Here are my two main concerns:

1. Putin, frustrated with being stymied in Ukraine, keeps ramping things up until it gets to the point the West can tolerate it no longer and feels compelled to intervene. He's already resorted to reducing to ruble a couple cities they haven't been able to take. A Politco correspondent in Brussels even reports

quote:

One European official privy to intelligence briefings provided to U.S. allies said analysts in Washington had reached a terrifying conclusion: “Russia is ready to use a thermonuclear bomb in Ukraine,” the official said.

But, even short of that: What if he starts employing thermobaric munitions in areas with civilians? (There are unverified claims he has already.) Will the West really stand by for that?

2. Every NATO and EU signatory in the area is on a heightened state of readiness--reportedly flying border sorties 24x7, etc. Some of them are exit points for the shipments of self-defense weaponry being trucked into Ukraine. So far Putin's forces haven't prosecuted those routes, but certainly they will eventually. All it may take is one mistake, operating too close to a border, and we're off to the races.

I don't mean to be alarmist. It's not like I'm losing sleep over it. But I'm a damn sight more concerned today than I was a week ago.

I'll bet if it was China, we would not be doing squat. We are not the world's police nor do we hold any moral high ground. The best and brightest are not running this country nor most. The corrupt and cunning are. Populations will have to live with whatever happens. Same in Russia, Ukraine, and here. People cheering on the oncoming stone age have no idea.

Moose and Squirrel vs Boris and Natasha. Most of you war mongers are raised on Sponge Bob

quote:

Originally posted by oldbill123:
I'll bet if it was China, we would not be doing squat. We are not the world's police nor do we hold any moral high ground. The best and brightest are not running this country nor most. The corrupt and cunning are. Populations will have to live with whatever happens. Same in Russia, Ukraine, and here. People cheering on the oncoming stone age have no idea.

Moose and Squirrel vs Boris and Natasha. Most of you war mongers are raised on Sponge Bob

I grew up on reruns of Rocky and Bullwinkle before Spongebob was a thing, so I'm somewhere in between, and I agree with you. Every word of it. I think this is another continent's problem. A big problem with a lot of implications, and no real good outcomes to be sure, but their problem nonetheless. It may be the case that we get dragged into this thing, but I think it will be the wrong thing to do.

We've been exposed to enough globalist propaganda that folks are literally volunteering to go fight in Ukraine....it's almost unbelievable. People act like being attacked by Russia has turned that shithole into a beacon of democracy. The place is a corrupt haven for money laundering and graft. Their government has played both sides of the fence for some time. But, by all means let's be outraged. I understand that pictures of innocent people being harmed is horrible...but, injured civilians are horrible regardless of politics. The U.S. has injured plenty of civilians pursuing our goals. This is more hysteria and propaganda and it's disturbing more people don't see it.

https://nationalinterest.org/b...sian-vehicles-200986

The drone is a Turkish design called the Bayraktar TB2

Ukraine’s Bayraktars have destroyed at least 32 vehicles.

The Bayraktar is described as a medium-altitude, long-range drone able to loiter for twenty-four hours at altitudes up to 25,000 feet

Ukraine operates about twenty of the drones

“The payload is 121 pounds with a 105 horse-power engine, and it only flies around 80 miles per hour,”

"it comes equipped with four Smart Micro Munition laser-guided missiles.”

quote:

The place is a corrupt haven for money laundering and graft.

after a few years of being dormant,

Amid the Russian war on Ukraine and the coronavirus, former President Bill Clinton announced Friday that the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) is resuming full operations after largely shuttering in early 2017.

Clinton made the announcement in an open letter in which he also announced a meeting in New York City in September for members of the "CGI community." He said the pandemic and the Russian war on Ukraine are the two major events that spurred him to bring back the initiative


https://www.foxnews.com/politi...c-ukraine-russia-war

guess the family bank account is running low

quote:

Originally posted by sdy:


https://nationalinterest.org/b...sian-vehicles-200986

The drone is a Turkish design called the Bayraktar TB2

Ukraine’s Bayraktars have destroyed at least 32 vehicles.

The Bayraktar is described as a medium-altitude, long-range drone able to loiter for twenty-four hours at altitudes up to 25,000 feet

Ukraine operates about twenty of the drones

“The payload is 121 pounds with a 105 horse-power engine, and it only flies around 80 miles per hour,”

"it comes equipped with four Smart Micro Munition laser-guided missiles.”

These Turkish drones are gaining fame.

Here is a little ditty the Ukrainians have written about the drone:

https://youtu.be/XCYuq6bWTAo

I am posting a video with English subtitles.

There are other music videos of this ditty out there with some pretty interesting combat footage.

dewhorse, I have a Russian friend who claims "There's still quite strong support of Russian troops even in Kharkiv. People who are dying because of Russian bombs do support them."

Meanwhile we know that, despite Putin's army's best efforts: Kharkiv remains in Ukrainian control. (Last we knew, anyway.)

So what's the story, there?

And, if you don't mind my asking: Is your family primarily of Ukrainian or Russian descent? (I realize the line between the two ranges from very narrow to non-existent.)

Thanks!

Those corrupt shitheads see a lot of money going to or will be going to Ukraine so they certainly want to be the conductor on the gravy train.

quote:

Originally posted by sdy:

quote:

The place is a corrupt haven for money laundering and graft.

after a few years of being dormant,

Amid the Russian war on Ukraine and the coronavirus, former President Bill Clinton announced Friday that the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) is resuming full operations after largely shuttering in early 2017.

Clinton made the announcement in an open letter in which he also announced a meeting in New York City in September for members of the "CGI community." He said the pandemic and the Russian war on Ukraine are the two major events that spurred him to bring back the initiative


https://www.foxnews.com/politi...c-ukraine-russia-war

guess the family bank account is running low

Those that follow podcasts will likely recognize the name Triggernometry , made up of the team of Konstantin Kisin and Francis Foster. Stand-up comedians that have evolved into podcasters who promote free speech and fact-based open discussions on controversial topics. C-19, LGBTQxyz, the Woke agenda, Social Justice, Afghanistan, economics... they bring on a series of notable experts and interview them. More recently, they have introduced a second format, called RAW, where they interview each other.

Although both currently live in the UK, both are either immigrants or born to immigrant parents. Konstatin was born in Russia and lived in several of "the stans" before moving to the UK and his wife is Ukrainian. His grandmother, now living in the UK, was born in a Soviet gulag. He has family and friends in both Russia and Ukraine, with some family members currently taking shelter underground in Ukraine and some even heading off to fight the Russians, while other members of his family are celebrating the invasion and cheering Russia on. If I'm not mistaken, I believe Francis' mother is Ukrainian also.

In these interviews Konstatin makes several interesting points, including that Ukraine is a complicated issue, and that this war is far more than Russia vs. Ukraine, but Eastern ideology vs. Western ideology, and that while the West is far from perfect, a time will come when people will have to decide when to fight and what ideology they would rather be governed by. He also points out that he is now starting to understand that there is a religious component to this war as well as the others, and that the Western media is doing a really bad job of covering the complexties of this war. He also makes the point that this war is bigger than the 9/11 attack.

KK and FF are NOT Conservatives by any stretch, but neither are they radical Leftists. I disagree with them on a number of topics, but they have had some excellent interviews with a number of interesting guests, and they are intelligent, informed, and articulate.

I realize most won't want to invest the time to watch or listen to these, but I believe it will be worth it for those that do.

@ 1 hour 30 minute video. The first hour is the interview, and the last 30 minutes is the team answering questions from online supporters. [*profanity warning]


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dNnq8gMAE-8


This is a radio interview with KK on Ukraine
@ 44 minute audio
UKRAINE: It's about the Survival of the West. Konstatin Kisin w/ Sebastian Gorka

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Modern Day Savage,

quote:

Originally posted by Graniteguy:

quote:

2. I have been told by people way smarter than me that we have significant cyber capabilities. Why the f&^k aren’t we using them to completely bring the Russian military communications to a halt?

How does that benefit the United States?

In several ways:
1. Gas prices will come down as soon as this uncertainty goes away.
2. It will teach the Russians that they are not the big kid on the block and hopefully they will behave accordingly.
3. It will allow the world as we use to know it return to “normal”

Gas prices are not coming down. Bootyjuice basically said as much.
We are not the big kid on the block. China is and they own us.
Normal is never coming back. Get over it

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
One European official privy to intelligence briefings provided to U.S. allies said analysts in Washington had reached a terrifying conclusion: “Russia is ready to use a thermonuclear bomb in Ukraine,” the official said.

I seriously doubt this. Look at a map - fallout typically travels eastward. Russia would end up inflicting massive amounts of fallout on themselves. For what gain (to Putin, specifically)? If he goes nuclear, he would lose any and all support in the world, and would have the deaths of countless thousands, in Ukraine AND Russia, on his hands.

Thermonuclear or Thermobaric? One’s a nuclear weapon while another is a fuel-air explosive.

Here's a scene. John Daly with Trump on speaker phone discussing Russia and China.

https://mobile.twitter.com/Lif...HHwWlIC9kcjftdApAAAA

Normal will come back. I agree with a lot of your statements but the idea that this is going to become WWIII is possible but not likely. As for nukes? No chance. Nobody nukes the country next door that’s just fucking stupid.

quote:

Originally posted by oldbill123:
Gas prices are not coming down. Bootyjuice basically said as much.
We are not the big kid on the block. China is and they own us.
Normal is never coming back. Get over it

quiz:

what percentage of US debt is owned by foreign governments?

which country owns the most?

of total US public debt -- what percentage is owned by China?

which country -- US or China has a higher debt to GDP ratio?

(hint: China’s overall debt was 270.1 per cent of gross domestic product at the end of 2020, up from 246.5 per cent at the end of 2019.)

i am adamantly opposed to runaway spending but saying China 'owns the US' is false.

------------------------------------------------------

quote:

Originally posted by Hound Dog:

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
One European official privy to intelligence briefings provided to U.S. allies said analysts in Washington had reached a terrifying conclusion: “Russia is ready to use a thermonuclear bomb in Ukraine,” the official said.

I seriously doubt this. Look at a map - fallout typically travels eastward. Russia would end up inflicting massive amounts of fallout on themselves. For what gain (to Putin, specifically)? If he goes nuclear, he would lose any and all support in the world, and would have the deaths of countless thousands, in Ukraine AND Russia, on his hands.

Not to mention Russia has thermobaric weapons that have large enough yields to destroy anything Putin wants to destroy, without the issues Hound Dog just outlined.

He's already used such weapons, though not against large population centers. Mostly national leaders, politicians and the media have made some outraged screeching noises but don't really seem to give much of a fuck.

I'll bet no one is thinking our actions will have consequences

https://freebeacon.com/nationa...ernment-news-agency/

A Spanish journalist arrested on suspicion of spying for Russia recently worked for Voice of America, the United States government's international media organization.

Pablo Gonzalez was arrested at the Poland-Ukraine border earlier this week on charges that he was secretly working for Russia’s military intelligence service, the GRU. Gonzalez, a Spanish national born in Russia, was identified as a freelance reporter for the Spanish outlets El Sixto and Publico. He has also worked as a freelance reporter for Voice of America (VOA) since at least 2020. Gonzalez helped produce a VOA segment from inside Ukraine last month, according to a Washington Free Beacon investigation.

Gonzalez’s previously unreported work could raise concerns that he used his VOA position to collect intelligence for Russia. If Gonzalez is indeed a Russian spy, it would lend credence to concerns raised by Michael Pack, who oversaw VOA during the Trump administration. Pack came under fire from Democrats when he said VOA was "a great place to put a foreign spy" given the agency’s lax security standards. VOA staffers and others in the media accused Pack of undermining the agency and putting its journalists at risk.

Poland’s internal security agency said Friday that Gonzalez was "conducting his business for Russia while taking advantage of his journalist status." The counterintelligence agency said Gonzalez collected information for Russia’s spy service during his recent stay in Poland and that he planned to continue his activities in war torn Ukraine.

Gonzalez is identified as a cameraman for a Feb. 4 Voice of America story from Dnipro, a city in eastern Ukraine. The story told of residents’ preparations for a Russian invasion of Ukraine. A reporter who worked with Gonzalez on the story cast doubt on the allegations from Polish authorities.

"The accusations against Pablo are ridiculous, I have worked with him in many places and I know he is a top-notch professional," said Ricardo Marquinia, another VOA contributor.

Gonzalez was detained two days after the VOA report by Ukrainian authorities and accused of reporting from military-controlled areas without proper accreditation, Reuters reported. He was released hours after that initial arrest.

The GRU is one of the world’s most aggressive spy agencies. It was behind the cyber attacks during the 2016 U.S. elections and is alleged to have hacked Ukrainian government websites during the current war. Reuters has reported that American intelligence officials also determined that the GRU has long operated a so-called illegals program, where undercover spies live under assumed identities in their target countries, sometimes for years.

A spokeswoman for VOA said the agency is aware of Gonzalez’s arrest, and that they reported it "to all relevant security authorities." The spokeswoman said Gonzalez was a stringer—another term for a freelancer—but that he had not filed a story since July 2021. The spokeswoman declined to comment about his recent story from Ukraine.