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February 2022
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George Rebane

With the horrendous historical preambles of Stalin, Hitler, and Mao, the world now knows that Russia’s Vladimir Putin is a murderous thug.  What our Left misses or means to misinform is the manner in which many of us on the Right assess Putin’s geo-strategic actions, especially when compared in the same arena to the sophomoric efforts of Team Bumblebrain.

To assess Putin’s strategy, concerning his latest effort to expand Russia’s borders and sphere of influence, with attributes such as clever, shrewd, adroit, and even brilliant has no bearing on the man’s character, values, mores, or any other trait laudable by the international community.  A scoundrel can be all these things without ever being mistaken for a person of high principles and moral character.  To the discerning, assessment can be and has always been received and rendered as independent of adulation.

It is in their political desperation that the Democrats have revived their fabricated Russia Collusion hoax to again paint Trump as a Putin toady.  Their dumb-as-doorknobs lamestream trumpets have dutifully picked up the chorus, and when reporting on the matter, even FN has had trouble always making the distinction between assessment and adulation.  But Democrats can count on their lightly-read minions to lap up the ‘new evidence’ that Trump has always been subservient to the Slav with dirty pictures of him.  Lakoff (q.v.) would approve of such posturing as maintenance of the established TDS frame.

Posted in , , , ,

210 responses to “The Adulation of a Murderous Thug”

  1. scenes Avatar
    scenes

    “We’re waging an all-out economic and financial war on Russia,” Le Maire told France Info radio. “We will cause the collapse of the Russian economy.”
    and then, probably, somebody got to him.
    “Le Maire later told French news agency AFP he had misspoken and that the term “war” was not compatible with France’s efforts to de-escalate tensions surrounding the Ukraine conflict.”
    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/french-minister-declares-economic-war-on-russia-and-then-beats-a-retreat/ar-AAUsLeQ
    The West seems so eager to push energy into this system that I would suggest checking out your stock of bottled water and dried beans.

    Like

  2. Bill Tozer Avatar
    Bill Tozer

    @8:15 am
    It has been a easy smooth transition from crushing the Freedom Truckers in Canada to the same tactics employed by the Western World to squash and punish Putin’s aggression.
    When the Security Chief of Canada announced that they in the coming months will search out and find every single person that voiced support of the Freedom Truckers, I thought about the parallels with the Truckers and our the FBI setting up offices in LA and around the country to find every single person who was at the Capitol Building/grounds on Jan. 6. The Big Chill.
    First, your hit them in the pocket book by freezing their bank accounts, have teams scouring social media in case you liked a comment, and prosecute them to the fullest extend of the law…whether one was involved or not. Arrest them and have them rot in jail without charges formerly filed. Make sure they are too afraid to every post anything on-line again. Then unleash the doxxing teams to make their lives a living hell for having wrong thoughts. Make their children, spouses, and employers’ lives hell by encouraging the wave of doxxers to keep doing what they are doing.
    Which brings us to Russia-Ukraine. We see the same tactics, but on a world wide scale…out in the open. Things (Orwellian) we have been warning about, things we have been warned about. The Empire strike back. Confiscate their assets, ban them from social media, erase them, hit them ‘six ways to Sunday.’ They have many ways to skin a cat and pounds of flesh will never satisfy their insatiable appetite for more pounds of flesh.
    Disclaimer. All the above in NOT taking a side for or against Putin or Ukraine or sanctions or even Big Brother. It is an observation that the tactics used against any/all opposition (real or imagined) to the Empire has more than brought out from behind the curtain into the broad daylight for all to see. Banning Trump for life on Twitter is one example, throwing the Jan 6 rioters in the pokey and having them languish there for a year without bail, seizing businesses of the Canadian truckers that are not related to and independent of their trucking business or even the trucking industry in general…on and on it goes.
    I used to quote the Japanese saying, “The nail that stands up will be pounded down.” Now, it is the nail that stands up must be pounded down. Oh how they ridiculed and brushed aside those who warned of the Deep State as conspiracy theorists. How shocking it was to the ears of the haters that we, not them, are destroying the faith in our institutions.
    Every tool that is being unleashed against Putin ( and rightfully so) has already been unleashed on the Deplorables, aka, the dregs of society. That’s my opinion and I am sticking with it.

    Like

  3. scenes Avatar
    scenes

    re: 8:56AM
    A small thing, but noteworthy.
    “YouTube is blocking channels connected to Russian state-backed media outlets RT and Sputnik across Europe effective immediately, due to the situation in Ukraine, the company operated by Alphabet’s Google, said on Tuesday.”
    “The company’s actions follow that of Facebook parent Meta Platforms, which on Monday said it will restrict access to television network RT and news agency Sputnik on its platforms across the European Union. read more
    Twitter has also said that it would label tweets containing contents from the Russian state-controlled media and reduce their visibility.”
    https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/01/youtube-to-block-channels-linked-to-russias-rt-and-sputnik-across-europe.html
    It might all just be simply Darwinism at the national level. The Chinese model appears to work well and might actually work in places that aren’t steeped in ethnonationalism. Once all communications and finances flow through a single gate, there’s no telling what you can do with it.
    BillT: “Every tool that is being unleashed against Putin ( and rightfully so)”
    One problem I see is that the tools appear to be aimed at Russian regime change and/or an expansion of the war. Having the world’s largest nuclear arsenal qualitatively changes the nature of the thing and somebody needs to figure out that the Russians need an offramp.

    Like

  4. The Estonian Fox Avatar
    The Estonian Fox

    BT @ 7:29AM – good to see you now have that proper respect for Tulsi.
    Remember – T’NT ’24 = Tulsi & Trump for 2024. P & VP in that order.
    MAGA = Make ‘ar gal awesome.

    Like

  5. scenes Avatar
    scenes

    Worth a read. From the ‘Nothing is Real (and nothing to get hung about)’ Op-ed Department
    (hopefully not posted yet, mea culpa if it has)
    David Stockman:
    https://www.unz.com/article/the-land-where-history-died-part-1/
    and just for fun (from 2019)
    https://www.unz.com/ishamir/the-plundering-of-ukraine/
    What does it all mean? Your guess is as good as mine.

    Like

  6. Bill Tozer Avatar
    Bill Tozer

    @ 9:11 am
    There is an intuitive voice in my soul that says to me that just about any story in the headlines from government spokespersons about Putin’s demise and weakness is propaganda, clear and simple. Anything about the current conflict from either side is spin. That is baked Into the cake. It’s only Week One.
    We see very little of what is actually coming OUT of Ukraine, but tons of stuff ABOUT Ukraine. Just a little voice talking to me, and yes, I do have voices in my head. I talk to myself to get a second opinion! And almost every major mistake I have made is when I went discarded that little voice….
    ——-
    Russia needs an off-ramp. Indeed. Right now the Banshees are doing for no fly zones and regime change….exactly the very same cries that got us back into Iraq after Desert Storm. Saddam is a bad person. Gassed the Iranians and his own people. Box him in. Declare the skies over Iraq a no fly zone and prepare to go in for regime change…and US blood will be spilled on Ukrainian and perhaps Russian soil.
    Got to give BOTH sides an off-ramp. Meaning Putin, of course, but the Western coalition as well. Otherwise, it like we will be spending the next 20 years over there. Putin has nukes. Nobody (hopefully) wants a geo-thermal nuclear war. Nobody wants even one tactical nuke dropped ‘over there’. Well, the likely suspects do.
    What we need right now is the Art of the Deal. Toss some saving grace to the despots and let the losers claim a victory. For today, there is no cease fire.
    Ironically, we were the ones to keep nukes out of Ukraine’s and promised to defend them instead….with Obama sending pillows and blankets and uniforms to Ukraine, while blocking arms to Kiey. When Trump arrived on the scene, the Ukrainian Department of State /Minister of Foreign Affairs office was located in the US Embassy and we where their State Department. We ran the country from there. We did regime change under the Obama-Biden Administration and all we got back home is stories about a tv comedian and election results.
    Funny, it one had a skeptical eye, that person could say, “All roads lead to Russia through Ukraine. I still hold to the belief that the Uranium One story is so much bigger than some can even imagine. Later, gator.

    Like

  7. scenes Avatar
    scenes

    https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-february-28-2022
    BillT: “We see very little of what is actually coming OUT of Ukraine, but tons of stuff ABOUT Ukraine. ”
    I see that Mr. Bald and his friend Johnny skeedaddled.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcOav_-kkx8
    Given the universal nature of cell phones, the situation is highly curated. Welcome to the future.
    We are living in the future I’ll tell you how I know
    I read it in the paper fifteen years ago
    We’re all driving rocket ships and talking with our minds
    And wearing turquoise jewelry and standing in soup lines (J. Prine)

    Like

  8. scenes Avatar
    scenes

    Meanwhile:
    “In a few hours, about twenty EU members will send military equipment to Ukraine,” EU Council President Charles Michel said in an interview with a group of European media, including ANSA.
    “We have to help a people of incredible courage like the Ukrainians resist as long as possible to this attack”, Michel added, recalling, among the latest sanctions enforced, the freezing of foreign currency assets and transactions imposed on the European Central Bank. A move “suggested during the European summit on Thursday evening,” Michel added
    https://www.ansa.it/nuova_europa/en/news/countries/ukraine/2022/02/28/michel-20-eu-countries-ready-to-send-military-equipment_a3397f97-eb50-48d3-9b00-45fabd21f3cb.html
    “‘Will have to seriously look at Ukraine’s request for EU membership’, says EU Council chief Charles Michel ”
    https://www.freepressjournal.in/world/will-have-to-seriously-look-at-ukraines-request-for-eu-membership-says-eu-council-chief-charles-michel
    “Shipping Giant Maersk, Visa And Mastercard Halt Key Russia Services”

    https://www.forbes.com/sites/marisadellatto/2022/03/01/shipping-giant-maersk-visa-and-mastercard-halt-key-russia-servicesheres-the-growing-list-of-companies-responding-to-invasion/?sh=770322a12b41

    Two take-aways to me here.
    1. Western companies are arms of Western governments. China, etc. should take note. Being dependent on them is a foolish move. Globalism is efficient in the short term but dangerous in the long due to accidental or purposeful interruptions.
    2. Everyone is spoiling for a fight. It ties in well with Peter Turchin’s notions of historical cycles. The WWII generation is dead, everyone forgot about it, nuclear arms are much more likely to be used than in the 1960s for the same reason , strategic (and other) agreements can drag everyone in (ala WWI), the internet has produced a generation of keyboard kommandos who accelerate popular mood.
    But, who knows. Maybe pushing the Russians into a tight corner will result in peace and prosperity.

    Like

  9. scenes Avatar
    scenes

    one last op-ed that makes some interesting points.
    https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2022-03-01/we-havent-always-been-war-eurasia

    Like

  10. George Rebane Avatar

    OK, all you military tacticians out there, why are not the columns of trucks and tracks heading toward Kyiv not being attacked.? I had the pleasure of teaching such tactics in the Army to neutralize long lines of vehicles restricted to travel on a single road (coming through the Fulda Gap). The Germans taught us how to take out such columns in Operation Market Garden – you bookend the column in two places with direct or indirect fires (or even mines), and then take your time annihilating the vehicles in the middle. The bookending would be done by shoot-and-scoot Javelin missiles which have 2.5-3 mile range depending on the firing platform. Artillery located 10-15 miles away, variously fuzed with contact and time/VT (air bursts) fuzes would then systematically take out the ‘sitting duck’ vehicles stuck in the middle. From the satellite photos of the columns, the terrain looks very suitable for such attacks. To allow a stopped or slowly moving road-restricted military convoy to survive, and bring troops and fighting vehicles to bear when they get into the suburbs appears to me to be a horrible blunder. I haven’t even heard any of the TV generals being asked about or offer reasons why this obvious tactic has not been used. What am I missing?

    Like

  11. Don Bessee Avatar
    Don Bessee

    Dr R – Today i spent some time checking out new video and pics. USA today had a picture of the tip of the convoy shattered on a highway that had tight trees on both sides. A city block long section was a pile smoldering wreckage of armored vehicles. The interesting thing was some of the russian tracks had drove onto other vehicles in a bid to escape.
    The Antonov airport fight is a factor also in between the column and the capitol.
    What was fascinating was the Ukrainians drone use and their very selective hits that created more choke points along the column. A number of mobile anti air carriers and ammunition trucks.
    Finally, the eye-opening videos of captured russian conscripts calling home to tell mom they were ok and saying things like they did not even know they were coming here or where they were. They all thought they were just going to train.
    That was at the same time the pentagon reporting russian units surrendering without a fight as well as punching holes their own equipment’s gas tanks and abandoning equipment and melting away it all fits. Vlads army has more problems than anyone thought.
    Then you have the failure to achieve air superiority or kill the Ukrainian air defense.
    😉

    Like

  12. Don Bessee Avatar
    Don Bessee

    Now that’s interesting the chechens got rated out by someone in the FSB and they got wiped out –
    https://www.foxnews.com/world/chechen-hit-squad-sent-murder-zelenskyy-eliminated
    😉

    Like

  13. Bill Tozer Avatar
    Bill Tozer

    Dr. Rebane.
    What you are missing is it’s been a couple generations or so since opposing armies fought each other on a conventional battlefield. Maybe they are being lured into a flank attack. Maybe there are no longer instructors who were closer to WW2 than they are to today. What is missing is you
    The Russian slow moving Bronco convoy been gnawing at me as well. First a three mile long convoy causing a stir, then a 10 mile long convoy, then a two day break, then a 40 mile long convoy ….we can see those sitting ducks from satellite imagery for days now. What am I missing here? The purpose of a military is to win. One side appears without the true will to win. Sloppy, rusty, novices with supply train issues. Supply can’t keep up and the Russian infantry isn’t exactly rolling across the countryside at a high rate of speed.
    During the USSR’s time in Afghanistan, the Soviets after awhile stopped using the 18 year old recruits and brought in the 28 year olds. Some tested. Where is Putin going to find those kind of more mature soldiers? It’s not like shelling Georgia. Been awhile since Patton and Rommel met on the battlefield. Odesa still not in Russian control…. that did not go as planned.
    If the Russians can advance on Kiey from the southeast, don’t know if Ukraine can stop them and defend Kiey at the same time.
    Looks like the Ukrainians are not the only ones fighting for their lives. Putin is too.
    Nations shall rise and nations shall fall…

    Like

  14. Don Bessee Avatar
    Don Bessee

    The socialist greens are lying their asses off, the active destruction of our energy industry is an unforced error that is damaging everyone one of our friends. Hell even the Germans have switched course but not the creepy grampa joe team who hate Americas working class and makes their lives miserable and financially squeezed by limousine liberals. –
    “No,” Stefanik said when asked if she bought Psaki’s explanation. “Jen Psaki – again, they’re trying to pass the buck and come up with any kind of excuse, and it’s really atrocious that they’re saying we need more global energy production, which means dirty energy. If you have American energy it is cleaner energy, by definition because of the innovation of our amazing companies that are leaders around the world.”
    “This is just another example when Jen Psaki is embarrassing herself and embarrassing the United States on the world stage with how she’s answering these questions,” Stefanik added.
    Environmental activists and some progressive media have pushed for green solutions in the debate over energy independence – a solution Stefanik and Turner said was not viable.
    “The cleanest, healthiest, most prosperous nations on earth are the ones with the most robust fossil fuel industry,” Turner said. “And green energy does not replace fossil fuels, it just uses them in a different way. People who do not understand this are either ignorant or have an agenda. The ignorance can be educated, and that is what my organization tries to do. Those with an agenda or a threat to our economy and our national security … they need to be held accountable.”
    Stefanik said she believes in an “all of the above” approach, which means the use of nuclear, oil and natural gas. She used New York’s moratorium on fracking as an example of one decision that has “devastated” their economy.
    “We need to double down on American energy independence rather than the direction this administration is taking us,” she concluded.
    https://www.foxnews.com/media/biden-admin-accused-embarrassing-energy-agenda
    😉

    Like

  15. Bill Tozer Avatar
    Bill Tozer

    nice short clip. The world stands with Ukraine
    https://www.facebook.com/groups/442017982919984/permalink/1396166817505091/

    Like

  16. scenes Avatar
    scenes

    Some reasonable words on Ukraine. A Twitter thread.
    https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1498381975022940167.html
    I’ve notice a lot of writing on the lack of Russian airpower. A theory. You are seeing the first war involving high density MANPADS. It could be that the era of manned tactical aircraft is over. Like any weapons system, there was always going to be one too many generations developed.
    An interesting talk. David Starkey (who knows about dictators) about V. Putin.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=he25Rl0fE1c

    Like

  17. scenes Avatar
    scenes

    https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-march-1
    BillT: ” Supply can’t keep up and the Russian infantry isn’t exactly rolling across the countryside at a high rate of speed.”
    What is a high rate of speed? Dunno for sure. Keep in mind that Gulf War II took Mar. 19 to May 1 to run out against a poor opponent, open territory, complete air superiority. Invasion of Poland was Sept 1 to Oct 6. Russians have the advantage of higher tolerance for casualties. Outrunning infantry is a thing, but the Russian objectives certainly aren’t clear to me in my EZ-chair and probably change with changing circumstances.
    Noted in my link in prior post:
    “Hence my next thought. In a desperate effort to keep the war hidden from the Russian public, framing this as a Donbas operation, Moscow has completely ceded the information environment to Ukraine, which has galvanized morale and support behind Kyiv. Another miscalculation”
    The ceding is so total that it makes all of MSM a poor source, aside from the war as sporting event angle.
    A thought that I had. I don’t doubt that the Russian leadership/V. Putin finds the cultural hegemony of the modern West so objectionable, especially the ‘woke’ part, that they welcome the isolation. It’s also a mechanism for protecting home industries as the double whammy of China for stuff and the US for culture is hard to withstand. Not a primary point of this, but maybe a desired side effect. Would you rather be richer and more dependent? or poorer and more independent? The question a homesteader asks but writ larger. In a sense, maybe war is a form of immune system.

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  18. scenes Avatar
    scenes

    “OK, all you military tacticians out there, why are not the columns of trucks and tracks heading toward Kyiv not being attacked.?”
    Just thinking out loud from afar.
    Dunno why they aren’t being attacked, maybe they are. It isn’t like MSM will tell you much aside from feats of derring-do by individual Ukrainians. It could be that the Russians feel reasonably safe due to sweeping the area with Spetsnaz & Friends, they appear to have loaded up on that. I admit that there’s bound to be beaucoup choke points on the Road to Kiev, like most anywhere else.
    The reason for a big push like that is the interesting point. Panic by the O-7s? Phone call from the meeting rooms in Moscow? Intended as bargaining chip in the negotiations?
    The Russians have means, motive, and opportunity and are simply acting like 99% of rulers over the last 5000 years, there’s nothing new in the world.

    Like

  19. Don Bessee Avatar
    Don Bessee

    Between her and botox nancy the only memorable thing from creepy grampa joes ramble was the botox jig and peppermint patty admitting dems invite war through weakness –
    https://www.foxnews.com/politics/psaki-mocked-pattern-putin-last-invading-ukraine-biden-vice-president-obama
    😉

    Like

  20. scenes Avatar
    scenes

    A question for GeorgeR if he reads down this far.
    Given this sort of argument….
    https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/zoltan-pozsar-warns-russian-sanctions-threaten-dollars-reserve-status
    https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/russia-central-bank-freeze-may-hasten-peak-world-fx-reserves-mike-dolan-2022-03-02/
    What’ll be the downward push in the value of the USD? What do you think are the best alternative investments?

    Like

  21. Bill Tozer Avatar
    Bill Tozer

    Kinda on topic. Russia is mentioned.
    Is Europe a continent? Does it matter?
    https://spectatorworld.com/topic/nikole-hannah-jones-europe-continent/

    Like

  22. Bill Tozer Avatar
    Bill Tozer

    Darn. How I want so for it to be true.
    https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2022/feb/28/facebook-posts/ghost-kyiv-clip-video-game-not-video-fighting-ukra/
    Darn, Punchy said the Guardian was a Credible source. The Guardian was the outfit that ran the story of Snake Island and the 13 brave Ukrainian guards who perished. “Go F yourself.”
    Turns out, all are alive, all 72 of the guards who surrendered peacefully and the Russians took them to the mainland unharmed and unarmed to be reunited with their families and countrymen. Darn, I wanted that to be true. Nuts!
    https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/fact-checkers-ukraine-1.6365682
    https://www.bbc.com/news/60513452
    https://theconversation.com/fake-viral-footage-is-spreading-alongside-the-real-horror-in-ukraine-here-are-5-ways-to-spot-it-177921
    ————————
    So Bill, are you saying the credible Guardian reported it wrong? Here is the link and I quote
    “Ukrainian soldiers who died defending an island in the Black Sea from an air and sea bombardment reportedly told an officer on board a Russian navy warship to “go fuck yourself” when asked to surrender.
    There were 13 border guards stationed on Snake Island, a roughly 16-hectare (40-acre) rocky island owned by Ukraine that sits about 186 miles (300km) west of Crimea, when Russian troops bombed the island on Thursday.
    All 13 soldiers died after refusing to surrender, Ukrainian officials announced.
    In his address after the first day of the invasion of his country, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced he would posthumously award all of the soldiers the Hero of Ukraine award.
    “All border guards died heroically but did not give up,” Zelenskiy said.
    Audio has emerged that is purported to have captured an exchange between Ukrainian border guards on Snake Island and an approaching Russian navy vessel, in which a Russian officer told the Ukrainian forces on the island to “lay down your weapons”.
    “So Bill, are you saying The Guardian, a credible source, made it up?”
    Bill: “Heavens no, Paul. Where did you ever get that idea? Takes a twisted mind to interpret my comments that way. I agree that the Guardian said, “all 13 soldiers died when they refused to surrender.” I agree the Guardian said that, Paul.

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  23. George Rebane Avatar

    scenes 214pm – I know of no better counsel to protect your faith-based money than use it to buy ‘real stuff’ – real estate, commodities in demand, and ownership of enterprises that make things people will always want. The default is always gold and junk silver if you see the markets start breaking down or your having to move. If you’re going to stay put and hunker down, then lay in a larder of non-perishable food, common calibers of ammo, cigarettes/cigars, and a good store of popular liquors. Beside their primary utilities, all of these can be considered as fungible monies when times really get tough.

    Like

  24. scenes Avatar
    scenes

    re: Europe is not a continent.
    I guess that, strictly speaking, there are two continents and a few dwarf continents and one ocean. It sure makes geography simpler.
    a question (not so hypothetical):
    How should the issues of uniforms be handled? No doubt there’ll be cases where a civilian-garbed Spetsnaz group will be caught and shot out of hand. OTOH, I suspect that you’ll see cell-phone videos of Ukrainian kids running around with AK-47s (or AK-74) running into a BMP. Is there a moral difference, aside from invader/invadee?
    re: investment for the apocalypse.
    Yeah, that’s pretty much what I figured, although in a sense land title is as faith-based as currency. A pessimist would have highly-leveraged land and then invest the money in more portable goods.
    A prediction:
    I’m waiting for the first hand-wringing about how there is racial or transgender prejudice in handling refugees. Just you wait.

    Like

  25. Bill Tozer Avatar
    Bill Tozer

    @ 06:19 pm
    That was quick. Wait over.
    “A war within a war”: Transgender woman says transphobia and discriminatory laws keeping her hostage in Kyiv during Russian invasion
    https://www.cbsnews.com/news/transgender-woman-transphobia-russia-ukraine-invasion/

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  26. George Rebane Avatar

    scenes 619pm – “… land title is a faith-based currency.” If that comes to pass, then all such wealth preserving conversations are moot. You only own what you and yours can physically defend against all comers – truly a Mad Max world without any social contract.

    Like

  27. Bill Tozer Avatar
    Bill Tozer

    Junk Silver? Not, let’s clear that up.
    In the Mad Max World, when everything is down and cash may or not be accepted, a few silver coins in the emergency box. Not invest in silver, but if you ever needed something for twenty bucks, chances are some would them at face value. Sure, you sold it at a third what it was worth, but it’s Road Warrior vs Humongous time. Like a real emergency…need baby formula or a quart and a half of motor oil. A bit bulky, but a few handfuls of silver dollars in the emergency kit wouldn’t hurt. Pocket change….
    The good thing about real estate is you always have a place to go. The bad thing about RE is it is not liquid. If a person could only have one or the another (real estate or liquidity) but not both….
    I would need a bunker just to hold my coffee horde. A can of coffee is instant barter for something you need….in those times. Worth its weight in…silver. :). Commodities. Stuff. Stuff you need a whole lot more than you want.

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  28. scenes Avatar
    scenes

    BillT@8:07 “That was quick. Wait over.”
    lol. I’ll say.
    “Black Refugee Lives Matter: U.N. urged to act on Ukraine border racism ”
    https://www.peoplesworld.org/article/black-refugee-lives-matter-u-n-urged-to-act-on-ukraine-border-racism/

    https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1573628/Russia-Ukraine-black-refugees-racism-border

    The only bonafide coverage I’ve seen, from Mr. Johnny FD
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mjPy7ROLYs
    The issues there are not a bit surprising. Worth a watch to get the flavor of the thing.
    OK. Part II of my prediction. Beaucoup GoFundMes and the like raising money for BIPOC and LGBTLMNOP+ folx escaping the Russians, most of which will end up being scooooped away into some grifter pocket.

    Like

  29. scenes Avatar
    scenes

    re: GeorgeR@8:30PM
    Well, yeah. It’s a thing we might just get to see if the Russians are pushed hard enough. The US political and media class appears to be all about war right now, so you never know. I did like the Congressman calling for a no-fly zone in Ukraine. Now there’s a great idea.
    It’s funny how peoples’ contingency planning for disaster usually implies a given level of mayhem. Growing up in the real deal gave you a more expansive view I imagine. Personally, I would expect something more akin to the post-Soviet era in the Eastern Bloc if things went south. I can see the beggar’s signs now, ‘Will Trade Javascript for Food’.

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  30. scenes Avatar
    scenes

    BillT: “I would need a bunker just to hold my coffee horde”
    Not a bad investment. It seems to me that the precious metal deal works well when there’s buyers, which implies specific circumstances.
    The richest guy in town might be the dude with a giant pile of cigarettes and fish antibiotics.

    Like

  31. Gregory Avatar
    Gregory

    “Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine!”
    – Yoda

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  32. Bill Tozer Avatar
    Bill Tozer

    Scenes @ 7:21 am
    “Prof. Rosalea Hamilton, the founding director of the Institute of Law and Economics in Jamaica, told the conference that one Jamaican student in Ukraine had reported having a “gun pointed at his head” to force him to leave a train, delaying his exit from the country.”
    As revealed by Scene’s previous video, it’s women and children first boarding the trains. The Battle of the Sexes does not take into consideration skin pigment. Women and children first. Yes, it’s unfair but some still hold on to the ancient idea of chivalry, you Jamaican misogynistic chauvinistic male pigs.

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  33. scenes Avatar
    scenes

    and the dominoes keep fallin’.
    https://thehill.com/policy/international/596693-biden-weighing-sanctions-on-india-over-russian-military-stockpiles
    ‘Ramzan Kadyrov (president of Chechnya) on main russian tv channel: “They imposed sanctions on us… if they keep acting that way we will take the whole Europe and will rule the Europe in the future”’
    https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2022-03-03/moldovan-president-says-moldova-applies-for-eu-membership
    https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-reverses-ban-praise-ukraine-far-right-forces-2022-2?amp
    “NATO & the US needs to start bombing Russian positions in Ukraine & enforcing a no-fly zone over all of Ukrainian air space.
    If Putin decides to go nuclear over that, he sure as hell would if we end up having to do it over Germany or France or England.
    Call his bluff.” – Pam Keith, Democratic Congressional candidate in FL
    “If Biden & NATO West won’t implement a No Fly Zone, they must provide every available weapon to Ukrainians to do so on their own.”
    Michael McFaul – Obama Ambassador to Russia
    https://americandigest.com/adam-kinzinger-calls-for-no-fly-zone-tantamount-to-war-declaration-on-russia/
    https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/02/27/breedlove-nato-commander-russia-ukraine-war/
    A hoard of coffee is looking good.

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  34. Bill Tozer Avatar
    Bill Tozer

    A can of coffee and some tobacco will get you want you need. It’s just a matter of connecting people with what they want.
    Did you know that the Bull Durham label has not changed since the Civil War. It was traded a lot between soldiers and townsfolk and ranchers and the old West cowboys. What a plug? What you got for trade? I’ll take two shotgun shells and….a dab of Monkey Butt salve. This Mad Max thing really chaps my hide.
    What would Dr. Rebane get for one of those fine jugs of librations from the hooch stash? That would be some real horse trading. Not what one may need, but what one may really want.

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  35. George Rebane Avatar

    BillT 926pm – Mr Tozer, coffee would indeed serve, and has done so in the past. My only problem with coffee is what you pointed out – it takes up a lot of storage volume, or better said, it has a low value to storage volume ratio. And it has a short shelf-life unless stored in cans. Nevertheless, it’s good to know where I can go to trade ammo for some hard to get coffee.

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  36. Don Bessee Avatar
    Don Bessee

    The gov of GA displayed her comic stylings on comedy central –
    Stacey Abrams mocked after comparing herself, progressives to Zelenskyy and Ukraine
    Heritage Foundation’s John Cooper wrote, ‘Should be noted that Ukraine also requires voter
    https://www.foxnews.com/politics/stacey-abrams-comparing-herself-zelenskyy-ukraine
    😉

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  37. scenes Avatar
    scenes

    Hillary on some Maddow show.
    “Everybody should ratchet up the pressure,” said Clinton.
    “I was disappointed to see that some of the so-called crypto exchanges, not all of them but some of them, are refusing to end transactions with Russia – you know, from some I don’t know, philosophy of libertarianism or whatever.”
    It really doesn’t matter much, but I like the concept of ‘libertarianism or whatever’. It’s a brilliant name for a political movement.

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  38. scenes Avatar
    scenes

    See, now here is where it gets interesting.
    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/quoting-tulsi-gabbard-china-says-us-instigators-of-russia-ukraine-war/ar-AAUyIC3
    Luckily we have Joe Biden to lead us through a time of troubles.

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  39. scenes Avatar
    scenes

    Of course, none of this is released without an underlying reason.
    “MOSCOW (Reuters) – The head of Russia’s foreign intelligence agency said on Thursday it was wrong to speak of a new Cold War between Russia and the West because the situation was already “hot”.
    “Western politicians and commentators like to call what is happening a ‘new cold war.’ It seems that historical parallels are not entirely appropriate here,” Sergei Naryshkin said on his agency’s website.
    “If only because in the second half of the 20th century Russia fought with the West on the distant approaches, and now the war has come to the very borders of our Motherland. So for us it is definitely not ‘cold’, but quite ‘hot’”.”
    https://news.yahoo.com/russian-foreign-spy-chief-says-162728852.html

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  40. scenes Avatar
    scenes

    True? Not true? Kinda true?
    “Previously, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky threatened to withdraw Ukraine from the Budapest Agreement, under which the newly independent Ukraine gave up the nuclear arsenal that it inherited from the USSR in exchange for security guarantees.
    The head of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), Sergei Naryshkin, has stated that the SVR had obtained intelligence showing that Ukraine was working on building its own nuclear weapons. Naryshkin stressed that President Volodymyr Zelensky’s threats to abandon the Budapest Agreement were “not an empty promise”.”
    https://sputniknews.com/20220303/russian-intelligence-chief-says-intel-showed-ukraine-was-working-on-nukes-us-knew-about-it-1093559308.html

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  41. Don Bessee Avatar
    Don Bessee

    With the conscripts deserting and not having the will to fight a war they did not know about is bad now the officer corps has reason to lose will –
    A high-ranking Russian general has been killed during fighting in Ukraine, in what experts say will be a bitter blow for Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
    Andrei Sukhovetsky was the commanding general of the Russian 7th Airborne Division and a deputy commander of the 41st Combined Arms Army, and by far the most senior Russian figure to have died in the conflict so far.
    A military source said Maj Gen Sukhovetsky had been killed by a sniper
    https://currently.att.yahoo.com/att/cm/russian-major-general-andrei-sukhovetsky-195422485.html
    😉

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  42. Bill Tozer Avatar
    Bill Tozer

    Ukraine’s Historic Propaganda War
    https://www.nationalreview.com/2022/03/ukraines-historic-propaganda-war/?
    The Swiss are no longer “neutral”. Probably first time in 200 years. Lots of Russian gold and currencies stashed in those Swiss Banks. Safe no more.
    Switzerland! Just when I thought nothing should surprise me….

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  43. scenes Avatar
    scenes

    re: BillT@5:03PM
    Good article. It’s been interesting watching this all go down. Practically the only news in Western media is either made-up or amazing tales of personal heroism by a Ukrainian or the blowing up of 5 Russian tanks somewhere. There’s a full-court press going on.
    Probably mentioned before, the real lesson of all this is how corporations worldwide hewed to US political interests…or visa versa. One big machine. The Swiss and Swedes were cool with the Nazis, but this is a different era. Any large country with a brain behind it is well into setting up their own internet substrate, shipping capacity, national airlines, methods for exchanging money, sporting events, etc. It’s a lot bigger problem than worrying about the Royal Navy blocking your ports in the Napoleonic era.
    Maybe it’s just the natural mayhem that occurs when there’s a big realignment coming up. Watch China.
    Meanwhile…
    https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-march-3
    https://www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacje/analyses/2022-03-02/russias-war-against-ukraine-day-6

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  44. Don Bessee Avatar
    Don Bessee

    Shelling a nuke plant sure sounds like an intended war crime eh vlad. Bad enough that vlads troops stirred up all the radiation around Chernobyl –
    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/europe-s-largest-nuclear-power-plant-on-fire-after-shelling/ar-AAUxvEY?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531
    😉

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