Taj Mahal & Ry Cooder - “I Shall Not Be Moved” (Official Video)

Music • Views: 25,342

YouTube

Come on, you know me. You know that when a new video by these two reprobates appears on YouTube I’m bound to post it ASAP. As I have now done, because it is good and/or great.

Taj Mahal & Ry Cooder perform “I Shall Not Be Moved” from their upcoming album, ‘GET ON BOARD,’ out April 22 on Nonesuch Records. Pre-order: https://TajMahalRyCooder.lnk.to/GETONBOARD/

Video directed by Jeff Coffman

#tajmahal #rycooder #ishallnotbemoved #getonboard

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533 comments
1
Rightwingconspirator  Feb 23, 2022 • 6:22:28pm

Sad to say but it is a great time to update local backups. There is gonna be or already is a big cyber fight between Russia, Ukraine, and maybe us. Some big services getting hit could blot out clouds accounts and data. Or a few key cables cut…

2
Barefoot Grin  Feb 23, 2022 • 6:25:14pm

I’m reading Graham Greene’s The Quiet American for the second time for a class that includes discussions of the Cold War. The first time I read it to see the history in it. This time I’m reading it with more emphasis on Greene’s style. There’s so much darkness and dark humor I missed the first time.

3
Sherlock Hound  Feb 23, 2022 • 6:28:08pm

re: #1 Rightwingconspirator

I can recommend macrium.com for Windows.

4
Barefoot Grin  Feb 23, 2022 • 6:29:07pm

re: #1 Rightwingconspirator

Sad to say but it is a great time to update local backups. There is gonna be or already is a big cyber fight between Russia, Ukraine, and maybe us. Some big services getting hit could blot out clouds accounts and data. Or a few key cables cut…

Can I click on porn?

5
Charles Johnson  Feb 23, 2022 • 6:31:14pm

re: #1 Rightwingconspirator

Sad to say but it is a great time to update local backups. There is gonna be or already is a big cyber fight between Russia, Ukraine, and maybe us. Some big services getting hit could blot out clouds accounts and data. Or a few key cables cut…

6
wrenchwench  Feb 23, 2022 • 6:34:27pm

50 years ago:

Youtube Video

7
wrenchwench  Feb 23, 2022 • 6:37:54pm

re: #6 wrenchwench

50 years ago:

[Embedded content]

OK, 30 years ago. They’ve been around the block.

8
The Pie Overlord!  Feb 23, 2022 • 6:38:16pm

re: #1 Rightwingconspirator

Sad to say but it is a great time to update local backups. There is gonna be or already is a big cyber fight between Russia, Ukraine, and maybe us. Some big services getting hit could blot out clouds accounts and data. Or a few key cables cut…

Oh great, just when Microsoft is nagging me to install Windows 11!

9
Barefoot Grin  Feb 23, 2022 • 6:42:55pm

I don’t think we often frame it this way, but the sickening thing is that Putin never needed any leverage over Trump to get him to undermine the post-WWII Western order.

10
wrenchwench  Feb 23, 2022 • 6:53:48pm
11
Sherlock Hound  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:03:55pm

All over Twitter but not confirmed.

12
darthstar  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:06:00pm

re: #11 Sherlock Hound

All over Twitter but not confirmed.

[Embedded content]

MSNBC just reported it as well. War is on.

13
Sherlock Hound  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:06:24pm

re: #9 Barefoot Grin

I don’t think we often frame it this way, but the sickening thing is that Putin never needed any leverage over Trump to get him to undermine the post-WWII Western order.

For 40 years, the oligarchs and Republicans have played the long game to get to this point.

They’ll win.

14
Barefoot Grin  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:07:48pm

re: #13 Sherlock Hound

For 40 years, the oligarchs and Republicans have played the long game to get to this point.

They’ll win.

I’m not ready to throw in the towel, but if Trump or a Trumpist is elected in 2024 then I’ll be closer to saying “game over.”

15
The Pie Overlord!  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:09:05pm

“Consequences greater than any you have faced in history!” Who else liked to talk that way. 🤔

16
darthstar  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:09:44pm

Just told my anti-vax brother he’s a fuckin’ idiot…but he’s my brother so I hope he stays healthy, but he’s still a fuckin’ idiot.

He emailed this:

17
wrenchwench  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:11:09pm

When that’s the tweet, it really does go without saying.

18
The Pie Overlord!  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:12:21pm
19
Belafon  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:12:26pm

re: #16 darthstar

Just told my anti-vax brother he’s a fuckin’ idiot…but he’s my brother so I hope he stays healthy, but he’s still a fuckin’ idiot.

He emailed this:

[Embedded content]

“You had a stroke, brother, and you didn’t tell me? Oh, you didn’t get the shot? Then why did you have a stroke? You didn’t have one? Then who is this about since no one had a stroke from getting the shot?”

20
Captain Magic  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:13:28pm

From the BBC:
Posted at 22:0922:09
BREAKING
Putin urges Ukraine soldiers to surrender
In a televised address on Thursday morning, Putin urges Ukrainian soldiers in the combat zone in eastern Ukraine to lay down weapons and return to their homes.

He warned Ukraine that it would be blamed for any bloodshed.

Posted at 21:5921:59
BREAKING
Putin announces ‘military operation’ in Donbas
Russian President Vladimir Putin has just announced a “military operation” in Ukraine’s Donbas region.

He made the declaration in a televised speech at the same time as the UN Security Council was imploring him to stop.

21
Belafon  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:14:17pm

re: #20 Captain Magic

From the BBC:
Posted at 22:0922:09
BREAKING
Putin urges Ukraine soldiers to surrender
In a televised address on Thursday morning, Putin urges Ukrainian soldiers in the combat zone in eastern Ukraine to lay down weapons and return to their homes.

He warned Ukraine that it would be blamed for any bloodshed.

Posted at 21:5921:59
BREAKING
Putin announces ‘military operation’ in Donbas
Russian President Vladimir Putin has just announced a “military operation” in Ukraine’s Donbas region.

He made the declaration in a televised speech at the same time as the UN Security Council was imploring him to stop.

“It’ll be your fault if I hit you.”

22
wrenchwench  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:14:19pm

re: #18 The Pie Overlord!

[Embedded content]

He has a way of getting down to the ingredients.

23
Dave In Austin  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:17:20pm

It’s starting.

24
Dave In Austin  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:18:21pm

Explosions heard in Kyiv

25
darthstar  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:23:11pm

Someone needs to send an ICBM up Putin’s asshole…and strap Tucker Carlson and Donald Trump to it.

26
sagehen  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:26:27pm

For a guy who was a comedian until 2 years ago, and had zero political experience… Zelensky has nerves of steel. And it seems his people appreciate that about him.

27
jaunte  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:26:43pm
28
darthstar  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:26:50pm

Well, this is nice…Col. Alexander Vindman has served Don fuckwit Jr. with a lawsuit for witness intimidation.

29
Dr Lizardo  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:30:27pm

Statement from President Biden:

a minute ago
Statement by President Biden on Russia’s Unprovoked and Unjustified Attack on Ukraine

The prayers of the entire world are with the people of Ukraine tonight as they suffer an unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces. President Putin has chosen a premeditated war that will bring a catastrophic loss of life and human suffering. Russia alone is responsible for the death and destruction this attack will bring, and the United States and its Allies and partners will respond in a united and decisive way. The world will hold Russia accountable.

I will be monitoring the situation from the White House this evening and will continue to get regular updates from my national security team. Tomorrow, I will meet with my G7 counterparts in the morning and then speak to the American people to announce the further consequences the United States and our Allies and partners will impose on Russia for this needless act of aggression against Ukraine and global peace and security. We will also coordinate with our NATO Allies to ensure a strong, united response that deters any aggression against the Alliance. Tonight, Jill and I are praying for the brave and proud people of Ukraine.

whitehouse.gov

30
darthstar  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:30:41pm

Oh, and fuck Belarus, too. May they suffer the same fate as Putin.

31
No Malarkey!  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:32:21pm

Every Russian in the West, except political refugees, should be told to pack their bags and go home.

32
Dr Lizardo  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:32:48pm
33
darthstar  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:33:00pm

Seeing an American reporter in a bullet proof vest and a helmet isn’t something I like. I do hope she survives this ordeal.

34
No Malarkey!  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:33:12pm

re: #30 darthstar

Oh, and fuck Belarus, too. May they suffer the same fate as Putin.

The people of Belarus are suffering under a brutal dictator as well.

35
darthstar  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:33:59pm

re: #31 No Malarkey!

Every Russian in the West, except political refugees, should be told to pack their bags and go home.

Yep. No exceptions. Pack ‘em on planes and send them home.

36
darthstar  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:35:13pm

re: #34 No Malarkey!

The people of Belarus are suffering under a brutal dictator as well.

I’m talking about the government. Same goes for Russia. I want every Putin supporter held accountable - including Cruz, Carlson, Trump, Trump Jr., and the rest of those fuckers.

37
No Malarkey!  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:36:23pm
38
Shiplord Kirel: Fan of Big Bird, Bert, and Ernie  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:36:24pm

re: #35 darthstar

Yep. No exceptions. Pack ‘em on planes and send them home.

Any Republicans who want to go with them might do well to leave too.

39
darthstar  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:37:17pm

Holy fuck.

40
Dave In Austin  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:37:19pm

Youtube Video

41
Dr Lizardo  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:37:22pm

The next step should be the expulsion of all Russian diplomatic personnel in the US and the EU. Of course, leave some back channels open via the Swiss legations.

42
Crush White Nationalism  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:38:16pm
43
Dr Lizardo  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:38:33pm
44
jaunte  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:39:25pm
45
darthstar  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:39:50pm

re: #39 darthstar

Holy fuck.

[Embedded content]

I want someone to target these incinerators and blow them the fuck up whenever possible. Don’t let Putin ‘evaporate’ the evidence of his actions.

46
Hecuba's daughter  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:40:53pm

re: #26 sagehen

For a guy who was a comedian until 2 years ago, and had zero political experience… Zelensky has nerves of steel. And it seems his people appreciate that about him.

He also has a law degree, but never practiced.

47
Shiplord Kirel: Fan of Big Bird, Bert, and Ernie  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:41:39pm

Apparently the Russians are landing troops at Kyiv airport. Ukrainian planners should have anticipated this. I hope they did at any rate.
airport.
mobile.twitter.com

48
Patricia Kayden  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:42:08pm

re: #31 No Malarkey!

Every Russian in the West, except political refugees, should be told to pack their bags and go home.

No. That sounds like what Americans did to the Japanese during WWII. Let’s not penalize all Russians just because their leader is a warmongering autocrat. I’m pretty sure that there are progressive Russians who are appalled by what is happening,

49
wrenchwench  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:42:50pm

re: #39 darthstar

Holy fuck.

[Russian has introduced mobile crematoriums that follow Russian troops into battle so they can…]

…do whatever they decide to do with them.

50
No Malarkey!  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:44:46pm

re: #48 Patricia Kayden

No. That sounds like what Americans did to the Japanese during WWII. Let’s not penalize all Russians just because their leader is a warmongering autocrat. I’m pretty sure that there are progressive Russians who are appalled by what is happening,

They can stay if they apply for asylum. I’m not talking about interning anyone, but the US should no longer be a playground for Russian oligarchs.

51
Hecuba's daughter  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:47:18pm

re: #48 Patricia Kayden

No. That sounds like what Americans did to the Japanese during WWII. Let’s not penalize all Russians just because their leader is a warmongering autocrat. I’m pretty sure that there are progressive Russians who are appalled by what is happening,

We aren’t putting them in concentration camps — we are just telling them to return home — especially those who bought expensive property from Trump.

52
Dr Lizardo  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:47:44pm
53
darthstar  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:48:39pm

Donald Trump is a threat to national security and needs to be treated as such.

54
wrenchwench  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:49:55pm

re: #50 No Malarkey!

They can stay if they apply for asylum. I’m not talking about interning anyone, but the US should no longer be a playground for Russian oligarchs.

Close all accounts over a certain tiny size.

55
sagehen  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:51:10pm

re: #48 Patricia Kayden

No. That sounds like what Americans did to the Japanese during WWII. Let’s not penalize all Russians just because their leader is a warmongering autocrat. I’m pretty sure that there are progressive Russians who are appalled by what is happening,

what we did to the Japanese in WWII was Japanese ethnicity, half of whom were native-born US citizens and the other half were green card holders. What No Malarky is talking about is Russian nationals, on short-term visas.

56
jaunte  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:52:59pm
57
jaunte  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:54:52pm

Ukraine is speaking at UN Security Council right now. Watch here.
media.un.org

58
Dr Lizardo  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:55:09pm

re: #55 sagehen

what we did to the Japanese in WWII was Japanese ethnicity, half of whom were native-born US citizens and the other half were green card holders. What No Malarky is talking about is Russian nationals, on short-term visas.

Well, before we start going after Ivan and Lena visiting Disneyworld with their kids (or some kid from Nizhny Novgorod studying IT at an American university), I’d suggest we begin with the immediate expulsion of all Russian diplomats and the severance of diplomatic relations for the foreseeable future.

59
darthstar  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:55:15pm

re: #56 jaunte

That was a riveting exchange. Russia will deny their presence until they have total control. This is going to be messy, and it’s going to affect all of us before it’s over.

60
Patricia Kayden  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:55:22pm

re: #53 darthstar

61
Patricia Kayden  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:55:51pm

re: #55 sagehen

what we did to the Japanese in WWII was Japanese ethnicity, half of whom were native-born US citizens and the other half were green card holders. What No Malarky is talking about is Russian nationals, on short-term visas.

Okay. Understood.

62
I Would Prefer Not To  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:56:02pm

Tell me again why the human race deserves to survive.

Wednesday a first-of-its-kind nitrogen-infused cola that has a creamier and smoother taste compared to traditional carbonated sodas. The beverage, called Nitro Pepsi, is being released in the United States on March 28 and comes in regular and vanilla flavors.

CNN

63
Dr Lizardo  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:57:47pm

re: #60 Patricia Kayden

Oh, it’s on FNC so no surprise.

I’d never make it as a journalist, as I have minimal tolerance for bullshit. I’d just tell Trump, “Oh go fuck yourself, you traitorous piece of shit” and cut his connection.

64
No Malarkey!  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:59:46pm
65
sagehen  Feb 23, 2022 • 7:59:55pm

Youtube Video

66
wrenchwench  Feb 23, 2022 • 8:00:46pm

re: #63 Dr Lizardo

Oh, it’s on FNC so no surprise.

I’d never make it as a journalist, as I have minimal tolerance for bullshit. I’d just tell Trump, “Oh go fuck yourself, you traitorous piece of shit” and cut his connection.

Access— denied.

67
Dr Lizardo  Feb 23, 2022 • 8:01:50pm
68
jaunte  Feb 23, 2022 • 8:04:34pm

Ukraine UN Ambassador just advised his Russian counterpart that “there is no purgatory for war criminals, you go straight to Hell.”

69
mmmirele  Feb 23, 2022 • 8:05:34pm

Security council just broke, the Ukrainian representative was not having any of the Russian Federation’s shit.

70
Sherlock Hound  Feb 23, 2022 • 8:05:38pm

re: #47 Shiplord Kirel: Fan of Big Bird, Bert, and Ernie

Apparently the Russians are landing troops at Kyiv airport. Ukrainian planners should have anticipated this. I hope they did at any rate.
airport.
mobile.twitter.com

Look for notices on charts that read “AIRCRAFT INFRINGING ON NON FREE FLYING ZONES MAY BE FIRED UPON WITHOUT WARNING”.

Just like MH17.

71
DodgerFan1988  Feb 23, 2022 • 8:06:11pm
72
No Malarkey!  Feb 23, 2022 • 8:08:45pm
73
Dr Lizardo  Feb 23, 2022 • 8:09:53pm
74
aatharuv  Feb 23, 2022 • 8:10:05pm

re: #52 Dr Lizardo

I don’t think this is confirmed yet, but Reuters has (according to multiple sources) reported that passengers and staff are being evacuated from it.

Other reports claim that it is under attack by Russian Special forces.

75
The Pie Overlord!  Feb 23, 2022 • 8:10:41pm

JFC

76
jaunte  Feb 23, 2022 • 8:10:42pm

Evil buffoon is evil.

77
Dr Lizardo  Feb 23, 2022 • 8:11:05pm

re: #74 aatharuv

Reports I’m seeing are saying that Russian Special Forces troops have already secured the airport.

78
The Pie Overlord!  Feb 23, 2022 • 8:12:34pm

re: #76 jaunte

[Embedded content]

Evil buffoon is evil.

He thinks he is bulletproof now that the NY prosecutors have resigned.

79
Dr Lizardo  Feb 23, 2022 • 8:13:23pm
80
jaunte  Feb 23, 2022 • 8:16:25pm
81
The Pie Overlord!  Feb 23, 2022 • 8:17:46pm

A literal blood libel:

82
The Pie Overlord!  Feb 23, 2022 • 8:19:37pm

Fuck these tankies

83
Dr Lizardo  Feb 23, 2022 • 8:21:33pm

Full-scale invasion.

And let’s not think that Putin will be satisfied with just Ukraine. In his insane, Hitlerian speech on Monday, Putin said he will not rest until all the areas that were formerly under Russian control are returned.

And that included the Baltic States.

84
Hecuba's daughter  Feb 23, 2022 • 8:21:58pm

re: #58 Dr Lizardo

Well, before we start going after Ivan and Lena visiting Disneyworld with their kids (or some kid from Nizhny Novgorod studying IT at an American university), I’d suggest we begin with the immediate expulsion of all Russian diplomats and the severance of diplomatic relations for the foreseeable future.

It’s not just diplomats — anyone connected to the oligarchs needs to leave immediately and all their assets frozen.

85
Dr Lizardo  Feb 23, 2022 • 8:22:25pm

re: #84 Hecuba’s daughter

It’s not just diplomats — anyone connected to the oligarchs needs to leave immediately and all their assets frozen.

Absolutely.

86
jaunte  Feb 23, 2022 • 8:23:23pm
87
DodgerFan1988  Feb 23, 2022 • 8:27:59pm
88
Crush White Nationalism  Feb 23, 2022 • 8:29:16pm

mathler.com 22 3/6

⬜🟨🟨⬜⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Wordle 249 6/6

⬛🟩⬛🟨⬛
⬛🟨⬛⬛⬛
⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩
⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩
⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Grrr.

89
Sherlock Hound  Feb 23, 2022 • 8:36:24pm

For radio buffs, this is a remote receiver in the Netherlands.

90
No Malarkey!  Feb 23, 2022 • 8:38:46pm
91
Dr Lizardo  Feb 23, 2022 • 8:40:20pm
92
Dr Lizardo  Feb 23, 2022 • 8:41:19pm
93
Rightwingconspirator  Feb 23, 2022 • 8:45:45pm

re: #90 No Malarkey!

[Embedded content]

Nope. Blood from turnip.

94
jaunte  Feb 23, 2022 • 8:46:37pm
95
I Would Prefer Not To  Feb 23, 2022 • 8:46:39pm

I’m wrong once again. I thought Putin would just take the territories for now (and take the rest on another day). Seems like he is going for it all.

96
No Malarkey!  Feb 23, 2022 • 8:47:20pm

Freepers at odds over support for Russia, but are united in blaming Biden for the attack. freerepublic.com

97
Dr Lizardo  Feb 23, 2022 • 8:48:36pm

NATO Article 4 calls for consultation over military matters when “the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the parties is threatened.”

Latvia is 100% correct on this, because they sense that they’re next up on Putin’s shit list.

98
Dr Lizardo  Feb 23, 2022 • 8:50:44pm

re: #95 I Would Prefer Not To

I’m wrong once again. I thought Putin would just take the territories for now (and take the rest on another day). Seems like he is going for it all.

In Putin’s speech (and revisionist history lesson) on Monday, Putin made it abundantly clear that he’s determined to reassemble the Russian Empire - with a little of the old Soviet Empire thrown in for good measure.

Ukraine is just the beginning.

99
Citizen K  Feb 23, 2022 • 8:52:53pm

re: #82 The Pie Overlord!

I’m just….ugh.

THe fact that people are still trying to fucking run cover for Putin and blame the US and NATO for not bowing down and declaring Putin emperor of the world is just….holy fucking christ.

100
Crush White Nationalism  Feb 23, 2022 • 8:54:39pm

re: #82 The Pie Overlord!

101
I Would Prefer Not To  Feb 23, 2022 • 8:54:40pm

re: #98 Dr Lizardo

In Putin’s speech (and revisionist history lesson) on Monday, Putin made it abundantly clear that he’s determined to reassemble the Russian Empire - with a little of the old Soviet Empire thrown in for good measure.

Ukraine is just the beginning.

I’m hopping he has bitten off more than he can chew.

102
Dr Lizardo  Feb 23, 2022 • 8:54:51pm
103
Targetpractice  Feb 23, 2022 • 8:57:03pm

re: #82 The Pie Overlord!

Fuck these tankies

[Embedded content]

They can fuck right off with this “If only NATO…” Russian propaganda. First, Ukraine approached NATO about joining, asserting that NATO tried to force Ukraine to join is regurgitating Vlad’s lies. And second, Russia is not a member of NATO and so has no veto authority over what countries join it.

FFS, it’s the abusive husband arguing that getting a restraining order against him justifies his beating the shit out of his ex because the possibility of being arrested made him feel “threatened.”

104
Dr Lizardo  Feb 23, 2022 • 8:57:03pm

re: #101 I Would Prefer Not To

I’m hopping he has bitten off more than he can chew.

If he starts launching military incursions against NATO member states, he will have. Let’s hope at that point that the Russian military might choose to say, “Fuck this noise” and solve the Putin problem once and for all.

105
wrenchwench  Feb 23, 2022 • 8:58:21pm

re: #101 I Would Prefer Not To

I’m hopping he has bitten off more than he can chew.

I hope it bites him back.

106
BeachDem  Feb 23, 2022 • 8:58:35pm

re: #99 Citizen K

I’m just….ugh.

THe fact that people are still trying to fucking run cover for Putin and blame the US and NATO for not bowing down and declaring Putin emperor of the world is just….holy fucking christ.

I didn’t think I could hate the traitorous, repulsive Republicans and Trump more than I did, but I was wrong. I have now engaged every fiber of my being in it—probably not healthy, but I want them all to pay a price for their despicable, hideous words and actions—every single fucking one of them.

107
retired cynic  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:00:10pm

re: #106 BeachDem

Honey, I am with you!!!

108
jaunte  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:01:36pm
109
Crush White Nationalism  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:01:58pm

re: #101 I Would Prefer Not To

I’m hopping he has bitten off more than he can chew.

110
Dr Lizardo  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:04:41pm

Just a heads up - there are unconfirmed reports now on Czech TV that Moldova is under attack from Russian forces stationed in Transnistria .

Czech TV is looking into it to find confirmation. It this is true, we’ve got a bigger problem on our hands now.

111
Citizen K  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:05:06pm

re: #106 BeachDem

I didn’t think I could hate the traitorous, repulsive Republicans and Trump more than I did, but I was wrong. I have now engaged every fiber of my being in it—probably not healthy, but I want them all to pay a price for their despicable, hideous words and actions—every single fucking one of them.

The frustrating and galling thing is how it’s not just the GOP on this, but so many lefter-than-thou folks who have taken a reasonable concern of the US playing world police and extrapolated it into the most absurd irresponsible extreme, that anyone that the US and NATO give material military support to must actually be the victims. That combined with strange USSR nostalgia and….yeah….the ugliest horseshoe possible.

112
Dr Lizardo  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:05:56pm

Presumably, they know damn well it would be an absolute market bloodbath.

113
Dr Lizardo  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:07:36pm
114
Belafon  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:10:45pm
115
Targetpractice  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:11:09pm

re: #113 Dr Lizardo

[Embedded content]

Looks like he’s playing for all the marbles, seeing how far he can go before he experiences push back greater than just some economic bloodletting.

116
A Three Hour Tour  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:12:07pm

re: #114 Belafon

America may stand with the people of Ukraine, but does the GOP?
Seriously?

117
KGxvi  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:12:19pm

Trump apparently said something earlier that this is the result of a rigged election, and, you know what? He’s right. Not that 2020 was rigged but that 2016 was rigged. There is zero reason why, in the 21st century after all the reforms we have already made to our system of government that the presidency can be won with less than the most votes.

Hillary had plenty of faults (not the least of was that she seemed to approach every issue as if it was 1998 or maybe 2002), but there’s no way she would have fucked in our foreign policy the way that the orange idiot did.

118
Sherlock Hound  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:12:33pm

re: #114 Belafon

“But Republicans stand with Putin!”

119
Targetpractice  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:13:25pm

re: #114 Belafon

[Embedded content]

“But we stand against anything Biden does.”

120
DodgerFan1988  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:13:58pm
121
Crush White Nationalism  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:14:16pm

re: #115 Targetpractice

Looks like he’s playing for all the marbles, seeing how far he can go before he experiences push back greater than just some economic bloodletting.

He’s threatened nuclear war if other nations try to stop him in his insane speech, but he has to be stopped.

Russia is going to be absolutely destroyed economically.
How does he think he can finance this massive invasion and occupation?

122
Dr Lizardo  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:14:43pm

re: #115 Targetpractice

Looks like he’s playing for all the marbles, seeing how far he can go before he experiences push back greater than just some economic bloodletting.

Maybe. Still awaiting some bona fide confirmation on what’s happening in Moldova. Hopefully, it’s just “fog of war”.

But Putin’s gonna keep pushing until there’s a military response against him.

123
Citizen K  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:14:47pm

re: #113 Dr Lizardo

[Embedded content]

And the lack of Moldova mentioned in any of this up until his reported attack suggests how much bullshit Putin is full of if he’s willing to simply attack a Ukranian neighbor just for, at most charitable, a new staging point.

124
Dr Lizardo  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:16:29pm

re: #123 Citizen K

And the lack of Moldova mentioned in any of this up until his reported attack suggests how much bullshit Putin is full of if he’s willing to simply attack a Ukranian neighbor just for, at most charitable, a new staging point.

Maybe he’s decided to resolve the Moldova-Transnistria issue once and for all. A minor aggression, by the by.

125
Eclectic Cyborg  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:17:31pm

I was just crawling into bed when I suddenly got at least half a dozen breaking news alerts on my phone.

It’s going to be a long fucking night, isn’t it?

126
jaunte  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:17:38pm
127
stpaulbear  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:17:40pm

re: #114 Belafon

That Tweet isn’t going well for them.

128
A Three Hour Tour  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:19:58pm

re: #125 Eclectic Cyborg

I was just crawling into bed when I suddenly got at least half a dozen breaking news alerts on my phone.

It’s going to be a long fucking night, isn’t it?

Were any of them about Moldova from reputable sources?

129
Belafon  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:20:01pm
130
Eclectic Cyborg  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:20:18pm

re: #127 stpaulbear

That Tweet isn’t going well for them.

Good. The more people see through their bullshit, the better.

131
Jack Burton in Mactified Forshion  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:23:19pm

re: #130 Eclectic Cyborg

Good. The more people see through their bullshit, the better.

Problem is, Twitter isn’t real life.

132
Eclectic Cyborg  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:24:26pm

re: #131 Jack Burton in Mactified Forshion

Problem is, Twitter isn’t real life.

I know. But it’s better than them tweeting it and getting a whole bunch of support from MAGA nutbars.

133
Dr Lizardo  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:25:18pm

Czech TV is looking into the Moldova situation, and it was noted there were serious thunderstorms a little bit ago near the capital. Might’ve just been the locals on edge (which is entirely understandable, all things considered) but they’re still trying to ascertain the exact situation.

134
Targetpractice  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:26:13pm

re: #121 Punish Domestic Terrorists

He’s threatened nuclear war if other nations try to stop him in his insane speech, but he has to be stopped.

Russia is going to be absolutely destroyed economically.
How does he think he can finance this massive invasion and occupation?

Oil. Odds of the West imposing an embargo on Russian oil and natural gas exports is virtually nil.

135
jaunte  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:27:06pm

Belarusians have joined.

136
Dr Lizardo  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:28:15pm

re: #134 Targetpractice

Oil. Odds of the West imposing an embargo on Russian oil and natural gas exports is virtually nil.

Under the circumstances, I’d say it’s seriously worth considering. Shut down Russia’s economy. Granted, he can still sell oil and gas to China, but a lot of that infrastructure is still in the planning stages or currently under construction.

137
Dr Lizardo  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:29:07pm

re: #135 jaunte

Putin’s going for it. It’s not just the separatist areas, he’s gonna take the whole damn country.

138
Jack Burton in Mactified Forshion  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:31:41pm

re: #137 Dr Lizardo

Putin’s going for it. It’s not just the separatist areas, he’s gonna take the whole damn country.

This shouldn’t be a shock to anyone paying attention to where they put troops and equipment.

139
Belafon  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:31:54pm

re: #134 Targetpractice

Oil. Odds of the West imposing an embargo on Russian oil and natural gas exports is virtually nil.

The US and Germany stopped Nordstream 2.

140
jaunte  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:33:16pm

Czech Republic Minister of Foreign Affairs

141
Targetpractice  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:37:15pm

re: #139 Belafon

The US and Germany stopped Nordstream 2.

There’s still pipelines from Russia to Europe that run through Ukraine. And with NS2 currently “on-hold,” that means capacity that was to switch to it will continue to run through Ukraine.

142
Jack Burton in Mactified Forshion  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:37:38pm

re: #139 Belafon

The US and Germany stopped Nordstream 2.

But since it wasn’t built yet, this doesn’t really effect anything right now.

Although, like Keystone XL it seems to be another one of Schrödinger’s Pipelines to the MAGAts. It exists and was shut down denying us (or whoever) gas/oil/pixie dust when it’s convenient to them, and it doesn’t exist when it’s not.

143
Dr Lizardo  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:39:00pm

re: #140 jaunte

144
William Lewis  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:40:41pm

re: #134 Targetpractice

Oil. Odds of the West imposing an embargo on Russian oil and natural gas exports is virtually nil.

The critical thing is getting SWIFT onboard.

145
sagehen  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:40:48pm

re: #134 Targetpractice

Oil. Odds of the West imposing an embargo on Russian oil and natural gas exports is virtually nil.

If we can build 100,000 airplanes in a year, when our population and industrial base was 1/2 what it is now, we can build a nation’s worth of windmills and solar panels in a year.

146
jaunte  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:41:32pm
147
Dr Lizardo  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:42:07pm

re: #144 William Lewis

The critical thing is getting SWIFT onboard.

Also, pull the banking licenses of any and all Russian banks operating in the European Union (or anywhere in the West, for that matter).

148
Hecuba's daughter  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:42:40pm

re: #137 Dr Lizardo

Putin’s going for it. It’s not just the separatist areas, he’s gonna take the whole damn country.

We should be sending Ivan and Lena at Disneyworld and the kid from Nizhny Novgorod back home.

149
Targetpractice  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:43:12pm

re: #146 jaunte

[Embedded content]

Evergreen meme:

150
sagehen  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:44:48pm
151
DodgerFan1988  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:47:53pm
152
Jack Burton in Mactified Forshion  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:48:07pm

re: #145 sagehen

If we can build 100,000 airplanes in a year, when our population and industrial base was 1/2 what it is now, we can build a nation’s worth of windmills and solar panels in a year.

They needed to stop listening to anti-nuclear idiots, and go that route until the complete phase out of fossil fuels and politically inconveniently sourced natural gas. France did, Germany did not and now they are in this mess.

Windmills and solar panels aren’t going to fix this fast, nothing will now but them buying more LNG from the US and it driving prices up here.

And because most idiots in the US would rather live under a dictatorship than not if they have cheap gas and utility bills and really don’t give 2 shits about anyone else, we have a problem.

153
ckkatz  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:49:08pm

=
=

=
=

154
sagehen  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:50:00pm

re: #152 Jack Burton in Mactified Forshion

They needed to stop listening to anti-nuclear idiots, and go that route until the complete phase out of fossil fuels and politically inconveniently sourced natural gas. France did, Germany did not and now they are in this mess.

when the missiles start flying… I see a vulnerability with nuke plants.

155
Jack Burton in Mactified Forshion  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:51:01pm

re: #154 sagehen

when the missiles start flying… I see a vulnerability with nuke plants.

If missiles are flying in Germany and France, energy costs are the least of their problems.

156
Dr Lizardo  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:53:15pm
157
Targetpractice  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:53:50pm

re: #151 DodgerFan1988

[Embedded content]

I can’t remember ever hearing these same asshats say “Wait, perhaps invading Iraq is a bad idea because gas prices will go up.”

158
ckkatz  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:53:56pm

Maybe so and maybe no… We are going to see a lot of this. Welcome to the fog of war.

159
retired cynic  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:53:59pm

re: #156 Dr Lizardo

That is a LONG way west of the front!

160
Belafon  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:54:30pm

Total change of subject. I was looking for a Jazz camp for my son, and found this, 2022.jazz.org, a free virtual camp sponsored by the Lincoln Center. Winston Marsalis is one of the lecturers. The problem for my son is that it’s the first week of summer band.

161
ckkatz  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:56:26pm

re: #160 Belafon

Total change of subject. I was looking for a Jazz camp for my son, and found this, 2022.jazz.org, a free virtual camp sponsored by the Lincoln Center. Winston Marsalis is one of the lecturers. The problem for my son is that it’s the first week of summer band.

Will they record the sessions for later viewing?

162
Belafon  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:56:38pm
163
Sherlock Hound  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:56:47pm

re: #147 Dr Lizardo

Also, pull the banking licenses of any and all Russian banks operating in the European Union (or anywhere in the West, for that matter).

I think Alfa Bank needs to lose their network. Permanently.

164
Belafon  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:57:56pm

re: #161 ckkatz

Will they record the sessions for later viewing?

Don’t know. But it’s six days of about 6-8 hours of material, and the instructor is teaching in each time slot each day.

165
Belafon  Feb 23, 2022 • 9:58:41pm

I figured some of you might like it as well.

166
I Would Prefer Not To  Feb 23, 2022 • 10:01:46pm

they are not Russian soldiers they are tourists attempting to have some political discourse.

also Fuck Trump and all of fox news.

also fuck snowden and his tweet about russia not attacking. Hope he stays in moscow.

long list of people to tell fuck off, but I need to sleep.

peace.

167
ckkatz  Feb 23, 2022 • 10:08:33pm

I just want to note that military reports regarding destroyed enemy are generally very… optimistic.

Still good for the Ukrainians!

Only another thousand or so more to go.

168
Targetpractice  Feb 23, 2022 • 10:12:12pm

re: #167 ckkatz

I just want to note that military reports regarding destroyed enemy are generally very… optimistic.

Still good for the Ukrainians!

Only another thousand or so more to go.

[Embedded content]

I imagine some or most of those might have been damaged rather than downed, but still every bird dropped and every tank popped is resources that Russia cannot easily replace. This isn’t WWII where they could churn T-34s out by the dozen, a modern MBT takes weeks or even months to build, fit out, and train up a crew to ride into battle.

169
Jack Burton in Mactified Forshion  Feb 23, 2022 • 10:15:17pm

re: #167 ckkatz

I just want to note that military reports regarding destroyed enemy are generally very… optimistic.

Still good for the Ukrainians!

Only another thousand or so more to go.

[Embedded content]

If we gave them Stingers and Javelins there’s going to be a lot of this. Just how “good” the Russian military is technologically is way overrated.

Same with China. When Russian and China are called “near-peers” it’s hard for me not to not laugh. If they didn’t have nukes, no one would pay any attention to them at all.

All the “ZOMG WE NEED F-22S AND F-35S!!! RUSSIA AND CHINA ARE AHEAD IN THE NEXT-GEN FIGHTER ARENA” bullshit are real kneeslappers.

170
retired cynic  Feb 23, 2022 • 10:16:51pm

re: #169 Jack Burton in Mactified Forshion

I’m leaning on you here. I know so little.

171
DodgerFan1988  Feb 23, 2022 • 10:18:22pm
172
Dr Lizardo  Feb 23, 2022 • 10:19:17pm
173
ckkatz  Feb 23, 2022 • 10:19:51pm

re: #168 Targetpractice

I imagine some or most of those might have been damaged rather than downed, but still every bird dropped and every tank popped is resources that Russia cannot easily replace. This isn’t WWII where they could churn T-34s out by the dozen, a modern MBT takes weeks or even months to build, fit out, and train up a crew to ride into battle.

Beyond combat damage, even just running tanks, helicopters and airplanes wears them out. At which point they will need repair and overhaul. Plus there is a limit on how long soldiers can perform well under the physical and mental stress.

Which is why a fierce resistance that slows down and delays an attacking force can have such a major effect.

174
Belafon  Feb 23, 2022 • 10:21:34pm

If the Ukraine army could keep its discipline during the times Russia tried to provoke them, Russia is going to have a fierce battle on its hands.

175
jaunte  Feb 23, 2022 • 10:21:46pm
176
jaunte  Feb 23, 2022 • 10:22:27pm

“…President Trump may have been involved with a change to the Republican Party campaign platform last year that watered down support for U.S. assistance to Ukraine, according to new information from someone who was involved.

Diana Denman, a Republican delegate who supported arming U.S. allies in Ukraine, has told people that Trump aide J.D. Gordon said at the Republican Convention in 2016 that Trump directed him to support weakening that position in the official platform.”

177
Targetpractice  Feb 23, 2022 • 10:24:03pm

re: #169 Jack Burton in Mactified Forshion

If we gave them Stingers and Javelins there’s going to be a lot of this. Just how “good” the Russian military is technologically is way overrated.

Same with China. When Russian and China are called “near-peers” it’s hard for me not to not laugh. If they didn’t have nukes, no one would pay any attention to them at all.

All the “ZOMG WE NEED F-22S AND F-35S!!! RUSSIA AND CHINA ARE AHEAD IN THE NEXT-GEN FIGHTER ARENA” bullshit are real kneeslappers.

They’ve been doin’ this shit since Stalin was around, rolling advanced prototypes through Red Square and boasting about how they’re already building them with that quick Soviet efficiency, which gets filtered from the intel guys to the politicians through the MIC into “ZOMG! THE SOVIETS ARE SO FAR AHEAD OF US! WE NEED TO IMMEDIATELY PLOW OUR ENTIRE BUDGET INTO SURPASSING THEM IN EVERY WAY!”

See also: The “Bomber Gap,” the “Missile Gap,” the “Cruiser Gap,” and “Bomber Gap 2.0” in the 80s.

178
Shiplord Kirel: Fan of Big Bird, Bert, and Ernie  Feb 23, 2022 • 10:25:40pm
179
sagehen  Feb 23, 2022 • 10:26:18pm

re: #157 Targetpractice

I can’t remember ever hearing these same asshats say “Wait, perhaps invading Iraq is a bad idea because gas prices will go up.”

of course not, it was only going to take 6 weeks. And then we’d hand out the oil leases to companies of our choosing.

180
Dr Lizardo  Feb 23, 2022 • 10:26:56pm
181
Hecuba's daughter  Feb 23, 2022 • 10:27:53pm

re: #169 Jack Burton in Mactified Forshion

If we gave them Stingers and Javelins there’s going to be a lot of this. Just how “good” the Russian military is technologically is way overrated.

Same with China. When Russian and China are called “near-peers” it’s hard for me not to not laugh. If they didn’t have nukes, no one would pay any attention to them at all.

All the “ZOMG WE NEED F-22S AND F-35S!!! RUSSIA AND CHINA ARE AHEAD IN THE NEXT-GEN FIGHTER ARENA” bullshit are real kneeslappers.

It’s not China’s military power, but its economic power that attracts attention. Unlike Russia, they have made the investment in their people and nation and are working hard to be the leading economic superpower.

182
Captain Ron  Feb 23, 2022 • 10:28:31pm
183
Captain Ron  Feb 23, 2022 • 10:31:42pm

deleted duplicate

184
William Lewis  Feb 23, 2022 • 10:32:33pm

re: #169 Jack Burton in Mactified Forshion

If we gave them Stingers and Javelins there’s going to be a lot of this. Just how “good” the Russian military is technologically is way overrated.

Same with China. When Russian and China are called “near-peers” it’s hard for me not to not laugh. If they didn’t have nukes, no one would pay any attention to them at all.

All the “ZOMG WE NEED F-22S AND F-35S!!! RUSSIA AND CHINA ARE AHEAD IN THE NEXT-GEN FIGHTER ARENA” bullshit are real kneeslappers.

The Chinese do have some good prototypes but seem to be putting their money in a naval arms race remincent of Imperial Germany thinking they could beat the Royal Navy with a fleet in being.

They do have lots of excess men and loosing a couple of millions would help China demographics; that’s a real danger.

The Russians have neither.

185
sagehen  Feb 23, 2022 • 10:33:27pm

re: #177 Targetpractice

See also: The “Bomber Gap,” the “Missile Gap,” the “Cruiser Gap,” and “Bomber Gap 2.0” in the 80s.

In 1959-1960, Ike knew all these breathless media reports were total bullshit, but all the proof was super-classified stuff he couldn’t discuss publicly.

But this was the impetus for his speech warning about the military-industrial complex.

186
Targetpractice  Feb 23, 2022 • 10:33:58pm

Sat for a sec to actually listen to Tuckyo Rose’s ranting and one of the bits that got stuck in my teeth was his disputing that Ukraine is a “liberal democracy.” As compared to that stalwart example in Russia, where political challengers have been banned from running, chased out of the country, or succumbing to “sudden” illness any time Putin has found himself running for reelection. A man who joked recently that he and Medvedev are just changing job titles but he’ll remain the guy running things.

187
Belafon  Feb 23, 2022 • 10:35:01pm

re: #181 Hecuba’s daughter

It’s not China’s military power, but its economic power that attracts attention. Unlike Russia, they have made the investment in their people and nation and are working hard to be the leading economic superpower.

China is building its military power to at first be the power in the nearby seas. That’s the purpose of their hypersonic missiles.

188
Belafon  Feb 23, 2022 • 10:35:45pm
189
William Lewis  Feb 23, 2022 • 10:35:55pm

re: #171 DodgerFan1988

Invade Karelia claiming it is historical Finn territory?

< Whistles innocently >

190
Captain Ron  Feb 23, 2022 • 10:35:57pm

The moment when the Russian “Kalibr” maneuvering missile hits the Ivano-Frankivsk airfield.

191
Belafon  Feb 23, 2022 • 10:36:26pm

re: #186 Targetpractice

And it doesn’t matter. The invasion by Russia is enough of a reason to act.

192
Belafon  Feb 23, 2022 • 10:37:11pm

Could a Great Scandinavian Empire invade Russia during the winter?

193
Captain Ron  Feb 23, 2022 • 10:39:00pm
194
Dr Lizardo  Feb 23, 2022 • 10:39:12pm
195
ckkatz  Feb 23, 2022 • 10:40:50pm

More fog of war. I guess we will find out what, if anything, actually happened eventually.

196
Dr Lizardo  Feb 23, 2022 • 10:41:49pm
197
Dr Lizardo  Feb 23, 2022 • 10:42:29pm
198
Targetpractice  Feb 23, 2022 • 10:43:15pm

re: #184 William Lewis

The Chinese do have some good prototypes but seem to be putting their money in a naval arms race remincent of Imperial Germany thinking they could beat the Royal Navy with a fleet in being.

They do have lots of excess men and loosing a couple of millions would help China demographics; that’s a real danger.

The Russians have neither.

Basically Russia and China each have the solution to the other’s problem: Russia has plenty of investment in R&D but none of the resources to actually take advantage of it, while China is practically swimming in resources but is stuck just copying whatever it can steal from Russia and the West. So while the Russians can create next-gen weapons capable of meeting or beating our own, they can’t afford to build more than a few prototypes before the coffers run dry. And the Chinese are stuck building cheap copies of weapons that have already been surpassed because that’s all they have access to.

199
RinaX  Feb 23, 2022 • 10:43:40pm

Took a break from doom-scrolling and MSNBC to Wordle.

Wordle 250 5/6

⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟨⬜⬜🟩
⬜🟨🟩⬜🟩
⬜🟩🟩🟨🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

201
Jack Burton in Mactified Forshion  Feb 23, 2022 • 10:45:59pm

re: #177 Targetpractice

“Mr. President. We must not allow a mine-shaft gap!”

202
Captain Ron  Feb 23, 2022 • 10:48:32pm
203
William Lewis  Feb 23, 2022 • 10:50:05pm

re: #198 Targetpractice

Basically Russia and China each have the solution to the other’s problem: Russia has plenty of investment in R&D but none of the resources to actually take advantage of it, while China is practically swimming in resources but is stuck just copying whatever it can steal from Russia and the West. So while the Russians can create next-gen weapons capable of meeting or beating our own, they can’t afford to build more than a few prototypes before the coffers run dry. And the Chinese are stuck building cheap copies of weapons that have already been surpassed because that’s all they have access to.

Yep. The T-14 Armata is a great example of this. _IF_ the hype is even slightly close, it is a world class tank but the Russians are so broke they might actually build the first 100 later this year but even that is doubtful now. They’ll be spending the money to refurb the T-90 tanks that don’t end up like the T-80’s in Chechnya - total losses due to magazine detonations.

204
Dr Lizardo  Feb 23, 2022 • 10:52:33pm

From CNBC:

Russian ruble plummets to record low against the dollar as Putin attacks Ukraine

cnbc.com

The ruble is becoming rubble. Let’s see how far Russia’s Central Bank is willing to go to prop it up.

205
Dr Lizardo  Feb 23, 2022 • 10:53:13pm
206
Jack Burton in Mactified Forshion  Feb 23, 2022 • 10:55:39pm

re: #181 Hecuba’s daughter

It’s not China’s military power, but its economic power that attracts attention. Unlike Russia, they have made the investment in their people and nation and are working hard to be the leading economic superpower.

It’s a house of cards. All smoke and mirrors. They have thousands of empty buildings and fake factories. They lie about all their numbers, not just COVID. Also, because of COVID, all the benefits that US and European companies gained by moving manufacturing or assembly to China have dried up or become a net-loss now after 2 years of this shit, and everyone is GTFO while they can.

“China is eating our lunch” is both a CCP and MAGAt talking point. They certainly are not.

207
Romantic Heretic  Feb 23, 2022 • 10:56:24pm

re: #168 Targetpractice

I think the Ukrainian’s best bet is to make this conflict drag out as long as possible. Russia’s economy is too fragile to handle a long war.

On our part we need to make sure Russia can’t do business with the rest of the world, supply lots of weapons to Ukraine, and share lots of satellite data.

Here’s hoping Putin has his dick in the wringer for a long time.

208
Romantic Heretic  Feb 23, 2022 • 11:00:16pm

re: #193 Dread Pirate Ron

Katyushas.

At least that’s what I call ‘em.

209
Captain Ron  Feb 23, 2022 • 11:02:05pm
210
BigPapa  Feb 23, 2022 • 11:03:49pm

Putin feels empowered by the American right.

211
William Lewis  Feb 23, 2022 • 11:10:04pm

re: #210 BigPapa

Putin feels empowered by the American right.

Fascists need other fascists.

212
Captain Ron  Feb 23, 2022 • 11:20:47pm
213
William Lewis  Feb 23, 2022 • 11:26:07pm

re: #212 Dread Pirate Ron

Popping flares to avoid stingers…

214
Jack Burton in Mactified Forshion  Feb 23, 2022 • 11:31:43pm

The Ruble is down 7% right now. When I loaded the page a half hour ago it was down 4%.

215
Jack Burton in Mactified Forshion  Feb 23, 2022 • 11:33:25pm

re: #188 Belafon

Forget it Jake, it NY Timestown.

216
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Feb 23, 2022 • 11:33:55pm

re: #18 The Pie Overlord!

The antisemitic nature of the Vlad regime is clear. Zelensky a Ukrainian Jew vs. Putin the defender of ethnonationalist Christian Russia.

I don’t see anti-semitism as a key factor, but Putin’s emphasis on the Russian Orthodox church is clearly meant to appeal to expatriate Russians and bring them back into the fold of Mother Russia.

217
Jack Burton in Mactified Forshion  Feb 23, 2022 • 11:37:41pm

re: #216 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))

I don’t see anti-semitism as a key factor, but Putin’s emphasis on the Russian Orthodox church is clearly meant to appeal to expatriate Russians and bring them back into the fold of Mother Russia.

Russia is the White Nationalists last bastion. An authoritarian white Christian ethno-state. Putin might not give two shits that Zelensky is Jewish but I know there are those in Russia and the US 5th Column Kremlin Caucus that do.

218
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Feb 23, 2022 • 11:47:52pm

re: #217 Jack Burton in Mactified Forshion

Russia is the White Nationalists last bastion. An authoritarian white Christian ethno-state. Putin might not give two shits that Zelensky is Jewish but I know there are those in Russia and the US 5th Column Kremlin Caucus that do.

Yes, Putin has no problem with anti-semites, but again, I do not see it as a key factor in his policy. His is more about re-establishing the Russian Empire in its old boundaries.

219
Dr Lizardo  Feb 23, 2022 • 11:48:20pm
220
Dr Lizardo  Feb 24, 2022 • 12:13:51am

Russia’s MOEX down 33% right now.

google.com

221
Dr Lizardo  Feb 24, 2022 • 12:14:41am
222
Sherlock Hound  Feb 24, 2022 • 12:16:45am

We (US, EU, NATO, et. al.) must impose sanctions like never before.

223
Captain Ron  Feb 24, 2022 • 12:16:52am
224
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Feb 24, 2022 • 12:17:51am

re: #221 Dr Lizardo

Ukraine requests Turkey to close the Bosporus and Dardanelles to Russian Ships and Turkish Airspace to Russian aircraft. They have also asked for Turkey to sanction Russian businesses.

Except you know damn well that Russia has also approached Turkey and advised them to damn well not close their shipping lanes or airspace. Besides, where else can Russians go on vacation now?

225
Dr Lizardo  Feb 24, 2022 • 12:18:58am

re: #222 Sherlock Hound

We (US, EU, NATO, et. al.) must impose sanctions like never before.

[Embedded content]

Absolutely 100% correct. All of it. Though $5 million is a bit high of a threshold.

I’d suggest anything over five dollars.

226
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Feb 24, 2022 • 12:19:03am

It is time for Germany to repatriate Kaliningrad. Russia has no valid historical claim to these ancient Prussian/Teutonic Order lands.

227
Dr Lizardo  Feb 24, 2022 • 12:22:01am

re: #224 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))

Except you know damn well that Russia has also approached Turkey and advised them to damn well not close their shipping lanes or airspace. Besides, where else can Russians go on vacation now?

Biden needs to be putting maximum pressure on the Turkish government. Erdogan needs to pick a side. NATO or Russia. It’s one or the other.

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Dr Lizardo  Feb 24, 2022 • 12:28:29am
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Dr Lizardo  Feb 24, 2022 • 12:38:30am
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Dr Lizardo  Feb 24, 2022 • 12:45:07am
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Dr Lizardo  Feb 24, 2022 • 12:54:27am
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Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Feb 24, 2022 • 12:56:56am

Putin is sending a clear message to any territories he claims as Russian: when he makes a demand, either comply or the response will be shocking and awesome (like Ivan).

233
steve_davis  Feb 24, 2022 • 1:15:36am

re: #2 Barefoot Grin

I’m reading Graham Greene’s The Quiet American for the second time for a class that includes discussions of the Cold War. The first time I read it to see the history in it. This time I’m reading it with more emphasis on Greene’s style. There’s so much darkness and dark humor I missed the first time.

Greene is an outstanding writer. The power and the glory is well worth reading.

234
Dr Lizardo  Feb 24, 2022 • 1:15:57am

She’s a Moscow-based correspondent for the Telegraph.

235
Targetpractice  Feb 24, 2022 • 1:28:11am

re: #229 Dr Lizardo

[Embedded content]

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Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Feb 24, 2022 • 1:40:34am

re: #235 Targetpractice

They are not doing well, they have been overrun from all sides and from the air, and overwhelmed in a matter of weeks.

Putin has gone for the full shock and awe in the hope of avoiding a drawn-out war of attrition. We could have seen this coming when he made his remarks about how Ukraine has no right to exist as a nation outside of Russia.

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Targetpractice  Feb 24, 2022 • 1:43:49am

re: #236 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))

They are not doing well, they have been overrun from all sides and from the air, and overwhelmed in a matter of weeks.

Putin has gone for the full shock and awe in the hope of avoiding a drawn-out war of attrition. We could have seen this coming when he made his remarks about how Ukraine has no right to exist as a nation outside of Russia.

He may exchange a war of attrition with a prolonged occupation with very angry partisans who are unlikely to recognize the authority of either their Russian overlords or whatever puppets they put out there to order a stand-down. And if the Russian economy keeps sinking deeper into the shitter, then that’s tens of thousands of unpaid troops who are gonna be stuck thousands of miles from home with a lot of very unfriendly faces around them.

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steve_davis  Feb 24, 2022 • 1:53:20am

re: #114 Belafon

[Embedded content]

america does, but do you?

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sagehen  Feb 24, 2022 • 1:55:06am

this may be wishful thinking, but…

I don’t think Putin counted on the solidarity of EU, NATO, most of Asia… if African and South American nations see which way the wind is blowing, they may sign on to the anti-Russia coalition as well. Russia had a pretty strong set of opening resources, but their bench is thin.

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Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Feb 24, 2022 • 1:57:12am

re: #237 Targetpractice

He may exchange a war of attrition with a prolonged occupation with very angry partisans who are unlikely to recognize the authority of either their Russian overlords or whatever puppets they put out there to order a stand-down. And if the Russian economy keeps sinking deeper into the shitter, then that’s tens of thousands of unpaid troops who are gonna be stuck thousands of miles from home with a lot of very unfriendly faces around them.

Yes, it will likely not go well for Russia once they have won the ground war.

241
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Feb 24, 2022 • 1:58:25am

Arbitrarily and unilaterally moving borders is not a thing that a lot of nations want to see condoned. I that sense, only China and North Korea are on Russia’s side.

242
steve_davis  Feb 24, 2022 • 2:09:23am

re: #167 ckkatz

I just want to note that military reports regarding destroyed enemy are generally very… optimistic.

Still good for the Ukrainians!

Only another thousand or so more to go.

[Embedded content]

remember everybody, the french flew and parachuted into dien bien phu. they walked out 5 months later with no weapons, starving. Theoretically, they completely overmatched the Viet Minh. Practically, it’s amazing what you can load onto a modified bicycle when logistics demand it. Ho had thousands of non-combatants supplying the troops, and thousands of troops pushing what should have been impossibly heavy pieces of artillery into unassailable positions, and French air superiority couldn’t do anything about it. The Ukrainians are presumably far better equipped than the Viet Minh were and are going to have the same esprit de corps from having their motherland invaded.

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Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Feb 24, 2022 • 2:14:29am

re: #242 steve_davis

remember everybody, the french flew and parachuted into dien bien phu. they walked out 5 months later with no weapons, starving.

Russians are operating from home bases, not in some distant colony. And they have been planning and equipping themselves for this move for a long, long time…

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Ming5000  Feb 24, 2022 • 2:23:00am

In the WP, by David Lynch:

The Biden administration’s opening salvo this week drew swift criticism from some Republicans, who said it fell short of what was needed to deter a further Russian plunge into Ukraine, even after the president added additional measures on Wednesday targeting the company behind a controversial Russian gas pipeline.

Don’t ALL Rs criticize everything Biden does?

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Targetpractice  Feb 24, 2022 • 2:28:09am

re: #243 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))

Russians are operating from home bases, not in some distant colony. And they have been planning and equipping themselves for this move for a long, long time…

Unless they’re planning a simple smash and grab, then they’re gonna need to establish forward positions in Ukraine itself if they want response times measurable in minutes or hours rather than days. Which means setting up supply lines running through enemy territory, unless they truly intend to go back to the days of yore and “live off the land.” I’m not sure terrorizing with threats of violence or death in order to secure basic foodstuffs (let alone military-grade diesel or munitions) is gonna endear them to the locals.

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Shiplord Kirel: Fan of Big Bird, Bert, and Ernie  Feb 24, 2022 • 2:28:56am

Another report said police and Coast Guard had “ransacked” the scow.

247
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Feb 24, 2022 • 2:31:15am

re: #245 Targetpractice

Unless they’re planning a simple smash and grab, then they’re gonna need to establish forward positions in Ukraine itself if they want response times measurable in minutes or hours rather than days. Which means setting up supply lines running through enemy territory, unless they truly intend to go back to the days of yore and “live off the land.” I’m not sure terrorizing with threats of violence or death in order to secure basic foodstuffs (let alone military-grade diesel or munitions) is gonna endear them to the locals.

I am sure they have given some thought to how they are going to bring Ukraine heim ins Reich through a puppet government, re-education as well as some carrots to go with the stick.

But again, this confirms my previous rants about how Putin’s ultimate goal is to re-establish the Russian Empire within its old borders.

And he has made it clear that with the Ukraine, this goal not going to be achieved through making it into a friendly vassal state but through direct occupation and annexation.

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steve_davis  Feb 24, 2022 • 2:34:05am

re: #207 Romantic Heretic

I think the Ukrainian’s best bet is to make this conflict drag out as long as possible. Russia’s economy is too fragile to handle a long war.

On our part we need to make sure Russia can’t do business with the rest of the world, supply lots of weapons to Ukraine, and share lots of satellite data.

Here’s hoping Putin has his dick in the wringer for a long time.

One other variable: look for Ukraine to have lots of independent merc units working for them. Just because the u.s. isn’t sending in our own troops doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of old hands who will happily take our money to go make Russian soldiers miserable: small a-teams for sabotage/sniper missions, brigades of “independently financed” Old Guard types using suspiciously high end military gear.

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Ming5000  Feb 24, 2022 • 2:34:41am

I needed a refresher on what countries are currently part of NATO.

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Ming5000  Feb 24, 2022 • 2:37:29am

re: #248 steve_davis

One other variable: look for Ukraine to have lots of independent merc units working for them. Just because the u.s. isn’t sending in our own troops doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of old hands who will happily take our money to go make Russian soldiers miserable: small a-teams for sabotage/sniper missions, brigades of “independently financed” Old Guard types using suspiciously high end military gear.

This is heartening. Our own version of the Russian Little Green Men.
Malcolm Nance mentioned that a lot of Ukrainian vets from Iraq were preparing IED and other tactics for the longer-term efforts against Russia.

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Amory Blaine  Feb 24, 2022 • 2:39:35am

Crisis on the home front
Wisconsin Assembly passes bill that would break up Milwaukee Public Schools

A proposal to dissolve Milwaukee Public Schools passed the state Assembly Tuesday, along with bills that could expand private schools and implement a range of policies sweeping the nation to oppose equity efforts in schools.

The bills, if approved in the Senate, will likely be vetoed by Gov. Tony Evers. But they could soon be resurrected if a Republican candidate takes the governorship in November.

252
Ming5000  Feb 24, 2022 • 2:43:13am

Looking at the NATO member map, I wonder what NATO’s reaction would be if Russia decided to unleash on Switzerland or Austria. It just seems a little weird that Russia can just swoop in and take Ukraine.

253
Amory Blaine  Feb 24, 2022 • 2:43:16am

re: #249 Ming5000

Someone should forward the map to Tulsi, she says that Ukraine joining NATO was threatening to the border of Russia necessitating invasion. So what is her opinion on Poland, now?

254
Ming5000  Feb 24, 2022 • 2:44:49am

re: #253 Amory Blaine

Good point, now Putin will have 4 additional NATO neighbors.

255
steve_davis  Feb 24, 2022 • 2:45:44am

re: #252 Ming5000

Looking at the NATO member map, I wonder what NATO’s reaction would be if Russia decided to unleash on Switzerland or Austria. It just seems a little weird that Russia can just swoop in and take Ukraine.

The difference would be that they couldn’t get there without using nato airspace. NATO air defenses would rock their world.

256
Targetpractice  Feb 24, 2022 • 2:46:35am

re: #247 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))

I am sure they have given some thought to how they are going to bring Ukraine heim ins Reich through a puppet government, re-education as well as some carrots to go with the stick.

But again, this confirms my previous rants about how Putin’s ultimate goal is to re-establish the Russian Empire within its old borders.

And he has made it clear that with the Ukraine, this goal not going to be achieved through making it into a friendly vassal state but through direct occupation and annexation.

The Russians did that in Afghanistan and all they got was a decade of sending soldiers home in body bags. And we didn’t encounter much better success when we set up provisional governments in Afghanistan and Iraq. Vlad’s not likely to meet much better success in Kyiv, doubly so if he moves forward with his threats to imprison and try the legitimate government as “war criminals.”

257
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Feb 24, 2022 • 2:49:09am

re: #248 steve_davis

One other variable: look for Ukraine to have lots of independent merc units working for them. Just because the u.s. isn’t sending in our own troops doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of old hands who will happily take our money to go make Russian soldiers miserable: small a-teams for sabotage/sniper missions, brigades of “independently financed” Old Guard types using suspiciously high end military gear.

the presence of “foreign-funded infiltrators” will be used by Russia as a justification to crack down even more mercilessly.

258
William Lewis  Feb 24, 2022 • 2:49:57am

re: #248 steve_davis

One other variable: look for Ukraine to have lots of independent merc units working for them. Just because the u.s. isn’t sending in our own troops doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of old hands who will happily take our money to go make Russian soldiers miserable: small a-teams for sabotage/sniper missions, brigades of “independently financed” Old Guard types using suspiciously high end military gear.

The temptation to find such a unit is already strong. I’m too old and fat to be much use but still the temptation is there.

259
JC1  Feb 24, 2022 • 2:52:37am

re: #257 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))

the presence of “foreign-funded infiltrators” will be used by Russia as a justification to crack down even more mercilessly.

It doesn’t seem like anyone should be counting on Putin’s mercy. The only thing thing he’ll understand is some piano wire.

260
Ming5000  Feb 24, 2022 • 3:08:30am

Another thing Putin does not have a plan for.

261
Targetpractice  Feb 24, 2022 • 3:10:34am

Russia can’t afford a prolonged occupation of Ukraine in either men, materiel, or money. But the only way they have any hope whatsoever of holding Ukraine is occupying it because otherwise the locals are likely to just kill whichever puppets are installed and retake control of the country. And since there is no way in Hell that the rest of the world is just going to allow Putin to declare Ukraine kaput, he has to maintain at least the fiction that it is a sovereign nation.

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No Malarkey!  Feb 24, 2022 • 3:13:25am

re: #240 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))

Yes, it will likely not go well for Russia once they have won the ground war.

Russia gets to have its own Iraq. For those worried Russia will turn on other former soviet republics next, I suspect the Russian army is going to be tied down in Ukraine for a long time to come.

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No Malarkey!  Feb 24, 2022 • 3:15:48am
264
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Feb 24, 2022 • 3:23:02am

re: #261 Targetpractice

…And since there is no way in Hell that the rest of the world is just going to allow Putin to declare Ukraine kaput, he has to maintain at least the fiction that it is a sovereign nation.

He came out and declared that it has no right to exist as a separate nation. That indicates that he intends to annex it. The man is not fucking around. Belarus is as good as his now, and he is going to direct his gaze at the Russian ethnic minorities in the Baltic and Central Asian republics, all calling to be saved and brought back into the fold of Mother Russia

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Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Feb 24, 2022 • 3:23:58am

re: #259 JC1

It doesn’t seem like anyone should be counting on Putin’s mercy. The only thing thing he’ll understand is some piano wire.

Pickaxe.

266
Barefoot Grin  Feb 24, 2022 • 3:24:17am

A British MP read a list of 35 oligarchs—apparently from a list published by Navalny sometime before his arrest—who she says must be sanctioned. Alphabetized, the first is Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich. It would be something if they took the team from him.

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No Malarkey!  Feb 24, 2022 • 3:26:35am

It would be something if they expelled Russia from the UN.

268
Amory Blaine  Feb 24, 2022 • 3:27:21am

Pussy Riot needs to put the band back together.

269
Ming5000  Feb 24, 2022 • 3:35:26am

The person asking the question sounded American. I wonder who it was.

270
Shropshire Slasher  Feb 24, 2022 • 3:47:43am

Heard on the drive in, and Anthony has to lose that porn-stache.

Youtube Video

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Ming5000  Feb 24, 2022 • 3:48:44am

I hope Lukashenko and his team are included in the sanctions.

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Shiplord Kirel: Fan of Big Bird, Bert, and Ernie  Feb 24, 2022 • 3:57:18am
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The Squire of Logos  Feb 24, 2022 • 3:57:53am

re: #271 Ming5000

I hope Lukashenko and his team are included in the sanctions.

I hope Fox News is included in the sanctions.

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Barefoot Grin  Feb 24, 2022 • 3:58:26am

re: #272 Shiplord Kirel: Fan of Big Bird, Bert, and Ernie

[Embedded content]

Definitely time to shut Rupert and his boys down.

275
Dopamine Fish  Feb 24, 2022 • 3:58:35am

After the first two, I was very skeptical that I would get there at all, but guess #3 really got it pretty close.

Click to Reveal

Wordle 250 4/6

⬛⬛⬛⬛🟩
⬛⬛⬛⬛🟩
⬛🟩🟩🟨🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

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Amory Blaine  Feb 24, 2022 • 3:58:37am
277
No Malarkey!  Feb 24, 2022 • 4:01:45am

re: #273 The Squire of Logos

I hope Fox News is included in the sanctions.

278
Shiplord Kirel: Fan of Big Bird, Bert, and Ernie  Feb 24, 2022 • 4:03:22am

Owing to the amount of time that has passed since World War II, the scum formerly known as “quislings” will henceforth be called “tuckers.”

279
Amory Blaine  Feb 24, 2022 • 4:03:37am
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The Squire of Logos  Feb 24, 2022 • 4:09:20am

re: #278 Shiplord Kirel: Fan of Big Bird, Bert, and Ernie

Owing to theamount of time that has passed since World War II, the scum formerly known as “quislings” will henceforth be called “tuckers.”

I dunno… #quislingCalrson as a Twitter hashtag has a nice ring to it.

281
Dopamine Fish  Feb 24, 2022 • 4:10:17am

Current mood.

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Amory Blaine  Feb 24, 2022 • 4:11:16am
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Captain Magic  Feb 24, 2022 • 4:12:32am

Putin’s speech:

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Citizens of Russia, friends,

I consider it necessary today to speak again about the tragic events in Donbass and the key aspects of ensuring the security of Russia.

I will begin with what I said in my address on February 21, 2022. I spoke about our biggest concerns and worries, and about the fundamental threats which irresponsible Western politicians created for Russia consistently, rudely and unceremoniously from year to year. I am referring to the eastward expansion of NATO, which is moving its military infrastructure ever closer to the Russian border.

It is a fact that over the past 30 years we have been patiently trying to come to an agreement with the leading NATO countries regarding the principles of equal and indivisible security in Europe. In response to our proposals, we invariably faced either cynical deception and lies or attempts at pressure and blackmail, while the North Atlantic alliance continued to expand despite our protests and concerns. Its military machine is moving and, as I said, is approaching our very border.

Why is this happening? Where did this insolent manner of talking down from the height of their exceptionalism, infallibility and all-permissiveness come from? What is the explanation for this contemptuous and disdainful attitude to our interests and absolutely legitimate demands?

The answer is simple. Everything is clear and obvious. In the late 1980s, the Soviet Union grew weaker and subsequently broke apart. That experience should serve as a good lesson for us, because it has shown us that the paralysis of power and will is the first step towards complete degradation and oblivion. We lost confidence for only one moment, but it was enough to disrupt the balance of forces in the world.

As a result, the old treaties and agreements are no longer effective. Entreaties and requests do not help. Anything that does not suit the dominant state, the powers that be, is denounced as archaic, obsolete and useless. At the same time, everything it regards as useful is presented as the ultimate truth and forced on others regardless of the cost, abusively and by any means available. Those who refuse to comply are subjected to strong-arm tactics.

What I am saying now does not concerns only Russia, and Russia is not the only country that is worried about this. This has to do with the entire system of international relations, and sometimes even US allies. The collapse of the Soviet Union led to a redivision of the world, and the norms of international law that developed by that time - and the most important of them, the fundamental norms that were adopted following WWII and largely formalised its outcome - came in the way of those who declared themselves the winners of the Cold War.

Of course, practice, international relations and the rules regulating them had to take into account the changes that took place in the world and in the balance of forces. However, this should have been done professionally, smoothly, patiently, and with due regard and respect for the interests of all states and one’s own responsibility. Instead, we saw a state of euphoria created by the feeling of absolute superiority, a kind of modern absolutism, coupled with the low cultural standards and arrogance of those who formulated and pushed through decisions that suited only themselves. The situation took a different turn.

There are many examples of this. First a bloody military operation was waged against Belgrade, without the UN Security Council’s sanction but with combat aircraft and missiles used in the heart of Europe. The bombing of peaceful cities and vital infrastructure went on for several weeks. I have to recall these facts, because some Western colleagues prefer to forget them, and when we mentioned the event, they prefer to avoid speaking about international law, instead emphasising the circumstances which they interpret as they think necessary.

Then came the turn of Iraq, Libya and Syria. The illegal use of military power against Libya and the distortion of all the UN Security Council decisions on Libya ruined the state, created a huge seat of international terrorism, and pushed the country towards a humanitarian catastrophe, into the vortex of a civil war, which has continued there for years. The tragedy, which was created for hundreds of thousands and even millions of people not only in Libya but in the whole region, has led to a large-scale exodus from the Middle East and North Africa to Europe.

A similar fate was also prepared for Syria. The combat operations conducted by the Western coalition in that country without the Syrian government’s approval or UN Security Council’s sanction can only be defined as aggression and intervention.

But the example that stands apart from the above events is, of course, the invasion of Iraq without any legal grounds. They used the pretext of allegedly reliable information available in the United States about the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. To prove that allegation, the US Secretary of State held up a vial with white power, publicly, for the whole world to see, assuring the international community that it was a chemical warfare agent created in Iraq. It later turned out that all of that was a fake and a sham, and that Iraq did not have any chemical weapons. Incredible and shocking but true. We witnessed lies made at the highest state level and voiced from the high UN rostrum. As a result we see a tremendous loss in human life, damage, destruction, and a colossal upsurge of terrorism.

Overall, it appears that nearly everywhere, in many regions of the world where the United States brought its law and order, this created bloody, non-healing wounds and the curse of international terrorism and extremism. I have only mentioned the most glaring but far from only examples of disregard for international law.

This array includes promises not to expand NATO eastwards even by an inch. To reiterate: they have deceived us, or, to put it simply, they have played us. Sure, one often hears that politics is a dirty business. It could be, but it shouldn’t be as dirty as it is now, not to such an extent. This type of con-artist behaviour is contrary not only to the principles of international relations but also and above all to the generally accepted norms of morality and ethics. Where is justice and truth here? Just lies and hypocrisy all around.

Incidentally, US politicians, political scientists and journalists write and say that a veritable “empire of lies” has been created inside the United States in recent years. It is hard to disagree with this - it is really so. But one should not be modest about it: the United States is still a great country and a system-forming power. All its satellites not only humbly and obediently say yes to and parrot it at the slightest pretext but also imitate its behaviour and enthusiastically accept the rules it is offering them. Therefore, one can say with good reason and confidence that the whole so-called Western bloc formed by the United States in its own image and likeness is, in its entirety, the very same “empire of lies.”

As for our country, after the disintegration of the USSR, given the entire unprecedented openness of the new, modern Russia, its readiness to work honestly with the United States and other Western partners, and its practically unilateral disarmament, they immediately tried to put the final squeeze on us, finish us off, and utterly destroy us. This is how it was in the 1990s and the early 2000s, when the so-called collective West was actively supporting separatism and gangs of mercenaries in southern Russia. What victims, what losses we had to sustain and what trials we had to go through at that time before we broke the back of international terrorism in the Caucasus! We remember this and will never forget.

Properly speaking, the attempts to use us in their own interests never ceased until quite recently: they sought to destroy our traditional values and force on us their false values that would erode us, our people from within, the attitudes they have been aggressively imposing on their countries, attitudes that are directly leading to degradation and degeneration, because they are contrary to human nature. This is not going to happen. No one has ever succeeded in doing this, nor will they succeed now.

Despite all that, in December 2021, we made yet another attempt to reach agreement with the United States and its allies on the principles of European security and NATO’s non-expansion. Our efforts were in vain. The United States has not changed its position. It does not believe it necessary to agree with Russia on a matter that is critical for us. The United States is pursuing its own objectives, while neglecting our interests.

Of course, this situation begs a question: what next, what are we to expect? If history is any guide, we know that in 1940 and early 1941 the Soviet Union went to great lengths to prevent war or at least delay its outbreak. To this end, the USSR sought not to provoke the potential aggressor until the very end by refraining or postponing the most urgent and obvious preparations it had to make to defend itself from an imminent attack. When it finally acted, it was too late.

As a result, the country was not prepared to counter the invasion by Nazi Germany, which attacked our Motherland on June 22, 1941, without declaring war. The country stopped the enemy and went on to defeat it, but this came at a tremendous cost. The attempt to appease the aggressor ahead of the Great Patriotic War proved to be a mistake which came at a high cost for our people. In the first months after the hostilities broke out, we lost vast territories of strategic importance, as well as millions of lives. We will not make this mistake the second time. We have no right to do so.

Those who aspire to global dominance have publicly designated Russia as their enemy. They did so with impunity. Make no mistake, they had no reason to act this way. It is true that they have considerable financial, scientific, technological, and military capabilities. We are aware of this and have an objective view of the economic threats we have been hearing, just as our ability to counter this brash and never-ending blackmail. Let me reiterate that we have no illusions in this regard and are extremely realistic in our assessments.

As for military affairs, even after the dissolution of the USSR and losing a considerable part of its capabilities, today’s Russia remains one of the most powerful nuclear states. Moreover, it has a certain advantage in several cutting-edge weapons. In this context, there should be no doubt for anyone that any potential aggressor will face defeat and ominous consequences should it directly attack our country.

At the same time, technology, including in the defence sector, is changing rapidly. One day there is one leader, and tomorrow another, but a military presence in territories bordering on Russia, if we permit it to go ahead, will stay for decades to come or maybe forever, creating an ever mounting and totally unacceptable threat for Russia.

Even now, with NATO’s eastward expansion the situation for Russia has been becoming worse and more dangerous by the year. Moreover, these past days NATO leadership has been blunt in its statements that they need to accelerate and step up efforts to bring the alliance’s infrastructure closer to Russia’s borders. In other words, they have been toughening their position. We cannot stay idle and passively observe these developments. This would be an absolutely irresponsible thing to do for us.

Any further expansion of the North Atlantic alliance’s infrastructure or the ongoing efforts to gain a military foothold of the Ukrainian territory are unacceptable for us. Of course, the question is not about NATO itself. It merely serves as a tool of US foreign policy. The problem is that in territories adjacent to Russia, which I have to note is our historical land, a hostile “anti-Russia” is taking shape. Fully controlled from the outside, it is doing everything to attract NATO armed forces and obtain cutting-edge weapons.

For the United States and its allies, it is a policy of containing Russia, with obvious geopolitical dividends. For our country, it is a matter of life and death, a matter of our historical future as a nation. This is not an exaggeration; this is a fact. It is not only a very real threat to our interests but to the very existence of our state and to its sovereignty. It is the red line which we have spoken about on numerous occasions. They have crossed it.

This brings me to the situation in Donbass. We can see that the forces that staged the coup in Ukraine in 2014 have seized power, are keeping it with the help of ornamental election procedures and have abandoned the path of a peaceful conflict settlement. For eight years, for eight endless years we have been doing everything possible to settle the situation by peaceful political means. Everything was in vain.

As I said in my previous address, you cannot look without compassion at what is happening there. It became impossible to tolerate it. We had to stop that atrocity, that genocide of the millions of people who live there and who pinned their hopes on Russia, on all of us. It is their aspirations, the feelings and pain of these people that were the main motivating force behind our decision to recognise the independence of the Donbass people’s republics.

I would like to additionally emphasise the following. Focused on their own goals, the leading NATO countries are supporting the far-right nationalists and neo-Nazis in Ukraine, those who will never forgive the people of Crimea and Sevastopol for freely making a choice to reunite with Russia.

They will undoubtedly try to bring war to Crimea just as they have done in Donbass, to kill innocent people just as members of the punitive units of Ukrainian nationalists and Hitler’s accomplices did during the Great Patriotic War. They have also openly laid claim to several other Russian regions.

If we look at the sequence of events and the incoming reports, the showdown between Russia and these forces cannot be avoided. It is only a matter of time. They are getting ready and waiting for the right moment. Moreover, they went as far as aspire to acquire nuclear weapons. We will not let this happen.

I have already said that Russia accepted the new geopolitical reality after the dissolution of the USSR. We have been treating all new post-Soviet states with respect and will continue to act this way. We respect and will respect their sovereignty, as proven by the assistance we provided to Kazakhstan when it faced tragic events and a challenge in terms of its statehood and integrity. However, Russia cannot feel safe, develop, and exist while facing a permanent threat from the territory of today’s Ukraine.

Let me remind you that in 2000-2005 we used our military to push back against terrorists in the Caucasus and stood up for the integrity of our state. We preserved Russia. In 2014, we supported the people of Crimea and Sevastopol. In 2015, we used our Armed Forces to create a reliable shield that prevented terrorists from Syria from penetrating Russia. This was a matter of defending ourselves. We had no other choice.

The same is happening today. They did not leave us any other option for defending Russia and our people, other than the one we are forced to use today. In these circumstances, we have to take bold and immediate action. The people’s republics of Donbass have asked Russia for help.

In this context, in accordance with Article 51 (Chapter VII) of the UN Charter, with permission of Russia’s Federation Council, and in execution of the treaties of friendship and mutual assistance with the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Lugansk People’s Republic, ratified by the Federal Assembly on February 22, I made a decision to carry out a special military operation.

284
No Malarkey!  Feb 24, 2022 • 4:21:11am

re: #283 Captain Magic

Can you put that in a box since its so long? Thanks!

285
John Hughes  Feb 24, 2022 • 4:25:56am

re: #178 Shiplord Kirel: Fan of Big Bird, Bert, and Ernie
Nah. Not funny. Sometimes it’s not all about you.

286
Captain Magic  Feb 24, 2022 • 4:27:32am

re: #284 No Malarkey!

I made an LGF Page of his speech.

287
John Hughes  Feb 24, 2022 • 4:29:53am

re: #188 Belafon

That’s not “the US press”, that’s the New York Times.

288
Dave In Austin  Feb 24, 2022 • 4:30:45am

re: #283 Captain Magic

How about snip the 1st few paras. and a link. I wore my screen out on the scroll.
Thx in advance.

289
Dave In Austin  Feb 24, 2022 • 4:34:25am
290
Eventual Carrion  Feb 24, 2022 • 4:34:57am

Future man was right, this one was a bit tricky from my language perspective.

Wordle 250 5/6

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291
No Malarkey!  Feb 24, 2022 • 4:37:15am

The futures market is swooning in the face of war in Europe. finance.yahoo.com

292
Michele: Out of the closet, Into the fire  Feb 24, 2022 • 4:38:21am

Hey Charles I need to renew my subscription and pay-pal isn’t working. Would you please look into that and let me know when it’s fixed. Thank you.

293
Dave In Austin  Feb 24, 2022 • 4:39:00am
294
Captain Magic  Feb 24, 2022 • 4:40:14am

re: #288 Dave In Austin
Putin’s speech:

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Citizens of Russia, friends,

I consider it necessary today to speak again about the tragic events in Donbass and the key aspects of ensuring the security of Russia.

I will begin with what I said in my address on February 21, 2022. I spoke about our biggest concerns and worries, and about the fundamental threats which irresponsible Western politicians created for Russia consistently, rudely and unceremoniously from year to year. I am referring to the eastward expansion of NATO, which is moving its military infrastructure ever closer to the Russian border.

It is a fact that over the past 30 years we have been patiently trying to come to an agreement with the leading NATO countries regarding the principles of equal and indivisible security in Europe. In response to our proposals, we invariably faced either cynical deception and lies or attempts at pressure and blackmail, while the North Atlantic alliance continued to expand despite our protests and concerns. Its military machine is moving and, as I said, is approaching our very border.

Why is this happening? Where did this insolent manner of talking down from the height of their exceptionalism, infallibility and all-permissiveness come from? What is the explanation for this contemptuous and disdainful attitude to our interests and absolutely legitimate demands?

The answer is simple. Everything is clear and obvious. In the late 1980s, the Soviet Union grew weaker and subsequently broke apart. That experience should serve as a good lesson for us, because it has shown us that the paralysis of power and will is the first step towards complete degradation and oblivion. We lost confidence for only one moment, but it was enough to disrupt the balance of forces in the world.

As a result, the old treaties and agreements are no longer effective. Entreaties and requests do not help. Anything that does not suit the dominant state, the powers that be, is denounced as archaic, obsolete and useless. At the same time, everything it regards as useful is presented as the ultimate truth and forced on others regardless of the cost, abusively and by any means available. Those who refuse to comply are subjected to strong-arm tactics.

295
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Feb 24, 2022 • 4:46:46am

So Putin is basically telling us that it was a mistake to let the USSR fall apart in 1991 and now, three decades later, it is his job to reassemble it in his own interests.

296
Teukka  Feb 24, 2022 • 4:52:16am

re: #283 Captain Magic

Putin’s speech:

re: #284 No Malarkey!

Can you put that in a box since its so long? Thanks!

re: #286 Captain Magic

I made an LGF Page of his speech.

Aaand a pastebin: pastebin.com

297
HRH Stanley Sea  Feb 24, 2022 • 4:59:13am

re: #275 Dopamine Fish

After the first two, I was very skeptical that I would get there at all, but guess #3 really got it pretty close.

[Embedded content]

I pulled my 1st NYT 6
😪
Wrong guess x 3

Wordle 250 6/6

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298
Amory Blaine  Feb 24, 2022 • 4:59:55am
299
darthstar  Feb 24, 2022 • 5:07:56am

re: #297 HRH Stanley Sea

Managed to rule out most consonant blends early…I find that always helps.
Wordle 250 4/6

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300
lawhawk  Feb 24, 2022 • 5:11:51am

re: #239 sagehen

this may be wishful thinking, but…

I don’t think Putin counted on the solidarity of EU, NATO, most of Asia… if African and South American nations see which way the wind is blowing, they may sign on to the anti-Russia coalition as well. Russia had a pretty strong set of opening resources, but their bench is thin.

Russia’s only advantage was having a larger military and assets arrayed against Ukraine as compared to what Ukraine could muster.

That’s it. Russia can’t handle a prolonged conflict. They can’t handle sanctions. They can’t handle the economic turmoil because their economy is already in the shitter. Even the high oil prices a conflict will spur wont help, because it wont come close to balancing the ledgers with the oligarchs. Putin needs this to be done quickly, or else he’s facing another Afghanistan.

301
lawhawk  Feb 24, 2022 • 5:11:55am
302
Teukka  Feb 24, 2022 • 5:12:08am

But, of course…

303
lawhawk  Feb 24, 2022 • 5:12:09am
304
stpaulbear  Feb 24, 2022 • 5:13:23am

re: #204 Dr Lizardo

From CNBC:

cnbc.com

The ruble is becoming rubble. Let’s see how far Russia’s Central Bank is willing to go to prop it up.

More losses for Zuk.

305
William Lewis  Feb 24, 2022 • 5:14:47am

re: #300 lawhawk

Russia’s only advantage was having a larger military and assets arrayed against Ukraine as compared to what Ukraine could muster.

That’s it. Russia can’t handle a prolonged conflict. They can’t handle sanctions. They can’t handle the economic turmoil because their economy is already in the shitter. Even the high oil prices a conflict will spur wont help, because it wont come close to balancing the ledgers with the oligarchs. Putin needs this to be done quickly, or else he’s facing another Afghanistan.

Winter War 2: Electric Boogaloo?

(w/ apologies to the Suomi ;)

306
Teukka  Feb 24, 2022 • 5:17:23am

re: #305 William Lewis

Winter War 2: Electric Boogaloo?

(w/ apologies to the Suomi ;)

Did I mention the TL;DR defence strategy of Finland is “Any invader will, regardless if Finland is victorious or not, limp back home — or your money back”?

307
William Lewis  Feb 24, 2022 • 5:19:20am

re: #306 Teukka

Did I mention the TL;DR defence strategy of Finland is “Any invader will, regardless if Finland is victorious or not, limp back home — or your money back”?

Heh. See my 189 above

308
steve_davis  Feb 24, 2022 • 5:23:31am

driving me nuts….weeks ago I stumbled across some of the hottest guitar on a firebird from the late 60’s. Did not put it in my library, and now I’m well past what Amazon is willing to show me in my recent plays. Thought it was Kim Simmonds with Savoy Brown, but apparently not because I’ve been through pretty much everything Amazon has. I thought it was one of those “live at the BBC” albums, but the compilation from 1969-72 is too late and it doesn’t sound right anyway. So I’ve now spent the last two days on a kind of late 60’s british blues group binge. I heard Chicken Shack for probably the first time. Excellent group! I know none of these groups are what I heard, but it gives me an excuse to listen to some now obscure artists. Currently listening to Atomic Rooster, which is kind of an interesting prelude to the progressive rock era, I guess.

309
No Malarkey!  Feb 24, 2022 • 5:24:49am

re: #236 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))

They are not doing well, they have been overrun from all sides and from the air, and overwhelmed in a matter of weeks.

Putin has gone for the full shock and awe in the hope of avoiding a drawn-out war of attrition. We could have seen this coming when he made his remarks about how Ukraine has no right to exist as a nation outside of Russia.

“Shock and awe” worked so well in Iraq./

310
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Feb 24, 2022 • 5:25:15am

Firebird is still my dream guitar. Played one of my best solos on ever on a Firebird. Alas, it was just a loaner from a bandmate…

311
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Feb 24, 2022 • 5:26:21am

re: #309 No Malarkey!

“Shock and awe” worked so well in Iraq./

I was just saying that I though he would start with occupying Donetsk and Luhansk but he has gone whole hog right off the bat.

As for the consequences of occupation, well, Russia knows all about those, too. From both sides of the issue.

312
No Malarkey!  Feb 24, 2022 • 5:29:42am

re: #311 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))

I was just saying that I though he would start with occupying Donetsk and Luhansk but he has gone whole hog right off the bat.

As for the consequences of occupation, well, Russia knows all about those, too. From both sides of the issue.

This seems like madness. Maybe Putin is just trying to degrade Ukraine’s military capacity and doesn’t intend to try to actually occupy the entire country. Unless, like Rumsfeld, he has deluded himself into believing the Russian army will be welcomed as liberators.

313
darthstar  Feb 24, 2022 • 5:31:49am

re: #312 No Malarkey!

This seems like madness. Maybe Putin is just trying to degrade Ukraine’s military capacity and doesn’t intend to try to actually occupy the entire country. Unless, like Rumsfeld, he has deluded himself into believing the Russian army will be welcomed as liberators.

Once his occupation starts, the guerilla war begins. There won’t be any safe places for his troops to patrol.

314
darthstar  Feb 24, 2022 • 5:35:01am

LOL!

Trump’s new social media company doesn’t have an app for Android yet, but some enterprising people created a fake one - with a $29 “premium” upgrade - and 100,000 MAGAts have downloaded it.

315
Michele: Out of the closet, Into the fire  Feb 24, 2022 • 5:39:22am

Thread.

316
DodgerFan1988  Feb 24, 2022 • 5:39:31am
317
Shropshire Slasher  Feb 24, 2022 • 5:40:06am

re: #283 Captain Magic

Thank you for posting that. Putin sounds like your typical wife beater, “look at what you made me do!”

Those who aspire to global dominance have publicly designated Russia as their enemy. They did so with impunity. Make no mistake, they had no reason to act this way. It is true that they have considerable financial, scientific, technological, and military capabilities. We are aware of this and have an objective view of the economic threats we have been hearing, just as our ability to counter this brash and never-ending blackmail. Let me reiterate that we have no illusions in this regard and are extremely realistic in our assessments.

318
steve_davis  Feb 24, 2022 • 5:42:18am

are there any free streaming services where I can get news in English in which they don’t have some retired bloviater who pronounces Vlad’s name as Pyutin? These people on NBC seem breathless and incompetent.

319
Michele: Out of the closet, Into the fire  Feb 24, 2022 • 5:42:18am
320
Belafon  Feb 24, 2022 • 5:47:10am

re: #251 Amory Blaine

Crisis on the home front
Wisconsin Assembly passes bill that would break up Milwaukee Public Schools

Republicans need to watch that. Here in Texas, Republicans thought about allowing state money to be used for private schools and rural areas went nuts. In a lot of places, the public school system is the area’s largest employer. It failed to make it out of the legislature.

321
Crush White Nationalism  Feb 24, 2022 • 5:47:26am

mathler.com 23 2/6

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Wordle 250 3/6

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322
darthstar  Feb 24, 2022 • 5:49:54am
323
Barefoot Grin  Feb 24, 2022 • 5:52:17am

We’ve heard from a couple of the tankies. Wonder if Mate or Taibbi have expressed their disdain for US support of Ukraine yet.

324
jeffreyw  Feb 24, 2022 • 5:52:51am

Moonrise Quartet

Good morning!

325
Shropshire Slasher  Feb 24, 2022 • 5:52:58am

Many videos and pictures of the ongoing war here.

dailymail.co.uk

326
Belafon  Feb 24, 2022 • 5:56:12am

re: #302 Teukka

But, of course…

[Embedded content]

328
darthstar  Feb 24, 2022 • 5:57:19am

My grandmother on my dad’s side spoke Ukranian. I didn’t know this until after she died. Her family emigrated to Saskatchewan before the turn of the 20th century and apparently had a huge farm there - hundreds of acres of wheat.

329
William Lewis  Feb 24, 2022 • 5:57:56am

re: #317 Shropshire Slasher

Thank you for posting that. Putin sounds like your typical wife beater, “look at what you made me do!”

Bullies gotta bully.

330
Backwoods_Sleuth  Feb 24, 2022 • 5:59:40am
331
Backwoods_Sleuth  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:01:46am
332
Patricia Kayden  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:03:00am

333
Backwoods_Sleuth  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:03:47am

sigh…

334
William Lewis  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:04:16am

335
Crush White Nationalism  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:05:01am

re: #331 Backwoods_Sleuth

336
Belafon  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:05:11am
337
Crush White Nationalism  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:07:12am
Bitcoin enthusiasts have long touted the cryptocurrency’s value as a safe haven to hedge against inflation and other risks in traditional markets. But hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to invade Ukraine on Thursday, cryptocurrencies plummeted.

Bitcoin—the digital asset most often referred to as an alternative to gold—plunged 8% within hours of Russia invading Ukraine, with prices tanking to $34,413 per coin. Ether, the native currency of the game-building blockchain Ethereum, has crashed 7% to $2,404 per unit.

Ethereum rival Solana, which is popular among NFT creators, tanked 10% to $83, too. Even Shiba Inu, a meme coin which enjoyed logic-defying 49,000,000% growth last year, sank 10%.

Minutes after Russia invaded Ukraine, these crypto ‘safe havens’ tanked (Fortune)

338
Belafon  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:08:32am

This is why Russia invaded:

339
Dr Lizardo  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:08:45am

Let’s hope they do this….

So instead, most of the world — but not China — condemned and threatened to hit the Russian elites with, in the words of Von der Leyen — “massive and targeted sanctions.” She will put to EU leaders late Thursday a proposal that “will target strategic sectors of the Russian economy by blocking the access to technologies and markets that are key for Russia.”

She said the sanctions, if approved, “will weaken Russia’s economic base and its capacity to modernize. And in addition, we will freeze Russian assets in the European Union and stop the access of Russian banks to European financial markets.”

apnews.com

340
Shropshire Slasher  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:10:16am

It looks like the Russians already have captured the Hydo-Electric dams, already halfway across Ukraine. I think Zelensky got caught with his pants down.

341
darthstar  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:11:06am

re: #331 Backwoods_Sleuth

I think every conservative march on Washington should be required to originate via cross country drive. Those assholes are always rude to flight attendants.

342
darthstar  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:12:26am

re: #340 Shropshire Slasher

It looks like the Russians already have captured the Hydo-Electric dams, already halfway across Ukraine. I think Zelensky got caught with his pants down.

Overwhelming force overwhelms smaller country. This isn’t Zelensky’s fault.

343
lawhawk  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:12:35am

re: #340 Shropshire Slasher

It looks like the Russians already have captured the Hydo-Electric dams, already halfway across Ukraine. I think Zelensky got caught with his pants down.

Ukraine’s military is a fraction of the size and capability of Russia. Russia moved nearly all of its active duty military to invade Ukraine. It was always going to be a one-sided fight that Russia initiated at the time/place of Russia’s choosing.

344
Dopamine Fish  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:13:03am

re: #342 darthstar

Overwhelming force overwhelms smaller country. This isn’t Zelensky’s fault.

It’s like blaming Poland for getting blitzkrieged by the Germans and the Soviets at the start of WWII.

345
Backwoods_Sleuth  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:13:17am
346
William Lewis  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:13:26am

re: #322 darthstar

[Embedded content]

Issue one AKM, a battle pack of 7.62 ammo & a Javelin missile to as many people as you can. Let’s see how the bear likes the hornet nest…

347
darthstar  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:13:30am

re: #343 lawhawk

Ukraine’s military is a fraction of the size and capability of Russia. Russia moved nearly all of its active duty military to invade Ukraine. It was always going to be a one-sided fight that Russia initiated at the time/place of Russia’s choosing.

Invading is easy. Occupying is the hard part.

348
Backwoods_Sleuth  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:14:28am
349
Egregious Philbin  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:14:48am

What a morning for NPR to kick off yet another pledge drive….ugh…

Gonna be listening to podcasts today.

350
William Lewis  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:14:58am

re: #340 Shropshire Slasher

It looks like the Russians already have captured the Hydo-Electric dams, already halfway across Ukraine. I think Zelensky got caught with his pants down.

That’s modern military action. The far more important question will be how much it costs Moscow to continue to hold them.

351
Dr Lizardo  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:16:47am

Czech media reporting that Czech Republic is going to expel the Russian diplomatic delegation and suspend relations.

352
Dr Lizardo  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:19:35am
353
darthstar  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:20:41am

Still catching up on the stupid.

354
Shropshire Slasher  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:20:57am

re: #342 darthstar

Overwhelming force overwhelms smaller country. This isn’t Zelensky’s fault.

Common sense, defend river crossings. Watch the videos. Russian forces roll up with civilians videotaping. No defensive positions.

355
Shropshire Slasher  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:23:37am

We are all armchair generals now.

/

356
b.d  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:24:57am

Morning Lizards:

The guys in Russia’s pockets are having to pay the piper now but they are showing their ass, it is all downhill here for them now.

Don’t let them think they are speaking for a bunch of folks.

357
b.d  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:26:23am

re: #355 Shropshire Slasher

We are all armchair generals now.

/

I am better at that than I am at being an immunologist. Sadly, it will be a few more months before I can become a NFL coach again.

//

358
Belafon  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:26:43am
359
Crush White Nationalism  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:26:52am

re: #353 darthstar

Still catching up on the stupid.

360
Belafon  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:30:00am

We all hope things like this will ultimately cause Russia to fail:

But it’s really just going to take killing more of their military than they can afford, though afford can be made much lower by crippling their economy.

361
darthstar  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:30:30am

re: #355 Shropshire Slasher

We are all armchair generals now.

/

Armchair pacifist here.

362
Mattand  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:30:48am

re: #353 darthstar

Still catching up on the stupid.

Speaking of which: I just popped over to another site that’ve I’ve been reading for years where the commentariats’ first response to Russia invading Ukraine is to say “Well, it’s basically the flip side of what NATO and the US does.”

To give you an idea of the level of discourse there, there’s a regular poster who’s mantra in the run up to the 2020 POTUS vote was “Democrats are as bad as, or worse than, Republicans, so therefore the true liberal should vote for Trump.” Like Tulsi Gabbard-level of crazy.

I think maybe it’s time to cut bait on that particular site. I’m exaggerating a bit, but the overall response to Putin’s aggression is “Yeah, well, whaddabout what the US did?”

Not really sure if that’s the smartest take on the Ukraine invasion, to put it mildly.

Makes me appreciate here that much more.

363
Shropshire Slasher  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:31:30am

re: #361 darthstar

Armchair pacifist here.

With all due respect, you wish death upon a lot of people for being an armchair pacifist.

364
Rightwingconspirator  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:33:20am

The breakout of war in Europe as Putin tries to force the recreation of the Soviet Union is easily as depressing and dangerous as the pandemic. Enough with “interesting times”. Health and peace are distant goals now.

365
wrenchwench  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:39:25am

re: #363 Shropshire Slasher

With all due respect, you wish death upon a lot of people for being an armchair pacifist.

How is passively pacifizing ‘wishing death’?

366
darthstar  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:41:47am

re: #363 Shropshire Slasher

With all due respect, you wish death upon a lot of people for being an armchair pacifist.

I didn’t say I was perfect. And the worst I’ve wished upon Trump is chronic burning dysentery. Putin I wouldn’t mind seeing shed his mortal coil sooner rather than later, though…I will be honest about that.

367
Dr Lizardo  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:42:06am
368
Dave In Austin  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:42:30am

Hope the home team gets the driver on the ground.

369
Belafon  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:43:00am

re: #366 darthstar

I didn’t say I was perfect. And the worst I’ve wished upon Trump is chronic burning dysentery. Putin I wouldn’t mind seeing shed his mortal coil sooner rather than later, though…I will be honest about that.

I wouldn’t be opposed to Putin’s last thoughts being “So that’s what falling out a window feels like.”

370
darthstar  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:44:07am

re: #365 wrenchwench

How is passively pacifizing ‘wishing death’?

I did add a Ukranian flag to my facebook profile pic…so I’m not completely passive.

371
Dr Lizardo  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:45:08am

re: #366 darthstar

I didn’t say I was perfect. And the worst I’ve wished upon Trump is chronic burning dysentery. Putin I wouldn’t mind seeing shed his mortal coil sooner rather than later, though…I will be honest about that.

It’s been said that Putin was especially terrified by the horrific end of Libyan dictator Muammar Gadaffi; according to insiders, he was virtually obsessed with it.

Maybe because Putin fears that could well be his end too.

372
b.d  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:46:02am

“Gentlemen, You Can’t Fight In Here! This is The War Room!”: Dr. Strangelove

373
darthstar  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:47:36am

re: #371 Dr Lizardo

It’s been said that Putin was especially terrified by the horrific end of Libyan dictator Muammar Gadaffi; according to insiders, he was virtually obsessed with it.

Maybe because Putin fears that could well be his end too.

If Ukraine goes sideways it just might be. Putin’s been oppressing his own people for years and blaming others. He fucks this up, and nobody will buy his BS when he says, “Oh, it’s really Lithuania’s fault!”

374
Ming5000  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:47:54am

re: #369 Belafon

Putin is why I know what defenestration means

375
wrenchwench  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:48:17am

re: #370 darthstar

I did add a Ukranian flag to my facebook profile pic…so I’m not completely passive.

The Brandenburg Gate, meta.

376
b.d  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:50:25am

Oh joy,

If it is destroyed then I guess we don’t have to worry about it anymore.

//

If Russia wants to own Ukraine then they own this too.

377
Dr Lizardo  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:51:06am

re: #373 darthstar

If Ukraine goes sideways it just might be. Putin’s been oppressing his own people for years and blaming others. He fucks this up, and nobody will buy his BS when he says, “Oh, it’s really Lithuania’s fault!”

If things go sideways in Ukraine, it won’t be some average Ivan giving Putin a bayonet suppository.

It’ll be a bullet from a Russian soldier, after the military deposes him.

378
Dr Lizardo  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:51:50am

re: #374 Ming5000

Putin is why I know what defenestration means

I know what it means because defenestration is the third most popular Czech sport, after football and ice hockey.

379
darthstar  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:56:14am

You know how a sunburn hurts the skin, well a nuclear bomb can burn the skin too, if you don’t duck and cover.

Youtube Video

380
William Lewis  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:57:04am

re: #378 Dr Lizardo

I know what it means because defenestration is the third most popular Czech sport, after football and ice hockey.

Heh, they’ve been playing it since 1419!

381
Dangerman  Feb 24, 2022 • 6:59:11am
An excerpt from I Alone Can Fix It by Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker suggests what might have been:

“In fact, Trump had privately indicated that he would seek to withdraw from NATO and to blow up the U.S. alliance with South Korea, should he win reelection. When those alliances had come up in meetings with Esper and other top aides, some advisers warned Trump that shredding them before the election would be politically dangerous.”

Said Trump: “Yeah, the second term. We’ll do it in the second term.”

why Putin didn’t try this during Trump’s presidency - he was waiting for the second term prob to sweep up Poland and the Baltics as well as Ukraine.

382
lawhawk  Feb 24, 2022 • 7:01:01am

Engel and others have reported that Russian forces attacked and damaged nuclear waste storage facility at Chernobyl.

1) need verification that this actually occurred
2) hold Russia accountable for the damage they do
3) Why the fuck would Russians do something like that?

383
Decatur Deb  Feb 24, 2022 • 7:04:03am

re: #361 darthstar

Armchair pacifist here.

No one here except us civilian advisors.

384
lawhawk  Feb 24, 2022 • 7:04:46am

Oh joy… and now the NWS is predicting an ice storm in northern NJ and into the Hudson Valley. A tenth to quarter inch of ice.

That’s more than sufficient to cause significant problems during tomorrow’s rush hour, bring down power lines, and trees all over the place.

I’d rather take a foot of snow than any amount of ice.

385
FFL (GOP Delenda Est)  Feb 24, 2022 • 7:07:24am

re: #382 lawhawk

Engel and others have reported that Russian forces attacked and damaged nuclear waste storage facility at Chernobyl.

1) need verification that this actually occurred
2) hold Russia accountable for the damage they do
3) Why the fuck would Russians do something like that?

Assuming it occurred would such a storage facility look strongly like a set of military storage bunkers?

I guess someone not properly briefed on what was there or not quite knowing where they were would potentially see it as a target and call an air strike or artillery on it?

386
No Malarkey!  Feb 24, 2022 • 7:08:41am

re: #353 darthstar

Still catching up on the stupid.

Laura Ingraham can go fuck herself.

387
Eclectic Cyborg  Feb 24, 2022 • 7:10:37am

re: #386 No Malarkey!

Laura Ingraham can go fuck herself.

I’d listen to this podcast.

/

388
Ming5000  Feb 24, 2022 • 7:10:43am

re: #382 lawhawk

Engel and others have reported that Russian forces attacked and damaged nuclear waste storage facility at Chernobyl.

1) need verification that this actually occurred
2) hold Russia accountable for the damage they do
3) Why the fuck would Russians do something like that?

Engel deleted the tweet. I saw that he corrected what he wrote and said MAY have damaged … because fighting was occurring nearby.

389
Hecuba's daughter  Feb 24, 2022 • 7:12:03am

re: #248 steve_davis

One other variable: look for Ukraine to have lots of independent merc units working for them. Just because the u.s. isn’t sending in our own troops doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of old hands who will happily take our money to go make Russian soldiers miserable: small a-teams for sabotage/sniper missions, brigades of “independently financed” Old Guard types using suspiciously high end military gear.

Isn’t Erik Prince supporting Russia? The Trump team is team Putin. Have Tucker’s tirades been fueled by his knowledge of Trump’s preferences and he was merely trying to promote those allegiances among the GOP base?

390
Belafon  Feb 24, 2022 • 7:12:16am

We’re down below freezing here in the DFW area and have been since early yesterday. Right now, we have warm air and moisture above us, so it’s drizzling and landing on top of an already frozen layer.

This would be my trip to work if I couldn’t work from home. I get off at that state highway (the little white line) that runs west from where it says work:

The highway to hell
391
No Malarkey!  Feb 24, 2022 • 7:13:17am

re: #364 Rightwingconspirator

The breakout of war in Europe as Putin tries to force the recreation of the Soviet Union is easily as depressing and dangerous as the pandemic. Enough with “interesting times”. Health and peace are distant goals now.

We had a brief era of uninteresting times between the fall of the Soviet Union and 9/11. I don’t expect to live long enough for them to return.

392
darthstar  Feb 24, 2022 • 7:13:41am

Well, if it’s not destroyed it definitely is going to need a new coat of paint and some body work.

393
lawhawk  Feb 24, 2022 • 7:14:05am

re: #385 FFL (GOP Delenda Est)

Assuming it occurred would such a storage facility look strongly like a set of military storage bunkers?

I guess someone not properly briefed on what was there or not quite knowing where they were would potentially see it as a target and call an air strike or artillery on it?

More likely - Ukrainian soldiers took shelter among structures from incoming Russian fire and the Russians blew them up not caring that they were attacking nuclear waste facilities.

There’s a variety of nuclear waste storage sites in and around the reactors but hard to say whether they look like bunkers or not.

394
Belafon  Feb 24, 2022 • 7:15:35am

re: #392 darthstar

Well, if it’s not destroyed it definitely is going to need a new coat of paint and some body work.

[Embedded content]

It’s a convertible.

395
Hecuba's daughter  Feb 24, 2022 • 7:15:36am

re: #256 Targetpractice

The Russians did that in Afghanistan and all they got was a decade of sending soldiers home in body bags. And we didn’t encounter much better success when we set up provisional governments in Afghanistan and Iraq. Vlad’s not likely to meet much better success in Kyiv, doubly so if he moves forward with his threats to imprison and try the legitimate government as “war criminals.”

Different terrain. Different population. And any legitimate government officials he capture are more likely to be defenestrated than appear in a show trial.

396
No Malarkey!  Feb 24, 2022 • 7:15:46am

re: #382 lawhawk

Engel and others have reported that Russian forces attacked and damaged nuclear waste storage facility at Chernobyl.

1) need verification that this actually occurred
2) hold Russia accountable for the damage they do
3) Why the fuck would Russians do something like that?

They have been saying on MSNBC now that they are worried this will happen, not that it has.

397
GlutenFreeJesus  Feb 24, 2022 • 7:15:54am

re: #392 darthstar

It’s just crazy to me how it seems civilians are getting all this footage, seemingly just driving around in their cars.

398
Michele: Out of the closet, Into the fire  Feb 24, 2022 • 7:16:09am

Going dark Lizards. I just don’t have the spoons right now for any of this. Need some time to decompress. Be well and may the Mother watch over you.

399
Belafon  Feb 24, 2022 • 7:16:44am

re: #395 Hecuba’s daughter

Different terrain. Different population. And any legitimate government officials he capture are more likely to be defenestrated than appear in a show trial.

Still people loyal to their own country. Vietnam is probably a better comparison.

400
The Pie Overlord!  Feb 24, 2022 • 7:17:51am

YESTERDAY:

TODAY:

401
b.d  Feb 24, 2022 • 7:18:39am

re: #390 Belafon

We’re down below freezing here in the DFW area and have been since early yesterday. Right now, we have warm air and moisture above us, so it’s drizzling and landing on top of an already frozen layer.

This would be my trip to work if I couldn’t work from home. I get off at that state highway (the little white line) that runs west from where it says work:

[Embedded content]

I’m in southside of downtown Fort Worth. I came in today because I live only 1 mile from the office with only one flat bridge over I-35 to cross. Spun out on black ice once. Told my guys to stay home.

Catching up on paperwork in peace, jacking around on the internet, listening to the news and seeing other poor bastards try and stop but slide. I-35 & I-30 is moving fast here but not much traffic.

402
Teukka  Feb 24, 2022 • 7:19:13am

Maddness. Utter madness…

403
darthstar  Feb 24, 2022 • 7:20:35am

Crypto took another dip this morning.

404
No Malarkey!  Feb 24, 2022 • 7:22:47am

They may want to bring toothbrushes; they are facing contempt of court charges.

405
ericblair  Feb 24, 2022 • 7:24:31am

re: #397 GlutenFreeJesus

It’s just crazy to me how it seems civilians are getting all this footage, seemingly just driving around in their cars.

And it’s getting out of the country, which means cell service and fixed infrastructure is still working and not jammed. Possibly deliberate by Russia for shock and awe, possibly they failed in disabling them. You would expect areas of heavy fighting to be massively jammed, though, since that is Russian tactics. Video of downed Russian aircraft means that RU does not (or didn’t yet have) air superiority in that area, but I’d assume that will happen. It’s a matter of UKR making it as painful as possible.

406
No Malarkey!  Feb 24, 2022 • 7:25:05am
407
gocart mozart  Feb 24, 2022 • 7:26:54am

re: #359 Punish Domestic Terrorists

408
Teukka  Feb 24, 2022 • 7:27:26am

Taking a break from Ukraine news for my health :( :( :(

409
darthstar  Feb 24, 2022 • 7:28:34am

Kid was a minute late.

410
Hecuba's daughter  Feb 24, 2022 • 7:28:36am

re: #275 Dopamine Fish

Grunthos warned us yesterday that this one would be more challenging.

Click to Reveal

Wordle 250 4/6

⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩
⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜🟩⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First 3 lines eliminated a lot of possibilities.

411
Belafon  Feb 24, 2022 • 7:28:51am

re: #407 gocart mozart

Laura gets away with beating her husband and can’t understand why it’s a big deal.

412
A hollow voice says: Abort SCOTUS  Feb 24, 2022 • 7:29:20am

re: #269 Ming5000

The person asking the question sounded American. I wonder who it was.

[Embedded content]

She doesn’t sound American, but I can’t place her accent.

413
Hecuba's daughter  Feb 24, 2022 • 7:30:30am

re: #278 Shiplord Kirel: Fan of Big Bird, Bert, and Ernie

Owing to the amount of time that has passed since World War II, the scum formerly known as “quislings” will henceforth be called “tuckers.”

Maybe it should be “Trumpers”.

414
No Malarkey!  Feb 24, 2022 • 7:30:43am
415
Crush White Nationalism  Feb 24, 2022 • 7:35:10am

Death by opulence. Should have stayed in a dump with vinyl flooring in the bathroom.

New details have emerged in the investigation into what caused Bob Saget’s untimely death in an Orlando hotel last month. Investigators have told People magazine that they now believe that the 65-year-old comedian lost consciousness in the bathroom of his hotel room at the Ritz-Carlton on Jan. 7 after hitting his head on the marble floor. Police said that he likely crawled into bed after regaining consciousness and died at around 4 a.m., after again losing consciousness.

Bob Saget Likely Hit His Head on Bathroom Floor Then Crawled Into Bed, Investigators Say (The Daily Beast)

416
The Pie Overlord!  Feb 24, 2022 • 7:37:15am

re: #410 Hecuba’s daughter

Grunthos warned us yesterday that this one would be more challenging.

[Embedded content]

NUhpaEdSSlhkOE1Zb0Nvd0FqV3VmcWpiN1pESmh5aU9NazlBTGJnVnBnTnQrZmFiMU9XVEZUZ1czUVRzMktRUkZBWHpWR3Jydi80dUgwQ3hvOGdVT25JUjhIb2lIT0tDNm54QkRkY01iaFpMRlZqbWlwNERCaUlwMUJhMzNGSGQ6Orri+p6TopOCSLvgLIm2FvY=

417
No Malarkey!  Feb 24, 2022 • 7:40:01am
418
Egregious Philbin  Feb 24, 2022 • 7:40:03am

re: #386 No Malarkey!

It’s pretty obvious that no one else will…

419
Dangerman  Feb 24, 2022 • 7:41:52am

Morning lizards

420
No Malarkey!  Feb 24, 2022 • 7:43:43am

Meanwhile over 2,800 Americans were reported dead from Covid yesterday, over 70,000 in the last month. coronavirus.jhu.edu

421
lawhawk  Feb 24, 2022 • 7:45:01am

re: #420 No Malarkey!

Pandemic’s over. Nothing to see here.

Mind you, more are dying during the “end” of the pandemic than at most any other point in time. Nearly all those dying are unvaccinated. Nearly all refused to vaccinate, despite widespread availability of a vaccine that prevents serious and deadly outcomes.

That’s all on the GOP.

422
No Malarkey!  Feb 24, 2022 • 7:46:42am
423
ericblair  Feb 24, 2022 • 7:49:28am

The Russian security council meeting a few days ago, on (not-live) TV, was doubtless to publicly get all the security council members’ fingerprints on the knife. Most of them were not happy to be there and on the spot for something it was clear they opposed. If this invasion and capture goes well, then they’ll pretend they always approved it. If not, and shit starts publicly going south, then these guys have some decisions to make about what to do with the boss and his enormous fuckup.

It’s encouraging that public figures are coming out against the war; older Russians watch a lot of TV and these people are going out on a limb. Public opinion matters, even in Russia: not for a popular overthrow which is pretty unlikely, but for a coup.

424
Sherlock Hound  Feb 24, 2022 • 7:58:32am

It would be a shame if that flag was suddenly full of holes…
///

425
Thanos  Feb 24, 2022 • 7:59:48am

Meanwhile the cyberjinx are heating up
cnn.com
also:
Keep an eye on bellingcat for hacking news

426
Belafon  Feb 24, 2022 • 8:00:14am

re: #424 Sherlock Hound

It would be a shame if that flag was suddenly full of holes…
///

[Embedded content]

Yes, revenge of the Sith was great for them for a while.

427
Crush White Nationalism  Feb 24, 2022 • 8:05:14am

re: #424 Sherlock Hound

It would be a shame if that flag was suddenly full of holes…
///

428
Thanos  Feb 24, 2022 • 8:06:28am

IOS version should be 15.3.1 - update if you are not there.

429
Belafon  Feb 24, 2022 • 8:07:04am
430
Belafon  Feb 24, 2022 • 8:10:17am
431
Belafon  Feb 24, 2022 • 8:12:39am
432
Eclectic Cyborg  Feb 24, 2022 • 8:17:57am

Conservatives in my social feeds seem to fall into three camps RE Ukraine:

1. Putin would never have tried this if Trump was still President because Trump would have kicked his ass for it.

2. This is the beginning of the End Times. Y’all better get right with Jesus…or else.

3. Such terrible news. Sending thoughts and prayers to Ukraine. 🙏🏼💕

433
Crush White Nationalism  Feb 24, 2022 • 8:19:25am

re: #432 Eclectic Cyborg

Conservatives in my social feeds seem to fall into three camps RE Ukraine:

1. Putin would never have tried this if Trump was still President because Trump would have kicked his ass for it.

2. This is the beginning of the End Times. Y’all better get right with Jesus…or else.

3. Such terrible news. Sending thoughts and prayers to Ukraine. 🙏🏼💕

As corrupt Donald Trump praises Putin.

434
Eclectic Cyborg  Feb 24, 2022 • 8:19:40am

Got a little too comfortable with Trumps ineptness, did you, Vlad?

435
Belafon  Feb 24, 2022 • 8:21:37am
436
Belafon  Feb 24, 2022 • 8:22:35am

re: #434 Eclectic Cyborg

He couldn’t pull of “Ukraine made me do it” so he’s gone straight to “I dare you to stop me.”

437
Dr Lizardo  Feb 24, 2022 • 8:24:58am

Czech President Miloš Zeman (who prior to this morning was Putin’s caddy) has had the scales fall off his eyes.

He’s now calling for Russia to be kicked out of SWIFT.

“I think it is time to resort to far harsher sanctions than originally planned. I am thinking in particular of the sanction in the area of ​​the so-called SWIFT, which is an international banking or financial network that would mean the exclusion of the Russian Federation from the payment system, “he said in an extraordinary speech on Thursday.

Source (in Czech): cnn.iprima.cz

438
GlutenFreeJesus  Feb 24, 2022 • 8:25:58am

re: #437 Dr Lizardo

Czech President Miloš Zeman (who prior to this morning was Putin’s caddy) has had the scales fall off his eyes.

He’s now calling for Russia to be kicked out of SWIFT.

Source (in Czech): cnn.iprima.cz

This needs to be done yesterday.

439
Dr Lizardo  Feb 24, 2022 • 8:29:58am

re: #438 GlutenFreeJesus

This needs to be done yesterday.

Absolutely. This would seriously - and perhaps irreparably - devastate Russia’s economy. They’d be a third-world country overnight. And if China helps them? Fuck ‘em, massive sanctions against China, too. From both the EU and the United States.

440
mmmirele  Feb 24, 2022 • 8:32:56am

re: #356 b.d

Morning Lizards:

[Embedded content]

The guys in Russia’s pockets are having to pay the piper now but they are showing their ass, it is all downhill here for them now.

Don’t let them think they are speaking for a bunch of folks.

Never thought I’d see the Palmer Report being sensible and factual.

441
Captain Magic  Feb 24, 2022 • 8:40:12am

If we’re going to disconnect Russia from SWIFT, there should be an agreement NOT to announce it - just do it and let Russia call the SWIFT help desk and sweat for a couple of days - THEN announce it.

442
darthstar  Feb 24, 2022 • 8:40:35am

re: #419 Dangerman

[Embedded content]

Morning lizards

Mornin’…Merle saw his nemesis again. Milo asks if he can go play.

443
darthstar  Feb 24, 2022 • 8:49:07am

This looks like radio theater sound effects…but it’s still funny.

444
Dr Lizardo  Feb 24, 2022 • 8:51:08am

Reading that Germany is opposed to cutting Russia out of SWIFT. Italy, Hungary and Cyprus too.

Are these people really so naïve as to believe there’s such a thing as diplomacy with Putin?

445
Belafon  Feb 24, 2022 • 8:53:17am

re: #444 Dr Lizardo

Reading that Germany is opposed to cutting Russia out of SWIFT. Italy, Hungary and Cyprus too.

Are these people really so naïve as to believe there’s such a thing as diplomacy with Putin?

[Embedded content]

Putin also waited until Merkel was out of office.

446
darthstar  Feb 24, 2022 • 8:53:32am

re: #434 Eclectic Cyborg

[Embedded content]

Got a little too comfortable with Trumps ineptness, did you, Vlad?

We still have spies, Edward Snowden, so go fuck yourself when Putin asks if you were holding back intel.

447
darthstar  Feb 24, 2022 • 8:55:31am

re: #444 Dr Lizardo

Reading that Germany is opposed to cutting Russia out of SWIFT. Italy, Hungary and Cyprus too.

Are these people really so naïve as to believe there’s such a thing as diplomacy with Putin?

[Embedded content]

Reuters says the EU is unlikely to cut them from SWIFT for now. This can and likely will change as Putin gets more desperate and makes an even more egregious error.

448
Backwoods_Sleuth  Feb 24, 2022 • 8:59:07am
449
Belafon  Feb 24, 2022 • 8:59:09am

re: #447 darthstar

Reuters says the EU is unlikely to cut them from SWIFT for now. This can and likely will change as Putin gets more desperate and makes an even more egregious error.

It just seems like a good way to cripple Russia quickly.

450
steve_davis  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:00:24am

re: #376 b.d

Oh joy,

If it is destroyed then I guess we don’t have to worry about it anymore.

//

If Russia wants to own Ukraine then they own this too.

yeah, and bad news for russia is that when the wind blows right, they get to look forward to cesium raining down on Moscow.

451
Belafon  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:03:31am

re: #448 Backwoods_Sleuth

Who are we to judge another country trying to return a wayward land back to the family?

452
mmmirele  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:04:08am

re: #441 Captain Magic

If we’re going to disconnect Russia from SWIFT, there should be an agreement NOT to announce it - just do it and let Russia call the SWIFT help desk and sweat for a couple of days - THEN announce it.

*cough* couple of days? Probably less than an hour, depending on the monitoring on the Russian end. I’d hate to be the Russian techie in charge of monitoring incoming and outgoing SWIFT wires right now. Is it a hiccup or is it a cutoff?

453
FFL (GOP Delenda Est)  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:06:43am

re: #451 Belafon

Who are we to judge another country trying to return a wayward land back to the family?

I think this is also China’s diplomatic way of saying “Let them fight”.

454
Backwoods_Sleuth  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:12:50am
455
Backwoods_Sleuth  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:13:29am
456
Dr Lizardo  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:13:42am
457
Backwoods_Sleuth  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:14:15am
458
Dr Lizardo  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:15:10am
459
Backwoods_Sleuth  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:17:59am
460
jaunte  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:18:39am
461
William Lewis  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:18:42am

re: #458 Dr Lizardo

[Embedded content]

Given all the oligarch money there that could be painful for them. I wonder if they can seize property too - Chelsey F.C. would be a good place to start.

462
Dr Lizardo  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:18:54am
463
Backwoods_Sleuth  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:19:48am
464
darthstar  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:19:48am

re: #456 Dr Lizardo

Need to ban all private flights in/out of Russia as well - Oligarchs don’t fly commercial.

465
William Lewis  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:20:03am

re: #460 jaunte

[Embedded content]

It takes real courage to protest there. Much more than the astroturf convoys.

466
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:20:28am

re: #451 Belafon

Who are we to judge another country trying to return a wayward land back to the family?

It has been pointed out that Putin waited for the Olympics to end so as not to annoy Xi by taking away his international spotlight

467
darthstar  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:21:57am

re: #457 Backwoods_Sleuth

This has been my greatest desire, that Russian troops realize they’re being lied to and refuse to fight. A few more big desertions like this and Putin’s house of cards begins to collapse.

468
Backwoods_Sleuth  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:22:15am
469
Belafon  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:24:09am
470
jaunte  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:24:17am
471
Belafon  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:25:07am
472
lawhawk  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:25:09am

re: #467 darthstar

I worry that their surrender is more like “surrender” and that it’s a pretext for Putin to send more troops in to rescue. Asymmetrical warfare is like that, and these troops that were captured are pawns who don’t realize that they’re all expendable to further Putin’s goals. They all are.

473
Dangerman  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:26:45am

re: #443 darthstar

This looks like radio theater sound effects…but it’s still funny.

[Embedded content]

spike jones would like a word

474
FFL (GOP Delenda Est)  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:27:41am

re: #473 Dangerman

spike jones would like a word

[Embedded content]

Spike Jones appears to be the outer limits. He is controlling both the vertical and the horizontal with that suit.

475
Egregious Philbin  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:32:49am

re: #462 Dr Lizardo

I know that place well.

Good to see the Czechs standing up against Russia.

476
Decatur Deb  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:33:01am

re: #473 Dangerman

spike jones would like a word

[Embedded content]

So would Tchaikovsky.

Tchaikovsky - 1812 Overture (Full with Cannons)

477
Belafon  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:33:07am

re: #470 jaunte

[Embedded content]

Imagine finding out, after hoarding all that money, that Putin doesn’t care if you’re rich.

478
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:36:03am

Watched the latest Kingsman movie that came out yesterday on Disney+

Decent entertainment but it totally butchers history (I really had to cringe at the scene of Czar Nicholas abdicating directly to Lenin)

Just don’t show it to Putin or he will feel compelled to invade Orlando.

479
Backwoods_Sleuth  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:36:06am
480
Dr Lizardo  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:36:11am

What the actual fuck would the Russians want with Chernobyl?

481
Colère Tueur de Lapin  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:36:38am

Meh
Wordle 250 4/6

🟨⬛⬛🟨⬛
⬛🟨⬛⬛⬛
🟩🟨🟨🟨⬛
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

482
Backwoods_Sleuth  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:37:53am
483
HRH Stanley Sea  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:38:07am

Where’s that Russian musician kid & his father who set up the Trump tower meetings etc.??

484
Captain Magic  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:38:23am

re: #476 Decatur Deb

So would Tchaikovsky.

The Telarc version of the 1812 Overture would destroy your speakers if you had the music turned up - if you examined the groove you could see where it turns into an almost straight 90-degree angle.

485
William Lewis  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:39:10am

re: #478 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))

Watched the latest Kingsman movie that came out yesterday on Disney+

Decent entertainment but it totally butchers history (I really had to cringe at the scene of Czar Nicholas abdicating directly to Lenin)

Just don’t show it to Putin or he will feel compelled to invade Orlando.

I figured it would be that bad just from the Rasputin bits in the trailer. Pity though. It’s not like the historical reality wouldn’t give enough chance for that kind of story.

486
Backwoods_Sleuth  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:39:27am

re: #480 Dr Lizardo

What the actual fuck would the Russians want with Chernobyl?

Blackmail the rest of Europe: “don’t make us fuck things up worse than they already are…”

487
jaunte  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:39:50am
488
William Lewis  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:40:52am

re: #487 jaunte

[Embedded content]

Low bar to jump, etc.

489
Dopamine Fish  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:41:28am

re: #478 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))

Watched the latest Kingsman movie that came out yesterday on Disney+

Decent entertainment but it totally butchers history (I really had to cringe at the scene of Czar Nicholas abdicating directly to Lenin)

Just don’t show it to Putin or he will feel compelled to invade Orlando.

Of course, it’s not meant to be historical, but I found several elements of it very cringe, without the complete absence of historical accuracy.

490
Backwoods_Sleuth  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:42:01am
491
Dr Lizardo  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:42:43am

re: #485 William Lewis

I figured it would be that bad just from the Rasputin bits in the trailer. Pity though. It’s not like the historical reality wouldn’t give enough chance for that kind of story.

True, but that Rasputin bit was fucking gold. Rhys Ifans was gloriously chewing up the scenery.

Youtube Video

492
Decatur Deb  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:45:18am

re: #490 Backwoods_Sleuth

The Family and its DC boarding house have been skating by for decades. Far more dangerous than Scientology.

493
Backwoods_Sleuth  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:47:07am

CINCINNATI — The Kentucky Supreme Court today suspended prominent Northern Kentucky defense attorney Ben Dusing, following a three-month review of allegations that he threatened two Northern Kentucky attorneys and used amphetamines during a federal criminal trial in New York.

The indefinite suspension requires Dusing to “submit to a full psychological evaluation” to determine his “mental fitness to continue in the practice of law.” It also allows the court’s Inquiry Commission to launch formal disciplinary proceedings against Dusing, whose clients include former Cincinnati Councilman Jeff Pastor.

snip

Dusing shocked Northern Kentucky’s legal community in November when he told two attorneys involved in his daughter’s custody case to “knock it the **** off” in a Facebook post, adding: “Give me a ****ing reason to blow your ***** up.” Dusing said the Facebook post was “political speech,” intended to draw attention to public corruption, not to threaten violence.

But Kenton County Family Court Judge Christopher Mehling called it a “direct threat” to his staff attorney Alice Keyes and Stephanie Dietz, who represented Dusing’s ex-fiancee in the custody case.

The Nov. 2 video post lasted less than nine minutes and was taken down within 24 hours. But it also caused Judge Mehling to withdraw from Dusing’s case and ask the commonwealth attorney to investigate.

YIKES!

494
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:47:40am

re: #485 William Lewis

I figured it would be that bad just from the Rasputin bits in the trailer. Pity though. It’s not like the historical reality wouldn’t give enough chance for that kind of story.

It can be done, and as they managed with Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, the story added an extra layer to history without warping or detracting from what happened.

But here they were just serving up clichés for an audience they assume would have no idea…

495
Backwoods_Sleuth  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:48:27am
496
jeffreyw  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:48:45am

Freezing rain with thunder wasn’t on my card today.

497
William Lewis  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:48:45am

re: #491 Dr Lizardo

True, but that Rasputin bit was fucking gold. Rhys Ifans was gloriously chewing up the scenery.

[Embedded content]

Oh, that may be, I was just thinking history :)

498
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:49:42am

re: #491 Dr Lizardo

True, but that Rasputin bit was fucking gold. Rhys Ifans was gloriously chewing up the scenery.

Yeah, the squat-dance fight scene was a highlight

499
Backwoods_Sleuth  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:49:57am

re: #496 jeffreyw

Freezing rain with thunder wasn’t on my card today.

but very exciting…

500
Backwoods_Sleuth  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:50:54am
501
Backwoods_Sleuth  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:51:24am
502
Acemarilllion  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:52:23am

re: #353 darthstar

Jesus. And they are trying to say Biden needs cognition testing?

503
Backwoods_Sleuth  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:52:50am

re: #470 jaunte

504
Dr Lizardo  Feb 24, 2022 • 9:53:16am

re: #497 William Lewis

Oh, that may be, I was just thinking history :)

I wasn’t even counting on the slightest bit of historical accuracy. More like fan-fiction loosely inspired by historical events. And Rhys Ifans’ Rasputin - for me, at least - stole the show. It’s almost pure camp.

The biggest problem is that the film suffers from tonal confusion. Of course, it’s entertainment, but maybe a little screenplay polishing would’ve helped. And as always, rock-solid work from Ralph Fiennes.

505
No Malarkey!  Feb 24, 2022 • 10:04:27am

Look, it’s consequences for their lies.

506
Sir John Barron  Feb 24, 2022 • 10:05:45am

re: #505 No Malarkey!

Look, it’s consequences for their lies.

I wish Verizon would dump them next.

507
Eclectic Cyborg  Feb 24, 2022 • 10:08:19am

re: #502 Acemarilllion

No need to worry about Trump. He’s a stable genius.

//

508
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Feb 24, 2022 • 10:11:59am

One of the greatest political crimes of the last century was to simply dissolve the USSR without any thought of addressing issues of nationality, finances, national infrastructure or borders.

I went there in March of 1992 - on a Soviet visa and we were still using Soviet currency and I obtained a Soviet driver’s license because there was nothing else available.

And Russia found itself with the largest diaspora in history, over 20 million ethnic Russians left stranded outside Russia - the flip side of Soviet Russification policies.

Except instead of enjoying the status of a privileged minority with access to the best jobs, education and housing, they were being treated like, well minorities. In Lithuania, they were stateless as the country instituted a Lithuanian language test in order to apply for citizenship.

So in Putin’s most recent address, he says that was a failure and all the West did was be all arrogant, etc. and now he is going to stand up and show them - by invading a fucking neighboring country after denying its viability and very existence as an independent nation.

509
lizardofid  Feb 24, 2022 • 10:12:41am

Someone I was not really familiar with before the last few days is Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba . He’s a real pro.

Oh, good morning/afternoon!

510
Patricia Kayden  Feb 24, 2022 • 10:15:22am

re: #500 Backwoods_Sleuth

I guess it should be shocking that some Russians are more anti-war than our Republican Putin apologists. But it’s not.

511
Backwoods_Sleuth  Feb 24, 2022 • 10:17:25am

oh

512
Charles Johnson  Feb 24, 2022 • 10:17:44am
513
BlueSpotinAL  Feb 24, 2022 • 10:19:20am

re: #507 Eclectic Cyborg

No need to worry about Trump. He’s a stable genius.

//

514
Backwoods_Sleuth  Feb 24, 2022 • 10:21:18am
515
Backwoods_Sleuth  Feb 24, 2022 • 10:22:57am
516
Eclectic Cyborg  Feb 24, 2022 • 10:23:18am
517
Dr Lizardo  Feb 24, 2022 • 10:25:07am

Looks like Canada has just blocked all exports to Russia.

518
Hecuba's daughter  Feb 24, 2022 • 10:25:32am

re: #510 Patricia Kayden

I guess it should be shocking that some Russians are more anti-war than our Republican Putin apologists. But it’s not.

Unlike the Russians, the GOP apologists know that they and their families will not be sent to fight and die in the conflict. So these treasonweasels can applaud Putin’s actions to their heart’s content, unless they discover that there’s a political price to pay for playing Benedict Arnold. Everyone who continues to support Trump is a traitor to our nation.

519
b.d  Feb 24, 2022 • 10:27:26am

re: #517 Dr Lizardo

Looks like Canada has just blocked all exports to Russia.

Guess it’s time to stock up on caviar, vodka and Matryoshka dolls…..

520
William Lewis  Feb 24, 2022 • 10:27:45am

videos are popping up on Youtube…

Youtube Video

521
Dr Lizardo  Feb 24, 2022 • 10:28:01am
522
Eclectic Cyborg  Feb 24, 2022 • 10:28:45am
523
The Pie Overlord!  Feb 24, 2022 • 10:29:25am

It would not surprise me at all if MTG or Don Jr blamed the Russian invasion on Hunter Biden. I don’t read their Twitter feeds so maybe they already have.

524
lawhawk  Feb 24, 2022 • 10:32:18am

re: #523 The Pie Overlord!

It would not surprise me at all if MTG or Don Jr blamed the Russian invasion on Hunter Biden. I don’t read their Twitter feeds so maybe they already have.

Yeah, they’ll be projecting like IMAX because they know damned well that if Putin has his way, he’d be able to destroy any evidence linking Trump back to digging up dirt on Biden. Trumpworld is hoping Putin cleans up loose ends.

525
Dr Lizardo  Feb 24, 2022 • 10:32:23am

JFC, Germany and Italy. Russia is waging war on a democratic nation with the intent of eliminating that nation from the map of Europe, and ya’ll are just sitting there saying, BUT MUH MONEY!!

There can be no diplomacy with Russia at this point. Let’s end this farce, cut Russia off completely, expel Russian diplomats and declare them persona non grata, then tell the world that when Russia leaves Ukraine, compensates Ukraine for the damage they’ve already caused, and when free and democratic elections are held in Russia, then we’ll lift all sanctions.

526
Dr Lizardo  Feb 24, 2022 • 10:33:39am
527
Belafon  Feb 24, 2022 • 10:38:35am

re: #516 Eclectic Cyborg

He’s blocked comments.

528
Sir John Barron  Feb 24, 2022 • 10:38:49am

re: #516 Eclectic Cyborg

It is terrible that Biden launched an invasion of Ukraine.

///

529
Sir John Barron  Feb 24, 2022 • 10:39:51am

re: #527 Belafon

He’s blocked comments.

Man of Courage.

//

530
Belafon  Feb 24, 2022 • 10:40:06am

re: #516 Eclectic Cyborg

531
Belafon  Feb 24, 2022 • 10:43:20am

re: #522 Eclectic Cyborg

532
danarchy  Feb 24, 2022 • 11:01:02am

re: #525 Dr Lizardo

JFC, Germany and Italy. Russia is waging war on a democratic nation with the intent of eliminating that nation from the map of Europe, and ya’ll are just sitting there saying, BUT MUH MONEY!!

There can be no diplomacy with Russia at this point. Let’s end this farce, cut Russia off completely, expel Russian diplomats and declare them persona non grata, then tell the world that when Russia leaves Ukraine, compensates Ukraine for the damage they’ve already caused, and when free and democratic elections are held in Russia, then we’ll lift all sanctions.

I don’t know about Italy, but a huge percentage of Germany’s energy needs are met by Russia. It is energy that can not be replaced short term and maybe not even longer term very easily. It is not just money, it is self preservation.

533
Eventual Carrion  Feb 24, 2022 • 11:33:33am

re: #335 Punish Domestic Terrorists

[Embedded content]

Don’t these people need to get to their jobs or be out looking for work to calm their economic anxiety?


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