The Crazy SOB Actually Did it!

[RCMerchant]

^ It's a free sub.

[LilCerberus]

^ It's a free sub.

The link at the top of the page says it's $1 a week....
If the online ads aren't making them enough, it's certainly not worth jumping through the hoops of getting a paid sub, no matter how cheap.

[lester1/2jr]

Why could I read it?



I had a passenger from Bosnia tonight. Older gay guy. He hated Putin but said he was going to win.

Basically, Russia has two loyal areas in Ukraine. Putin is going to destabilize Ukraine then go back to those areas and wait. He can then threaten to lob missiles at them until they agree to not join NATO.

It's an ugly situation but no one is going to risk ww3 over Ukraine, which itself is barely a democracy.

[Rev. Powell]

Nata's still alive today.

These aren't her pictures. I gather they're from the approach to Kyiv.

[RCMerchant]

Vlad, the feral ferret eyed dictator of Russia, has put a nuclear threat in the mix.
Hey, he's surrounded by NATO. Who have many more nukes then him. It would be suicide. But with nut jobs like this guy, you never know. Hitler, Stalin, Mao- they didn't care who died. It could happen.  
I don't think it will, though. The whole world (except China and Donald Trump) is against him.

[RCMerchant]

It's an ugly situation but no one is going to risk ww3 over Ukraine

WWI and WWII  happened over many the same reasons.
Chamberlin said after meeting with Hitler- "it's peace in our time." Then Hitler blitzed Poland. I don't underestimate scumbags like this.
It's odd that dictators in Africa can get away with this s**t every day-but when it involves white nations- then we give a f**k. I hate every politician in this world.  

[lester1/2jr]

I don't think WW2 is a good analogy here. It's essentially the last dust up of the cold war, as a now relatively powerless Russia asserts itself as best it can against total domination by the victorious West.

[Allhallowsday]

Vlad, the feral ferret eyed dictator of Russia, has put a nuclear threat in the mix.
Hey, he's surrounded by NATO. Who have many more nukes then him. It would be suicide. But with nut jobs like this guy, you never know. Hitler, Stalin, Mao- they didn't care who died. It could happen.  
I don't think it will, though. The whole world (except China and Donald Trump) is against him.

What's another word for bed-pan? 
Poo-tin.   

[RCMerchant]

I don't think WW2 is a good analogy here. It's essentially the last dust up of the cold war, as a now relatively powerless Russia asserts itself as best it can against total domination by the victorious West.

Except this war is not 'cold'.
It's hotter than hell in the Ukraine right now.

[LilCerberus]

^what I keep thinking about, was just how cautious both bushes were with deploying ground troops following long, drawn out air strikes....^

It's looking like he thought this was going to be a cake walk, but it wasn't....
I keep getting conflicting stories about how well/poorly the Russian advance is going, with right wing nooz outlets reporting Ukrainian successes on the battlefield, while left wing nooz keeps reporting how close the Russians are to Kyiv.....

I don't think Putin was expecting the backlash back home either, & it's stating to sound like he's threatening a BIG temper tantrum.....

[indianasmith]

Putin has always been very calculating and deliberate, and this sudden, rash action with such potential for disaster makes me wonder if there's something wrong with him.  Like maybe he's found out he has cancer and has decided to stake it all on one roll of the dice?

[RCMerchant]

 ^ Indy- monsters like Putin don't need a reason to be evil.
If he thinks he's f**ked, he'll go full Götterdämmerung.

[lester1/2jr]

My hope is there will be a peace deal and also that I will buy the ruble at the lows beforehand

[RCMerchant]

My hope is there will be a peace deal and also that I will buy the ruble at the lows beforehand

You can hope in one hand and sh!t in the other.
Usually end up with a handful of sh!t.
I know I'm being a real Debbie Downer, but I got a bad gut feeling on this.  

[Alex]

Mad Vlad is making noises about using nuclear weapons and has his nuclear strike force on high alert. If he does that, all bets are off.

Peace talks are taking place but I don't have high hopes for them. Russia's assault seems to have faltered so they might not have the grounds to get their demands met. Kristi is sorting out donations of supplies to be sent to Ukraine and I am going to see if I can take a day off work to help deliver them. If a peace deal is signed I suspect it will not be long before a second war and even before then I'd expect Russia to commit more forces to the fight.

EDIT: Sweden has abandoned its long policy of neutrality and is sending 5000 anti-tank weapons to Ukraine.