Dinner is served alright! This is a Gordian Knot if there ever was one. On the one hand we have a satanic lunatic who is totally fucked and he knows it, on the other hand sit the rest of us, people of all stripes that just want to live, that have no intention of bringing harm to others if left to live their lives in peace. Then there are those that have seen first hand just what a meat grinder war is for anyone near it, I'm among that group. If I was younger and in better health I would already be in the Ukraine, but I'm a realist and know that I would be more of a liability than a help. I was trained as a Green Beret weapons specialist to do exactly what my brothers in arms have been over there training the Ukrainian Army to do, which is why they have been so effective against the russians. I can't go and that bothers me no end, but that is the truth of it. They need and are getting help from all over the world, may god bless those that are joining them in the fight for their existence.
I cannot imagine the hardships the Ukrainians are facing, and I pray I never have to, but bless them for being so hard-headed about their freedom. Too damn bad there are so many people in this country who do not realize what they will be giving up if they bring TFG back into power...
How quickly people have forgotten how bad the traitorous tfg really was. Biden is a normal person. Donald Trump is an amoral malignant narcissist. He is not normal. He is mentally unstable. If he were to be returned to the White House, the revenge tour he would go on would be awful to behold. So many stupid people in this country.
It would help a lot if the MSM would stop giving gas prices equal billing with their coverage of the war in Ukraine. It seems like national and local TV news give almost equal time to each. Yes, it's a shock when you fill your tank and it's more painful for low income families, but it sure beats shellings and bombings. It's little enough for us to contribute to the efforts of Ukraine.
You got that right, we want to beat this bastard and to do that the price of gas is going to go up, so they need to shut up about it, all of them including PBS. The Feds could for as long as necessary, reduce the gasoline tax, there is a lot of headroom there, I have yet to hear that mentioned. There is no equilivency between between the murderous assault of the innocent in Ukraine and what it costs to fill up your SUV, they don't belong in the same conversation, hell those two concepts don't belong on the same planet.
The military has been telling us for DECADES that our dependence on foreign oil is a national security issue. You want more homeland security? GO GREEN.
Or be honest about why gas prices are going up, if they even know. But they always blame or credit the President who actually has little to do with gas prices.
Is Putin comparable to any other Devil? They each have their particularly evil characteristics. Power is Putin's only reason of being. He would see us all dead. Could it come to that? Try a war game around that, TC; you going to stick with your no fly zone? What about telling Putin that we have every option on the table?
All right let's get our Russian ducks in a row. Putin: I'm getting rid of the nazification of the Ukraine. Fuck you jack. Ukraine did ally with Hitler and are not freedom lovers for all. Like you said, TC, that was almost 80 years ago. Ukraine thought they had a better chance with Hitler than Stalin. So fucking what? Don't let the rwnj sell you on this. Did they do bad shit? Fuck and yes. Guess who our are friends now, GERMANY! We can never forget yet move on. Also Israelis sent diplomats to meet Zelensky, so there's that. Fuck you Vladdy.
No fly zones, I'm a bit of a pussy about that. For today.
The resilience of the Ukrainians is a double pragmatic win for the Biden administration. I don't want to contemplate this with Fucking Pus as POTUS. Do you.
We are on the right side of history on this and Biden doesn't get one-tenth the credit he deserves for making NATO the motherfucker they were, that the fucking traitor wanted to disband.
Schandenfruend, fuckers.
Finally, Putin thought this was gonna be as easy as fuckwit Reagan did with invading Grenada.
I don't know how this is gonna play out, but for the first time in a long time I am not embarrassed to be an American ( let's enjoy this high and think about r-thug oligarchs taking away basic civil rights for anybody who is not a white, straight, christian male to give us strength to fight and hang these scum motherfuckers. No justice, no peace. The chicken are still coming home to roost). We will look to Ukraine for strength.
I agree that making Ukraine a no fly zone, isn’t to the defenders advantage. It puts the power in Russia’s court… then they decide who, when to attack… they have the advantage of surprise. Considering the state of the convoy, could their air equipment be any better? I’m passing on dinner this evening. Even without the illustrious vision TC carefully laid out … I don’t seem to have an appetite. I watched a video earlier, a reporter in a Ukrainian village, miles from any military activity had been destroyed by Russian missiles. Civilians. There was footage of an explosion that looked nuclear to me. I tried to find it and if I do, I will post it here. I’m no kind of expert… but I don’t trust Putin. He’s bombed working nuclear power plants. I don’t believe he’ll exercise any restraint in using nuclear. TFG was useful to him, that’s why he didn’t do this sooner. He expanded our divisions and allowed hatred and vitriol to fester … it’s still happening! In the face of a democracy under attack! I wish this was a bad scary novel I was reading and not the daily news.
TC, I have to say that as I read this, my mood swings were akin to being on a roller coaster! I'm going to hang onto the upside for now and hope that the wiser heads will continue to prevail and outthink the little madman.
You wrote: "A sign that the domestic political opposition is now a factor he’s afraid of is shown in the bill passed by the Duma to conscript anyone arrested at a war protest into the army and send them to fight in Ukraine."
A friend and I were discussing this yesterday. Why on earth would he send PROTESTORS to fight in Ukraine? Wouldn't that be sending them to fight FOR Ukraine? Granted, my mind doesn't work like that of the twisted monster, but if it were ME sent to Ukraine because I was protesting against a war with them, I'd sign up as the first opportunity for a weapon to fight the real enemy...the person who started the whole thing and who sent me there. But, that's just me.
That would likely be what would happen. The threat is made to prevent the protest to begin with, and sadly there are many people who likely can be dissuaded. Hopefully the others outnumber them.
Thinking around corners, what would happen on Putin's chess board if his Alexander Lukashenko piece was suddenly removed? How would the sudden vacuum there in Belarus behind his main probe be filled? Would there be a repeat of their 2020-21 election protests, an uprising, civil war? If Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya returned from exile could Putin handle a war versus democracy against two smaller but determined opponents fighting for the very existience of their national identities?
TC, while I love reading about the incompetencies of the Russian army, the truth is that they are in Ukraine and killing countless citizens. How can they be ousted and defeated? How can Ukraine be liberated and the Russian army be annihilated? How?
'Humanitarian Crisis Worsens for Ukrainians Trapped in Russia’s Onslaught'
'Two weeks after the invasion began, tens of thousands of Ukrainians are without food, water or power. The Russians are increasingly resorting to indiscriminate shelling to help their forces advance.'
'Russian forces unleashed an artillery attack on the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv on Monday, hitting residential neighborhoods with rockets and sending streams of people fleeing.
Russian forces unleashed an artillery attack on the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv on Monday, hitting residential neighborhoods with rockets and sending streams of people fleeing.The
'MYKOLAIV, Ukraine — Increasingly indiscriminate Russian shelling that has trapped and traumatized Ukrainian civilians magnified fears on Monday of an intensifying humanitarian crisis that has already left tens of thousands without food, water, power or heat in besieged cities of southern Ukraine and elsewhere.'
'As hopes for even brief cease-fires flare and then just as quickly sputter, the Russian invasion, the biggest conflict to engulf Europe since World War II, has turned at least 1.7 million Ukrainians — half of them children — into refugees, according to the United Nations. Many are trapped in their own cities, pinned down by intense barrages from Russian forces.'
'In Mariupol, a southeast port in Moscow’s cross hairs, desperate residents have gone for days without food, water and other essentials. And in the city of Mykolaiv, residents fled their beds for safety Monday when stymied Russian forces launched a deadly predawn barrage at a military barracks'.
“They attacked our city dishonorably, cynically, while people were sleeping,” Vataliy Kim, the governor of the Mykolaiv region, said in a Facebook posting.
'With a third round of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia ending inconclusively on Monday, the fighting raged on. Late in the evening, the commander in chief of Ukraine’s military, Valery Zaluzhny, said warplanes and an antiaircraft missile had downed two Russian planes near Kyiv, the capital. Several large explosions were heard in Kyiv, but it was not immediately possible to confirm the commander’s account.'
'Although it is often hard to verify the competing claims of success on the battlefield, there is general agreement that Russia’s military has failed to take any major city in its effort to subdue the Western-leaning country that President Vladimir V. Putin has vowed to subjugate.'
'Though many times larger than their adversary and enjoying more advanced weapons and air superiority, Russian forces have become bogged down just about everywhere, struggling with logistical problems, apparent poor troop morale and tactical errors that Ukrainian troops have exploited.'
'Unable to make major military gains, the Russians are carrying out a campaign of indiscriminate bombing that is terrorizing the residents of Ukrainian cities and villages.'
'In Mariupol, Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian government, said the city had neither medicine, heat nor a functioning water system. Attempts to distribute supplies and help people evacuate were scrapped over the weekend in the face of Russian bombardment.'
'Doctors Without Borders, the medical charity that works in conflict zones, said it had received “harrowing reports” from staff members trapped in Mariupol. “Safe passage for those willing and able to escape should be urgently assured in Mariupol and across war affected areas inside Ukraine,” the group said in a statement.'
Dinner is served alright! This is a Gordian Knot if there ever was one. On the one hand we have a satanic lunatic who is totally fucked and he knows it, on the other hand sit the rest of us, people of all stripes that just want to live, that have no intention of bringing harm to others if left to live their lives in peace. Then there are those that have seen first hand just what a meat grinder war is for anyone near it, I'm among that group. If I was younger and in better health I would already be in the Ukraine, but I'm a realist and know that I would be more of a liability than a help. I was trained as a Green Beret weapons specialist to do exactly what my brothers in arms have been over there training the Ukrainian Army to do, which is why they have been so effective against the russians. I can't go and that bothers me no end, but that is the truth of it. They need and are getting help from all over the world, may god bless those that are joining them in the fight for their existence.
I cannot imagine the hardships the Ukrainians are facing, and I pray I never have to, but bless them for being so hard-headed about their freedom. Too damn bad there are so many people in this country who do not realize what they will be giving up if they bring TFG back into power...
How quickly people have forgotten how bad the traitorous tfg really was. Biden is a normal person. Donald Trump is an amoral malignant narcissist. He is not normal. He is mentally unstable. If he were to be returned to the White House, the revenge tour he would go on would be awful to behold. So many stupid people in this country.
It would help a lot if the MSM would stop giving gas prices equal billing with their coverage of the war in Ukraine. It seems like national and local TV news give almost equal time to each. Yes, it's a shock when you fill your tank and it's more painful for low income families, but it sure beats shellings and bombings. It's little enough for us to contribute to the efforts of Ukraine.
You got that right, we want to beat this bastard and to do that the price of gas is going to go up, so they need to shut up about it, all of them including PBS. The Feds could for as long as necessary, reduce the gasoline tax, there is a lot of headroom there, I have yet to hear that mentioned. There is no equilivency between between the murderous assault of the innocent in Ukraine and what it costs to fill up your SUV, they don't belong in the same conversation, hell those two concepts don't belong on the same planet.
The military has been telling us for DECADES that our dependence on foreign oil is a national security issue. You want more homeland security? GO GREEN.
Or be honest about why gas prices are going up, if they even know. But they always blame or credit the President who actually has little to do with gas prices.
Including the price gouging by local stations. The 66 station in my neighborhood, already high compared to others, just raised regular $.30 overnight.
Is Putin comparable to any other Devil? They each have their particularly evil characteristics. Power is Putin's only reason of being. He would see us all dead. Could it come to that? Try a war game around that, TC; you going to stick with your no fly zone? What about telling Putin that we have every option on the table?
Yes, I am going to stick to no no-fly zone. Unlike anyone else on this board, I have visited both Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
With reference to IF MY THOUGHT DREAMS COULD BE SEEN..., In the future, please don't use Huckleberry's name in vain.
All right let's get our Russian ducks in a row. Putin: I'm getting rid of the nazification of the Ukraine. Fuck you jack. Ukraine did ally with Hitler and are not freedom lovers for all. Like you said, TC, that was almost 80 years ago. Ukraine thought they had a better chance with Hitler than Stalin. So fucking what? Don't let the rwnj sell you on this. Did they do bad shit? Fuck and yes. Guess who our are friends now, GERMANY! We can never forget yet move on. Also Israelis sent diplomats to meet Zelensky, so there's that. Fuck you Vladdy.
No fly zones, I'm a bit of a pussy about that. For today.
The resilience of the Ukrainians is a double pragmatic win for the Biden administration. I don't want to contemplate this with Fucking Pus as POTUS. Do you.
We are on the right side of history on this and Biden doesn't get one-tenth the credit he deserves for making NATO the motherfucker they were, that the fucking traitor wanted to disband.
Schandenfruend, fuckers.
Finally, Putin thought this was gonna be as easy as fuckwit Reagan did with invading Grenada.
I don't know how this is gonna play out, but for the first time in a long time I am not embarrassed to be an American ( let's enjoy this high and think about r-thug oligarchs taking away basic civil rights for anybody who is not a white, straight, christian male to give us strength to fight and hang these scum motherfuckers. No justice, no peace. The chicken are still coming home to roost). We will look to Ukraine for strength.
I agree that making Ukraine a no fly zone, isn’t to the defenders advantage. It puts the power in Russia’s court… then they decide who, when to attack… they have the advantage of surprise. Considering the state of the convoy, could their air equipment be any better? I’m passing on dinner this evening. Even without the illustrious vision TC carefully laid out … I don’t seem to have an appetite. I watched a video earlier, a reporter in a Ukrainian village, miles from any military activity had been destroyed by Russian missiles. Civilians. There was footage of an explosion that looked nuclear to me. I tried to find it and if I do, I will post it here. I’m no kind of expert… but I don’t trust Putin. He’s bombed working nuclear power plants. I don’t believe he’ll exercise any restraint in using nuclear. TFG was useful to him, that’s why he didn’t do this sooner. He expanded our divisions and allowed hatred and vitriol to fester … it’s still happening! In the face of a democracy under attack! I wish this was a bad scary novel I was reading and not the daily news.
TC, I have to say that as I read this, my mood swings were akin to being on a roller coaster! I'm going to hang onto the upside for now and hope that the wiser heads will continue to prevail and outthink the little madman.
You wrote: "A sign that the domestic political opposition is now a factor he’s afraid of is shown in the bill passed by the Duma to conscript anyone arrested at a war protest into the army and send them to fight in Ukraine."
A friend and I were discussing this yesterday. Why on earth would he send PROTESTORS to fight in Ukraine? Wouldn't that be sending them to fight FOR Ukraine? Granted, my mind doesn't work like that of the twisted monster, but if it were ME sent to Ukraine because I was protesting against a war with them, I'd sign up as the first opportunity for a weapon to fight the real enemy...the person who started the whole thing and who sent me there. But, that's just me.
That would likely be what would happen. The threat is made to prevent the protest to begin with, and sadly there are many people who likely can be dissuaded. Hopefully the others outnumber them.
Thinking around corners, what would happen on Putin's chess board if his Alexander Lukashenko piece was suddenly removed? How would the sudden vacuum there in Belarus behind his main probe be filled? Would there be a repeat of their 2020-21 election protests, an uprising, civil war? If Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya returned from exile could Putin handle a war versus democracy against two smaller but determined opponents fighting for the very existience of their national identities?
TC, while I love reading about the incompetencies of the Russian army, the truth is that they are in Ukraine and killing countless citizens. How can they be ousted and defeated? How can Ukraine be liberated and the Russian army be annihilated? How?
Not easily. But if the incompetency delays progress, delays their "victory," that may run head on into Russia being cut off from the world.
New York Times
March 7, 2022
Updated 7:51 p.m. ET
'Humanitarian Crisis Worsens for Ukrainians Trapped in Russia’s Onslaught'
'Two weeks after the invasion began, tens of thousands of Ukrainians are without food, water or power. The Russians are increasingly resorting to indiscriminate shelling to help their forces advance.'
'Russian forces unleashed an artillery attack on the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv on Monday, hitting residential neighborhoods with rockets and sending streams of people fleeing.
Russian forces unleashed an artillery attack on the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv on Monday, hitting residential neighborhoods with rockets and sending streams of people fleeing.The
'MYKOLAIV, Ukraine — Increasingly indiscriminate Russian shelling that has trapped and traumatized Ukrainian civilians magnified fears on Monday of an intensifying humanitarian crisis that has already left tens of thousands without food, water, power or heat in besieged cities of southern Ukraine and elsewhere.'
'As hopes for even brief cease-fires flare and then just as quickly sputter, the Russian invasion, the biggest conflict to engulf Europe since World War II, has turned at least 1.7 million Ukrainians — half of them children — into refugees, according to the United Nations. Many are trapped in their own cities, pinned down by intense barrages from Russian forces.'
'In Mariupol, a southeast port in Moscow’s cross hairs, desperate residents have gone for days without food, water and other essentials. And in the city of Mykolaiv, residents fled their beds for safety Monday when stymied Russian forces launched a deadly predawn barrage at a military barracks'.
“They attacked our city dishonorably, cynically, while people were sleeping,” Vataliy Kim, the governor of the Mykolaiv region, said in a Facebook posting.
'With a third round of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia ending inconclusively on Monday, the fighting raged on. Late in the evening, the commander in chief of Ukraine’s military, Valery Zaluzhny, said warplanes and an antiaircraft missile had downed two Russian planes near Kyiv, the capital. Several large explosions were heard in Kyiv, but it was not immediately possible to confirm the commander’s account.'
'Although it is often hard to verify the competing claims of success on the battlefield, there is general agreement that Russia’s military has failed to take any major city in its effort to subdue the Western-leaning country that President Vladimir V. Putin has vowed to subjugate.'
'Though many times larger than their adversary and enjoying more advanced weapons and air superiority, Russian forces have become bogged down just about everywhere, struggling with logistical problems, apparent poor troop morale and tactical errors that Ukrainian troops have exploited.'
'Unable to make major military gains, the Russians are carrying out a campaign of indiscriminate bombing that is terrorizing the residents of Ukrainian cities and villages.'
'In Mariupol, Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian government, said the city had neither medicine, heat nor a functioning water system. Attempts to distribute supplies and help people evacuate were scrapped over the weekend in the face of Russian bombardment.'
'Doctors Without Borders, the medical charity that works in conflict zones, said it had received “harrowing reports” from staff members trapped in Mariupol. “Safe passage for those willing and able to escape should be urgently assured in Mariupol and across war affected areas inside Ukraine,” the group said in a statement.'
Here is a disturbing article by David French of The Atlantic about the possible and disturbing outcome of Ukraine's war with Putin
Putin’s military may seek to recover from its early mistakes with increased brutality. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/03/russian-military-power-weakness-ukraine/623323/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share