Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[THE_WIZARD_]

..

[CGVT]

Jesus Christ.

Wiz has turned into Krapture.

[lineygoblue]

Don't know how it works in Michigan but that's how it works in Ohio. You show up on primary day and can choose which party's ballot you want right there.

Last I knew in Michigan the primary is open, but the Democrats do not accept the results of the voting to determine their candidate(s). They hold separate caucuses to select their candidates. I think Republicans determine candidates with the election results.

[Tom W]

To be fair, Jimmy Carter had, and still has, integrity. He was a decent man and Naval Academy Nuclear Engineering grad but was naive about how Washington works and had the misfortune of being surrounded by the lingering effects of Watergate - both the Nixon cronies (who escaped accountability) and the vainglorious types that thought they had saved the country by bringing him down.

His failure as a President isn't because he didn't know what planet he was living on.

[Jeff Buchanan]

You may or may not have followed this but Thursday morning, Turkish time, 8h difference to EST, Lavrof and his counterpart in Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba met for 90 minutes after which each gave separate news conferences.

I think it stunning that Lavrov continues to push Putin's line that the invasion of Ukraine - he continues to call it a special military operation - was justified on the basis of Nazi's taking over the country, carrying out genocide of Russian speaking peoples in the Donbas and Luhansk regions of Ukraine and when asked about hospital attacks he said that Ukraine is using hospitals as human shields after the Nazis took it over and told doctors and nurses to go. Then he adds that NATO with the help of the US is preparing for chemical and biological operations claiming he has proof.

It's just enormously preposterous - his audience, primarily western journalists and on-lookers can see the fucking news. They can see the results of Russia's siege operation on innocent civilians and the wonton destruction of infrastructure or the seizing of it for one purpose: strangling the nation until she surrenders. Obviously Lavrof has tuned all that shit out, forcing Russian citizens into a news blackout within Russia that is simply not going to last.

OK, fine, he's a dirtball. OTH, Lavrof stated that Putin would welcome a FTF meeting with Zelenski to talk about our concerns that we voiced very clearly before we acted. Let's assume that besides months if not years of Putin's garbage about Ukraine not being an independent state but rather part of Mother Russia and complaining that it received a designation as a separate region by the Bolsheviks in 1917 (Lenin had the right idea there, BTW), that NATO's westward expansion was a threat to Russia's ideology of governance. That is an absurd negotiating position and makes me believe that Putin has zero intention of abandoning his demands and Zelenski has no intention of abandoning his country to Russian control. IOW, this is going to drag on for months with immense human and economic costs outside of Russia and, in particular, inside it.

Putin will take Russia back to Stalin's Russia of the 50s in pursuit of his goals and he could care less about that. He'll be reviled internationally until he dies. Putin's military may succeed in taking Kiev but, Zelenski is likely to survive and form a government in exile. Russia and Putin will be left with a destroyed Russian economy and a destroyed Ukraine to run under constant pressure from a Ukrainian resistance movement that the west will arm and support - no need to be secretive about it. I don't see an end to this. I do see equilibrium being reached in the global economy minus Russian participation in it. You can already see moves to replace what small portions of it were contributed by Moscow. So, let them the fuck alone to wallow in the pig-stye they've created. Welcome the immigration of the Russian and Ukrainian people out of the shit hole Putin has created in two countries for them.

[Mike]

HILARIOUS!!

[THE_WIZARD_]

Does Heels Up do anything but giggle anymore?

[Tom W]

Walter Mondale wouldn't have done that.

[Mike]

Dropped out of the primary race with 3% support, didn't win a single delegate, had staff quitting in droves... is rewarded with the Vice Presidency. Because merit.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Good account of the events involving the 20+ "used" MIG-29s from Poland that were and now aren't going to Ukraine. Some interesting points:

• The Pols surprised the US, Germany and NATO with it's announcement that "we're sending the MIG-29s to Ramstein, Germany to turn them over to the US for delivery to Ukraine."
• US responded that plan isn't "tenable." Poland asked for US F16s to back fill the loss of MIGs (wasn't going to happen).
• NATO said Ukraine has enough operational aircraft but is limited in their employment due to Russian air defense systems. Adding the MIG-29s results in gain in capabilities considered to be low.

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/0...ussia-00016038

[crashcourse]

well russia is the 3rd largest exporter of oil

and the larges exporter of grain

once this settles out and it will and even if it doesnt

all the sanctions in the world arent gonna hide the fact that they could drop their price of oil and grain down a few bucks and still have plenty of buyers

based on prices now they are gonna make a shiton from somebody willing to buy it

especially if they say we promise with their fingers crossed behind their back--to have a cease fire and /or withdrawl in exchange for a few items ie take our oil and grain

russia is not nearly as bad off as we would like to believe

[THE_WIZARD_]

STFU

[crashcourse]

good point

[THE_WIZARD_]

Thanks.

Now shaddup

[THE_WIZARD_]

It's Trump's fault....no it's Covids fault...no it's the Neo-cons fault...no it's Greedy Corporations fault...no Putin's fault!!!

That's the ticket!