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  • Ukraine: The CTR I follow continues to heavily report internal problems involving Russian politics inside the Kremlin and the Russian Army. Protesting inside Russia remains scant but anger among hard liners over strategy, tactics, lack of battlefield success and the slow movement of ground forces toward territorial objectives is growing.. The CTR does not speculate on the impact of this only reports voices critical of the Russian Army and it's leadership are becoming more public and more strident.

    Another problem for the Russian Army involves the loss of junior and mid-grade officers. This cohort of leaders has been exhorted by their superiors to go forward and lead from the front to rally Russian momentum. As the Ukrainians got good at picking of Russian generals early in the conflict when they went up front to lead, the same thing is happening to the young officers, the generals, now in the rear, are demanding they go forward. They're getting killed or wounded and put out of action.

    The Ukrainian battle space is marked by pronouncements by both sides that a town, village or territorial objective has been captured only to have the other side announce 48h later its recapture. It's not a stalemate. By the Ukrainians holding serve, they are winning the war. The longer this goes on, the more attrition the Russians suffer, the less the motherland is able to resupply the war effort due to sanctions, the better hand the Zelenski government will have at a future negotiating table - and there will be one.

    Speaking of sanctions, two related stories: (1) Turkey's Erdogen reportedly got a deal done with Putin allowing grains to be transported out of Ukrainian ports on the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea. Details are sketchy. Odesa seems ready to roll but from other ports and whihc ones is unknown. It seems to be unconditional on Putin's part but I suspect there is a secret deal involving concessions to Russia in return for Russia allowing unimpeded transit of grains from ports and through sea lanes previously blockaded. (2) The EU has approved a 6th sanctions package this one overcoming Orban's objections to an oil embargo. There are few details although one thing we know is that Hungary received permission to continue receiving oil from a Russia pipeline that runs through Ukraine and carries most of the oil Hungary consumes. There are other concessions - details unknown - to EU member states heretofore heavily dependent on Russian oil. This may end up being symbolic but even then the symbolism of European unity against Putin's invasion is important.

    The numbers are difficult to grasp but from what I can tell EU energy imports from Russia are in the neighborhood of 80% oil, 20% LNG. Russia sells more oil - about 2/3rds of its energy sales - to European countries combined than anyone else - China is next around 1/5th, India not far behind China. Analysts think, in total, Russia will loose about 2/3rds of it's pre-war income from oil sales due to the latest round of sanctions - which also include de-swifting Russia's largest bank, a bigger deal perhaps than the oil embargo. Short term, Putin will be able to find other buyers to replace oil sales to Europe to fund his war but at lower prices than what Europeans were paying. Mid and long term, if the oil sanctions hold and Putin insists on continuing his occupation of the eastern reaches of Ukraine by military means, he will bankrupt Russia.
    Mission to CFB's National Championship accomplished. But the shine on the NC Trophy is embarrassingly wearing off. It's M B-Ball ..... or hockey or volley ball or name your college sport favorite time ...... until next year.

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    • Los Angeles...

      1b7b98a78dd702ed.jpg

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      • #THELEFT

        a0cd63ce7868e899.jpg

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        • Is that last one seriously real?

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          • Oh, it's real.... https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/yep-...211546554.html

            Progs gonna Prog.
            Dan Patrick: What was your reaction to [Urban Meyer being hired]?
            Brady Hoke: You know.....not....good.

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            • CGVT and his ilk were nursed on such great literary works as "Daddy Has A Roommate" and "Heather Has Two Mommies"...this is simply the product...
              Shut the fuck up Donny!

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              • Originally posted by Mike View Post
                Is that last one seriously real?
                It’s real. And you’re one of the outsiders of society now.

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                • What shall we ever doooooooooooo?

                  huge.jpg

                  I feel like I am watching the destruction of our democracy while my neighbors and friends cheer it on

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                  • STFU is what you should do.
                    Shut the fuck up Donny!

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                    • Originally posted by iam416 View Post
                      Oh, it's real.... https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/yep-...211546554.html

                      Progs gonna Prog.
                      Of course trans "men" can get pregnant. Because they are women. So in that regard there really isn't anything controversial about it.

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                      • COVID: As we enter the Xth wave (I lost track), there has been a stunning shift in the media's (and probably the administration's with the press taking their lead on reporting from them) regarding the effectiveness of masking in reducing the spread of COVID. Of course this is being talked about as a result of lib city governments either considering or actually implementing mask mandates as new case numbers rise. A NYT's piece this morning said, surprise, in multiple scenarios, masks don't do shit. SHOCKED!!!!

                        Most of us here either never donned them or after a couple of months with no noticeable changes in infection rates for states that mandated v. state's that didn't, stopped thinking about it. If you're vulnerable and want to wear one, get a good one and wear it properly. If that doesn't apply to you, the end. There's no hysteria about these rising case numbers either. Since most testing is now being done at home new cases (an irrelevant number anyway) is probably being undercounted by a lot. No big deal, there are plenty of ways to keep vulnerable people from dying from COVID or even getting real sick.Zero chances? Nope even though Xi seems to want to make a point that his "Zero COVID" policy was the Communist's answer to dealing with SARS2 that the idiot democracies failed to agree with him. Heh on your fucking economy dumbass.

                        UKRAINE: I've come to the conclusion that if this many Americans believe that Trump actually won and the election was stolen from him and that Bill Gates is inserting microchips inside you with COVID vaccines, then I guess the shit that Putin and his spokespeople are peddling that justifies Russia's invasion of Ukraine, it's war crimes and his fucking Army's disregard for human life, can be totally believable. Theater of the absurd in spades.

                        I know there are people here who don't agree with my views on Ukraine but something that pisses me off is that "President Poopy Pants" is letting Putin dictate what the US is doing in Ukraine, to wit, his pronouncement that, " the US won't send weapons to Ukraine that could be launched into Russia." WTF. Thousands of Ukrainian civilians and soldiers are getting annihilated from Russian rocket, artillery, mortar and air dropped dumb bombs because this ordnance is getting fired from out of range of any return fire Ukraine can deliver. When Russian artillery is in range, it gets destroyed but sure, let the Orcs fire away distantly with no fear of return fire. When Russian aircraft or cruise missiles are engaged by Ukraine air defenses, they get shot down. Utterly stupid to give these bastards free reign in combat.

                        Maybe Biden's is just talking and there actually will be western MLRS and air defense systems delivered. If so, GOOD. Zelenski has made it perfectly clear that with heavy weapons and air defense systems provided by the west Ukraine can win. Stop the nonsense of bowing tp Putin's ruthlessness. Stop dithering with half measures. The west is either behind Ukraine stopping Putin from achieving his goals or is destined to let them bleed to death slowly in a long drawn out conflict that will be devastating to Ukraine and the rest of the world. Wake the fuck up.

                        Mission to CFB's National Championship accomplished. But the shine on the NC Trophy is embarrassingly wearing off. It's M B-Ball ..... or hockey or volley ball or name your college sport favorite time ...... until next year.

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                        • MLRS have rockets with different ranges but all launched from the same platform. My guess is Biden will release the system but with rockets that only have a range of 43 miles, not the 300 or 500 mile range. I agree with you, fuck Putin, send Ukraine all the toys. If that's Putin's "red line", give him one of ours. Use cruise missiles, hypersonic weapons or long range artillery from this moment forward and you've crossed our "red line" - we give the Ukrainians MLRS with 500 mi range rockets.

                          Biden is becoming a mini-Trump when it comes to coddling the orcs. Buy some backbone, dude.
                          I don't watch Fox News for the same reason I don't eat out of a toilet.

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                          • Mike will enjoy this: https://westcooknews.com/stories/626...23-school-year
                            Dan Patrick: What was your reaction to [Urban Meyer being hired]?
                            Brady Hoke: You know.....not....good.

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                            • "Masks don't work"

                              THE_WIZARD_
                              circa May 2020
                              Shut the fuck up Donny!

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                              • Originally posted by Jeff Buchanan View Post
                                COVID: As we enter the Xth wave (I lost track), there has been a stunning shift in the media's (and probably the administration's with the press taking their lead on reporting from them) regarding the effectiveness of masking in reducing the spread of COVID. Of course this is being talked about as a result of lib city governments either considering or actually implementing mask mandates as new case numbers rise. A NYT's piece this morning said, surprise, in multiple scenarios, masks don't do shit. SHOCKED!!!!
                                It's always nice when the Newspaper of Record catches up to what the rest of us already knew months ago, but would get kicked off of social media for saying it.

                                Last edited by Hannibal; May 31, 2022, 02:59 PM.

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