history, like the Lenape indians of Delaware.

I am intrigued by the news coverage of the care of Ukranian refugees in Eastern Europe. Isn't this the same area that was threatening to leave the European Union if the refugees from Syria and Northern Africa kept coming? Is this an example of Critical Race Theory in action?

snailgate

[liberty]

There was reporting that came out some years ago that stated that 80% of America’s young people were unfit for military service; that sounds about right.  And whose fault is it?

I'm not going to assign fault or blame; but I am going to point out that there were probably a lot of people who answered the call after Pearl Harbor who could also be considered "unfit for military service".  That's why they went through PT, additional basic training in the care and treatment of weapons and how to use them, and advanced training to qualify them as pilots of multi-engined bombers or fighters, or commanders and members of crews of of ships ranging from PT boats to submarines to Iowa-class battleships and Yorktown or Essex-class aircraft carriers.

But thank you for acknowledging that you, personally, are over the hill and ineffective.  Go back and dream your dreams of being a dog-whisperer.  We have, however, noted your mention of possibly being qualified as a suicide bomber, and we'll let you know if the time comes when you can provide that useful service.

-"BB"-

The qualifications for suicide bombers are so low that almost anybody can do it. You can do it if you could walk or drive a car and push a button, and in some cases, you don’t even have to press the button. However, motivation is a different thing; that’s why the story of Samson is remarkable. He dared to destroy the temple to kill his enemies even though he would die too. Yes, motivation is the catch; it’s hard to sacrifice one’s own life. One has to believe what they’re doing is worth it, whether killing fanatical liberals, Antifa, fascist thugs, or infidels. It takes someone who is exceptionally dedicated, Very few people or that dedicated. Needless to say, it’s a job position that doesn’t have a lot of applicants.