Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[crashcourse]

or you could wind up making wings, spawning women and yearning for days of past when corncobs ruled the plains

[THE_WIZARD_]

I yearn for yer demise.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Despite western doubt that the Russian forces are withdrawing from the immediate vicinity of Kiev collaborating sources suggests that is happening. Why are the Russian withdrawing? Recall the NE to SW axis of attack mounted from Belarus through Chernhiv toward Kiev. The Ukrainians blunted it and Russian forces suffered heavy casualties in pursuit of a botched shock and awe campaign that saw an airborne attack on Hostumel (just outside Kiev) get pummeled. The Russians then attempted to encircle Kiev and get artillery within 25km of the Kiev city center. That failed. IOW, that axis of advance has been abandoned......for the time being. The Russians reportedly continued to bring artillery and missiles, including Iskander systems, toward the Ukrainian border in Belarus, presumably for use in a future assault of Kyiv and Chernihiv region. Putin has no plans of pursuing peace at this point and belief that he is getting there is wishful thinking.

The next phase of the "special military operation" is said by the Russian MOD to focus on the Donbas region. Fine, I'll give them that characterization. CTR is reporting that it is questionable whether the Russian Army can rebuild BTGs, heavily depleted of ammunition, food, fuel and personnel in sufficient number to mount meaningful offensive operations of the scope required to secure the entirety of the Donbas region then move SW toward Odessa..

The land bridge thing that is a Russian tactical objective stretching from Luhansk SW to Mykolaiv through Mariupol, Kherson and on to Odessa to link with Crimea will probably not be completely obtained. Parts of it will and serve as a bargaining chip forcing Zelenski to abandon his position that Ukraine will not relinquish control of pre-2014 boarders. That may not be something he can win. The problem for Russia is control of a region mostly hostile to Russia and pissed off over the barbarity of Russia's attempts to subdue them.

What it's coming down to is Putin, unwilling to admit any kind of defeat in Ukraine facing a costly war of attrition v. a determined Ukrainian army and self-defense population of civilians that he can win but at what cost?. He's facing significant and impactful sanctions, the value of the ruble is cratering and a potentially restive Russian populace as they experience soaring prices, inflation and the horrific loss of life within the Russian Army and Navy.

A BBC analyst speculates that the recent apprehension of several high-ranking Kremlin officials is the spark that can precipitate an assault on Putin's power. Important people in the Kremlin start wondering if they are next and instead of waiting to find out who is next, they act preemptively. What shape an assault on Putin from inside Russia like this takes place isn't known but the analyst speculates the ingredients are there and an outcome that involves neutering Putin in some way gets more baked in the longer Putin hangs on to prove a point.

[Obi-Jon]

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[crashcourse]

CNN is now running the Biden laptop story

[THE_WIZARD_]

Pfffffft. Nothing burger. Really.

[iam416]

The WaPo confirmed the contents, too. Only took them 18 months.

I assume Twitter and Facebook are censoring all these stories -- I mean, literally deleting tweets, posts and locking accounts.

[Mike]

Investigation started in 2018. No big whoop.

[iam416]

I think the very likely reality is that Hunter Biden is precisely the kind of unethical grifter that The Media assumed was ominpresent in the DJT world (and, surely, there were and are more than a few). There is zero doubt that this would have blown sky high had his name been Hunter Trump. It's almost staggering -- really -- that they not only sat on it for 18 months BUT also CENSORED the story during the 2020 election.

[Mike]

I can’t imagine why there’s so much pushback against the federal government running elections in all 50 states. It’s almost like they think we’re stupid.

[Dr. Strangelove]

AFP says the Russians are leaving Chernobyl

[THE_WIZARD_]

I wish you would go to Chernobyl

[Dr. Strangelove]

I wish you would go to Chernobyl

You should go. It’d remind you of home, just with better food

[Kapture1]

The WaPo confirmed the contents, too. Only took them 18 months.

I assume Twitter and Facebook are censoring all these stories -- I mean, literally deleting tweets, posts and locking accounts.

Did they confirm the age of some of those girls or do they still have their hands over their eyes?

[THE_WIZARD_]

You should go. It’d remind you of home, just with better food

Been there. Reminds me of Columbus.