Russia invades Ukraine, threatens The West

[Classic-Xer]

(03-07-2022, 11:46 PM)pbrower2a Wrote: Putin is a greedy a$$hole, a fact which President Biden knows well because he actually reads the President's Daily Briefing. Putin is also a vindictive bastard under a thin veneer
of civility and an extreme narcissist. With those vices well known, a wise leader can exploit those to the fullest when necessary. Trump thought he was doing well when both were in a contest of mutual flattery. That was impossible with Obama. You may be right about the anger. Putin calculated based on army sizes that Ukraine would be easy to take, perhaps setting up a pliable puppet as head of a national entity of shaky sovereignty.

It seems not to be working. Putin's one ally in Europe, Belarus, is shakier than is convenient for him. Mass rallies have occurred in Russia calling for an end to a war that does the Russian people no good. Martial glory isn't as much of a public appeal as it might have been in 1914. Have you ever read All Quiet on the Western Front? Things went very bad very fast, you should know.

Biden is a greedy a$$hole too. The Liberals are all greedy a$$holes. I'm glad that you're going to end being stuck living/dying under them one way or another because you deserve to go out that way. You all deserve it.

[Dustinw5220]

(03-08-2022, 01:23 PM)Eric the Green Wrote: I'm glad Biden took this step. I hope our allies can join us soon.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-plannin...1646746787

I wonder why it takes the individual decision by companies to not do business with Russia. I wonder why the government cannot apply an embargo on all commerce with Russia.

I am so happy Biden is making the move to fully sanction Russia and embargo their oil (I haven't written to him myself yet, but I was planning to soon), while I had hoped he could eventually be persuaded to follow through on this, I definitely didn't think it would be this fast (maybe there's still hope for our 4T yet).

Don't get me wrong, I'm certainly not under any illusions that things are gonna be smooth sailing from here on. The right-wing neoliberal Trump supporting lunatics are almost surely gonna have a hit (it's also too early to say for sure what Russia's and most importantly Putin's response is gonna be), and I have about as much faith in the American voters as you do these days (which isn't much). Still, I'm beyond relieved that we now have a president who understands the times we're living in and has the courage to do the right thing regardless of the potential consequences, Biden showed his strength as our 4T leader today (and for that I'm beyond grateful).

Hopefully, progress can finally start to rev up again now and we can officially begin our long overdue transition away from fossil fuels and toward renewables.

[Eric the Green]

(03-05-2022, 11:39 PM)Eric the Green Wrote: I'm surprised about southern African abstensions.
Angola
Burundi
Congo
Madagascar
Mozambique
Namibia
South Africa
Uganda
Tanzania
Zimbabwe

Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Senator Menendez in the hearing today on the Ukraine invasion ended by saying that those nations who abstained and who haven't joined in on the sanctions should decide which side of history they want to be on, and that the world and the USA is watching.

In addition to these southern African countries who might be expected to join the coalition, but who abstained in the UN vote, include possibly these nations:

Algeria
Armenia
Bangladesh
Bolivia
India
Iraq
Pakistan

[Eric the Green]

(03-08-2022, 05:04 PM)Dustinw5220 Wrote:

(03-08-2022, 01:23 PM)Eric the Green Wrote: I'm glad Biden took this step. I hope our allies can join us soon.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-plannin...1646746787

I wonder why it takes the individual decision by companies to not do business with Russia. I wonder why the government cannot apply an embargo on all commerce with Russia.

I am so happy Biden is making the move to fully sanction Russia and embargo their oil (I haven't written to him myself yet, but I was planning to soon), while I had hoped he could eventually be persuaded to follow through on this, I definitely didn't think it would be this fast (maybe there's still hope for our 4T yet).

Don't get me wrong, I'm certainly not under any illusions that things are gonna be smooth sailing from here on. The right-wing neoliberal Trump supporting lunatics are almost surely gonna have a hit (it's also too early to say for sure what Russia's and most importantly Putin's response is gonna be), and I have about as much faith in the American voters as you do these days (which isn't much). Still, I'm beyond relieved that we now have a president who understands the times we're living in and has the courage to do the right thing regardless of the potential consequences, Biden showed his strength as our 4T leader today (and for that I'm beyond grateful).

Hopefully, progress can finally start to rev up again now and we can officially begin our long overdue transition away from fossil fuels and toward renewables.

I hope so too. I guess Senator Manchin is the one to write to, since he is holding up the BBBBB which includes the most available action on the table to speed up the transition. Thanks for your comment.

[Eric the Green]

(03-08-2022, 01:35 PM)Classic-Xer Wrote:

(03-07-2022, 05:23 PM)Eric the Green Wrote:

(03-06-2022, 02:50 PM)Classic-Xer Wrote: How much personal wealth are Joe, Nancy, Chuck, Hillary, Barack, AOC, Maxine and Newsom willing to part with/give away these days? I'm sure they're all willing to say that they're willing to act to reduce the gap between them and those below them to gain/retain their political support but how many of them are actually giving away the bulk of they're wealth to those below them these days. I mean, shouldn't they be doing that right now instead of waiting for a national consensus? Barack is worth a hundred million and he owns several high end properties here and abroad and his college aged daughters are already set to become rich woman without accomplishing anything by themselves and pretty much set for the rest of their lives.

Your neoliberal, Reaganomics idea is that personal wealth should be the only thing to use to benefit those less fortunate. It is time to depart from your 41-year failed experiment. What counts now is how much in taxes they are willing to vote for, even if it means they have to pay more in taxes. You are not willing to pay more taxes to get protection from poverty for everyone of every class, nor to help Ukraine defend from today's Hitler. Those you mention and all the other liberals are willing. They are patriots; you and the Republicans who are opposed to and who block these taxes are fools and maybe traitors.

I think the Blue politicians and their filthy rich donors prefer to continue using debt instead of their own money like they've been doing for the last 40 years. Actually, it's about 90 years if you go back to the beginning of modern time. It's not going to last but that doesn't seem matter to wealthy people who have direct access to private jets and private property outside the country. Do you really believe that your governor would stick around like Zelenskyy? I hope not for your sake. So, do you have a seat reserved on one of their private jets?

As I mentioned, it has been YOUR choice to be dumb on political and social issues. You could surely know if you bothered to use what mental capacities you use in your business that it is the Republicans who have relied on debt to finance what they ask the government to do. It is also they who lower taxes on the wealthy rather than raise them so that the US can't pay its bills except through more and more debt. I don't know how much you guys want to keep piling on debt upon debt before you, if you ever do, realize that trickle down doesn't trickle.

What we've got here is, failure to communicate. Some men you just can't reach. Like Classic Xer. And Putin.





The world is standing up against the evil man in Russia who is trying to vastly extend his tyranny over a free people. I'm glad some Republicans are joining with the Democrats in this, and I wish for more Republicans also to see the danger in their midst of tyranny by separating themselves more and more from Trump and his big lies and his coup and his ongoing attempt to install tyranny here in our own country. The conservative American Enterprise Institute just disinvited trump to their conference and invited a Biden admin official instead. Some progress there. As ML King Jr. said, injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. None of us are free until all of us are free.

[David Horn]

(03-08-2022, 05:29 PM)Eric the Green Wrote: ... I guess Senator Manchin is the one to write to, since he is holding up the BBBBB which includes the most available action on the table to speed up the transition. Thanks for your comment.

Manchin will never support an end to his fat coal subsidies, and his daughter runs a pharmaceutical company. Best to look elsewhere, and get more Democrats elected to the Senate.

[Eric the Green]

(03-09-2022, 11:39 AM)David Horn Wrote:

(03-08-2022, 05:29 PM)Eric the Green Wrote: ... I guess Senator Manchin is the one to write to, since he is holding up the BBBBB which includes the most available action on the table to speed up the transition. Thanks for your comment.

Manchin will never support an end to his fat coal subsidies, and his daughter runs a pharmaceutical company.  Best to look elsewhere, and get more Democrats elected to the Senate.

Did you write to Manchin? He is the only hope for getting the BBBBB passed, which is probably the only hope for any national climate action for another 12 years or more. There is nowhere else to look, and although we certainly need more Democrats elected to the senate, prospects are poor and what's more likely is loss of the Senate and House.

Americans do not support Democratic presidents once elected. Such presidents only have a couple of years to act. In the previous case in 2009 they only had 7 months. This time now we are down to a few months to get Manchin's support, and after that we will have surrendered our planet. Manchin is not objecting to the climate provisions in the bill. At least now, from what I heard, he said the child tax credit was too big.

[Eric the Green]

Lt. Col Vindman makes the points that need to be made about Ukraine, especially about how to get the planes to Ukraine: get the Ukraine pilots to go to Poland and NATO border nations and fly them back into Ukraine for combat.

[David Horn]

(03-10-2022, 01:56 AM)Eric the Green Wrote: Lt. Col Vindman makes the points that need to be made about Ukraine, especially about how to get the planes to Ukraine: get the Ukraine pilots to go to Poland and NATO border nations and fly them back into Ukraine for combat.

That may be a very bad idea. If, as the Pentagon has hinted, the planes are not really up to the task, they will merely get the pilots killed and Russia some underserved propaganda. Patriot missiles, on the other hand, are strictly defensive and very effective.

[Classic-Xer]

(03-08-2022, 05:34 PM)sEric the Green Wrote:

(03-08-2022, 01:35 PM)Classic-Xer Wrote:

(03-07-2022, 05:23 PM)Eric the Green Wrote:

(03-06-2022, 02:50 PM)Classic-Xer Wrote: How much personal wealth are Joe, Nancy, Chuck, Hillary, Barack, AOC, Maxine and Newsom willing to part with/give away these days? I'm sure they're all willing to say that they're willing to act to reduce the gap between them and those below them to gain/retain their political support but how many of them are actually giving away the bulk of they're wealth to those below them these days. I mean, shouldn't they be doing that right now instead of waiting for a national consensus? Barack is worth a hundred million and he owns several high end properties here and abroad and his college aged daughters are already set to become rich woman without accomplishing anything by themselves and pretty much set for the rest of their lives.

Your neoliberal, Reaganomics idea is that personal wealth should be the only thing to use to benefit those less fortunate. It is time to depart from your 41-year failed experiment. What counts now is how much in taxes they are willing to vote for, even if it means they have to pay more in taxes. You are not willing to pay more taxes to get protection from poverty for everyone of every class, nor to help Ukraine defend from today's Hitler. Those you mention and all the other liberals are willing. They are patriots; you and the Republicans who are opposed to and who block these taxes are fools and maybe traitors.

I think the Blue politicians and their filthy rich donors prefer to continue using debt instead of their own money like they've been doing for the last 40 years. Actually, it's about 90 years if you go back to the beginning of modern time. It's not going to last but that doesn't seem matter to wealthy people who have direct access to private jets and private property outside the country. Do you really believe that your governor would stick around like Zelenskyy? I hope not for your sake. So, do you have a seat reserved on one of their private jets?

As I mentioned, it has been YOUR choice to be dumb on political and social issues. You could surely know if you bothered to use what mental capacities you use in your business that it is the Republicans who have relied on debt to finance what they ask the government to do. It is also they who lower taxes on the wealthy rather than raise them so that the US can't pay its bills except through more and more debt. I don't know how much you guys want to keep piling on debt upon debt before you, if you ever do, realize that trickle down doesn't trickle.

What we've got here is, failure to communicate. Some men you just can't reach. Like Classic Xer. And Putin.





The world is standing up against the evil man in Russia who is trying to vastly extend his tyranny over a free people. I'm glad some Republicans are joining with the Democrats in this, and I wish for more Republicans also to see the danger in their midst of tyranny by separating themselves more and more from Trump and his big lies and his coup and his ongoing attempt to install tyranny here in our own country. The conservative American Enterprise Institute just disinvited trump to their conference and invited a Biden admin official instead. Some progress there. As ML King Jr. said, injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. None of us are free until all of us are free.

You failed in REAL business. Keep that in mind the next time you insult me or my intelligence. Who isn't familiar with politics and social issues these days? Based on my experience with politics, 90% of it is bullshit which is why most of Us have no interest in entering politics. I mean, look at Pelosi, how did a self serving moron like her become Speaker of the House? You fix that we can talk. The world isn't standing up to Putin. The world is mainly reacting to Putin and still allowing Putin to dictate rules of engagement/involvement and more or less still abiding by his rules and tip toeing aka appeasing him so far. Like I said, the world needs a strong leader other than Lezenskyy to start ignoring Putin;s threats and start getting more directly involved with the defense of Ukraine and leading an international war effort against Putin's troops in Ukraine. Russia is not the Soviet Union and the world should start acting that way. You don't give someone like the upper hand to begin with and you don't allow someone like Putin maintain the upper hand. You have to flip the script and put Putin on on his heals aka the defensive. Biden is clearly not up for such a task. Why isn't there a naval fleet of war ships within striking striking distance of the Russian fleet? Why isn't there a NATO army massed along the western border of Ukraine? Why aren't there air force bases filled with NATO planes with pilots ready to take off? Why is NATO fucking around and wasting valuable time playing hot potato with some old planes when there isn't time to waste at this point? Does Europe really deserve to remain free? That's the question.

[Classic-Xer]

(03-08-2022, 05:04 PM)Dustinw5220 Wrote:

(03-08-2022, 01:23 PM)Eric the Green Wrote: I'm glad Biden took this step. I hope our allies can join us soon.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-plannin...1646746787

I wonder why it takes the individual decision by companies to not do business with Russia. I wonder why the government cannot apply an embargo on all commerce with Russia.

I am so happy Biden is making the move to fully sanction Russia and embargo their oil (I haven't written to him myself yet, but I was planning to soon), while I had hoped he could eventually be persuaded to follow through on this, I definitely didn't think it would be this fast (maybe there's still hope for our 4T yet).

Don't get me wrong, I'm certainly not under any illusions that things are gonna be smooth sailing from here on. The right-wing neoliberal Trump supporting lunatics are almost surely gonna have a hit (it's also too early to say for sure what Russia's and most importantly Putin's response is gonna be), and I have about as much faith in the American voters as you do these days (which isn't much). Still, I'm beyond relieved that we now have a president who understands the times we're living in and has the courage to do the right thing regardless of the potential consequences, Biden showed his strength as our 4T leader today (and for that I'm beyond grateful).

Hopefully, progress can finally start to rev up again now and we can officially begin our long overdue transition away from fossil fuels and toward renewables.

Well, I have no faith in Biden, the Liberal Democrats and you guys whatsoever. Only a Liberal piece of shit like you or Biden and the Liberal Democrats would view the situation in Ukraine as an opportunity to advance a globalist/neoliberal agenda at this point. Like I've said, the Liberals are making a strong case for America to break ties with the Liberal states, declare it's independence and essentially leave you to your own demise.

[Classic-Xer]

(03-08-2022, 05:29 PM)Eric the Green Wrote:

(03-08-2022, 05:04 PM)Dustinw5220 Wrote:

(03-08-2022, 01:23 PM)Eric the Green Wrote: I'm glad Biden took this step. I hope our allies can join us soon.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-plannin...1646746787

I wonder why it takes the individual decision by companies to not do business with Russia. I wonder why the government cannot apply an embargo on all commerce with Russia.

I am so happy Biden is making the move to fully sanction Russia and embargo their oil (I haven't written to him myself yet, but I was planning to soon), while I had hoped he could eventually be persuaded to follow through on this, I definitely didn't think it would be this fast (maybe there's still hope for our 4T yet).

Don't get me wrong, I'm certainly not under any illusions that things are gonna be smooth sailing from here on. The right-wing neoliberal Trump supporting lunatics are almost surely gonna have a hit (it's also too early to say for sure what Russia's and most importantly Putin's response is gonna be), and I have about as much faith in the American voters as you do these days (which isn't much). Still, I'm beyond relieved that we now have a president who understands the times we're living in and has the courage to do the right thing regardless of the potential consequences, Biden showed his strength as our 4T leader today (and for that I'm beyond grateful).

Hopefully, progress can finally start to rev up again now and we can officially begin our long overdue transition away from fossil fuels and toward renewables.

I hope so too. I guess Senator Manchin is the one to write to, since he is holding up the BBBBB which includes the most available action on the table to speed up the transition. Thanks for your comment.

If Joe Manchin switched parties, do you think it would hurt him? I mean, he's already proved himself to Us.

[Eric the Green]

(03-10-2022, 04:42 PM)Classic-Xer Wrote:

(03-08-2022, 05:04 PM)Dustinw5220 Wrote:

(03-08-2022, 01:23 PM)Eric the Green Wrote: I'm glad Biden took this step. I hope our allies can join us soon.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-plannin...1646746787

I wonder why it takes the individual decision by companies to not do business with Russia. I wonder why the government cannot apply an embargo on all commerce with Russia.

I am so happy Biden is making the move to fully sanction Russia and embargo their oil (I haven't written to him myself yet, but I was planning to soon), while I had hoped he could eventually be persuaded to follow through on this, I definitely didn't think it would be this fast (maybe there's still hope for our 4T yet).

Don't get me wrong, I'm certainly not under any illusions that things are gonna be smooth sailing from here on. The right-wing neoliberal Trump supporting lunatics are almost surely gonna have a hit (it's also too early to say for sure what Russia's and most importantly Putin's response is gonna be), and I have about as much faith in the American voters as you do these days (which isn't much). Still, I'm beyond relieved that we now have a president who understands the times we're living in and has the courage to do the right thing regardless of the potential consequences, Biden showed his strength as our 4T leader today (and for that I'm beyond grateful).

Hopefully, progress can finally start to rev up again now and we can officially begin our long overdue transition away from fossil fuels and toward renewables.

Well, I have no faith in Biden, the Liberal Democrats and you guys whatsoever. Only a Liberal piece of shit like you or Biden and the Liberal Democrats would view the situation in Ukraine as an opportunity to advance a globalist/neoliberal agenda at this point.  Like I've said, the Liberals are making a strong case for America to break ties with the Liberal states, declare it's independence and essentially leave you to your own demise.

Your agenda seems to be name-calling. And the needed transition to renewable energy, which might be encouraged now by the current need to cut off Russian oil industry to support Ukraine, is the opposite of neoliberalism, which seeks to remove all restraints on the ambition of fossil fuel magnates to keep us addicted to what is causing climate breakdown and pollution. Neoliberalism does not mean freedom; it means "free enterprise," IOW the freedom of the bosses to exploit us and keep their extreme wealth. As Monbiot says, we need to use our democracy to protect us from these bosses. Neoliberalism seeks to destroy democracy so that it can't protect us from them.

[Eric the Green]

(03-10-2022, 02:38 PM)Classic-Xer Wrote:

(03-08-2022, 05:34 PM)sEric the Green Wrote:

(03-08-2022, 01:35 PM)Classic-Xer Wrote:

(03-07-2022, 05:23 PM)Eric the Green Wrote:

(03-06-2022, 02:50 PM)Classic-Xer Wrote: How much personal wealth are Joe, Nancy, Chuck, Hillary, Barack, AOC, Maxine and Newsom willing to part with/give away these days? I'm sure they're all willing to say that they're willing to act to reduce the gap between them and those below them to gain/retain their political support but how many of them are actually giving away the bulk of they're wealth to those below them these days. I mean, shouldn't they be doing that right now instead of waiting for a national consensus? Barack is worth a hundred million and he owns several high end properties here and abroad and his college aged daughters are already set to become rich woman without accomplishing anything by themselves and pretty much set for the rest of their lives.

Your neoliberal, Reaganomics idea is that personal wealth should be the only thing to use to benefit those less fortunate. It is time to depart from your 41-year failed experiment. What counts now is how much in taxes they are willing to vote for, even if it means they have to pay more in taxes. You are not willing to pay more taxes to get protection from poverty for everyone of every class, nor to help Ukraine defend from today's Hitler. Those you mention and all the other liberals are willing. They are patriots; you and the Republicans who are opposed to and who block these taxes are fools and maybe traitors.

I think the Blue politicians and their filthy rich donors prefer to continue using debt instead of their own money like they've been doing for the last 40 years. Actually, it's about 90 years if you go back to the beginning of modern time. It's not going to last but that doesn't seem matter to wealthy people who have direct access to private jets and private property outside the country. Do you really believe that your governor would stick around like Zelenskyy? I hope not for your sake. So, do you have a seat reserved on one of their private jets?

As I mentioned, it has been YOUR choice to be dumb on political and social issues. You could surely know if you bothered to use what mental capacities you use in your business that it is the Republicans who have relied on debt to finance what they ask the government to do. It is also they who lower taxes on the wealthy rather than raise them so that the US can't pay its bills except through more and more debt. I don't know how much you guys want to keep piling on debt upon debt before you, if you ever do, realize that trickle down doesn't trickle.

What we've got here is, failure to communicate. Some men you just can't reach. Like Classic Xer. And Putin.





The world is standing up against the evil man in Russia who is trying to vastly extend his tyranny over a free people. I'm glad some Republicans are joining with the Democrats in this, and I wish for more Republicans also to see the danger in their midst of tyranny by separating themselves more and more from Trump and his big lies and his coup and his ongoing attempt to install tyranny here in our own country. The conservative American Enterprise Institute just disinvited trump to their conference and invited a Biden admin official instead. Some progress there. As ML King Jr. said, injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. None of us are free until all of us are free.

You failed in REAL business. Keep that in mind the next time you insult me or my intelligence. Who isn't familiar with politics and social issues these days? Based on my experience with politics, 90% of it is bullshit which is why most of Us have no interest in entering politics. I mean, look at Pelosi, how did a self serving moron like her become Speaker of the House? You fix that we can talk.  The world isn't standing up to Putin. The world is mainly reacting to Putin and still allowing Putin to dictate rules of engagement/involvement and more or less still abiding by his rules and tip toeing aka appeasing him so far. Like I said, the world needs a strong leader other than Lezenskyy to start ignoring Putin;s threats and start getting more directly involved with the defense of Ukraine and leading an international war effort against Putin's troops in Ukraine. Russia is not the Soviet Union and the world should start acting that way. You don't give someone like the upper hand to begin with and you don't allow someone like Putin maintain the upper hand. You have to flip the script and put Putin on on his heals aka the defensive. Biden is clearly not up for such a task. Why isn't there a naval fleet of war ships within striking striking distance of the Russian fleet? Why isn't there a NATO army massed along the western border of Ukraine? Why aren't there air force bases filled with NATO planes with pilots ready to take off? Why is NATO fucking around and wasting valuable time playing hot potato with some old planes when there isn't time to waste at this point? Does Europe really deserve to remain free? That's the question.

I don't disagree with much of what you say here. I don't think there was any alternative leader to Biden though in the USA. He is what we got. He may have not been quite as strong as was needed, and he made the USA look weak with his bungled departure from Afganistan. Yet he and Zelenskyy are doing pretty well now. We can't go to war with Russia in Ukraine now, but my suggestion is to have Ukrainian pilots fly those planes Poland offered into Ukraine themselves and use them to attack the Russian missile sites and tanks, etc. The USA could supply planes under the same procedure. We supply lots of weapons; why not planes? NATO needs to be even more ready.

As for Pelosi, the same thing applies as to Biden; no viable alternative has stepped forward. Hakkim Jeffries may be an alternative. Not that YOU would support him; a viable alternative Speaker must be a Democrat. Jeffries is already in the leadership.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hakeem_Jeffries

[Tim Randal Walker]

In an interview, Nigel Farage described the invasion as the most dangerous crisis since the Cuban Missile Crisis.

As has been discussed before, the USA has been primed for an Internal 4T. (BTW, Covid may have come from China, but the infections here have played out as an internal problem).

As has been discussed before, the USA has been primed for an internal 4T. (With a very late Silent in the White House). Now we get to see how a country primed for an internal 4T responds to an external 4T like event.

[Tim Randal Walker]

Sorry, somehow my last post got screwed up.

[David Horn]

(03-11-2022, 10:20 AM)Tim Randal Walker Wrote: Sorry, somehow my last post got screwed up.

Fixed it.

[Classic-Xer]

(03-11-2022, 05:46 AM)Eric the Green Wrote:

(03-10-2022, 02:38 PM)Classic-Xer Wrote:

(03-08-2022, 05:34 PM)sEric the Green Wrote:

(03-08-2022, 01:35 PM)Classic-Xer Wrote:

(03-07-2022, 05:23 PM)Eric the Green Wrote: Your neoliberal, Reaganomics idea is that personal wealth should be the only thing to use to benefit those less fortunate. It is time to depart from your 41-year failed experiment. What counts now is how much in taxes they are willing to vote for, even if it means they have to pay more in taxes. You are not willing to pay more taxes to get protection from poverty for everyone of every class, nor to help Ukraine defend from today's Hitler. Those you mention and all the other liberals are willing. They are patriots; you and the Republicans who are opposed to and who block these taxes are fools and maybe traitors.

I think the Blue politicians and their filthy rich donors prefer to continue using debt instead of their own money like they've been doing for the last 40 years. Actually, it's about 90 years if you go back to the beginning of modern time. It's not going to last but that doesn't seem matter to wealthy people who have direct access to private jets and private property outside the country. Do you really believe that your governor would stick around like Zelenskyy? I hope not for your sake. So, do you have a seat reserved on one of their private jets?

As I mentioned, it has been YOUR choice to be dumb on political and social issues. You could surely know if you bothered to use what mental capacities you use in your business that it is the Republicans who have relied on debt to finance what they ask the government to do. It is also they who lower taxes on the wealthy rather than raise them so that the US can't pay its bills except through more and more debt. I don't know how much you guys want to keep piling on debt upon debt before you, if you ever do, realize that trickle down doesn't trickle.

What we've got here is, failure to communicate. Some men you just can't reach. Like Classic Xer. And Putin.





The world is standing up against the evil man in Russia who is trying to vastly extend his tyranny over a free people. I'm glad some Republicans are joining with the Democrats in this, and I wish for more Republicans also to see the danger in their midst of tyranny by separating themselves more and more from Trump and his big lies and his coup and his ongoing attempt to install tyranny here in our own country. The conservative American Enterprise Institute just disinvited trump to their conference and invited a Biden admin official instead. Some progress there. As ML King Jr. said, injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. None of us are free until all of us are free.

You failed in REAL business. Keep that in mind the next time you insult me or my intelligence. Who isn't familiar with politics and social issues these days? Based on my experience with politics, 90% of it is bullshit which is why most of Us have no interest in entering politics. I mean, look at Pelosi, how did a self serving moron like her become Speaker of the House? You fix that we can talk.  The world isn't standing up to Putin. The world is mainly reacting to Putin and still allowing Putin to dictate rules of engagement/involvement and more or less still abiding by his rules and tip toeing aka appeasing him so far. Like I said, the world needs a strong leader other than Lezenskyy to start ignoring Putin;s threats and start getting more directly involved with the defense of Ukraine and leading an international war effort against Putin's troops in Ukraine. Russia is not the Soviet Union and the world should start acting that way. You don't give someone like the upper hand to begin with and you don't allow someone like Putin maintain the upper hand. You have to flip the script and put Putin on on his heals aka the defensive. Biden is clearly not up for such a task. Why isn't there a naval fleet of war ships within striking striking distance of the Russian fleet? Why isn't there a NATO army massed along the western border of Ukraine? Why aren't there air force bases filled with NATO planes with pilots ready to take off? Why is NATO fucking around and wasting valuable time playing hot potato with some old planes when there isn't time to waste at this point? Does Europe really deserve to remain free? That's the question.

I don't disagree with much of what you say here. I don't think there was any alternative leader to Biden though in the USA. He is what we got. He may have not been quite as strong as was needed, and he made the USA look weak with his bungled departure from Afganistan. Yet he and Zelenskyy are doing pretty well now. We can't go to war with Russia in Ukraine now, but my suggestion is to have Ukrainian pilots fly those planes Poland offered into Ukraine themselves and use them to attack the Russian missile sites and tanks, etc. The USA could supply planes under the same procedure. We supply lots of weapons; why not planes? NATO needs to be even more ready.

As for Pelosi, the same thing applies as to Biden; no viable alternative has stepped forward. Hakkim Jeffries may be an alternative. Not that YOU would support him; a viable alternative Speaker must be a Democrat. Jeffries is already in the leadership.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hakeem_Jeffries

Well, if Biden loses Zelenskyy then Biden is done as President. Is Jeffries a partisan Democrat? I doubt America is interested in another partisan Democrat.

[Eric the Green]

From the New Yoork Times, via my email inbox:

March 11, 2022

By David Leonhardt and Ian Prasad Philbrick

Which companies have pulled out of Russia — and which have not?

‘Economic war’

It’s hard to think of a precedent: The British government yesterday ordered Chelsea — one of the world’s most glamorous soccer clubs and Europe’s defending champion — to stop conducting almost all its business operations.

Chelsea can no longer sell tickets or sign players. A team-owned hotel near Chelsea’s West London stadium stopped taking reservations, while the official souvenir store abruptly closed. “Shoppers, who had been filling baskets with club merchandise, were told to put everything back and leave,” our colleague Tariq Panja wrote.

These moves were the latest part of an international campaign to damage Russia’s economy and isolate Russian elites. Chelsea’s owner, Roman Abramovich, is close to Vladimir Putin and is one of seven oligarchs whose assets Britain froze yesterday.

Combined, the sanctions — by Britain, the U.S., the E.U. and others — have been more aggressive than many analysts expected. “We’re in totally new territory,” Nicholas Mulder, a historian of sanctions, told The Atlantic. “The speed, the sweep and the size of the sanctions, or the size of the targets of the sanctions — those three factors make them extraordinary.”

The sanctions are unlikely to alter Putin’s military strategy, at least in the short term: Russia seems committed to taking over Ukraine, almost regardless of the human cost. The Russian military has stepped up aerial bombardments across Ukraine, and has continued to attack civilians in an attempt to demoralize the population.

But the sanctions do have the potential to create longer-term problems for Putin’s regime. A Kremlin spokesman has described them as “economic war.” Among their effects:

They have cut off Russian banks from large parts of the international financial markets, which in turn will make it harder for Russian families and businesses to take out loans, use credit cards and make purchases.
The list of Western companies that are pulling out of Russia — like McDonald’s and Starbucks — yesterday grew to include Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Uniqlo. These shutdowns will reduce economic growth in Russia and may cause public frustration.
Some companies have stopped exporting goods to Russia, which will complicate the manufacturing and sale of cellphones, cars and other technology-heavy items.
Russian officials are sufficiently fearful of the effect on stock prices that they halted trading on Moscow’s stock market 11 days ago and have not yet resumed it.
The economic damage has caused the value of Russia’s currency, the ruble, to decline about 40 percent since the war began, effectively increasing the price of any item that comes from outside Russia. “That immediately raises the cost of essentials for everyone, and will be felt most sharply by the poorest,” Patricia Cohen, The Times’s global economics correspondent, told me yesterday.

The history of sanctions suggests that the world probably needs to impose measures that hurt ordinary Russians if it wants to put political pressure on Putin. “Smart” sanctions, targeted at elites, are an important part of the strategy but by themselves would likely be too narrow to matter to change Putin’s domestic standing.

Even the current set of sanctions may fail to help Ukraine or may even lead Putin to lash out in new ways. (Yesterday, he suggested that he might nationalize the assets of Western companies that pull out of Russia.) Historically, sanctions have been at least partly successful about one-third of the time they have been tried, Mulder told The Atlantic’s Annie Lowrey.

But because Ukraine’s allies seem unwilling to send troops, sanctions seem their best hope for confronting Putin. And the sanctions do seem to be having some effect already. Oleg Deripaska, a prominent billionaire (and among those whom Britain sanctioned yesterday), recently said that he expected the country to experience an economic crisis lasting at least three years. Already, there are signs that the turmoil may be aggravating Russian public discontent that already existed about the war.

“Russian public opinion is becoming such a problem that Putin is effectively fighting two wars: one in Ukraine, and one at home,” Sam Greene, a Russia scholar at King’s College London, wrote this week. Erica Frantz, an expert on dictators at Michigan State University, told our colleague Max Fisher, “The indicators of elite discontent that we have seen thus far are unusual in Putin’s Russia and should therefore be taken seriously.”

It’s worth mentioning that there are at least two major categories of sanctions that the world has not imposed on Russia.

One, Europe continues to buy large amounts of oil and natural gas from Russia, and energy is easily Russia’s biggest source of revenue. Europe is so reliant on Russian energy that a full embargo could cause large price increases, notes Mark Landler, The Times’s London bureau chief.

Two, some large companies are continuing to operate in Russia, as the Popular Information newsletter has reported. Hyatt and Marriott have continued running hotels there. Citi, Bridgestone Tire and Philip Morris have also continued their operations. And Halliburton has continued to operate oil fields in Russia despite a specific appeal from a top Ukrainian official.

“Always unfortunate in so many ways for so many people,” Jeff Miller, Halliburton’s chief executive, said in January, about the prospect of a war. “But from a business perspective, we’ve managed these sorts of things up and down for, I hate to say, nearly 100 years.”

We asked Hyatt, Marriott, Halliburton and other companies to explain their decisions to continue operating in Russia, and they did not do so. Several have expressed shock or horror about the war.

State of the war
Russian missiles struck at least three cities in western and central Ukraine, and there were reports of fierce fighting on the outskirts of Kyiv.
Russia continued its attack on Mariupol, where bodies are being buried in trenches. Satellite images show widespread damage.
Russia didn’t capture major cities in the past week, but its forces have fought their way into smaller cities. Yesterday they encircled Chernihiv, which is cut off from the national power grid and running out of burial space.
President Biden will call for suspending normal trade relations with Russia, which would raise tariffs for many Russian products.

[Tim Randal Walker]

Noticed reports on YouTube that refugees are in Tijuana, Mexico, waiting to enter the United States.