Of course, the GOP is responsible for the disaster at the border! Democrats are moral and good, by definition. GOP is yucky and bad. Always. Therefore, if something bad happens, it can never be the fault of Democrats. Ever.
Humpty Dumpty is an idol for liberal Democrats. So is Lenin.
We don’t need no stinking logic. Don’t need no stinking honesty, either.
Let’s all hope our darkest days are behind us.
windbag: not with Cocaine Mitch and the Ds pushing this 4000+ page spending bill…no one knows what’s in it except for a very few. The uniparty is out to destroy the country. Now, the administration is also sending Patriots to Ukraine which most likely require US troops to operate. Putin has stated that’s a red line for him. So when do the nukes start falling???
I am so pessimistic, and I thought it couldn’t get worse, but it keeps just going on. I see no light at the end of this very dark tunnel.
physicsguy:
Patriots don’t require US troops to operate. Training, it works.
Vlad has been threatening to nuke any and all since his little gambit went off the rails. What will Vlad’s next Red Line be; Ukrainian strikes on airbases in Russia that his strategic bombers use (to carry out cruise missile strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure)?
The sky is always falling? At least you escaped to Florida.
Why is McConnell supporting this boondoggle, can someone remind us…?
Meanwhile, looks like Nunes was also an “enemy of the people” (since he was looking under rocks trying to discover the sources and trails of what has become known as Russiagate).
Apparently, not even legislators are supposed to try to figure out the tortuous lies and perfidious behavior of our Political Masters (those absolute geniuses)…featuring another cameo from Dershowitz…
“Nunes accuses DOJ of seeking blackmail material during Russia probe after bombshell revelation;
“Legal expert Alan Dershowitz says DOJ use of subpoenas to target House Intelligence Committee staff phone and email records is likely unconstitutional.”— https://justthenews.com/accountability/russia-and-ukraine-scandals/nunes-accuses-doj-seeking-blackmail-material-during
“…boondoggle…” (and Vandalcrats), continued…
“Here’s What’s In The ‘Ugliest’ Omnibus Bill Ever”— https://www.zerohedge.com/political/heres-whats-ugliest-omnibus-bill-ever
Opening graf:
“The final bill was quietly dropped Monday in the ‘dead of night’ – and by Thursday, if all goes to plan, it will get rushed through for a vote….”
Interesting perspective on omnibus. Gee, wouldn’t it be nice to control of the Senate and a dozen or so more House members?
Europeans aren’t happy the Ukrainians aren’t reforming their corruptocracy. Why should they? We keep sending them billions!
What do the Ukrainians have on Biden?
“US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made clear during his May 6 (2021) visit to Kyiv that Washington expects to see greater progress in Ukraine’s fight to counter corruption and establish the rule of law.
———-
Despite the enormous sacrifices of the past seven years, it is clear that Ukraine has yet to break irreversibly with the corrupt past and establish genuine rule of law in the country. Nobody is more keenly aware of this failure than ordinary Ukrainians. Frustration with the country’s political classes propelled political novice Volodymyr Zelenskyy to a landslide victory in the 2019 Ukrainian presidential election in what was one of the most remarkable protest votes in European history. Two years on, Zelenskyy himself now stands accused of stalling or backsliding on key reforms.
———
Far less attention is paid to the obligations contained within the Association Agreement that commit Ukraine to safeguarding democratic principles, fighting corruption, and pursuing judicial reform. It is easy to understand why Ukrainian politicians rarely dwell on these commitments.
———
There seems to be a common misconception among politicians and reform-focused NGOs in Ukraine that the commitments contained in the Association Agreement are mere “appeals” without any legal weight or consequences. This is incorrect. In reality, the Association Agreement is unambiguous, specific, and legally constraining with regard to the obligations it sets out for Ukraine to establish rule of law, implement judicial reform, and fight corruption.
————
Questions remain over President Zelenskyy’s political commitment to wholesale reform, while oligarch influence in parliament and the economy is still extensive.
——–
The EU has wide legal powers to apply sanctions on various grounds. Failure to meet the commitments of the Association Agreement may qualify. If enough convincing information becomes available about Ukrainian nationals blocking the reforms outlined in the terms of the Association Agreement, the time may come for the EU to respond with effective measures including sanctions.”
Some rather Odd Omnibust Facts…
…that should surprise absolutely no one….
‘ The Omnibus gives a $400M increase to border patrol but prohibits it from being used to “acquire, maintain or extend border security tech and capabilities.”
‘At the same time, $410M goes to securing the borders of Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia, and Oman’ — https://twitter.com/greg_price11/status/1605258048993361921?cxt=HHwWgoCw8ZjsgscsAAAA
Gee, wouldn’t it be nice if most Democrats weren’t hard left. Gee, wouldn’t it be nice if the FBI weren’t an enforcement arm of the Democrat party. Gee, wouldn’t it be nice if you could get a fair trial and a just outcome in the DC judicial circus. Gee wouldnt it be nice if the GOPe weren’t and were just conservatives.
Gee, where are my Unicorn skittles?
Does strategic bombing work? Usually and in this case the prioritizing air defense over other aid is proof. How long does it take to train a Patriot firing crew member? On-line info says 13 weeks at Ft. Sill for the advanced course and then said crew member is ready to join an experienced crew.
As for Vlad, lots of Americans were shot down by Russian fired SAMs in VN so pay back a b****.
“All in all, the evidence suggests that throughout the spring of 1965 the DRV vacillated between yielding to Chinese pressure and thus deferring completion and activization of SAM sites until the fall, when North Vietnamese cadres could complete their training in the USSR to operate them, or flouting Chinese wishes and accepting enough Soviet personnel to put the SAMs into operation more promptly. Finally, under the influence of the mounting US bombing, the DRV seems to have opted for the latter course, and prevailed upon Peking to permit a limited quota of Soviet SAM personnel to pass.”
Brain E:
Gee, wouldn’t it have been nice if Vlad hadn’t invaded Ukraine (or was it nice, eh)?
Wouldn’t it be nice if elimination of corruption didn’t take a back seat to national existence of Ukraine?
What does Vlad have on his cheerleaders?
That Brandon, the Crack Head Porn Star, and his junta are corrupt is not news, just suppressed per FBI and all the media. But you know that?
In war there is fog and priorities. Time will tell.
om,
And how would the Ukrainians get that training? Without US troops in country, the Ukrainians would have to send their soldiers to a NATO country to get the training. Nearest would be Poland.
Mitch McConnell brazenly declaring that giving billions and billions more to Ukraine is the “number one priority for the United States right now according to most Republicans” is galactic scale gaslighting that is certainly at the level of the modern Democrat-Media complex.
om, what part of this do you not understand?
“Despite the enormous sacrifices of the past seven years, it is clear that Ukraine has yet to break irreversibly with the corrupt past and establish genuine rule of law in the country.”
The EU AA was signed in 2014. Ukraine will never become a full member of the EU without these reforms. They’ve had seven years to implement the reforms.
Brian E:
Wow, you mean Ukraine has not turned into Switzerland?
I’m not even sure that Switzerland is Switzerland anymore.
Here’s a story from NBC that seems like it should be a way bigger news story:
American military personnel are now in Ukraine to help keep track of the billions of dollars’ worth of weapons and equipment the United States has sent since the start of the Russian invasion, a senior U.S. defense official and senior U.S. military official said.
Led by Brig. Gen. Garrick Harmon, the U.S. defense attaché to Ukraine, the inspections have already begun with the help of the Office of Defense Cooperation personnel who have returned to the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine, the officials said.
“There have been several of these inspections,” according to the senior defense official, who declined to give details on the locations of the on-site inspections.
There are Americans in Ukraine, ostensibly to audit whether weapons we’ve sent to Ukraine are being resold on the black market. They may be performing other functions.
Ukrainian troops are being sent to NATO countries, including the US for training.
“If that’s the way NBC is reporting it, you can bet the reality is much worse. They say these U.S. Troops are merely inspecting weapons so that probably means American military personnel are training Ukrainians on how to use the systems.
Either way it means there are American boots on the ground in Ukraine and that’s sure to provoke Vladimir Putin who has been clear that he sees any NATO military intervention as a declaration of war. And of course, he’s been threatening to use nuclear weapons in such an event.”
Neo, Ukraine is not Switzerland. We’re agreed there.
The author of the article I linked to is Willem Aldershoff, a Brussels-based international affairs analyst and former unit head at the European Commission.
Ukraine has had seven years to reform it’s legal and financial system to conform to EU standards, and he’s saying there are legal consequences of not doing so. Those consequences could be economic sanctions by the EU against Ukraine.
Brian E:
Don’t think that will happen.
On the other hand, the EU is threatening sanctions against Twitter and Musk for allowing speech the EU doesn’t like.
Good old EU.
In the spirit of Brian E:
“Vichy France is corrupt. Let’s call this whole Normandy thing off.”
-Dwight D. Eisenhower
Probably. Maybe. Or maybe not.
“The EU AA was signed in 2014.”
Yes, we know. That’s what prompted the Russian invasion. It had nothing to do with NATO.
And since then the Ukrainian president has had to deal with a Russian invasion and occupation of parts of his country, a Russian build-up of troops in the land and seas surrounding his country, and then a Russian genocidal war of conquest against his country. So sorry he hasn’t had enough time to focus on domestic issues to meet with your approval.
“And how would the Ukrainians get that training? Without US troops in country, the Ukrainians would have to send their soldiers to a NATO country to get the training. Nearest would be Poland.”
Well, yeah. Tens of thousands of Ukrainian troops at a time are receiving training in the US, the UK, Germany, and Poland. Did you think that the Ukrainian troops were operating Stingers, Javelins, Harpoons, HARMs, Hawks, Gepards, PzH-2000s, M777s, HIMARS, GMLRS, Excaliburs, NASAMs, and IRIS-Ts without training?
This is a funny sort of thread and threat.
Patriot missile system training. Ya think that the training would be in Poland (HT mkent and Chases Eagles)? Inconceivable. Ya think that the Patriot systems may go through Poland to get to Ukraine? Inconceivable again.
Ya think Ukraine has corruption problems that may not be their first priority while Roosia is trying to castrate Ukraine? Inconceivable, again, again.
And getting back to threats, when was the last time Vlad threatened to nuke them and us? Is there anything else you want to give him while you are bent over?
That inconceivable word doesn’t mean what Brain E thinks it means.
LOL
The lengths people will go to defend Ukraine’s corruption is surprising. I suppose I’m being naive.
The author of the article is very clear that the reforms the EU requires is not optional and it wasn’t just a suggestion to full membership in the EU.
Brian E:
I don’t think Ukraine is on track to become an EU member, and it wouldn’t be happening even if it wasn’t a relatively corrupt place.
Of course, Russia is more corrupt, but it’s not trying to be a member of the EU these days.
And no one is defending corruption. But good luck rooting it out once it takes hold. Corruption is rampant all over the world.
Under yeltsin we dumped loads of money into the economy and thanks to sacks and summers and schrieber they created the oligarch class the siloviki came from the security bureaucrats the likes of sochin and putin and ivanov much of that money was sifted out of tye country we pretended there are good oligarchs and bad ones when the truth they are just wolves chewing over the carcasses
This was true of nearly all soviet republics from belarus to those china bordering ones this is the system that took shape so when privat bank collapses to the tune of 6 billion including us treasury funds they look away the bouncing ball keeps going on but only sometimes do they notice with trump but only trump
Brain E:
If you can’t discern the difference between defending Ukraine against Vlad’s invasion and a defense of Ukrainian corruption, well, “Lord love a duck!”
It seems you continue to post and postulate reasons to go along and get along with Roosian aggression in Eastern Europe and against Ukraine in particular. Reasons, I suppose.
But soon the daylight will be getting longer, lighten up?
There is a Corruption episode on Perun and Jake Broe and Perun discuss it too.
So deripasha for instance is considered bad but not when christopher steele is hired by him not when mark warner who made his fortune with yandex has a back channel to him manafort did deals with one or more of these bad others like weber and podesta and davis do the same thing squirrel!
We are all adults here and we are not naive enough to realize when every corporation every news outlet practically every academic is leaning in one direction, its not a sign of intellectual health as with the lockdowns and vaccines and the push for ‘equity and justice’
Miguel:
Hey they push the theory that the Earth is an oblate spheroid and that Neil Armstrong walked on the Moon. You are on to something! (farce)
physicsguy
I share your pessimism, but I’m trying to psych myself up. Unfortunately, this song about sums up hope.
A bit of comic relief (I hope) from a previous war (WWI, in this case): A hospital in Toulon, France, had to be partially evacuated after calling in a bomb disposal unit “after a senior citizen arrived with a World War I artillery shell lodged in his rectum. . . . Bomb disposal experts at the scene determined there was little possibility the shell would explode inside the man. ‘They reassured us by telling us that it was a collector’s item from the First World War, used by the French military,’ the hospital stated. Stunned doctors subsequently [tried] to remove the object — which measured almost 8 inches long and more than 2 inches wide — from the man’s rectum. It’s believed the pervy patient inserted the item up his anus for sexual pleasure. . . . Medics were forced to take the elderly man into surgery, cutting open his abdomen in order to remove the relic.”
Let’s hope Sam Brinton and the other pervs in Brandon’s administration don’t experiment with new uses for artillery shells.
I binged another show, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” about a female comic in the 50s/60s. Four seasons in four days. A full-time job. I’m just coming out of the trance now.
The initial promo for the show was good, but I thought it looked too “You go, girl!” and “The sisters are doing it for themselves.” I was right about that.
But there was more to the show. First, a loving recreation of late 50s, early 60s America. I so enjoy studying extinct civilizations!
More specifically the world of New York Jews. I can’t speak to the show’s accuracy in that regard, though it lined up with much of what I’ve watched and read. (Were the Catskills really a sort of summer camp for Jewish adults and children?)
Even more specifically, the world of American comedy at that pivotal time. The show was essentially asking the question: “What if there were a female Lenny Bruce?”
I know Bruce’s routines backwards and forwards. However, I’m not just a fanboy talking. Lenny Bruce is a key character in “Mrs. Maisel.” He is the mentor-guardian angel figure drifting in and out of Mrs. Maisel’s life. Furthermore, the actor portraying Bruce is flat uncanny in getting Bruce’s voice, mannerisms and look down.
The climax to Season 4 was Lenny Bruce, after he reached the pinnacle of his career performing at Carnegie Hall, confronting Mrs. Maisel to keep working.
For most people today Lenny Bruce is dated and has been forgotten. It happens. I’m touched that “Mrs. Maizel” allows Lenny to take a well-deserved bow in the 21st century.
I am so pessimistic, and I thought it couldn’t get worse, but it keeps just going on. I see no light at the end of this very dark tunnel.
–physicsguy
I can get that … except back when I was a leftist that’s what it seemed like all the time. I wasn’t entirely wrong.
I have some trouble comprehending the Left Triumphant phase America is now in.
I just don’t see it sticking.
As our opportunities to note arithmetical pattern days in this numerically distinctive year wind down, maybe we should all take a commemorative pause at 12:22:22 tomorrow (12/22/22).
For 12/21/22 I’m just in time to begin Season 3 of “Jack Reacher.”
O boy. More bingeing.
Conservatives aren’t the only ones pessimistic about the future.
Here’s Vox recommending that Kagan and Sotomayor retire within the next two years lest the terrible Republicans replace K&S with more far-right appointees, as the Notorious RBG allowed.
________________________________
Now, eight years later, the question arises: Should Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, 68 and 62, respectively, do what Ginsburg would not?
Both justices are much younger than Ginsburg was in 2014. There are no reports that either is in ill health (although Sotomayor has diabetes, she’s managed that condition nearly her entire life). Realistically, both justices could probably look forward to a decade or more of judicial service if they desire it. But even a mighty Supreme Court justice cannot overcome the merciless math facing Democrats in a malapportioned Senate that effectively gives extra representation to Republicans in small states.
Barring extraordinary events, Democrats will control the White House and the Senate for the next two years. They are unlikely to control it for longer than that. The 2024 Senate map is so brutal for Democrats that they would likely need to win a landslide in the national popular vote just to break even. Unless they stanch the damage then, some forecasts suggest that Democrats won’t have a realistic shot at a Senate majority until 2030 or 2032. And even those forecasts may be too optimistic for Democrats.
If Sotomayor and Kagan do not retire within the next two years, in other words, they could doom the entire country to live under a 7–2 or even an 8–1 Court controlled by an increasingly radicalized Republican Party’s appointees.
Happy Winter Solstice! Lighten up! OK?
Of course, the GOP is responsible for the disaster at the border! Democrats are moral and good, by definition. GOP is yucky and bad. Always. Therefore, if something bad happens, it can never be the fault of Democrats. Ever.
Humpty Dumpty is an idol for liberal Democrats. So is Lenin.
We don’t need no stinking logic. Don’t need no stinking honesty, either.
Let’s all hope our darkest days are behind us.
windbag: not with Cocaine Mitch and the Ds pushing this 4000+ page spending bill…no one knows what’s in it except for a very few. The uniparty is out to destroy the country. Now, the administration is also sending Patriots to Ukraine which most likely require US troops to operate. Putin has stated that’s a red line for him. So when do the nukes start falling???
I am so pessimistic, and I thought it couldn’t get worse, but it keeps just going on. I see no light at the end of this very dark tunnel.
physicsguy:
Patriots don’t require US troops to operate. Training, it works.
Vlad has been threatening to nuke any and all since his little gambit went off the rails. What will Vlad’s next Red Line be; Ukrainian strikes on airbases in Russia that his strategic bombers use (to carry out cruise missile strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure)?
The sky is always falling? At least you escaped to Florida.
Why is McConnell supporting this boondoggle, can someone remind us…?
Meanwhile, looks like Nunes was also an “enemy of the people” (since he was looking under rocks trying to discover the sources and trails of what has become known as Russiagate).
Apparently, not even legislators are supposed to try to figure out the tortuous lies and perfidious behavior of our Political Masters (those absolute geniuses)…featuring another cameo from Dershowitz…
“Nunes accuses DOJ of seeking blackmail material during Russia probe after bombshell revelation;
“Legal expert Alan Dershowitz says DOJ use of subpoenas to target House Intelligence Committee staff phone and email records is likely unconstitutional.”—
https://justthenews.com/accountability/russia-and-ukraine-scandals/nunes-accuses-doj-seeking-blackmail-material-during
“…boondoggle…” (and Vandalcrats), continued…
“Here’s What’s In The ‘Ugliest’ Omnibus Bill Ever”—
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/heres-whats-ugliest-omnibus-bill-ever
Opening graf:
“The final bill was quietly dropped Monday in the ‘dead of night’ – and by Thursday, if all goes to plan, it will get rushed through for a vote….”
Interesting perspective on omnibus. Gee, wouldn’t it be nice to control of the Senate and a dozen or so more House members?
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2022/12/dynamics-of-the-omnibus.php
Europeans aren’t happy the Ukrainians aren’t reforming their corruptocracy. Why should they? We keep sending them billions!
What do the Ukrainians have on Biden?
“US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made clear during his May 6 (2021) visit to Kyiv that Washington expects to see greater progress in Ukraine’s fight to counter corruption and establish the rule of law.
———-
Despite the enormous sacrifices of the past seven years, it is clear that Ukraine has yet to break irreversibly with the corrupt past and establish genuine rule of law in the country. Nobody is more keenly aware of this failure than ordinary Ukrainians. Frustration with the country’s political classes propelled political novice Volodymyr Zelenskyy to a landslide victory in the 2019 Ukrainian presidential election in what was one of the most remarkable protest votes in European history. Two years on, Zelenskyy himself now stands accused of stalling or backsliding on key reforms.
———
Far less attention is paid to the obligations contained within the Association Agreement that commit Ukraine to safeguarding democratic principles, fighting corruption, and pursuing judicial reform. It is easy to understand why Ukrainian politicians rarely dwell on these commitments.
———
There seems to be a common misconception among politicians and reform-focused NGOs in Ukraine that the commitments contained in the Association Agreement are mere “appeals” without any legal weight or consequences. This is incorrect. In reality, the Association Agreement is unambiguous, specific, and legally constraining with regard to the obligations it sets out for Ukraine to establish rule of law, implement judicial reform, and fight corruption.
————
Questions remain over President Zelenskyy’s political commitment to wholesale reform, while oligarch influence in parliament and the economy is still extensive.
——–
The EU has wide legal powers to apply sanctions on various grounds. Failure to meet the commitments of the Association Agreement may qualify. If enough convincing information becomes available about Ukrainian nationals blocking the reforms outlined in the terms of the Association Agreement, the time may come for the EU to respond with effective measures including sanctions.”
https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/ukraines-eu-association-agreement-obliges-kyiv-to-pursue-rule-of-law-reforms/
Some rather Odd Omnibust Facts…
…that should surprise absolutely no one….
‘ The Omnibus gives a $400M increase to border patrol but prohibits it from being used to “acquire, maintain or extend border security tech and capabilities.”
‘At the same time, $410M goes to securing the borders of Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia, and Oman’ —
https://twitter.com/greg_price11/status/1605258048993361921?cxt=HHwWgoCw8ZjsgscsAAAA
Gee, wouldn’t it be nice if most Democrats weren’t hard left. Gee, wouldn’t it be nice if the FBI weren’t an enforcement arm of the Democrat party. Gee, wouldn’t it be nice if you could get a fair trial and a just outcome in the DC judicial circus. Gee wouldnt it be nice if the GOPe weren’t and were just conservatives.
Gee, where are my Unicorn skittles?
Does strategic bombing work? Usually and in this case the prioritizing air defense over other aid is proof. How long does it take to train a Patriot firing crew member? On-line info says 13 weeks at Ft. Sill for the advanced course and then said crew member is ready to join an experienced crew.
As for Vlad, lots of Americans were shot down by Russian fired SAMs in VN so pay back a b****.
“All in all, the evidence suggests that throughout the spring of 1965 the DRV vacillated between yielding to Chinese pressure and thus deferring completion and activization of SAM sites until the fall, when North Vietnamese cadres could complete their training in the USSR to operate them, or flouting Chinese wishes and accepting enough Soviet personnel to put the SAMs into operation more promptly. Finally, under the influence of the mounting US bombing, the DRV seems to have opted for the latter course, and prevailed upon Peking to permit a limited quota of Soviet SAM personnel to pass.”
Brain E:
Gee, wouldn’t it have been nice if Vlad hadn’t invaded Ukraine (or was it nice, eh)?
Wouldn’t it be nice if elimination of corruption didn’t take a back seat to national existence of Ukraine?
What does Vlad have on his cheerleaders?
That Brandon, the Crack Head Porn Star, and his junta are corrupt is not news, just suppressed per FBI and all the media. But you know that?
In war there is fog and priorities. Time will tell.
om,
And how would the Ukrainians get that training? Without US troops in country, the Ukrainians would have to send their soldiers to a NATO country to get the training. Nearest would be Poland.
Mitch McConnell brazenly declaring that giving billions and billions more to Ukraine is the “number one priority for the United States right now according to most Republicans” is galactic scale gaslighting that is certainly at the level of the modern Democrat-Media complex.
om, what part of this do you not understand?
“Despite the enormous sacrifices of the past seven years, it is clear that Ukraine has yet to break irreversibly with the corrupt past and establish genuine rule of law in the country.”
The EU AA was signed in 2014. Ukraine will never become a full member of the EU without these reforms. They’ve had seven years to implement the reforms.
Brian E:
Wow, you mean Ukraine has not turned into Switzerland?
I’m not even sure that Switzerland is Switzerland anymore.
Here’s a story from NBC that seems like it should be a way bigger news story:
American military personnel are now in Ukraine to help keep track of the billions of dollars’ worth of weapons and equipment the United States has sent since the start of the Russian invasion, a senior U.S. defense official and senior U.S. military official said.
Led by Brig. Gen. Garrick Harmon, the U.S. defense attaché to Ukraine, the inspections have already begun with the help of the Office of Defense Cooperation personnel who have returned to the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine, the officials said.
“There have been several of these inspections,” according to the senior defense official, who declined to give details on the locations of the on-site inspections.
There are Americans in Ukraine, ostensibly to audit whether weapons we’ve sent to Ukraine are being resold on the black market. They may be performing other functions.
Ukrainian troops are being sent to NATO countries, including the US for training.
“If that’s the way NBC is reporting it, you can bet the reality is much worse. They say these U.S. Troops are merely inspecting weapons so that probably means American military personnel are training Ukrainians on how to use the systems.
Either way it means there are American boots on the ground in Ukraine and that’s sure to provoke Vladimir Putin who has been clear that he sees any NATO military intervention as a declaration of war. And of course, he’s been threatening to use nuclear weapons in such an event.”
https://defconnews.com/2022/11/01/there-are-u-s-troops-in-ukraine/
COBI is a LEGO compatible block made in Poland. Unlike peacenik Danish LEGO, COBI makes tanks, aircraft, warships etc.
Here is their “Ghost of Kyiv” MIG-29 set.
https://www.buildcobi.com/cobi-building-block-sets-tanks-submarines-ships-battleships-world-of-wwii-small-army-tank-museum/cobi-mig-29-ghost-of-kyiv-jet-figther-set-5833
Neo, Ukraine is not Switzerland. We’re agreed there.
The author of the article I linked to is Willem Aldershoff, a Brussels-based international affairs analyst and former unit head at the European Commission.
Ukraine has had seven years to reform it’s legal and financial system to conform to EU standards, and he’s saying there are legal consequences of not doing so. Those consequences could be economic sanctions by the EU against Ukraine.
Brian E:
Don’t think that will happen.
On the other hand, the EU is threatening sanctions against Twitter and Musk for allowing speech the EU doesn’t like.
Good old EU.
In the spirit of Brian E:
“Vichy France is corrupt. Let’s call this whole Normandy thing off.”
-Dwight D. Eisenhower
Probably. Maybe. Or maybe not.
“The EU AA was signed in 2014.”
Yes, we know. That’s what prompted the Russian invasion. It had nothing to do with NATO.
And since then the Ukrainian president has had to deal with a Russian invasion and occupation of parts of his country, a Russian build-up of troops in the land and seas surrounding his country, and then a Russian genocidal war of conquest against his country. So sorry he hasn’t had enough time to focus on domestic issues to meet with your approval.
“And how would the Ukrainians get that training? Without US troops in country, the Ukrainians would have to send their soldiers to a NATO country to get the training. Nearest would be Poland.”
Well, yeah. Tens of thousands of Ukrainian troops at a time are receiving training in the US, the UK, Germany, and Poland. Did you think that the Ukrainian troops were operating Stingers, Javelins, Harpoons, HARMs, Hawks, Gepards, PzH-2000s, M777s, HIMARS, GMLRS, Excaliburs, NASAMs, and IRIS-Ts without training?
This is a funny sort of thread and threat.
Patriot missile system training. Ya think that the training would be in Poland (HT mkent and Chases Eagles)? Inconceivable. Ya think that the Patriot systems may go through Poland to get to Ukraine? Inconceivable again.
Ya think Ukraine has corruption problems that may not be their first priority while Roosia is trying to castrate Ukraine? Inconceivable, again, again.
And getting back to threats, when was the last time Vlad threatened to nuke them and us? Is there anything else you want to give him while you are bent over?
That inconceivable word doesn’t mean what Brain E thinks it means.
LOL
The lengths people will go to defend Ukraine’s corruption is surprising. I suppose I’m being naive.
The author of the article is very clear that the reforms the EU requires is not optional and it wasn’t just a suggestion to full membership in the EU.
Brian E:
I don’t think Ukraine is on track to become an EU member, and it wouldn’t be happening even if it wasn’t a relatively corrupt place.
Of course, Russia is more corrupt, but it’s not trying to be a member of the EU these days.
And no one is defending corruption. But good luck rooting it out once it takes hold. Corruption is rampant all over the world.
Under yeltsin we dumped loads of money into the economy and thanks to sacks and summers and schrieber they created the oligarch class the siloviki came from the security bureaucrats the likes of sochin and putin and ivanov much of that money was sifted out of tye country we pretended there are good oligarchs and bad ones when the truth they are just wolves chewing over the carcasses
This was true of nearly all soviet republics from belarus to those china bordering ones this is the system that took shape so when privat bank collapses to the tune of 6 billion including us treasury funds they look away the bouncing ball keeps going on but only sometimes do they notice with trump but only trump
Brain E:
If you can’t discern the difference between defending Ukraine against Vlad’s invasion and a defense of Ukrainian corruption, well, “Lord love a duck!”
It seems you continue to post and postulate reasons to go along and get along with Roosian aggression in Eastern Europe and against Ukraine in particular. Reasons, I suppose.
But soon the daylight will be getting longer, lighten up?
There is a Corruption episode on Perun and Jake Broe and Perun discuss it too.
So deripasha for instance is considered bad but not when christopher steele is hired by him not when mark warner who made his fortune with yandex has a back channel to him manafort did deals with one or more of these bad others like weber and podesta and davis do the same thing squirrel!
We are all adults here and we are not naive enough to realize when every corporation every news outlet practically every academic is leaning in one direction, its not a sign of intellectual health as with the lockdowns and vaccines and the push for ‘equity and justice’
Miguel:
Hey they push the theory that the Earth is an oblate spheroid and that Neil Armstrong walked on the Moon. You are on to something! (farce)
physicsguy
I share your pessimism, but I’m trying to psych myself up. Unfortunately, this song about sums up hope.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhG3A7PnpZc
A bit of comic relief (I hope) from a previous war (WWI, in this case): A hospital in Toulon, France, had to be partially evacuated after calling in a bomb disposal unit “after a senior citizen arrived with a World War I artillery shell lodged in his rectum. . . . Bomb disposal experts at the scene determined there was little possibility the shell would explode inside the man. ‘They reassured us by telling us that it was a collector’s item from the First World War, used by the French military,’ the hospital stated. Stunned doctors subsequently [tried] to remove the object — which measured almost 8 inches long and more than 2 inches wide — from the man’s rectum. It’s believed the pervy patient inserted the item up his anus for sexual pleasure. . . . Medics were forced to take the elderly man into surgery, cutting open his abdomen in order to remove the relic.”
https://nypost.com/2022/12/20/man-with-wwi-explosive-lodged-in-his-rectum-sparks-bomb-scare-hospital-evacuation/
Let’s hope Sam Brinton and the other pervs in Brandon’s administration don’t experiment with new uses for artillery shells.
I binged another show, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” about a female comic in the 50s/60s. Four seasons in four days. A full-time job. I’m just coming out of the trance now.
The initial promo for the show was good, but I thought it looked too “You go, girl!” and “The sisters are doing it for themselves.” I was right about that.
But there was more to the show. First, a loving recreation of late 50s, early 60s America. I so enjoy studying extinct civilizations!
More specifically the world of New York Jews. I can’t speak to the show’s accuracy in that regard, though it lined up with much of what I’ve watched and read. (Were the Catskills really a sort of summer camp for Jewish adults and children?)
Even more specifically, the world of American comedy at that pivotal time. The show was essentially asking the question: “What if there were a female Lenny Bruce?”
I know Bruce’s routines backwards and forwards. However, I’m not just a fanboy talking. Lenny Bruce is a key character in “Mrs. Maisel.” He is the mentor-guardian angel figure drifting in and out of Mrs. Maisel’s life. Furthermore, the actor portraying Bruce is flat uncanny in getting Bruce’s voice, mannerisms and look down.
The climax to Season 4 was Lenny Bruce, after he reached the pinnacle of his career performing at Carnegie Hall, confronting Mrs. Maisel to keep working.
For most people today Lenny Bruce is dated and has been forgotten. It happens. I’m touched that “Mrs. Maizel” allows Lenny to take a well-deserved bow in the 21st century.
I am so pessimistic, and I thought it couldn’t get worse, but it keeps just going on. I see no light at the end of this very dark tunnel.
–physicsguy
I can get that … except back when I was a leftist that’s what it seemed like all the time. I wasn’t entirely wrong.
I have some trouble comprehending the Left Triumphant phase America is now in.
I just don’t see it sticking.
As our opportunities to note arithmetical pattern days in this numerically distinctive year wind down, maybe we should all take a commemorative pause at 12:22:22 tomorrow (12/22/22).
For 12/21/22 I’m just in time to begin Season 3 of “Jack Reacher.”
O boy. More bingeing.
Conservatives aren’t the only ones pessimistic about the future.
Here’s Vox recommending that Kagan and Sotomayor retire within the next two years lest the terrible Republicans replace K&S with more far-right appointees, as the Notorious RBG allowed.
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Now, eight years later, the question arises: Should Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, 68 and 62, respectively, do what Ginsburg would not?
Both justices are much younger than Ginsburg was in 2014. There are no reports that either is in ill health (although Sotomayor has diabetes, she’s managed that condition nearly her entire life). Realistically, both justices could probably look forward to a decade or more of judicial service if they desire it. But even a mighty Supreme Court justice cannot overcome the merciless math facing Democrats in a malapportioned Senate that effectively gives extra representation to Republicans in small states.
Barring extraordinary events, Democrats will control the White House and the Senate for the next two years. They are unlikely to control it for longer than that. The 2024 Senate map is so brutal for Democrats that they would likely need to win a landslide in the national popular vote just to break even. Unless they stanch the damage then, some forecasts suggest that Democrats won’t have a realistic shot at a Senate majority until 2030 or 2032. And even those forecasts may be too optimistic for Democrats.
If Sotomayor and Kagan do not retire within the next two years, in other words, they could doom the entire country to live under a 7–2 or even an 8–1 Court controlled by an increasingly radicalized Republican Party’s appointees.
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/23507944/supreme-court-sonia-sotomayor-elena-kagan-ruth-bader-ginsburg-retire
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I didn’t realize K&S were in their sixties already.
Wait til tomorrow, we’ll be twoed two death!