Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[Jeff Buchanan]

I think there is more to this story than the typical memes posted about it.

Lincoln and Roosevelt both censored the press when the country was at war. Anti-government criticism that is likely coming from Ukrainian news sources infiltrated by Putin's propagandists is a legitimate target for control when your enemy is trying to over-run your country with its army and is raining down missiles on civilian targets

Look, Ukraine isn't perfect. It suffers from baked in institutional corruption dating back to its time as a member state of the Soviet Union. But it's pretty clear to me that the Ukrainians want no part of being ruled by Russia's style of authoritarianism and prefer a modern, socially liberal, capitalist state. Since the Maiden Revolution, freedom and liberty loving Ukrainians have worked to establish a socially liberal democracy in Ukraine. How hard was that to do in 1776? How hard is that to maintain here in the US.

There are pro-Russian Ukrainians working to undermine the Zelenski government just like their are anti-establishment extremists in the US working to destabilize the US government. This is true in most liberal democracies. It's never black and white like those who are against supporting Ukraine want to make it. Freedom is hard to gain and hard to maintain.

To me, the effort to kick the Russian off Ukrainian soil is worth every penny being spent, is highly symbolic as well as materially appropriate and, in the end, will help to maintain a free world unhampered by emerging authoritarians like Putin and Xi. Zelenski and the people around him are no Putin and the people around him.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Russia is "only" acknowledging 63 dead so far but that number is almost certainly much higher. With many more wounded. Russian militarists are calling for heads to roll after this disaster. They were housing way too many soldiers in a single location and were using the place as a big ammo dump to boot.

Ukraine claims hundreds of Russians killed by missile attack - BBC News

[Jeff Buchanan]

Russia is "only" acknowledging 63 dead so far but that number is almost certainly much higher. With many more wounded. Russian militarists are calling for heads to roll after this disaster. They were housing way too many soldiers in a single location and were using the place as a big ammo dump to boot.

Ukraine claims hundreds of Russians killed by missile attack - BBC News

Glad you posted this, DSL ...... a post by me would have seemed biased towards Ukraine.

One of my feeds is a twitter account that is definitely biased and I'm not sure 100% of the posts aren't propaganda from the Ukrainian side. There's a video of the building before and the aftermath of the facility from HIMARS. The building and an adjacent structure that held military equipment was completely destroyed. The facility housing Russian conscripts, reportedly headed to the "front" got the front brought to them according to comments by Ukrainian posters. Russia claims 63 dead, Ukraine 400 and 300 wounded - it's likely in between but this is a fuckton of dead Russians. It is also a symbolic nightmare for Putin - there were no attempts by the Russian military to disburse troops, ammunition and military equipment this close to active fighting. It was a target rich environment that a few (3-6) HIMARS took out.

The facility was located in the city of Makiivka on the outskirts of Dontesk City the capital of Donetsk Oblast and for all intent and purpose is within kilometers of active fighting between Ukrainian and Russian ground forces. It is the "front". I read an article today (also heavily biased toward Ukraine) that described the conflict after nearly a year as "predictably phasic. It is this character that analysts think allows some predictability as to an outcome.

Phase A is characterized by extensive and often purposeless Russian offensives that fail due to well documented Russian army shortcoming. The failures are costly in terms of the loss of soldiers (estimated now to be 102K by western analysts + more than that wounded) and military equipment. I've seen the numbers. They are staggering. No modern military operation by ostensibly powerful nations has incurred these kinds of losses and prevailed.

Which gets us to the second phase, B. Russia tries to pause and regroup or reorganize but Ukrainian forces keep up the pressure, particularly in vulnerable rear areas that supply the front lines with fresh troops and equipment. The last year has seen this phasic character repeat itself with Ukraine becoming better equipped with western arms, more determined in the face of Putin's cruel, terroristic drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure and civilians, acts that are potentially war crimes, and the recapture of Ukrainian territory previously occupied by the Russian army and civilian administrators sent to Ukraine by the Kremlin. Meanwhile the Russian army is running short of elite soldiers and officers and probably ammunition and equipment. Each reoccurrence of the two phasis favors Ukraine. It is believed that ultimately, Putin will be forced to reconsider his special military operation in Ukraine - a repeat of Russia's withdrawal from Afghanistan where a local population of tough Afghan fighters cowed the Russian military.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Well, are we gonna get an R shitshow today or what?

[Dr. Strangelove]

It begins: House Freedom Caucus Chair Scott Perry just released a statement blasting McCarthy and says he's rejected the opportunity to be Speaker by not acquiescing to their demands.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Matt Gaetz says there's "very little difference" between Pelosi and Kevin McCarthy. Boebert and Scott Perry ripping McCarthy in front of cameras. Several others calling McCarthy a liar to his face. MTG (who was bought off by McCarthy months ago) says her fellow Freedom Caucus peeps are failing to put America first. Mike Rogers threatening that anyone who votes against McCarthy will lose all committee assignments. McCarthy himself shrieking that he's "earned" the right to be Speaker.

This could get pretty good...

[Mike]

If not McCarthy, who would be the frontrunner?

[Dr. Strangelove]

If not McCarthy, who would be the frontrunner?

Prob Scalise but he's got the same baggage McCarthy has, he's just better liked. But the reality is that the Freedom Caucus guys don't really have an alternative candidate.

[CGVT]

Prob Scalise but he's got the same baggage McCarthy has, he's just better liked. But the reality is that the Freedom Caucus guys don't really have an alternative candidate.

Or brains, but that is another issue.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Maybe these guys are just blowhards and will relent after McCarthy loses on the first vote (no one's needed more than one vote to become Speaker in a century). McCarthy isn't helping himself by arrogantly claiming he's "earned the job" and that a vote against him is a vote to hurt America.

[Mike]

I personally would prefer Scalise but it doesn't sound like he wants the job. Yet.

[Dr. Strangelove]

They vote alphabetically and they had only made it to the C's when it became clear McCarthy would lose on the first vote.

[Dr. Strangelove]

First round McCarthy loses 19 Republicans. Hakeem Jeffries actually got more votes than him but you need a majority, not a plurality.

Now the fun begins.

[THE_WIZARD_]

STFU

[Dr. Strangelove]

NO!