Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[Mike]

Put his head in a box and send it to Putin.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Note the colors on Medvedchuk L shoulder. The fucker is wearing a Ukrainian uniform. I do like the fashion handcuffs.

This sort of shit is straight from Putin's playbook. I have no doubt the Zelenski government was riddled with Russian spies and sympathizers as part of long time effort to destabilize Ukraine. I suspect the fact that Zelenski is still alive and doing promotional videos suggest most of these rats were discovered and rounded up over the last month or so. I recall a few weeks ago a statement from Zelenski warning of the presence of infiltrators and saboteurs inside Kiev.

[crashcourse]

I didnt hear anything about that brooklyn shooting

suspect must have not been white

[Jeff Buchanan]

On strategy:

Read a good piece yesterday evening in the Economist that Russia is moving from an established autocracy, having drifted away from Putin's initial foray into open markets that enriched his citizens on multiple rungs of Russian society, to ta totalitarian state not dissimilar to post WWII Stalinist Russia. I don't think that state is sustainable despite what appears to be a high level of support for Putin among Russian citizens.

It was pointed out that it is likely that the poll numbers we'be been reading that are overwhelmingly supportive of Putin and his invasion of Ukraine are coming from two cohorts: (1) Rural Russians, mostly older generations, who are government employees or pensioners. Their only access to news is Russian state media. (2) Putinists who resemble Trump supporters in the US who aren't going to be moved from their positive views about Putin and his version of Russia regardless of the facts. While this cohort feeds off Russian state media, they are the ones who have not taken advantage of other sources available to them, routinely discredit those sources and are leftovers from a substantial group of Russians who get what's going on and having the means to do so, have left Russia.

Given the long term impact of sanctions that should not and probably will not be negotiated away in any peace deal, Russia's economy will collapse. Putin can keep restless and hungry Russians citizens repressed and that is his goal to protect his position for only so long. People, led by ever present opponents seeking the halls of power in the Kremlin, will seek his ouster and Russia will go through the same process Gorbachev did in the decline of the Soviet Union in the late 80's finally collapsing completely in 1990.

It remains to be seen how long that will take but I think western countries are counting on that as a means to, at some point, reign in Putin's aggression. This approach is favored over direct confrontation - an option that I currently favor considering the civilian casualties being suffered by Ukrainians at the hands of Russian, savagery, disregard for human life and brutality.

NATO is safe as it has been repeatedly shown, Putin does not seek a conventional encounter with NATO forces, is unlikely to attack them going forward no matter the outcome in Ukraine and isn't suicidal, which would be where he is if he opted for the nuclear option beyond a demonstration of intent. It looks to me the option being pursued by the collective west is to contain Russian advances in Ukraine but not get militarily involved any further than they already are. Let the Donbas and Luhansk regions fester but not expand and watch Russia's economy implode. The hope is that in the long run Putin will be replaced.

[Mike]

I’ve seen reports of 10 shot now.

[THE_WIZARD_]

I didnt hear anything about that brooklyn shooting

suspect must have not been white

fuckin' Putin

[THE_WIZARD_]

DSL, froot & CGVT...I found you an item...

[iam416]

Chelski really deserved to go through, IMO. Still won, though, and hosed AA. Job done.

[AlabamAlum]

Fuck Chelsea. Fuck Real Madrid. Fuck RM going though on a bullshit aggregate.

[Da Geezer]

fuck soccer

[THE_WIZARD_]

fuckin' Putin

[CGVT]

Screenshot 2022-04-12 7.53.46 PM.png

[Dr. Strangelove]

Dr. Oz's recent video complaining about the cost of vegetables needed for crudités was a triumph for his common man appeal.

[THE_WIZARD_]

fuckin' Putin

[Jeff Buchanan]

The chairman opened his yapper in an unscripted moment with the press today and said, "Russia is committing genocide in Ukraine .... looks like he is." He quickly realized his misstep and walked it back by saying, "that's up to the lawyers to decide if that's the case." Sounds like not a big deal? It is. Genocide was first recognized as a crime under international law in 1946 by the United Nations General Assembly. It was codified as an independent crime in the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (the Genocide Convention).

I just read the elements of the crime and I'd say Russia's actions in Ukraine could be considered as genocide. From here it gets complicated. Russia is a signatore to the Genocide Convention which binds signatores to intervene to prevent it through political and humanitarian means and if that fails to stop the perpetrator, presumably militarily. Under subsequent and controversial amendments following the Balkan's wars, elimination of a UNSC resolution to use military force was approved based on the reality that self interested or participating countries in crimes against humanity (Genocide) could and would probably veto military intervention.

It will be interesting to see if this Genocide accusation amounts to anything regarding a call by UN member states to intervene militarily. I don't think there is the political will among UN member states to send military forces into Ukraine. There's something in this 1948 Convention that says deployed military forces would be under US command. That might have been the favored choice in 1948. Not now. NATO would be the obvious command authority today.

It's entirely possible that Biden, in a lapse of judgement, revealed that the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide could be used as a means to legally authorize the use of force v. Russian forces in Ukraine, has been discussed among US NSC place holders and also NATO member counterparts.