War in Ukraine

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AM64 said:
No sure I completely agree with your analysis regarding India. India and China are enemies. India supposedly has cancelled military hardware contracts recently. If Russia and China more fully align, it doesn't seem that India would want to be reliant on Russia. Yeah, politics does make for strange bedfellows, but you'd think India would be better off aligning with parties who are unlikely to align with China in times of war. We probably should be offering India some good deals on military hardware about now.

India cancelled orders of Russian jets, weapons: US official at Senate hearing
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India is not going to ally with China so much as Russia but this may make them closer to China than they have been.

Meanwhile a team I use in Pakistan says Lahore is full of Chinese theses days and it wasn’t when I was last there. And I’m thinking current Pak gov will fall soon.
 
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OrangeTsar said:
That, at least directly, sanctions on Russia will not hurt me. Indirectly, of course the oil shutoff will affect me greatly. But I blame Biden for that since he crippled domestic petroleum supplies
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It's like oil goes into one big pot anyway. If we don't buy Russian oil, somebody else will, and that generally means other oil will be unallocated and available. The fly in the ointment would be if other suppliers - like OPEC - sense an opportunity, cut production, and reduce the pot that supposedly doesn't hold the Russian oil.
 
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Rasputin_Vol said:
I do that to turn the mirror on just how corrupt this country has become. You can call it "whataboutism" if you want. But the fact is that everything Russia is doing now, the US has done on multiple occasions across the globe.

Also, I've said this before, but Putin is fighting against these Atlantic/Anglo-American globalists that are ruining nation states on both side of The Pond. Just look at the damage these people have done in the Crown countries and in these blue states. These people have taken their masks off and you see how dangerous they really are. They need to be defeated by any means necessary... by any means necessary.

Also, it is a damn shame that this country has pizzed away our blessing by letting these corrupt and inept people run it into the ground since post WWII. We could have had peace and prosperity instead of constant war and a declining standard of living.
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...so you're saying Hiroshima and Nagasaki should have been a staging point for World peace?

Perhaps.
 
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LittleVol said:
The United States is the world leader in clean energy. We have ample farmland and an array of water purification systems (salt or other)

It's high time we ramp that up even more.

My entire home is petroleum or oil free.
Car as well.
- minus the manufactured products.
The reason the United States feels it can extend its ideologies across the globe is because it's already it's own planet within itself.

We have our hands in everything, and it's not hubris to say, we can just as quickly let it all go. Lean years are ahead for this country...
But honestly it's needed.
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You turn off your electricity when the sun goes down or have big battery storage?
 
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LittleVol said:
The United States is the world leader in clean energy. We have ample farmland and an array of water purification systems (salt or other)

It's high time we ramp that up even more.

My entire home is petroleum or oil free.
Car as well.
- minus the manufactured products.
The reason the United States feels it can extend its ideologies across the globe is because it's already it's own planet within itself.

We have our hands in everything, and it's not hubris to say, we can just as quickly let it all go. Lean years are ahead for this country...
But honestly it's needed.
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You were lied too. Jesus
 
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Gandalf said:
India is not going to ally with China so much as Russia but this may make them closer to China than they have been.

Meanwhile a team I use in Pakistan says Lahore is full of Chinese theses days and it wasn’t when I was last there. And I’m thinking current Pak gov will fall soon.
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If I were India, I'd be rethinking allies and running away from Russia. As someone pointed out earlier, India probably went with Russian arms because they got a good deal. In the long term if a country is a friend of your enemy, you probably should consider different friends.

However, people do some really illogical things - like our own dependence on Chinese goods. Pretty bad in a time of war if your enemy produces what you need for armament and all your pharmaceuticals ... and they could threaten us with nukes, so maybe we should just wave the white flag now and get it over with. We need someone with balls and a brain in the WH ... congress, too.
 
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AM64 said:
If I were India, I'd be rethinking allies and running away from Russia. As someone pointed out earlier, India probably went with Russian arms because they got a good deal. In the long term if a country is a friend of your enemy, you probably should consider different friends.

However, people do some really illogical things - like our own dependence on Chinese goods. Pretty bad in a time of war if your enemy produces what you need for armament and all your pharmaceuticals ... and they could threaten us with nukes, so maybe we should just wave the white flag now and get it over with. We need someone with balls and a brain in the WH ... congress, too.
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Russia and India have long been close and buy arms from them while we were dancing with Pakistan. Trump made a concerted effort to reach out to Modi as an economic and military counter to China in the region but that, like the Abraham accords, seems to have died with his Presidency.
 
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Gandalf said:
Anyone who is claiming that Ukraine is just the first step for Russia and that they are going to sweep across the EU is delusional or selling a war because they are clearly not watching facts on the ground nor thinking about Putin's own interests.
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Still say Putin intends to get the gang back together. Gather up the non NATO parts first, consolidate power, and go after the ones that defected to NATO. I can't see it working because all those other countries remember the "good ole days" - and not nearly as fondly as Putin does. Putin has one thing going for him; he played the nuke card, and we wimped, so he knows where we stand - in a big field of poo and pee.
 
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AM64 said:
Still say Putin intends to get the gang back together. Gather up the non NATO parts first, consolidate power, and go after the ones that defected to NATO. I can't see it working because all those other countries remember the "good ole days" - and not nearly as fondly as Putin does. Putin has one thing going for him; he played the nuke card, and we wimped, so he knows where we stand - in a big field of poo and pee.
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We should not make the mistake of making Putin’s Russia to be more than it is…or less.
 
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#17,312
#17,312
Gandalf said:
Russia and India have long been close and buy arms from them while we were dancing with Pakistan. Trump made a concerted effort to reach out to Modi as an economic and military counter to China in the region but that, like the Abraham accords, seems to have died with his Presidency.
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Maybe leaving Afghanistan and no longer needing Pakistan will get us out of an unhealthy relationship. Seems like we should naturally have more in common with India than Pakistan. Anyway, you brought up a good point I hadn't considered.
 
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You think they'd go for Seattle, Portland and San Fran instead?

Russian lawmaker demands return of Alaska, California fort and reparations amid U.S.-led sanctions

A Russian lawmaker made an outlandish demand over the weekend that the United States return Alaska and a historic settlement in California, in addition to paying reparations to Russia over crippling American-led sanctions that have put Moscow's economy in a tailspin.

The demands include the return of Alaska, which the U.S. purchased from the Russian Empire in 1867 as part of the Alaska Purchase, and the former Russian settlement of Fort Ross, California, 90miles north of San Francisco.
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Rickyvol77 said:
I’ve not been a law enforcement officer in 15 years as I’m a VP in healthcare but there is more skill and knowledge in an officer than a server. To say otherwise is simply lunacy. You can’t be taken seriously when you spout crap which you know nothing about.
businesses can tell the employee what to do in order to work there and to say otherwise is not living in reality. You have no right to a job. You know that right?
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I get it now. What this boils down to is that you are for these vaccine mandates. Now you are showing your true colors. Go ahead and admit it. You don't really believe businesses can do what they want. You believe in these vaccine mandates. That's why you are getting all butt hurt over this topic.

CNAs, Janitors, and Food Service workers in the Healthcare industry are just as important to that industry as you are. And those servers and restaurant workers who made sure you got your discounted meals as a law enforcement officer were just as important as you were at the time as well. Your problem is you really think you are better than other people. That's why the democrat party will be appealing to you in the near future.
 
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Rasputin_Vol said:
We made Libya a failed state and destroyed Syria with our mercenaries.

Nothing Putin has done to date compares to what we have done to either of those countries.

BTW, all of this belly aching about invading a country while the US is illegally occupying NE Syria.
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I think much of this has to do with the "military industrial complex". Which Eisenhower warned us about. I'm beginning to think he was the last true great Republican president.

We have sold weapons to Syrian rebels, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, and Georgia over the years. Among many other places. Regions in which we helped create conflict. Sadly we have people who can't connect the dots and figure this out. Our "military industrial complex" has made billions due to these conflicts. Keep in mind they have a product and it has to be sold. What better way to market it.
 
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Rasputin_Vol said:
You are fighting an uphill battle with these guys. Before COVID, I would have agreed with them 110%. But I never thought in my mind that we would experience what we did in the US with the govt and private entities working together to force people into a medical decision.

There needs to be a serious discussion on the right with regards to violating personal medical decisions whether it comes from govt or private sector.
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Actually most of the people in here don't really think "private businesses can do what they want". With the exception of maybe Hog. The others simply believe in vaccine mandates and instead of outright admitting that they are using this "private business" excuse or trying to claim they are against "government mandates". I'm not fooled by them anymore. They are for vaccine mandates. Hog at least came out and said he's not for these vaccine mandates and said they were not good for his business. So what we have are people on the right and "moderates" who are for these vaccine mandates just as much as democrats and the left are for them.
 
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Reading the last few pages, it is clear that the ancients knew what they were doing when they killed everyone left in a conquered city state. It was an act of survival. We’ve been sold the idea that we derive strength from diversity and inclusiveness is a virtue, but the history tells us that eventually that path will lead to chaos. Homogeneity is essential to the survival of a society. We don’t all have to look alike or have sex the same way but if he vast majority of us do not share fundamental common beliefs and goals we will not last.
 
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Biden admin weighs providing Ukraine with killer drones called Switchblades

The U.S.-made guided missiles can accurately target tanks and artillery from miles away.

The Biden administration is considering providing Ukraine with U.S.-made killer drones — cutting-edge guided missiles that could accurately target Russian tanks and artillery positions from miles away — two congressional officials briefed on the matter told NBC News.

No decisions have been made, but the officials said the White House is mulling whether to equip Ukraine with explosives-laden “loitering missiles,” called Switchblades, as part of a new package of military aid President Joe Biden is expected to discuss Wednesday.

There are two variants of the weapon, the Switchblade 300 and the 600, that have been sold to U.S. Special Operations Command by manufacturer AeroVironment, based in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. The 300 is designed for pinpoint strikes on personnel, and the larger 600 is meant to destroy tanks and other armored vehicles.

NBC News reported on an exclusive demonstration of the Switchblade 300 in December. AeroVironment officials said at the time that the government forbade them from demonstrating the 600.

AeroVironment officials did not respond to requests for comment.

“We stand with our allies and sovereign nations in their right to protect their homelands and their very lives when this fundamental right is threatened,” the company said in a statement on its website headlined “AeroVironment stands with the people of Ukraine and all of NATO.”

The Switchblades are essentially robotic smart bombs, equipped with cameras, guidance systems and explosives. They can be programmed to automatically strike targets miles away, and they can be steered around objectives until the time is right to strike. The company says the 600 can fly for 40 minutes and up to 50 miles.

They are single-use weapons, which is why they have been dubbed “kamikaze drones.” But they are orders of magnitude cheaper than the Hellfire missiles fired by U.S. Reaper drones. The 300 can cost as little as $6,000, by some estimates.

Both weapons can be set up in minutes and launched from tubes. They fly much faster than the Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones that Ukraine has been using to inflict damage on Russia, and presumably they would be able to penetrate the spotty air defenses Russia is maintaining over its forces.
 
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