throbster wrote: ↑Feb 24th, '22, 08:28
Yes, Putin invaded Ukraine while Joe is in office. He didn't invade with Trump at the helm.
I think there's a fair criticism to be made that Putin made his moves when U.S. presidents appeared weak. Biden certainly has been a weak President up until this point. His response to this particular crisis, however, has been quite good. It's a marked contrast listening to the press briefings now and what they were when Trump was in office. You're also seeing a remarkably galvanized response by our allies, quite in contrast to when Trump was in office.
I also don't think Trump was a president that projected strength. In fact I think he looked pretty weak on dealings with Putin, Syria, Afghanistan, etc. and he wasn't particularly popular at home. That Putin didn't invade during Trump's administration I think says more about Trump's relationship with Putin than it does about Trump's strength as a leader.
It's amazing to me that Trump people don't seem to see the bigger picture. I mean the narrative that Trump was a Russian agent is stronger now than ever, fueled in part by Trump's recent comments, yet his supporters keep saying the Russian collusion case was debunked. Really? Looks damn suspicious to me!
The timing simply could be that Putin was waiting for Nordstream to be completed and he was gambling that Germany is gas desperate enough that it would still certify it even with military action in Ukraine.
Reports of a platoon of Russians surrendering to Ukraine forces. Also reports of quite a bit of opposition to this invasion inside Russia. Hopefully the Ukranians make Putin pay for every inch and he gets knifed in the back by somebody back home.
The Ukraine armed forces, once defeated on the battlefield, should melt off into the general population and conduct a guerilla war that will send Russians home in body bags for whatever time they want to stay in Ukraine. They're way better armed and trained than the Afghans were in 1980 and can exact a far higher price over time.
"Abandon hope all ye who enter here"
Killington Zone
You can checkout any time you like,
but you can never leave
"The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function" =
F. Scott Fitzgerald
"There's nothing more frightening than ignorance in action" - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
easyrider16 wrote: ↑Feb 24th, '22, 16:04
Reports of a platoon of Russians surrendering to Ukraine forces. Also reports of quite a bit of opposition to this invasion inside Russia. Hopefully the Ukranians make Putin pay for every inch and he gets knifed in the back by somebody back home.
I haven't heard or seen any of that, all reports I've seen are the Russians having no issues advancing. Ukraine unfortunately really has no chance against the Russian military.
No doubt Russia's military will prevail in the conventional war. The question is whether Ukranians have the wherewithal to conduct a long term guerrilla war afterward. While the Ukranians might be better armed and trained than the Afghans were in 1980, I'm not sure they're as crazy. But then again, I did date a Ukranian girl once, and if she was representative of the nation, Russia's in trouble.
Finally had a chance to read this. Great piece and provides a good amount of context to what’s happening and why.
I found this to be remarkably similar to what’s happening here at home:
Medvedchuk’s TV channels worked to weaken the new government. “They were eating into the electoral base, just destroying Zelensky,” says the President’s first national security adviser, Oleksandr Danyliuk. The networks were especially relentless in attacking the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its failure to secure vaccine supplies from Western allies.
Report this am of Ukraine taking down a Russian fighter jet, and Russian forces being repelled from a Ukranian airfield. Also more reports of protests in Russia, followed by 1600 arrests.
Sleepy needs to announce massive increases in US energy production/resumption of Keystone. Trump got it right making the US energy independent. Now we are stuck importing oil from Russia!
throbster wrote: ↑Feb 25th, '22, 09:50
Sleepy needs to announce massive increases in US energy production/resumption of Keystone. Trump got it right making the US energy independent. Now we are stuck importing oil from Russia!
You have zero idea what you're talking about.
Biden has no control over US energy production, at least in a way that could impact current needs. He could, however, release supplies from the SPR.
Keystone XL cancellation had no impact and will have no impact on oil supply.
The US continues to export oil and natural gas on a daily basis while simultaneously importing from other countries' production.
"Abandon hope all ye who enter here"
Killington Zone
You can checkout any time you like,
but you can never leave
"The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function" =
F. Scott Fitzgerald
"There's nothing more frightening than ignorance in action" - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
throbster wrote: ↑Feb 25th, '22, 09:50
Sleepy needs to announce massive increases in US energy production/resumption of Keystone. Trump got it right making the US energy independent. Now we are stuck importing oil from Russia!
You have zero idea what you're talking about.
Biden has no control over US energy production, at least in a way that could impact current needs. He could, however, release supplies from the SPR.
Keystone XL cancellation had no impact and will have no impact on oil supply.
The US continues to export oil and natural gas on a daily basis while simultaneously importing from other countries' production.
I thought US production was tied more to demand, i.e. gas/oil prices need to reach a certain level before US production becomes lucrative...
throbster wrote: ↑Feb 25th, '22, 09:50
Sleepy needs to announce massive increases in US energy production/resumption of Keystone. Trump got it right making the US energy independent. Now we are stuck importing oil from Russia!
You have zero idea what you're talking about.
Biden has no control over US energy production, at least in a way that could impact current needs. He could, however, release supplies from the SPR.
Keystone XL cancellation had no impact and will have no impact on oil supply.
The US continues to export oil and natural gas on a daily basis while simultaneously importing from other countries' production.
I thought US production was tied more to demand, i.e. gas/oil prices need to reach a certain level before US production becomes lucrative...
Apparently throbster thinks differently. He must think we have a centrally planned economy rather than capitalism.
"Abandon hope all ye who enter here"
Killington Zone
You can checkout any time you like,
but you can never leave
"The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function" =
F. Scott Fitzgerald
"There's nothing more frightening than ignorance in action" - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Looks like the Ukranians are making a good showing:
Russia appears to have "lost a bit of momentum" as they continue their invasion of Ukraine, a senior US defense official told reporters on Friday.
The official said Russian forces are "not moving on Kyiv as fast as they anticipated they would be able to" and are "meeting more resistance than they expected," CNN reported.
Stalin brutally repressed the ethnic Ukraine's in the early thirties and also starved many of its people to export the grain to Russia. I seem to remember from my school days a figure of ten million Ukraine's starved by Stalin.
Putin is a complete sociopath, and what we are seeing is how ruthless he can be. I have concerns this could spread beyond just Ukraine. Much as I would like to see stronger action against Putin, I believe a longer game of a steady trickle will win in the long run.
