All Things Russia & Ukraine

[RedFromMI]

No, Trump is a Russian puppet.

I posted HCRs summary of the issues with Trump's recent statements about Ukraine and Gershkovich in the 2024 section... Right on the mark.

Very shortsighted on your part, as well as hers, IMO.
If Trump is a Russian Puppet, than why is China also snuggled up tight with them, further....why did you leave out the relationship with Trump and China? You have to zoom out on occasion, and not follow the partisan pack so closely.

Trump is a wannabe authoritarian because his severe narcissism makes him think he is the absolute savior (that he aint). He sucks up to China just as much. But if you actually watch what Trump did when meeting with Putin, you see the subserviance Trump displayed in his actions and body language, not just his statements.

It is not being part of the partisan pack to note that Trump was acting the way he did. It is not an accident that he is rated either the worst president ever or at best second worst. To achieve such an opinion of many historians/political scientists after only a couple of years out of office is an amazingly bad achievement.

Trump is only out for himself. (Money opportunities and the removal of the criminal cases against him). The R party has latched onto him out of desperation of holding onto power because he controls too many R faithful. They are just hoping that if Trump is elected again that they get to reverse as much as they can before Trump gets rid of them to avoid the inevitable consequence of the country becoming less and less WASP population wise. And the real danger is the project 2025 folk who want to cripple the federal government to allow the US oligarchs to continue to grab as much of the country's wealth as they possibly can without interference.

[Typical Lax Dad]

No, Trump is a Russian puppet.

I posted HCRs summary of the issues with Trump's recent statements about Ukraine and Gershkovich in the 2024 section... Right on the mark.

Very shortsighted on your part, as well as hers, IMO.
If Trump is a Russian Puppet, than why is China also snuggled up tight with them, further....why did you leave out the relationship with Trump and China? You have to zoom out on occasion, and not follow the partisan pack so closely.

Trump is a wannabe authoritarian because his severe narcissism makes him think he is the absolute savior (that he aint). He sucks up to China just as much. But if you actually watch what Trump did when meeting with Putin, you see the subserviance Trump displayed in his actions and body language, not just his statements.

It is not being part of the partisan pack to note that Trump was acting the way he did. It is not an accident that he is rated either the worst president ever or at best second worst. To achieve such an opinion of many historians/political scientists after only a couple of years out of office is an amazingly bad achievement.

Trump is only out for himself. (Money opportunities and the removal of the criminal cases against him). The R party has latched onto him out of desperation of holding onto power because he controls too many R faithful. They are just hoping that if Trump is elected again that they get to reverse as much as they can before Trump gets rid of them to avoid the inevitable consequence of the country becoming less and less WASP population wise. And the real danger is the project 2025 folk who want to cripple the federal government to allow the US oligarchs to continue to grab as much of the country's wealth as they possibly can without interference.

The beginning of the fall or the American empire as we have known it. I started questioning the fall 8 years ago or so. People thought I was crazy. It doesn’t seem so crazy now. As I have been saying, the United States of America is a young country. We don’t know what it is going to end being. The minority of public sentiment is doing all it can to retain power. Throw some “othering” chum in the water to distract whilst they grab more and more power. Stealing 2 seats on the US Supreme court has opened a narrow but important path. Not sure any anticipated the judicial branch being used as an arm of a political party.

[jhu72]

For the court, being bribed by the rich is just a bonus. They are true believers (at least Alito and Thomas) in their cause of rolling back democracy.

Trump is just a tool to the movement, he is not the brains of the operation.

[a fan]

For the court, being bribed by the rich is just a bonus. They are true believers (at least Alito and Thomas) in their cause of rolling back democracy.

It's just SO gross. I do NOT understand modern conservatives. Reagan wouldn't recognize this crew. Reagan's father even less so.

Full on crispy crackers.

[jhu72]

For the court, being bribed by the rich is just a bonus. They are true believers (at least Alito and Thomas) in their cause of rolling back democracy.

It's just SO gross. I do NOT understand modern conservatives. Reagan wouldn't recognize this crew. Reagan's father even less so.

Full on crispy crackers.

... it is all about retaining power and moving it in a direction where it is easier to maintain. RepubliCON ideas just don't win at the ballot box, their only choice is to lie about their "platform" while misrepresenting the democrats (lie). Reality is not their friend! The rich assh*les (not all rich) are playing the make as much as you can by any means before it all blows up.

The republiCONs are not real conservatives!

[jhu72]

Trump’s policy with China was a disaster. That is really hard to dispute.

Xi considers Trump to be an idiot. He knows he can run circles around him. That’s why he wants him reelected.

... so does Putin! He is just a tool.

[a fan]

For the court, being bribed by the rich is just a bonus. They are true believers (at least Alito and Thomas) in their cause of rolling back democracy.

It's just SO gross. I do NOT understand modern conservatives. Reagan wouldn't recognize this crew. Reagan's father even less so.

Full on crispy crackers.

... it is all about retaining power and moving it in a direction where it is easier to maintain. RepubliCON ideas just don't win at the ballot box, their only choice is to lie about their "platform" while misrepresenting the democrats (lie). Reality is not their friend! The rich assh*les (not all rich) are playing the make as much as you can by any means before it all blows up.

The republiCONs are not real conservatives!

+100. And if you read between the lines here, you'll see that from all the way back to the Laxpower days, frequent Republican posters know perfectly well that they aren't really conservatives. That they don't believe in the rule of law. That they don't want it applied fairly. And that they could give a fig about the flyover "real Americans" that they pretend to care about.

This USED to be the game played by rich city liberals. In Colorado, we call them "mean hippies". They dress like their poor, act like they care about others, but are the biggest hypocrite, Hummer-Driving NIMBY's you've ever met in your life.

Do you think Trump or Mitch McConnell has EVER met a farmer or someone who works with their hands, unless it was for a photo op, or to bring him his dinner? And now, naturally, that pretty much no one in DC, regardless of party, has met these people? This is why the working class is royally F'ed. Sad.

Remember Bush's grocery store gaffe, showing the public that he has NO IDEA what the average American's life is like? How far detached do you think Trump and Joe are?

[a fan]

Trump’s policy with China was a disaster. That is really hard to dispute.

Xi considers Trump to be an idiot. He knows he can run circles around him. That’s why he wants him reelected.

... so does Putin! He is just a tool.

+1. I love watching petey tell us that Trump "stood up to China". hahahaha! Sure he did, Pete.

Meanwhile, to his great credit, Joe signed that Chips Act. THAT is standing up to China, folks. Although I'm happy to admit that we have to wait for those things to get up and running properly before fully supporting that bill.

[jhu72]

Sanity bleeds through...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZwE0BBO5S0

Interesting stuff, but this interview starts to go off the rails about halfway through. Dr Postol is overstating Ukrainian Casualties, they don't have enough population to be losing 2,000 people a day. He also overstates the Russian Military Air Capabilities. Some good cogent points here, but I think this trends towards clickbait ultimately.

Joe

... good catch!

The Russian nukes, lots and lots of them don't work! They have to be maintained to remain in good working order. This is expensive. This explains why Biden and the rest of the west have come to not fear the Russian nuclear threat. Even Ukraine has no fear of these. This is not to say they don't have some that work, but the numbers are not there!!

Your local 73 year old nuclear physicist.

[SCLaxAttack]

Sanity bleeds through...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZwE0BBO5S0

Interesting stuff, but this interview starts to go off the rails about halfway through. Dr Postol is overstating Ukrainian Casualties, they don't have enough population to be losing 2,000 people a day. He also overstates the Russian Military Air Capabilities. Some good cogent points here, but I think this trends towards clickbait ultimately.

Joe

... good catch!

The Russian nukes, lots and lots of them don't work! They have to be maintained to remain in good working order. This is expensive. This explains why Biden and the rest of the west have come to not fear the Russian nuclear threat. Even Ukraine has no fear of these. This is not to say they don't have some that work, but the numbers are not there!!

Your local 73 year old nuclear physicist.

Why should I believe your knowledge on things nuclear? Do you have a podcast?

[a fan]

Sanity bleeds through...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZwE0BBO5S0

Interesting stuff, but this interview starts to go off the rails about halfway through. Dr Postol is overstating Ukrainian Casualties, they don't have enough population to be losing 2,000 people a day. He also overstates the Russian Military Air Capabilities. Some good cogent points here, but I think this trends towards clickbait ultimately.

Joe

... good catch!

The Russian nukes, lots and lots of them don't work! They have to be maintained to remain in good working order. This is expensive. This explains why Biden and the rest of the west have come to not fear the Russian nuclear threat. Even Ukraine has no fear of these. This is not to say they don't have some that work, but the numbers are not there!!

Your local 73 year old nuclear physicist.

Tried to tell the usual suspects about this during the "Putin is playing chess" era. You need MONEY to wager war, and bark in the weeds with the big dogs.


If the former great Soviet army can get stopped in their tracks a couple days into an invasion against the 123rd best army in the world? What are the odds that their nuclear missiles can make it out of their silos?

You can bet that Putin and others are smart enough to understand that the odds that the whatever scarce money they allocate to maintain their nukes, are 100% guaranteed to have been pilfered by Putin's kleptocracy, and are sitting in Putin's bank accounts, and the accounts of his favored toadies.

If I'm a Russian General with a lick of sense? I'd be terrified to shoot one off. What are the odds that they work properly? Not high.

[jhu72]

Sanity bleeds through...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZwE0BBO5S0

Interesting stuff, but this interview starts to go off the rails about halfway through. Dr Postol is overstating Ukrainian Casualties, they don't have enough population to be losing 2,000 people a day. He also overstates the Russian Military Air Capabilities. Some good cogent points here, but I think this trends towards clickbait ultimately.

Joe

... good catch!

The Russian nukes, lots and lots of them don't work! They have to be maintained to remain in good working order. This is expensive. This explains why Biden and the rest of the west have come to not fear the Russian nuclear threat. Even Ukraine has no fear of these. This is not to say they don't have some that work, but the numbers are not there!!

Your local 73 year old nuclear physicist.

Why should I believe your knowledge on things nuclear? Do you have a podcast?

... no, but I have spent a lot of nights in Holiday Inn Expresses. Received my Ph.D. in Nuclear and High Energy Physics in 1978 from Johns Hopkins University.

[jhu72]

Sanity bleeds through...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZwE0BBO5S0

Interesting stuff, but this interview starts to go off the rails about halfway through. Dr Postol is overstating Ukrainian Casualties, they don't have enough population to be losing 2,000 people a day. He also overstates the Russian Military Air Capabilities. Some good cogent points here, but I think this trends towards clickbait ultimately.

Joe

... good catch!

The Russian nukes, lots and lots of them don't work! They have to be maintained to remain in good working order. This is expensive. This explains why Biden and the rest of the west have come to not fear the Russian nuclear threat. Even Ukraine has no fear of these. This is not to say they don't have some that work, but the numbers are not there!!

Your local 73 year old nuclear physicist.

Tried to tell the usual suspects about this during the "Putin is playing chess" era. You need MONEY to wager war, and bark in the weeds with the big dogs.


If the former great Soviet army can get stopped in their tracks a couple days into an invasion against the 123rd best army in the world? What are the odds that their nuclear missiles can make it out of their silos?

You can bet that Putin and others are smart enough to understand that the odds that the whatever scarce money they allocate to maintain their nukes, are 100% guaranteed to have been pilfered by Putin's kleptocracy, and are sitting in Putin's bank accounts, and the accounts of his favored toadies.

If I'm a Russian General with a lick of sense? I'd be terrified to shoot one off. What are the odds that they work properly? Not high.

... you don't just assemble a nuke and let it sit until you need to use it. The radioactive materials (expensive) decay sitting in the can. Have to be topped off on a schedule, the schedule depending on the amount of fissionable material in the bomb. The really big bombs, the fusion bombs you also have to maintain the neutron moderator as well, as the fusion core material. This is over and above the rocketry maintenance. An expensive proposition for one, let alone thousands.

[tech37]

Sanity bleeds through...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZwE0BBO5S0

Interesting stuff, but this interview starts to go off the rails about halfway through. Dr Postol is overstating Ukrainian Casualties, they don't have enough population to be losing 2,000 people a day. He also overstates the Russian Military Air Capabilities. Some good cogent points here, but I think this trends towards clickbait ultimately.

Joe

... good catch!

The Russian nukes, lots and lots of them don't work! They have to be maintained to remain in good working order. This is expensive. This explains why Biden and the rest of the west have come to not fear the Russian nuclear threat. Even Ukraine has no fear of these. This is not to say they don't have some that work, but the numbers are not there!!

Your local 73 year old nuclear physicist.

Tried to tell the usual suspects about this during the "Putin is playing chess" era. You need MONEY to wager war, and bark in the weeds with the big dogs.


If the former great Soviet army can get stopped in their tracks a couple days into an invasion against the 123rd best army in the world? What are the odds that their nuclear missiles can make it out of their silos?

You can bet that Putin and others are smart enough to understand that the odds that the whatever scarce money they allocate to maintain their nukes, are 100% guaranteed to have been pilfered by Putin's kleptocracy, and are sitting in Putin's bank accounts, and the accounts of his favored toadies.

If I'm a Russian General with a lick of sense? I'd be terrified to shoot one off. What are the odds that they work properly? Not high.

... you don't just assemble a nuke and let it sit until you need to use it. The radioactive materials (expensive) decay sitting in the can. Have to be topped off on a schedule, the schedule depending on the amount of fissionable material in the bomb. The really big bombs, the fusion bombs you also have to maintain the neutron moderator as well, as the fusion core material. This is over and above the rocketry maintenance. An expensive proposition for one, let alone thousands.

What absurdity. How many working nukes does Putin need to start WWIII? Do you really believe they would reach from the bottom of the pile to take that step. It doesn't take much imagination to realize the nukes that are poised to launch are quite freshly developed and capable of working. It certainly doesn't take a PhD in Nuclear Physics to understand this.

And the longer this pointless war continues and the more capabilities we give Ukraine to mindlessly strike inside Russia, the greater the chance something will trigger them. And of course there is the constant possibility of an accidental launch from a Russia on high-alert.

Keep "poking the bear"... idiots!

[njbill]

Putin is just saber rattling. Do you want him to overrun Eastern Europe, then Germany, then France, then invade England? That’s what he wants to do. Standing up to him is the right thing to do. Not to mention required by our NATO treaty obligations (if he invades a NATO country).

[old salt]

Putin is just saber rattling. Do you want him to overrun Eastern Europe, then Germany, then France, then invade England? That’s what he wants to do. Standing up to him is the right thing to do. Not to mention required by our NATO treaty obligations (if he invades a NATO country).

Fantasty scaremongering. Putin is bogged down in Ukraine. He can't even keep his troops on his own border supplied.

[a fan]

Putin is just saber rattling. Do you want him to overrun Eastern Europe, then Germany, then France, then invade England? That’s what he wants to do. Standing up to him is the right thing to do. Not to mention required by our NATO treaty obligations (if he invades a NATO country).

Fantasty scaremongering. Putin is bogged down in Ukraine. He can't even keep his troops on his own border supplied.

? You made fun of me when I pointed this out years ago. That Putin can't do what he wants, because he doesn't have the money.

Yes. It's scaremongering to say Putin is a threat to NATO, and there's NO WAY Putin can attack Nato without getting wiped out.

I'll take comfort that we finally agree on Putin's impotence after years of arguing about it.

[njbill]

Putin is just saber rattling. Do you want him to overrun Eastern Europe, then Germany, then France, then invade England? That’s what he wants to do. Standing up to him is the right thing to do. Not to mention required by our NATO treaty obligations (if he invades a NATO country).

Fantasty scaremongering. Putin is bogged down in Ukraine. He can't even keep his troops on his own border supplied.

Well, that is what Putin wants to do and will do if he could find a way to pull it off. How many times has he said he wants to reconstitute the old Soviet empire, which includes hegemony over the old Soviet bloc states? Zero chance he'd stop there.

At the beginning of the war, people were saying he'd be in Kiev in a couple of days. That is certainly what Putin intended. As things have turned out -- with huge help from the West -- Ukraine has been able to fend him off for now. But Putin is in this for the long game. He is hoping the West will grow tired (politically, financially, and militarily) of supporting Ukraine. He is hoping his puppet Trump will win the election so that he can continue his aggression in Ukraine just as he was doing under Trump. Trump, the liar, of course ignores the fact that Putin was fighting and seeking to gain ground in eastern Ukraine during the entire Trump presidency. Trump has already publicly said he'll let Putin do whatever he wants. Trump wants to pull the US out of NATO. He has said he won't honor Article 5. He won't come to the aid of any NATO ally if Russia attacks.

Scaremongering? More like a sober assessment of what Putin intends and what Trump would allow.

[old salt]

Putin is just saber rattling. Do you want him to overrun Eastern Europe, then Germany, then France, then invade England? That’s what he wants to do. Standing up to him is the right thing to do. Not to mention required by our NATO treaty obligations (if he invades a NATO country).

Fantasty scaremongering. Putin is bogged down in Ukraine. He can't even keep his troops on his own border supplied.

Well, that is what Putin wants to do and will do if he could find a way to pull it off. How many times has he said he wants to reconstitute the old Soviet empire, which includes hegemony over the old Soviet bloc states? Zero chance he'd stop there.

At the beginning of the war, people were saying he'd be in Kiev in a couple of days. That is certainly what Putin intended. As things have turned out -- with huge help from the West -- Ukraine has been able to fend him off for now. But Putin is in this for the long game. He is hoping the West will grow tired (politically, financially, and militarily) of supporting Ukraine. He is hoping his puppet Trump will win the election so that he can continue his aggression in Ukraine just as he was doing under Trump. Trump, the liar, of course ignores the fact that Putin was fighting and seeking to gain ground in eastern Ukraine during the entire Trump presidency. Trump has already publicly said he'll let Putin do whatever he wants. Trump wants to pull the US out of NATO. He has said he won't honor Article 5. He won't come to the aid of any NATO ally if Russia attacks.

Scaremongering? More like a sober assessment of what Putin intends and what Trump would allow.

Look at what Trump did during his first term. He increased our combat power in Europe & moved it east to protect the Baltic states & Poland.
He made NATO stronger by hectoring & browbeating our EU allies to spend more on NATO's shared defense. He pushed them to be less energy dependent on Russia. He gave Ukraine the weapons & military training that were difference makers when they repelled the initial Russian invasion.

Pay attention to what Trump does, not what he says.

[old salt]

Putin is just saber rattling. Do you want him to overrun Eastern Europe, then Germany, then France, then invade England? That’s what he wants to do. Standing up to him is the right thing to do. Not to mention required by our NATO treaty obligations (if he invades a NATO country).

Fantasty scaremongering. Putin is bogged down in Ukraine. He can't even keep his troops on his own border supplied.

? You made fun of me when I pointed this out years ago. That Putin can't do what he wants, because he doesn't have the money.

Yes. It's scaremongering to say Putin is a threat to NATO, and there's NO WAY Putin can attack Nato without getting wiped out.

I'll take comfort that we finally agree on Putin's impotence after years of arguing about it.

I made fun of you when you said Putin was not a threat to Ukraine & was too weak to invade.

How'd that work out ?