SOTU OPEN THREAD
[guest post by Dana]
President Biden will be delivering the State of the Union address tonight. Reportedly, the President’s speech was to be an opportunity to “reset” his presidency and focus on his domestic agenda. However, with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, speech writers were compelled to rewrite parts of his speech. About the invasion and tonight’s speech:
President Biden vowed on Tuesday to make President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia “pay a price” for invading Ukraine, seeking to rally the world as Moscow’s forces rained down missiles on Ukrainian cities and prepared to lay siege to the capital of Kyiv.
Appearing before a joint session of Congress at a fraught moment in modern history, Mr. Biden planned to call on lawmakers to approve more arms and humanitarian aid for Ukraine while appealing to Americans to brace themselves for economic hardships resulting from the conflict.
“Throughout our history we’ve learned this lesson — when dictators do not pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos,” Mr. Biden said in excerpts from the speech released by the White House in advance. “They keep moving. And the costs and threats to America and the world keep rising.”
No president has delivered his State of the Union address with such a large-scale and consequential land war underway in Europe since 1945 and Mr. Biden faced the challenge of holding together multinational and bipartisan alliances to counter Mr. Putin. But even as he was readying his speech, congressional negotiations over an aid package bogged down in a partisan quarrel.
…
The president’s annual speech, slated to start just after 9 p.m. in Washington, will take place in the middle of the night in Ukraine at a time when some of the most devastating Russian attacks have taken place, raising the prospect of a split-screen moment juxtaposing images of explosions and gunfire against the president in the rostrum of the Capitol.
And while the President clearly hopes to unite Americans with his speech tonight, the fissures within his own party will be on display as several Democrats announced that they will be responding to his SOTU address:
In a sign of the complicated political landscape, Mr. Biden will be followed not just by the traditional Republican response, to be delivered by Gov. Kim Reynolds of Iowa, but by a separate responses by several members of his own party: Representative Rashida Tlaib of Michigan for the progressive Working Families Party, Representative Colin Allred of Texas for the Congressional Black Caucus, and Representative Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey for the bipartisan group No Labels.
Gottheimer criticized Tlaib’s decision to speak, saying it was “like keying your own car and slashing your own tires,” and that it would be “massively counterproductive”.
Moreover, Gottheimer added:
“This only highlights the real tension between the socialist far left and the common-sense moderate wing, which is focused on crime, costs, tax cuts and affordability and turning the page on Covid.”
Gottheimer wasn’t alone in his criticism:
Filemon Vela, a Texas Democrat, said it was “astonishing” that the “radical left continues to promote a Democratic death wish, and sees no problem relegating our party to the permanent minority”.
Information on where to watch the address here.
–Dana
Hello.
Dana (5395f9) — 3/1/2022 @ 4:40 pmwar is terrible, except when it can be used as a distraction
demented joe won’t let this crisis go to waste
JF (e1156d) — 3/1/2022 @ 5:01 pmI sure hope not. He needs to continue raising aid for Ukraine and to ramp up the sanctions against Andropov’s bumboy. He shouldn’t say we’ve done enough, because we haven’t. We need to starve the beast and help the Ukrainians send it slinking back to its hole.
nk (1d9030) — 3/1/2022 @ 5:06 pmBut in any event, I am not going to watch. I’ll count on you, comrades, to tell me what he said.
nk (1d9030) — 3/1/2022 @ 5:08 pmthe one thing worse than russia lighting up ukraine is us getting drawn deeper into this war
keep ratcheting things up and eventually we’ll be sending our men over
JF (e1156d) — 3/1/2022 @ 5:22 pmI, for one, am glad that Donald Trump is not delivering the GOP response.
Kevin M (38e250) — 3/1/2022 @ 5:43 pmkeep ratcheting things up and eventually we’ll be sending our men over
I’m in favor of doing whatever it takes to avoid dragging this out for another 3 decades. We should have turned Patton loose in ’45.
Kevin M (38e250) — 3/1/2022 @ 5:45 pm@7 there’s probably a recruiting office nearby
JF (e1156d) — 3/1/2022 @ 5:53 pmBest coverage: CSPAN; Hot floor mike picking up pearls of wisdom from America’s elected ruling class.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/1/2022 @ 6:01 pmGet out your cards, time to play Biden Bingo.
Paul Montagu (5de684) — 3/1/2022 @ 6:04 pmFashion tip to Vice President Kamala Harris; most the world believes you’re a sh-t. So dressing like it this evening doesn’t help.
“Did you ever get the feeling the world was a tuxedo and you were a pair of brown shoes?” – George Gobel
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/1/2022 @ 6:07 pmAmazing how the Democrats look so comfortable without their masks. How long before Biden claims victory over COVID?
Still amazing how the science and the political science came together right before the SOTU to announce the country can now be mask-free. All hail Science! All hail Biden!
Hoi Polloi (998b37) — 3/1/2022 @ 6:08 pmThat didn’t take long. First sentence!
Hoi Polloi (998b37) — 3/1/2022 @ 6:09 pmThe standing ovation is great but Ukraine would probably appreciate ammo and some more rockets.
Hoi Polloi (998b37) — 3/1/2022 @ 6:11 pm@14. So far, the state of their union.
Not ours.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/1/2022 @ 6:18 pmUsing strategic reserves? Shocker.
Hoi Polloi (998b37) — 3/1/2022 @ 6:19 pmLest we forget:
“Because Putin knows if I am President of the United States, his days of tyranny and trying to intimidate the United States and those in Eastern Europe are over. I’m going to stand up to him. He’s a bully…” – Joe Biden.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/1/2022 @ 6:20 pmanother red line is drawn
JF (e1156d) — 3/1/2022 @ 6:21 pmMore about his dad. I forget – was he the coal miner? Or the auto salesman?
When will Biden start challenging Republicans to pushup contests?
Hoi Polloi (998b37) — 3/1/2022 @ 6:22 pmIf you take credit for the economic growth, take credit for the inflation.
Hoi Polloi (998b37) — 3/1/2022 @ 6:23 pmNeither party cares about the middle class.
Hoi Polloi (998b37) — 3/1/2022 @ 6:24 pmMore EVs and charging stations? Great! But wait…what will we use to generate that electricity? Natural gas? And where will we get all the rare earth metals for the batteries? I’m sure it won’t be Congo or China, right?
Hoi Polloi (998b37) — 3/1/2022 @ 6:27 pmEnough of the Scranton crap; Joe Biden was born on Nov. 20, 1942- 80 years ago this coming November.
His father, Joseph Biden Sr., was a car dealership manager but after a financial downturn in Scranton, struggled to find work. The Bidens moved out of their home in the city and moved in with the former vice president’s maternal grandparents. Joe Sr. struggled to find work and at one point, according to the Washington Post, was commuting to Wilmington to clean boilers.
The Bidens left Pennsylvania when “Joey” was in the fourth grade, and moved to Claymont, Delaware when he was 10 years old, Joe Biden told the Associated Press.
Joe Biden has lived in Delaware since 1953.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/1/2022 @ 6:31 pmIf there was a Patterico bingo card, one of the boxes would be “DC criticizing Pelosi’s or Harris’ looks”.
Paul Montagu (5de684) — 3/1/2022 @ 6:35 pmFree childcare? What can go wrong?
Hoi Polloi (998b37) — 3/1/2022 @ 6:38 pmFree pre-k?
Hoi Polloi (998b37) — 3/1/2022 @ 6:38 pmHere comes the BS – under 400K; no new taxes. YOU LIE
Hoi Polloi (998b37) — 3/1/2022 @ 6:38 pmYou want corporations and the rich to pay their fair share. You first. Outlaw any stock investment or trading in Congress. Outlaw any former Congressmen from working for a private firm for at least ten years after retirement or they go to jail.
Then go tell Apple to bring their supply chain back to the US and tax their large war chest of US dollars.
Hoi Polloi (998b37) — 3/1/2022 @ 6:40 pm@24. Meh. Should be. You gotta admit, it’s a pretty hideous outfit to project for a global television appearance, Paul- she looks like a turd afloat in a birdbath -but at least it is not a pantsuit. The only phrase missing from that Twitter bingo card is: ‘I really mean it’ …
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/1/2022 @ 6:40 pmJoe Biden has lived in Delaware since 1953.
The same year that Dianne Feinstein was dating the football captain and chairing the Young Democrats at Stanford.
JVW (ee64e4) — 3/1/2022 @ 6:41 pm@25/26- Free arms to Ukraine, too.
Spending other people’s money. When is somebody going to demand these clowns reveal the cost and who is to pay for it??? When do they issue the Ukranian Freedom Fighter War Bonds?
He’s descending into a campaign speech and dipping into whisper mode.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/1/2022 @ 6:45 pm@30. JVW, LOL. The Confluence of Incompetence. It rarely occurs this steep and this deep. At the very moment he is talking the dawn is breaking and the Russians are shelling Kyiv with artillery and missiles financed by Russian oil bought by the U.S.A.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/1/2022 @ 6:48 pmMore tests to order???
Better idea, Joe: ‘We The People’ order you to take a cognitive test.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/1/2022 @ 6:49 pmsurely he’ll s
JF (e1156d) — 3/1/2022 @ 6:51 pmsurely he’ll say something about the border mess
can’t wait
JF (e1156d) — 3/1/2022 @ 6:52 pmReally spiking the football on COVID now. Hey Joe, you and Democrats closed schools everywhere. Republicans have been clamoring to have them open for a while now, because science. Please don’t think anyone believes you.
Hoi Polloi (998b37) — 3/1/2022 @ 6:52 pmHire more police? Say hello to your left flank. They want to defund the police. Fact.
Hoi Polloi (998b37) — 3/1/2022 @ 6:53 pmKamala clearly not liking his police talk.
Hoi Polloi (998b37) — 3/1/2022 @ 6:53 pmJoe, Joe, Joe.
Breyer WAS thanked– with a lifetime job and a paycheck. A ‘capitalist’ would know that.
‘That’s what the money is for!!!” – Don Draper [Jon Hamm] ‘Mad Men’ AMC TV
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/1/2022 @ 6:59 pmIt’s time we Ban-roll-on, too, right Joe?! Stick w/that stick of Old Spice!
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/1/2022 @ 7:04 pm
JF (e1156d) — 3/1/2022 @ 7:04 pmSOTUSTFUSo many of our politicians look constipated on camera.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/1/2022 @ 7:09 pmNot that you could tell from Pelosi’s and Harris’s pasted-on smiles, but Biden farted.
Paul Montagu (5de684) — 3/1/2022 @ 7:13 pm@43. The whole 70 minutes was an exercise in breaking wind, Paul; besides, why else do you think Kamala wore brown?!
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/1/2022 @ 7:15 pmAre we allowed to hold Biden accountable if he hasn’t cured cancer by 2024?
Hoi Polloi (998b37) — 3/1/2022 @ 7:21 pmWhen asked in a CNN interview earlier today what President Biden should say in his State of the Union speech this evening, Ukraine President Zelenskyy’s responded: “Something useful.”
Mr. Zelenskyy has been disappointed.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/1/2022 @ 7:22 pmBiden dutifully ignored China for the most part. Talk about the Uighurs? Tibet? Big brother social media monitoring? China using slave labor? Unfair economic practices? Cyber warfare against the US? Menacing Taiwan? Staking claim to the international waters in the South China Sea?
Meh. It’s all good. Democrats and China have a long fruitful and lucrative (for the Democrats) relationship. Seems to be working out well for Beijing.
Hoi Polloi (998b37) — 3/1/2022 @ 7:36 pmThere are a lot of dementia patients out there who could get short term benefits from the work of Biden’s medical staff.
steveg (e81d76) — 3/1/2022 @ 8:26 pmI’ve noticed though that he dips into hiding before a big speech and after, so the meds given must be severe
Haven’t you figured out corporate establishment democrats and the leftist base of the party feel the same way about each other as trumpsters and never trumpers feel about each other in the republican party. Henry the thief cuellar and texas’es AOC jessica cisneros are going at each other right now in the primary in texas district 28.
asset (7ecb93) — 3/1/2022 @ 10:23 pm“When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men in a society, over the course of time they create for themselves a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that glorifies it.”
mg (8cbc69) — 3/2/2022 @ 2:57 am― Frédéric Bastiat
Did Fauci give the Chicoms rebuttal? or was it the French kisser?
mg (8cbc69) — 3/2/2022 @ 2:59 amI hung for about 20min to see how he addressed Putin and the invasion. The domestic spin was just going to be too much. I figured reading one or two 5min synopses would be a better use of time. It’s easy to kitchen-sink Biden…..crime is up, immigration problems persist, inflation rages, supply chains are throttled, Covid lingers, China looms, Afghanistan fades, and Joe desperately tries to spend. As always, there’s no simple solutions….so a politician can at best empathize, throw some blame, rehash stalled plans, and pretend that persuasion is just around the corner.
Biden went all-in on an aggressive agenda when the Congress is hopelessly divided, instead of trying to pick off some modest proposals that could have won over the Manchin’s, Collins’, Murkowski’s, and Romney’s….and maybe fostered some good will. Alas, went for the jugular and lost. Now we have to rally behind him on Ukraine, support aggressive sanctions, support getting weapons to the Ukrainians, holding the NATO line, and hoping Putin is not as unhinged and desperate as his nuclear missives suggest.
It wasn’t encouraging when Joe said he stood with the “Iranian” people. Congress tried to cheer but it’s though he’s trying, it’s like watching a ballplayer past his prime desperately trying to catch up to that fastball. We need better people. Trump ain’t the answer. Demand new and better voices.
AJ_Liberty (3cb02f) — 3/2/2022 @ 3:56 amI’m assuming you mean Navin Gruesome, but that could be Justin castrudeau or Emmanuel milfcron.
urbanleftbehind (c6f17b) — 3/2/2022 @ 4:37 amSupport DeSantis then. He’s got the experience and been ahead of the curve the whole time.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 3/2/2022 @ 5:12 amI was a little disappointed that DeSantis didn’t even mention Ukraine or Putin at CPAC, but maybe beggars can’t be choosers. He has time to grow into the role and he has to understandably thread the Trump loyalty gauntlet. His fixation on “Brandon humor” gets tedious after a point and I didn’t generally agree with his Covid strategy, though he’s not my governor. At this point, any opposition to Trump is appreciated…and other than Haley….there’s no one obviously better that resonates with the current GOP.
AJ_Liberty (ec7f74) — 3/2/2022 @ 7:12 amThe Iowa chicks + their neighbor over in SD can wrestle each other for the VP slot. I think Ernst was given short shrift in 2016 because of the Hogan’s Heroes flavor of a Drumpf-Ernst ticket
urbanleftbehind (c6f17b) — 3/2/2022 @ 7:49 amWhere do you think a lot of the yachts are docked, AJ?
urbanleftbehind (c6f17b) — 3/2/2022 @ 7:50 amAdderall is a powerful drug. SCROTUS Squinty McStumblebum’s dilated pupils and Mel Tillis-styled stutter give the game away.
Always a week behind doing what Europe has already done.
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 3/2/2022 @ 8:09 amTalkin’ about his de-de-de-degeneration…
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 3/2/2022 @ 8:10 amOn Ukraine, The Russians are holding the Ukrainian forces in the north by f-ing around about Kyiv etc.
Meanwhile, in the south, where they’ve taken and held territory before, the Russians have connected all the dots to the soviet supported… ahem Russian supported, Russian speaking enclave along the Moldovan border. The name of this area is unpronouncable for westerners, but its now all linked.
Its been my opinion that this is the area Russia wanted all along and once consolidated, will either offer Ukraine a deal based on Russia holding this territory, or they will simply withdraw in the north and stay in the south.
In order to have sanctions lifted, Ukraine would have to agree to a deal. The Ukrainians do not seem willing to do that at this point because of the general russian bungling about in the north.
Putin could force Ukraine to concede, but that might leave sanctions in place for some time.
Still sure the end game is to secure the south, but not sure how Putin gets there without the use of archtypal russian military brute force. Military critics and pundits have said Putin tried to do a western style invasion in the north and encircle Kiev, for concession, but his northern army failed logistics 101, continuously leaves armor without infantry protection.
steveg (e81d76) — 3/2/2022 @ 8:53 amIn defense of Russia, the idea was always to fix Ukraine resources in the north, prevent NATO weapons and resupply into the south, keep the south and if they fulfill that objective, they win ugly
I see that the Nazi Duo, MTG and Bob-ert,
nk (1d9030) — 3/2/2022 @ 9:49 amheckledthought that they had the floor. In the bar’s backroom.steveg (e81d76) — 3/2/2022 @ 8:53 am
Not unpronounceable. Just hard to remember. Transnistria. The forgotten cemetery or murder site during World War II.
Sammy Finkelman (46ec7d) — 3/2/2022 @ 10:03 am@61 nobody wants to hear about our 13 dead in afghanistan when you can get the beau story for the 17 billionth time instead
the 81 million in a nutshell
JF (e1156d) — 3/2/2022 @ 10:07 amRel Biden Bingo, https://twitter.com/ToxicPunisher72/status/1498664244715343876
I don’t think I paid attention to every word, but only about half of these things happened.
He didn’t say “the Big lie” didn’t day he was a Catholic, didn’t attack Manchin or Sinema or Trump, mentions his Supreme Court nominee, but not her race or gender, didn’t blame the bad economy on Russia sanctions, but said sanctions would be done so as not to hurt us, didn’t say “C’mon Man”, didn’t say anything about Jan 6 – didn’t even mention reform of the Electoral Count Act but only other proposed election legislation, didn’t say “here’s the deal” and didn’t cough.
I can’t say if he stared into the crowd, but I think he did make a few pauses – usually when applause came, not sure he mentioned the Build Back better bill – he barely hinted at college cost or climate provisions, he did insult or threaten Putin – and his associates – with financial penalties, he didn’t whisper into the mike, but at the end he spoke louder for some sentences – he’s no orator, he wasn’t able to modulate his voice and I don’t know if he is in a condition to carry a tune, didn;t self applaud job creation but did self applaud cutting the deficit in half, which may be because the BBB bill didn’t pass and anyway is compared with the super high deficit of last fiscal year, don;t think his stumbles add up to a dementia moment, although he once said “America” when he meant Delaware – later in the speech he would correct his misstatements, he did tell a (supposedly true) story from his past (about what his father told him), he bragged about Covid – also said that now people could order some more free Covid tests – I think they finally all got delivered, and said doctors etc were working hard, and never mentioned that some therapeutics had stopped working, you did get variations on struggle for democracy and aid to Ukraine (I’m not sure how much he mentioned help_ he did say something about green energy in the sense that he said it would be cheaper – save American $500 a year – I think that’s what he meant, and he did mention unity.
Sammy Finkelman (46ec7d) — 3/2/2022 @ 10:33 amBiden wws somwewhat careful about Beau – he said he didn’t know for sure that Beau got his cancer from a fire, in Iraq or maybe in Kosovo. But I don’t know that that’s even a remotely plausible hypothesis. The Republican Congresswomen could have shouted about that, but they don’t know anything.
Sammy Finkelman (46ec7d) — 3/2/2022 @ 10:36 amThe sad spectacle of Congress critters patting each other on their backs, joking, taking selfies at the SOTU gave an indication of how serious-minded these people are about this important event hosted by the So-Called Ruler Of The United States (SCROTUS).
And then there’s this… https://twitter.com/Lukewearechange/status/1498863430966599689?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1498863430966599689%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ace.mu.nu%2F
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 3/2/2022 @ 10:43 am@63. He touched on his daddy, dead Beau and the prideful strength of recovering addicts [guess who but not by name] and Scranton, PA– where he has not lived for nearly 70 years.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/2/2022 @ 11:11 amOf that triumvirate, she’s least harm, which is sad, Colonel.
urbanleftbehind (c6f17b) — 3/2/2022 @ 11:13 am@66. Roll her old chassis into any Pep Boys where the first move to fix that kind of shimmy is with a lug wrench.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/2/2022 @ 11:14 amWhat Biden said about economics was incoherent, but could sound as if it made sense to anyone who wasn’t capable of following it because he acted like people were supposed to understand it.
He said Insulin costs about $10 a vial to make but can sell for 30 times the price, and let’s cap the cost at $35 a month.
Now wait: $10 x 30 days = $300. How can it be sold for $35 without the pharmaceutical company stopping its manufacture? I suppose he means cap the co-pay or the charge to n uninsured individual..
And he said:
Does this make any sense? How do you “lower costs?”
Without lowering wages or the number of people employed? You could lower the number employed to do anything and increase the number and value of things made.
Sammy Finkelman (46ec7d) — 3/2/2022 @ 11:16 amThis was good:
Of course what was keeping hat from happening was government regulation.
This is an initiative – still in the works – to get rid of bureaucratic regulations, combined with a plan to give it away free, like the masks and some tests.
Sammy Finkelman (46ec7d) — 3/2/2022 @ 11:19 amJoe Biden remembered an embarrassing moment: When he told someone in a wheelchair in Missouri to stand up
So when he introduced the Ukrainian ambassador to the United States, he said:
And the camera (on NBC) showed the ambassador standing.
Later he told Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer to stand. He had some difficulty, or didn’t want to, and only got up part way,
Sammy Finkelman (46ec7d) — 3/2/2022 @ 11:29 amI left out – the Covid vaccines are also free at the point of sale (they cost the U.S. government $29 I think or maybe an insurance company)
So he’d do it also with the therapeutic and make it available right away when someone got a positive test result in a pharmacy – no delay and no further prescriotion needed
Sammy Finkelman (46ec7d) — 3/2/2022 @ 11:37 amThe New York Times did not correct obvious errors: (good(
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/01/us/politics/biden-sotu-transcript.html
Sammy Finkelman (46ec7d) — 3/2/2022 @ 11:50 amIsrael who we have sent billions in aid refuses to sell arms to israel. (lindsay graham) Have told biden american can’t send iron dome missile batteries to ukraine so they can keep good relations with putin!
asset (ffbc8e) — 3/2/2022 @ 12:35 pmPresident Biden on Tuesday called on Congress to pass legislation to aid veterans exposed to toxins while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan — a problem he said leads to cancers “that would put them in a flag-draped coffin.” He was then interrupted by Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), who yelled, “You put them there. Thirteen of them!”
Boebert appeared to be referencing the 13 troops killed in a suicide attack last year during the final days of the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“One of those soldiers was my son, Major Beau Biden,” the president continued.
Biden has, for years, expressed that his son’s death might have been caused by exposure to toxins while he served in Iraq and Kosovo. Beau Biden was an officer in the Army National Guard.
Democrats immediately booed Boebert, and one of them shouted, “Kick her out!” Neither Boebert nor the White House responded to messages from The Washington Post following the incident.
The outburst was not the only tense moment of the night. Some in the chamber — including Boebert and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) — seemed to mock the president as he went on with his speech. Both laughed at some lines, uttered retorts and live-tweeted the event.
“Here’s another way to fight inflation,” Boebert wrote on Twitter. “Resign.” … “Joe Biden wants us to tackle ‘mental health.’ I agree. We must start with the presidency,” Greene wrote.
By the end of the address, Boebert tweeted, “When Biden said flag draped coffins I couldn’t stay silent. I told him directly he did it. He put 13 in there. Our heroic servicemen and women deserve so much better.” – source, WAPO.com
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/2/2022 @ 12:53 pmKeying your own car? Slashing your own tires? Haha–you mean like Professor Kerri Dunn did back in 2004 at Claremont-McKenna College? Still my favorite “hate crime” hoax ever.
Bill Serra (4ee4d2) — 3/2/2022 @ 1:24 pmPS: She still has a teaching job in academia at John Jay College. These people are shameless.
No doubt the families of the 13 dead U.S. service men and women he got killed in his disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal debacle were deeply moved by Joe’s thirteen millionth mention of one dead Beau Biden– who died not in combat on foreign soil, but in his hospital bed in Philadelphia as a civilian.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/2/2022 @ 1:38 pm“Go get him”
mg (8cbc69) — 3/2/2022 @ 2:51 pmHere comes Kamalalala
U.S. closes embassy in Belarus due to ‘security and safety issues’ The State Department has closed the U.S. embassy in Minsk, Belarus, and is allowing non-essential staff at the U.S. embassy in Russia to leave due to the war in Ukraine.
That’s three United States embassies shuttered in six months– with a fourth in Moscow on deck… and Taiwan warming up in the bull pen.
Attaboy, Joe!
______
“Unity,” Joe?
Did Europe renege on promised fighter jets to Ukraine?
Yes and no, but at the least they’ve made the modern version of Lend-Lease more complicated. The heartwarming story of European support for Ukraine’s air force captured imaginations everywhere but in Russia and Belarus, as dozens of military fighter jets got offered for Ukraine’s defense. Pilots came to NATO countries to pick up their rentals last night:… Today, however, Politico’s Paul McCleary reported that the transfers had been halted (via Twitchy). Other reports corroborated McCleary, saying that the agreements were “collapsing”…
https://hotair.com/ed-morrissey/2022/03/01/did-europe-renege-on-promised-fighter-jets-to-ukraine-n452091
Paper jockeys vs. fighter jockeys.
Go get’em, Joe!
Idiot.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/2/2022 @ 3:08 pmhttps://citizenfreepress.com/breaking/supercut-of-biden-blunders/
mg (8cbc69) — 3/2/2022 @ 3:13 pmPraying for the “Big Guy”.
“Where do you think a lot of the yachts are docked, AJ?”
Yeah likely off of Florida but Oligarchs don’t vote or finance elections….while DeSantis gets to work on his tough-guy status. Other than Trump’s sort of weird affinity, I’m not sure why Republicans have any love for Putin. The Mueller investigation created some bizarre Stockholm Syndrome I think.
AJ_Liberty (ec7f74) — 3/2/2022 @ 3:28 pmHere’s a dangerous protester in St. Petersburg. Don’t let her age fool you, she’s got a mean streak a mile wide.
Paul Montagu (5de684) — 3/2/2022 @ 3:39 pmWay back at #66, are you sure Nancy isn’t practicing a garrote move?
urbanleftbehind (c6f17b) — 3/2/2022 @ 3:43 pmHe beat Trump.
nk (1d9030) — 3/2/2022 @ 4:51 pmMaldives, Seychelles, Montenegro and anywhere in the Indian ocean would be my guess.
mg (8cbc69) — 3/2/2022 @ 6:50 pmPrediction: With all the arms that Ukraine is getting, I expect them to try to carry the fight to Belarus or Russia proper. A strike against an airbase or a staging area; something like that. Then we get to see what the next rung looks like.
Kevin M (38e250) — 3/2/2022 @ 6:55 pm@87. Prediction: oil nears $125 bbl., by Friday.
The markets never sleep:
Brent Crude [as of March 3] – $116.90 +3.38%
https://oilprice.com/oil-price-charts/#Brent-Crude
Attaboy, Joe!
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/2/2022 @ 7:04 pmThis Day In History: March 2: irony—- Vladimir Putin pulls a George Washington on Kyiv:
March 2, 1776: The Siege Of Boston
‘In advance of the Continental Army’s occupation of Dorchester Heights, Massachusetts, General George Washington orders American artillery forces to begin bombarding Boston from their positions at Lechmere Point, northwest of the city center, on this day in 1776.
After two straight days of bombardment, American Brigadier General John Thomas slipped 2,000 troops, cannons and artillery into position just south of Boston at Dorchester Heights. The 56 cannon involved in the move were those taken at Ticonderoga, New York, by Lieutenant Colonel Benedict Arnold and Ethan Allen with his Green Mountain Boys, which had then been transported to Boston by Colonel of Artillery Henry Knox the previous winter.
By March 5, 1776, the Continental Army had artillery troops in position around Boston, including the elevated position at Dorchester Heights, overlooking the city. British General William Howe realized Boston was indefensible to the American positions and decided, on March 7, 1776, to leave the city. Ten days later, on March 17, 1776, the eight-year British occupation of Boston ended when British troops evacuated the city and sailed to the safety of Halifax, Nova Scotia.
The victory at Boston resulted in John Thomas’ promotion to major general; soon after, he was assigned to replace General Richard Montgomery, who was killed in action as he and Benedict Arnold attempted to take Quebec. Thomas arrived at Quebec on May 1 and soon lost his own life. Although a physician by profession, he died of smallpox on June 2, as the Patriots retreated up the Richelieu River from their failed siege of the city.’
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-siege-of-boston
History rhymes.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/2/2022 @ 7:18 pmHow did the Molotov cocktail get its name? It was from “that” Molotov:
nk (1d9030) — 3/2/2022 @ 8:17 pmI claim dibs on “Putin’s putaines” for ostensibly American comrades who are siding with Putin because they don’t like Biden.
nk (1d9030) — 3/2/2022 @ 8:20 pmThe phrase “Putin’s putaines” that is. I am not going to keep the Moscow ones from them.
nk (1d9030) — 3/2/2022 @ 8:24 pmThe Future of Cooperation in Space May Permanently Alter Because of Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine
‘Since the mid-1970s the rivalry that drove the Cold War has evolved into one of cooperation between the two most significant nations working in outer space. The Soviet Union and its successor, the Russian Federation, have worked with NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) on a series of joint missions, and the construction and operation of the International Space Station (ISS).
In the last month, we learned that the planned end date for ISS was going to be sometime in January 2031. But over the last two days, the messaging from both NASA and Roscosmos has gone from continued cooperation to one fraught with Russian warnings of consequences for any escalation of sanctions that could affect that country’s space program.
Yesterday, Dmitry Rogozin, who heads up Russia’s space agency posted on Twitter a warning that sanctions imposed because of the war in Ukraine could lead to serious space implications. He turned the deorbiting of ISS in these new circumstances into some kind of weapon with these remarks.
“If you block cooperation with us, who will save the ISS from an uncontrolled deorbit and fall into the United States or Europe? There is also the option of dropping a 500-ton structure to India and China. Do you want to threaten them with such a prospect?”
In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the United States announced that economic sanctions imposed would degrade Roscosmos ability to support its space ambitions from launch vehicles to cooperation on the development of new science and human flight missions. The European Union and its space agency, ESA, is likely to go along with US export control measures, and although NASA stated that they didn’t expect civil space cooperation to be impacted by the events in Ukraine, the leader of Roscosmos pointedly made a threat with his statement about dropping the ISS on countries currently imposing sanctions on Russia.
He stated that the ISS doesn’t fly over Russia’s landmass so if deorbited it poses no threat. But it does fly over the US, Europe, China, and India. It is not a friendly statement to make when the Roscosmos leader states, “So all the risks are yours. Are you ready for them?” He continues this line of reasoning regarding countries that could be on the receiving end of a 500-ton object coming down upon them stating, “do you want to threaten them with such a prospect?”
For ESA, the upcoming ExoMars mission, the deployment of the Rosalind Franklin rover on the surface of the Red Planet, expected to launch between September 20th and October 1st this year, could be jeopardized. It was to be launched on a Russian rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The cooperation with Russian scientists and those at ESA has been extensive. But will science transcend geopolitics and war?
Arianespace may also be impacted since it has been using Russia’s Soyuz vehicle for some of its missions launched out of French Guiana. Arianespace has been working on joint ventures with Roscosmos to develop new launchers and satellites.
All of the cooperation gained in the ending of the Cold War may vanish within a short time with human exploration of outer space an early victim. Instead, the fallout with NASA and ESA may see Roscosmos move to closer cooperation with China’s space agency. Since 2017 the Russians and China have had an agreement to develop joint space-based projects. China’s muted response to the invasion of Ukraine with news announcers describing Russia’s “legitimate” concerns about NATO expansion as justification for Russia’s acts, suggests we are coming to the end of what was once a very promising joint effort in outer space. But Rogozin’s remarks threatening an uncontrolled deorbit of the ISS are unconscionable.’
https://www.21stcentech.com/future-cooperation-space-altered-russian-military-aggression-ukraine/
“Now, if you feel – that you can’t work with us; then, I’ll relieve you of the responsibility.” – Ross Duellan [Steve Ihnat] ‘Countdown!’ 1967
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/2/2022 @ 8:53 pm141 countries vote to condemn Russia at UN
141 countries voted in favor of a UN General Assembly resolution “deploring” Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and demanding the immediate and complete withdrawal of all Russian forces from Ukrainian territory.
The resolution is non-binding, but reflects Russia’s historic isolation on the world stage just one week into its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. Four countries joined Russia in voting against the resolution — Belarus, North Korea, Eritrea and Syria — while 35 abstained.
https://news.yahoo.com/141-countries-vote-condemn-russia-171706406.html
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/2/2022 @ 9:27 pmChina asked Russia to delay Ukraine war until after Olympics: report
China urged Russia to delay the invasion of Ukraine until the conclusion of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, it was revealed on Wednesday.
Senior Chinese officials made the request in early February after Washington informed Beijing of the Russian troop build-up in the hopes communist leaders would pressure their ally to stand down, a source confirmed to Reuters. Russia waged war with Ukraine four days after the Olympics ended, and Russian President Vladimir Putin escalated his military advance and rhetoric in the hours after the closing ceremony ended.
https://nypost.com/2022/03/02/china-asked-russia-to-delay-ukraine-war-until-after-olympics/
If the above is true, concerns regarding conflict over U.S. commitments to defend Taiwan are certainly heightened. Consider the possibility of Russian submarines secretly running silent and deep as interference for Xi as he ‘liberates’ Taiwan back to China next year.
Welcome to “The New World Order,” kids, as Ukraine is absorbed back in to into Mother Russia and you play on your plethora of Chinese gadgets. They’ve publicly suggested it was dawning– and old Squinty McStumblebum is in charge. Forget about Ukraine; might want to focus on a chance of a kinetic conflict with China… and stock up on soda crackers, bottled water—- and spam:
New world order: Russia and China’s plans take shape
‘America’s defeat in Afghanistan, symbolized by the chaotic withdrawal from Kabul in the northern summer of 2021, has given the Russians hope that the US-led world order is crumbling.
Fyodor Lukyanov, [a Russian foreign policy thinker] argues that the fall of Kabul to the Taliban was “no less historical and symbolic than the fall of the Berlin Wall”. Influential Chinese academics are thinking along similar lines. Yan Xuetong, dean of the school of international relations at Tsinghua University in Beijing (Xi’s alma mater), writes that “China believes that its rise to great-power status entitles it to a new role in world affairs – one that cannot be reconciled with unquestioned US dominance”.
Like Lukyanov, Yan believes that “the US-led world order is fading away … In its place will come a multipolar order.” President Xi himself has put it even more succinctly with his often repeated claim that “the East is rising and the West is declining”.’
https://www.afr.com/world/europe/russia-and-china-s-plans-for-a-new-world-order-20220124-p59qro
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” – Indiana Jones [Harrison Ford] “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’ 2008
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/3/2022 @ 12:09 amhttps://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/20/opinion/nixon-china.html
Sammy Finkelman (46ec7d) — 3/3/2022 @ 6:15 amI think the strength of the resistance to the invasion surprised China.
Sammy Finkelman (46ec7d) — 3/3/2022 @ 6:17 amA hackers group called Anonymous claims to have disabled Russia’s space agency (but wait a second could this could be actually Russia) and with it communication with their spy satellites but the Russian space agency says they are still in control of their spy satellites. Cutting access to their spy satelllites is not what the U.S. would want to do now.
https://www.the-sun.com/tech/4803987/anonymous-russia-space-agency-roscosmos
Sammy Finkelman (46ec7d) — 3/3/2022 @ 6:24 amIf you include President Biden’s flub where he said Iranians instead of Ukrainians this would continue the mention of Iran in every State of the Union message since the year 2000. I don’t know if whoever compiled it was iclding the speeches delivered by a new president in place of a State of the Union speech in 2001, 2009, 217 and 2021.
Meanwhile, Biden’s policy, at least till Feb 24, was heading toward appeasement of Iran, or at any rate, lifting a lot of sanctions.
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2022/03/perfidy-in-vienna-or-the-madness-of-slow-joe.php
This incorporates an entire series of Twitter messages by Gabriel Noronha.
One questionable assumption: hat Russua opposes nuclear proliferation.
Sammy Finkelman (46ec7d) — 3/3/2022 @ 7:04 amThis comes from writing things too quickly and not thinking things through:
Biden in the State of the Unon messageL:
Close to a million people is the number of people whose death was attributed to Covid.
It’s not the number of survivors from the same household.
That could be more than one, and it could also be none.
https://www.prb.org/resources/u-s-household-composition-shifts-as-the-population-grows-older-more-young-adults-live-with-parents/
Sammy Finkelman (46ec7d) — 3/3/2022 @ 7:33 amPosted on December 18, 2019:
https://www.factcheck.org/2019/12/biden-exaggerates-science-on-burn-pits-and-brain-cancer
Now those burn pits would be similar to the situation at or near Ground Zero aftr September 11, 211, and I don’t recall this type of disease being attributed to being at or near the World Trade Center site in the months after the attacks. It was more like lung diseases. But Joe Biden said on November 11, 2019:
It was anyway not the firemen, who died, but the people working on the recovery, who were more than just firemen.
And that doesn’t even get into the question of how close Beau Biden was to any of these burn pits, and for how long.
More from FactCheck.org in 2019:
Sammy Finkelman (46ec7d) — 3/3/2022 @ 7:50 amWas the locus classicus od the State of the Union bingo card here?
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2022/03/your-state-of-the-union-bingo-card.php
Sammy Finkelman (46ec7d) — 3/3/2022 @ 8:08 amCathy Young has a good piece on “Putin’s Bogus Blame-NATO Excuse”.
Also, in in 2007, a year when Putin was named Person of the Year by TIME, the Russian dictator was just fine with Ukrainian independence.
Paul Montagu (5de684) — 3/3/2022 @ 8:21 am@104. Her dismissal of the encirclement perception is simplistic, if not naive. If you read the whole piece, her omission of the Cuban Missile Crisis is glaring. Perhaps it’s because the Russian born writer came into the world in 1963– a year after the ‘Monroe Doctrine’ was in part, used as rationale to excise Russian missiles 90 miles off the U.S. mainland- when the ‘tension’ was very, very real.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/3/2022 @ 8:49 amThere is no “encirclement”. Any Putinista who posits that nonsense isn’t being honest.
Paul Montagu (5de684) — 3/3/2022 @ 8:53 amSatellite image spots yacht linked to Putin out of reach of sanctions
‘As Europe and the U.S. bear down with a raft of aggressive sanctions targeting Russian President Vladimir Putin, the super yacht he is believed to own has found safe harbor in a highly militarized port in Russian territorial waters. In new satellite imagery obtained by CBS News, the yacht can be seen docked in a port in Kaliningrad, near Russia’s nuclear weapons operations.
Experts say Putin’s luxury vessel has become a symbol not only of his vast hidden wealth, but also of how challenging that money has been to find.
“He’s a KGB agent, so he’s crafty. He knows how to hide when he needs to,” said John Smith, former director of the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, which administers and enforces all foreign sanctions.
Data from MarineTraffic, a global intelligence group, shows Putin’s alleged yacht, the Graceful, left Germany two weeks before the invasion of Ukraine–[another intel tipoff missed?!] Putin’s government salary is said to be about $140,000, but that doesn’t begin to explain the mansions, million-dollar watch collection and over-the-top yacht. “It would be fair to say he’s among the richest men in the world,” Smith said. Though he sells himself as a man of the people, his wealth is estimated to be more than $100 billion.’ – CBSNews.com
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/3/2022 @ 8:56 amDCSCA and John Mearsheimer would get along great.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/3/2022 @ 9:00 am@106. That wholly depends on your POV. It’s an argument made repeatedly in good faith from the West even as NATO membership expanded- and NATO was created to check Soviet expansion in the first place. But if you see it from the other side, know their history and add the suspicions, the ‘inferiority complex’ and such into the mix and include the patrolling subs in the Arctic along with the ‘encircling’ missiles targeting them from over the North Pole, you can see where the sense of ‘encirclement’ comes from.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/3/2022 @ 9:07 am@108. Better w/Dr. Kissinger:
Henry Kissinger on Ukraine
Subject: How the Ukraine crisis ends
(Kissinger wrote it 8 years ago).
‘People familiar with the region will know that not all of them will be palatable to all parties. The test is not absolute satisfaction but balanced dissatisfaction. If some solution based on these or comparable elements is not achieved, the drift toward confrontation will accelerate. The time for that will come soon enough.’ – Henry Kissinger
https://cnnbc.com/henry-kissinger-on-ukraine
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/3/2022 @ 9:13 amU.S. delivered hundreds of Stinger anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine this week, sources say
‘The U.S. has delivered hundreds of Stinger anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine for the first time over the last few days, including over 200 on Monday, according to a US official and a congressional source briefed on the matter.
Earlier this year the US gave the green light to Baltic countries including Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia to send American-made weaponry that they have to Ukraine, including Stingers. But until now the Biden administration had held off on the US providing the Stingers directly to Ukraine, while they have provided other lethal weaponry.’ – source, CNN.com
“Free Launch” —- Stinger missiles cost roughly $40,000 EACH.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/3/2022 @ 9:27 amMore sanctions:
Kevin M (38e250) — 3/3/2022 @ 9:41 amFIDE suspends Russia. No more chess in the nation that dominates chess.
Stinger missiles cost roughly $40,000 EACH.
New ones do. These are “new old stock.”
Kevin M (38e250) — 3/3/2022 @ 9:50 am124.
Yes, Putin was obviously lying any time he mentioned NATO. Putin was perhaps a little bit scared of NATO in 2014, but thought he had gotten the Obama Administration and others more scared – they didn’t send many weapons to Ukraine because at the end of an escalation lies nuclear war, but Putin was scared and didn’t do anything besides annexing Ctimea, where he had a naval base, and starting trouble in the eastern portion of Ukraine (probably, so that in case things changed, he had a small spark going that he could enlarge into a big flame.)
What probably changed his mind was President Biden’s extreme aversion to war, any size war involvng American troops, as exemplified in the way he abandoned Afghanistan. The Ukraine crisis timetable fits well with a decision by Putin taken in the immediate aftermath of August, 2021.
On the advice of political consultant Paul Manafort, who assumed Yanukovyych was living in a place where public opinion mattered, and who didn’t take account of Russian pressure on Yanukovych, Manafort thought Yanukovyych was free to act.
Putin later assumed that Manafort could be bought by anybody.
Sammy Finkelman (46ec7d) — 3/3/2022 @ 9:52 amRussia’s Massive Convoy Headed To Kyiv Is Under Siege By Air Strikes
The 40-mile long convoy of Russian troops heading for Kyiv from the north has been stalled due to fuel problems, while senior Russian military officials have the convoy regrouping while apparently changing their strategy as they meet heavier resistance than expected.
……
The convoy is still reported in the same position that it was on Monday evening, about 17-18 miles north of Kyiv. A senior defense official told Military Times that the convoy is stalled for a number of reasons. “Obviously, the resistance that they’re facing, the fuel and sustainment problems that they’re having. We are also picking up signs that they’re having problems feeding their troops, that they’re not only running out of gas, but they are running out of food.”
Ukrainian Brigadier General Kyrylo Budanov told Military Times that the Ukrainian Air Force is using this halt to conduct airstrikes using Su-25 and Su-24 ground attack aircraft as well as artillery and missile attacks on the stalled convoy.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/3/2022 @ 10:05 am……
“We burn many columns of the enemy,” he said, adding that “my intelligence officers and agents are directing and calling the strikes.”
…….
This Russia Ukraine war seems like this.
Gangster in LA sees that his cousin has a house, nice little business and the gangster wants in on it.
Cousin says no. This infuriates the gangster. No one says no to him or his gang without there being consequences and his whole identity is “disrespected” so gangster embarks on a campaign of destruction, and punishment. Then the cousins friends and neighbors show up. This is an outrage.
Two years after Putin dies and interred, steam will still be pouring our of his ears over NATO and EU interference, the insolence and insubordinancy of the Ukraine
steveg (e81d76) — 3/3/2022 @ 10:06 amTwo ways to look at that convoy if you are the Ukraine:
Grim forboding or sitting duck hit and run opportunity.
steveg (e81d76) — 3/3/2022 @ 10:12 amThe latter is the only sane choice.
Transfer three A-10 aircraft squadrons to Ukraine now
……..
This aircraft and its gun system were designed to counter an armored assault in Europe. They proved effective in Desert Storm’s target-rich environment, quite similar to the current advancing Russian force. They also became the infantry’s friend in close-air support missions.
The United States Air Force has deployment packages ready to go. The whole transfer to the Ukrainian Air Force could be completed in days after congressional authorization.
Firepower is needed to defeat the coming onslaught of armored forces. Other weapons are necessary for ground forces, but air power will be decisive. The A-10 has proven this ability and was designed for this purpose.
Zelenskyy asked NATO for air support. This request was declined by NATO. That is an appropriate decision since Russia has not attacked NATO.
However, that decision leaves each country an opportunity to decide based on its own moral compass…….
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/3/2022 @ 10:18 am……..
……..It is time to implement the United States’ moral compass and add the A-10 to the list of weapons already scheduled. Failure to add defensive capability to current Ukraine forces, while sanctions develop, weakens the potential impact of sanctions. They are complementary actions.
############
If wishing only made it so.
Russians:
steveg (e81d76) — 3/3/2022 @ 10:22 am“OSCE permanent council meeting in Vienna today. Russia has proposed their own discussion point titled: “On Ukraine’s crimes against civil population and unacceptable reaction of Western countries to the special military operation“
Just because you’ve heard those heard those arguments, doesn’t mean you have accept them as valid or legitimate. And that’s the problem with Mearsheimer and his “great power” theory. Another problem is that thesis presumes that the great-power leaders are rational rather than delusional. That, and he didn’t foresee the massive blowback against Putin. Etc.
It’s a two-way street with NATO. They’ll accept nations that meet their criteria, but the nations that join want to do it, and the reason for being under the NATO umbrella is all the more stronger today, thanks to Vlad.
Paul Montagu (5de684) — 3/3/2022 @ 10:24 amInternational Cat Federation bans Russian cats from competitions
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/3/2022 @ 10:52 am………
The federation, which considers itself “the United Nations of Cat Federations,” said in a statement that it was “shocked and horrified” that Russian forces had invaded Ukraine and “started a war.” Known as FIFe (for its French name, Fédération Internationale Féline), it said that the measures were decided Tuesday and that officials could not “witness these atrocities and do nothing.”
…….
“No cat belonging to exhibitors living in Russia may be entered at any FIFe show outside Russia, regardless of which organization these exhibitors hold their membership in,” said the organization, which spans almost 40 countries.
……..
The federation, which was established more than 70 years ago, also said it would not allow cats bred in Russia to be imported or registered in any of its pedigree books. Officials said they would be donating funds to assist cat breeders in Ukraine and thanked neighboring countries for their efforts to help Ukrainian refugees.
…….
That’ll end the war!
Here is a website that tracks Russian oligarch yachts, including Putin’s. Instead of destroying them, Whale Hunting suggests gifting them to Ukraine. It’s a free subscription.
Paul Montagu (5de684) — 3/3/2022 @ 12:16 pmyou can see where the sense of ‘encirclement’ comes from.
They’re englobed!
Kevin M (38e250) — 3/3/2022 @ 12:25 pmFlying an A-10 requires training and practice. Firing that cannon does things to the flight dynamics that will surprise every pilot the first time.
Kevin M (38e250) — 3/3/2022 @ 12:27 pmBiden refuses to ban Russian oil despite Nancy Pelosi telling him to: President’s staffers kick press out of Cabinet meeting for asking about issue as Psaki says it would lead to higher gas prices
The White House does not support a ban on Russian oil imports, according to press secretary Jen Psaki, despite even House Speaker Nancy Pelosi joining in on the calls for the U.S. to cease buying Moscow’s fuel.
Reporters shouted down President Biden on Thursday as he took part in a Cabinet meeting.
‘Will you ban Russian oil?’ a reporter asked as the press pool was ushered out of the meeting before the Cabinet began its discussion.
‘He said No! Let’s go!’ a Biden staffer said as they ushered press out of the room. ‘No, he didn’t.’ ‘He didn’t respond to anything,’ multiple reporters were heard grumbling.
—
“He has no idea what’s coming”
JF (e1156d) — 3/3/2022 @ 12:48 pmJoe Lieberman wants us to intervene.
Kevin M (38e250) — 3/3/2022 @ 12:57 pm–Barack Obama
Kevin M (38e250) — 3/3/2022 @ 12:59 pmRussia Today is closing their American division, probably because DirecTV and others won’t take their money anymore. This is a good thing.
Paul Montagu (5de684) — 3/3/2022 @ 1:16 pmHeadline on the English language Yated Ne’eman (weekly out I think on Wednesdays)
Sammy Finkelman (46ec7d) — 3/3/2022 @ 1:39 pm@125. Reporters shouted down President Biden on Thursday as he took part in a Cabinet meeting.
‘Will you ban Russian oil?’ a reporter asked as the press pool was ushered out of the meeting before the Cabinet began its discussion. ‘He said No! Let’s go!’ a Biden staffer said as they ushered press out of the room. ‘No, he didn’t.’ ‘He didn’t respond to anything,’ multiple reporters were heard grumbling.
Just got gasoline – 10 days ago it was $5.25 gal.,— today, $5.95/gal. Attaboy, Joe!
“Let’s go,” all right… Brandon.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/3/2022 @ 1:50 pmInstead of destroying them, Whale Hunting suggests gifting them to Ukraine.
… and fuel them with Russian gas. 😉
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/3/2022 @ 1:52 pmBiden refuses to ban Russian oil despite Nancy Pelosi telling him to: President’s staffers kick press out of Cabinet meeting for asking about issue as Psaki says it would lead to higher gas prices
Did she mention reversing Joe’s energy policy and opening up the U.S. at the same time? Nope. Nancy’s family has some interests in Bechtel– be interesting to learn how much they have in power utilities which lead to charging electric cars, The CA electric grid sucks– and is expensive as is.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/3/2022 @ 1:55 pmPostscript. Food prices have soared, too.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/3/2022 @ 1:58 pm@121. Cat fight? Nah.
This would end the war:
‘Lysistrata’ is an ancient Greek play by Aristophanes, originally performed in classical Athens in 411 BC. It is a comic account of a woman’s extraordinary mission to end the Peloponnesian War between Greek city states by denying all the men of the land any sex.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/3/2022 @ 2:02 pmWhite House knocks down talk of banning Russian oil imports
The White House on Thursday knocked down talk of banning Russian oil imports, warning doing so could further spike the already high price of gas for Americans after Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) threw her support behind the idea.
“Our objective and the president’s objective has been to maximize impact on President Putin and Russia while minimizing impact to us and our allies and partners,” press secretary Jen Psaki said at a briefing with reporters. “We don’t have a strategic interest in reducing the global supply of energy and that would raise prices at the gas pump for the American people around the world because it would reduce the supply available,” she continued. “And it’s as simple as less supply raises prices, and that is certainly a big factor for the president at this moment. It also has the potential to pad the pockets of President Putin, which is exactly what we are not trying to do.”
Psaki downplayed U.S. reliance on Russian energy, saying it only accounts for about 10 percent of U.S. oil imports. She also said the Biden administration has been taking steps to try to “degrade Russia’s status as an energy supplier over time.” source, – TheHill.com
These children are brain dead… just like the twit they’re working for.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/3/2022 @ 2:08 pmI’ve seen this a couple of places and I’m sure I’m missing the context and hopefully someone here can add it; what was the deal with Pelosi dancing and the fist rubbing thing?
frosty (0dec90) — 3/3/2022 @ 3:20 pmRussia Today is closing their American division, probably because DirecTV and others won’t take their money anymore. This is a good thing.
Sad!
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/3/2022 @ 4:17 pmBiden is vowing to seize Russian oligarchs’ yachts. Here’s where they are right now
………
A CNN review of maritime location data from the website MarineTraffic found that more than a dozen yachts that have been reported to be owned by Russian oligarchs are spread out across the world, from the crystal waters of Antigua to ports in Barcelona and Hamburg to atolls in the Maldives and Seychelles.
……..
The seizures have already begun, with French officials taking the Amore Vero, the yacht they said is owned by (Igor) Sechin, according to a statement from France’s Ministry of Economy and Finance. The yacht arrived at the French port of La Ciotat on January 3 for repairs, but was “making arrangements to sail urgently, without having completed the planned work” when it was seized on Wednesday, the ministry said. Sechin, the CEO of the Russian oil company Rosneft, was sanctioned by the EU earlier this week, and Rosneft itself was sanctioned by the US in 2014.
……..
The French ministry said that the Amore Vero, which has an onboard gym and beauty salon and won an award for yacht design, is owned by a company whose “main shareholder” is Sechin. Sechin served as Russia’s deputy prime minister in Putin’s cabinet before becoming CEO of Rosneft, one of the country’s largest companies, in 2012.
The seizure may also scare other Russian oligarchs into getting their ships out of EU ports. The Dilbar, one of the largest yachts in the world, which is reportedly owned by Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, arrived in Hamburg, Germany in late October, according to MarineTraffic data. There was confusion about the ship’s status on Thursday: Usmanov was sanctioned by the EU earlier this week, and Forbes reported that German authorities had seized the 156-meter ship, which can carry up to 96 crew members and 24 guests. The US Treasury Department also sanctioned Usmanov on Thursday, specifically calling out the Dilbar as evidence of his “luxurious lifestyle.”
But a spokesperson for the Hamburg economic authority told CNN Thursday that “no yacht has been seized by authorities or customs at the port in Hamburg at this moment in time.” ……..
The Luna, a yacht reportedly owned by Farkhad Akhmedov, an Azerbaijani billionaire who previously led a Russian natural gas company, was also in Hamburg as of the latest MarineTraffic data from earlier this week. Akhmedov, who has not been sanctioned, kept the nine-deck, 115-meter Luna after an acrimonious divorce that was the largest divorce case heard in Britain’s legal history. The yacht features missile detection technology and bulletproof windows.
Several yachts reportedly owned by Russian oligarchs have been docked at a port in Barcelona, including the Solaris, which has been tied to Roman Abramovich, the billionaire who announced Wednesday that he would sell the Chelsea Football Club and donate proceeds to a foundation for people impacted by the invasion of Ukraine. Abramovich hasn’t been sanctioned.
The Galactica Super Nova, reportedly owned by Russian oil company executive Vagit Alekperov, left Barcelona on Saturday and crossed the Mediterranean to Tivat, Montenegro, before sailing south into the Adriatic Sea. While Alekperov hasn’t been sanctioned, he is president of Lukoil, which has been hit by US sanctions in the past.
……….
Several yachts connected to Russian oligarchs have arrived in recent weeks in the Maldives, an Indian Ocean archipelago nation. They include the Clio, reportedly owned by oligarch Oleg Deripaska, which left Sri Lanka in early February and has been sailing between various Maldives atolls since then, according to MarineTraffic. Deripaska was sanctioned by the US in 2018.
None of the oligarchs mentioned in this story responded to requests for comment from CNN sent to their spokespeople, businesses or lawyers.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/3/2022 @ 4:29 pm……….
I understand the disinclination to put U.S. boots on the ground, but why can’t the U.S. and NATO use air power to destroy Russian troops and armor? We’re not invading Russia. We’re helping Ukraine respond to an invasion from Russia. What’s wrong with that?
Any sanctions powerful enough to cause pain to Putin will piss him off just as much as Western air power, right?
norcal (5948da) — 3/3/2022 @ 4:41 pmOr are we going to base our strategy on not pissing off Putin? Good grief.
norcal (5948da) — 3/3/2022 @ 4:44 pmIt’s still an act of war against Putin, which risks widening the conflict in ways we have no way of predicting or anticipating. Tom Nichols has been pretty good on this subject.
Paul Montagu (5de684) — 3/3/2022 @ 5:02 pmAnd it sucks because Putin’s forces are firing on the Zaporihzhzia nuclear plant.
What Could Else Possibly Go Wrong Dept.-This:
Dow futures drop more than 400 points following reports of smoke at Ukraine nuclear power plant
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/3/2022 @ 5:07 pm…….
Stock futures turned negative Thursday evening following reports that smoke was visible from a nuclear power plant in Ukraine — the largest in Europe — after Russian troops attacked. The situation in Ukraine is rapidly deteriorating, and reports from the country are difficult to confirm.
……..
It’s still an act of war against Putin
I’m sure that’s the way Putin wants people to look at it. I see it as an act of defense–helping a country defend itself against an act of war by Russia.
Besides, Putin could declare the sanctions, yacht-seizing, etc. as an act of war anyway. The bottom line is we can’t conduct ourselves based on the feelz of an aggressor.
norcal (5948da) — 3/3/2022 @ 5:17 pmThanks for that linked article, Paul. It changed my mind. This part is what did it:
norcal (5948da) — 3/3/2022 @ 5:29 pmHe could, but he’d be lying. Economic sanctions are utilized as an alternative to resorting to acts of war.
Paul Montagu (5de684) — 3/3/2022 @ 5:31 pmThis really isn’t about “feelz”, norcal. There are Rules of War and Just War Theory that are important constraints. Yes, Putin is breaching those rules with his war crimes, and it sucks, and he needs to pay.
The bottom line is we can’t conduct ourselves based on the feelz of an aggressor.
norcal (5948da) — 3/3/2022 @ 5:17 pm
his feelz might include nuclear weapons
eh, so what, right?
JF (e1156d) — 3/3/2022 @ 5:52 pmJF, you missed my follow-up.
Thanks for that linked article, Paul. It changed my mind.
norcal (5948da) — 3/3/2022 @ 5:57 pmYou see, unlike some people on here (I have in mind a five initial person), I’m capable of being persuaded.
norcal (5948da) — 3/3/2022 @ 6:01 pmThanks, norcal.
Paul Montagu (5de684) — 3/3/2022 @ 6:14 pm@147 i see that, norcal
i should’ve read further
JF (e1156d) — 3/3/2022 @ 6:17 pmWell, if we cannot oppose Russia directly, how about taking out the trash locally? Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua…
Kevin M (38e250) — 3/3/2022 @ 6:28 pmSomehow, the Ukrainian parliament was in session today.
Paul Montagu (5de684) — 3/3/2022 @ 6:52 pm@139. Not gonna happen… wouldn’t be prudent…they’re going out of their way to avoid a confrontation of any kind:
New U.S.-Russia military hotline as Ukraine war rages
WASHINGTON, March 3 (Reuters) – The Pentagon has established a new hotline with Russia’s ministry of defense to prevent “miscalculation, military incidents and escalation” in the region as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine advances, a U.S. official told Reuters on Thursday.
The United States says it has no troops in Ukraine but it and NATO allies in Europe are worried about potential spillover, including accidents, as Russia’s stages the largest assault on a European state since World War Two. The U.S. and its allies are also channeling millions of dollars worth of weaponry to Ukraine’s armed forces, which are using the arms against Russian troops, despite Moscow’s warnings against foreign interference.
“The Department of the Defense recently established a de-confliction line with the Russian ministry of defense on March 1 for the purposes of preventing miscalculation, military incidents, and escalation,” a senior U.S. defense official said, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirming a move first reported by NBC. The U.S. military has successful created hotlines with Russia in the past, including during the war in Syria, where Moscow intervened on the side of President Bashar al-Assad.
There, the United States and Russia were waging parallel military campaigns, with the United States focused on battling Islamic State. The move is just the latest effort to lower soaring tension between the United States and Russia, where President Vladimir Putin — in a clear warning to the West — announced last weekend he was putting his nuclear forces on high alert.
Putin’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, was quoted on Wednesday warning that a Third World War would be a nuclear conflict, remarks that added to growing unease.
The U.S. military said on Wednesday it would postpone a scheduled test launch of a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile.
“We recognize, at this moment of tension, how critical it is that both the United States and Russia bear in mind the risk of miscalculation and take steps to reduce those risks,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said on Wednesday, announcing the move.
https://www.reuters.com/world/new-us-russia-military-hotline-ukraine-war-rages-2022-03-03/
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/3/2022 @ 6:59 pm@151. Well, if we cannot oppose Russia directly, how about taking out the trash locally? Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua…
Don’t forget Delaware.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/3/2022 @ 7:02 pmI think that Israel should get its next $8 billion dollars in foreign aid from Russia and not from us.
nk (1d9030) — 3/3/2022 @ 7:12 pmTo think how much support Israel gets from EU countries, too!
Kevin M (38e250) — 3/3/2022 @ 10:40 pmLindsay Graham speaking stupidly as did Hannity when discussing assassinating a foreign leader. Do they really want to open that can of worms where pot shots taken against government officials are considered normal and expected?
NJRob (eb56c3) — 3/4/2022 @ 6:23 amGraham is doing what politicians do, blowing hot air, but the KGB actually sends assassins to kill Zelensky.
nk (1d9030) — 3/4/2022 @ 6:58 am134. The play ‘Lysistrata’ is fiction. It was meant to try to argue that nothing in the war was more important than ending it.
Sammy Finkelman (46ec7d) — 3/4/2022 @ 8:38 amIt was more than fiction, Sammy. It was farce. Like talking clouds and birds who found their own city. Cloudc[]ckooland, the ancestral homeland of Trump supporters. Also by Aristophanes.
nk (1d9030) — 3/4/2022 @ 8:43 am….are we going to base our strategy on not pissing off Putin? …..
That’s been the West’s strategy for the past 20+ years.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/4/2022 @ 8:54 amYes, just saying it was fiction doesn’t capture what it was. Farce is the word.
Sammy Finkelman (46ec7d) — 3/4/2022 @ 9:06 amLindsay Graham speaking stupidly as did Hannity when discussing assassinating a foreign leader. Do they really want to open that can of worms where pot shots taken against government officials are considered normal and expected?
As opposed to the Russians actually doing it?
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/4/2022 @ 9:10 amUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has ‘survived three assassination attempts in the past week’: Plots were foiled by double agents within the FSB
When will the West learn that the Russians don’t play by Western rules? I expect next to see Putin launch tactical nuclear weapons, either as warning shot or to destroy a city.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/4/2022 @ 9:15 amLindsay Graham speaking stupidly as did Hannity when discussing assassinating a foreign leader.
Lindsey Graham Calls for Russians to Assassinate Putin
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) said Thursday night that Russian President Vladimir Putin should be assassinated by his own people, suggesting it would be the only way to end the crisis precipitated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
……….
Graham did NOT call for the US to assassinate Putin, he called on the Russian people to do so. As usual, an NJRob post that is inaccurate and misleading.
I have absolutely no problem with Putin’s inner circle removing him permanently.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/4/2022 @ 9:58 amWe’ll know when the Russians announce that Putin is in the hospital with a slight cold.
nk (1d9030) — 3/4/2022 @ 10:07 amThe economic pressure is all about the coup. Hopefully Russians don’t want the isolation or being seen as the pariah. Hopefully people hear the honest truth that Ukraine offered little to no actual threat to the Russians, other than an emerging democracy adopting western values being at a border with Russia. This puts the two competing systems in a clear perspective. Authoritarianism has to hide the world from its people….and that’s getting harder and harder. It’s hard not to know that this is Putin’s choice….or see that it is wrong. The internet, cell phones, and satellite TV makes it challenging to be a tyrant.
AJ_Liberty (ec7f74) — 3/4/2022 @ 11:23 amLindsay Graham speaking stupidly as did Hannity when discussing assassinating a foreign leader. Do they really want to open that can of worms where pot shots taken against government officials are considered normal and expected?
Welcome to Planet Earth, NJ:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_heads_of_state_and_government_who_survived_assassination_attempts
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_assassinated_and_executed_heads_of_state_and_government
Though somebody should remind the lovely and talented Lindsey that Stauffenberg failed.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/4/2022 @ 12:35 pm110. That was not the problem then, and it is certainly not the problem now.
Sammy Finkelman (02a146) — 3/4/2022 @ 12:57 pmIn the State of the Union message, President Biden said:
That must be the $1.4 billion provided “since 2021”
Biden, in his speech, did not call for more money to be appropriated but White House officials had already told Congressional aides they would ask for $3.5 for the Pentagon and $2.9 for humanitarian aid. (some of this has undoubtedly been sent but the money or the items need to be replaced)
On Thursday, two days after the speech, he formally asked Congress for $10 billion.(He also asks for $22.5 billion more to fight Covid – all to be included in a budget deal that needs to pass by March 11m or we need another continuing resollution)
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/biden-seeks-10b-aid-ukraine-225b-coronavirus-83226573
Sammy Finkelman (02a146) — 3/4/2022 @ 1:07 pmWe’ll know when the Russians announce that Putin is in the hospital with a slight cold.
But “stable.”
Kevin M (38e250) — 3/4/2022 @ 1:11 pmI expect next to see Putin launch tactical nuclear weapons
They appear to be using fuel-air weapons already. I would really like to see a flight of Ukrainian jets hit the Kremlin with napalm.
Kevin M (38e250) — 3/4/2022 @ 1:13 pmBiden: Putin’s enabler.
Kevin M (38e250) — 3/4/2022 @ 1:15 pmPreident Biden, by planning just a little bit at a time, acts like he expects that there could be a palace coup or an ukltimatum given by his people at any moment.
There maybe could be a 10-20% chance of that.
Sammy Finkelman (02a146) — 3/4/2022 @ 1:15 pmSenator Moynihan said something best paraphrased as:
“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but nobody is entitled to his own facts.”
Vladimir Putin is acting like he’s not really entitled to his own opinion – he agrees with most of us – for instance that indiscriminate attacks on a city shouldn’t be done for instance, but he is entitled to his own facts. He is entitled even to say it is not a war.
Sammy Finkelman (02a146) — 3/4/2022 @ 1:19 pmPutin is not in the Kremlin now.
Sammy Finkelman (02a146) — 3/4/2022 @ 1:20 pmGold: $1,972.30/oz., and climbing;
Brent crude oil: $115.12/bbl., and climbing.
Attaboy, Joe!
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/4/2022 @ 1:26 pmThe New York Times gave over its main editorial yesterday to Andriy Yermak:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/02/opinion/ukraine-russia-war-zelensky.html
You can’t do that. You could forma new organization – call it maybe the coalition of the willing, but Russia can’t be expelled from the United Nations.
Unless its credentials are revoked.
Sammy Finkelman (02a146) — 3/4/2022 @ 1:28 pmRussia did agree to a humanitarian corridor for refugees, although I don’t know if details need to be worked out.
The number of refugees exiting the country reached 1 million on March 2 – should be higher now.
There’s an element of discrimination against Africans – told not to get in the train. Non-Ukrainians are being told to go to other border crossings. African college students are being told however they will be able to continue their studies in Poland.
China, by the way, like Turkey, did not evacuate its embassy…
Putin may have lied to everyone about the timing and the nature of the attack.
Sammy Finkelman (02a146) — 3/4/2022 @ 1:33 pmMore from Yernak:
He claims “war could be a prologue to a greater European or even global massacre.”
Sammy Finkelman (02a146) — 3/4/2022 @ 1:34 pmBiden: Putin’s enabler.
Such BS.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/4/2022 @ 1:41 pmPutin’s enablers include Germany and Switzerland. No more.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/4/2022 @ 1:42 pmThe West in general enabled Putin over the past 20+ years, when the policy was not to offend Russia. It didn’t start on January 20, 2021.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/4/2022 @ 1:46 pmJen Psaki says it is not in U.S. interest to reduce the supply of oil worldwide. But what about the climate!
It even saves money:
Biden in SOTU:
But I guess that’s long term planning.
Sammy Finkelman (02a146) — 3/4/2022 @ 1:49 pmActually, State of the Union messages by all presidents have been filled with nonsense.
Sammy Finkelman (02a146) — 3/4/2022 @ 1:53 pmWhite House requests $10 billion for Ukraine aid as part of broader emergency funding request
‘The White House has asked lawmakers to approve $10 billion in lethal and humanitarian aid for Ukraine as part of a $32.5 billion emergency funding request sent to Capitol Hill.
The request follows weeks of discussions between White House officials and lawmakers about the shape of any potential emergency request, which was expected to focus heavily on Covid-19 needs. But the escalating Russian invasion has dramatically increased the size of the specific request for Ukraine.
Lawmakers are in the midst of negotiations over a long-term funding deal and face a March 11 deadline to reach an agreement.
The Ukraine funds are expected to be attached to any final deal, but the process remains fluid. “This request identifies an immediate need for $10 billion in additional humanitarian, security, and economic assistance for Ukraine and Central European partners due to Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked invasion,” read the formal request sent Wednesday from acting Office of Management and Budget director Shalanda Young to congressional leadership. Young suggested the initial $10 billion request for Ukraine would address “immediate needs” and more funding could be needed.
“Given the rapidly evolving situation in Ukraine, I anticipate that additional needs may arise over time. This funding request is based on the administration’s best information on resource requirements at this time, and we will remain in touch with the Congress in the coming weeks and months as we assess resource requirements beyond these immediate needs,” she said.
The detailed funding request provides $4.8 billion to the Department of Defense, including $1.8 billion for support in the region as US military units support US European Command and the NATO Response Force, $1.3 billion for cybersecurity and other defense support and $1.8 billion for replenishment of Defense Department stocks. It also calls for $5 billion for the Department of State and US Agency for International Development (USAID), including $2.8 billion in humanitarian assistance like food and other support; $500 million in military assistance through the Foreign Military Financing program; and $1.8 billion in economic assistance to help “support continuity of government and the resilience of the Ukrainian people, as well as emergent needs in the region.”
The request also provides $21 million for the Department of Commerce to bolster export controls, $30 million for the Department of Energy to provide “technical assistance for electric grid integration,” $59 million for the Department of Justice to support a newly announced Task Force KleptoCapture to enforce sanctions on Russia and other funding for the Multinational Task Force and $91 million for the Department of Treasury for sanctions support and IRS criminal investigations, among other expenditures.
The White House has also requested $22.5 billion in “immediate needs” for the ongoing Covid-19 response, including funding for treatments, testing and vaccines, as well as money for work to protect against future variants and efforts to vaccinate more people globally.
A source familiar with the request noted that over 90% of funds from the Covid relief bill passed last year have been committed and “nearly all” of the funds from that bill for the Department of Health and Human Services’ Covid-19 response “have now been used.” Those funds were used for vaccine and therapeutics purchases and distribution, testing, research, supplies and hospital infection control.
“Without additional resources, the Administration won’t be able to secure the treatments, vaccines, and tests Americans need in coming months. And critical Covid response efforts — such as free community testing sites and testing, treatment, and vaccination coverage for uninsured individuals — will end this spring,” the source said.’ -source, CNN.com
This is nuts. So when does President Biden and his Congress plan to start selling the Ukrainian War Relief Bonds??
Oh. Right. Charge it to Uncle Sam’s credit card financed by borrowed $ from China. For starters, Stingers cost $38,000-$40,000 EACH [$15.00 at the bar 😉 ] Invest in DoD contractors– and Kellogg’s kids; Pop-Tarts are a mainstay in government relief parcels— and tip the bartender.
… and the MIC smiled.
“Grant us victory, O Lord, before the Americans get here.” – Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig [John Mills] ‘Oh, What A Lovely War’ 1969
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/4/2022 @ 1:54 pm@181. Such BS.
Enabling:
“Because Putin knows if I am President of the United States, his days of tyranny and trying to intimidate the United States and those in Eastern Europe are over. I’m going to stand up to him. He’s a bully…” – Joe Biden.
Such BS, indeed.
… and Putin smiled.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/4/2022 @ 1:57 pmEven this may be bad:
Sammy Finkelman (02a146) — 3/4/2022 @ 1:59 pm@185. Not all of it, Sammy:
https://parade.com/257952/ashleighschmitz/10-powerful-state-of-the-union-quotes-throughout-history/
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/4/2022 @ 2:10 pmYou can’t do that. You could forma new organization – call it maybe the coalition of the willing, but Russia can’t be expelled from the United Nations.
Sure you can. We did just that with China. Maybe we can give Germany the Security Council seat.
Kevin M (38e250) — 3/4/2022 @ 2:17 pmThe West in general enabled Putin over the past 20+ years, when the policy was not to offend Russia. It didn’t start on January 20, 2021.
OK. Putin’s latest enabler. W, Obama and Trump all deserve blame.
Kevin M (38e250) — 3/4/2022 @ 2:18 pmWhen this is over, not only will Ukraine be a NATO member, but Belarus’ new government will be falling all over themselves to join.
Kevin M (38e250) — 3/4/2022 @ 2:19 pmKissinger’s got it right.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/4/2022 @ 2:38 pmhttps://www.henryakissinger.com/articles/how-the-ukraine-crisis-ends/
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/4/2022 @ 2:39 pmDana- posted Dr. Kissinger’s Ukraine analysis in full but it is in moderation- he must have used a term that’s deemed an ‘expletive deleted’ but what it is not sure. It is a compelling analysis, though, and worth a read.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/4/2022 @ 2:46 pmBiden: Putin’s enabler.
Leading the West to impose the most draconian sanctions against any country is hardly enabling. Do I wish Biden had done more-yes. An oil embargo against Russia should have been imposed, and the US should have not farmed out a decision to intervene in Ukraine directly to NATO.
To paraphrase Shakespeare: “A Warthog, a Warthog! My kingdom for a Warthog (preferably dozens of Warthogs)!
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/4/2022 @ 2:46 pmKissinger’s first move was detente. He’s been mostly wrong since.
Kevin M (38e250) — 3/4/2022 @ 2:48 pmKissinger’s prescription is Ukraine-as-a-buffer-state. We tried that and are now in the middle of the failure of that plan. Trying it again, expecting different results (“Putin must recognize…” HA!) is the definition of insanity.
Kevin M (38e250) — 3/4/2022 @ 2:51 pmDo I wish Biden had done more-
Haven’t you heard; he’s done everything, Rip! From driving 18-wheelers, to popping Corn-Pop:
https://www.thetentacle.com/2021/03/joe-biden-50-years-of-lies-and-gaffes/
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/4/2022 @ 2:52 pm@199. It’s a valid perspective, Kevin. Ukraine will never be admitted to NATO. They nixed a no-fly-zone just today and keep baling on any aircraft deal. The best path to peace now is to ‘shoot’ for a win/win by giving your opponent an out. Expect an East Ukraine and a West Ukraine- as Dr. K described- a la Cold War Germany w. Lviv the ‘Bonn’ of Capitalist East Ukraine and Kyiv the ‘East Berlin’ capital of East Ukraine. Otherwise, Vlad’s going to crush Ukraine and they’ll be living in the ruins a la East Berliners for years.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/4/2022 @ 3:00 pmR.I.P. actor Tim Considine
Icy (6abb50) — 3/4/2022 @ 3:03 pmBought gas yesterday- $5.95 gal.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/4/2022 @ 3:08 pmThis thread is so much easier to read without seeing DCSCA’s posts. Praise Lent!
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/4/2022 @ 3:11 pmKissinger’s first move was detente. He’s been mostly wrong since.
And surrendering in Vietnam.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/4/2022 @ 3:12 pmBloomberg, CNN, BBC halt operations in Russia
Bloomberg, CNN and the BBC on Friday announced that they would be halting operations in Russia after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed legislation that makes independent reporting in the country a crime. “CNN will stop broadcasting in Russia while we continue to evaluate the situation and our next steps moving forward,” the network said in a statement.
BBC Director-General Tim Davie issued a statement saying that the British-based broadcaster’s service in Russia would now conduct its operations outside of the country.“This legislation appears to criminalize the process of independent journalism. It leaves us no other choice than to temporarily suspend the work of all BBC News journalists and their support staff within the Russian Federation while we assess the full implications of this unwelcome development,” Davie said. “The safety of our staff is paramount and we are not prepared to expose them to the risk of criminal prosecution simply for doing their jobs,” he added.
People urging for sanctions against Russia or those found spreading “fake news” about the Russian forces can be sentenced up to 15 years in prison under the legislation, according to Bloomberg. Bloomberg Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait similarly said that the legislation signed by Putin would make it hard for them to be able to continue producing journalism within the country. “We have with great regret decided to temporarily suspend our news gathering inside Russia,” Micklethwait said, according to Bloomberg. “The change to the criminal code, which seems designed to turn any independent reporter into a criminal purely by association, makes it impossible to continue any semblance of normal journalism inside the country.”
The news comes as Russian independent news outlets have announced they have suspended coverage—a rapid change of events that have taken place in the last week since Russia began its invasion into Ukraine. The Hill has reached out to Bloomberg for comment.
https://thehill.com/homenews/media/596945-bloomberg-cnn-bbc-halt-operations-in-russia
Shade’s of Vlad’s new-best-bud, Xi, who’s got his back. Remember when China pulled the plug on CNN?
… and Jinping grinned.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/4/2022 @ 3:18 pm@204. You’re Very Vladimir today, Rip. See #206. 😉
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/4/2022 @ 3:21 pmBBC resurrects WWII-era shortwave broadcasts as Russia blocks news of Ukraine invasion
https://www.theverge.com/2022/3/4/22961286/bbc-news-blocked-in-russia-ukraine-invasion-shortwave-radio
“Blessent mon coeur / d’une langueur / monotone” – ‘The Longest Day’ 1962
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/4/2022 @ 3:30 pmSee the list in #200 of things that DCSCA will deny saying in a couple of weeks.
Short version: Munich. Carve up Ukraine for ‘peace in our time.’
Kevin M (38e250) — 3/4/2022 @ 4:10 pm@209. “This is Radio Moscow: ‘The Corn has been popped.’ Repeat; ‘The Corn has been popped.'” 😉
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/4/2022 @ 5:08 pm