All Things Russia & Ukraine

[Kismet]

The International Institute for Strategic Studies said that Russian military may have lost up to 50% of its inventory of T-72 tanks in the past year since they invaded Ukraine.

If true, a pretty big deal, no?

[PizzaSnake]

What more is there to understand?

How to defeat Russia without the US entering into combat.

President Biden and NATO/EU have done a good job on that so far.

The entire world owes Ukraine a great debt in fighting Putin and Russia on our behalf. Calling the current conflict a proxy war is accurate, and we should offer no apologies about that.

We should give Ukraine everything they ask for, including advanced combat aircraft and ATACMS missiles. That is the least we should do since they are fighting and dying so that we don’t have to.

How can we defeat Russia without the U.S. entering into combat?

Give Ukraine everything they need to defeat Russia for us … that’s how.

DocBarrister

We don't have a reason to fight Russia. Both Biden & the (R)'s have made that clear.

So far, Biden has made clear, in what he is willing to provide, that he won't give what's needed to defeat Russia, which requires weapons able to reach targets inside Russia & Crimea. ATACMS missiles are no longer in production & DoD does not want to reduce our limited inventory. HIMARS are good enough for targets within Ukraine. The only practical fighter aircraft are the Mig-29's which Poland & Bulgaria can't replace in time with F-16's or F-35's for their own defense. Slovakia has a few Mig-29's they can no longer maintain, but they're too afraid of Russia to donate them. The F-16 reman production line is maxed out making fighters for Poland, Taiwan, & other E NATO allies who need them for their own defense. Without the ability to suppress Russia's air defenses, aircraft losses would be unacceptable.
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/sl ... 023-02-10/
https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/pola ... pare-parts

There are questions about both sides ability to produce munitions sufficient to defeat the enemy.
It's far from certain that the US & NATO can out-produce Russia fast enough.
We're starting to see daylight between what Ukraine wants & what Biden is willing to provide.

"We don't have a reason to fight Russia."

But "we" (me and the mouse in my pocket) certainly need Putin to go and Russia stop its predatory, rapacious behavior. If nothing else, Russia's actions upset a delicate economic ecosystem that currently favors "us" (me and that pesky mouse again).

[PizzaSnake]

Don't know about quantity, but subtlety sure seems to have a quality of its own. Endemic defenestration.

"Marina Yankina, a Russian defense official, was found dead on Wednesday morning after falling from a window in St. Petersburg, according to local media reports.

The death of the 58-year-old, who headed the Financial Support Department of the Russian Defense Ministry in St. Petersburg's Western Military District, is the latest in a series of mysterious deaths involving prominent Russian figures since President Vladimir Putin's forces invaded Ukraine last February.

Here is a full list of all the Russian officials who have died after falling out of windows since the war began."

https://www.newsweek.com/full-list-russ ... ar-1781790

[old salt]

Old Segregationist uses the term “woke” more than anyone on this site and more than anyone I have ever met. Most people bring it up here in response to Old Segregationist’s posts. Most….not all but most.

Get used to it. In addition to DeSantis, Nikki Haley's tag line is "weak & woke".
She's referring to you when she describes the wave of self-loathing sweeping the country.

[old salt]

https://www.understandingwar.org/backgr ... ry-15-2023

Russian military failures in Ukraine continue to deny Putin the ability to present military success to the Russian public. The Russian military has not achieved significant operational success in Ukraine since the capture of Severodonetsk in July 2022. Ukrainian forces have liberated almost 18,000 square kilometers of territory since then. Putin may have scheduled the address to the federal assembly in the expectation that Russian forces would secure at least a tactical success in the Bakhmut area, although Russian forces have only gained about 500 square kilometers in the Bakhmut area in intensive campaigning since July 4, 2022, while suffering extravagant casualties. Putin could announce the start of a subsequent mobilization wave, although most indicators and assessments suggest that he will not do so at this time.[11] ISW, along with UK Defense Minister Ben Wallace, assesses that the Russian military has already committed a significant number of its available formations to intensified offensive operations in Ukraine and that the lack of large uncommitted reserves will likely prevent Putin from announcing the start of an entirely new large-scale offensive effort.[12] Putin will likely continue to deliver insignificant public addresses as the absence of Russian military success in Ukraine deprives him of the opportunity to claim or convincingly promise a victory of any significance. The stubborn Ukrainian defense of Bakhmut itself, despite the cost in Ukrainian lives and materiel, would prevent Putin from even claiming that Russia has secured that city on the war’s anniversary, a claim that could give Putin, the Russian military, and the Russian public renewed hope of winning and possibly increase the Kremlin’s willingness to demand more of its people to press on.

Bakhmut has no strategic significance, other than as a talking point. THE ISW authors fail to mention Ukraine's "extravagant casualties" in defending Bakhmut & Zelensky elevating it to such significance in his rhetoric. Much of Ukraine's unsustainable burn rate of munitions is due to such tactics, which jeopardize Ukraine's ability to mount a counteroffensive. The "West's" ability to meet Ukraine's demand for munitions is still aspirational & unproven. That article does not speculate about "the West's" ability to meet Ukraine's future burn rate of munitions. This War matches WW-I in casualties & stupidity.

[a fan]

Old Segregationist uses the term “woke” more than anyone on this site and more than anyone I have ever met. Most people bring it up here in response to Old Segregationist’s posts. Most….not all but most.

Get used to it. In addition to DeSantis, Nikki Haley's tag line is "weak & woke".
She's referring to you when she describes the wave of self-loathing sweeping the country.

There isn't a wave of self loathing. That's what FoxNews is saying, i'll give you that.

This is Trump Lite: more "libs are bad", with zero plan to govern.

Do you not remember your parents saying the same thing about the Hippies? That America was supposedly falling apart, and these kids were idiots and deadbeats? Turns out these "hippies" were Boomers....the richest Americans to ever live here. America did just fine, even though they changed the culture IMMENSELY in one single decade. Far more than the piddly, insignificant moves of the 2000's.

The difference between your parents reaction to cultural change and Nikki Haleys'? Your parents believed in good governance. So we had nearly balanced budgets, far higher taxes....and wonderful things like the EPA, expansion of the CA college and SUNY system, and a whole mess of other things. And working class America thrived.

Nikki isn't offering any of that. She's offering what Trump offered: "vote for me, and I'll make American culture stop changing".

She can't do that, OS. But she'll get tons of votes doing exactly what you just cited "weak and woke". You're right. Get used to it.

Meanwhile, the "weak and woke" all have good jobs with health insurance, and nice degrees from some swell schools.

What's the plan for everyone else?

[Kismet]

What's the plan for everyone else?

There IS no PLAN. Just more BS like the piles of it shoveled out (and still being shoveled) by the former DOPUS.

[old salt]

Do you not remember your parents saying the same thing about the Hippies? That America was supposedly falling apart, and these kids were idiots and deadbeats? Turns out these "hippies" were Boomers....the richest Americans to ever live here. America did just fine, even though they changed the culture IMMENSELY in one single decade. Far more than the piddly, insignificant moves of the 2000's.

The difference between your parents reaction to cultural change and Nikki Haleys'? Your parents believed in good governance. So we had nearly balanced budgets, far higher taxes....and wonderful things like the EPA, expansion of the CA college and SUNY system, and a whole mess of other things. And working class America thrived.

Nikki isn't offering any of that. She's offering what Trump offered: "vote for me, and I'll make American culture stop changing".

She can't do that, OS. But she'll get tons of votes doing exactly what you just cited "weak and woke". You're right. Get used to it.

Meanwhile, the "weak and woke" all have good jobs with health insurance, and nice degrees from some swell schools.

What's the plan for everyone else?

My parents didn't pay any attention to the hippies. America thrived then because our manufacturing base had yet to be sent offshore & we were still free to extract & use our resources, while the rest of the world was still recovering from depression & war.

The culture wars are real. Nikki, & other (R)'s, are giving voice to Reagan's silent majority.
To answer your ? -- the plan for everyone else is to fund the healthcare & student loans for the weak & woke.
Don't count on it happening. Look at the living conditions in our big cities. More tech layoffs coming.

[Typical Lax Dad]

Old Segregationist uses the term “woke” more than anyone on this site and more than anyone I have ever met. Most people bring it up here in response to Old Segregationist’s posts. Most….not all but most.

Get used to it. In addition to DeSantis, Nikki Haley's tag line is "weak & woke".
She's referring to you when she describes the wave of self-loathing sweeping the country.

It doesn’t bother me, Old Snake.

[DocBarrister]

Do you not remember your parents saying the same thing about the Hippies? That America was supposedly falling apart, and these kids were idiots and deadbeats? Turns out these "hippies" were Boomers....the richest Americans to ever live here. America did just fine, even though they changed the culture IMMENSELY in one single decade. Far more than the piddly, insignificant moves of the 2000's.

The difference between your parents reaction to cultural change and Nikki Haleys'? Your parents believed in good governance. So we had nearly balanced budgets, far higher taxes....and wonderful things like the EPA, expansion of the CA college and SUNY system, and a whole mess of other things. And working class America thrived.

Nikki isn't offering any of that. She's offering what Trump offered: "vote for me, and I'll make American culture stop changing".

She can't do that, OS. But she'll get tons of votes doing exactly what you just cited "weak and woke". You're right. Get used to it.

Meanwhile, the "weak and woke" all have good jobs with health insurance, and nice degrees from some swell schools.

What's the plan for everyone else?

My parents didn't pay any attention to the hippies. America thrived then because our manufacturing base had yet to be sent offshore & we were still free to extract & use our resources, while the rest of the world was still recovering from depression & war.

The culture wars are real. Nikki, & other (R)'s, are giving voice to Reagan's silent majority.
To answer your ? -- the plan for everyone else is to fund the healthcare & student loans for the weak & woke.
Don't count on it happening. Look at the living conditions in our big cities. More tech layoffs coming.

Being “anti-woke” is really code for being against anything that challenges White primacy in this nation. It is, essentially, advocacy for White Supremacism.

So … the “weak and woke” is referring to brown and black Americans who are allegedly freeloaders looking for handouts. It is, again, a White Supremacist perspective.

“Reagan’s silent majority” really no longer exists. There is an aging, dying, shrinking subgroup of White Americans who harbor strong racial prejudice and mourn the decline of White privilege and primacy in this country. They sense a loss of control and dominance. America no longer looks and feels like the country of the 1950s in which they came of age.

Tough … America is becoming a wonderfully diverse nation, and increasingly liberal.

Some don’t like that, but your time is over. America is changing for the better. California provides a vision of America’s future. The Golden State isn’t perfect, but we are definitely more perfect than the racist, bigoted, and misogynistic America of the 1950s.

DocBarrister

[a fan]

My parents didn't pay any attention to the hippies. Didn't notice or comment on the massive social change that bothers you so much? They didn't notice?America thrived then because our manufacturing base had yet to be sent offshore & we were still free to extract & use our resources, while the rest of the world was still recovering from depression & war.

The culture wars are real. Nikki, & other (R)'s, are giving voice to Reagan's silent majority.I didn't say it wasn't real. What I said was: you can't stop culture change with politicians. You and the American Right think that you can by voting. Well...we just had Trump...and "woke" is sill out there. So that didn't work, did it? So we're back to: what's the Right's plan for governance?
To answer your ? -- the plan for everyone else is to fund the healthcare & student loans for the weak & woke.The weak and woke all have degrees, OS. Why do you think all this woke stuff keeps happening at Elite Universities? They're not weak---they're flush with cash, and have health insurance and good jobs, as did most of their parents. The "weak" are those that have neither good jobs nor insurance. And they're largely in flyover America, as you know. So my question stands: what's the plan for working class America? You're being snide here, and don't have an answer
Don't count on it happening. Look at the living conditions in our big cities. More tech layoffs coming.You think those tech layoffs aren't getting sucked up by smaller tech firms? My nephew's first job, fresh out of college with a Comp. Eng. degree was for $120K. He's received two raises since then, and it's been a year. He's an example of what you think is "weak and woke".

[Typical Lax Dad]

Old Segregationist uses the term “woke” more than anyone on this site and more than anyone I have ever met. Most people bring it up here in response to Old Segregationist’s posts. Most….not all but most.

Get used to it. In addition to DeSantis, Nikki Haley's tag line is "weak & woke".
She's referring to you when she describes the wave of self-loathing sweeping the country.

There isn't a wave of self loathing. That's what FoxNews is saying, i'll give you that.

This is Trump Lite: more "libs are bad", with zero plan to govern.

Do you not remember your parents saying the same thing about the Hippies? That America was supposedly falling apart, and these kids were idiots and deadbeats? Turns out these "hippies" were Boomers....the richest Americans to ever live here. America did just fine, even though they changed the culture IMMENSELY in one single decade. Far more than the piddly, insignificant moves of the 2000's.

The difference between your parents reaction to cultural change and Nikki Haleys'? Your parents believed in good governance. So we had nearly balanced budgets, far higher taxes....and wonderful things like the EPA, expansion of the CA college and SUNY system, and a whole mess of other things. And working class America thrived.

Nikki isn't offering any of that. She's offering what Trump offered: "vote for me, and I'll make American culture stop changing".

She can't do that, OS. But she'll get tons of votes doing exactly what you just cited "weak and woke". You're right. Get used to it.

Meanwhile, the "weak and woke" all have good jobs with health insurance, and nice degrees from some swell schools.

What's the plan for everyone else?

One of my old former colleagues used that exact same language last week….. then brought up 1619. This was in response to books on Hank Aaron and Roberto Clemente being banned. And just earlier today, he too was on the Nikki Haley wagon. Old Soldier has no original thought. Regurgitates what he reads. Could not think himself out of a box without instructions.

[Typical Lax Dad]

Do you not remember your parents saying the same thing about the Hippies? That America was supposedly falling apart, and these kids were idiots and deadbeats? Turns out these "hippies" were Boomers....the richest Americans to ever live here. America did just fine, even though they changed the culture IMMENSELY in one single decade. Far more than the piddly, insignificant moves of the 2000's.

The difference between your parents reaction to cultural change and Nikki Haleys'? Your parents believed in good governance. So we had nearly balanced budgets, far higher taxes....and wonderful things like the EPA, expansion of the CA college and SUNY system, and a whole mess of other things. And working class America thrived.

Nikki isn't offering any of that. She's offering what Trump offered: "vote for me, and I'll make American culture stop changing".

She can't do that, OS. But she'll get tons of votes doing exactly what you just cited "weak and woke". You're right. Get used to it.

Meanwhile, the "weak and woke" all have good jobs with health insurance, and nice degrees from some swell schools.

What's the plan for everyone else?

My parents didn't pay any attention to the hippies. America thrived then because our manufacturing base had yet to be sent offshore & we were still free to extract & use our resources, while the rest of the world was still recovering from depression & war.

The culture wars are real. Nikki, & other (R)'s, are giving voice to Reagan's silent majority.
To answer your ? -- the plan for everyone else is to fund the healthcare & student loans for the weak & woke.
Don't count on it happening. Look at the living conditions in our big cities. More tech layoffs coming.

Being “anti-woke” is really code for being against anything that challenges White primacy in this nation. It is, essentially, advocacy for White Supremacism.

So … the “weak and woke” is referring to brown and black Americans who are allegedly freeloaders looking for handouts. It is, again, a White Supremacist perspective.

“Reagan’s silent majority” really no longer exists. There is an aging, dying, shrinking subgroup of White Americans who harbor strong racial prejudice and mourn the decline of White privilege and primacy in this country. They sense a loss of control and dominance. America no longer looks and feels like the country of the 1950s in which they came of age.

Tough … America is becoming a wonderfully diverse nation, and increasingly liberal.

Some don’t like that, but your time is over. America is changing for the better. California provides a vision of America’s future. The Golden State isn’t perfect, but we are definitely more perfect than the racist, bigoted, and misogynistic America of the 1950s.

DocBarrister

He wants Nikki to “Make It Ok Again”…. Time is ticking.

[Typical Lax Dad]

My parents didn't pay any attention to the hippies. Didn't notice or comment on the massive social change that bothers you so much? They didn't notice?America thrived then because our manufacturing base had yet to be sent offshore & we were still free to extract & use our resources, while the rest of the world was still recovering from depression & war.

The culture wars are real. Nikki, & other (R)'s, are giving voice to Reagan's silent majority.I didn't say it wasn't real. What I said was: you can't stop culture change with politicians. You and the American Right think that you can by voting. Well...we just had Trump...and "woke" is sill out there. So that didn't work, did it? So we're back to: what's the Right's plan for governance?
To answer your ? -- the plan for everyone else is to fund the healthcare & student loans for the weak & woke.The weak and woke all have degrees, OS. Why do you think all this woke stuff keeps happening at Elite Universities? They're not weak---they're flush with cash, and have health insurance and good jobs, as did most of their parents. The "weak" are those that have neither good jobs nor insurance. And they're largely in flyover America, as you know. So my question stands: what's the plan for working class America? You're being snide here, and don't have an answer
Don't count on it happening. Look at the living conditions in our big cities. More tech layoffs coming.You think those tech layoffs aren't getting sucked up by smaller tech firms? My nephew's first job, fresh out of college with a Comp. Eng. degree was for $120K. He's received two raises since then, and it's been a year. He's an example of what you think is "weak and woke".

Sounds like my daughter with a BS in Information Systems. She feels terrible.

[old salt]

One of my old former colleagues used that exact same language last week….. then brought up 1619. This was in response to books on Hank Aaron and Roberto Clemente being banned. And just earlier today, he too was on the Nikki Haley wagon. Old Soldier has no original thought. Regurgitates what he reads. Could not think himself out of a box without instructions.

I think books on Hank & Roberto are great. They should be available for check out in the school library, not required reading in STEM courses.
Good candidates for book reports in English classes (do they still call it that ?).

Fake news. They weren't banned.
https://floridaphoenix.com/2023/02/16/t ... -district/

[Typical Lax Dad]

One of my old former colleagues used that exact same language last week….. then brought up 1619. This was in response to books on Hank Aaron and Roberto Clemente being banned. And just earlier today, he too was on the Nikki Haley wagon. Old Soldier has no original thought. Regurgitates what he reads. Could not think himself out of a box without instructions.

I think books on Hank & Roberto are great. They should be available for check out in the school library, not required reading in STEM courses.
Good candidates for book reports in English classes (do they still call it that ?).

Fake news. They weren't banned.
https://floridaphoenix.com/2023/02/16/t ... -district/

Enjoy your evening.

[lagerhead]

The weak and woke all have degrees, OS. Why do you think all this woke stuff keeps happening at Elite Universities? They're not weak---they're flush with cash, and have health insurance and good jobs, as did most of their parents. The "weak" are those that have neither good jobs nor insurance. And they're largely in flyover America, as you know. So my question stands: what's the plan for working class America? You're being snide here, and don't have an answer
Don't coun
[/quote]
Why the need for student loan forgiveness?

[a fan]

The weak and woke all have degrees, OS. Why do you think all this woke stuff keeps happening at Elite Universities? They're not weak---they're flush with cash, and have health insurance and good jobs, as did most of their parents. The "weak" are those that have neither good jobs nor insurance. And they're largely in flyover America, as you know. So my question stands: what's the plan for working class America? You're being snide here, and don't have an answer
Don't coun

Why the need for student loan forgiveness?

You're asking me? There wasn't one. Stupid idea that doesn't fix the underlying problems with American education/training. Said so at the time.

We also didn't "need' the Trump Tax cuts. And we didn't "need" Biden to keep them in place.

And yet.....we got 'em.

If I were king? I'd take that same money and plow it into vocational training schollies. Want to weld, plumb, code, build homes? Great! Here's your scholarship, and we're moving our Community College's offerings to get you that training locally.

[old salt]

One of my old former colleagues used that exact same language last week….. then brought up 1619. This was in response to books on Hank Aaron and Roberto Clemente being banned. And just earlier today, he too was on the Nikki Haley wagon. Old Soldier has no original thought. Regurgitates what he reads. Could not think himself out of a box without instructions.

I think books on Hank & Roberto are great. They should be available for check out in the school library, not required reading in STEM courses.
Good candidates for book reports in English classes (do they still call it that ?).

Fake news. They weren't banned.
https://floridaphoenix.com/2023/02/16/t ... -district/

Enjoy your evening.

I read this in HS. It was in our (all-white, rural) school library.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/313633787715
Our school libraian who ordered it was the wife of the Superintendent of our rural school district.
They were both born, raised & educated in MS. Moved N for better pay.

[Typical Lax Dad]

One of my old former colleagues used that exact same language last week….. then brought up 1619. This was in response to books on Hank Aaron and Roberto Clemente being banned. And just earlier today, he too was on the Nikki Haley wagon. Old Soldier has no original thought. Regurgitates what he reads. Could not think himself out of a box without instructions.

I think books on Hank & Roberto are great. They should be available for check out in the school library, not required reading in STEM courses.
Good candidates for book reports in English classes (do they still call it that ?).

Fake news. They weren't banned.
https://floridaphoenix.com/2023/02/16/t ... -district/

Enjoy your evening.

I read this in HS. It was in our (all-white, rural) school library.
https://www.amazon.com/Maybe-Pitch-Fore ... 0803287321
Our school libraian who ordered it was the wife of the Superintendent of our rural school district.
They were both born, raised & educated in MS. Moved N for better pay.

Good to know.