Come, come now. It shouldn't take you any time at all to respond. "screenshots for posterity"- I take that to mean one of two things. Which is it? Don't fade away now, what with you seeing yourself as such an heroic figure and all. You can do it. Speak up.

Cat got your tongue?

You ask me a question calculated to make me see the error of my position and what happens instead is that the fallacy of your argument gets pointed out to you, so you start in with this cheap "your house, your rules" stuff, which is a copout for the ages.

Then, you post that essentially you're being silenced, when the truth is that I am right here, encouraging you to speak.

You post about how it's easy to sit at a computer yadda yadda, which, by the way, you are doing, too, but, oh, my opinions are not valid because of your military experience. See, this is exemplary of your weak arguments in this matter. You just shit on countless members of this forum, essentially invalidating their opinions. No, really, that is what you've done with that remark, and when you crap on so many people in order to take a shot at me, you betray your weak position in this matter.

Then, you post that you're getting "screenshots for posterity".

This means one of two things- either you are saying that you want to preserve these pages because oh, boy, did you ever tell me off, and if that's the case, man, you are blind, and you are making a fool of yourself.

But, that's the better of the two choices, because the second thing your remark can mean is that you were safeguarding against the deletion of your posts. It couldn't be a safeguard against me editing your posts, because there is no way for me to do such a thing without the software leaving my footprints in your posts. It would show that I had edited them.

So, most likely, you were saying you were safeguarding against me simply nuking your statements, and if that is the case, IrishWind, you are way, way out of line, and why you would think that I would tolerate such an insult, is beyond me.

The fact that you are not responding (you know, what with me stopping you from speaking and all) says it all. All you're doing, in lieu of a valid argument supporting your position, is trying to be an agitator.

Uh huh

I am asking members to refrain from posting in this thread until IrishWind responds and if he hasn't responded within 24 hours, we'll go from there.

IrishWind's chickenshit behavior and cheap and old tactics will not be tolerated. I'll not have a member of this forum suggest that I would delete their posts in an effort to prevail in an argument. I don't have to put up with that. Everyone can see what's going on with the way he is behaving by making claims that he is being silenced, when the fact is that he's playing childish games because he can't actually support his position on the subject of the Ukrainian conflict. He feels he's right and lacking facts and logic, we get disruptions like this.

OK, IrishWind, it's apparent you aren't going to respond. Posting in this thread was suspended and you had the floor for a full day.

I was glad to see you return a few months ago. You and I have never really seen eye to eye but you were welcome here. But this shit you pulled, behaving as if you were being silenced, and posting memes about how your tongue has been torn out - this is entirely unacceptable. I don't have to put up with that shit from anyone here. The only person silencing you, is you, because you've taken your football and gone home.

For whatever reason, it seems to bother you (and some others) to no end that you can't sway me and others to come around to supporting this ridiculous border conflict in Eastern Europe. And I'll tell you something else- members were reticent to reveal their lack of support for this conflict until I started a thread on the subject, and I find this telling- that members were reluctant to speak out against the fanatical support for the crook Zelenskyy and his corrupt government, and all this "He's Churchill" propaganda. Those Americans whose eyes are open to the obscenity of this monolithic fanaticism were being condemned as selfish isolationists and blind idiots, but when all is said and done, we will be proved correct that we should not be involved and that the draining of American resources, both money and weaponry, is criminal.

You know that I would not be able to move you from your position, so why you thought you could move me from mine is beyond me. You quoted Burke that evil triumphs when good men do nothing, but you don't even seem to recognize the real evil of this matter, namely, an Eastern European vampire draining the blood from this nation. And in the end, it will all have been for nothing.

OK, guys, this thread is open for general posting.

I'll say this about Ukraine: if all of this is about Russia trying to "seize 40% of the worlds grain, and the very large oil deposits under Crimea and off it's coasts.", the Ukrainian government didn't put a lot of effort into keeping what they had before Russia made their move. They knew who their neighbor was and did nothing to bolster their security. They simply waited until shit kicked off to beg, borrow and steal from the American taxpayer. They knew that they could wait for our media to guilt American's into "stopping literal Hitler"! The comparison of Putin to Hitler simply reminds me of the leftist tactic calling anything they don't agree with "racist". Its overuse diminishes the actual truth. Sure, Putin is a shitbag (as are most figureheads of foreign nations....hell, even ours at the moment) but that doesn't come close to the death, destruction, and depravity brought about by Adolf Hitler and his minions. The comparison sickens me honestly.

I don’t want to hear of one more G.I. Killed, crippled /maimed for what? Being the world cop doesn’t work. Lord the money & equipment, lives.

Take care of ourselves, no one else does.

Ukraine doesn't generate 40% of the world's grain. That figure is laughable... there weren't a top-8 producer BEFORE the invasion.

quote:

Originally posted by Dakor:
Ukraine doesn't generate 40% of the world's grain. That figure is laughable... they're not even a top-8 producer.

Production is irrelevant, as China and India top those lists but fail to produce enough grain to feed the local population, let alone export. Ukraine is the 5th largest exporter worldwide, at around 10% market share.

Not disputing that the 40% premise is laughable, just stating the exact numbers.

People that can't think rationally can only lash out emotionally. No point in trying tp persuade them with facts and logic because it is all about their "feels".

We all know it Dakor. Some like to regurgitate talking points to try and bolster their indefensible position. Akin to comparing every bad guy to Hitler, it's a cheap tactic that one uses to get an emotional reaction rather than a rational one.

Last I heard.

31 tanks prepped for "an unknown country"

All Tanks going through Lima. We will never ship an Abrams with our armor package (the fact we had to say this is amazing) to a country that is fighting.

USMC tigers are all heavies. Hint. 116 are going to Poland. But they are NATO.

My lol...the USMC FEPs are different than the Army M1A1 SA'a...Wait until they try to order a component that does not exist in the parts manual...

Also export FLIR, ballistic software, etc.

I'm good with that.

On a better note I'm 2/3 of the way to my OD Green Trifecta of 3rd Gen Glocks.

While I do not expect anyone to believe a word I say, last week I was on my back underneath the traverse mechanism of an Abrams tank...haven't been there in a few...so I took a picture to send to a buddy of mine (who smartly retired). Him and I did this weekly in our youth. Tank was deadlined for a class III leak at the traverse servo.

Lol. Easy repair. Got them back up and running. (FYI: Even rebuilt the turret brake clutch pack while I was there).

Me looking up underneath the traverse mech a few days ago..

quote:

Originally posted by mutedblade:
The comparison sickens me honestly.

Putin isn't a scratch on Hitler's ass. The comparison is simple-minded at best.

MBinky said "While I do not expect anyone to believe a word I say..."

Seriously. You have been my go-to for my under-the-hood info for weeks. My chariots were the M-50 and the M-48 of the '60s so my memory of how these things work is irrelevant and getting anything better than a Google riff just wasn't happening. There was also a lot of bad info flying around in the vicinity of sending tanks to the Ukes. I didn't know what was wrong with it but it just didn't smell right

Anyway, thanks. You made me look smart a couple of times. By the way I gave you credit even though it was anonymous.

quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:

quote:

Originally posted by mutedblade:
The comparison sickens me honestly.

Putin isn't a scratch on Hitler's ass. The comparison is simple-minded at best.

Yes, the "Putin is Hitler and Zelenskyy is Churchill" stuff is laughable. The need to oversell it so hard betrays the weakness of the argument in favor our participation in this conflict.

Most people don't understand the depth of the atrocities of the Nazis. Anyone who wants to find out what Hitler's empire was really like, try tackling William Shirer's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, all 1250 pages of it, and then try to compare Putin to Hitler.

And for goodness sake, Zelenskyy is nothing like Winston Churchill. Churchill was a true statesman, unlike Zelenskyy who is a corrupt grifter constantly whining for more, more, and trying to shame those who don't consider his country to be the most important thing in the world today.

quote:

And for goodness sake, Zelenskyy is nothing like Winston Churchill. Churchill was a true statesman, unlike Zelenskyy who is a corrupt grifter constantly whining for more, more, and trying to shame those who don't consider his country to be the most important thing in the world today.

Exactly, the only reason he has not been killed is he is helping destroy our country. So in Putin's mind, why would he? He is helping bring down an adversary.

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:
Exactly, the only reason he has not been killed is he is helping destroy our country. So in Putin's mind, why would he? He is helping bring down an adversary.

Oh, but we're destroying our enemy for literally pennies on the dollar! We're just giving them all our old used-up shit from the early 90's and they're wiping out our biggest world rival with it.

Gee, it really sounds great, doesn't it? But for a thought exercise, just flip it around and consider what nobody here would like to consider: What if we really are dealing with a military genius who has expertly played us into a corner? I hate to even suggest it because some are so convinced that it's impossible to the point where I'll get laughed at, but let's step out of our little seat at the arena and maybe get up and walk around and look at the action from some different angles for a bit. We've put a geriatric who can't put a sentence together in the top leadership position and he has torpedoed our economy. I think the only thing the guy has done that makes any sense is the semiconductor supply chain stuff, but even that, I'm having a hard time finding a clear explanation of what he did. At seemingly every other turn, the guy has made the choice that directly hurts our economy, our culture, or our world standing. Now we're backed into a corner where we look like warmongers and China will broker a peace agreement, the Yuan will become the world's reserve currency instead of the USD and we've lost out preeminence in one presidential term. It was a long road to this place, but the last few turns were critical. We chased the cold warrior's wet dream fantasy of open war with Russia right into a very dangerous place.

I would not be horribly surprised if by fall, we see a major Russian offensive that sees our response as putting "boots on the ground" because our president, our media, and a disillusioned fighting force that spent twenty years fucking around in mountains and villages against non-uniformed combatants never got the war they actually wanted to fight can't resist an actual throw-down with Russia. People, some of them on this very forum, will cheer this. And it will be the wrong thing to do, and a really sad day for America.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
Most people don't understand the depth of the atrocities of the Nazis. Anyone who wants to find out what Hitler's empire was really like, try tackling William Shirer's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, all 1250 pages of it, and then try to compare Putin to Hitler.

For all my father's shortcomings, he handed me that very book when I was in high school and said "you'll need to learn this stuff. Evil comes and goes, and we'll be due for evil like this again at some point in your lifetime." I've done a lot of reading since, and I think I can at least safely claim to have a better understanding of the man than many of my contemporaries. I recently directed a forum member to "Hitler's Willing Executioners." That one should scare anyone who reads it, and if you're ever going to open your mouth and say anyone is a Nazi or someone is like Hitler, you need that one under your belt first.

EU Condemns 'Unilateral' Ban On Ukrainian Grain By Poland & Hungary

https://www.zerohedge.com/mark...grain-poland-hungary

This weekend Poland and Hungary both took the drastic step of banning Ukrainian grain and other food product imports after cheap goods have flooded both countries.

The Polish prime minister’s office called the drastic action a necessary measure "to protect the Polish agricultural market against destabilization." Hungarian Agriculture Minister István Nagy also announced a temporary ban on import of grain and oil seeds, along with other foods, which he said is needed "in the absence of meaningful EU measures."

In the wake of Ukrainian ports being blocked for many months prior to the UN-brokered rain export deal, Ukrainian grain to Africa and the Middle East was largely halted.

While much of it flowed into neighboring Poland, the majority tended to remain stuck in the country, which severely impacted Polish farmers given collapsing prices that resulted.

The government of Ukraine immediately said it "regrets the decision of its Polish counterparts" following the weekend announcement.

The European Union on Sunday blasted the Polish and Hungarian measures, per The New York Times:

The European Union has criticized bans by Poland and Hungary on imports of Ukrainian grain and other foods over the weekend, saying the unilateral moves were "unacceptable."

The bloc, of which Poland and Hungary are member states, lifted tariffs on Ukrainian grain last year to help transport it to the rest of the world amid Russia’s invasion, but the exports have led to a glut of produce in Europe. As a result, farmers in Poland, Hungary and other nations have seen their incomes plummet.

Bulgaria is now also said to be mulling a similar measure. According to more from EU officials:

A spokesperson for the European Commission, the European Union’s executive arm, said in an email on Sunday that such a trade policy was a matter of "E.U. exclusive competence," meaning that only the bloc could adopt legally binding decisions.

The crisis could escalate, with the EU concerned over a continued domino effect of individual nations implementing their own policies, given Moscow has of late expressed doubts over its continuing participation in the UN grain deal which is monitored from Turkey, which is a mere weeks away from expiring.

quote:

The crisis could escalate, with the EU concerned over a continued domino effect of individual nations implementing their own policies, g

perhaps a good example of Moscow's intent on the attack on the Ukraine, destabilization of the world grain market, and, dissention among member states of the EU, weakening it's ability to control the economic positions of the block...

Waging a war via economics against the EU and USA without having to engage a single military unit of those countries/blocks....

This will lead to more German industry being forced to shut down.


Germany Closes Its Last Nuclear Power Plants - Electricity Bills To Spike Up To 45%

https://www.zerohedge.com/ener...icity-bills-spike-45

One might say that the timing could not be worse for the implementation of "net zero" climate goals given the already boiling economic instability across the western world. Then again, maybe the timing is perfect for the people in power?

With stagflation still running rampant in the US and Europe the last thing anyone should be worried about is a less than 1°C rise in global temperatures in the past 100 years. There is no concrete evidence of any significant climate crisis, and all the people who tell us a crisis is right around the corner do so while raking in billions in funding dollars from governments and think-tank institutions with a vested interest in reinforcing the hysteria. In other words, there is no basis for exponential restrictions on "greenhouse gas" emissions. The climate crisis claim is a sham.

When the policies of the climate cult are examined with a clear head, it becomes obvious that saving the planet is not a primary concern. Rather, the purpose of the agenda is to increase power to government bureaucracies on a level not seen since the feudal empires of centuries past. Get ready for the return of the peasant lifestyle...

One factor that consistently arises in the fight over climate change mandates is the increasing need for energy clashing with deliberate cuts to the means of production. Establishment elites want restricted energy access for the public, and they want people to pay more for each slice of the ever shrinking pie. A perfect example of this dynamic is the widespread effort by such governments to shut down nuclear power plants, one of the cleanest forms of energy we have from the standpoint of carbon emissions.

Germany, already in the midst of an energy shortfall due to the loss of natural gas supplies from Russia, has also just closed its last three operational nuclear power plants this past week, leaving the nation high and dry when it comes to easy accessible electricity. Germany has some of the highest residential electricity prices in all of Europe and they are about to explode even more in the near term.

As energy prices rose last year as a result of the Ukraine conflict, certain members of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government became hesitant to close the nuclear plants as planned on December 31, 2022. Scholz agreed to a one-time extension of the deadline but insisted on the final countdown taking place on April 15.

Alongside the closure of the nuclear plants, German multinational electric utility E.ON increased its prices by as much as 45% starting June 1.

“In parts of NRW (North Rhine-Westphalia), the new price is 49.44 cents gross per kilowatt hour, which means an adjustment of around 45 percent for an average consumption,” said a spokesman for Eon Energie in Germany.

Ironically, shortages last winter compelled the German government to increase coal fired power plant operations, yet they are still shutting down clean energy nuclear plants to make way for so-called renewables. If climate change initiatives don't seem to be making much sense these days, its because there is no logic behind them other than to create incremental chaos. The confusion over conflicting green policies makes way for notoriously inefficient wind and solar power farms that cannot sustain the existing population, but it also allows for a global political power grab on an unprecedented scale.