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@bmdrocks21
-->@oromagiNot for long. Putin broke the only really profitable business in the whole Russian economy. I hope we get away from fossil fuels so fast now that Putin's left selling coal to China for 3 cents per ton.Then what'll most likely happen is we will become dependent on the even more evil and dangerous Chinese for the rare earth metals needed to make that many electric cars
sounds like a mistake worth avoiding
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I think this mostly depends on how long Putin is allowed to live. If Putin wants WWIII he is in a position to demand one but Russia is not well positioned to last long, nuclear or no and Putin is not likely to remain on top for much longer. Sounds like most of the Russian military and intelligence and oligarchy was left out of this decision to invade Ukraine and much of Russia's power structure is currently considering how to kill the goose while maintaining the supply of golden eggs.
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@RationalMadman
-->@oromagibut the gas and oil was bought in Russia so the clouds are purple and the sky is green.
Not for long. Putin broke the only really profitable business in the whole Russian economy. I hope we get away from fossil fuels so fast now that Putin's left selling coal to China for 3 cents per ton.
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Let's choke the GOP to death along with Putin and Saudi Arabia. Last Monday, the IPCC said we have to take dramatic action to cut fossil fuel consumption- I can't think anything more likely to dramatically cut oil consumption than dramatic increases in the price of fuel. Let's make it a national wartime effort to dump our gas-guzzlers and bring electric automated public transportation online now. The tech is ready and available. We could increase the price of tenfold and still be paying less for transportation than we are right now.
Looks like Biden is on board with a big bipartisanship push to reject all oil from that evil tyrant.
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4800 Russians arrested yesterday for protesting the illegal occupation of Ukraine- all will spend time in jail. Fewer than 1000 mostly cars, maybe 100 trucks drove slowly twice around the beltway on Sunday afternoon to protest Trump's emergency powers act for COVID- few noticed.
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@ebuc
.. "Broken Arrow" is the name given to nuclear weapon accidents, whether they be by accidental launching, firing,
One of my favorite Museum experiences was the Titan Missile Museum south of Tucson. They walk you through the whole launch countdown and the missile silo itself is very impressive. They tell the story of fire that broke out at a site in Arkansas in 1981. A workman dropped a wrench and punched a whole in the missile's side. The fuel ignited and blew the concrete doors of the silo. The Air Force has always consistently denied (but the Museum veterans will tell you) that the warhead itself blow out of the silo and rolled a few hundred feet but Air Force communications indicate that other nuclear powers were advised that something that might look like a launch from satellite was not, in fact, a launch.
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People of Russia, now is the time to overthrow your tyrants and oligarchs, your spies and watchdogs, your cruel bosses and greedy captains. Putin is invading your brothers and sisters to the east and killing your brave soldiers needlessly- what possible profit is to be discovered in slaughtering your Slavic brothers and sisters- people who share much of your culture and language and religion, except to glorify Putin's Putin rages against Ukraine because Ukraine has proved that democracy brings increased freedom and prosperity and he knows that such an example must be extinguished before the spirit of democracy reignites in Russia.
Now is the time. Do not wait for next winter when the sanctions and waste of war starve your people and darken your cities. Putin will be hiding behind the fortifications of his Black Sea palace then and the oligarchs will be hiding on yachts clutching their billions and trusting in your docility. Trade no longer your liberty for a little security and a meager increase in salary only to improve the fortunes of the world's richest man.
The age of fossil fuel is over and the age of climatic cataclysm is at hand. Few nations are as well poised to take advantage of the population shifts northward and inland than Russia with its vast steppes and thawing tundra and harborages on the ice free polar sea. These advantages can redound to few cruel and greedy men or to the free market for all citizens, if the commonwealth will but take back control of their economy.
Now is the time. Your tyrant poisoner-in-chief is isolated and hated and in failing health. If the majority rise up together, then the sacrifices necessary will be smaller and shorter then if a minority must confront tyranny individually and staggered over time. If the Russian people rise now and end this costly unnecessary war with Europe you will enjoy the support and approbation of free people everywhere.
Turn on
The television
Open the papers
The headlines
Shout it out
We're on our knees
The end
Is really nigh
That ain't enough
To make me cry, no
The return
Of inspiration
The return
Of inspiration
Little big man
Workin' the city
He plays for money
Plays for women
He must think
He's so tall
Maybe
No one's told him
That he's small
Ten fingers piggy
Counting the pennies
Well that old meanie's
Only happy
When he's
Draggin' you down
That ain't enough
To make me frown
-"St. Petersburg" Supergrass
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I've been imprisoned seven times for political protests. I've made citizen's arrests on CIA agents. I've spent a night in jail with Allen Ginsberg. I've been beaten by cops and neo-Nazis and never threw a punch back. I consider MLK a role model for non-violent civil action.
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Azov division will get 0 attention from western media.
easily disproved.
- Looks like they got themselves banned from twitter 3 days ago.
- Early indications are that this battalion took the brunt of the attack on Mariupol so there's some reason to hope they are already wiped out.
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@3RU7AL
Personally, I believe in the light of King's powerful demagogic speech yesterday he stands heads and shoulders over all other Negro leaders put together when it comes to influencing great masses of Negroes. We must mark him now, if we have not done so before, as the most dangerous Negro of the future in this Nation from the standpoint of communism, the Negro, and national security. [LINK]
Well, a white man's perception of any threat of violence by a black man is very often a very long distance from any actual threat of violence. Even today, white men perceive violence in black men walking home from the convenience store, jogging through their neighborhood, trying to take a breath of air, etc. Given King's famous and well-documented adherence to the practice and teaching of non-violent protest I think we can ignore Sullivan's memo as mere ignorant racial prejudice and certainly not as any evidence of any kind of threat of violent action.
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@3RU7AL
your use of the term "fascist" doesn't match your stated definition
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That means every time these virtue signalers fill up their tank, they paid for a bullet to kill a Ukrainian. The epitome of insincere support bordering on delusion.
This sentence pretty much proves the point- in GP's mind "virtue signaling" is just another doubleplusungood.
Let's agree that everybody should get on board with the Murkowski/Manchin "Ban It" bill. Pelosi is promising the House and the libs are traditionally against all oil imports so its just a question of GOP support.
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@FLRW
On the centennial of the 19th amendment granting American women the vote, US President Donald Trump announced he would issue a posthumous pardon for Susan B. Anthony. A suffragette, Anthony was convicted of voting illegally as a woman in 1872. The response was mixed. Some applauded the president, others accused him of virtue signalling.
Right. So the question is whether Mr. Grab-em-by-the-pussy is a sincere feminist, I guess. Personally, I don't care. Anthony deserved a pardon for her non-violent civil rights agitation and any politician with the power to pardon should have done so long ago. Clinton or Obama should certainly have beat Trump to it.
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@Athias
[I know I'm being a dick. But, these profile pics are truly appalling.]
make up your mind
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Essentially if you are going to stand up for any righteous cause, the right has invented a term that allows them to dismiss that stand as merely signaling virtue. I think virtue signaling was originally intended to mean something closer to humblebrag- doing something with less than full sincerity for the purpose of polishing one's online image. In the case of liquor stores taking that 1% of vodkas that come from Russia off the shelf is just good advertising and good business practice- sort of "hey, these vodkas may sound like a bunch Russian brands but don't worry, we've voluntarily removed the actual Russian brands for shoppers' convenience. Please enjoy your vodka without worrying about supporting fascist dictators." I would not call good business practice virtue signaling. I would not call easy patriotism virtue signaling.
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@3RU7AL
-->@oromagiPROTESTER = TERRORIST
I suppose all terrorists are protesters by definition. Any protester that uses violent action, or the threat of violent action, to further that protest's political goals is by definition, a terrorist, right?
To that end I would certainly call the fascists who threw a bunch of fire starters into the lobby of a residential apartment at 4am and then sealed the doors terrorists.
I would certainly call the fascists who threatened Christian charities and threw rocks at paramedics terrorists.
I would certainly call the fascists who had a planned to murder a policeman terrorists.
I assume without evidence that these acts represented the fascist core of the organization and probably not any actual truckers or people who just came down on a Saturday to say they are sick of COVID
To the extent that the blockades inflicted $6 billion dollars of economic loss on taxpayers and truckers I would also call that theft by illegal roadblock a kind of violence that qualifies as terrorism in a more nebulous sense. I think it is fair to estimate that there were somewhere between 20 and 200 actual truckers who participated in inflicting this loss on Canada.
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“So I think that there were people around the world who were fed up with COVID, who were upset and saw the demonstrations against COVID (mandates) and I believe that they just wanted to support the cause.”“It was … their own money, so it wasn’t money that funded terrorism, or that was in any way money-laundering.”-Barry MacKillop
That's the second time this week I've caught you changing people's direct quotes. For your education if you put double quotes around what a person said, that means that is the person's exact wording. If you change the speaker's wording to better suit your argument you are deliberately misleading your audience.
Here's the correct quote:
"We haven't received a list of people who donated to the cause. Unfortunately, crowdfunding platforms are available to everyone, so anyone in the world can access them.....Certainly individuals from around the world donated money to support the cause before it was declared illegal. People all over the world are unhappy and fed up with COVID‑19. I think that some people thought at first that this was a protest against COVID‑19 and just wanted to support the cause by giving small amounts of money. It was their own money. This wasn't money laundering. I don't believe that they thought that they were funding terrorist activity."
McKillop advises that he has not seen the lists of donors. . In NO WAY WHATSOEVER does McKillop "debunks the myth that Truckers were terrorists." He makes no characterization regarding the truckers except to say their blockade was illegal. He makes no characterization regarding the donors except to say that there were certainly some small donors with no ill intent.
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Canada debunks the myth that Truckers were terrorists.More clarity is emerging around a series of scandalous decisions Canada has recently made in an attempt to suppress a civil protest, organized by truckers.Among those decisions was the one trying to directly deprive the protesters participating in what is known as Freedom Convoy of their livelihoods by freezing their bank accounts. Another was to block their access to donations on crowd-funding platforms.To justify these moves that were radical enough to might have just reshaped the face of democracy as it had been previously known – Canada’s authorities invoked the Emergencies Act.And, anti-terrorism financing laws.But now it’s official – it was never about any sort of “terrorism.” It was just a regime looking, rather chaotically and unnecessarily, for a way to sustain itself. Those who put their money where their mouth was during the trucker protest were simply citizens who identified with a cause – something that should be perfectly admissible in a true democracy. And that cause happened to be seeking to end the highly disruptive to everyday life, and ongoing for too long Covid mandates.In the words of Barry MacKillop, deputy director of Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Center, who spoke before Canada’s House of Commons finance committee on Thursday – the money the organizers managed to raise was not only NOT “cash that funded terrorism or was in any way money laundering” – it was simply a way for people living in what they thought was a democratic country believing was a safe way of expressing their position on an issue.These citizens – subsequently, evidently treated by their government as potential “terrorists” and “money launderers” – were in fact “fed up with COVID and were upset (…) and just wanted to support the cause” – as MacKillop phrased it.Whether making things worse, or better, this official also said that these acts of support happened before Canada outlawed them.Why did Canada even “outlaw” this, though? There’s another question for another committee. Or not.Eventually, the thing seems to come down to people entrusted with power coming back to play mind-games with their constituents, to force them to behave in a certain way.Canada’s Minister of Finance and Deputy PM Chrystia Freeland pretty much spelled it out: it was all about “convincing” those donating to the cause to “listen to reason.”
- I wondered why GP needed go to a reporter based in Serbia for a report on the proceedings of the Canadian House of Commons.
- That's because no Canadian reporter would risk their career deliberately misquoting a government official this blatantly.
- McKillip never said "cash that funded terrorism or was in any way money laundering"
- here's the transcript:
- McKillip reports that he never received any reports of terrorism or money laundering
- because the emergency act that empowered his dept to collect those voluntary reports from crowdfunding and payment service sites only lasted five days and no sites had yet completed the application process
- besides which, the relevant accounts had been frozen even before the emergency act, so there was no relevant activity to report
- Obviously the absence of any report whatsoever is not exonerating evidence of any kind, whatever Greyparrot's far-flung reporter might think.
- McKillip reports that the freezing of accounts was necessary and the blockade illegal:
GoFundMe did, on their own, stop the page and decided to reimburse the donors and to not allow the funding to continue through their platform.However, my understanding was that donors then moved to a different platform—GiveSendGo, which was less perhaps co-operative in terms of saying whether or not they were going to stop the funding happening on their page. Moreover, Mr. Chair, there are a number, I would say thousands, of crowdfunding platforms around the world that are accessible. I think that in terms of the Emergencies Act and ensuring that any money that was raised through a crowdfunding platform that went through a financial institution to be disbursed to support the illegal blockades was, in fact, appropriately stopped—What I would say is that, as all of you have seen, I think the efforts came together at the same time and we saw the money being stopped and we saw the law enforcement activities, which were extremely well done in Ottawa, taking place almost simultaneously. I think it really was a combination of all of the actions that brought this to a peaceful end.
- It is a lie to say that McKillip testified that truckers weren't terrorists. The truth is that McKillip testified that he never rec'd any report of any kind
- It is a lie to say "Canada debunks the myth that Truckers were terrorists." In fact 4 protestors are now charged with conspiracy to murder a Mountie- a very traditional form of domestic terrorism.
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Lately there has been a large push to dump out Russian Vodka. I did some research on this and discovered most of the Vodka being dumped out were actually produced from NATO countries.
In fact, the USA today article documents one tavern owner dumping 2 bottles of non-Russian vodka.
But not every protest has been well researched.
A tavern owner in Bend, Oregon said he poured out all of his Russian vodka. A video on the tavern's Facebook page shows the owner pouring out two bottles of Stoli vodka — even though the brand is not made in Russia or owned by a Russian company.
how we get from "2 bottles" to "most of the Vodka" is left in mystery
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Is patriotism a virtue? I don't think so. For the same reason that rooting for the home team is not really a righteous or moral decision, too easy to be righteous, but certainly a part of joining one's community, identifying as a brotherhood.
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@RationalMadman
If I was advising NATO I'd be concluding that Putin has demonstrated that he is a near term and significant threat to Europe but also that Putin himself is a single point of failure for the entire Russian program. If Putin can be assassinated efficiently, both Europe and Russia can be spared any further loss. I would be recommending dispatching one of our super stealthy sniper drones for the next time and place we know Putin must make a public appearance which is the May 9th Moscow Victory Parade.
If the answer to the question of whether you could go back in time and kill Hitler is yes, than the same answer correctly applies to Putin now.
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@triangle.128k
-->@oromagiNATO intelligenceStopped reading right there.
Well if Putin is following suit that would go a long way towards explaining why he's fucking up so badly
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Not very likely at present level of Russian competence. NATO intelligence is estimating 6,000 Russian soldiers dead vs. 1500 Ukrainian soldiers dead and perhaps 2000 civilians dead. If an army of 130,000 hopes to occupy a country of more than 40 million civilians, 200,000 soldiers and more than a million armed reservists, they need to be killing many, many more Ukrainians then their present rate.
I would estimate that the minimal acceptable Loss Exchange Rate for the Russian invaders is 3:1. That is Russia must kill 3 Ukrainian soldiers (not civilians) for every Russian soldier lost, 3 tanks for every tank lost etc. just to be making any headway as an invading force. An invading army that is losing more soldiers than it is killing is always failing and should seriously consider learning the lessons of Hitler and Napoleon and retreat. At the present rate of attrition this Russian army is not likely to last for long. Keep in mind that Ukraine is about to enter its legendary mud season- the death of many an army with more cohesion and competence than what Russia is currently displaying.
Let's recall that the last time NATO forces met Russian soldiers in 2018 the L.E.R. was 0:400 - 400 Russian soldiers killed without any American losses. So, I am not optimistic about Russia's chances in the event of NATO engagement.
Putin's choices right now are pretty much:
- minor defeat in Ukraine now
- major defeat in Ukraine later
- launch some nukes and cease to exist as a dictator, nation or people
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Mandates are gone. Biden lost the mandate war with the Truckers.
Vax requirement is still in place at the border so no idea what you are talking about.
Truckers stood by Canadian govt. and hated the tweeker fascists pretending to be them.
Apparently not a single trucker could be found to protest Biden's SOTU so "war on Biden" must be something you are reading in Pravda, RT, FOX, infowars,etc
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Declaration of Human Rights:
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers
So to the extent that a foreign govt interferes with my right to seek accurate information and prevents me from imparting correct information back to the source, Putin is the worst offender
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MUCH-HYPED DC TRUCKER RALLY TURNS out to be a COMPLETE JOKE
‘WHERE ARE THE TRUCKS?!’ : Millions of hits and boatloads of hype later, the dozen rally-goers who showed up ended up calling it a day hours ahead of schedule.
WASHINGTON, D.C.— Only a handful of protesters inspired by anti-vaccine mandate trucker convoys in Canada showed up in the nation’s capital Tuesday afternoon for the “Stage of Freedom” event near the Washington Monument.
Despite the initial hefty estimate that upwards of 3,000 attendees would show, only 12 rally-goers had actually assembled for the gathering just hours ahead of President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address Tuesday evening.
The right-wing rally’s organizer, MMA fighter and Maryland gubernatorial hopeful Kyle Sefcik, opened the event—where press and police massively outnumbered protesters—by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance before launching into a lengthy speech mixing shameless self-promotion with grievances aimed at the truckers who didn’t show up.
“I wanted to see with my own eyes what people were really about,” Sefcik said. “As you see, with the millions of hits and the hundreds of thousands of people that are behind the movement, there are still not people showing up and being about it!”
The rambling speech, which at times took oddly specific tangents, pressed forward with Sefcik wondering where the convoy of truckers—supposedly aiming to disrupt the Beltway area in protest of vaccine mandates, among other MAGA causes—actually were.
“Where are the trucks?! Where are the trucks?!” Sefcik yelled at one point. “I know the ones that I had planned coming… they’re not even allowed in because they need a commercial license and have proof of a checkoff today because of the checkpoints, so they weren’t even able to stage and make it look cool here.”
“But I still showed up, even if none of you did,” he continued. “I’d still be right here because I keep my word.”
Near the end of his speech to a row of television cameras, Sefcik admitted he had “lost money” on the day’s activities.
The “Stage of Freedom” flop came after right-wing media stars had spent days hyping and praising the rally.
“Listen, this is how it’s done,” Fox News host Dan Bongino said last week. “They are making it clear from the start what their goals are, they are making everything transparent, so there is no guesswork… This, ladies and gentlemen, is how it’s done!”
Other oddities at the sparsely attended event included speakers who only went by their first names, including “Pastor Clark” and “Pastor Sermon,” and incomprehensible speeches full of tortured metaphors about cows, fences and about the need to understand God.
While speaking with The Daily Beast as a small group of guitar players replaced him on stage, Sefick acknowledged his poor showing.
“Bro, there are at least 11 [people], dude. Come on, man,” Sefcik joked about the rally, which wrapped up hours ahead of its planned 8 p.m. conclusion, before claiming that it “wasn’t about” turnout, actually.
“Just because the amount of people don’t show up,” he said, “it’s not about that, we are going to stick to what we are doing.”
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FEB 28th: California trucker ‘freedom convoy’ headed to DC disbands after one day when only five rigs reach second stop
A convoy of truckers who were heading from California to Washington DC for Joe Biden’s State of the Union (SOTU) address have been told to find another protest fleet after theirs fell apart before its first stop.
Organisers of the “US Freedom Convoy” - which had been expecting up to 2,000 truckers prior to its departure from Los Angeles on Friday - disbanded the caravan and cancelled all associated rallies on Saturday after only five rigs arrived in Las Vegas.
No trucks made it DC for the SOTU rally. That rally had ten people and no trucks at the Washington Monument last night. A convoy of seven trucks was spotted in Colorado today. Not exactly 2.5 million.
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@RationalMadman
-->@oromagiThat makes no sense at all, you are saying because he utilises free speech more than the other tyrants when it suits his agenda, he's more against it than those that don't bother with disinformation as much but oppress their own people just as fervently as Putin, if not more, within their own nation.
Nope, I am saying that because Putin commands more prevention, distortion, disruption, etc of Free Speech than any other group on the planet, Putin is Free Speech's greatest enemy. I really don't care what Putin thinks about Free Speech.
You are not talking about an enemy of free speech I think you mean enemy of America.
Nope. Putin was a major in player in misinforming the UK about BREXIT, financing Marine Le Pen's candidacy for French President, funding neo-NAZI and skinhead organizations throughout Europe, etc all the while. Foreign government propaganda disguised as free speech is not free speech. We can argue whether shouting fire in a theater is free speech but shouting fire so constantly that the movie can't be understood is a violation of free speech. Wikileaks may appear to be a clearinghouse for leaked govt. documents but once you learn that Assange is on Putin's payroll and sometimes edits leaked documents and withholds some documents for blackmail, free speech is violated and were just looking at more foreign govt. propaganda.
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@RationalMadman
-->@oromagiFree Speech has no greater living enemy on this planet than Vladimir Putin.Well, that's excluding the leaders of Middle East and China (let's not even call North Korea a genuine country, it's a hellhole posing as a legitimate nation).
I agree you could make a good argument that some of those autocrats are less permissive than Putin in terms of Free Speech but none bring quite the same level of disinformation and disruption internationally. China and Iran are major sources of fake news and tweetbots in Western nations but Russia beats them all in terms of frequency and influence. I'm sure China has plenty of Western politicians on their payroll but with nothing like the boldness and scope of Putin's network - a US President, a National Security Advisor, a NY Mayor with a heroic biography, etc - breathtaking influence. I see opinions expressed on this site almost daily that were likely manufactured in GRU workshops, people citing undisguised Russian propaganda raw as a source of US News, etc. The fact that FOX News is actually defending Putin's violation of international treaties written and guaranteed by the US is a jaw-dropping of that foreign influence. Yes, I do put Putin at the very top of any list of enemies of Free Speech
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@badger
Russia supplies thereabouts 50% of Europe's oil and gas. That sounds like a huge dependency. Pretty much everything in the house besides the fridge.
It is a huge dependency that we've been desperate to wean ourselves for 45 years. The IPCC came out with it 6th report on Monday:
“The cumulative scientific evidence is unequivocal: Climate change is a threat to human well-being and planetary health,” says the major report designed to guide world leaders in their efforts to curb climate change. Delaying cuts in heat-trapping carbon emissions and waiting on adapting to warming’s impacts, it warns, “will miss a brief and rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all.”
Oil is a heroin addiction that is killing us with increasing speed. Russia is our dealer. Currently, that drug dealer is beating up his ex-girlfriend on the street which makes for an excellent opportunity to put the dealer in jail and quit our habit cold turkey.
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There's also a Mark Rothko with exactly the right colors although it is upside down. I doubt any would notice except collectors.
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@neeraj9107
NATO has been cajoling Ukraine to join the treaty
This is false. Ukraine had an election regarding NATO membership in 2008, 58% of Ukrainians supported membership, an application was filed and denied by NATO out of fears of provoking Russia. NATO gave Putin the space he demanded and Putin criminally abused the diplomatic deference Europe demonstrated.
and no country I repeat no country(Russia here) would like to surround itself with neighbours having adversary forces.
Ukraine is a sovereign democracy and as such need not give one single fuck about what Russia thinks about its own defense program. The US doesn't let Mexico tell us how to secure our borders and there is no reason Ukraine should have to bow to the wishes of rogue dictators just because they live next door and are angry they can't control Ukrainian politics all the time.
Post the disintegration of Soviet NATO has been pushing Russia to the corner.
This is quite false and ignorant of recent history. NATO has spent huge amounts of time and capital in an effort to bring 21st century democracy to Russia which Russia squandered by letting the KGB take over and take away their right to self-governance.
Also when Ukraine went for disarmament it was given that it won't cosy up to NATO.
Which NATO respected and Putin disrespected with criminal intent and cruel violence beginning in 2014.
Larger blame for this situation goes to NATO. Though Russia is also no holy cow.
This is entirely wrong-headed and disrespects the massive historic efforts NATO made to encourage democracy in Russia. The blame is 100% on Russians for letting mad dictators take away their nation and the only moral correction now is for the Russian people to arrest/execute Putin as soon as they are able, whatever the cost, and take back governance of their country.
Also, consider repercussions- What sanctions Russia is facing vs response during US misadventures during Iraq war, Vietnam, Syria, and a lot of Middle East.
Democracy loving liberals across the West opposed all of these misadventures. Russia has applied many harsh economic sanctions on NATO countries many times, the difference being that Western democracies are far less dependent on Russian money/exports than Russia is on the West. Russian oligarchs suck huge amount of money out of Russia and give it to Western democracies in exchange for castles, yachts, private school educations, etc which is why these sanction have political power. The Russian people should demand govt that responsibly builds a sustainable economy for Russians and arrest these criminals running their country immediately.
Russia is taking a leaf out of the US playbook. The sad thing is Ukraine is suffering in this new Great Game.
Russian dictators had been slaughtering Ukrainians and taking their shit since 1169, centuries before there was a United States of America. Nothing new about it.
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@Mharman
No, I don’t think users like Dr.Franklin who are cheering for Russia are anti-free speech or anti-debate, they’re just horribly wrong about a war.
Dr.Franklin is not cheering for Russia. Russia seems to be just as disturbed by Putin's unhinged aggression and nuclear threatening as every nation on earth. Dr.Franklin is cheering for Putin who is, beyond threatening WW3, is systematically interfering with free and fair speech world wide, including aggressive disruption and disinformation campaigns in my own country. Free Speech has no greater living enemy on this planet than Vladimir Putin. You can love debate or you can love Putin but if you are cheering for one of these you are the sworn enemy of the other.
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@Incel-chud
1. Putin will retreat from Ukraine after making his point and having zelensky promise to not join Nato,
Zelensky filed NATO application today, looks like Finland, Sweden, and perhaps Ireland will all join NATO as well.
2. Sanctions will be lifted on Russia when countries like Germany who depend entirely on foreign oil and energy push back against russian sanctions because it also harms their economy.
Germany today massively increased its military spending. Germany is preparing for war with Russia.
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@Incel-chud
-->@oromagiYour naivety about the bilderburg group is embarrassing. They denied this group even existed until like 7 years ago. 8 years ago, you would have called their existence a conspiracy theory.
False. Phyllis Schlafly was making the same alt-right conspiracy claims about the Bilderberg group in 1964. The whole idea is to promote America's influence and reputation in Europe which is why America's enemies hate and fear it.
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@Incel-chud
I know that I would never use propaganda or sensationalism to push the truth. It makes no sense. The truth doesn't need help. It just is, and nothing can defeat it.
Who do you think you are talking to, chud? Your take on the Miami Apartment Bldg collapse last summer was "cheap jews get what they deserve" Your only approach to every topic is sensational propaganda.
It's actually because I get banned every debate, I get lazy and you argue for truisms because you are too cowardly to have a debate on equal ground.
Keep telling yourself that and I would totally debate the existence of bigfoot with you while your rating is still high enough to score some points out of.
, and an honest person.
But Ventura is a famously dishonest person- not just stupid or wrong but lying under oath about talking shit about Navy SEALS at a Navy SEALS' funeral in front of that dead man's mother. Just stupid, anti-social, believe any conspiracy anytime idiocy. If you use Ventura as your sole source on any topic, you will be proved wrong every time. You might as well use the Tiger King or Trump as a source of information. He's just another show-biz whack job.
Interrogating people for winning could come across as intimidating. It is unethical. This is particularly the case when it comes to questioning outsider or anti-establishment politicians. Also it appears the CIA has admitted the Ventura meeting occurred https://www.mprnews.org/story/2008/01/03/jessecia . However it's kinda obvious it's unlikely to be something he lied about.
I believe that a CIA officer met with Ventura to discuss mutual interests. I don't believe 23 CIA were hiding in Statehouse basement as Ventura claims and even Ventura's own communications director seems to deny. It's just obvious, paranoid horsehit.
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@badger
-->@oromagiI would have thought that song would be right up your alley. "Belgians in the Congo" is one of my most sung lyrics. Probably second only to "Mama, just killed a man".
I'm really more of a Dylan man myself.
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@Incel-chud
That's not an argument for why it is good.
Why would I need to argue that propaganda and sensationalism are good? I'm only pointing out that everybody does it all the time so it is irrational for you to assume every time somebody engages in either of these commonplace activities, the opposite of what they say must be true.
This is not how you debate is it?
Reasoning is how I beat you in multiple debates, yes.
let's say he has crazy beliefs, that speaks to his ability to analyze situations, not his ability to honestly recall past events.
crazy beliefs are not evidence of analytic prowess- exactly the opposite is true.
The poorly defined area would be in how the intelligence community is allowed to participate in elections,
They aren't. Studying an making predictions is not participation.
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@badger
-->@oromagiI would like you to rewrite We Didn't Start the Fire up there in the artistic expressions board. Could be a forum game even, team effort. There's a lot gone on since 1989.
but that's such a terrible song.
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@badger
Let's recall that Ukraine was the third largest nuclear power in the world in 1991 when it separated from the Soviet Union including an estimated 1,900 strategic warheads, 176 ICBMs, and 44 strategic bombers. Ukraine handed those nukes over to Russia in exchange for Russia's promise to respect Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial borders with the US and the UK were the guarantors of that treaty and at considerable logistical and diplomatic expense to the US. That is, in 1994 the US and the UK promised Ukraine that we would make sure that Russia would never invade them they way Russia has done over the past 8 years. Ukraine held up its end of the bargain and Russia has belligerently violated every promise they made in 1994.
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@Incel-chud
I.m not understanding...
I know buddy
I don't think he would lie about a meeting with the CIA.
Don't know why you would think that. Ventura is a famous fake news machine. For example, he believes the Bilderbergs invented COVID to wipe out the world's population- apparently not understanding that the Bilderberg Hotel is a place that hosts an annual economic summit. Certainly, if COVID was engineered to wipe out the world's population it was not well engineered.
Anybody interested in the truth should assume that anything Ventura claims is false until proven by some reliable source of information. Ventura is never, ever a reliable source of information on any subject.
They shouldn't be analyzing American elections. It creates a grey area which can be constantly encroached on and lead to election interference.
uh-huh. And in this "grey area" metaphor what would black and what would be white? Grey area suggests a poorly defined demarcation between at least two conditions.
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@Incel-chud
No I trashed your twisted premises and your absurd conclusion. Nobody expects you to understand that.Give me a detailed case on why propaganda and sensationalism should be used as opposed to the truth?
I just did (Jesus, God illustrated the argument) Now we are waiting for it to sink in with you.
If you can't give solid proof there is ethical reasons, than we can only assume malevolent intent
The claim is yours to prove: that any evidence of propaganda and sensationalism (God appearing to Moses as a burning bush, for example) is necessarily a lie and proves that some [undefined] opposite must be true. Your argument has more holes in it than your socks.
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to hold a needle of silence in your mouth
to stitch your words in white thread
to whimper while drowning in spit
to keep from screaming spitting blood
to hold the water of a language on your tongue
which leaks like a rusty bucket
to mend things that are still useful
to sew crosses on the really weak spots
like bandages on the wounded in a hospital
to learn to search for the roots of a life
that has yet to learn its name
-Iya Kiva
Translated from the Ukrainian by Amelia Glaser and Yuliya Ilchuk, 2019
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This coffin’s for you, little boy, don’t be afraid, lie down,
A bullet called life clutched tight in your fist,
We didn’t believe in death, look – the crosses are tinfoil.
Do you hear – all the bell towers tore out their tongues?
We won’t forget you, believe it, believe it, be …
Belief bleeds down the seam inside your sleeve,
Chants, prayers, psalms swell up in a lump in your throat
In the middle of this damned winter all dressed in khaki,
And February, getting the ink, is sobbing.
And the candle drips on the table, burning and burning…
-Iya Kiva
Translated from the Russian by Amelia Glaser and Yuliya Ilchuk, 2014
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@Incel-chud
Speaking of Jesse Ventura, since you like democracy so much. Did you know that when he became governor the CIA met up with him and interrogated him on why he won, when their models showed he should have lost.
Wait, let me guess,- your source for this assertion is the host of "Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura"
Why is the CIA tracking who should win in elections?
They are the Central intelligence Agency. Predicting the outcome of elections in every country on earth and advising the Federal Govt accordingly is part of their job description.
Why is the CIA intimidating people, when they gain public office, if the results were unexpected?
They aren't. You are just believing what Jesse Ventura tells you. There is no reason to accept Ventura as a legitimate source of information on any subject.
Yes, if actors are politicians it should be highly suspicious. It doesn't make sense that they are so common in politics, especially when looking at heads of states.
So, you don't comprehend that all good politicians are good actors first. Churchill and Lincoln were terribly depressed individuals: very moment of confidence and satisfaction demonstrated during their public life was for show. Kennedy and Roosevelt lived in near constant pain but pretended to be healthy men for the cameras. Roosevelt actually played the role of a man who could walk. We now know that Trump was quite ill with COVID when introduced Amy Barrett and debated Joe Biden and held a rally making fun of CDC recommendations for preventing COVID. Trump is such an actor that he's never seen without camera ready hair and makeup.
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@Incel-chud
You are ignoring my premises and arguing with my conclusion. I am asking what the motives are for sensationalism and propaganda, when ideally the truth should stand on it's own
No I trashed your twisted premises and your absurd conclusion. Nobody expects you to understand that.
He is literally an actor.
Donald Trump
Ronald Reagan
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Alan Autry
Rex Bell
Sonny Bono
Bob Dornan
Clint Eastwood
Fred Thompson
Shirley Temple
Jesse Ventura
etc
If you disqualify professional actors from politics there is no party in world history that would lose more members than the US Republican Party.
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@Incel-chud
-->@oromagiThere is 45 million people in the ukraine. Estimates on the Jewish population for whatever reason and depending who is doing the analysis is at best 300k, but some estimates have the population as low as 50k .Even the best estimate has them as a minority of the population that control most of the government suspiciously enough.
Don't be such a fool. Obviously the fake news your are propagating is that Jews make up 90% of Ukrainian power structures. Particularly when Big Brother Putin has instructed you to believe they are all NAZIs now.
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@badger
Yesterday, the US offered to evac Zelensky out of Kyiv to an undisclosed, secure location. Zelensky replied,
"I need ammo, not a ride"
Whatever happens next, Zelensky has already earned himself national hero status.
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@badger
-->@oromagiCan you not admit that the dude is impressive even in a diabolical sort of way?
I think you are overlooking the real stud muffin in this war- Zelensky.
Here is Zelensky standing in front of parliament with his cabinet on the front lines of battle while planes are dropping bombs saying, "Here we are, we aren't going anywhere."
Here is Putin with his cabinet on the same day, super social-distancing since he doesn't dare wear a mask for the FOX News crowd:
Which of these figures is objectively cooler, more impressive, bigger-dicked?
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